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heavensenthearty · 7 months ago

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“I. Love. Her!”

Rating: T Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender Relationships: Sokka/Suki Tags: POV Third Person, Post-War, Past Sokka/Yue (Avatar), Moon Spirit Yue (Avatar), POV Suki (Avatar), Established Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Suki-centric (Avatar), Suki Needs a Hug (Avatar), Good Friend Katara (Avatar), Sokka is a Good Significant Other (Avatar), Fluff and Angst, Grief/Mourning, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Angst, Romantic Gestures Summary: “Yue,” Sokka said, aloud. He lifted their joined hands. “This is my girlfriend, Suki. I know you are watching; I can feel it. That doesn’t sound like it will help my case now, but I do. I know you’ve been watching all along. I know you know I am in love with Suki. There is no one else I’d rather be with. I don’t have to choose between you two, because it is not fair to compare you, but Suki is everything I ever needed. It was thanks to her that I turned into the person you fell in love with. I love her and I love that I get to spend my life with her because she makes me better every day—every minute that I am with her. I. Love. Her. And if you were here, I know you would be happy for us.”

For @creativepromptfills. Prompt #1083.

Political meetings were boring at best and bothersome at worst. Suki thanked the Heavens that she only served as the Firelord’s bodyguard most of the time. Still, there were some others—like this one—when she performed as an emissary of Kyoshi Island; the situation with her island was complicated due to its history and location. It was a Water Tribe settlement that reached Earth Kingdom land, and they couldn’t be represented by other world leaders because, well, they were quite literally a no man’s land. They were in negotiations to make the island an independent state.

In her opinion, it was crazy that she didn’t learn her own island’s history until a few years ago.

Cutting the elders some slack, with the War going on, they had other things to worry about.

The ferry broke through the water until it honked, pulling her back from memory lane. They had arrived at the North Pole. She needed to appeal for the independence of Kyoshi Island in front of Chief Arnook.

(They had to appeal their independence in front of the Water Tribe Chiefs and in front of Earth King Kuei). (She wanted to believe she had the support of the last two, but she was cautious). (Yes, she was well-guarded when it came to work).

Putting on her coat, she stepped onto the deck. The North Pole was exactly as beautiful as Sokka had described. All the buildings made of ice looked like they were made of diamonds and the snow was so pristine white that it seemed like the town was glowing with a halo of its own.

“Suki!” Both Southern Siblings were waving at her from their own ship, with matching smiles. (Sometimes she found it creepy that they weren’t twins).

She beamed and rushed off the ship to hug them both. The two of them were at a race over the snow where Suki was the finish line-slash-prize. One second, Katara took the lead, then it was Sokka. They switched a couple more times before Sokka reached Suki and hugged her tightly. (The power of love at its prime).

“Suki!” It felt like he was about to lift her if it wasn’t because his parka and her coat made it difficult to move.

Katara simply stood aside while their hug continued. Sokka seemed unwilling to let go, so his sister looked impatient.

“Sokka, it is impolite that I haven’t greeted Katara yet.”

“Five more minutes,” he grumbled into the curve of Suki’s neck, tickling her.

Katara gagged. “Spirits, you are in public!”

“Oh, you are still here?” Sokka asked, not without his usual sarcasm.

Katara started tickling him to make him let go of Suki.

“C’mon, Katara, I’m sure you can fit in here.”

She stretched an arm to open space, Katara scooted into the hug, and then everything was right in the world.

“Look at the three of you, together again.” That was Chief Hakoda’s voice.

He was walking over to them, not sprinting like his not-so-adult children; his smile and body language were affable. Suki never imagined somebody so laidback-looking could have such command.

When the Southern Siblings allowed her, she greeted the Chief while keeping a mild distance: “Hello, Chief Hakoda.”

She bowed. Part of her wanted to hug him, but she still felt too much of an outsider to the Southern Chieftain Family to do so.

“You know you don’t have to be so formal,” he replied.

Suki only chuckled.

Katara hooked her arm around hers like when they were younger. “Enjoying the North Pole so far, Suki?”

“Yeah, it’s very pretty.”

Her eyes gravitated towards Sokka, but he was looking into the horizon. He was staring at the city like it was someone he used to know. Of course, it was; Suki was well aware that he would never forget Princess Yue, and yet she couldn’t help a stab of pain. The little she knew about the late princess was that she had ascended as the Moon Spirit, and she was the reason Sokka had been so overprotective and hesitant when the two of them reunited.

Katara, ever the perceptive, squeezed her arm in a comforting gesture. Suki felt reassured, she never met someone as understanding as Katara.

“C’mon, guys, Chief Arnook must be waiting for us.”

“Sokka!” The Chief dropped all formalities and hugged the Water Tribe Warrior as soon as he caught sight of him.

Sokka returned the hug earnestly and with a nostalgic look in his eyes.

The scene was all the more astonishing since they were at the Ice Palace, in the throne room, but Suki seemed to be the only one curious about the exchange. Not even the guards escorting the Chief spared them a second glance.

Chief Arnook was another affable-looking man who looked just like he could have children around Sokka and Katara’s age, too. The light inside the room complimented the shade of blue in his eyes. The Palace itself was as regal as all the others Suki had seen but the fact that it was all made of ice accentuated its allure. In that sense, it was like nothing she had seen before.

“It’s been so long, Chief Arnook,” Sokka said when they separated.

“It has.” The Chief was looking at him with a peculiar glint in his eyes.

Once again, Suki thought she understood the situation, and blamed herself for not anticipating her feelings.

Chief Arnook proceeded to hug Katara next, so at least the favoritism wasn’t limited to Sokka. He only showed a semblance of conventionalism with Chief Hakoda.

“It’s been so long since our last meeting, too, Chief Hakoda.” He bowed.

“Time flies by for us, Chiefs.”

They both laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. Suki was sure she was watching Chief Arnook licking all the Southern Chieftain Family’s boots.

“By the way, Chief Arnook.” Sokka put an arm around her shoulders. “This is the Kyoshi Island emissary we were telling you about, Zhìhuì Suki.”

Only then did the Northern Chief notice there was someone else in the room with them. He tensed and turned in her direction, and she was just sure his expression hardened when he saw Sokka’s arm around her.

She knew Sokka had talked to him and he had already clarified their relationship, she hadn’t been shortsighted enough to not ensure a transparent, smooth meeting, but she didn’t anticipate the coldness in the Chief’s eyes as they measured her every inch like he was listing things to disapprove.

She was disrupting whatever dynamic he had with the Southerners until now.

Suki felt sympathetic and insulted. “Nice to meet you, Chief Arnook.”

She bowed respectfully but he only gave her a curt nod. “Shall we get to business then?” he asked.

Fine.

The meeting was different from many others, but only because it was so awkward! Granted to Chief Arnook, he remained professional throughout Suki’s exposition of the island’s case; it was the way he kept staring at her so intently that gave away his resentment. His blue eyes were just as cold as the ice that built the Palace.

Despite the unwanted attention, Suki had never felt so overlooked. Most people feared and respected her position as the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. Sure, some looked down on her, but they were pretentious, random politicians who didn’t affect her people. This time, the future of her island was at risk because of a personal matter that wasn’t even her fault to begin with!

Her fist clenched at the realization.

At last, Chief Arnook agreed to support Kyoshi Island’s independence—right after Hakoda vouched for her. Of course, Suki was merely a prod for more bootlicking.

“Well, that went well.” Sokka shook his legs after spending hours sitting.

“It went better than expected but it didn’t go ‘well’.” Suki took a glass of water.

They were left alone in the conference room. After the meeting, Katara and Chief Hakoda went to visit Master Pakku while Chief Arnook continued with his appointments of the day.

“What do you mean?”

“Chief Arnook doesn’t like me,” she muttered with the glass to her lips.

“What are you talking about? He invited us to dinner.”

“He invited you to dinner,” she insisted. “I knew it wasn’t a good idea that I came for this, but I didn’t want it to look like I was allowing my personal life to interfere with political stuff. Gods and Spirits, I’m such an idiot!”

“Hey, hey, calm down.” He took the water away from her and set it down before she could spill it.

He had to physically turn her around and hold her to his chest. “Listen, you did great today. You scored the support of two world leaders for your people. And you did it all on your own. Whatever is happening between… It is all in the past, it has nothing to do with this, and you didn’t let it get to you. You took care of everything like a pro.”

Suki returned the hug feeling warmth spreading inside her, from her chest to the rest of her body. She hadn’t noticed how in need of comfort she was.

“You are right. You are right, sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

They remained in each other’s arms for a long time, Sokka still acted unwilling to let go of her for the world, and Suki finally admitted she needed some comfort right now. It wasn’t like her to feel insecure about… It wasn’t like her to feel insecure, period.

She could never allow herself to feel insecure when so many people depended on her.

Thank goodness that nobody entered the conference room while they were in there. She’ll be damned if she let anyone other than Sokka see her crumbling down like that.

By the time, her arms finally gave up a little, Sokka said: “C’mon, you’ll feel better after eating something.”

Well, the dinner was a whole new kind of awkward.

Chief Arnook only kept talking about the first time the Southern Siblings visited the Nort Pole, and how sorry he was that Yue and Sokka could never live their ‘epic love story’ to the fullest.

Katara and Hakoda just watched on. Suki barely touched the food since they sat down. (She may have felt better after eating something but she wouldn’t be eating from that table).

“I’m truly so sorry for contributing to your love’s doom, Sokka.” The Chief looked at the glass of wine he had been mixing for a few minutes. “I should have let Yue choose her partner. Let her live a happy life until her destiny came.”

“Thank you, Chief. But Yue was meant to be so much more than what any of us knew. And well, life has been kind to me, too.”

Sokka squeezed Suki’s hand. She appreciated it but still felt his wording was somewhat lacking. And from the looks of it, Chief Arnook wasn’t too pleased either. She sighed.

“I don’t doubt it,” the Chief said. “I am glad you got to meet my daughter, though. Your love was truly inspiring.”

Suki sighed again.

“Suki and Sokka’s love story is also inspiring, Chief Arnook,” Katara interrupted. It was the first time she spoke that night. “All of our mutual friends admire them.”

“You do?” Sokka asked.

His sister glared at him.

“I don’t doubt that either.” Chief Arnook took another gulp of wine. “Epic loves aren’t always meant to be admired. It takes a certain kind of bravery to love like—”

Suki sprang to her feet and walked away.

“Suki, wait!”

Sokka took less than a second to call after her, but that only inspired her to walk faster. As background noise, she heard Chief Hakoda taking the wine away from Chief Arnook.

She exited the dining hall but it would be a few rows of stairs before she could get to her assigned bedroom. Great. Maybe she could sleep on the ferry that brought her there.

“Suki! Wait, please!” Sokka ran after her while she ran for the stairs.

“Leave me alone, Sokka,” she said, almost without inflection.

“Can we please talk? Please,” he pleaded, following her.

“Talk about what?” she replied while looking forward, jumping over the steps until she reached the second floor. Then she finally turned around to say it right in his face. “About your ‘epic love story’ with Princess Yue? I don’t want to hear about Yue! Listen, I know that you settled down for me as a second choice, and I—”

“What are you talking about?” he cut her off, which never happened before. He looked positively furious and horrified at the same time. “Settling down, what in the world? And ‘epic love story’, what even is that? This is not some predestined soulmate shit or fate or whatever. I love you all on my own. Because you're awesome and because I want to.”

“Well, couldn’t you say that to Chief Arnook down there?”

“Is that what you want? Because I will,” he said. “Heavens, I’ll tell Yue herself that I am in love with you.”

“What—”

He took her hand and dragged her to the nearest window, it had a perfect view of the full moon in the dark sky devoid of stars.

“Yue,” Sokka said, aloud. He lifted their joined hands. “This is my girlfriend, Suki. I know you are watching; I can feel it. That doesn’t sound like it will help my case now, but I do. I know you’ve been watching all along. I know you know I am in love with Suki. There is no one else I’d rather be with. I don’t have to choose between you two, because it is not fair to compare you, but Suki is literally everything I ever needed. It was thanks to her that I turned into the person you fell in love with. I love her and I love that I get to spend my life with her because she makes me better every day—every minute that I am with her. I. Love. Her. And if you were here, I know you would be happy for us.”

Suki stood there, watching and listening to him talk.

They heard an echoing giggle. When they looked down from the window to the shadowy snow, there was a girl standing under the moonlight.

She looked sixteen and she wasn’t wearing a parka or coat, her white dress revealed her shoulders and her long white hair flowed easily with the wind. She smiled.

Suki gasped, covering her mouth.

The girl waved her hand as a salute and disappeared when a cloud passed over the moon, blocking its light.

Suki looked at Sokka.

He shrugged. “Yeah, she does that sometimes.”

After the events of the night before, Suki was ready to sleep for days, but they still had to wait for the Earth King’s arrival.

“Warrior?”

She lifted her eyes from the scroll she was reading. (Passing by the Palace’s library to learn some more Water Tribe history sounded like a good idea to kill time).

Chief Arnook was the one calling her.

“Yes?”

“I…” the Chief hesitated. “I apologize for the behavior I displayed last night. I was too carried away by the informal setting and drank too much. I swear it isn’t a common habit of mine. And I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable during your stay in the North, especially not about your relationship with Sokka. I admit I haven’t coped with my daughter’s passing in the healthiest way. I do feel guilty I didn’t allow her to love freely, even when I anticipated what would happen. That was my mistake, and no one else has to carry its burden. For whatever it is worth, Sokka would do nothing but write praises for you during our correspondence.”

Suki giggled. “Thank you, Chief. Worry not, I completely understand.”

“And, please, don’t be mad at him for whatever I said last night. He already scolded me for it, and last night, in my drunken state, I had a dream of my daughter berating me for it, too.” He chuckled. “It must have been a sign.” Suki tried to cover her grin with the scroll. “Yeah, maybe.”

#sukka #sukka fanfic #angel writes 🖋

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ecoterrorist-katara · 6 months ago

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The reason I brought up the Momtara & Dadko point is because I think fanon tropes can offer a very interesting POV on what fans find lacking in canon. Most Azula fanon content, including Azutara and Tyzula fics, is about her redemption & being with someone who chooses her. Dramione fan works tend to have a strong emphasis on Draco protecting Hermione and sticking by her no matter what, and Draco being her intellectual equal. Drarry fics tend to center Harry and Draco’s shared loneliness, as well as Harry having the freedom to pursue his desires regardless of what people around him want for him. In the case of Zutara, Momtara & Dadko (alongside another popular trope, Ambassador/Politician Katara) says more about what fans want from canon than what canon actually gives.

That said, I do think there’s some basis for the idea that Zuko could share Katara’s burdens. Though Zuko was a spoiled prince, he also spent quite a few months in food service and that at the very least gives him the canonical opportunity of accumulating similar domestic skills as Katara. The Southern Raiders is probably one of the only instances where we see a non-Katara member of the Gaang doing a domestic chore while everyone is chilling (Zuko making tea and serving it for everyone). I agree that Zuko plays more of a right hand man type of role on the actual quest, but he does carry their bags, and he tells Katara to get some rest while they’re on Appa. Low bar, but it reflects a desire to take care of her, especially since in the original script for The Southern Raiders uncovered by @sneezypeasy, Katara is shown lying down and going to sleep afterwards. Again, I think it’s a fairly low bar as far as expressing care for another person goes, esp in the context of what Katara does for others, but we don’t have a whole lot of competition from the rest of the Gaang.

@theotterpenguin has a great post about how Katara is not shown doing chores from The Firebending Masters onwards, aside from the watermelon juice in the finale. Of course this has other explanations — Suki joins (though she’s not shown performing chores), it could just be an animation coincidence, a lot happens in those episodes etc. And then there’s the way Katara and especially Zuko seem to become the de facto leaders in the 4-part finale, which is interesting because I think Sokka would’ve been a natural fit for that role too. After Zuko shows up, Sokka retains his strategic role (like the Ozai fight simulation), but he also becomes more liable to goofiness, like climbing into Appa’s mouth. It’s an interesting parallel to The Desert: Sokka is usually very responsible but at the 11th hour, he can’t quite be counted on. Katara is the one who had to bottom line everyone’s actions in s2, and now that Zuko is here, he seems to take on that role. It’s not a 1:1 translation of Katara’s role by any means, but he seems dependable in a way that other Gaang members aren’t.

I also have a similar side Harutara headcanon: in The Western Air Temple, Haru is shown hanging out with the younger kids, and I think that can be extrapolated to mean that he’s on babysitting duty and probably keeping Teo and The Duke out of trouble. Zuko and Haru and Suki don’t add to her plate, and Haru and Zuko’s actions can be interpreted as helpful if you squint. I don’t think these actions would be nearly as notable, though, if her canon love interest wasn’t someone who very much needed her caretaking skills. I’m not sure how much I would’ve noticed Haru running off with the younger kids if Katara wasn’t trying to get Aang to stop flying and start regrouping in the very same episode!

The tragedy of Katara’s parentification

Sokka and Katara were both parentified, and it’s a profoundly life-changing thing for both of them. One of the saddest things in ATLA, though, is how Sokka sort of got to outgrow parentification, but Katara never did.

Sokka’s told to be the man. The provider, the protector. He’s not so good at the former (his hunting failures are a consistent source of comic relief), and he takes failures of the latter very, very hard. He doesn’t manage to save Yue, and that wrecks him. After Yue, he becomes extremely protective of Suki in a way that’s borderline offensive to her. He’s willing to do anything to protect his friends and his family, including something as irresponsible as breaking into the Boiling Rock. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Sokka is the only one of the Gaang who unambiguously kills. The rest of them may technically have clean hands because of cartoon logic, but Combustion Man is very dead, and Sokka is the one who killed him. We don’t know how he feels about it, because the show never goes there, but I have a pet theory that Sokka is so uncharacteristically (remember he was team “leave Zuko to freeze to death”) against Katara confronting Yon Rha in The Southern Raiders because he’s the only who knows what killing feels like and wants to protect Katara from it.

But by the end of the show, Sokka’s in a place where he can start to let go of his need to protect. Objectively, all his friends are unbelievably powerful and can take care of themselves, including his sister and his girlfriend. Suki is the one who saves him in the final battle, representing not only a reversal of his initial cartoonish misogyny, but also demonstrating that he is worthy of protection. And of course, he and his friends saved the world, so there isn’t really an enemy that he has to protect them from anymore. Sokka’s loved ones create the conditions under which his parentified behaviour is no longer necessary. Sokka would still have to take the first step to stop seeing himself as the one who has to lay his life on the line, but at least it’s possible for him.

But not Katara.

