Just kick me out of my first real fandom now

[terajk]

I should probably not admit this in public:

[Vague Avatar: The Last Airbender spoilers are vague, but possibly not vague enough]


My love of women with disabilities being awesome and interdependent together is officially out of the realm of all that is good and holy. Because, Internet, I have seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I want the impossible: something post-canon in which Toph and Azula have a scam-tastic field trip adventure, evading and outsmarting ableist asshats and punching them in the face.

After 24 hours of thinking, I could see this working if and only if all these conditions (and those I haven't thought of) are met:

1) They're both under MAJOR threat from (probably) the same ableist asshat(s)--like someone/a group of someones who will bring them back to where they can be looked after 24/7. Which would mean that Zuko is a jerkass and the fangirls will cry Toph's parents have learned nothing. They're clueless, but not that clueless.

2) Azula doesn't/can't just fix #1 by killing it (and Toph) with fire.

3) Each of them has skills the other doesn't, which are necessary for dealing with #1.

4) Each of them realizes (and admits) the other has skills that she doesn't and that those skills are necessary for dealing with #1 in a "Without them I am screwed" sort of way.

5) Both of them can put aside their do-it-myselfness long enough to do #4 at all, let alone think of team-uppery. (Toph has a hard enough time doing that with people who haven't tried to kill her for two seasons).

6) They would need to see each other as equals. And Azula...well, no.

7) Before 3-6 can happen, they would need lots of time to ignore each other/do horrible things to each other/ try to sell each other out to #1.

8) It doesn't end up looking like a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

9) It has a plot.

Which is, of course, beyond ridiculous. (Doing blasphemous things to canon? I've never done that.) And yet, I will probably definitely keep thinking about this because I want it WITH ALL MY HEART. Sigh.

Comments

[rydra_wong]

Oh, wow. I really, really want good post-canon Azula fic, treating her mental illness seriously; seeing her interacting with Toph would be the icing on the cake.

[fulselden]

ME TOO. SO MANY THINGS, MAN.

I don't want redemption=cured

So true. I mean, Azula is always going to be ... Azula, you know?

It's something I want to read so, so much, but I don't think I have the writing chops, or the in-depth knowledge of mental illness, to pull off.

And as far as I can tell, no-one else on the internet has obliged. Sigh.

But now I so, so want to put Toph and Azula together in some capacity. *Stares at your list, gulps*

If you write it, mind you, I will be there with bells on!

Although:

Which was bad enough, but the prospect of becoming Fire Lord seemed an extra layer of bad to me, like: "I've always been #2. WTF do I do now?!"

I don't know if that's how I read it. Because, I mean, the horrible thing was that she was still number two, because as you say Ozai had abandoned her and palmed her off with the suddenly-subordinate position of Fire Lord.

I mean, if she had somehow come out actually on top (say Aang did somehow defeat Ozai on the Day of Black Sun without managing to seize control of the Fire Nation?) I can see her staying there for quite a while.

She has, after all, had a lot of practice at being perfect. And without her father discounting her ('you can't treat me like Zuko!') ... well.

Though, the idea of Fire Lord Azula is frankly terrifying in a whole variety of ways...

Not entirely related, but...

[codeman38]

On the "disability in the Avatarverse" note, have you read jalendavi_lady's A Matter of Secrets (her entry for Festibility in access_fandom)? Highly recommended.