Book 2: The Avatar State / The Cave of Two Lovers

Because of a bit of finangling,  S1 was posted initially in Jan and put back into drafts, and I published it again, but it apparently doesn't show up as the newest post...so here it is if you missed it!


Welcome to Book 2: Earth!

This is my favorite book...or it was when I watched it. Will it remain so? Who cares, it's Avatar: The Last Airbender, it's all cool with me.

Water? Semi-Mastered. Fire? Don't talk about it. Earth? Beginner.

Aang is like "Wow, I really have a lot of power and killed a ton of people when I fused with the ocean spirit during that battle :(" He will never quite gel with the idea that the Avatar gets their hands bloodied sometimes, which makes me wonder what other Airbender Avatars had to deal with.

INVENTORY +1: Spirit Oasis Water

Meanwhile, Iroh and Zuko are outlaws, to The Fire Nation, but The Earth Kingdom really has no qualm with hiding them because hey, who are these two?

It's also the three year anniversary of Zuko being sent on his once-wild goose chase. "I want my father not to think I'm worthless,"

Iroh tries to cheer him up with "I'm sure he doesn't!", it would have been great if he had simply been honest and say "My brother is a piece of shit, you don't want that," but Zuko wouldn't listen anyway.

It doesn't matter, they can't be found, right?

Except by the most competent person in the entire show, Zuko's little sister, Princess Azula.

Who gives a speech about hunting down her family, and tells her guards to show no mercy, because god knows that she won't.

I'd caption this with 'The baddest bitch in the game' but honestly, all of the girls in this show are the baddest.

One General Fong is determined to help Aang turn the Avatar State on and defeat the Fire Lord, why bother learning the other two elements when Water Beats Fire and you can just turn into a giant water fish?

I'm glad this is brought up very soon after that finale, you know fans would have asked this question for the rest of their lives.

Fog heavily lays a guilt trap for Aang, who gives in, and Katara rightfully thinks how that plan for the Avatar State doesn't sound safe....

Fong: Is it working?

Aang: You wish!

I like how the others don't even realize Azula is there until she talks with a lie, saying that Ozai wants Zuko to return.

"I'm not a messenger, I didn't have to come all this way," I LOVE IT.

Zuko is like "YAY :D" and Iroh is like ">:/ Kid, think about this, it's probably a trap, our family is royally fucked up," and Zuko comes back with "You're just jealous because HE rules our nation and YOU don't!"

Aang is still having relatively terrifying nightmares about The Avatar State, even after Katara shared her concerns; Seeing him that hurt, angry, and powerful, it's scary.

He wakes up and realizes she's right. Also, I love the interior decorating here. 

Wall cubbies as beds. I want that.  And, the next day, when Aang says "I can only trigger it when I'm in direct danger," well, what do you think Fong does.

Well, it was a trap, a guard gives the game away (and is probably killed off screen) as Zuko and Iroh begin to board Azula's ship. Everyone saw it but Zuko, which is something you're going to be quite familiar with in this book.

"Oh no, it's the wind from The Happening!"

Iroh was ready for action and immediately began fighting back. Which is the opposite of Aang, who is still evading Fong's attacks, when Sokka and Katara try to step in to help, Katara is basically held hostage, slowly sinking into the ground before disappearing entirely and probably being suffocated.

Well, that tears it. And while Fong is happy at first, he realizes exactly what The Avatar State entails.

Azula is a great fighter - she's not even Firebending until the end and she's one of if not the best in the world -  Zuko is really no match for her, even without her jabs where she says that their father considers him a failure. Normally that would be taunting to get under your opponent's skin but no, it's the truth. 

She's about to downright attack him with lightning until Iroh steps in, deflects it, tosses her overboard, and runs off with Zuko, where they truly start their lives as outcasts.

Back in the Earth Kingdom, we have an infodump;

Roku: The Avatar state is a defense mechanism, designed to empower you with the skills and knowledge of all the past Avatars. [...] In the avatar state you are at your most powerful, but you are also at your most vulnerable. If you are killed in the Avatar state, the reincarnation cycle will be broken and the Avatar will cease to exist.

Aang snaps out of it and looks at the destruction he caused, once again, probably guilty, though he really shouldn't be. As the saying goes, don't start no shit won't be no shit.

Fong is still trying to use Aang as a Spiritual WMD! But no, they're not about that, and the Group will find their way to Omashu by themselves....

---

Kind of.

 In order to slip through Fire-Nation-controlled territory and reach Omashu, our heroes join with a group of wandering nomad hippies to take a dangerous pass under the mountains. 

As the synopsis says, the Gaang meets some nomads and they all chill out a bit.

Sokka reminds them that they need to get to Omashu, and quickly, with "I hate to be the wet blanket here, but since Katara is busy, I guess it's up to me." Which is fabulous.

Well someone has to be.

Chong tells them a song about a tunnel they can use to get to Omashu. "Two lovers, forbidden from one another..."

SECRET TUNNEL!

But traveling comes with a curse - "Only those who trust in love can make it through the cave. Otherwise, you'll be trapped in them forever."

Hey, a detour's a detour. Of course, it's not going to be easy going, already shown by the Fire Nation who arrived remarkably quickly...and the soldier just says to cave them in instead of going after them because he knows the legends.

Then he should also know that there's probably multiple pathways out. Didn't think that one through.


Sokka is trying to make a map but the tunnels keep changing. Must be magic, right? Or giant animals that can shift massive amounts of dirt.

No, they're legitimately afraid and think it's a curse. I guess animal knowledge is still kind of stone agey even if the world is, what, the age of metal more or less? It is seventy years before the World of Avatar's Industrial Age so...

They're attacked by a Wolf-Bat.

Cool name; Not so cool look.

The groups are separated, and Sokka is stuck with the nomads, so god help him as they sing songs and walk around...

Oh yeah, there's a B plot with Zuko and Iroh that involves them getting help from Earth Kingdom ladies and Zuko sees firsthand what his father's nonsense has done to people.

And then he robs them. Back to the A-Plot!

Katara and Aang find a door! To a tomb!

Jesus isn't here.

It's the tomb of the two lovers, Oma and Shu, who met on top of the mountain and loved in secret because their villages were enemies, they learned Earthbending from the Badgermoles and became the first Earthbenders.

 When Shu dies in a war between the villagers, Oma stops the war and both sides build what would become Omashu.

Katara has the idea that they kiss in the dark, "Trust in love", to escape, and Aang, in his lovestruck childishness, fumbles around and misspeaks, though "I'm just saying, I'd rather kiss you than die!" is hilarious.

But...

Do they? Don't they?

They do, says Word of God.

Group B gets led out by Badgermoles,

Dumb name, cool look.

So, we're all free from a mountain, the singing has stopped, we're all good.