Katara had to take on the mom role after their mother was murdered, which meant she was responsible for domestic labour and emotional support. Sokka says in The Runaway that her role was to keep the family together. Unlike protection, that’s always a full time job regardless of the war. We see Katara spending more screen time than anybody cooking, getting food, mending, and generally doing women’s work. We see Katara giving everyone emotional support, including strangers and her enemy. We see Katara putting aside her own discomfort and her own hurt in The Desert because if she falls apart, they all die. Nobody ever showed her that she doesn’t need to be the only one who cooks, or that somebody else can be responsible for the emotional wellbeing of her friends, or that — god forbid — someone else can actually be responsible for her emotional wellbeing.

That’s why I never cared for the Ka/taang argument of “he teaches her to be a kid again!” Putting aside the fact that Katara ends up taking care of Aang a lot more as the series goes on, the whole tragedy of parentification is that you can never again be a child. That part of your childhood, your god-given right, is robbed from you. It is extremely precious and important to still be able to be a kid, but breaking free of parentification is not about seeing yourself as a kid. It’s about breaking free of being responsible for everyone’s feelings and behaviours.

For Katara, that responsibility is not problem of perception, but of reality. Unlike Sokka, who was told and shown that his loved ones are capable of protecting themselves, Katara has zero reason to believe that her loved ones are able to feed and clothe themselves and not fall apart emotionally. Between Toph and Sokka who emphatically don’t want to do this work, it all falls on Katara. Telling a parentified child that they just need to loosen up is akin to telling an overworked mother that she needs to just relax (“happy Mother’s Day! You get a break from chores, which you will catch up on tomorrow because nobody else is doing them”). It doesn’t accomplish anything if nobody creates the circumstances under which it’s possible to let go of responsibilities. A lot of Zutara fans, spanning all the way back to the early days of the fandom, like the “Momtara and Dadko” trope where Zuko also does chores. Why? Because even without the concept and language of parentification, many fans recognized that Katara’s performance of domestic and emotional labour is inequitable and probably very taxing.

Growing out of parentification is about more than just letting go of old expectations: it’s also about finding a new way to value yourself beyond the role you grew up with. I’ve said this before, but it’s very important to acknowledge that just because a kid is parentified doesn’t mean they’re actually good at being a parent. In fact, it’s probably a given that they’re not, because they’re kids performing roles that are developmentally inappropriate! Sokka remains a shit hunter; he becomes a decent fighter but he’s still miles behind his friends. A big part of healing from his parentification is finding another area — strategy, engineering, project management (what else do you call that schedule) — where he actually excels, to which he can dedicate his time and from which he can derive satisfaction and a sense of identity. For Katara, fighting for the oppressed and combat waterbending give her that. Crucially, however, Katara does not stop being a girl when she becomes a warrior. She’s still responsible for domestic and emotional labour. Unlike Sokka, whose protector duties were more or less relieved as the series went on and he found new ways to contribute to the group, Katara continued to perform her old role in addition to her new one (which is depressingly realistic btw, look up feminist theory around the concept of the second shift). Still, it’s important that she found these new ways to value herself and her contributions…

…which disappear in her adult life. Where’s adult Katara fighting for the oppressed? Where’s adult Katara enjoying her status as a master waterbender? Where’s Mighty Katara? Where’s the Painted Lady? Where’s the person who vanquished a whole Fire Lord?

What do we know about adult Katara? She’s no longer a rabblerouser or an ecoterrorist. She did not translate her desire to help the downtrodden into a political role, like being Chief or on the United Republic Council. She’s not known as the best waterbender in the world, only the best healer, even though her combat abilities are what she took the most pride in. Even as a healer, she established no hospitals, trained no widespread acolytes (except Korra, I guess?), and made no known contributions to the field.

What Katara is known for…is being a wife and a mother. The same role she was forced to take on at age 8. One which she performed for the next 80+ years.

#zutara #harutara #Katara parentification discourse #my meta

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atlabeth · 3 years ago

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everything happens for a reason part 16 - zuko x fem!reader

I miss you more than anything

part 15 | masterlist | part 17

a/n: SO. it has only been a minor 116 days since the last chapter. lol. i am so sorry for the delay, my inspiration to write for this series has been pretty low lately but all the sweet comments you guys have left abt this series has brought it back and it's finally here !! thank you to everyone that's kept with this throughout the constant month-long waits, i love you all and your support means the world<3 this chapter jumps around in pov quite a bit but hopefully it works out alright

wc: 5.9k

warning(s): angst, a lot of angst, katara, zuko, and yn's inner turmoil lol, prisons and bad conditions, and some more angst

chapter title comes from francis forever by mitski

The flowers were in bloom.

Camellias, roses, peonies, fire lilies, silver wisterias. Their aroma was almost overwhelmingly sweet, but it signaled the change of seasons, the slow descent into the notoriously torturous Fire Nation summer. While Zuko would normally be reluctantly preparing for a trip to Ember Island or engaging in rigorous training to fill the hours in the absence of school lessons, his days instead consisted of politics and meetings.

He was — once again — the crown prince. The Fire Lord’s heir, the next leader of the Fire Nation, the one who would have the honor of leading a fully united world after a century of war with the Fire Nation at its helm. It was what he had been fighting for all his life, what he had spent the past three years in exile for, what he had cast aside everything for. This — the life of the prince he was supposed to be — was what Zuko was meant for.

And yet he couldn’t even look himself in the mirror.

When he did, he was met with a person he hardly recognized. Dark circles underneath his eyes, prominent cheekbones, shaggy hair that constantly fell in his line of sight. To anyone that asked he simply cited hard work, the excuse of all his new duties more than enough to get someone off his back.

Zuko didn’t understand it. Everything was perfect. He had the title, the honor, the respect — for Agni’s sake, he even had the girl. He and Mai got together shortly after his return to the Fire Nation, and she was everything a noble son could have wanted.

He should’ve been happy, grateful, ecstatic to have the life he’d always wanted after so long, but the only constant in his life seemed to be unrelenting anger. He snapped at every guard, every servant, Mai, Ty Lee, Azula — everyone that went farther than a greeted nicety that wasn’t his father.

How could he have everything he had ever wanted but still be so miserable?

“Zuko? Did you hear me?”

Zuko was jarred from his thoughts by Mai’s voice, and he blinked a couple times as he met her eyes again. In all the years he’d known her, he didn’t think he had ever seen her smile. In a weird way, he was thankful for the lack of emotion. He didn’t have to worry about the seemingly ever-present scowl he bore most days when Mai was the same way.

He shook his head. “No. What’d you say?”

Mai sighed. “Ty Lee won’t stop talking about going into town to see the lanterns and the barges they’re setting up for the festival, and she finally managed to wear me down. I was wondering if you wanted to come with us tomorrow night.”

Zuko frowned. “There’s a festival coming up?”

“The Festival of Szeto,” she responded. “You haven’t been to one in a while, so I thought it would be…” Mai rolled her eyes a bit, “…nice.”

He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, barely managing a nod. “Yeah. Sure.”

Mai nodded as well then stood up from the chaise, walking over to the door frame before she turned to face him. “I should go. Azula requested Ty Lee and I join her for something tonight; I need to get ready for whatever she’s planning.”

“You’ve been talking a lot about Ty Lee lately,” Zuko said, not looking back at her as he got up as well and crossed over to his desk, the furnished wood covered by heaps of papers.

There was something heavy in Mai’s silence, and he felt the weight of her gaze on his back. “She’s one of the only people I can tolerate in this place. You’re not exactly easy to be around these days.”

Zuko clenched his jaw, his hand tightening into a fist on the table. “It’s not like you’re any better.”

“You don’t really inspire happiness,” Mai retorted. “At least I can talk to people without them being afraid I’ll explode if they say the wrong thing. You’re a walking fire hazard Zuko, and it’s so painfully obvious that it’s because of her.”

He whipped around, a familiar fire blazing in his irises. “What are you saying?”

“You know exactly what I’m saying.” Mai crossed her arms. “You refuse to eat fruit tarts, you hate silver wisterias, you snap at every servant, and you can’t even look me in the eye some days. I can’t even mention her without you losing your temper. You have everything you could ever want, but you’re still stuck in the past.”

Zuko glared at her. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She just shook her head, the same deadpan expression as ever. But there was something else in her eyes, something he couldn’t place. “Azula was right. You really aren’t over her.”

Before Zuko had a chance to say anything, Mai left, shutting the door behind her. He stewed in a suffocating silence until it became too much, his rage manifesting in a frustrated roar as he slammed his fist into his desk. The pain didn’t faze him, his breathing slightly ragged as he lifted his head and stared out the window.

Y/N. Mai didn’t mention her by name, but Zuko knew. He always knew; he knew her, and it was— she was— the source of every problem in his life. He hadn’t seen her in weeks, not since he had made the misguided decision to visit her in the prisons, and yet she managed to consume his every waking thought without lifting a finger.

Everything in his life was perfect except for her. Except for Y/N, the girl he never should have fallen for and had no reason to feel anything else for, especially not now. What he said, he wanted so badly to be true. He wanted to hate her, he wanted to banish her from his mind, he wanted every part of her erased from every part of him.

But every Agni-damned thing in the Fire Nation reminded him of her.

The silver wisterias that grew in the gardens. The fabrics the servants used to mend his clothes, the servants themselves. The fruit tarts in the kitchens. He nursed any injuries on his own, unable to even think about stepping foot in the infirmary.

Zuko pulled away from his desk and sat against the side of his bed, burning holes into the floorboards with the heat of his glare.

Mai was right. If he didn’t get rid of this guilt, if he didn’t let go of the past, he would never be free. And he wasn’t going to give up everything he had fought for over a childish crush.

His hands once again clenched into fists, the loose fabric of his tunic bunching up underneath. He had to forget his uncle, he had to forget Y/N , he had to forget every memory of the Avatar and his team and the disappointment and anger that each of them looked at him with that night in Ba Sing Se.

He just had to figure out how.

So this was the Boiling Rock.

It truly was deserted. An island in the middle of a boiling lake surrounded by rock that rose miles above the water, a sight that never failed to instill that feeling of worthlessness that was growing all too familiar.

She did not belong here, isolated from everyone she knew in an inescapable prison with only the worst criminals for company. It instilled a sick sense of dread in her, that this was what the Fire Nation, or at least those in power, thought of those fighting against them to bring back peace.

Y/N realized that Princess Azula had certainly made good on her promise the moment she was loaded onto the airship, one in a line of many other prisoners. With her spine ramrod straight and features tightened into a trained mask of stoicism, she was almost able to fool the others into thinking she wasn’t absolutely terrified. She got good looks at her fellow inmates on the gondola ride over to the prison, and saying she was intimidated was an understatement.

Fellow inmates. It was strange to think of it like that, but it was her reality now. Back in the Fire Nation, she was completely alone. Here, she was surrounded by criminals, all much older than her and likely far more grizzled. She was out of her league in so many ways — one of the guards had warned the others about her waterbending (or lack thereof) and it only served to make her more vulnerable.

Y/N had a feeling that the prisoners here didn’t care for outsiders.

After becoming the not-so-proud owner of an ill-fitting red jumpsuit and going through a very blunt orientation warning them of what would happen if they were even a step out of line, she was introduced to her new home for the foreseeable future.

The cell was cramped, dry, and uncomfortable in every way. Boasting no windows, a single cot with a blanket so thin she could have torn it herself, and absolutely nothing else, she was truly living the life of luxury.

She sat on the sorry excuse for a bed and pulled her knees up to her chest as she backed against the wall, and the slow, methodical breathing she had learned from Aang was the only thing keeping her somewhat calm.

This was it.

Y/N was in a Fire Nation prison with no means of escape, her friends were on the other side of the world with no idea of what had happened to her, Aang was really and truly gone with no chance of rebirth, and the world’s last chance at peace was foiled with the fall of Ba Sing Se.

There was no second chance. There was no ‘sleep on it, try again tomorrow’ — they had lost everything. She had lost everything.

She was going to live out the rest of her short, pitiful life as a non-bending, traitorous prisoner, completely separated from everyone and everything she’d ever loved.

In the darkest moments of her life, Y/N had always been able to look to the sky, at least comforted by the notion that Yue was watching over her. No matter where she was, Yue was always there. But here, surrounded by concrete and not even granted the luxury of barred windows, stargazing was not an option.

She no longer even had the moon to turn to.

She had lost.

And she was purely and truly alone.

“I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to deal with the Fire Nation weather, but it’s actually pretty nice.” Sokka cleaned his machete as he spoke, needing something to do with his hands while he waited for dinner. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the South, but it’s nice not having to worry about freezing to death all the time.”

Aang gave him a strange look. “You worried about freezing to death all the time?”

He brushed his question off with his hand. “You get used to it after a while. I like not having to wear parkas everywhere, especially at night. This seaside breeze?” Sokka smiled as he inhaled the salty scent, gesturing towards the water with his machete. “Almost makes up for the Fire Nation chasing us everywhere.”

“You have very low standards,” Katara said dryly, glancing over at him as she stirred a pot of soup with her waterbending.

“Hey,” he shrugged, “low standards means that you’re never disappointed. It helps with your cooking.”

She rolled her eyes at his remark, but she couldn’t hold back her smile. “Keep that up and you’ll be hunting for food on your own.”

Sokka held up his hands in defense, but Toph just groaned from her spot on the ground, her blank gaze aimed at the night sky. “Are you gonna be done soon? I’m starving.”

“You’re in luck,” she said, and she started bending their pitiful excuse for a meal into the wooden bowls they had picked up a hundred villages ago.

They didn’t have much after their loss in Ba Sing Se, the sum of their journey having been reduced to the few possessions each of them kept in their bags after they were forced to flee from the city.

There wasn’t much in terms of food where the four of them had been staking out lately either — the rations Hakoda had provided them before they left the Water Tribe fleet ran out despite their best efforts to make them last, leaving Sokka to scrounge up what he could on his usual scavenging trips and Katara to cook something up with the little ingredients and tools they had. It was a con to camping out in the middle of the Fire Nation, but underneath Sokka’s and Toph’s complaints, they would agree that it was a small price to pay to avoid anyone from the Fire Nation.

Katara finished filling all of the bowls and she started passing them out, but when she got to her own she froze in place. “Oh.”

Sokka had already started digging in — the broth might’ve been largely flavorless, but it was better than nothing — but he looked up from his bowl at his sister. “What?”

She sat down with a solemn expression, but he could see the emotions warring on her face. “I… I made five.”

The three words drained all of the earlier lightness out of the atmosphere, leaving the four of them in a heavy silence at the indirect mention of their lost companion.

“It just…” Katara sighed as she set her bowl on the dirt, her appetite suddenly gone. “It just doesn’t feel right without her. I’ve always known we were friends, best friends, but I never knew how much I would miss her until she wasn’t here anymore. I always end up wanting to tell her things, and then I remember she’s not here, and I…” She trailed off, her gaze falling to the ground, but Toph nodded.

“She could actually take a joke,” she said with a smile. “She looked out for me and she took care of me, but she never treated me like I was a child. I could tell that she cared in her own way, and that was special.”

“You are a child,” Sokka said.

“You know what I mean.”

“I do,” he chuckled. “And I miss her too. We have this— this kind of bond that you guys can’t understand — I think it has to do with Yue, but she just always got me. She got all of us.” Sokka looked at his sister and shrugged. “You’re right. It feels wrong without her.”

“I feel like it’s my fault,” Katara muttered. “I was down there when she sacrificed herself. I should’ve been faster, I should’ve been able to help her somehow—”

“You can’t do that to yourself, Katara,” Sokka interrupted. “You did everything you could— she made the choice to stay down there.”

“Do you blame me for not helping her?” Aang asked. “Do you blame me for going down in the Avatar state?”

“Of course not,” she said with a frown. “You saved us all — we had no idea what Azula was going to do.”

Toph nodded. “And do you blame Sokka and me for not being down there?”

“No!” she exclaimed, her brows creasing even further. “How could I blame you all?”

Aang gave her a knowing look and she chuckled lightly as she nodded. “Oh. I see what you’re doing.”

“If you can’t blame us for it, then you can’t blame yourself for what happened to Y/N.” Aang gave her a small smile. “She wouldn’t want you to blame yourself anyways. You know that.”

“Just because I know it doesn’t mean it’s easy to accept,” Katara sighed. She fiddled with her hands as she stared down at the ground, a question weighing on her mind that she could barely bring herself to ask.

“Do you think she’s still…?” Katara trailed off again, but the implication was obvious as it hung heavily in the air.

“She has to be,” Aang said, and he sounded so sure of himself it was hard to think otherwise. “There’s no other option than her being okay.”

Toph nodded. “She’s tough. You said she was a servant there before all of this, right? If she’s handled the Fire Nation before, she can do it again.”

Katara nodded as well, offering another soft smile to her friends in thanks for their efforts. “Yeah. She’ll be fine.”

She didn’t know if she believed her words, to tell the truth. But she kept repeating them to herself in her head, hardly paying attention as the rest of the group idled onto another topic of conversation.

“Wherever you are,” she murmured so quietly no one could hear, “I hope you know that I miss you.”

Zuko stared up at the ceiling, his eyes burning from a lack of rest but his mind unable to shut off. It was almost funny, how he dragged through each day completely exhausted, yet once the night came he could never find the sweet release of sleep.

Nights like these had become far more frequent than they should have, his habits becoming so unhealthy even Mai was beginning to worry. He let out a frustrated growl as he sat up, running one of his hands through his unkempt hair, shaggy layers continuing to grow the more he ignored it.

“Guess your lies aren’t helping you sleep as much as you thought they would.”

Zuko’s head shot up at the sound of a voice, his wild eyes darting back and forth looking for the source. When he found it, his eyes widened.

“What?” His voice was low, barely more than a whisper, and for a moment he wondered if this was it, if he was really going crazy.

She was there — Y/N, his waterbender, the link to his past that he was trying so Agnidamned hard to forget—

“Did you think it would be that easy to get rid of me?” She was almost taunting him from her spot, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Dressed in the grime-covered tunics all prisoners were forced to wear, looking just the way she had the day he visited her in the cells, it was hard to tell himself that she wasn’t really here. “I’ve always been a part of you, Zuko. You know that just as well as I do.”

“No,” he said, already on the edge of rambling, “no, you’re not—”

“Why do you keep trying to deny it?” she asked, her composed features in stark contrast to his own desperation. “You haven’t stopped thinking about me since the day I escaped the Fire Nation. Even when you’ve betrayed me, when I’m supposed to be your enemy, you bring me here like this.”

“I didn’t do anything,” he muttered, his hands clenching into fists around the fabric of his sheets. “I’m trying to forget you, and when I finally do, I’ll be free.”

She laughed mirthlessly. “That’s how you think this will go? That eventually, you’ll forget me, and you’ll be able to move on without the pesky little waterbender weighing you down.”

