I'm watching "Avatar: The Last Airbender" again, and my longing for a flying bison resurfaced even stronger than the last time I wanted one. Their fluffy and cozy appearance makes them the ultimate mode of transportation, and the thought of snuggling up in their luxurious fur would seem to easily comfort my troubled mind and dreary existence.

That being said, I want to cuddle with Appa so bad .. 😞

I remember I named our first cats after him.

APPA — the avatar's loyal sky bison.
YIPYIP — the vocal signal for Appa to take flight.

That way, it was fun to call out their names during mealtime ("Appa! Yipyip!"), as it's also how Aang, Katara, and Sokka prompt Appa to fly.

My sisters and I never planned to have cats nor did we ever have the desire to.

However, one morning, in early 2019, I found two kittens abandoned in the kitchen: one black and white, the other a mix of both colours and some orange.

Seeing the furry babies didn't spark any urge in my body to welcome them into our home, even when their poor and emaciated appearance held an impoverished allure that should entice one's heart to care for them. If anything, the thought of it seemed to me a nuisance and a burden.

So I secretly carried them outside and put them in our neighbour's backyard hoping to transfer the responsibility I didn't wish to shoulder. I wasn't motivated by cruelty; I genuinely believed our neighbours would provide excellent care seeing as cats would freely come and go to their property.

To my astonishment, later that day, the two kittens reappeared in our kitchen, right where I had found them that morning.

My laziness extinguished the desire to get rid of them anymore, as it seemed to me they would only find their way back.

They didn't look very healthy, so we fed them for some time thinking they would go away later on.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

They had taken permanent residence into our house so we had no choice but to adopt them. Besides, they started to grow on us and I had appeased myself with the thought that growing an army shouldn't be a problem because they were both male cats.

At least, according to my observation.

I announced this information to my sisters with a carefree certainty.

I would take pictures and videos of them often and share them on Instagram back before I had taken a long hiatus on social media. I even recall publishing a post where I proudly captioned: "My baby boys :')"

As they matured, male cats suddenly started showing interest in Appa, leaving us puzzled. Especially my younger sister.

One night, she came to us and declared that she thought Appa was gay.

Her precise words were: "I think Appa is a gay!" (She had terrible grammar.)

When you're fully convinced your pet is male right from the beginning, you would likely consider the notion despite it sounding ridiculous.

However, when logic was summoned into our senses, the whole idea just couldn't be right…

Humping a stuffed animal is one thing, but continuously pursuing a living male animal is another.

Surely they sniffed our cat wrongly?

It was then that it dawned on us that Appa was, in fact, a female.

But it was funny how the first conclusion that came to our sister's mind upon observing male felines wooing our "supposedly" male pet was because our cat was homosexual.

That was when we also realised that I couldn't be trusted when it comes to checking a cat's sex when they're still kittens.

But in my defense, they looked the same…

Everything started to fall into place for us. Appa's gentle and delicate demeanor, in contrast to Yipyip's slightly more aggressive nature… By that, I mean when Appa would touch us with her paws, it felt so soft. With Yipyip, he'd include his sharp claws.

Appa overall just looked so angelic, like she couldn't hurt a fly. Yipyip on the other hand looked so grumpy and fierce, like he was ready to fight anyone 24/7.

It took longer for Appa to be comfortable with human touch, so it was with Yipyip I would cuddle very often. Naps always felt great with him purring on top of my chest.

I miss them 😞

Appa eventually fell ill and passed away at the vet's office last year. Yipyip, our little gangster, one day simply never returned home.

But Appa left behind a legacy of three kittens, each named after beloved anime characters: Mitchi from "Slamdunk," Todoroki from "My Hero Academia," and Giyu from "Demon Slayer."

Anyway, enough of my cats. Let's go back to avatars, flying bisons, and element benders. For those who aren't familiar with it, here's a little synopsis from the show.

In the voice of Katara:

"Water. Earth. Fire. Air.

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them.

But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang.

And although his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

But I believe… Aang can save the world."

I used to have that intro memorised when I was younger. Just kidding. I wished. But my older sister did and she would always recite it together with the narrator. I would secretly envied it whenever she did that.

Anyway, as a kid, I've always hated Zuko. But it was partially because I never followed the entire series correctly. They would air reruns of the episodes I've already watched and I was never aware of the correct sequence. Not that I cared, to be fair.

But when I watched it again when I was older, properly this time, my heart softened for the short-tempered firebender prince when I learned about his past and his reasons for his desperate need to capture Aang, the Avatar.

I also remember never finding any of the human characters cute back then. I thought they were all ugly with the exception of Katara. (She wasn't so bad in my dumb eyes.)

But Sokka and Zuko..

Zuko, most especially…

I thought of him the most hideous.

That all changed, obviously.

He is absolutely cute and the scar on his face only makes him look hot. Haha.

Damn, that really feels uncomfortable to say that. I'm no longer young so it just seems weird to fangirl over teenage animated characters now..

I'm nearly finishing the first season and I find it a good thing to have forgotten lots of things in the show.

I'm not sure if Katara and Zuko end up together but I sure ship them hard! As of now, they're trying to kill each other in the episode I'm currently watching.

I also can't wait for that blind earthbender to show up. Tuffy, Toffee… I don't recall the name anymore but I remember loving her character! I think she and Sokka (Katara's brother) would always go at each other's throats.

Man, I love Sokka. He is so droll 😂

Also, Momo is sooo cute!

Interestingly, my pet Appa looks more like Momo The Lemur than Appa The Flying Bison himself; with her big, perky ears and large green eyes.

Ahh…

But to have a flying bison ..

Must be nice to just get away and watch the world from the skies. No worries about adulthood and paying bills. Just steal food from rich people and fly away to survive. Land in a safe and beautiful place. Enjoy landscapes, sunsets, and nature.. Take cover in a cozy cave beside a fire when it rains. Go to Germany and pick-up Lancelot for a ride. Drop him in the ocean if he gets on my nerves.

If I could bend an element, I want it to be air.

To fly is the dream.🍃

Tsuna's Dear Diary