#(when he finds out it's zuko. he thinks he's going insane)

[sapphic-agent]

Let's Talk About How Book 3 Ruined Aang

If you've seen any of my prior ATLA posts, you know that I don't hate Aang. In fact, I quite liked him in Books 1 and 2. He was flawed, as all characters should be, but the show didn't shy away from those flaws or justify them. He was called out for burning Katara and rushing his firebending, Sokka and Katara were rightfully upset when he hid Hakoda's letter, he willingly owns up to the fact that his actions helped drive Toph away, and his entire arc after losing Appa and finding hope again in The Serpent's Path was beautifully done.

(Hell, even in The Great Divide Katara says what Aang did was wrong and he agrees. It's played for comedy, but the show still makes the effort to point out that what he did wasn't the right thing to do. You're just meant to understand that he was fed up and acted off of that)

Those flaws and mistakes were addressed and improved upon and helped Aang to grow as a character.

But for some reason, that aspect of Aang's character was completely flipped in Book 3.

The best examples of this are in both TDBS and EIP. Both the show and the fandom are too quick to brush off that Aang kissed Katara twice without her consent, one of which after she explicitly said she was confused about her feelings.

(And yes, she is angry in response and Aang calls himself an idiot. But after this, it isn't really addressed. They go on like nothing happened for the rest of the episode. Aang's lamentation comes from screwing things up with her romantically, not that he violated boundaries)

The show never really addressed why what he did was wrong. Not only because he wasn't given consent, but also because both times he isn't thinking about what Katara wants. In both instances, Aang is only thinking about himself and his feelings. This is something that persists through a lot of the third book. And by Sozin's Comet it ultimately ruins any character development he had built up in the second book.

One thing I feel was completely disregarded was the concept of having to let go of Katara in order to master the Avatar State.

For me, the implication wasn't that he had to give up love or happiness necessarily. He was emotionally attached to and reliant on Katara, to the point where she was needed to stop him from hurting everyone around him and himself. This is obviously detrimental to his functionality as the Avatar. And the point of him "letting her go" wasn't that he had to stop caring about her, it was that his emotional dependency on her was stopping him from being the Avatar he needed to be and that was what needed to be fixed. I don't even think it's about the Avatar State itself, it's about being able to keep your emotions and duty as the Avatar separate.

(If you look at Roku, he loved and had a wife. It wasn't his love for her that messed everything up, it was his attachment to Sozin. He wasn't able to let Sozin go and not only did he lose his life for it, the world suffered for it. It's the unhealthy attachments that seem to be detrimental, not love itself)

And Aang realizes that in the catacombs, which is how he's able to easily enter the Avatar State and seemingly control it. He let Katara go.

So then why does it seem like his attachment to Katara is not only stronger, but worse in mannerism? He liked Katara in Books 1 and 2- obviously- but he was never overly jealous of Jet or Haru. He only makes one harmless comment in Book 2 when Sokka suggests Katara kiss Jet.

But suddenly he's insanely jealous of Zuko (to the point of getting frustrated with Katara over it), off the basis of the actions of actors in a clearly misrepresentative play. Katara showed a lot more interest in Jet and Aang was completely fine with it.

(Speaking of EIP, Aang's reaction to being played by a woman was interesting. He wore a flower crown in The Cave of Two Lovers. He wove Katara a flower necklace. He wore Kyoshi's clothes and makeup and made a funny girl voice. He willingly responded to Twinkle Toes and had no issue being called that. And for some reason he's genuinely upset about being played by a woman? Aang in Books 1 and 2 would have laughed and enjoyed the show like Toph did. His aversion to feminity felt vastly out of character)

I guess my point is, why did that change? Why was Aang letting go of Katara suddenly irrelevant to the Avatar State? It felt like him letting go was supposed to be a major part of his development. Why did that stop?

Myself and many others have talked about The Southern Raiders. The jist of my thought process about it is his assumption that he knew what was best for Katara. And the episode doesn't really call out why he was wrong. Maybe sparing Yon Rha was better for Katara, maybe it wasn't (the only one who's allowed to make that choice is her). Pushing forgiveness? That was wrong. But the episode has Zuko say that Aang was right when the course of action Katara took wasn't what Aang suggested.

Katara's lesson here was that killing him wouldn't bring back her mother or mend the pain she was going through and that Yon Rha wasn't worth the effort. That's what she realizes. Not that she needed to embrace forgiveness. How could she ever forgive that? The episode saying Aang was right wasn't true. Yes she forgives Zuko, but that wasn't what Aang was talking about. He was specifically talking about Yon Rha.

And that was wrong. Aang can choose the path of forgiveness, that's fine. That's his choice. But dismissing Katara's trauma in favor of his morals and upbringing wasn't okay.

I know it sounds like this is just bashing Kataang. But it's not simply because I don't like Kataang, in my opinion it brings down Aang's character too, not just Katara's. But let's steer away from Kataang and Katara for a minute.

The one thing that solidifies Aang's character being ruined in Book 3 for me is the fact that he- at the end of the story- does the same thing he did in the beginning.

He runs away when things get hard.

Aang couldn't make the choice between his duty and his morals. So he ran. Maybe it wasn't intentional, but subconsciously he wanted an out. And this is really disappointing when one of the things he was firm about in Book 2 was not running anymore. His character went backwards here and that's not even getting into the real issue in Sozin's Comet.

There's been contention about the Lion Turtle intervention. For many- including myself- it's very deus ex machina to save Aang from having to make a hard decision. And that in turn doesn't reflect kindly on his character.

Everyone- Sokka, Zuko, Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen (who was another Airbender and was raised with the same beliefs he was and would understand which was the whole point of him talking to her)- told him he had to kill Ozai. They all told him it was the only way. And he refused to listen to any of them, rotating through his past lives until he was given the answer he wanted.

And before anyone says that I'm bashing Aang for following his culture, I'm not. Ending the war peacefully, in my opinion, wasn't the problem. In a way, I think it allowed the world to heal properly. However, that doesn't make up for the fact that Aang refused to make a choice and face the consequences of that choice. Instead, he's given an out at the very last second.

Even if he couldn't kill Ozai and someone else had to deliver the final blow, that would have been better than the Lion Turtle showing up and giving him a power no one's ever had before. It would have been a good compromise, he doesn't have to have blood directly on his hands but what needs to be done needs to still get done. It would also show that being the Avatar isn't a burden he has to bear alone. That when things get hard, he can't run away but he can rely on the people closest to him to help him through hard decisions.

All these issues aren't necessarily a problem with Aang. Aang prior to Book 3 didn't have most of these problems. This is a problem with the way he was handled

[discordiansamba]

He got caught.

Not literally- he didn't know if what dignity he had left could survive if he got caught in a fishing net. Not metaphorically either, though- he guessed spotted was a better word for it. Someone had spotted him. It was his own fault, really- he'd heard plenty of rumors about the Northern Water Tribe's princess, Yue.