Y/N stood up from the wall and walked towards the bed, stopping at the foot as she crossed her arms. Zuko knew it wasn’t real, that she wasn’t real, but he could hardly keep himself from reaching out on instinct.

“You betrayed me. You betrayed your uncle. You don’t just get to forget what you did to us, go on and live your happy royal life.” She practically spit her words, and Zuko flinched. “This will destroy you from the inside out. And I hope to the spirits it does.”

“Why won’t you leave me alone?” Zuko was almost begging now, and even though he hated the desperation in his voice he couldn’t help it. “I can’t help you anymore. I have no choice, just— just leave me alone!”

Her lips quirked up in a sardonic smile as she tilted her head to the side slightly. “I’m not even here, Zuko. You did this. You did this.”

Her mockery, her taunts, her being so close and yet completely unobtainable, the fact that everything she said was true. Zuko couldn’t take it anymore, the last of his weakened façade breaking as he felt the temperature rise around him.

“Get out of my head!” he yelled, a blast of fire shooting out from his fists in a desperate effort to end this. She disappeared with the flames, leaving only a small fire in his place. Zuko had been so caught up with his own mind’s creation that he almost forgot the consequences of his rage, and he darted out of his bed to smother the flames with his sheets.

He stood there, panting and staring down at the smoldering fabric with wide eyes. Zuko ran a shaky hand through his hair as he turned around, grabbing one of his bed posts to ensure his balance. He was scared, terrified — could he even tell what was real or not?

Zuko would go insane if he didn’t figure this out, he knew that much. He had to end this— this war inside of his head, and then he would finally be free.

He grabbed his cloak from the chest on the edge of his bed and shoved his arms into it, leaving the mess in his room as he closed the door as quietly as he could. After making sure he wasn’t being followed, he set off to end his turmoil, once and for all.

He needed closure.

“All prisoners from Block C, report to the courtyard.”

Y/N sighed as she pushed herself up from her bed, waiting a few seconds after her cell door opened to walk out and join the flow of inmates. Though her hands itched to do something, she kept them hanging loosely by her side, doing her best to blend in as just another prisoner on their walk to the courtyard.

Everything in her dismal life had blended together, the strict schedules set in place by the guards the only reason she was able to keep track of the days. Even then it wasn’t always helpful, as their block times weren’t set in stone. Some days she would end up in the courtyard in the early morning, other days she would be armed with a mop to fight against the neverending grime the moment she woke up.

It was a torturously mundane existence, but when surrounded by some of the Fire Nation’s worst criminals, Y/N found that she preferred mundane to any other option.

She squinted a bit when they entered the courtyard; despite a few weeks of the same routine, the sun still got to her every day after coming from the dark isolation of her cell. The place might’ve been hot, humid, and miserable, but it was still better than the rest of the prison.

It didn’t take her very long to learn how to survive in the Boiling Rock — she stayed silent, kept her head down, and showed zero emotion. Never show any vulnerability, and stay out of everything. She was an abnormality here as a young girl, even more so with her brand of waterbender — it was a giant target on her back, and she did whatever she could to keep it from being shot at.

“Hey!”

But sometimes, her best efforts weren’t enough.

A gruff voice rang out behind her and she tried to ignore it, hoping that it was directed at someone else. There were hundreds of prisoners, and at least half of the blocks were out at the moment. It was more likely that he wasn’t trying to get her attention—

“I said hey. You listen to me when I talk to you.”

Of course she wouldn’t be so lucky.

Y/N tentatively turned around and had to force herself to hold eye contact with the man in front of her. He looked to be a little older than her, maybe in his late twenties. With a handsome face and a sharp jawline, he was the image of a noble son she might’ve met back home but with the added fatigue from prison life. She had seen him around a couple of times, and she knew that he was nothing but trouble. She wished he didn't have a bone to pick with her.

“You’re that Water Tribe savage, aren’t you?” he sneered, taking a step towards her that in turn caused her to back up. “I heard you worked with the Avatar, that’s why you’re in here.”

“You’ve got the wrong girl,” she muttered, refusing to look away from her assailant as he continued to push forward. Y/N felt her back hit the wall and she bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, willing herself not to show any emotion.

His arm shot out, palm flat against the wall and effectively trapping her in place. “I don’t think I do,” he taunted. “I think you’re the only one who has a chance of getting out of here, but you’re just too damn weak to do anything.”

“You’re lucky I can’t bend out here,” she refuted coolly, still maintaining eye contact. “Otherwise you’d be dead where you stand.”

“Oh, we’ve got a feisty one here!” he laughed, turning and gesturing with his head towards her to get the attention of some other prisoners before bringing his attention back to Y/N, his eyes gleaming dangerously.

“You think you’re better than us, don’t you? Because you’re all about your fancy waterbending, and working with the Avatar, and being a hero. But you ended up in the same place we did, so I guess it wasn’t worth it.” He closed the distance between them, the proximity so near she could feel the heat from every exhale. She forced herself not to look away, despite every nerve in her body screaming at her to back down. “I think I gotta take you down a notch.”

He launched his fist at her before she could blink, and Y/N recoiled instantly as she took the blow to the right side of her face. Her hand immediately flew up to nurse the injury, letting out a strained gasp at the sudden pain.

“Doesn’t feel so good, does it?” the man snarled as he reeled back for another. She screwed her eyes shut, already bracing for the impact, but it never came. She heard a grunt and slowly opened her eyes to see another girl, one that couldn’t be any older than her, holding his fist in place with an iron grip. She had appeared out of nowhere, but she had saved her.

“Go pick on someone your own size,” she threatened. Y/N could see his face contorting in pain with the hold the girl had on him, and as soon as she released his hand he backed up.

“What’s your fuckin’ problem?” he snarled, squeezing his hand to regain feeling in his fingers again. “No one ever taught you how to mind your own business?”

“It’s my business when you pick on innocent people,” she countered. “Now, are you gonna get out of here, or do I have to do something a lot worse?”

The man grit his teeth as he glanced around him — no one would come to help him if he took her challenge. As he started to back away, he glared at the girl. “You’ve just made a powerful enemy.”

She rolled her eyes as he walked off, then turned to the group of prisoners that had gathered around the scene. The girl drew herself up, acting much older and intimidating than she appeared.

“Well?” she yelled, enhancing her stature as she took a step forward. “Get out of here!”

In yet another fantastical feat, the girl managed to scare the crowd off. Y/N couldn’t help as her jaw dropped, amazed at how easily she had gotten rid of not only her attacker but everyone else. She was ready to thank her savior, but when she turned around giving Y/N a full view of her face, she gasped.

“Suki?”

Warmth blossomed in her chest despite the instinctual disbelief. Y/N had always wanted to meet up with Suki again after she left to go help her warriors, but the Boiling Rock was the last place she thought they would find each other again. Was her friend really here?

“Hey.” Suki grinned as she casually leaned against the wall, taking a second to shake out her hand. “Talk about a reunion, huh?”

Suki didn’t have the chance to even breathe before Y/N lunged at her, wrapping her in the tightest embrace she could muster and relishing in the warmth of another, of someone she could actually trust.

“You’re here,” she breathed, close to tears. “I’m not alone. You’re here.”

“I’m here.” Suki responded in kind after a moment of hesitation, reciprocating the hug with the same intensity. Once Y/N pulled away, she gave her a sideways smile, though her coyness was lessened by the softness in her eyes. “How’d you get unlucky enough to end up here?”

Y/N rubbed her injury, already able to feel the swelling, and shook her head. “Tui’s gills. There’s… a lot to unpack.”

She shrugged and gestured to her surroundings. “We’ve got time.”

She managed a small smile of her own and mirrored Suki’s lean against the wall as she sighed. “Well… It all started in Ba Sing Se.”

Zuko was familiar with the Capital City prison by now. He’d visited Y/N once before and his uncle far too many times after, but after Azula caught him one night, he decided to play it safe. Despite her promise not to tell anyone, he didn’t trust her. He had his childhood mantra for a reason.

The guards were familiar with his disguise, allowing him in without any trouble, but once he reached the block he remembered Y/N to be in, he was met with a guard he’d never seen before. He looked young, far too young to be on guard duty in a prison like this, but Zuko didn’t really care. It meant it would be easier to get what he wanted.

“You can’t be here, sir,” the guard said, snapping up to attention as he finally sensed his presence. “This block of the prison doesn’t accept visitors—”

Zuko took off his hood and the man’s eyes widened, an apology tumbling out immediately.

“I’m so sorry, Prince Zuko! Please, forgive me— I’m new and I was never told that you—”

“Save it,” he grumbled, but as he got closer to the cell, a frown twisted his features. The inhabitant was a large, muscular man, and in the moment he was thankful he was asleep so he wouldn’t have to deal with it. Zuko turned to the guard and glared at him. “Where is she?”

“Who?”

“The waterbender, the prisoner that worked with the Avatar!” he snapped, that wild desperation in his eyes growing once again. “Where is she? This is her cell!”

“She isn’t here anymore!” the guard rushed out, his hands raised up slightly at his sides in some sort of defense. “She hasn’t been here for weeks— she was transferred out with the last block of prisoners to make room for the rioters.”

“Where was she sent?” he demanded.

“I don’t know!” he practically whimpered out, and when Zuko grabbed his collar, ignited a flame in his free hand and held it up to his face, his eyes widened even more. “I swear, I don’t know! Princess Azula authorized it herself; she didn’t tell anyone about the specifics!”

Azula.

Zuko let him go with a growl, already beginning to stalk off before he stopped and turned partially. “I was never here. And if you spread word of it to a single person, I’ll make sure you—”

“I promise, Prince Zuko,” he said, still terrified, “it won’t leave this room.”

He all but stormed off, his hands clenching into fists at his side as his feet carried him to a place he was far more familiar with. Zuko was back in the palace soon enough, and he didn’t even bother to knock as he barged into his sister’s room.

“What is your problem?” he seethed, barely contained rage simmering just below the surface.

Azula frowned as she sat up, and she brushed her loose locks out of her face as her eyes settled on Zuko. “How kind of you to wake me up like this.”

“I don’t have time for your games,” he spat. “Why did you transfer Y/N out?”

She rolled her eyes as she glared at him. “This is really what you choose to bother me with? You don’t even try to hide it anymore, Zuko. It’s pathetic, truly.”

“Why did you transfer her out?” he repeated.

“I’m doing you a favor,” Azula snarled, the interruption starting to get to her. “You’re not strong enough to let go of her by yourself, so I’m trying to help you get rid of her. Anyone with eyes can see that you’re still holding onto her — the only way for you to truly thrive is for her to be out of the picture.”

“That’s not your decision to make,” Zuko seethed.

“It may not be, but you refuse to make any of the changes necessary of your position.” Azula shook her head, something genuine in her eyes. “You were made for this life, Zuko, not one with that Water Tribe peasant. Don’t throw it away because of her.”

Zuko couldn’t find anything to say to her, like his anger had fizzled out after a night of burning red hot. She didn’t seem to care.

“Now,” Azula laid back down on her pillows, “don’t bother me with this talk anymore. Especially not in the middle of the night.”

Zuko fumed as he stormed out of her room, quickly finding his way back to his own. The second he stepped past the threshold, he nearly lost it.

He wanted to scream, he wanted to shout, cry, do anything, but all he felt was unwavering numbness. Zuko settled on the edge of his bed and took the headpiece that kept his topknot together out of his pocket, and he pressed the pad of his finger against the point of one of the flames. All it provided was a dull pain, and suddenly he could barely even stand the sight of it. He didn’t deserve the mark of a prince.

Zuko opened the drawer on his bedside table, about to throw it in without a care, when he noticed the only other belonging in the compartment.

A simple children’s book, the edges rolled up and the spine broken in from a loving owner. His heart stopped as he took it in.

Keiko and the Koalaotter. A wilted and dried petal from a silver wisteria. A scribbled heart done with Zuko’s own ink, now old and faded but undeniably from her.

Something inside of him broke at the sight, and he stared at the ground as his fist tightened around the headpiece. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and it made it hard to breathe as his chest tightened.

This was a mistake. All of it, the life that he thought was his destiny— it was all a mistake.

How the hell was he going to fix this?

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gladerwolfstarkimagines · 3 years ago

Text

Sokka x Zuko and Azula’s sister series: Part One

Imagine being Zuko and Azula’s younger sister and Sokka having a crush on you. You reject him worried about his intentions but slowly find yourself falling for the water tribe boy.

Part two here

You were Zuko and Azula’s younger sister, the twin of Azula but with no fire bending abilities and so both your siblings were fond of you. Zuko because he saw the way your father treated you because you couldn't bend and Azula because due to your lack of bending she didn’t see you as a threat but just as her sister. You were always in the middle of your two siblings, the one who they came to settle arguments and petty disputes. You loved your siblings a lot and the feeling was mutual so they were just a tad overprotective of you, particularly when their friends started taking an interest in you...

Sokka’s POV

"Remind me why we've never met your younger sister before?" Toph asked and Zuko sighed "y/n never felt welcome here because of our father and so she avoided the capital and lived in the colonies with family friends most of the time. She really likes travelling and just stayed out of the war entirely. This will be her first time in the capital in years". "You must be happy to see her huh?" Katara asked and Zuko grinned "you have no idea!".

As soon as your ship arrived the gang watched as Zuko turned from Firelord into a happy older brother. "Y/n!" Zuko cried and he ran forwards to hug you. Sokka followed him with his eyes and then gaped "that’s Zuko’s sister?". "Yeah so?" Toph asked confused. "She looks nothing like him she’s....hot!" Sokka cried with a large grin on his face. Zuko had been holding out on him.

Still reeling from this revelation Sokka tried to catch Zuko alone but it was hard. Zuko had thrown you a large welcome home party and he’d hardly left your side for hours. However finally Azula ousted him claiming twin time and Sokka snook up beside him. "So your sister...why did you never tell me about her before?" Sokka asked "i’m insulted?". Zuko frowned "I told you about y/n before". "Yeah but why did you never introduce me to her?". "You want to meet her?". "Duh??? I mean I knew your family had good genes and Azula’s pretty and all but y/n is something else!". Zuko narrowed his eyes "wait you want me to introduce you because you like her?". "Yes! Fire nation girls are always good but wow your parents did wonders on this one". Zuko attacked Sokka and Sokka yelped caught off guard. "She’s my baby sister!" Zuko cried "you are going nowhere near her!". "Aww come on Zuko, you know me! Don’t you trust me?". "I trust you but nobodies good enough for my sister, imagine it I asked your permission to date Katara!". Sokka started to laugh "I'd honestly wish you luck, you may be the Firelord but Aang’s the avatar. You really think you can compete with that?". Zuko blushed "that wasn't my point, the point is wouldn’t you be protective of Katara?". "Yes but I also know she’s her own person and I can’t control who she dates". "You're just saying that because you want to date my sister". "Maybe a little bit" Sokka admitted "but I also think we’d really get on”. Zuko scoffed going to turn away but Sokka grabbed his arm "no really! Zuko think about it! Me and your sister are a lot alike. Firstly we’re both non-benders with powerful siblings who overshadow us. Secondly were both from nations who put a lot of pressure on us and thirdly we both know you!". Zuko groaned loudly "what's it going to take to make you give this up?". "How about, you let me talk to her tonight and watch us. If you don’t think she likes me or don’t like how I act around her then I'll stop seeing her". "Fine" Zuko agreed "but i swear Sokka you hurt her at all and I'll..". "Yeah yeah burn me, banish me..hunt me down with your army, whatever...y/n’s waiting for me!" and he rushed away.

Your POV

The palace had changed a lot since you’d last been here and you were pleased. It reminded you less of your childhood and more of somewhere pleasant. Zuko had made everywhere brighter and removed most of the flags and portraits which used to haunt every wall. It was nice to see that the palace wasn’t the only thing that had changed, Azula and Zuko were different too. They were no longer at each other’s throats and were more confident. Zuko was the happiest you’d ever seen him and Azula had a much healthier attitude without your father’s abuse. She was still your older sister though and she stepped away to go scold Ty lee for doing handstands on the furniture leaving you alone. You were admiring how much nicer the ballroom looked without all the heavy drapes when someone appeared in front of you.

"Hi i’m Sokka" the boy said and you blinked "hi...Zuko’s friend right?". Your brother had told you all about his journeys and that name sounded familiar so you took a guess. Thankfully you were correct and Sokka nodded "so you've heard of me?". "Yeah Zuko writes to me all the time! Water tribe right?”. Sokka nodded and you smiled "if the hair, eyes and everything didn’t give it away. So Sokka how are you enjoying the fire nation?". "Very much" he smiled glancing at you but you didn’t seem to notice. "How’s your return been?" he asked. You sighed "it’s okay, just a bunch of idiot guys thinking they have a chance with me either because they're a non-bender or they know my brother". Sokka gulped as you looked at him "but anyway did Zuko ask you to talk to me? I'm pretty sure he wants me to become friends with all his friends so i’m guessing he sent you over?". Sokka shook his head "i came on my own i err wanted to meet you". "Ow really?" you asked suspiciously and Sokka nodded "Zuko talks so much about you i wanted to see the real deal, I feel like I already know you". You smiled and Sokka just stared. "That’s sweet, would you like to dance?". Sokka paused "what?". "A new song is starting and i’d love to join in and now i know you're my brother’s friend who won’t try anything i feel safe asking you, so care to join me?". You held out a hand and Sokka took it immediately "okay".

Zuko’s POV

Zuko glowered watching you and Sokka dance and Azula chuckled appearing beside him. "Leave it alone brother you’ll only make it worse by disapproving". "So what we just let this happen?" he asked outraged at the very idea. "They're dancing not getting engaged but either way i’d let it happen". "What?" Zuko yelled "you approve of her and Sokka?". Azula shrugged "of all your friends Sokka is the best, i think y/n and him would get on". Zuko glared "y/n is not being forced into anything". "Did i say that?' Azula asked annoyed "if i thought he was pressuring her at all i’d kill him myself but look how he’s looking at her, our sister has ever inch of power and it’s wonderful".

Sokka’s POV

Sokka was worried you’d be too advanced a dancer for him but luckily you were a skilled and thoughtful partner. You led Sokka around effortlessly and helped him feel at ease. Soon enough he stopped feeling out of place and was beginning to enjoy it. You chatted to him softly and the song slipped away quickly. After dancing you grabbed a drink and carried on talking together. Sokka was surprised how conveniently he'd got to spend time with you and so he wasn’t upset when it came to an end. Ty lee and Mai suddenly called out to you and you smiled "sorry i promised Ty lee i’d spend time with her, you can come too if you want?". "No it’s fine i should probably find my friends, they'll be thinking i ditched them for a pretty face". Sokka was building up to asking you out but you shattered that with your next sentence. "Just tell them i’m Zuko and Azula’s sister and they’ll realise there’s no way this could be romantic" you laughed. Sokka laughed loudly "ha ha! Ha ha! Yeah good one! See you later y/n!" and rushed away to hide the large blush on his face.

