Hiya...if you frequent this fandom you definitely don't know me. Large as my love for the ATLA/TLOK verse is, I very rarely write it. Just passing through with a Tumblr prompt from a good while ago, I figured I might as well add it to my profile.
It was a well-known fact to just about everyone that each type of bender had their own specific style. Airbenders were light and playful, sometimes looking like they were having too much fun even in the most serious of battles, their feet sometimes never even touching the ground. Earthbenders were as solid as could be, choppy and strong in their movements as they took on their opponents head on, the proverbial rock that wouldn't be moved. Waterbenders were graceful and fluid, moving and adapting to their opponents before said opponents even realized what was going on, just like the rivers they wielded. Firebenders had some of the grace that waterbenders had but they often appeared much more aggressive and disciplined in their attacks, a beautiful and frightful sight to watch against opponents, a fire that could help or hurt depending on who you were.
Of course, there were always individual exceptions to the rule. No one person fought like another, even within each type of style. Some airbenders were as light as the breeze, unable to be caught, while others held fast like the winds of a gale, determined to knock everything around them down. Some earthbenders in comparison couldn't be knocked down, while others gave and would come tumbling down around you like a rockslide. Some waterbenders were graceful, but as sharp and direct as ice, while others were gentle and soft as they healed. And some firebenders were disciplined, but burned with their aggressive tendencies, while others were much calmer and skillful tacticians.
No stereotype could be pinned on any one class, and since Republic City had been developed and become a beacon for sharing culture and ideas, the quirks of each individual only grew. Still, nonbender that she was, Asami Sato had to hold onto some of these generalities to watch and understand some of the people and feats she witnessed. Ever since she was little she thought it was beautiful to see all the differences between each bender she met, but still see some overarching similarities between each of the elements that tied them together. It was a belief that persisted despite everything else in her life.
And ever since she was little, she had always imagined the Avatar would be in perfect harmony with all four elements. Whether that meant she would have the fluidity to move perfectly into the epitome of each element or she would have the perfect balance of all four elements in each of her bending styles, Asami didn't know. And it didn't matter, she imagined either way it would be a breathtaking sight to observe the Avatar bend.
So when she finally had the opportunity to meet the Avatar herself, she had jumped on the chance. It was an…interesting first meeting. Korra was a headstrong girl, and she soon thereafter learned it reflected in the Avatar's bending. She had the strength and stubbornness of an earthbender, and sometimes the aggressive tendencies of a firebender, but for all her observations of benders, Asami couldn't place any one to her. Instead of having a perfect harmony of all the bending types, next to nothing seemed to be reflected in Korra. Not that that was a bad thing, generalities shouldn't be expected to fit the Avatar after all.
That was, until Asami started getting to know the other young woman. A lonely and somewhat isolated girl due to her position of power being known from a young age. Korra did have the grace of a waterbender, something Asami thought was absolutely absurd she was lacking, it was just masked in the strength of an earthbender. Korra could adapt to her surroundings and situations, she just liked taking the head on approach first and foremost.
Korra was someone who could make mistakes, but who would also admit to them and grow. She saw as much when the Avatar admitted she had misjudged Asami. And while she may have had the stubbornness of an earthbender, she could exhibit the discipline of a firebender and the gentleness of the waterbender. Sometimes she could be overly headstrong and stubborn in her position, but Korra always had a good heart and the best intentions in mind. Sure, when she fought sometimes Korra had the aggression of a firebender, but she also kept the lightness and quick-footedness of the airbender.
And when she finally unlocked her airbending and got used to practicing, Korra might have often moved with the assuredness and discipline of a firebender, but Asami could see her eyes brimming like when Meelo just received a second helping of dessert. When she struggled with the spiritual side of being the Avatar, Korra was frustrated, but she never gave up. She was always too stubborn to give up or back down in a fight, but with each passing day she became more and more capable of finding workarounds to her opponents and issues alike.
When she stood against the Red Lotus and stared death in the face, a time even Asami didn't like to remember, Korra still stood. Even after her death and recovery, even when it seemed like she had been broken into nothing, Asami would still see Korra and her actions for what they were. She had fought with the heart of an earthbender, the spirit of a firebender, the flexibility of a waterbender, and the quickness of an airbender. She was everything, and Asami would believe that for her until she saw Korra up and fighting like that again.
And she did, eventually, see Korra fighting like that again, like everything in her own unique way. The whole world did when she stood against Kuvira, and even in the midst of losing her father, Asami couldn't have been prouder of her for reclaiming herself, her sense of purpose, and proving to everyone she was still the Avatar. Proving to the world that there never really was anything that needed to be proved at all. Asami had already know that, but she was ecstatic to see Korra finally realize it too.
She didn't know when she fell in love with the Avatar, or when the Avatar had fallen in love with her, but after everything they had been through both together and separately, Asami couldn't have been happier. Over the past few years, she had learned a lot about Korra and her fighting style and who she was as a person. She could think of no one better to spend the rest of her life with, and Korra was one to say the same to her every day.
And besides, being the Avatar's girlfriend meant free seats to training sessions. Avatar Korra was everything, waterbender, firebender, earthbender, airbender, and perfectly human. And it was every bit as breathtaking to watch as Asami had hoped when she was a little girl.