They said she'd been saved by the moon spirit as an infant.

He knew her from her white hair. He'd been curious, so he'd crept closer. He guesses he must not have been as subtle as he thought, because the next thing he knew, she was calling out to him. He tried to dive back under the water, but she called him again, and this time... he paused and looked back.

He felt... drawn to her, somehow.

She carefully made her way to the water's edge, crouching as near to him as she could get. She smiled at him, and introduced herself. He watched her suspiciously for a few moments, his gaze flicking about their surroundings, looking for any guards- but no one else was around. He debated diving underwater again...

...but he swam closer instead.

"Are you a spirit?" Yue asked.

Zuko shook his head. He didn't think so.

"Really?" Yue blinked. "You've certainly been touched by them, then. I've never seen anyone like you before."

Zuko huffed, and swam a bit closer. Yeah. He hadn't seen anything like him before either. He was pretty sure he was one of a kind.

"Can you... talk?" Yue tilted her head.

"Yes," Zuko's voice cracked a little as he spoke, "-I can."

Yue just looked delighted. He should probably leave, but... instead he placed his arms on the walkway, hauling himself slightly out of the water. Her hands twitched like she wanted to touch him, but she kept them to herself. Guess the Northern Water Tribe at least trained their royalty to have manners.

He asks her how she knew he'd been spirit touched. She just gestured vaguely in the direction of his tail. Right, yeah. He guessed that was pretty obvious. She told him that she'd had her life saved by the moon spirit as an infant (which he already knew), and that it had left a piece of itself inside of her. She could feel... something similar in him.

...yeah, actually. He felt like he could tell the same about her.

He told her he used to be a normal human, but then someone had blown up his ship with him in it. That the next thing he knew, he'd woken up underwater with this body. She frowns, considering it for a moment before speculating what he'd already guessed- that it perhaps might be the ocean spirit at work.

(He didn't understand why a Water Tribe spirit would save him.)

She asked for his name. He hesitated for a long moment.

"Zuko," he said, "-it's Zuko."

Yue's eyes widened- and he nearly ducked back under the water. Shit. She knew who he was. Of course she did- the Avatar had been here. It would be weirder if he hadn't been brought up once or twice.

"No, wait!" She said. "I'm just... a little surprised. Aren't you from the Fire Nation?"

Zuko huffed. "Yeah. I don't get it either."

She frowned. "Well... I could look at some things in our library. We have a collection of tomes about the moon and ocean spirits."

He frowned, cocking his head. Why would she do that? They were enemies. She just shook her head. She didn't see it that way. Tui and La had blessed them both in turn. Couldn't he feel it? They were connected, just like the great spirits were.

(He could. He wanted to deny it, but he could.)

Living underwater, Zuko decided, sucked.

It wasn't just because he'd been cut off from any possible way with which he might regain his honor. How could he capture the Avatar if he couldn't even walk? Just wait until he conveniently decided to go for a swim? Even if he did, his father would just think of him as even more of a disgrace if he presented himself before him like this. He was a firebender- a child of the sun.

He shouldn't be part fish.

He missed not being wet all the time. He hated the fact that he'd kind of stopped noticing he was just. always wet. He lived underwater. It was just a state of being at this point. He only really noticed the absence of being wet when he spent too long out of the water, and he began drying out. He still had a working set of lungs (thank Agni), but the amount of time he could actually stay on dry land was limited.

He missed actual food. There was nothing to eat under the sea but fish- and it wasn't like he could even really cook it, not unless he went to the effort of dragging his kills on to the shore and breathing fire on it, which was a chore in and of itself. He'd tried eating seaweed to mix it up a little, but it had just made him sick. Barfing underwater sucked.

He missed actually being able to talk to people- and wasn't that ironic? His Uncle had always tried to get him to talk to members of his crew, but he'd always just brushed him off. Now he found himself longing for someone to talk to, if only to break up the monotony. He'd developed a habit of hiding underneath docks and listening to sailors chatter, but it wasn't a real replacement for actual conversation.

Ugh. At this point he'd even be willing to talk to the Avatar.

(Not really, though. He didn't want the Avatar or his two Water Tribe companions to see him like this. It would be humiliating.)

At least the ocean wasn't entirely devoid of things of interest- he'd poked around a few shipwrecks, periodically finding interesting things. He would bring them back to the underwater cave he'd found, hauling himself up onto the rocky ledge and stashing it with the rest of his stuff. He'd at least been able to recover most of his belongings from his ship- not that he knew what he was going to do with them.

(He'd recovered some of his Uncle's stuff too. He didn't know what he was going to do with that either.)

Agni, he missed not knowing how much horrifying shit was under the sea. He'd spent three years of his life on a boat, completely oblivious to the creatures they'd sailed right over. The first time he'd run into a creature three times the size of his body, with jaws that looked like they could split him in half, he'd hid and prayed to any spirits listening that it would leave him alone.

(It was only after that, that he discovered that nothing in the ocean seemed interested in him. Maybe he was being protected by whatever spirit had done this to him. Thanks?)

He missed having a purpose. Hunting the Avatar had been his sole drive for the last three years, and now it was just... gone. He had nothing to replace it with. He didn't know what to do with himself- and maybe that was the worst part of all this. He had no idea how to fix this- so the possibility that this would be the rest of his life was one that was slowly sinking into him.

He should probably be grateful he wasn't dead- but it certainly might have been easier.

(If he ever saw those pirates again, he was dragging their asses underwater.)

[daftmooncretin]

rip to rian johnson but star wars sequels would be way better if ben solo was just kinda cowardly and han solo coded so he defected from the jedi and went to be a fun swashbuckling anarchist space cowboy instead

and finn and poe have to find him and try to convince him to come back to the rebellion but hes afraid who he is and what he could become

also instead of luke trying to kill his nephew for NO REASON (so insanely out of character it boils my blood) he just realises after ben dips thats hes not cut out for teaching. and is living on a mandalorian colony as rebellion liason/ambassador with chewie and sometimes lando i guess (din djarin is there) he aids the rebellion (because of course he would fuck that plotline) but he wont stay on the rebel base because he doesnt like all the chosen one clout and mandalorians are very chill and mind their own business

han and leia are still together and play active parts in the rebellion because fuck that plotline too although they do disagree about the ben situation (leia is annoyed and han is understanding) poe and ben childhood friends and for what.

in this au, rey is raised in the empire and is a sith lord but she has doubts and isnt as abjectly disgusting as kylo ren because of course not. (appears slightly too interested in the rebellion when poe is captured and maybe??? possibly lets finn and poe escape but thats up for debate.) rey gets more evil over course of movies before turning to light for plot drama and a satisfying zuko arc.