Your POV

After the party you returned to your family's wing of the palace to find Zuko, Mai and Azula all waiting for you and based on the expression on Mai’s face they’d been waiting a while. "So how was it?" Zuko asked and you looked from him to Mai confused "how was what?". "Sokka? the boy you were dancing with...are you two a thing now?" Mai asked. You laughed "Sokka? We’re just friends! What am i dating every guy i talk with?". "No but...he didn’t ask you out?" Zuko asked. You shook your head "no of course not, why would he?". "Because he fancies you" Zuko said and Mai hit him "Zuko!". "No he doesn’t" you laughed "he was just being a friend". Azula shot you a look and you paused "ow...i didn’t even realise". “Yep...there it goes” Azula smirked and you frowned “I...I’m going to bed” and you stormed into your room angrily. You slammed your door and sighed sinking onto the floor. Just when you thought you’d made a real friend it turned out he wanted more from you. You were sick of being pursued just because of your title or looks, why couldn’t anyone just want to be your friend? You slumped into bed with this angry thought while a certain boy’s face lingered in your mind.

The next day Sokka appeared before you at breakfast just as he had last night. "Hey y/n" Sokka smiled but you didn’t return his greeting or smile. "Zuko told me what you told him" you replied coldly. Sokka paled "y/n I can explain...". "Why did you lie to me? Were you pretending to be genuinely interested in me as a friend just to get my guard down or something? God you're just like all the other fire nation guys". Sokka shook his head "no that's not it! Y/n I did like you...a lot! That's why I talked to Zuko about asking you out but when i started getting to know you and you mentioned how so many guys think they have a shot with you just because they know Zuko and how you felt safer with me because you could trust me not to have any bad intentions...I decided to just be your friend". "That seems pretty convenient" you replied and Sokka nodded "I know it sounds like that but it’s true, as much as I think you're very interesting and beautiful I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Zuko mentioned how you didn’t like the capital and I guessed not knowing which men you can trust can’t help so I figured being your friend would be better than trying anything with you. I promise all I want from you is a friendship, you can trust me. I won’t try anything". You eyed Sokka suspiciously but he saw a glimmer of truth there and got the instinct to believe this boy, you decided to trust it. "If I do you can turn me over to your brother and sister” Sokka carried on and you opened your eyes wide. "Wow you are telling the truth". Sokka smiled "I really am". "Okay fine we can be friends" you agreed and Sokka sighed in relief "great! Fancy a walk in the gardens?". “Lead the way” you smiled and Sokka started down the corridor.

Zuko’s POV

Zuko was glancing out of the window above the gardens when something caught his eye. Zuko’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he saw who you were with. "Why are they still together?" he yelled and Mai frowned coming to stand beside him "why? Did you do something to wreck Sokka’s chances?". Zuko paused "well not really but I do happen to know y/n hates guys trying to get close to her so I may have left slip Sokka’s true intentions with that in mind but I was only doing it to protect her”. Mai frowned "well y/n clearly doesn't care. Your plan failed I guess". Zuko sighed massaging his temple and Mai frowned "don’t you trust Sokka?". "Of course I do just not with my sister". "Well y/n’s not a kid anymore Zuko, you can’t scare guys away from her, leave them be. Y/n’s smart if she trusts him then you should so don't do anything else to mess with them, okay?". "But..." Zuko started when Mai shot him a glare and he sighed "fine".

Your POV

After that day you started spending lots of time with Sokka. It was nice knowing he was never going to try anything with you and so you didn’t have to always be on your guard like you normally were. You could be natural and that helped the two of you get closer. When the time came for Sokka to leave you were genuinely upset. You weren’t sure what you’d do for fun without him and realised you’d enjoyed your time at home for the first time in years because of him. When he wasn’t here...you worried all that would melt away.

2 months later

Sokka had left a while ago and while your home didn’t transform into a horrible place you felt Sokka’s absence profoundly and realised you’d actually formed a pretty strong bond there. You wrote to each other regularly but it wasn’t the same. You figured you’d stop missing him after a few weeks but as time passed and you still wanted to see him you contemplated there might be more behind this than you thought...maybe you missed the water tribesmen for a particular reason.

You’d never had romantic feelings for anyone before and so had no idea if what you felt for Sokka was more than just a friendship or not. However you knew there was only one way to find out, you had to see him again.

Zuko was planning a diplomatic trip to the water tribe for a festival they were having and you caught him in the last minute planning stages with your sister. You figured it’d be easier to make your request with a short time frame, that way your siblings would be blindsighted and wouldn’t work out your true intentions for wanting to come with them. “Y/n” Azula said spotting you first and Zuko’s head jerked up “hey what brings you here?” he asked softly. “Not much I just wanted to ask you about something”. Zuko nodded setting his papers down “of course, ask me anything”. You smiled awkwardly and hovered in front of them "Can I come with you both to the water tribe?". Zuko paused "why on earth would you want to come with us to the Water Tribe?". You shrugged "I've never seen the water tribe before that's all...and you know I love travelling". Zuko shrugged "of course you can come! Why didn’t I think to invite you...It’s a bit last minute but I’ll go tell the captain the change of plans and work on getting you some warm clothes, I’ll have it all ready by tonight” he smiled and patted you before walking away. You smiled at how easy that was when you heard a cough. Your sister smirked at you from the far end of the table and you winced "ow hey Azula I forgot you were there". "Figures" she smiled "so want to admit the real reason you asked Zu Zu to tag along?". You paused "I have no idea what you mean" and Azula smirked. "Well he's got blue eyes, brown hair he usually wears in a ponytail and he’s very goofy for a princess to have a crush on". You blushed "what Sokka? That's not why I'm going at all". Azula sighed "and people say you're the sibling who got all the social skills...y/n you're very obviously blushing right now! Not to mention your letters to one another come and go a thousand times a day". You sighed "fine I want to see Sokka again but Azula please don’t tell Zuko! He won’t let me come if he knows”. Azula smiled "relax, I have no intention of telling our brother". "You don’t...why? Are you gonna try and get me to convince Zuko to give you and Ty lee that holiday again? Because i already told you i tried...". "No” Azula said sharply "you're my little sister, I like the idea of you sneaking around behind Zuko’s back like I did so I won’t tell him". You raised an eyebrow "weird but for our family not too weird, thanks I guess?". Azula nodded "no problem but be careful y/n, from what i’ve seen that boy of yours is quite the charmer and he isn’t inexperienced with princesses either". You frowned but were too embarrassed to ask what she meant so just fled from the room. What on earth were you getting into?

You looked into the stuff Azula said and saw it was true. Apparently Sokka had quite the dating history He’d dated a water tribe princess, a kyoshi warrior, had the affection of the world’s only metal bender and even Ty lee had found him attractive. This all played on your mind the whole journey to the water tribe and you were worried you’d underestimated Sokka. You’d been so focused on working out if you liked him you didn’t pay a second thought to what would happen if you did....you’d be way out of your depth dating someone like Sokka and the thought made you wary. However there was no time for that now, the ship was pulling into the dock on the other side stood your water tribesman.

___

So I totally forgot Kiyi exists until after I wrote this, so in this universe Azula and Zuko only have one other sibling.

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honeyspeeches · 10 months ago

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Ok let me elaborate on this cause I have so many thoughts and I can’t sleep. I was brainstorming and planning a canon divergence fic where I basically explore the concept of Lance and Keith getting together very early in the series and how that would progress, and while I did that I naturally divided the POVs between them, so that Lance had the entire first half of the fic for his development and Keith had the entire last half for his development. At first, I couldn’t really explain why I did it this way, it just felt right to me until I thought a little bit more about it and I realized that thats literally how the show did it.

You see, in storytelling, there are a number of literary devices that authors and writers use to communicate to the audience who the main character is (usually the protagonist, but not always) and who they should root for. Traditionally this is done by either starting the story from their perspective and having them be the first one to appear or a little later on once the story has laid down the world building (where are we? What time is it? What are the rules? Etc.).

And in season one it was Lance. Lance is the main character of the first half of VLD. He is the first person to appear on screen after the flashback to the Kerberos mission (exposition that is relevant for the catalyst of the plot),

Every character after that is introduced THROUGH Lance: Pidge and Hunk are Lance’s teammates,

Iverson is Lance’s teacher at the academy he goes to,

Shiro is Lance’s mentor/idol

And Keith is Lance’s rival, respectively.

Especially Shiro’s introduction is damning, because he was in the prologue of the show but he wasn’t named as relevant until we got his relation to Lance (as someone whom Lance also wants to rescue). Prologues often depict side characters who are important for the main character to set up exposition before introducing the main character themself. This is also seen in Avatar the Last Airbender, where we see Katara and Sokka in the first five minutes of the show before Aang (the main titular character) is introduced. This is a basic storytelling method.

Furthermore, Lance is also the catalyst for the start of the plot. HE decides to look for pidge on the roof which sets off the following chain of events, HE decides to sabotage Keith’s rescue mission. But most importantly, HE finds the first lion (why not Keith, who has been looking?),

HE takes them all into space (why not Pidge, who is looking for her family?), and HE catches catches an ancient princess in his arms (why not Shiro, who is the leader?). And yet again we get another character who is introduced through their relation to Lance (as a potential love interest or object of affection).

And look at THIS frame!

he's literally in the foremost position out of them all! He's in the main character pose!

All of these things combined point to Lance being the Main Character in a show with multiple main characters (again, see ATLA, where Katara, Sokka Toph and Zuko all are main characters with their own character arcs, but whom all are introduced and maintained by their relation to the Actual Main Character, Aang).

What I find very interesting about VLD’s storytelling is that they set up a main character using basic literary devices TWICE in the whole series.

Not even in the third season, where Keith LITERALLY ASCEND TO THE BLACK LION AS LEADER OF VOLTRON, is the emotional focus on Keith as the main character. The very start of that whole arc is LANCE comforting and reassuring KEITH.

The focus is on LANCE overcoming his own ego to accept his rival as his leader! Literally after Keith is chosen they zoom in on lance kinda looking down and looking solemn.

And LANCE is the one who is trying to keep everyone together when Keith fails his leadership. LANCE being relied upon. LANCE yet again in the eye of the storm, the very center of the narrative.

UNTIL the fourth season. This is where shit gets interesting because they did the EXACT SAME THING with KEITH in the second half of the show. AND I MEAN EVERYTHING.

It all starts when Keith decides to join the Blade of Marmora, forcing another Voltron Shift of Roles. His decision has an impact and a consequence for the literal role of every other character in the series, just like Lance in the first half.

Side note: can i just say rewatching season 3 and 4 the way Keith keeps rejecting the leadership role and the way he literally verbally confirms that he's not meant to and was never meant to pilot the black lion.... idk why they (the showrunners) kept trying to force Leader on my guy he clearly did not want it.

The new characters introduced to the show are introduced through KEITH this time. Krolia is Keith’s mom, Kosmo is Keith’s wolf, Romelle is saved by Keith

and the most important of the MFE pilots (James) is introduced as having had conflicts with Keith when they were younger in the Garrison

(which sounds familiar…? This may have been the showrunners attempt to make a Lance character that they actually liked and who they originally intended Lance to be, before the writers took the wheel in the first half but idk that’s just a guess my point still stands), again, just like Lance in the first half.

btw this was the same episode they introduced adam and i had to close my laptop and take a walk before i could continue scavanging for screenshots

And again, just like how Lance was the catalyst for several important plot points in the story, so too is Keith for the second half. He is the catalyst for Lotor betraying Team Voltron and becoming the main Antagonist (before haggar….), Keith’s ascension to the black Lion becomes the focus and KEITH becomes the one to rely on (see: Hunk and his squeezed in arc that didn’t make sense).

Now this is actually a really interesting employment of basic storytelling if it wasn’t such a huge indicator for the division between the writers in the grander scheme of things. Since we all know that the showrunners intended for Keith to be the main character all along, the second half of the show actually just becomes a stark example of how they scrambled to redo the narrative all over again without having to start from scratch. But this resulted in a hot mess of a narrative, and plot holes the size of Jupiter, not to mention inconsistent characterization, character assassinations, rushed plot points, forgotten character dynamics etc etc.

In conclusion, Lance and Keith are the main characters of Voltron respectively, they always have been, because that's literally how voltron wrote them. thanks for coming to my ted talk

actually you know what i don't even blame fanfic authors and artists for focusing mostly on keith and lance in their character studies cause they're literally the main characters of the show. like that's how the show wrote them

#i had to reopen all of my trauma wounds for this ok #literally the minute adam showed up i GOT TEARS IN MY EYES #i was like aw shit here we go again #the thing is the first episode is actually so good !! it's funny !! it's intriguing !! and then the rest of the bullshit happens #voltron #klance #anyway i'm done i'm finished i'm never looking at another vld screencap ever again <- me when i lie

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beifongsss · 4 years ago

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the boiling rock [zuko]

Pairing: Zuko x reader

Disclaimer!: The reader is Sokka and Katara’s older sister!

Requested?: Yes! By @thegirlwholikestomanythings: “ Hi! I have a Zuko x reader request if you don't mind. Maybe something like the reader being Katara and Sokka's older sister and Zuko having a big crush on her after he joins in S3?”

Summary: Sokka goes to break Hakoda out of The Boiling Rock and is shocked to find you there as well. He’s even more shocked when he figures out that Zuko’s a simp for you.

this is based off of the boiling rock episodes but there are a few changed made! there’s also like a pov change halfway i’m sorry. TIS A LONG ONE!!

.masterlist.

When Zuko defeated Combustion Man, Aang didn’t let him join the group until he gained approval from all of his friends.

“Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned. What do you think?”

The blind earthbender smirked, a sinister look on her face as she pounded her fist into her palm. “Go ahead and let him join. It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet.”

Satisfied with her answer, Aang turned to the Water Tribe boy. “Sokka?”

“Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord. If you think this is the way to do it, then, I'm all for it,” he said, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall near him.

“Katara?” Aang asked uncertainly, noticing the stony look on the Water Tribe girl’s face.

“I'll go along with whatever you think is right,” she replied, glaring at Zuko.

“Great!” Aang said, ignoring Katara’s reaction. “Then that’s settled. Welcome to the group Zuko!”

Zuko paused slightly, looking around as he noticed the absence of the other Water Tribe girl he had always seen with the Gaang.

“Not that I’m complaining,” the prince said, a questioning look in his eyes. “But isn’t there someone else you should be asking? Where’s the other Water Tribe girl?”

The group went silent at Zuko’s words as Katara’s face hardened and Sokka looked away, a sad expression making it’s way onto his face.

“She’s gone,” Sokka said roughly as he began to storm off.

Katara reached out for his arm, grabbing onto him as he passed her. “Sokka, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Not my fault?” Sokka roared, stray tears escaping his eyes as he faced Katara. “It was my invasion plan Katara! I should’ve taken the fall. Not her!”

He shrugged her hand off before walking off deeper into the Air Temple. Katara sent Zuko another glare before hurrying after her brother, leaving him alone with Aang and Toph. Zuko glanced at Aang uneasily, not wanting to ask about what had happened. With a sigh, Aang sat down looking at Zuko expectantly.

The prince sat down across from Aang as Toph sat to his left, the usually loud-mouthed girl abnormally quiet.

“The other Water Tribe girl that would travel with us is (Y/N),” Aang explained quietly. “She’s Sokka and Katara’s older sister.”

Zuko nodded in response before speaking. “W-What happened to her?”

“She got captured by the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun,” Aang replied, looking down at his lap. “You know about the invasion right?”

Zuko nodded once more.

“Well it was Sokka’s invasion plan,” Aang continued. Zuko’s eyebrows rose up in surprise, going unnoticed by Aang. “He came up with it and (Y/N) and Hakoda, that’s their dad, fine tuned it. They thought of everything that could possibly go wrong and when the day came, Sokka was the one leading it.”

Aang’s face suddenly turned into one full of guilt. “I-It was actually my fault that she got captured. If I hadn’t gotten distracted by Azula, we could’ve gotten away before the eclipse was over. Instead, they caught up to us before we could get back to the beach. Hakoda told us all to leave on Appa and to take the youngest members of the group but (Y/N) didn’t fit because we had Teo, Haru, and The Duke with us. So she decided to stay behind and take the blame for the invasion so that they wouldn’t go out and look for us. She said that they’d believe her because she was traveling with the Avatar and because she was the daughter of the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and she had a reason to want to attack the Fire Nation.”

Aang couldn’t stop the tear that slipped out. “I guess she was right because we weren’t followed after we escaped.”

“C’mon Twinkletoes,” Toph said, leaning back on her hands. “(Y/N) knew what she was getting into. She’s not dumb. She’s strong, smart, and patient. In fact, I’m willing to bet she’s making those Fire Nation guard’s lives hell.”

Zuko observed Toph as she spoke about the missing Water Tribe girl. “How are you so sure?”

“Please,” Toph scoffed, cracking her knuckles. “She’s the only idiot here that can beat me in a fight. She’ll be fine.”

“Oh,” Zuko said, slightly surprised. “Is she a waterbender too?”

“Nope,” Toph said. “That’s how I know she’s okay. She can beat me in a fight, and I’m the greatest earthbender in the world! I invented metalbending.”

Zuko’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at Toph’s words. “She beat you without any bending?”

“She did,” Sokka’s voice rang out. The group (except Toph) turned around to find Sokka walking towards them. “Which is why we needed her here, not in prison. She shouldn’t be paying for my mistakes.”

Without another word Sokka climbed onto Appa, shooting Aang a look when the Air Nomad shot him a worried glance. “Don’t worry Aang. I’m just gonna clear my head. Yip yip.”

The conversation ended with Sokka’s departure and silently, Aang showed Zuko to his room.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” Sokka asked, catching Zuko’s attention as he handed him a cup of tea. Zuko set down the tea and followed Sokka to where he was standing, softly petting Appa when he opened his eyes to look at them.

“So, what’s up?” Zuko asked, looking back over at the group before focusing on Sokka.

“If someone was captured by the Fire Nation, where would they be taken?” the Water Tribe boy asked, trying to look nonchalant. At Zuko’s suspicious look, he spoke again. “When the invasion plan failed, some of our troops were taken. I just want to know where they might be.”

“We both know this is about your sister, Sokka,” Zuko replied. “I can’t tell you.”

“What? Why not?” Sokka asked, mildly irritated.

“Trust me,” Zuko said, turning to leave. “Knowing will just make you feel worse.”

