Katie Bachelder

As an avid lover of Avatar the Last Airbender, I was super excited to see there was a book tag connected to the absolutely stunning animated TV show. If you haven’t seen it, I would certainly recommend watching it; although the first season is aimed more at younger kids, it gets better with each passing “book” (season). Even better, it has some of the best character arcs I’ve seen, rock-solid world-building, and amazing pacing when it comes to overall plot. I may even do a few studies on it in the future. We’ll see.

The book tag here, I found on Star is All Booked Up‘s blog, although the original concept came from Booktuber A Clockwork Reader. So let’s just start hitting these tags, shall we? And don’t worry, I will be careful to avoid anything spoilery!

Water

1. Katara and Sokka: Best sibling relationship

Jojen and Meera from A Clash of Kings (ASoIaF #2)

I don’t know if I ever managed to get this far in the books (it’s been awhile since I’ve tried to read them) but I know Jojen and Medra are in the books and I really appreciated their sibling relationship in the TV show. It’s not very often that the sister is the protector (not in the fighter sense at least) and the brother needs protecting. Even better, Meera tells off other characters for implying it’s disgraceful to need help.

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2. Yue: Favorite star crossed lovers

Marco and Celia from Night Circus

This is one of those tropes that really depends on execution, and I think this one stands out the most. The two are locked in a magical competition that neither really wants to be a part of, and though they begin to fall for each other, there doesn’t seem to be a way they can be together.

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3. Blood Bending: A book with a disturbing/unsettling concept

Grace of spreading lies from Graceling (Graceling realm #1)

The true extent of how messed up this ability can be can be seen in Bitterblue, but I also think that Graceling shows just how horrific it can be even in the moment.

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Earth

4. Toph – A character who’s strength surprised you/or surprised the other characters in the book

Egwene from Wheel of Time

I don’t know who was actually surprised by what Toph could accomplish, but I know that Egwene’s arc throughout the entire Wheel of Time series just shows an absolutely remarkable character, capable of so much that you wouldn’t have expected from a simple innkeeper’s daughter that we see at the beginning.

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5. The Tales of Ba Sing Se – best short story/poetry collection

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

I absolutely adore mythology in fantasy. It’s one of those cornerstone elements of any culture, and the stories from this collection are from various countries within the Grishaverse. Not only are most of the stories really beautifully written and reminiscent of fairy tales, but I also just fell in love with the detailing on the pages.

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6. Kyoshi Warriors: Best warrior character

Brigan from Fire

Look not only is Brigan an excellent swordsman despite his age, he was thrown into the position of Commander of the Dellian army in the hopes that he would trip up and get killed in the process. But he didn’t. He’s the kind of commander that fights at the forefront, he has the absolute loyalty of his soldiers, and he always advocates for their pay. I’m pretty sure he’s also the one responsible for allowing women to enter the army too.

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Fire

7. Zuko: Best reception arc/a redemption arc that should have happened

Mat from Wheel of Time

It took me awhile to warm up to his character, because man did he have a few unsavory character traits. But the farther into the series you get, the more you go through, you start to see some of his good characteristics shine through and his less favorable ones fall away. He’s currently my absolute favorite, and I’d honestly be surprised if any of that changes.

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8. Iroh: Wisest character

Gandalf from Lord of the Rings

Well, unlike the siblings question, I have absolutely no shortage of wise wizard characters to choose from. But I’m going with the most obvious one. I think what I like most about Gandalf is that he obviously knows a lot and yet he does make a few mistakes–primarily, trusting someone he shouldn’t have in the beginning of the Lord of the Rings–and although he’s already got a lot of magic and power, he still ends up having opportunity to grow.

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9. Azula: Best downfall

Smaug from The Hobbit

Any scene where Bilbo tricks some creepy monster creature is a good scene in my book. I remember the spiders, especially. Of course, Bilbo didn’t kill Smaug, but his scouting and spying made it possible for someone else to do the deed.

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Air

10. Appa: Favorite fictional animal/pet

Pips from Wheel of Time

Others might say Bella instead, or maybe even Mandarb, but I think it’s been easier to keep track of Pips than Bella, and of course Mandarb is cool… He’s a trained warhorse. Pips is nothing special except that he’s Mat’s horse and he’s gone through a lot of the big moments with Mat.

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11. Aang: Purest cinnamon roll

Tess from Tess of the Road

I know that when I read this book, I was a little disappointed by how the plot meandered, but I definitely still love the book. Tess is just so pure and stronger than she realizes, and the resolution was really good, I think, and I am just so glad that I got to be in her head for a little while.

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12. Avatar state: A stubborn character/a character that struggles with letting go

Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows

Say what you will about the romance subplots of the Six of Crows duology, Kaz Brekker’s is definitely perfect for this last prompt. “I’ll have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all.” Good on Inej! But I still thought their relationship was kinda cute.

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And that’s all of them! I’m honestly proud of myself for how few WoT and Graceling Realm answers I have on here; I probably could have made the entire list WoT if I really tried. If you do the tag, let me know in the comments! Or else just answer in the comments, whatever. I’m curious to see what you say.

Some Patreon News!

I have recently written a short 2,000 word story that takes place in the same universe as my current NA fantasy novel project. Now, my Patreon is divided into tiers, so normally only the highest tiered patrons would get book-related content, but because it only recently launched, I decided that until the end of July, it doesn’t matter what tier you join. You will have access to the short story.

It’s titled “The Raven’s Call” and does feature a character from my fantasy novel, although a much younger version of him. You’ll also get a taste of some of the world-building I have worked hard to establish, including the magic system. The short story is about a young boy living on the streets of Bijal, working for a gang that has grown lax and weak. That is, until young Hosvar finds himself hearing magic’s call.