force awakens timeline

prophecy that a new jedi will rise and take down the dark side. rey and sith lord (dk who but fuck snoke im writing him out) assume it is the missing ben solo (its finn and rey tho fr) and are intent on finding him. movie opens on rey being evil probably and capturing poe. also finn as a character actully needs no real changes hes great. and then next scene space pirate ben solo doing his thing (but without identity revealed so we dont know who he is yet he may go by kylo because funny)

instead of luke poe has a lead on missing almost-jedi before he dipped ben solo and is searching for him on leias orders.(rebellion also believe the prophecy is about him. but nuh uh) torture scene and escape scene doesnt need to change but show reys nuances and how lost she is.

in the interest of narrative poe and finn still crash on tatooine but finn manages to pull poe out of the crash. (finn still gets the jacket at some point because i say so) poe is too injured to fly so they seek out help and and meet ben solo who saves them from pirates or something idk. (but neither know who the other is)

finn and poe convince ben solo to be their pilot still thinking hes a random smuggler named kylo. they get along very well, especially finn and ben. rey by this point is tracking their whereabouts

they end up on that lightsaber planet and ben gets the weird darth vader nightmare and freaks out, (hes afraid of being evil or something idk) poe is getting suspicious now also finn feels the force and takes up the lightsaber. rey comes and finn trys to hold her off. finn get hurt and drops lightsaber. ben is forced to take it up and his identity is revealed as rebel reeforcements led by han and leia arrive and they see him fighting. rey and ben have a weird charged moment (yes i guess i am still making reylo a thing but its reyben now and its woke so shh) and in a dramatic desperate effort he manages to knock her lightsaber away with the force. poe crawls into a plane at somepoint and blows up reys ship. the rebels destroy the stormtroopers but rey captures finn and escapes in a stolen ship.

ben has a oh-shit-i-said-id-never-use-the-force-again related existential crisis which makes him freak out and leaves. a distraught finn-less poe calls him a coward. poe picks up the discarded lightsaber and the jackettm and sadly packs them up. leia tells him about the starkiller and poe volunteers to go on the starkiller and save finn. han and leia have a sweet moment and han decides to go with poe on the suicide mission, chewie goes too.(chewie arrived at somepoint i guess)

mid hostage situation finn blocks reys force attempt and shes shook up. he sees something in her (finn is a beautiful sweetheart) and he trys to appeal to her. she force chokes him and books it out of there. but it is clear she fears him a little. he escapes with mind tricks and runs into han poe and chewie on the deck. finnpoe moment fr. poe gives him his jacket back in order to get the keep it it looks good on you line.

meanwhile ben is back on his ship(i guess its the falcon?) and he thinks about finn and his mom and luke or something.. a dream maybe?? idk something emotional and motivational for his arc. and he goes to a box under the floor in his ship and pulls out a green lightsaber. he turns the ship around.

on the ship poe finn han and chewie are planting the bombs and escaping when they get stopped by stormtroopers ordered by rey. poe is about to be shot by a big droid thing when it is cut in half by ben wow big reveal hes here oooo ah. rey is shot in the shoulder by chewie and angrily orders more stormtroopers. they cant take them all. han sacrifices himself by blowing up the bridge. he tells finn and poe to find luke in the mandolorian colony ben is distraught him and han have an emotional goodbye he tells him to tell leia he’s sorry and that he loves him and he proud of him then he makes chewy get ben out of there and he blows himself up. leia senses it v sad rip man but he had to die to intensify plot drama

rey chases them onto the ice planet and another weird charged moment. mind link established??? this time ben is too angry and grieving though so its not a good match and she wounds him real bad all over hes v scarred now. poe shoots at rey and throws lightsaber at finn. he gets ben onto the ship and finn and rey have the big force awakens show down. finn uses the force v powerful all that jazz the good guys get away. on the ship finn mentions how he felt a connection with rey to poe and claims he sees good in her

movie ends with meeting luke on mandolore. ben is very traumatised wont really speak to finn or poe and avoiding luke. finn returns lukes lightsaber and rey has doubts movie over. movies ends with ominous rey ben mind link

final notes (on first movie and overarching rewrite plans)

finn

finn is the protagonist of this movie so it would be much more character heavy on him them the original. more in depth on his stormtrooper trauma, how he always chooses the people he loves over the cause and his reluctance to join the rebellion. his friendship with poe and the han/leia parallel’s especially. relationships with han and ben important for his character exposition and he plays a key role in supporting both rey and bens character progression. possesses the strong sense of mercy and kindness at the heart of the star wars franchise.

rey

rey is raised in the first empire and does not know anything different. when she meets finn who was able to rebel and escape from the same system she is trapped in she becomes plagued by doubts and projects all of her hatred and resentment onto finn to compensate, but it is clear she fears him. to escape from her doubts she fixates on finding and capturing ben solo imagining him to be a frightening and terrible adversary. however when she meets him they see eachothers minds, and she sees how plagued by doubt and fear he is, how he runs from everything and he sees her too. they connect and develop a strange mutual fascination/understanding. this is put askew by finns appearance at the end of the movie in defence of ben. reys fear of finn increases when she sees the true extent of his power. she fears and hates equally finns strength of character and easy goodness and by extension hates ben for his alliance with finn. she blames finn for “taking” ben from her.

ben solo

kylo ren is a disgusting blight on the star wars names so ben solo is being completely reclaimed by me into a different character because i fucking hate that stupid pretentious eboy. instead ben solo is an incredibly han solo coded character with a heart of gold and deep love and loyalty to his friends and family. his main weakness as a character in this rewrite is his fear and lack of self belief. ben is terrified of being a jedi and of his own power. he fears his own nature and was so afraid he would become his grandfather that he ran from the jedi altogether. ben solo is a runner that wont face his problems, he runs from the jedi and from his parents to avoid failing or becoming something terrible. finn and ben recognise the need to run in eachother (although important distinction finn runs because he doesn’t want to fight for a cause. and ben runs because hes afraid he will be the reason the cause fails) and ultimately encourage eachother to break the cycle and stand their ground (well finn motivated ben in this movie, finns not fixed yet.) Bens arc in these movies is about learning to live with his own nature and fighting for what he believes in despite his fear. also dealing with mommy issues (ben is kind of jealous of poe and leias relationship the son she wanted or something blah blah blah etc) and being a malewife to his murder girlfriend. his job is kind of to support and fight with finn and later rey and help them save the world

finnpoe (will be a gay couple)

their friendship will be front and centre in these movies because they represent duty vs personal loyalty. poe puts the cause above all else and values his own life and personal relationships little. finn on the other hand is disillusioned with establishment cause of stormtrooper trauma and wants to protect himself and others from it. poe is the first person that finn truly bonds with and loves. he puts poe above everything, including being a jedi and the rebellion. this leads to a lot of fighting and discord between finn and poe as finn doesn’t understand how important the rebellion is to poe and poe doesnt get why finn is trying to protect him from it. ultimately though poe teaches finn faith and belief and finn teaches poe to accept love and value himself. (also many hanleia parallels) the two of them are the harbingers of a new age. poe as future leader of the new republic and finn as the jedi messiah or whatever. in terms of romance, im thinking slowburn. baity first movie, kiss at the end of the second and established relationship by the halfway mark of the third.