“It’s not just about (Y/N)!” Sokka hissed, causing Zuko to stop in his tracks. “It’s my dad. He was captured too. I need to know what I put them through.”

“It’s not good Sokka,” the prince replied, not meeting his eyes.

“Please.”

Sighing deeply, Zuko gave in. “My guess is, they were taken to The Boiling Rock.”

“What’s that?”

“The highest security prison in the Fire Nation,” Zuko ignored Sokka’s horrified look. “It's on an island in the middle of a boiling lake. It's inescapable.”

“So,” Sokka said, trying to appear indifferent. “Where is this place?”

“Why do you need to know?” Zuko asked, eyes narrowing. “What are you planning?”

“Nothing!” Sokka tried reassuring the prince. “Boy, you’re so paranoid.”

Zuko rolled his eyes before replying. “It's in the middle of a volcano between here and the Fire Nation. You guys actually flew right past it on your way here.”

“Thanks Zuko,” Sokka said before letting out a very fake yawn as he stretched. “Just knowing makes me feel better.”

“Sure it does,” Zuko scoffed, watching the Water Tribe boy walk away. Noticing that everyone was getting ready to go to bed, he stealthily climbed up onto Appa’s saddle, gently shushing the sky bison when he once again opened his eyes.

At this moment, Zuko sort of regretted joining Sokka on his journey. After having successfully convinced him to take his war balloon instead of Appa, the two boys found themselves existing in awkward silence.

“Pretty clouds,” Sokka spoke first, slightly startling Zuko.

“Yeah...fluffy,” the Fire Nation prince replied before focusing on the fire again. Sokka began whistling casually, drawing Zuko’s attention. “What?”

“What?” Sokka asked, the awkwardness between the two boys palpable. “Oh, I didn't say anything. You know, a friend of mine actually designed these war balloons.”

“No kidding,” Zuko said with slight surprise.

“Yep. A balloon...but for war,” came the other boy’s reply.

“If there's one thing my dad's good at, it's war.”

“Yeah, it seems to run in the family.”

“Hey, hold on,” Zuko said, slightly offended. “Not everyone in my family is like that.”

“I know, I know,” Sokka replied, hands raised in defense. “You’ve changed.”

“I meant my uncle. He was more of a father to me. And I really let him down.”

“I think your uncle would be proud of you,” Sokka said, looking at Zuko intently. “Leaving your home to come help us? That's hard.”

“It wasn’t that hard.”

“Really?” Sokka asked in disbelief. “You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about?”

“Well I did have a girlfriend,” Zuko replied, smiling slightly. “Mai.”

“That gloomy girl who sighs a lot?” Sokka asked, trying to hold back his smile.

“Yeah. Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I'm a traitor. I couldn't drag her into it,” Zuko explained before hesitating slightly. “Besides, I didn’t truly like her. Trust me, I know that sounds bad. When we were kids we liked each other, but we’re not kids anymore and we’ve both changed and things just weren’t working out.”

Sokka nodded in understanding before crossing his arms. “My first girlfriend turned into the moon.”

Zuko paused for a few seconds, looking up at the moon and wondering if Sokka was being serious before turning to him. “That’s rough buddy.”

Silence ensued again, the scene almost relaxing if it weren’t for the fact that the two of them were heading for the most high-security prison in the Fire Nation.

“So,” Zuko broke the silence, looking at Sokka uncertainly. “What happens if we get there and (Y/N) isn’t there?

The question caught Sokka off guard, causing him to scowl. “She will be.”

“But,” Zuko pressed, trying to make the boy understand. “What if she isn’t?

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Sokka replied, crossing his arms and looking away as he tried not to think about Zuko’s words.

“Why don’t you just wait until after Aang defeats my father to set everyone free?” Zuko asked softly. “You’d have a much better chance then.”

“You just don’t get it!” Sokka yelled, looking back at Zuko. “See you and your sister might not get along very well but (Y/N) is the most important person in my life. She was the one who took care of me and Katara after our mom died. She was the one who basically led our tribe after the men went off to fight. She always knew what to say and what to do. We need her Zuko. I need her, Katara needs her, Aang definitely needs her, heck even Toph needs her!”

Zuko stayed silent as he focused on the fire, giving Sokka a few minutes to calm down.

“You’re right Sokka,” he finally said. “I don’t get along with Azula. We’ll find her.”

Sokka didn’t reply, instead choosing to look up at the moon, hoping that he had made the right choice.

Soon enough, they had reached The Boiling Rock. Zuko followed after Sokka, a bit disgruntled at the fact that his war balloon had been destroyed. They had somehow managed to get guard uniforms and sneak into the prison, a feat Zuko found impressive considering that Sokka didn’t have a fully thought-out plan.

“I hope these disguises work,” Zuko hissed, shoving Sokka softly with his shoulder.

“We just need to lay low and find (Y/N) and my dad as soon as possible,” Sokka quietly replied, rubbing his shoulder. “Ow!”

“Guards!” another guard ran past Sokka and Zuko, causing them to flinch. “There’s a scuffle in the yard. Come on!”

The two boys exchanged looks before running after the guard, eventually coming to an open space where a guard was harassing a prisoner. The rest of the guards were trying to keep the other prisoners away from the confrontation. Sokka subtly tilted his head, motioning for Zuko to join the other guards. They split up slightly, trying to keep the crowd in control.

“I didn’t do anything,” the prisoner in the middle of the platform stated, walking away from the guard. “I’m going back to my cell.”

“Stop right there Chit Sang,” the guard said, sending a fire whip towards him. “I’ve had it with your unruly behavior.”

One of the prisoners Zuko was trying to hold back began to slip past him and he reached out to grab them. His eyes widened when he made eye contact with the girl, who then promptly proceeded to shove him off of her and onto the ground. Zuko stared at the girl, his heart speeding up slightly and his stomach lurching as she shot him a glare and marched right up to the guard who had created the fire whip.

“Leave him alone!” she growled, stepping in front of Chit Sang. The guard simply laughed before stepping forwards.

“What are you gonna do Water Tribe scum?”

Zuko flinched as Sokka swatted him, tilting his head towards the girl. “That’s her! That’s (Y/N)!”

Sokka grasped Zuko’s arm tightly, knowing that he couldn’t jump to his sister’s defense. The two of them watched in anticipation as the guard shot out a blast of fire, aiming it at you. Zuko’s eyes widened at the sight. You weren’t a bender, you were going to get burned.

His jaw dropped as you gracefully slid underneath the blast before coming up and swatting the guard’s hand away. When the guard tried to aim at you again, you swept your leg in a graceful arc, knocking him down. You were amazing.

“Cuff her!” the guard barked, embarrassment clear on his face as all the other prisoners cheered. Two of the other guards grabbed you roughly, cuffing your hands behind your back and shoving you roughly in front of the guard you had knocked down.

“You think you’re tough, don’t you?” the guard asked. You didn’t look at him.

“Look at me when I speak to you!” the guard screamed. The yard went silent as everyone waited to see what you would do. Slowly, you lifted your head and met the guard’s eyes. His face held a smug expression, which was soon wiped off when you leaned forward and spit in his face.

The yard went wild again, the guards struggling to keep the prisoners under control. The bully guard lunged forwards, gripping your face tightly in his hand. He stared you down for a few seconds before tossing you to the ground. Scowling, he turned to Sokka and Zuko, who seemed to be the only guards not busy at the moment. “You two! Take her to her cell.”

Sokka picked you up and Zuko led them inside, stealing glances at you as you walked. At one point Sokka caught his gaze, giving him a confused look before his eyes widened in realization. He looked between you and Zuko before glaring at the prince and shaking his head furiously. Zuko avoided his gaze after that. They found your cell quickly enough and Sokka softly pushed you in before stepping inside and pulling Zuko with him.

He took off your cuffs easily enough and you stepped away from him, rubbing your wrists gently.

“What do you want?” you snarled, eyes shifting from one guard to another.

“(Y/N)!” one of them cried out, moving towards you. You sidestepped quickly, grabbing his arm and shoving him up against the wall. He groaned in pain as you pulled his arm back.

“What do you want?” you hissed, not taking your eyes off of the other guard.

“(Y/N/N),” the one you were holding squeaked. “It’s me!”

Your eyes widened at the voice and you stepped back, still keeping your hand on the guard’s arm. “Sokka?”

Sokka used his free hand to take off his helmet, a large grin on his face as he turned to look at you. “Yes! It’s m-”

His words were cut off when you yanked on his arm, pulling him close to you as you wrapped your arms around him in a tight hug. Sokka melted into the hug, wrapping his arms around you tightly as he held tears back.

“Spirits,” you whispered, pulling back and looking at your baby brother. “Sokka what are you doing here? How did you get here?”

“Uh, we took my war balloon,” the other guard replied. You froze slightly at the familiar voice, turning to find Prince Zuko standing there, waving awkwardly.

“You,” you snarled, stomping up to the prince and pushing him up against the wall. You held your forearm against his throat, staring him down. Zuko didn’t do anything in return, a dazed smile on his face as he stared back at you.

“(Y/N) what are you doing?” Sokka yelped, placing a hand on your shoulder. You looked away from Zuko, glancing at your brother in disbelief.

“What do you mean? Have you forgotten that he’s tracked us all over the world? Or that he’s tried to kill us? Multiple times!” you glanced at Zuko again, noticing that he was still smiling. “Why are you smiling at me? Sokka, why is he smiling at me?”

Sokka snorted softly, the scene in front of him reminding him of the first time Aang had met him and Katara. Shooting a tired look at Zuko, he gently pulled you away from the scarred prince. “I don’t know why he’s smiling at you but I do know that he’s part of the team now, so lay off okay?”

You looked at him in disbelief before whirling around and facing Sokka. “Alright but that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“We’re here to break you out?” Sokka said, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned his gaze to the floor.

“Seriously?” you hissed, stepping closer to him and causing him to stumble back. “This couldn’t have waited until after Aang defeated Ozai?”

“I told you so,” Zuko mumbled, shooting a pointed look at Sokka.

“Stay out of this,” you whisper-yelled, pushing him back up against the wall with one hand. “You have to leave. Both of you.“

“Well you see,” Sokka said, chuckling slightly as he met your gaze. “We can’t exactly do that.”

“Yes you can,” you replied, grabbing Sokka and proceeding to push the two boys towards the door. “Just get back on your little war balloon and leave.”

Zuko and Sokka exchanged nervous glances at the mention of the war balloon, causing you to narrow your eyes at them.

“Don’t say it.”

“It popped!” Sokka squealed, bouncing away from you as he noticed your expression. “But we’ll get out of here, and you’re coming with us.”

You couldn’t help but facepalm at your brother’s words.

The guards had only released you from your cell when it was your turn to do the cleaning. You hadn’t heard from Sokka since he had left you, and you were worried that he had gotten caught. You were so distracted by your thoughts that you didn’t notice the other prisoner who was mopping, resulting in you bumping into them and falling down.

“I’m sorry,” the other prisoner said, extending a hand to help you up. You glanced up, making eye contact with Zuko. Your eyes widened almost comically and you grabbed his hand, simultaneously pulling yourself up and pulling him closer to you.

“Where is my brother?” you asked as you leaned in close, panic in your voice as you whispered in his ear. Zuko tried to ignore the blush on his cheeks as your close proximity, focusing on your question.

“He’s fine,” he whispered back. “It was just me who got caught.”

You let his hand go, stepping back and nodding subtly before going back to mopping. Zuko stayed close to you, pretending to be focused on his mopping as he stole glances at you. Feeling his gaze, you looked up and arched an eyebrow as you made eye contact. The prince flushed when he realized he had been caught, looking back down before speaking.

“I-I never introduced myself,” he spoke softly. “I’m Zuko.”

“I know,” you replied flatly, walking further away from him. Zuko stood awkwardly for a moment before inching closer to you again.

“So you’re (Y/N),” he spoke again. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

You snorted at his words, your eyes not leaving the ground. “Yeah I’m sure it is.”

“You’re a really good fighter,” Zuko continued, still trying to make conversation. “Even back when I was still hunting the Avatar you were the one that I was most worried about holding off.”

“Good to know,” you said drily, finally looking up at Zuko. “Look, Sokka may trust you but I don’t, okay? First of all, you haven’t really done anything but cause trouble for us. Second of all, you actually brought my brother here. I appreciate the sentiment but I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea of my baby brother breaking into a Fire Nation prison.”

Zuko swallowed harshly, looking away. “I’m sorry. But he was really adamant about rescuing you and your dad and-”

“Wait,” you interrupted Zuko. “I’m the only Water Tribe member here. My dad is still being held somewhere in the Fire Nation capital.”

Zuko’s eyes widened briefly before he composed himself. “Oh. Alright then I guess that means we can leave as soon as Sokka comes back to meet us.”

The two of you continued to mop in silence before someone suddenly grabbed your upper arm, causing you to stiffen and causing Zuko to get into a defensive stance.

“Calm down, it’s just me.”

“You really have to stop doing that Sokka,” you hissed, yanking your arm away from him. “Zuko told me about why you’re here. I hope you know we can leave now. Dad isn’t here.”

Sokka’s face fell briefly before he forced a smile onto his face. “He may not be but guess who is? Suki! Why didn’t you tell me she was here (Y/N)?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” you whispered. “Maybe because I was too busy freaking out about the fact that my kid brother and the Fire Nation prince broke into prison and don’t have a way to get out!”

“Shh!” Sokka hissed, putting his hand over your mouth. “Be quiet! And I’m not your ‘kid brother’, you’re only a year older than I am.”

Zuko stayed quiet as the two of you stared each other down before Sokka let out a yelp and took his hand off your mouth. “Did you just lick me?”

You didn’t reply, a smirk on your face as you crossed your arms. Zuko stifled a laugh at the scene in front of him, coughing quietly when you shot a look at him. The three of you stood still as a new voice interrupted.

“So, what’s the plan?” Suki stood near you, hiding in the shadows that the staircase provided. You exchanged a glance with Sokka, nodding in encouragement.

“So, listen, I think I have an escape plan,” Sokka began, a little nervous at being in charge of the escape plan. “I checked out the coolers again, and the point of them is to keep firebenders contained, right?”

“Yeah,” Zuko replied, unsure as to where this was going.

“So, they're completely insulated and sealed to keep the cold in. Well, to keep the cold in, it also has to keep the heat out, right?”

Zuko and Suki exchanged confused looks before looking over at you, only to see you smiling widely as you caught on.

“Just get to the point Sokka,” Suki said, glancing around nervously.

“It's a perfect boat for getting through the boiling water!” you said, eyes sparkling as you looked at Sokka proudly. Despite the situation, Zuko found himself smiling at the sight of your smile.

“Sokka,” you said, leaning in close to your brother while keeping your eyes on Zuko. “He’s doing it again.”

Sokka scowled and smacked Zuko’s head, causing the boy to straighten up and ignore Suki’s smirk. “The cooler as a boat? Are you sure?”

“I’m telling you, it’ll work,” Sokka said, giving them each a serious glance. “I walked around the perimeter. There's a blind spot between two guard towers. It's the perfect launching point. I already tested it out. We'll roll the cooler into the water and just float with the current. It'll take us straight across. As long as we don't make a sound, no one will notice. And bing-bang-boom, we're home free.”

“But how are you going to get the cooler out?” Suki asked, a worried frown on her face.

“Yeah. How are you gonna get the cooler out?”

The four of you turned as Chit Sang landed next to you, causing Sokka and Zuko to stutter as they tried to tell Chit Sang that they weren’t planning anything. You rolled your eyes, stepping closer to Chit Sang before speaking. “That’s easy, isn’t it? We just need to get a firebender into the cooler.”

Sokka and Zuko gaped at you, shocked that you had given them away.

“Calm down,” you scoffed, patting Chit Sang’s back. “Chit Sang and I go way back. He’s the one who made all the other firebenders leave me alone.”

Chit Sang nodded before turning back to the group. “Look I won’t tell the warden about your plan if you let me come along.”

Sokka stared at you intently, the two of you having a silent conversation before turning back to the group. “Fine! But we need to get someone into the cooler.”

Sokka handed Zuko a wrench. “Here. You’re going to unbolt the cooler, from the inside.”

Zuko looked back at Sokka, confused. “How am I going to get in there?”

You grinned widely, patting Zuko’s chest as you walked past him. “I got this. Follow my lead.”

You picked up your mop, motioning for Zuko to do the same. You began mopping, casually walking around as you kept Zuko in your periphery. The prince didn’t dare look at you so he was caught by surprise when you bumped into him from behind.

“Hey!” you snapped, turning around and glaring at him. “Watch where you’re going.”

Zuko froze for a split second before realizing this was your plan. “You’re the one who bumped into me. How about you watch where you’re going?”

A smile played at the corner of your lips as you stared each other down. Zuko noticed and felt his cheeks grow warm as he tried to hold back a smile of his own. The two of you stood there for a few seconds, staring at each other until Sokka coughed loudly.

Tearing your eyes away from the prince, you lunged at him. He easily dodged your swing before throwing a halfhearted punch back at you. You rolled your eyes as you kicked at him, losing your balance slightly as he swatted your leg away. You recovered quickly and threw another punch, a soft gasp leaving your mouth when he grasped your wrist and twirled you around, your back pressed against his chest as his arm held you tightly in place.

You struggled for a moment, sighing in defeat when you realized just how strong he was. You tilted your head back slightly, your lips brushing against his ear as you whispered into it. “You have to firebend at me Zuko.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he mumbled back, causing you to roll your eyes again.

“I’m a big girl. I can handle myself,” you replied. With a grunt, you elbowed him in the stomach. He let out a soft ‘oof’ and you took that chance to break out of his hold. You dropped down and spun, your leg outstretched as you tried to knock him down. He jumped over your leg easily before shooting out a blast of fire at you. He held his breath for a second, sighing in relief as he noticed you roll out of the way.

“No firebending!” a guard shouted, roughly grabbing Zuko from behind. You sent him a soft smile, receiving a smirk in return. As he was led away, Suki came up to you, a big smile on her face.

“So,” she said, her tone teasing. “What was that?”

“Yeah (Y/N),” Sokka said, crossing his arms as he came up to you. “What was that?”

You rolled your eyes before walking past the two of them. “It was a fight.”

“That’s not what it looked like from my point of view,” Suki called out after you, causing Sokka to send a glare at her. You simply chuckled at her words.

“(Y/N)?”

You stood up from the floor of your cell, looking at Sokka as he stood outside your cell. “Yeah?”

“It’s time.”

Sokka opened your cell and threw you a guard’s uniform before quickly closing the door and allowing you to change. When you were done, you knocked on the door three times, fixing your helmet as you waited for him to open the door.

Together, the two of you made your way towards the cooler, trying to avoid any guards on your way.

You opened the door to the cooler, a small frown making its way onto your face when you noticed that Zuko was shivering.

