Sarcasm is an adjusted stress reaction.

"I started reading a fic once where Toph was pondering whether after they died people just rotted in the ground or turned into fluffy winged angels in heaven."



"I like the idea of Katara/Zuko in theory, but like Mai too much to find much of it readable in practice."

Yeah. I've seen fics where she goes off to have an amazing life of her own, but it doesn't really jibe with what we see at the end of the series.