also when rey eventually joins the light in the beginning she refuses to talk to ben (cause of romantic drama i havent thought of yet but centres around some sort or betrayal in the second movie) or finn (because hes her narrative foil and slow burn best friend forever) so her first friend is poe and she kind of follows him around in her first few months before she eventually bonds with finn 4eva. her poe shadowing has lots of cute friend moments where they fly together and he tries to talk her down about finn and the ben drama but also more importantly it foreshadows her leadership ability and tactical mind as she gives him advice and aids him with the rebellion behind the scenes (also leads to leia taking rey under her wing probably because poe is her surrogate son and mirror) which will eventually lead to her and poe leading the republic together because in my mind rey is a jedi but actively a member of republic government because ben can’t do politics and finn won’t but shes great at it so she’d be a perfect jedi liason and vice president to poe. meanwhile finn and ben lead the jedi. finn as a knight travelling across the galaxy and ben as a teacher. (luke is happy in retirement rn on mandalore but leia is still probably an advisor in the republic because retirement is definitely not for her) and everyone is happy the end. force ghost han solo is clapping.

[localfanbaselurker]

I’m watching Voltron: Legendary Defender for the first time and here is what I have had to say per each season (this is 1-2) (3-4) (5-6) (7) (8)

Pre-Watch Knowledge

->big transformers type robot

->pretty alien girl that looks like princess yue from A:tLA

->they are the epitome of color-coded characters

->space??

->there was crazy people in the fanbase that sent cupcakes laced with something to the creators

->queer baiting (this one in particular got me)

->klance.

->^honestly I only knew that because people were comparing it to zukka and I wanted to check it out

->my friend really likes it

Post S1 thoughts-

->that cliffhanger was crazy imagine they weren’t renewed for a s2

-> i went on tumblr after and youre telling me they made that show IN TWO YEARS?? EIGHT SEASONS. IN TWO MF YEARS?? that is insane. props to the writers bro they fr must of known what they were doing.

->all of these characters already scream “doomed by the narrative”

->my fav characters are pidge and lance

->I definitely did NOT expect yue Allura to be British

->bonding moment.

->^like yeah okay i get it now

-> the healing pods are a very interesting concept. Like, what if you get some ailment that it doesn’t recognize?? Do you just die??

-> genuinely felt so bad for Not Yue. Allura. Allura when they had to remove her father’s memory thing. Like yeah I know the castle was corrupted or wtv but bro imagine. Your entire race is dead. your mom, who you previously knew alive is now most likely dead. You already had to go through losing your father once, and now you have to lose him again. Any sliver of hope you had of staying connected with him is gone, because the entirety of his essence is now gone. She’s stronger than me, I would have never given him up so easily. I admire that about her.

->I also made the horrible mistake of going on ao3 after

yk for gits and shiggles… and when I go to a new fandom I always search by hits to see the classics first yk

…

WHY are you guys so 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂… I genuinely shed a tear what. I was flabbergasted to say the least.

On that note the top 23 were about redguy/blueguy getting smoochy-smoochy with each other so I guess that should be a hint as to what you guys like

->the description of the show says the robot (voltron) is operated by “five teenagers” but that shiro guy has to be AT LEAST 25. He is pushing 30 you can’t convince me otherwise.

->for now it’s kinda giving atla except the war is intergalactic and lasted 10,000 years instead of 100.

->all the other characters seem to have a pretty clear background, but we haven’t yet heard about Keith’s backstory, so I want to know (I know now, this was my initial thought)

->shiros backstory/ptsd is very interesting, lots of angst possibilities i see

-> I had an inkling that pidge was…genderly different. (At first I thought she was transmasc)

Post S2

-> WHERE is my man. Where did he go.

-> Pookie please come back. Now. It’s not a suggestion.

->KEITH BACKSTORY I PREDICTED THEY WERE GONNA SHOW US YAY I LOVE BEING RIGHT

-> he’s galra! Soooo much whump opportunity

-> the whole “Allura doesn’t hate you she’s just a little upset to find out ur part of the race that killed off her entire peoples and family and okay maybe she does hate you” scene with keith and hunk is really giving that scene in atla: the southern raiders where zuko thinks katara hates him and sokka reassures him (badly) while he was just trying to get laid w suki.

->^ that’s gay

-> the aliens they met are going to be very important, aren’t they?

->^ oohhh so this is where the “langst” stuff comes from? he’s just kinda insecure i think, but it can’t possibly just be this episode that has that tag so high, unless flanderization is just really popular with you guys, but already suspect that unfortunately

->^Allura high key ate with this

->the “Blade of Marmora” people are definitely gonna be important later

-> the mall episode was soooo fun! fav s2 episode for sure!

->^gay. It’s literally giving “two bros chillin in a hot tub. five feet apart cus they’re not gay”

-> I know of 2 ships now. klance and allurance. I only see the former though, the latter seems more like a running gag/unrequited crush thing (for now i suppose)

-> Coran is an icon. I love that whimsical man. he’s beekeeping age per say.

-> I need pidge to find her brother and father man I feel so bad for her PLEASE DOBT TELL ME THEYRE DEAD ILL LITERALLY DIE.

-> pidge is sooooo cool i love her so much she’s literally the pookiest of the pookies

-> Who tf is gonna be the black paladin now. Keith sure as hell isn’t ready for that. maybe Allura?? Cus yk she kinda already leads them a little bit

These are thoughts I had compiled over a while now. I am on S5E3 as of now (07/03/24) but I wanted to document my thoughts either way. I will post on the tag “laura’s first vld”

[kacievvbbbb]

I know, especially with how much more proactive he is in the live action, some people think that Iroh was too complicit with Zuko and should have put more effort into pushing Zuko down the right path.

But I don’t know I think the point was that it had to come from Zuko. This great change had to be something that Zuko wanted for himself and not something Iroh pushes him into. It’s why although he tries to distract or dissuade him subtly he’s pretty content to let Zuko do as he feels the need to (except when he’s taking insane actions that would have killed him if he wasn’t too spiteful to die) but yeah there’s no obvious push to get Zuko to believe this or that or even to undo the fire nation conditioning he simply just worries for his safety and honestly with how reckless zuko was probably the safest route without pushing him into full mental breakdown.

It’s not till he’s almost captured and they go on the run do you actually start to see that maybe Iroh has a side in all this and it’s not the fire nation. But even then being on Zuko’s side takes precedent. It’s not until Zuko is on the cusp of real change, he’s right on the precipice does Iroh start to push a little harder but even then it’s focused in Zuko making a decision for his life one that nobody else can make for him. The closest Iroh gets to forcefully pushing Zuko towards any direction is him yelling “It's time for you to look *inward* and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you and what do *you* want?”. And then siding with the avatar during the fall of ba sing se.