“I can take you back to your cell if you’ve learned your lesson,” Sokka said, looking way too smug. You rolled our eyes and focused on Zuko as he looked up at the two of you. His eyes met yours as he let out a breath of fire, his shivering stopping completely. He sent you a cocky smirk and you ignored the flopping you felt in your stomach at the sight of it. (A/N: y’all know what smirk i’m talkin bout)

“Yes I have,” he breathed, showing you both all the bolts and screws he had removed. “Completely.”

“I got Suki and Chit Sang out of their cells a few minutes ago,” Sokka whispered. “They'll be waiting for us at the shore.”

“Someone’s coming!” you whisper yelled, letting out a small yelp when you were pulled into the cooler. The three of you barely fit into the cooler but that didn’t make it any less cold. Even though you had grown up in the South Pole, you found yourself shivering at the temperature, your breath coming out in icy clouds.

Zuko glanced down at you, a frown appearing on his face as he noticed you shivering. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around you, bringing you in close as your expression changed into a bewildered one. You opened your mouth to say something, but quickly shut it when you realized just how warm he was. Sokka, unfortunately, didn’t stay quiet at the scene playing out in front of him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he screeched quietly, trying to pry the two of you apart. You quickly pushed him away.

“Sokka, shut up,” you mumbled as you wrapped your arms around Zuko, your teeth still chattering. “He’s warm and I’m freezing.”

Sokka’s jaw dropped as you casually buried your face into Zuko’s chest, a content sigh escaping you as you got warmer by the second. Sokka stayed quiet as the voices outside got closer, instead miming a throat slitting motion as he stared Zuko down, causing the prince to swallow harshly.

“...Yeah. new arrivals coming in at dawn,” a male voice sounded, catching your attention.

“Anybody interesting?” a female voice asked in reply.

“Nah, just the usual. Some robbers, a couple traitors, some war prisoners,” you and Sokka exchanged a disbelieving look. “Though I did hear there might be a pirate.”

“No fooling!”

The voices faded as they walked away and you all took that chance to leave the cooler.

“War prisoners,” Zuko stated, his eyes not leaving Sokka’s. “Could be your father.”

“I know.”

“Well, what should we do?” Zuko asked. “Are we going ahead with the plan or are we waiting another night?”

“I don't know!” Sokka cried out, looking distraught. “Is it right for me to risk Suki and (Y/N)’s freedom, all of our freedom, on the slim chance that my dad is gonna show up?”

You stayed quiet, not knowing what to say.

“It’s your call Sokka,” Zuko finally said, trying to let the other boy know he was there for him.

Sokka thought about it for a moment, eyes focused on the ground. After a few seconds he looked up and scowled, crossing his arms as he glared at you. “You can let go of him now (Y/N).”

A bright blush erupted on your cheeks as you looked at Zuko, an embarrassed expression spreading across your face as you realized you were still holding onto each other. You stepped away from him quickly, clearing your throat as you did so.

The three of you had somehow managed to get the cooler down to the shore, not that it mattered considering the fact that Chit Sang had just taken your only means of escape. It wasn’t his fault really; it was you and Sokka who had been extremely hesitant to leave, not wanting to risk the chance of your dad being on the gondola the next morning.

Suki and Zuko had stayed behind with you, the four of you waiting in the blind spot for the gondola to arrive. It had almost been light out when alarms were set off, causing all of you to whip your heads to where the cooler had been floating off.

“The plan failed!” Sokka said sadly. “They got caught.”

“I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t go along with them huh?” you said, earning a dull look from your brother.

“The gondola's moving,” Sokka said suddenly, grasping your hand. “This is it. If my dad's not there, we've risked everything for nothing.”

“We had to,” you whispered back, squeezing his hand. The four of you now stood in the yard as you waited in anticipation, looking up as the gondola doors opened.

“Is that him?” Zuko asked as the first prisoner got out.

“My dad doesn’t have a nose ring!” both you and Sokka exclaimed, looking at the prince weirdly. More men came off the gondola, both you and Sokka shaking with anxiety as you kept an eye out for Hakoda.

“Where is he?” Sokka asked as the last man stepped off. “Is that it? That can’t be it.”

“I’m sorry,” Suki whispered, rubbing both of your backs.

“Hey you!” the guard called out, drawing your attention. “Get off the gondola.”

You waited with bated breath for the last person to emerge, your hand tightening around Sokka’s and causing him to wince. Your eyes widened as you watched the final prisoner get off, dark jaw-length hair surrounding a face that held tired blue eyes. You immediately turned to Sokka, tears threatening to spill.

“Sokka,” you whispered. “It’s dad.”

You had been pacing back and forth worriedly ever since Sokka had gone to join the other guards and quite frankly, both Suki and Zuko were tired of it.

“Please just stand still (Y/N),” Suki said, gently reaching out and grabbing you. “If something was wrong, we would’ve heard it already. Your brother isn’t exactly the quietest.”

You nodded in agreement and sat down, nervously biting your lip as you waited for Sokka to return. You barely flinched as Zuko sat next to you, Suki giving him a knowing glance as she wandered off slowly.

“Look,” he began, staring straight ahead. “I know you don’t like me, but I need to tell you this okay? As much as you can’t help but worry, you shouldn’t. Sokka’s smart and he knows what he’s doing...sort of.”

He chuckled at the halfhearted glare you directed at him. “I’m kidding. But really, Sokka’s smart and brave and he was so set on coming up here and breaking you out and I know he’s going to do it because he has heart. Plus he has you helping him out. So stop worrying so much okay? Also, never repeat any of what I just said to him”

You snorted at Zuko’s words before bumping his shoulder with your. “Thanks Zuko. You know what? Maybe you’re not as bad as I thought.”

The prince’s eyes widened in shock and he smiled down at you, blushing slightly when you smiled back. Your moment was ruined when Sokka came sprinting back, causing Suki to join you as well.

“(Y/N), c’mon! I found him,” Sokka exclaimed. Without another word, he grabbed your arm and dragged you away from the group. A wide smile was on his face and you felt yourself smile as well when you came to a stop in front of a cell.

Sokka slid the door open, looking around before ducking inside and draging you with him. “Thank goodness you’re okay!”

“Oh you’ll see just how ‘okay’ I am,” Hakoda replied, swinging at what he believed to be a guard. You stepped in front of Sokka before pushing Hakoda’s arm out of the way, ducking under it and pushing him softly before pulling Sokka out of the way.

Hakoda’s eyes widened at the familiar movements,searching the faces of the two guards standing before him. “Sokka? (Y/N)?”

"Dad!” you cried out in unison with Sokka, the two of you removing your masks as you smiled at Hakoda. His eyes filled with tears as he brought you into a hug and you couldn’t help but let a few tears slip as well.

“Where’s Katara? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine dad,” you said, tightening your hold on Hakoda. “She’s not here.”

“Where’s Bato?” Sokka asked, pulling away. “Where’s everyone else from the invasion?”

“The others are being held at a prison near the Fire Nation palace,” Hakoda replied. “They sent me here because I kept being difficult after they singled (Y/N) out as the leader and sent her here. But before I left, I met some young women who said they knew you. The...Oshinama Fighters? ”

“You mean the Kyoshi Warriors?” you asked.

“That’s right.”

“Their leader Suki is here,” Sokka said, a blush visible on his face. “She’s gonna escape with us too!”

“Good. We'll need all the help we can get.”

“And you know Prince Zuko?” Sokka asked, getting excited at the thought of finally leaving.

“The son of the Fire Lord?” Hakoda asked hesitantly. “I don't know him, but I know of him.”

"Well he’s here too!” Sokka exclaimed.

“That sounds like a major problem,” Hakoda replied, crossing his arms as his face hardened.

“Actually,” Sokka said, smiling nervously. “He’s on our side now.”

Hakoda shot him a disbelieving look, causing you to step in.

“I had the same reaction dad,” you said, putting a hand on Hakoda’s shoulder. “But he really has changed. He came here with Soka to break me out. He’s been a big help.”

Hakoda’s face softened at your words. You had always been a good judge of character, so if you approved of the prince, then he did too. “So, do you have a plan?”

“We had one,” Sokka said, looking down sadly. “But some of the other prisoners got involved and ruined it. I dunno if there's another way off this island.”

“Sokka, there's no prison in the world that can hold three Water Tribe geniuses.”

“Then I guess we’d better find two more to help me plan something,” you teased, making Hakoda laugh and earning a dull look from Sokka.

You sprinted towards the yard, having been distracted by another guard for a few minutes before all the prisoners had been let out. When you reached your dad, Suki, and Sokka, you were surprised to see Chit Sang speaking with them.

“Hey you! You're lucky I didn't rat you out,” Chit Sang said, staring Sokka down. “But my generosity comes with a price. I know you're planning another escape attempt, and I want in.”

You nodded at Sokka, telling him to go along with it. He sighed softly before facing Chit Sang. “Actually, we're trying to escape right now, but we need a riot. You wouldn't happen to know how to start one, would you?”

“You seriously couldn’t start a prison riot?” you asked in disbelief, looking at the three of them in disappointment. “C’mon Chit Sang, let’s show them how it’s done.”

The two of you stepped forwards, Chit Sang picking up another prisoner as you strutted up to one of them.

“Hey everybody!” you yelled, the yard going quiet as you spoke. Without hesitation, you punched the prisoner closest to you. “Riot!”

The yard exploded into chaos as people began fighting and throwing stuff around. You quickly fought off the prisoner that you had punched before returning to your friends.

“Impressive,” Hakoda said, looking around at all the chaos.

You turned and swung as you felt someone bump into you, the person letting out a loud grunt as your fist met their face. Your jaw dropped as your eyes met piercing gold ones, your hands coming up to your face in slight horror as you realized that you had just punched Zuko.

“Yep,” he said, clutching his face. “I probably deserved that after everything I’ve done to you.”

“I’m so sorry,” you choked out in between giggles, earning a smile from the prince.

“Zuko! Good, we’re all here,” Sokka said, drawing you all into a huddle. “Now all we need to do is grab the warden, and get to the gondolas!”

“And how do we do that?” Zuko asked.

Sokka hesitated for a few seconds. “I’m not sure.”

Zuko groaned, throwing his hands up in frustration. “I thought you thought this through!”

“I thought you told me it's okay not to think everything through”

“Maybe not everything, but this is kind of important!” Zuko cried out.

“Hey fella,” Chit Sang interrupted, tapping Zuko’s shoulder before pointing at you. “I think your girlfriend’s taking care of it.”

“You’re dating my daughter?” Hakoda asked, glaring at Zuko.

“W-What? No!” Zuko cried out, slightly fearful of the Water Tribe Chief.

“Damn right you’re not,“ Sokka said, crossing his arms before Chit Sang spun him around.

“Your girlfriend too buddy.”

All four males went silent as they observed both you and Suki. You swiftly made your way up the tower, effortlessly taking guards down as you inched towards the warden. Suki took a stance at the base of the tower, fighting off any other guards who attempted to rush to the warden’s rescue. She was a truly impressive sight, her training as a Kyoshi Warrior shining through as she took down every guard that came at her effortlessly. Sokka stood a few yards away, awestruck at the sight in front of him.

Meanwhile, you had successfully made your way up to the top of the tower. You made quick work of the remaining guards before finally facing the warden.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he snarled, getting into a defensive position.

“Watch me,” you quipped, lunging at him. You avoided his punch, grabbing his wrist and spinning him around before shoving him up against the railing. You grabbed his sash, tying his hands before knocking him down and making sure he was tied securely before smiling over at your dad. “You’re my prisoner now warden.”

Down in the yard, Hakoda, Zuko, and Chit Sang all stared at you in awe, Sokka still focused on Suki.

“That’s my girl,” Hakoda stated, a proud look on his face as he looked up at you.

“Do you think she’d want to be my girl?” Zuko muttered dazedly, unintentionally speaking louder than he meant to. When he realized what he had said, he looked up in embarrassment, being met with an amused glance from Chit Sang, a harsh scowl from Hakoda, and a sharp slap from Sokka.

“Shut up!” Sokka hissed before grabbing Zuko’s arm and rushing to join you and Suki.

You all ran to the gondola, making sure that the warden was still tied up as you dragged him with you.

“We’re almost there!” Suki cried out.

“Spoke too soon,” you groaned as a group of guards came across your path, immediately sending two blasts of fire at you. You yelped as Zuko pulled you out of the way before stepping in front of you and dissipating the blasts. He sent a series of blasts back at them before grabbing the warden from you.

“Back off! We've got the warden!“ he shouted, successfully stopping the guards. When they didn’t make any movements he grabbed your hand and tugged you along. “Let's go”

Suki was the first to make it to the gondola, holding the door open for everyone else. “Everyone in!”

You all clambered on and you glanced around, realizing that someone was missing.

“Zuko!” you yelled, looking back at the prince. He started the gondola and you felt yourself panic as the guards closed in on him. “What are you doing? Hurry up!”

“I’m making it so that they can’t stop us!” With a few kicks, Zuko managed to break the lever that controlled the gondola before sprinting towards you. You leaned out of the door slightly, watching him in anticipation.

“C’mon Zuko,” you whispered to yourself, biting your lip as the gondola left the platform, now hanging freely. Zuko sped up and jumped, his feet landing on the edge of the gondola. He wobbled for a bit before you grasped his arm, fully pulling him into the gondola and into your arms. Zuko looked at you in confusion before wrapping his arms around you as well.

“Are you sure they’re not dating?” Hakoda asked, his voice quiet as he addressed Sokka. Sokka sent Zuko a menacing glare, the scarred prince gulping and loosening his hold on you when he noticed.

“What were you thinking?” you cried out, finally pulling away from Zuko and slapping his head.

“Ow!” Zuko hissed, rubbing the spot you had hit. “I was thinking ‘let me get rid of this lever real quick so that they don’t catch us’.”

“You could’ve gotten captured!” you yelled at him, taking a step towards him.

“Way to think ahead,” Sokka commented, saving Zuko from another slap.

“We’re finally on our way.” Suki sighed, sharing a soft smile with Sokka.

“Wait,” Hakoda said, leaning out of the window. “Who’s that?”

You leaned out of the window on the other side of the gondola, resisting the urge to blush as you felt Zuko’s chest press up against your back as he tried to get a good look at the platform.

“That’s a problem,” Zuko groaned. “It’s my sister and her friend.”

“This is a rematch I’ve been waiting for,” Suki growled, cracking her knuckles.

“Get in line,” you scoffed, your eyes narrowing as you watched the princess approach. You climbed out of the gondola and onto the roof, being followed by Sokka, Suki, and Zuko.

Suki and Sokka turned to face Ty Lee as she landed onto the roof gracefully, quickly becoming preoccupied with the chi-blocker. You carefully observed Azula as she landed a few feet away from you, staring you down as she stalked closer.

“Well, well, well,” she spoke, her voice taunting. “If it isn’t the Water Tribe scum.”

“Don’t speak to her like that,” Zuko barked, stepping slightly in front of you.

“Aww, does Zuzu have a little crush?” Azula teased, pouting as she shifted her gaze to Zuko. “Snap out of it Zuko. We raided her village multiple times. She’ll never see you as anything other than a monster.”

“Still not over what your mother used to say about you huh?” you shot back, missing the hurt look in Azula’s eyes as she shot lightning at you. You swiftly dodged the blast and ran at her, sliding onto the ground when she let out another blast.

Zuko watched as you stood up, landing a solid hit on his sister before bouncing back and dodging the hit she sent your way. He tried to find an opening to attack Azula but eventually gave up for fear of hurting you. Instead he chose to jump into the fight and wipe out the blasts Azula kept sending at you, even if you were expertly dodging them.

Azula soon grew tired of the fight, and knowing that she couldn’t beat you in the moment decided to send a blast of fire at Zuko. She caught him off guard and although he managed to wipe out the blast, he ended up tumbling back and landing dangerously close to the gondola’s edge.

“Zuko!” you yelled, momentarily distracted from the fight. Azula took this chance to kick you down, punching you before kicking you once more when you tried to scramble to your feet. You were sent stumbling against the metal handle that attached the gondola to the cable, gasping in pain as you crashed against it. She grinned widely when your head hit the metal.

You blew your hair out of your face, wincing as you reached up to touch the sore spot on your head and sighing when you noticed the blood on your fingertips.

“You have nowhere to go,” Azula stated, stalking towards you. Blue fire danced at her fingertips, her eyes hungry with anticipation as you struggled to stand. “Such a shame, you could’ve been a great asset to me.”

“I would rather die than join you,” you shot back, finally managing to stand up.

“Fine,” Azula spat, the fire growing as she narrowed her eyes. “Have it your way.”

You closed your eyes and braced yourself, knowing that you were in no shape to block her attack. You felt the heat approaching before it disappeared. Opening your eyes, you gasped softly as you saw Zuko standing in front of you. He sent blasts of fire back at Azula before the gondola swung dangerously, sending them both stumbling.

“They’re about to cut the line!” Ty Lee shouted at Azula.

“Then it’s time to leave,” the princess smirked. “Goodbye Zuko.”

Azula blasted away as Ty Lee backflipped gracefully onto the other gondola. Zuko glared at Azula briefly before rushing to your side, reaching down and gently picking you up.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his face twisting with concern as you stumbled.

“Yeah,” you breathed. “Just peachy.”

You tried to walk on your own only to stumble once more and fall right into Zuko’s arms. You shook your head slightly, trying to walk off once more.

“(Y/N), stop,” Zuko said, scooping your legs up and fully carrying you.

“P-Put me down!” you yelled, drawing Sokka and Suki’s attention.

“Hey! Put her down,” Sokka cried, rushing over to your side. He was stopped when the gondola swayed again.

“Stop struggling,” Zuko hissed, tightening his grip on you. “You can’t walk without stumbling. You probably have a concussion.”

You pouted but stayed silent, knowing that the prince was right. Carefully, he made his way over to the edge of the gondola, noticing that Hakoda was leaning out of the window. Carefully, he handed you down to him, making sure that you were safely inside before swinging himself in as well. Sokka and Suki quickly followed.

“They’re cutting the line,” Zuko stated, exchanging glances with everyone else. “The gondola’s about to go!”

“I hope this thing floats,” Hakoda said, fussing over your head wound as you tried to push him away.

“Hey!” you suddenly cried as the gondola began to move. You glanced out the window. “Who’s that?”

“That’s Mai!” Zuko exclaimed, his eyebrows furrowing as he observed her fighting with the guards.

The gondola made it to the other side without any other mishaps. When you got there, Zuko carefully picked you up once again, making his way out of the gondola. Sokka kept his gaze on him, only looking away when he felt Suki grab his hand. She shook her head at him before looking at you and Zuko. “Calm down. There are worse people she could be with.”

