Stolen from beckyh2112

[lavanya_six]

Give me a single character -- in a fandom I write in, like AtLA or Evangelion -- and I will give you my:

+ OTP for them.
+ Runner-up pairing.
+ Honorable mention(s).
+ Crack pairing(s).
+ Ship everyone else seems to like, but I don't. (alternately: ship I like that everyone else seems to hate)

Comments

[loopy777.livejournal.com]

Aang

[lavanyasix.livejournal.com]

+ OTP for them.

Aang/Katara. I guess this is my OTP for Aang by default? Honestly, I have no problem with the pairing, and I get how they complement and support each other, but... it just doesn't interest me. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've ever written an actual Kataang fic.

+ Runner-up pairing.

Aang/Mai. There's not a whole lot of this pairing, but what I have seen here and there is interesting. I think Aang being open with his heart would be a relief, if an occasionally annoying one, to Mai after her upbringing. He make her laugh. She'd keep him grounded. Aang's lifestyle as the Avatar would also keep Mai in relative comfort while still providing stimulation. Mai could help Aang think a bit more politically about things and help with negotiations. (I also like the idea that Tenzin and all future Air Nomads would carry knives in memory of their reborn nation's mother.)

+ Honorable mention(s).

Aang/Ty Lee. I've seen this teased once or twice but there's not much long fic about TyLaang. I like them being fun together, but I think there's potential to explore "life after suffering" with them. They've managed to both be cheerful and optimistic after soul-killing childhood events (Aang's people's genocide, Ty Lee's emotionally abusive friendship with Azula). At the end of the day they haven't let the bad days change them, and that's interesting to me. I feel like I tend towards too much darkness and cynicism in my writing, so TyLaang would be an opportunity to explore the good that comes after the bad without having to wallow in the bad. As a counterexample, Maiko futurefic tends towards the couple being haunted by their pasts. Kataang fic always seems to have a Spiderman-esq undertone of "she's marrying the Avatar, not just Aang". TyLaang would be most like Sukka, I feel; accepting the past and moving onwards.

Aang/Hama-Wu-Ursa-Kanna-Kya-Insert Name Here-etc. -- Aang defrosting early offers a lot of opportunities for non-squicky crackships that can explore canon adults in different circumstances. In Siege of the South, I had a lot of fun with messing around with Aang/Hama and how Hama was similar/different than Katara.

+ Crack pairing(s).

Aang/Suki. I actually have an outline for a Suaang fic that I've never written more than the prologue for. I think it's appealing to me for 1) the clash of their opposing yet traditionalist cultures, 2) how Suki would handle Aang being a reincarnation of Avatar Kyoshi. Squaring the circle with them would be an interesting experiment.

+ Ship everyone else seems to like, but I don't. (alternately: ship I like that everyone else seems to hate)

Aang/Toph. I don't like how it's a "pair the spares" ship for Zutara. I also can't really picture them in an adult relationship. They'd enable each other in the worst way. Aang procrastinates like nothing else and Toph will avoid confronting anything that personally bothers her so long as she has a relative degree of escape/release. That makes for a couple who'll let minor personal problems fester until they explode.