If Iroh tried to manipulate him, take advantage of this scared angry child to unconsciously steer him towards his own side then he’d be no better than the fire nation, he’s just be another person wrenching control from Zuko life. But instead Iroh offers him that control, let him go out and see what the world is and let the conclusions of whatever he finds be the foundation on which he is rebuilt again and and again. It’s why when he stands infront of Ozai and says “ No, I’ve learned everything! And I’ve had to learn it on my own” we feel that shit. Because yeah he did he struggled and he fought and he learned and damn it all, he is making a choice for himself.

The story works because Iroh isn’t his mentor, he’s his uncle and he loves him enough to push aside his own personal belief to allow Zuko the space to decide who he wants to be, to give him the agency over his own life. That’s why Zuko’s redemption works so well because he’s not forced into it, If he decides to join the avatar to take down the thrown that has been his choice. If he decides to stay with the fire nation be the prince he was born to be….well that had to be his choice as well. Because that’s the crux of this. None of it matters if it isn’t Zuko, with everything that he has learned, making a decision for his own life.

[allgremlinart]

hai good friend,, tell me about mai. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of her before… look what we are doing to our beautiful queens 😔

YIPEE I love when me going insane about a character for a day makes you curious about them... especially cus atp I can kind of predict what is going to pique ur interest

ok ok: so, Mai. She's 1/3 of Azula's Evil Girl Group, colloquially known as Ozai's Angels, and thats the context you see her in for most of the show which is why it's important to know. You know how all cartoons in the 2000s HAD to have ONE morose goth chic? Well she is atla's quota. She's a noble, she's an only child (THEE only child. The first only child they made at the only child factory <33), she fights with 🔪KNIVES 🔪!!! she's Zuko's canonical comphet love interest and she has a very understated but underrated arc..

Her role/arc in the show:

I mentioned Ozai's Angels because her interactions with Azula and Ty Lee are the real meat and potatoes of her character. They're like... baby's first toxic yuri love triangle <3333 REALLY can't overstate how toxic yuri love triangle they are. Mai and Ty Lee end up betraying Azula in season 3 which is both the climax (imo) of Mai's arc and the inciting action for Azula's descent (but we're not getting into Azula never ask me to get into Azula please). A lot of people reduce Mai going turncoat to JUST being about saving Zuko - and like partially it IS. She saves Zuko from dying because she loves/cares about him and that's a big part of it.

But it's ALSO about her finding her voice ?? Like throughout the show we NEVER see her voice opinions about something unless it's to say that she's bored, or jaded, or what have you. She never seems to have strong feelings about anything; her stated reasoning for joining Azula's Imperialism Girl Band is because she's bored living with her parents 💀 but it's like. It becomes clear to the audience later in the show that she was raised to never speak unless spoken to, to mask emotions, etc etc LIEKKK SHE'S SOOO REPRESSED ONLY CHILD SHE'S SO WOMAN TM... So her telling Azula "I love Zuko more than I fear you" was THEE cuntiest moment EVER because it's like oh shit ?? this is something pretty unexpected from this character ?? Waow so crazy so cunt ??

A lot of people point out that she and Ty Lee never really got a "ohhhh Imperialism is bad" arc like Zuko did but. imo there wasn't a whole lot of room in the show for it lol. Would have been something interesting to explore in the comics for sure !! but uhmmm I'd rather walk into the ocean than watch Gene Luen Yang try and write about imperialism and colonialism again so maybe its better we never got that.. (no offense to him he's just... not that great at doing it in the atla comics...not his strength..)

Her reception in fandom:

She's usually only ever talked about in the context of being Zuko's love interest (either positively OR negatively) hence my post that you saw. Like. Victim Numero Uno of zutara/kataang shipping wars cus at least a bunch of people LIKE Aang whereas people either ignore or actively dislike her.

There's often discourse about like. Who's the "toxic" one in the Mai/Zuko pairing and it's annoying when she gets flak for it cus like newsflash: they both are. My GOD they both are. They've canonically broken up twice. They're the emo boy/goth girl pairing. They're cute together. They're miserable together. They're both homosexual. You get it.

Also a lot of times people just call her boring or emotionless and it's like congrats !! you have fallen for her facade... in conclusion... sorry this is so long uhm.. your fault for asking me though... how long is it going to take until I've just told you the entire plot of this cartoon piecemeal ask by ask...

[waterfire1848]

For the ship prompts

#7 fake relationship au for tyzula (Ty Lee/Azula)?

Hello, anon!! Thanks for the ask!

Post canon AU

Azula was gonna kill someone. She was actually going to go back to prison, or whatever the hell that asylum was, and she didn’t care. That place had to be better than listening to the oldest council members alive go on and on about wheat distribution.

Don’t get her wrong. Azula knew this was incredibly important. She wasn’t about to say it wasn’t, but it was just so insanely boring. Zuko and her were passing looks to each other, both of them silently begging the other to declare an Agni Kai and get them out of here.

“The final item up for business is Princess Azula’s wedding.” An old man, General Kai, said.

Now that woke her up.

“Wedding?!?” Azula and Zuko yelled.

“Yes. Fire Lord Ozai had it written that if you could not find a potential partner before your eighteenth birthday then I would be in charge of finding you one.” Kai grinned.

Azula wanted to set the man on fire. She and Kai always hated each other because while she preferred to play the long game during battle and believed in putting time and effort into projects, Kai was more of a throw every soldier they had at a problem and see what happens.

The only reason he wasn’t kicked off the council after Zuko came to power was because his wife and Zuko were actually pretty close and she promised him no mutiny would come from her husband. Which was true, Kai never intended to go against Zuko but he did still hate Azula meaning he was definitely enjoying this.

“What? That can’t be a real agreement!” Zuko demanded.

“The Princess signed it herself.” Kai grinned.

“Azula?” Zuko asked.

“I forgot.” She snapped, “Not a lot of time to think about getting married when you’re locking up in a mental institution.” She hissed.

“There’s no issue though because I already have the perfect man lined up for you.” Kai told her, “Commander Aoi.”

“Koh’s Lair, no!” Azula snapped. On top of being one of the most insufferable humans Azula had ever met, and that was saying a lot, Aoi was over ten years older than her. If she remembered correctly, he should be in his early 30s by now. Zuko must have had similar thoughts because he instantly shook his head.

“As Fire Lord, I-“

“Read below, your majesty.” Kai said.

“No future Fire Lord may void this contract. Neither can new laws exacted by the Fire Lord.” Zuko read.

“Ozai is in prison and will die there. His contracts have to be void.” Azula argued.

“Maybe, but you’d have to prove that and you can’t.” Kai smiled, “I’ll send a messenger hawk to Commander Aoi and tell him the-“

“I do have a suitor!” Azula suddenly said.

“What?” Kai asked.

“Yeah. What?” Zuko asked.

“I have a suitor. We just haven’t been public yet.”

“Oh? Who is it?” Kai asked.

“Ty Lee.” The look on Zuko’s face would have made Azula burst out laughing if not for the seriousness of the situation. Kai looked at her in confusion and a bit of anger at the realization that she was about to one up him, “And since I do have a suitor, you can still Commander Aoi that the wedding is off.”