Sokka rolled his eyes at her words before trailing after Zuko, a barely visible smile appearing on his face as he noticed how Zuko was fussing over you as well. Hakoda and Chit Sang tossed the warden back into the gondola before joining the group. They all walked for a while before Zuko paused, standing on the cliff that was overlooking the rest of the volcano.

“What’s wrong Zuko?” you asked quietly, your eyes not leaving his face as he scanned the landscape in front of him. At this point, everyone else had backtracked to where you were standing.

“My sister was on that island,” was his only response.

“Yeah, and she's probably right behind us, so let's not stop!” Sokka said, trying to convince Zuko to keep moving.

“What I mean is she must have come here somehow,” he replied, his eyes still looking around.

“There!” you exclaimed, pointing at a large airship. “That's our way out of here!“

The six of you all managed to make it to the airship quickly enough and Zuko quickly lit the fire and guided it away from The Boiling Rock. The atmosphere was lively as everyone tried to catch up with each other, the excitement from the day eventually leaving everyone as the sun began setting. One by one, everyone fell asleep until it was just you and Zuko awake.

You had been looking around the ship, smirking in victory when you found a first aid kit. Silently you wandered out to where Zuko was, trying not to startle him.

“Long night?” you asked, leaning on the wall next to him.

“Someone has to keep the fire going,” he retorted, a faint smile present on his handsome face.

“Can you help me?” you asked quietly, meeting his eyes as he turned to face you. He nodded and you handed him the first aid kit before sitting down in front of him. You flinched slightly as his hand grabbed your jaw, closing your eyes as you reveled in his touch, remaining oblivious to the way his heart was racing at the close proximity. His touch was feather light in comparison to the guard who had grasped your jaw in a similar way back at the Boiling Rock. You snorted softly as you recalled the incident that had taken place a mere day ago; it seemed like it had happened ages ago.

“I’m sorry,” Zuko whispered, tilting your head to get better access to the cut on your head.

“It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt,” you murmured back, eyes still closed.

“Not about that,” Zuko replied, cleaning the wound as best as he could with the supplies you had given him. You hissed softly as he tried to place the bandage on, breathing deeply to try and ignore the pain. “I’m sorry about everything. I’m sorry for hunting the Avatar down and chasing you all around the world. I’m sorry about your mother. I’m sorry for the raids that tore your village apart. I’m sorry that I kept causing you harm even when I had the chance to do good.”

You opened your eyes at his words, reaching up and gently grabbing his hand to bring his attention to you. He could’ve sworn his heart skipped a beat. You stared at him in silence, his golden eyes never leaving yours even as he fidgeted uncomfortably under your gaze. Your face softened as you realized just how full of guilt Zuko really was, your heart aching as you realized that you couldn’t spend any more time hating him. Not when he had already done so much to try and make up for his mistakes.

“No Zuko,” you finally spoke, guiding him to take a seat in front of you. “I’m sorry for being so harsh towards you. You did more than enough to prove that you aren’t the same bratty prince you were when we first met but I wasn’t willing to look past the fact that you were once our enemy. You left the Fire Nation to help Aang and I can’t imagine how hard that was-”

“Trust me,” Zuko interjected, laughing humorlessly. “It wasn’t that hard. My father and sister are horrible people.”

“Still,” you said, leaning in a bit. “They’re your family. Betraying your family isn’t easy, even if you don’t get along with them.”

Silence ensued as Zuko stood up and carefully finished bandaging your cut. He took his seat in front of you once more, watching the fire as you watched him.

“What?” Zuko asked, his cheeks heating up he realized that you were still staring at him.

“Thank you Zuko,” you stated, finally looking away from the golden-eyed boy.

“Don’t thank me,” Zuko replied. “It was Sokka’s idea to break you out.”

“I mean for saving me from Azula,” you whispered, looking back up at him. “She really had me backed into a corner.”

“I wasn’t going to let her hurt you,” Zuko stated, staring into your eyes. “Sokka would’ve killed me if we came all this way just to lose you to her.”

You giggled at his words, causing him to smirk in satisfaction as he realized that he had made you laugh. “He would’ve, wouldn’t he?”

There was another silence before you spoke up again. “In all seriousness, thank you. I never thought that I’d be calling Prince Zuko my hero.”

Zuko gulped as he realized just how close the two of you were. Neither of you made a move to back away and you flushed when you caught yourself glancing at the prince’s lips.

You blushed harder when you realized he had caught you in the act.

“Zuko,” you whispered, squeaking softly when said boy leaned forwards and connected his lips with yours. The kiss was soft and hesitant, with both of you holding your breath as you realized you were kissing each other.

Pulling away, Zuko’s eyes widened. “Oh spirits. I-I’m sorry. I can’t believe I just did th-”

You cut Zuko’s apology off with another kiss, this one a little less awkward. His hand came up and grabbed your waist, pulling you a little closer as his other hand cupped your cheek. Your hand came up to grab his forearm, your brain trying to comprehend the fact that you were kissing Zuko and wondering how in the world he was such a good kisser.

“I thought you said you weren’t dating my daughter.”

The two of you flew apart as you heard Hakoda’s voice.

“D-Dad!” you exclaimed. “We weren’t- I wasn’t-”

Hakoda held up a hand to stop your stuttering. “It doesn’t matter. He risked his life to help your brother break you out of prison which means he’s good in my books. Just please don’t kiss in front of me. And maybe don’t let Sokka find out about this just yet. Good night.”

You turned to Zuko in embarrassment as Hakoda walked away, making eye contact with him before the two of you dissolved into laughter.

“Well that’s one way to get the parent’s approval,” you muttered, smiling at Zuko as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you into him.

The two of you spent the rest of the night awake, talking about everything and nothing, stargazing as Zuko kept the flame alive.

“You know, I used to know the moon spirit when she was alive,” you said smugly, glancing up at Zuko as he smiled widely at you.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah! In fact, she was Sokka’s first girlfriend.”

Zuko smiled and pressed another kiss to your lips, smiling softly when he felt your hand come up to his chest.

And in that moment, Zuko knew he had made the right decision by deciding to join the Avatar. After all, if he hadn’t then why would the universe have chosen to reward him with something as amazing as you.

taglist!

@musicalkeys, @mywigglybaby, @bubblebars, @iguessthefloorislava

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canonspyglass · 3 years ago

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Southern Raiders Discourse: Aang/Katara v. Zuko/Katara

Here’s a summary of the TSR discourse.

There are actually many sides: pro or anti Katara, Aang, Zuko; pro or anti Kataang, Zutara; and neutral.

But to simplify, i will use pro Aang versus pro Zuko and categorize the arguments to whichever fits best. Scroll to the end to see the neutral pov.

[Updated 11/20/21]

Pro Aang : Zuko brings the worse in Katara. She’s more aggressive, resentful, and angry in his presence.

Pro Zuko : Katara lets Zuko see the worst in her, which is something she’s had in her all along. Zuko did not create her anger.

Pro Aang : With Aang, Katara is lighter, kinder, gentler. With Zuko, she is darker, angrier, crueler. Therefore, Aang is the better positive influence.

Pro Zuko : Katara has both good and bad side. While she maintains her good side constantly, often at the cost of her own peace of mind, she’s only truly shown Zuko her bad side. Aang can’t support Katara in her darkness.

Pro Aang : Aang morally guides/uplifts Katara from succumbing to the cycle of war, revenge, violence.

Pro Zuko : Zuko lets Katara decide on her own where she morally stands. He supports her either way and reserves no judgement.

Pro Aang : Zuko sought her forgiveness for his selfish reason, which is to be accepted by everyone in the group. He’s entitled to her forgiveness. He wouldn’t have gone as far without a personal agenda. He doesn’t deserve it.

Pro Zuko : Zuko may have sought forgiveness for his selfish reason but he did not expect to earn it, as he never brought it up again after their first argument in the episode. He helped her mission at his own personal cost.

Pro Aang : Zuko assumes that Katara needs revenge and pushes her for it without asking her first. He even goes as far as collecting info from Sokka and plans beforehand. Zuko assumes he knows what’s best for her.

Pro Zuko : Zuko acts on his desire to earn forgiveness by consulting with Sokka what Katara has said. He waits for Katara and offers her a relevant information. Katara is the one who wants the revenge mission.

Pro Aang : Aang urges Katara to show mercy and forgiveness. Without his advice in the back of her mind, Katara would’ve gone too far and regret it.

Pro Zuko : Katara has much more agency. People tend to underestimate her will even when she’s always shown the most strength in compassion and mercy. Remember Aang’s careless violence to the wasp and the sandbenders after Appa went missing. Aang lost control, while Katara had always pulled through.

Pro Aang : In the end, it was Aang’s philosophy of mercy and forgiveness that won her out. Even Zuko admitted that Aang was “right about what Katara needed, violence wasn’t the answer.”

Pro Zuko : Nuance! Katara showed mercy, but never forgave Yon Rah. Katara did not murder, but she did violence (bloodbending a raider, ice threatening Yon Rah). If Katara had taken Aang’s philosophy, she only took parts of it and did so by her own terms.

Pro Aang : Aang was ok with Katara going on the journey. He supported her and never got in her way.

Pro Zuko : Zuko went along the journey. He supported her and never got in her way.

Pro Aang : Zuko is an enabler and should’ve done something to stop her.

Pro Zuko : Zuko let the choice be hers and let her do what she needed.

Pro Aang : At her worst moment, Katara needed someone to take initiative to pull her away and stop her from spiraling into darkness.

Pro Zuko : At her worst moment, Zuko paved a her path, gave her a way to heal on her own terms, aside of what anyone else told her what she needed to do.

Pro Aang : the episode framed Aang’s morality to be the best outcome. It’s proven by all characters’ responses: (1) “but I think that aang might be right.” — Sokka (2) “Now that I know he's out there, now that I know we could find him, I feel like I have no choice.” — Katara. (3) “You were right about what Katara needed. Violence wasn’t the answer.” — Zuko

Pro Zuko : in the end, Katara says to Aang, “but i didn’t forgive him. I’ll never forgive him.” instead of affirming to Aang’s morality. This episode ultimately frames Katara’s morality, trauma, and experience as her own. She did not forgive when Aang pushed her to. Aang’s morality does not and should not be viewed most superior and used to dictate other’s. The agreements on Aang’s view are separate from Katara’s realizations and decisions.

Neutral Pov (by this post)

Personally, I don’t see it as either. I see the episode as two teenagers, both deeply hurt and unable to move past the loss of their mothers, going on a necessary journey to heal and move past what happened. There was no right choice, no ultimate outcome, no right or wrong way for the events to happen. They just were. They were two teenagers affected by war having to do things no teenager should ever have to be in the position of doing.

#understanding the discourse #the southern raiders #zutara #kataang #atla meta #zuko x katara #atla discourse #aang x katara #katara #aang #zuko

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sokkabaddiebender2021 · 4 years ago

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Ok, there’s a difference between fun shipping and insulting the integrity of a show based off of a fanon ship. One main issue I take with the zutara fandom is that they’re constantly bashing the writing of atla, the writers themselves, and all the effort and care that was put into the creation of this show. Not to say one can’t have critics of the show, but calling the show mysogonistic, terrible, self insert etc etc because your ship didn’t happen is ridiculous.

Zutara had interactions together that yes, if you ship them, can seem romantic. But the fact of the matter is that none of their scenes are explicitly romantic. So accusing the writers of ship baiting is equally as absurd, especially because even when they acknowledged the ship, it was to poke fun at it.

Now, I’m absolutely sick of seeing zutaras calling the show mysogonistic/self insert because Katara didn’t end up with Zuko. Katara CHOSE to be with Aang in the end, not Zuko. After he made the mistake of kissing her in EIP, it was up to her to continue their relationship, and she did, on her own free will. If anything, it is more sexist to force Katara into a relationship with Zuko when she showed no interest in him that way, just because that’s who YOU want her to be with. Also, the whole ‘Katara became a trophy wife by being with Aang’ argument still makes no sense to me. Best healer in the world? Banned bloodbending? Taught the next avatar waterbending? Is called master by the white lotus? But no, because she chose to have children and wasn’t whooping ass at 90 years old she’s just a trophy wife. Makes sense........

And what is this bs about self insert? You’re saying two grown men self inserted onto a 12 year old boy in relation to his relationship with a 14 year old girl? Do you understand how gross that is? I get it, you’re upset that your ship didn’t happen, but this implication is downright disturbing and will never cease to make me uncomfortable. They wrote kataaang the way they did because that’s what they wanted to happen, not because they wanted to insert themselves onto actual children.

Acting like the whole show was ruined by one ship is such a depressing POV. The show hardly focuses on romance (in comparison to the overall plot), so completely dismissing the incredible friendships, stories, characters, and writing because of Zutara, making the whole show about this one ship, is just so disrespectful. Hell, I just saw this one post rewriting the ending of atla that had the ending scene with Zuko and Aang talking replaced with a Zutara hug. Like what?? There is more to a show than a ship (if it’s a good show at least, which I would argue atla most definitely is).

Ship what you want to ship, you just don’t need to rain on everyone’s parade because they don’t also happen to like your ship, especially those who put the time and effort into creating this show.

#atla #atla rant #avatar the last airbender #atla fandom salt #anti zutara #I hate anti ship tags but sometimes u gotta do what u gotta do #pro kataang #pro aang #pro katara #pro zuko #pro atla #anti shipping #I love a good ship but at the same time people use them to totally ruin shows #anti zutara fandom #zuko #katara #aang #bryke

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shrinkthisviolet · 3 years ago

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oh and also?? i really feel you have an interesting like pov for izumi, so maybe her too? if you can!!

You're so sweet, thank you! I'm always happy to talk about one of my favorite girls 🥰

Headcanon A: realistic

Izumi firebent a couple years later than her dad, which made her the topic of quite a bit of gossip. This wasn’t helped by Zuko sending her to a normal school...but hey, he just wanted to give her a Normal Kid Experience as much as possible, and he and Mai supported her in every way possible with her bending and knife-throwing (and her various adult figures were there for support too), so Izumi never lacked in love 💞

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

Izumi is a theater kid. Initially, she was vaguely interested because her dad was, but she didn’t really love it all that much herself. But then she tried out for a play on a whim and ended up loving it. Her dad teases her about this all the time 😂

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

Zuko gently explained to Izumi, when she was about 14-15, what his dad had done to him. And Izumi didn’t understand it at the time. Then Iroh—the spitting image of Zuko in voice and appearance—was born, and when he was 13, Izumi cried every night, and Bumi with her, because they had no idea how any father (any parent, really) could look their child in the eye and burn right through him.

(They had a similar crisis when Mizuki, their youngest child and only daughter, turned 13, because the idea of hurting either of their kids absolutely killed them 😭)

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own

The Gaang kids were all raised together, but they never really considered themselves siblings, more like childhood friends. They called each other’s parents “Aunt” and “Uncle”, but that was more of an honorific for most of them—the only exceptions to this are Katara for Sukka’s kids and Sokka for Kataang’s kids

(Fight me, Bryke)

headcanon ask game!

#avatar legend of korra #lok #izumi #headcanon ask game #bumizumi

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brightjimini · 4 years ago

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Sickness

Anon: Can I get a zuko x female reader where they are still friends and reader is sick and asks zuko to please stay and take care of them??? And then eventually they get together

Zuko x female earthbender reader

Warning: sickness, fainting, Toph being a cute friend

Word count: 1.75 k …. oops

A/N: I have never written anything with so much fluff in it lmfao, but I hope its cute and yall like it. Let me know what you thought of it. X

Team avatar had sadly been divided after Azula, Mai and Ty Lee were hunting us. Now it was just Toph, Zuko and I. Zuko was sitting on Appas head at his reins while Toph and I were sitting in his saddle. We had gotten rid of Mai and Ty Lee about an hour ago, but now we were looking for Katara, Aang, Sokka and Momo. I tried to suppress the shivers that I felt going down my spine.

I already had felt like Appa had rolled over on me in the morning. But we did not have anytime to slow down as a blast of blue fire had woken us up. I hugged myself to keep myself warm and watched the trees under us. The speed at which we were flying made me dizzy. A few minutes later the trees under us started to blur more and I felt my body sway from side to side.

“Uh.. Zuko?” I heard Toph say before everything vanished.

Zuko’s POV

He could hear the worry in Toph’s voice when she said his name. He quickly looked behind him and saw Toph slowly moving to the other side of the saddle on her hands and knees, turning his head even more when actually he saw her. Y/N was laying on her side, her hair covering her face. “Y/N!”

He quickly looked for a spot to land Appa and found a clearing in the forest that would be enough. Letting go of Appa’s reins he jumped on the saddle to Toph and Y/N. “She is very hot.” Toph said her hand was on Y/N’s forehead. Toph moved a little bit away knowing that Zuko could do more for her friend in this situation.

He cradled her upper body to his chest and moved a few damp hairs out of her face. Her skin was clammy and he could feel her body shiver. He didn't really know what to do. Katara was the healer. He picked Y/N up and got off Appa, Toph sprung from the saddle on the ground next to him.

“We should probably set up camp here, more traveling could make here even more sick.” She said. “Right..”

He laid her body down on the grass while Appa stared at them. Toph made a hole in the ground for a fire. Eventually Y/N’s body was wrapped in all the blankets that they had and a fire was flickering next to her. She was still sleeping and the sun was slowly going down. Zuko sighed and grabbed the wet cloth on her forehead and dipped in a bowl of water next to him. Toph had found a creek close by.

He carefully placed the wet cloth back on her forehead. Zuko was worried, he cared much about her and had also started to love her these few weeks. He had been traveling with the team for 3 months now and he did not know if he could ever care about someone in this way. Y/N was an earthbender, but she said that she wasn't as good as Toph. She had joined the team after Toph and had left the orphanage she lived at behind. He knew that she could be as good as Toph but Zuko saw her holding back most of the time. He did not know why but also did not want to ask. She had been kind to him. It had taken here just a few days to warm up to him and he was kind of surprised. Y/N had said it was because he was cute and he had just turned red and choked on his food while the rest of the team laughed. When he dared to look back at her she had a little smile on her face and his heart just exploded.

A cough brought him back to the present. He quickly leaned over her body and caressed the side of her face. He could see her eyelids twitch. Finally she opened her eyes.

He sighed in relief at least she was awake.”You kinda scared us.” Zuko said.

Meanwhile Toph could feel the rest of her team approaching through the woods she had been long enough with them to recognize their footsteps. She didn't say anything to Zuko because she knew he had felt so bad the whole day he had been taking care of her.

“TOPH!” Sokka’s voice probably woke up all the animals that were starting to doze off in the trees.

