bits & bobs of shiny

Like, "hey the entire world has been at war for a century to the point that most families have people who have fought in it and everyone else has been affected by it in one way or another. Also, this group of teenagers that met nine months ago stopped it."

This comes up at the most random of times so that assorted people get flashbanged with the reminder that the most important people in the world should probably have like algebra homework to do.

Fire Lord Zuko's at a post-war peace summit of some kind with other world leaders, and has to decline the offered glass of wine no less than eight times because he's not yet legal drinking age.

Sokka, renowned strategist who used his wits to save the Earth Kingdom from being burned down, gives guest lectures at Ba Sing Se University, and mentions how he's thinking of enrolling in a couple of years once he's old enough.

Avatar Aang visits different schools to give speeches, and skips out on meetings with the staff during recess periods to go play tag with the students.

Master Katara, who taught the Avatar waterbending and defeated Princess Azula during the Comet, has to buy new clothes during a conference between the Water Tribes because she hit a growth spurt and her pants are too short now.

Suki, leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, helps lead rebuilding efforts in the southern Earth Kingdom, and has to be given a rundown of a major battle that occurred there two decades ago since she wasn't alive to hear about it when it happened.

[avatar visibility month is a canon event]

Zuko, 14, an idiot: it's almost avatar visibility month!

Zuko: that means the avatar will become visible to me!

As multiple people have pointed out, this is clearly the way it should go. So the timeline is:

At 14, everyone thinks Zuko’s an idiot for believing Aang will be revealed to him during avatar visibility month

At 16, to Iroh’s despair, Aang breaks out of the iceberg during avatar visibility month. If Zuko had an ounce of doubt in his mind, it’s now gone.

17 to 27: the gaang discover Zuko doesn’t know what avatar visibility month is and year after year whenever this month is near, it becomes a point of contestion. Katara gets in heated discussions, Sokka tries presenting proof from history books, Aang proposes to summon his past lives, it’s all in vain.

28 to 70: after a decade, everyone gives up on convincing Zuko that the avatar is not necessarily revealed during avatar visibility month.

Sokka: Great, what about- wait!

Sokka, checking the calendar: Shit.

And who helped me with that? Not people calling for some nebulous revolution. Not people telling me that the system was useless. Not people preaching at me to grow my own food. It was a church food bank partially funded by the state of Texas that some southern hippies donated a bunch of Whole Foods nonsense to.

And you know what? I’m sick and tired of defeatism. What can we get done right now, huh? Are you gonna accept something a bit better to help people right now or are you waiting for your perfect utopia to come to you?

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