“Your father would have never allowed-“

“Nowhere in that contract does it say my suitor needs to be male. Just that they must be a member of nobility which Ty Lee is and she’s a respected member of the Kyoshi Warriors as well.” Azula’s grin was spread all across her face that she didn’t notice Zuko giving her a concerned look, “Ty Lee is my partner.”

“I think that’s a good place to adjourn the meeting.” Zuko said.

—————————————

“TY LEE?!?” Zuko yelled.

“I didn’t know who else to say!” Azula yelled back, “It’s fine. You’ll find a loophole in the contract or, worst case scenario, Ty Lee and I get married then divorced in which case we’ve fulfilled the contract and nothing more will need to be done.”

“Worst case scenario???? Azula, how do you think Ty Lee will react to this?!?”

“She’ll be shocked, of course, but she’ll understand that this was all to keep me from having to marry Aoi.” The way Azula pronounced his name made it seem like she wanted to vomit, “I’ll tell Ty Lee the news tomorrow morning and inform her of the plan.”

Zuko bit his lip. Yeah. Just a plan. Ty Lee would be just dandy hearing that she was, legally, now dating Azula, practically engaged. Only to also find out that Azula just said her name to get out of marrying a man much older than her, not because she actually liked her. The girl she’d had a crush on since they were kids was now fake dating her but wanted nothing more. Zuko shook his head. This was not going to end well.

————————————

“I’m sorry. We’re what??” Ty Lee asked.

“Dating. About to be married if you want to be specific.” Azula clarified. The way she spoke made it seem like she found nothing unusual or confusing about this.

“Azula, I….I just…how???”

“When I was younger, my father created a contract with me which basically said that if I didn’t have a suitor by the time I was 18 then General Kai could find one for me.” Ty Lee winced at Kai’s name. Even she knew how much the two didn’t like each other, “Kai was about to stick me with some old commander so I told him you and I were dating. It’s only until Zuko finds a way out of this or we just have a quick wedding then get divorced a day later, but that’s only a worst case scenario issue.”

Ty Lee’s jaw had dropped by the time Azula finished her plan which made the firebender uneasy, “Ty, please. We just had to fake a relationship for a few days. Please, I need your help or I’m going to be chained to some 30 something year old man for the rest of my life.”

“Well…wait! You could just marry Aoi then divorce him!” Ty Lee told her.

“Two problems with that. One, the thought of getting married to Aoi for any period of time makes me want to vomit. Two, I can’t. Both of us have to agree to the divorce and Aoi will never divorce me once he’s in line for the throne.” Azula handed the contract to Ty Lee, who quickly scanned it over.

“Azula, why did you ever agree to this?” Ty Lee asked, “You can’t divorce your partner or pick the person for yourself.”

“I had a lot of parental issues when I was younger, okay?!”

“Daddy issues.” Ty Lee smirked. Azula’s face turned red, but Ty Lee spoke up again, “If I’m going through all this then I get to call it what it is.”

“So, you’ll help?”

“Of course I’ll help.” Azula visibly deflated as if, for the first time in days, she felt some kind of relieve.

“Thank you, Ty.”

“But!” Azula’s face fell, “To sell this we need to act the part as well.”

“Right.” Azula nodded. This was a pretty basic fact. Of course they’d need to act like a couple now.

“Which means more than just some kissing and holding hands. We need to have a date where everyone can see us.” Ty Lee told her.

Now it was Azula’s turn to drop her jaw, “A date?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“And…what if one of us has never been on a date?” Azula asked, getting Ty Lee’s full attention now. The acrobat gave her friend, now fake almost wife, a kind smile. She had forgotten how uncomfortable Azula was with this kind of stuff. When Azula first returned from the mental institution, Ty Lee tried to help her meet people but the Princess wanted nothing to do with it. Only Ty Lee noticed that Azula did, in secret, try to meet people but it was difficult with her life and past actions. The most she’d ever done was a few kisses at some parties Ty Lee took her to but never a date.

“I’m thinking a calm dinner in the palace where the servants can see us and then we let them gossip. No one around but us.“ Okay. That came out way more romantic than she has anticipated but it did seem to calm Azula down a bit.

“That sounds good. Does a date mean…”

“No. You don’t have to wear a dress.” Ty Lee confirmed, laughing at her best friend’s hatred of the clothing.

“Thank the spirits. I’ll get something set up with the cooks for tonight.” Azula told her, “Thank you so much for this. I promise you’ll only have to pretend to date me for a few days.” Ty Lee waited until Azula was out the door to look down at the ground.

“Lucky me.” Her voice trembled with sadness.

—————————————

That night, Ty Lee got her best clothes from her house and made sure to walk all around the palace so everyone could see her. She kept making up excuses to go everywhere so all the servants could see her walking around. Finally, she arrived in the dining room to find Azula at the table. She had her hair down and was wearing the best robes she had. When Ty Lee looked closer she realized the fabric was made with spider-snake silk: the most expensive in the world.

“Wow.” Ty Lee whispered, “You look beautiful.”

“As do you.” Azula smiled.

“What’s on the menu today?” The acrobat asked.

“Pig-cow, rice, and egg custard.” Azula told her.

“Ohhhh. I love egg custard!” Ty Lee happily took some from the center of the table and put it on her plate, biting into it as quickly as she could, “Mmmm.”

“Glad it lived up to your expectations. I remember you telling me a few years ago that it was your favorite. I thought making it was the least I could do.”

“You made it?” Ty Lee asked.

“Okay. I, personally, didn’t make it but the chefs did and I’m the one who told them to.” Azula argued, “Same thing.”

“I’d argue that. It felt very different when we were doing wilderness training and I did the cooking while you told me what to make.” Ty Lee chuckled at the memory of the three of them in their tent, all yelling at each other as they tried to make the fish they caught edible.

“If I recall that correctly, I helped by catching the fish.”

“You almost burned them alive so they swam away then Mai hit them with her knife.”

“Exactly. It’s teamwork.” Azula grinned, bitting into her pig-cow, “I must say though that this pig-cow is better than you’re burning salmon-cod.”

“It was burning because you’re a firebender who controls all the flames in a room.”

“So first cooking was all you and now I’m responsible for the burned fish. Make up your mind.” Azula took a sip of her drink while Ty Lee looked at her with a raised eyebrow:

“I have made up my mind. I blame you.”

“Ha-Ha.”

A few minutes of silence filled the room until Ty Lee couldn’t hold it in any longer and spoke up, “Why did you say my name?”

“What?”

“My name. When you were thinking of a name to give to General Kai, why did you say my name? When you were thinking of potential people who you’d rather date than Aoi, why’d you say my name?” Ty Lee asked.

Azula looked down at her plate, clearly taking a few vital moments to think, “You were simply the first name to come up.” She lied.