Y/N POV

I flinched after hearing Sokka’s shout. Zuko’s face that had been turned to where the watertribe boys voice came from. I could hear hurried steps. Katara’s face came into view. “What happened?” She asked. “She fainted while we were looking for you guys because she has a fever. I tried to take care of her but I don't know if I-” Katara cut Zuko off. “ I'll check her.”

The next moment a blue light shone into my eyes and I closed them again. Then I fell asleep.

Something moved on my body. It was light. I opened my eyes and the big eyes of Momo made me let out a scream. Momo sprung off my body also terrified by my scream. Someone beside me sat up. “Momo don't do that. Aang already told you not to sit on people while they are sleeping.” It was Zuko.

Slowly I sat up, I felt a lot better than when I was on Appa. The sky was orange with little clouds moving in the sky. I brushed my hair behind my ear. It probably looked like a mess. “You should lay down..” I looked at Zuko. He was on his knees, his hands in his lap, under him was his sleeping bag and when my eyes met his I could see that he was concerned. My head was still hurting and I still felt weak but I felt like I had been laying down for too long and I was hungry.

“I feel a lot better, but how did we end up here?” I asked. The last thing I remembered was flying on Appa’s back. Zuko scratched behind his neck with one of his hands and I could see a blush forming on his face “About that.. You actually fainted so I bought us here so that we could take care of you. Katara said that you will be okay in a few days.” He answered.

I nodded. I looked at the rest of the members, everyone was still asleep and Toph was still sleeping in her stone tent. Luckily our missing friends found us.

The next day I wasn't allowed to do anything. Katara was sitting next to me preparing our last meal before bed also scolding me about how I should have said something. I looked at the ground and plucked at the grass. “Luckily Zuko knew something about tea and made you drink some. You should have seen him Toph said he looked like he was about to be sick from his worrying. We found him next to you.” My hands stopped what they were doing and looked at Sokka and Zuko who were feeding Appa.

After we were done eating everyone made themselves ready for bed. Everyone was still a little tired from the hunt on us. I walked to the creek knowing that Zuko was there washing his clothes. The light of the moon helped me find him kneeling at the side of the creek. “Hi” I said not wanting to scare him. He halted his movements and looked in my direction. I waved. “ Uh.. hey, Im just washing my shirt.” Well this was kind of awkward. I smiled, I hadn't really talked to him today or yesterday.

I walked to him and sat down next to him. “I know, I just wanted to thank you for taking care for me.” I had already thanked Toph. And she brushed me off with a wave of her hand while she was lounging on a block of stone saying that and I quote my prince had it all under control.

“Oh yeah, yeah you don't have to thank me for that.. I actually didn't really know what I was doing and I-“

“Katara said you were great and I am happy you weren't Sokka, I mean he would do his best but the boy couldn't make anyone his patient. Not after eating a random cactus in the desert.” I said. Zuko laughed.

It was silent for a while. The fire prince finished his shirt and stood up and looked around. I slammed my palm on the ground and a block of stone came out of the ground next to him. He took a step back and clearly caught off guard. I laughed. He laid his shirt out on the block and I could hear him mumble a thanks. He sat back down next to me and we both looked up at the stars. I shuffled a little closer and leaned my head on his shoulder feeling a little tired. I hadn't used my bending in a few days and I still wasn't a hundred percent better.

The prince cleared his throat. “Y/N.. I actually want to tell you something, its okay if you wanna pretend that I did not say anything if you don't feel the same way.” He sighed. I sat back up and looked at him. He kept looking at the water.

“I like you- No I think I love you. Of course-“ He confessed. I smiled and let out a chuckle.

Zuko looked at me with wide and confused eyes. I kissed him on his cheek. “ I would like to kiss you right now but I am still a little sick-“ It was him that cut me off right now. I felt his warm and soft lips against mine after the shock wore off in a second I kissed him back.

“Katara! Y/N is making Zuko sick!” We heard Aang shout close by. We jumped away from each other and Zuko fell back. I laughed and pulled him by his arm to let him sit again. His cheeks were a little darker than normal with the little light we had. He laughed too. “So that means you like me too?” He asked.

“I love you too.” I replied leaning my head back on his shoulder. He slung his left arm around my waist.

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thinkingisadangerouspastime · 4 years ago

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So, this may sound weird, since I don't ship ZK, but I think the reason some dislike EIP is because they realize it was the first part of a busted enemies-to-lovers arc. EIP was part one, where Zuko and Katara see how others see them, and it weirds them out. Yet, Zuko insisted on sitting next to Katara and Katara pushes Aang away, suggesting there might be something there that they don't want to acknowledge. (1/3)

The first part of the finale was Part 2, where June reiterates the "Hey you're with your gf again!" Zuko and Katara deny it, but there likely should have been an undercurrent of 'Why do people think we're together? Do we act like it? Should we be? S/he is kind of cute.' During this time, Zuko defers to Katara and despite Toph likely being more helpful, asks Katara to be the one to take down Azula with him. (2/3)

Last part of the finale should have been the money shot, Zuko taking lightning for Katara, and in a parallel to CoD, Katara healing him. Dante Basco is right in that there probably should have been a kiss at that moment and the end scene of the gang at the Jasmine Dragon with Zuko and Katara shyly proclaiming their interest in each other. (3/4, sorry I have one more)

Again, ZK is not my ship, but EIP seemed to set up a ZK endgame that jumped the tracks at the end. By all the "rules" of a good narrative, Zuko and Katara should have ended up together, otherwise EIP should never have been countenanced or storyboarded. Full disclosure that I'm not a huge Kataang fan either, but Kataang was done a disservice by having EIP exist. It either should not have ever gotten written, or the ZK enemies-to-lovers arc should have been concluded. (end)

Disclaimer: I don’t care if someone ships Zvtara. Never have, never will. If the takeaway you (the general you, not anon specifically lol) get from this post is that Zvtara is “bad,” then I’m going to assume you didn’t actually read anything I wrote, because that is the farthest thing from my point here. Also, this post is strictly my personal response to these asks. I don’t expect everyone to read this and be like “YEAH” lmao. I am sure some people have different opinions, and that is a-okay!

In short, I think we will have to agree to disagree, anon.

Do some people consider EIP the beginning of a busted enemies-to-lovers arc? Of course they do, they’re “rabid zkers” who wear Zvtara shipping goggles 24/7 lmao. EIP couldn’t have been the beginning of an E-L arc because such an arc was never in the cards for them in the first place! Katara forgave Zuko in the previous episode. Trying to cram a romantic relationship into five episodes after months of hatred between Zuko and Katara would have been awful writing (and thus probably would have been a decision mercilessly criticized until the end of time, lmao). So it’s honestly better that Zvtara gets to spread its wings in fanon instead (much less pressure)! Also, realistically speaking, Katara and Zuko probably still had so many issues to work through in their friendship. Like yes, she forgave him and recognized he was trying to do better, but that doesn’t erase what Zuko has done to her and her friends. There is still plenty of forward progress they need to make before romance can even be considered between them. If that makes sense?

Also, let’s be real: EIP and bit with June afterwards were 100% ship bait. Just an attempt to add to the “drama” of who Katara would end up. A technique only effective while it was airing, for the record, because if you watch the show straight through, it becomes glaringly obvious that Zuko and Katara’s relationship - while gorgeous - was always meant to stay strictly platonic within the canon timeline.

Anyways. I’ll try to break down your ask one piece at a time!

“Zuko and Katara see how others see them, and it weirds them out”

Yes, they are definitely weirded out! The transcript says, “Zuko and Katara inch away from each other, slightly uncomfortable.” Which is just a longer way of describing that they were weirded out by the depiction of their relationship in EIP, lol. However, the play is not how others see them. The play is the Fire Nation’s imperialist propaganda, meant to demean the entire Gaang. I talk about in specifics how the entire Gaang is belittled here, but this is the key stuff I noted about Zuko and Katara:

it’s important to situate that and more importantly situate eip zuko and katara’s relationship within the context of the show. the fire nation is an imperialist country. the southern water tribe has suffered heavily beneath them. we know from “the headband” that fire nation individuals are fed pro-imperialistic propaganda from birth; that combined with zuko and azula’s degrading comment of “peasant” towards katara demonstrate very clearly how the fire nation views every other nation - put simply, they are superior and everyone else is inferior. that attitude is therefore reflected in the eip play:

- katara, an indigenous woman, is highly sexualized and portrayed as overly dramatic and tearful, because the fire nation objectifies women not of their own people and views them as less intelligent and less emotionally stable

- she is thus paired as having a “romance” with zuko in eip because naturally, via fire nation logic, zuko would be able to “score” an “easy” woman of one of the water tribes

- furthermore, the eip “romance” between zuko and katara emphasizes zuko’s position as a traitor to the fire nation; the implication is that as a traitor, he’d only be able to achieve a relationship with a “lesser” woman, e.g. a woman not of the fire nation

That is not how other people truly view Zuko and Katara’s relationship. That is how the Fire Nation depicts their relationship in order to degrade and dehumanize Zuko and Katara. To misinterpret that as “evidence” that Zuko and Katara should have been together romantically is… disturbing, in my opinion. (I really try to stay far away from zkers who use EIP as “proof” of supposed Zvtara interest in each other like honey that is imperialist propaganda please don’t 😭).

If you want to talk about how other people actually view Zuko and Katara’s relationship, look at the Gaang, who were around them most of all! They never tease the possibility of romance between their friends. Why? Because within canon, there wasn’t one. Simple!

“Zuko insisted on sitting next to Katara”

Nope! This is all the transcript says: “Zuko [Removing his hood.] Just sit next to me. What’s the big deal?” He doesn’t even mention Katara! Zuko is literally just like I’m already sitting. Why do I need to move? lmfao. It’s no thoughts head empty for our favorite firebender 😂

“Katara pushes Aang away”

I’m assuming this about the kiss, which I’m going to make a post about in the future because I am TIRED of the tomfoolery. Anyways, I’ll keep this brief - yes, she does push him away. She does not deny that she likes him. For Katara, the issue is the timing: “This isn’t the right time.” Both Katara and Aang know they like each other, plain and simple (which is why Aang doesn’t ask if he returns her feelings - he asks if they’d be together, because he knows their feelings are mutual). Katara pushes Aang away because, as she says, they’re in the middle of a war. She’s already seen Aang die once. He might die again. She doesn’t want that, of course, but it’s a reality Katara is forced to consider.

Anyways, her decision has nothing to do with Zuko. Lol.

“June reiterates the ‘Hey you’re with your gf again!’ Zuko and Katara deny it, but there likely should have been an undercurrent of ‘Why do people think we're together? Do we act like it? Should we be? S/he is kind of cute.’”

June’s assumption - especially because it is a repeat of a gag from earlier in the series, when it is incredibly concerning to assume a Fire Nation citizen would be with someone of the Water Tribes because of the war and its consequences - is comic relief. Not even good comic relief, lmao, because of the horrific implications I just mentioned that come with it, but it’s supposed to be comedy. There was no need of any “Zvtara” undercurrents there because a) Katara and Zuko had never expressed romantic interest in each other in the past, b) it wouldn’t track with the show’s narrative of Katara as Zuko’s surrogate sibling because of her position as Azula’s primary foil, and c) it just doesn’t make sense in general. Katara likes Aang. Zuko likes Mai. There was never a love triangle there, plain and simple. Fandom invented it.

And again, if you want to talk about how people actually see Zuko and Katara, don’t look at June, who has never had a proper conversation with either of them. As I said, the Gaang is a much better example, since they’re with the two 24/7. If they never tease Zuko and Katara about romance, why should we trust this random lady who doesn’t even know them?

“During this time, Zuko defers to Katara and despite Toph likely being more helpful, asks Katara to be the one to take down Azula with him.”

As I mentioned, Katara is Azula’s primary foil, so from a literary perspective she absolutely needed to be the one to take her down. Zuko needed to face Azula, but taking her down - again, from a literary pov - was always meant to be the end of Katara’s journey (she was the only person besides Aang who was ever a match for Azula, after all, as we see in CoD). Also, how would Toph be more helpful?? Not saying you’re wrong, btw, I just don’t understand what you mean. If I was Zuko, I also would have brought the waterbender that I’d already witnessed almost take down my sister already 😂. But even if Toph would have been more helpful, sometimes practicality must be sacrificed for a fulfilling narrative arc, lol!

“Last part of the finale should have been the money shot, Zuko taking lightning for Katara, and in a parallel to CoD, Katara healing him.”

Honestly, anon, this part of your ask baffles me 😂 I totally understand why rabid zkers might make this argument, but taking into account the rest of the show… It just doesn’t make sense? It’s been talked about a hundred times, but Zuko taking lightning out of romantic interest would ruin his redemption arc, regardless of if it was Katara or Aang or Sokka or anyone in the Gaang that he was taking it for, so that should be the end of discussion, full stop. I’ve talked about this issue here and here before, and someone else does a great job breaking it down in this post, too. But seriously. Zuko having romantic interest for anyone in the Gaang would ruin!! His!! Entire!! Arc!! I hate when people don’t understand that 😭 Zuko had to learn selflessness, to learn how to put others before himself, and to unlearn the imperialist rhetoric he’d been indoctrinated with from birth. Romantic interest during canon for Katara, Sokka, Aang, whomever, I don’t care, completely disregards all of his growth of breaking away from the Fire Nation. Plain and simple.

“Dante Basco is right in that there probably should have been a kiss at that moment and the end scene of the gang at the Jasmine Dragon with Zuko and Katara shyly proclaiming their interest in each other.”

I learned in a discord I’m in that Dante Basco apparently hadn’t seen the whole show until this year lmao. He didn’t know what energybending was nor did he know A:TLA ended with a Kataang kiss. Take that with a grain of salt, of course (you can watch the livestream this is revealed in here, and it was also mentioned in the recent StageIt A:TLA reunion), but I think it’s safe to conclude Dante Basco can be treated like any other Zvtara shipper. He likes the ship, which is totally cool, but he is not one of the writers, so his opinion meant naught in constructing the canon narrative.

ANYWAYS. My point is why would Zuko and Katara proclaim interest in each other if such interest would have to be crammed into five measly episodes?? Especially when four of those episodes were the finale?? That is awful writing, of course the A:TLA writers wouldn’t do that, lmao! They’d built up Kataang and Maiko already. Why scrap it and needlessly rush a romance from an excellent - and, important to note, a newly established - platonic bond? Nah.

“EIP seemed to set up a ZK endgame that jumped the tracks at the end. By all the ‘rules’ of a good narrative, Zuko and Katara should have ended up together”

Nope. Idk what rules people have been teaching you, anon, but they were lying!! You deserve better than people who would lie to you like that 😤. But yeah, narratively speaking, Katara and Zuko getting together would have made no sense. It would have undermined Zuko’s and Katara’s arcs, it would have completely disregarded Katara’s established feelings for Aang and Zuko’s for Mai, and again, it would have been totally rushed. Who wants that?? Normal people don’t, lmao. This might be hard to believe considering I occasionally rag about BNF zkers, but I actually have several friends who are Zvtara shippers! They agree that canon Zvtara would have made no sense, and that it’s better to play out a potential Zvtara dynamic in post-A:TLA fanon. I swear, it is only the rabid shippers who think Zvtara should have been canon, and trust me when I say no one should want to associate with them, lmao.

(And again, as I touched upon earlier, Zuko and Katara’s canon narrative relationship was surrogate siblings because of Katara’s position as Azula’s primary foil. The show wrapped their arc up perfectly! With a lovely bow and all. So no complaints from me!)

“otherwise EIP should never have been countenanced or storyboarded. Full disclosure that I’m not a huge Kataang fan either, but Kataang was done a disservice by having EIP exist”

What EIP did right:

- accurate (and horrifying) depiction of pro-imperialist propaganda

- recap of previous seasons

- a lesson on consent (Aang kisses Katara, it is depicted as wrong, and Aang reacts appropriately by admonishing himself and by giving Katara space afterwards. like, people call Aang an incel/entitled/whatever, BUT HE HAD THE PERFECT REACTION?? he literally backed off and never pressured her again. i would have killed for the guy who kept getting in my personal space during my junior year to have backed off when i told him to. spoiler alert: he didn’t)

- hit some good humor beats

What EIP did poorly:

- honestly it’s not very interesting just based on watching it (deconstructing it as propaganda gives it better depth), but that’s to be expected from filler

- stupid shipping drama

- not having an additional conversation/explicit apology between Aang and Katara

HOWEVER. This final point is actually very subjective. For one, A:TLA has a clear trend of not showing apologies on screen. Ex.: Katara doesn’t apologize to Sokka for what she said about their mother, Zuko doesn’t apologize for anything he did to the Gaang, Song, or really anyone (closest we get is “Hello, Zuko here” lmao), Ty Lee and Mai don’t apologize for putting the Kyoshi warriors in jail, etc. etc. So while an explicit apology would have been great, the lack of one admittedly tracks with the show’s pre-established standards. And two, while I of course would love a conversation between Aang and Katara (that’s literally MORE KATAANG. why would I refuse 😂), it isn’t… necessary, to be frank. Aang’s mistake is treated as such - kissing Katara was wrong and he should never have done that. Like I said, Aang acknowledges this error and gives Katara space afterwards. Thus, it is Katara who chooses to be with him when the war is over. She respects the time he gave her to come to a conclusion, and the choice she makes is that she loves him despite his poorly-timed kiss (I mean, she forgave Zuko for being complicit in Aang’s death. Katara is clearly a very forgiving person!). So like,, it gets to a point where if someone doesn’t recognize that, they’re probably the kind of weirdo who labels anything they don’t understand in a story as a plothole, lmao.

All of this is to say that EIP wasn’t a disservice to Kataang. It certainly could have been better, of course, and the kiss was obviously only put in to hype up drama (“will they, won’t they” blah blah blah), but overall it handled consent well for a kid’s show.

“It either should not have ever gotten written, or the ZK enemies-to-lovers arc should have been concluded.”

On the whole, EIP is absolutely an unnecessary episode, yeah. It was just a recap before the finale. The only important thing is its accurate depiction of pro-imperialist propaganda, but most people’s minds don’t immediately go to that, I’ll admit lmao 😂. And as I’ve already said, there was no Zvtara E-L arc - fandom completely made that up. Which is totally fine! That’s the point of transformative works. But they are still fanon. Plain and simple.

TL;DR - Zvtara was never in the cards for A:TLA. I wish rabid zkers would stop pretending it was and have fun in the sandbox like the rest of us 😭

And for the record, anon, you absolutely, 100% do not have to be convinced by any of this! It’s just my own, personal thoughts on the whole dealio. No worries either way!! 💛

#emphasis on my use of rabid zker. if you know you don't fall into that category then it's obviously not about you lol #(general you. not anon specifically)#amy answers #anon #amy analyzes

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