#lightning bending

When zuko stands up to ozai on the day of the eclipse

He is not only able to sense the sun while underground,

He is able to use that sliver of sunlight to generate lightning, a pretty intense bolt too

Also, he is able to do this far quicker than any of the firebenders we see on the show

Azula, for example ^

also, he is extremely proficient with regular firebending as well:

This is him while being powered by sozins comet, but he is able to cover a vast area of land, that too from a considerable height (this scene makes me extremely sad, imagine all the plants and animals, also, the amount of vengeful spirits even after the war)

Compared to the fire nation soldiers, also powered by the comet, covering the (roughly) same amount of area, but requiring 16 individual streams of fire (is that the correct term? Idk)

[…] lightning falls

avatar, sokka x female!oc, mature

( takes place in between tlab & tloa )

☼ character is zuko’s little sister, character has white hair (because of an accident), character is a lightningbender, character’s dynamic with sokka is *slightly* inspired by hercules & meg, character is a tad mean to sokka for a little bit (sry), character has reasons, sokka yearns for character ☼

SYNOPSIS ༄

In which, Zuko’s little sister was presumed dead after a tragic, yet treasonous accident at the age of six. To protect her from the Fire Lord’s wrath, her uncle, Iroh, faked her death and smuggled the child to a hidden water bending realm — The Lost Isles.

The Lost Isles were a spirit-guarded anomaly. They were a pure clusterfuck of mystical attributes with nonsense rules (to which held no rhyme or reason). It was tricky to leave, but also impossible to simply stumble upon. There was only one map in existence that could lead a person to its whereabouts — a map Iroh possessed, or rather, did.

See, when he left Zeleia (for that was the child’s name) on the isles, he also left with her the map. He did this for two reasons. one: so if anyone learned of her life, it would be impossible to find her, and two: if she ever left, she would have the option to turn back.

And so the princess lived there, grew up there, thrived there. She practiced her rudely different bending in the style of the water tribes — learning ancient delicacy in areas where brute force was usually required. She acclimated quite quickly to the lay of the land. Fire nation born, yet water tribe raised. She was never bitter, but a sweet coldness laid beneath her skin. She had accepted her new home and her new people, but acceptance did not wash away the stains of her past — stains from the blood she drew.

Years later, the Avatar had defeated the Fire Lord and the war had ended. And an even few more years later, Iroh passed, all without telling anyone about Zeleia. He had figured that if she had not returned yet, then maybe she did not want to be found. Only thing was, the old man was careful, but not perfect. After his passing, Zuko went through his things and found a letter addressed to Zeleia incase she returned from The Lost Isles after his death.

Zuko then enlists the Gaang to find his lost sister.

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⚠︎TW: Eyestrain, bright blue and white.

Part 1

Book 3 provided some very good ideas for alternative uses of waterbending. Everyone knows bloodbending, one of the most powerful and conceptual techniques. In principle, I think the episode with Katara mastering this ability is the most interesting in the season.

But not only because of bloodbending, but also because of creative ways to obtain water. Get it out of the plants! Or even out of thin air! This opens up so many possibilities that, unfortunately, weren't explored during the season. Maybe this was considered in comics or LoK, but I would like to talk about my version of the development of the concept.

I was very interested in controlling water in the air. I thought that this was a very revolutionary approach, because you need to get water from essentially nothing, it’s difficult and at the same time convenient. A source of water is always at hand, great!

However, the question is: is this all? Is it really impossible to go further and develop the ability in some other way? Lately I have been very interested in this question, and my reflection has taken me in an unexpected direction.

I thought about storm clouds. We have already been shown how, together with an airbender, even an inexperienced waterbender can control clouds. However, in the future, when Katara develops her skills, she may well be able to cope with this task herself. Clouds are made of water, and thanks to Hama, she clearly learned to feel the element on a more subtle level and control it even in the air. Making water particles move in the sky might not be that difficult for her.

And imagine how cool it would look during the invasion of the Fire Nation. If Katara didn’t just fly on Appa and destroy airships one by one, but carried a thunderstorm across the sky, like Storm from the X-Men. Bad weather would prevent the air force from entering the battle, and rain would help the waterbenders on the ground and prevent the firebenders from fighting. This would not only be visually powerful, but also quite useful.

And then I thought about what happens in a thunderstorm. Lightning. The firebending technique can essentially be summoned by the opposite element! This idea amazed me…

Let's start with where lightning comes from in nature. In simple terms, when small water crystals of different sizes move very quickly inside a thundercloud and collide with each other, they form opposite charges in different parts of it. The result is natural lightning. That is, all that is needed is to be able to control the water particles in the air, and, as we know, Katara has learned this.

Imagine if, during the same invasion, she had gotten too caught up in creating a storm. The ice particles collided so quickly that at some point, lightning appeared in time with Katara's movements. Powerful, uncontrollable, dangerous. She and Appa were in the middle of a storm without any preparation or protection, it was scary. But at the same time exciting and intriguing. How does it feel to realize that you can create magic of the opposite element? This can't help but stun you.

But Katara would have to restrain herself. I don't think she liked it, but she didn't want to put Appa and herself in danger. As a result, the thunderstorm she created was not half as powerful as it could have been.

Why is it important? Because in my perception this is not just a technique. I feel like the storm, and in particular the lightning, in this case represents Katara herself in book 3. Remember her rage in the episode "Southern Raiders" when she expressed long-buried feelings about the loss of her mother. Remember how long and painfully she nursed Aang after his death, and subsequently experienced enormous stress in “The Puppetmaster” due to bloodbending. I think Katara needs some emotional release (which she got in "Southern Raiders", but more on that in part two). And lightning could personify that internal energy that strives outward.

Remember how Katara's anger manifested itself in book 1 through its effect on the water around her? What if it got bigger because Katara grew up as a master?

This time it is very dangerous to give in to feelings like this and turn them into the element, because Katara is not able to control the lightning itself, only create it. This can seriously hurt her herself, as well as those around her, just like words and deep resentments (for example, towards Sokka for not grieving the loss of their mother as much as she does). Therefore, there is nothing left to do but restrain the impulses of rage and irritation.

Perhaps she would even refuse to create new storms. Unfortunately, without someone who could control the direction of the lightning, she cannot guarantee the safety of herself and the people around her. But where can she find such a handyman?..