“Azula-“

“It’s nothing more, Ty. You were the first name I thought of, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

“It doesn’t?” She asked.

Azula’s gaze wasn’t angry or confused when she uttered, “Do you want it to?” She actually looked a little hopeful.

“I…I think I do.” Ty Lee admitted. Spirits, her stomach was doing flip and every second that Azula wasn’t speaking felt like 100 years of waiting.

“I think I said your name first because thinking of potential partners made me think of someone who I’d want to be with, who I’d want to spend my days talking to, who I’d be fine with seeing every day and would accept me for everything I’ve done and was. Can I be honest?” Azula asked.

Ty Lee nodded, “Your name wasn’t the first to come up. It was the only one I could think of.” The acrobat’s eyes grew, “Ty, you don’t have to-“

“How would you feel if we turned this fake relationship into a real one?” Ty Lee asked.

Azula beamed at her long time friend, now girlfriend, “I’d love that.”

[munsonfamilyband]

My current obsession for Steve having his sexuality crisis in canon doesn’t involve the Robin speech. I love Robin, I am Robin, but she deserves rest, god dammit. And I have come up with a great way for her to get her rest and to be a supportive friend.

————————-

Steve and her are having movie night (is this post Eddie, is this pre Eddie, doesn’t really matter but because I love steddie I am doing post Eddie) and Steve got to pick so they’re watching Grease.

Robin hates Grease, even if the music is fun, she just finds it tacky and cliche. She won’t deny the appeal of Sandy’s leather outift at the end though.

Steve loves Grease. The music is fun and since he met Robin she’s been slowly, and very subtly, pushing him to allow himself to enjoy things that his father forced him to hate. (Am I including my Steve likes make up headcanon in this? Absolutely.) She’s gone shopping with him and encouraged him to try on the sweaters in softer colors he always stares at but never touches. He starts growing out his hair. Robin has been a breath of fresh air since they met and she has always pushed him without making it obvious so he doesn’t panic.

The next opportunity for her brand of eye opening comes when they get to Greased Lightning. They’re both pretty tipsy and Steve randomly blurts out. “Wow he’s hot.” Robin actual chokes on her mouth full of popcorn and has to chug her beer to wash it down.

“I’m sorry, what?” Steve looks at Robin with a frown, raising an eyebrow.

“What? I said he was hot, because he is.”

“Steve that’s- since when do you notice attractive men?” He’s still frowning at her, as if she’s asking completely ridiculous questions

“I mean, always? It’s just something guys do, they can recognize when a guy is hot and whatever.” Robin just blinks, then blinks again before nodding to herself. She knows what she has to do, so she says okay and they go back to watching the movie.

The next time she’s at Steve’s she brings the magazine she had bought in Chicago a couple years ago. She had found this tiny store that sold a ton of gay media and it was like being in heaven. This particular magazine had a lot of quotes from people about their experiences growing up queer and she knows for a fact that there is one story in there that should shake something loose in Steve. So she leaves the magazine on his bed when she goes to steal a sweater from him. Robin hears nothing for two days after that when at 11:30 at night she hears the pinging of rocks at her window. Rolling her eyes, she gets up and opens the window, and then sure enough in pops Steve a moment later, clambering his way inside her bedroom.

“I think I might like guys. I um… actually, I think I might like Eddie? Which might be why I thought John Travolta was so hot suddenly, because sure I’ve thought he was good looking but not like crazy insane hot before. Then suddenly we’re watching Grease and Danny Zuko is all kinds of hot, and then I found this magazine, I think you left it at mine accidentally. But it had all these stories and there was this one guy who said he had always noticed attractive men growing up but he thought that was just what all guys thought, he liked girls so he wasn’t gay, but then he met a particular guy and they ended up kissing and he realized that he maybe liked boys more than he should and when he asked someone else about guys noticing attractive men they said that is not what straight guys do and he realized that he wasn’t straight at all. And then I started thinking because that’s how I’ve always felt, right? But I didn’t think I was gay, but apparently you can actually like both so I don’t have to be gay to like guys, and then I started thinking about Grease which made me think about Eddie and, oh god, Robin, I think I might be in love with him?”

She knew the magazine would help, but not this much. She also had never heard Steve speak so much at once, they had clearly been spending too much time together if he was rambling like that.

“Okay, Steve, take a deep breath. Are you coming out to me right now?” He stops his frantic pacing that he had started as soon as her window was shut, staring at her for a second before collapsing on the bed next to her.

“I think so? The magazine said bi-bicy-bisen-“

“Bisexual?” Steve snaps and points at her with a grin.

“Yeah, that! I didn’t know that was even a thing! It just… it feels like everything makes a little more sense to me, y’know?” She smiled, ruffling his hair.

“And the Eddie thing?” Robin cackles when Steve flushes bright red.

“Shut up! I actually think I might be in love with him and I don’t know what to do. Like, I know he’s gay but I don’t know if he likes me.”

“Steve, he has been flirting with you since you two met in March.”

“What?!??” She dissolves into giggles and they spend the night together, talking about every interaction he’s ever had with Eddie.

A week has barely gone by when Steve comes into work, his hair a mess, with a giant smile and his neck covered in bruises.

“I think I have a boyfriend.” Robin just collapses into a fit of laughter. She’s so glad the magazine trick worked because she’s never seen Steve this happy.

[linkspooky]

Hey. Long time follower here. Your metas, your discussions of "bad victims", your nuanced view of heroes and victims, your favoritism towards "losers"...not only did you heavily influence my own writing and my own favorites in different medias (I'm entirely blaming you for me being a Makima stan) but you helped through an extremely dark time in my life. I don't think that you just made me a better writer, you also sort of saved my life. I'll always be grateful for that.

There's something I want to ask. You answered to another ask that you don't regret reading MHA because focusing on what doesn't work about it made your writing stronger. Do you feel the same about Homestuck? Or about the more disappointing parts of Tokyo Ghoul (and, while we're being candid here, Avatar?).

Thank you for your compliments they're very encouraging to read.

At this point this blog is becoming the bad victim lovers support group where we all hug each other and cry over how MHA is treating all of its bad victims.

HOMESTUCK: Honestly, my main problem with Homestuck is that ACT 6 was so long and uneventful full of characters not doing anything that by the end of it the only character I was invested in was Vriska. ACT 6 also did go out of it's way to kill my enthusiasm for everything I liked in ACT 5, especially John Vriska. I've never seen a comic throw out all of its previous development that the audience was invested in and like everything that was foreshadowed - oh wait My Hero Academia. Unfortunately Vriska is an all-time-fave so I still write Homestuck Fanfic about her to this day. I used to like think the finale of Homestuck was one big "meh" but after years to reflect upon it, I do like Vriska's arc ending on a final note of Terezi searching for her in the void, possibly forever, and the ambiguity of whether they'll reunite.

TOKYO GHOUL: I remember being mad about Kaneki getting a happy ending that he didn't earn. Kaneki was a character that really frustrated me for a long time, but I came to realize that if you like remove Kaneki from his group of codependent enablers he's actually a really interesting character when he's alone. So he's a character I love to explore in fic, even if I disliked what they did with him in canon. Also, Tokyo Ghoul killed off its biggest victims Furuta and Rize in a really cruel way, but it didn't kill off every single victim so it just disappoints me instead of making me sick to my stomach like MHA does.

ATLA: I actually think the Avatar the Last Airbender ending is fine. Which like, isn't saying much because I think the Season 1 finale and Season 2 finales are some of the best things ever put to television. The worst sin that the ending does is number one lack of foreshadowing in earlier in the season and number two rushed plot points. Aang not wanting to kill the Fire Lord makes sense. I think the reason a lot of people criticize this and call it an ass pull is that it's not even BROUGHT UP until the finale. Vash the Stampede is pacifist and one of my favorite characters, but it's established from episode 1 that Vash is constantly up against people who want to kill him and he either has to run away or find a way to fight back nonlethally. Azula's insanity and mental instability could have been a thing, but it's not foreshadowed at all so all it ends up doing is conveniently nerf Azula for Zuko, and also being ableist. The worst problem is while there are epic fights it doesn't feel like an ending, because everyone's character arcs are 3/4ths of the way through. ESPECIALLY ZUKO's. Like people say Zuko is acting out of character in the comics, but I think Zuko is the only person in character in the comics because that's how Zuko without a proper end to his character arc would act. It really feels like they had plans for a fourth season that they didn't get, and their solution was to cram an entire season worth of development in everything post the eclipse on season 3. The fact that Azula is left as such a hanging thread is like proof of that, and the fact that Azula's last shot in the series is just her crying and screaming with like no follow up afterwards is something I've been bitter about for fourteen years.

I could write an entire post about how Zuko's redemption arc is unfinished though. It's like the same problem as Catra. I like both characters and I'm glad they got redeemed but they crammed in the entire redemption arc into 1/2 of the last season and that simply wasn't enough time.

[mugentakeda]

i just loveeeee the idea that there was a big gap of understanding between lu ten and iroh the same way theres a big gap of understanding between zuko and iroh. mistakes that iroh didnt realize he made with his son he then also made with his nephew and still not realizing it. a whole world of things about lu ten that iroh didnt know about, and will never know about. im gonna talk about it though because i am insane so look away from my cringe

lu ten had gone to his father with problems before, and iroh cant help but wonder, now, if his son had ever been trying to imply deeper things in between sugarcoated words because there were things you just didnt say in the palace, and irohs head had been so far up his ass he hadnt seen it. despite it being waved practically right in his face by his son, desperate for sound advice from his father, whos brain was too waterlogged by thoughts of how he was going to pull off his next bloody conquest. like how zuko was always howling for help, hurt and confused like a cornered animal, hidden deep under his fits of rage, and irohs head was Still so far up his ass that he kept meeting zukos silent begging for straightforward guidance with convoluted proverbs. he can sit here and bury his face in his hands in shame over the sheer amount of times hed failed his nephew without realizing, and how much convincing it'll take to get his nephew to understand that yes, iroh did fail him so many times, and he couldve prevented so much suffering simply by holding himself to the same standards he held his nephew to. all those times during those three years before the avatar returned that he couldve done something. sit here and think about how sad it is that he has to even try hard to convince his nephew such a thing, how sad it is that he finally got zuko to stop seeing ozai as some all-wise god that can do no error as a father, just for zuko to start seeing iroh as some all-wise god that has done no error as an uncle. but he can at least go and do something about it. he can never do something about what he did to his son. the things he knows he did, the things he doesnt know he did, and everything in between. he will never find out what lu ten truly thought about him. he will never have that reconciliation, that silent scream of relief and violent shiver in the crook of his neck that zuko gave when iroh yanked him in close after their separation, with his lu ten. he just has to hear about his own son through word of mouth and somehow be content with that. and worst of all, its all his own and his god damned family's fault. no amount of healing and learning by trying to do right by zuko and the world he helped nearly ruin not much more than a half decade ago can act as a balm for the agony that brings him. he knows healing his guilty conscience isnt supposed to even be a reason for why he helped the avatar, but god- it's when the rationality leaves him and he realizes that this is something he cant seem to make himself be the bigger person in. he knows its his own fault, that there are hundreds- thousands, maybe- of earth kingdom sons he personally stole from earth kingdom fathers, and only gave up on his siege when the consequences of his war came into his own backyard, but he cant help it. doesnt want to help it. hes still angry and hateful anyway. his son should still be here. his son should still be here. his son should still be here. and if he tells zuko about how much he still hates himself as both an uncle and a father, zuko will definitely rush to reassure him, all the while he is chained to his desk and meetings day in and day out, fixing this uncles mistakes best he can, losing sleep and forgetting to eat. none of it will mean anything to zuko, if it means he can make his uncle feel better. and if that happens, iroh might actually vomit in front of his nephew.

[kvohru]

absolutely ravishing - maiko week ’24 day 3/4

prompts - jealousy / parents

inspired by this tweet by kvohru 'maiko headcanon zuko puts baby izumi's hair into mai's buns anytime he pisses mai as a way of silly apology/getting her to soften up & talk to him WALK WITΗ ΜΕ' in which maiko go to a party and mai feels left out. baby izumi is the cutest. zuko is a good father. amongst other things lol.

It was a lovely, sunny morning, and Mai was pissed off.

Normally, this wouldn’t have been anything out of the ordinary—after all, she was famously ‘angry at the world’, but this was different. Today, Mai was pissed at the Firelord.

Also known as her husband.

He was, admittedly, unsure as to what he’d done to warrant her annoyance today, but he didn’t want to risk upsetting her further by asking. God, no. He’d rather pluck every hair off his body than have Mai think he was an inattentive, dismissive, careless husband who didn’t care about his gorgeous, beautiful wife! He was better than that, thank you very much. So he did the next best thing and tried to rack his brain, thinking over his actions over these past few hours.

Okay, he thought, pulling out a teapot from the cupboard. This mood started at, like, 8 pm last night? He put on some water to boil, falling into that familiar rhythm of making tea.

Because he was the Firelord, he rarely had the chance to do things for himself, and while that was an insane privilege he frankly enjoyed, it was nice to take a break from everything and just be with his family, away from the hubbub of the palace.

Hence this vacation at Ember Island.

The moment he realised he had a few off-days in his calendar, he decided to plan for him and his wife to go on vacation.

He let the teapot boil and started on breakfast. Rice for the rice porridge, what remained of the dumplings and steamed buns they’d bought, and whatever else he could find. Oh, and eggs and chopped fruit for baby Izumi.

He smiled at the thought of their pudgy little 9 month old. She was just starting to speak, though that mostly came in the form of incoherent babbling with the occasional Mama. Yeah, she called them both Mama.

And yes, Zuko was a teensy bit sulky about that, but I digress.

Just as he was about to put his hair up and start on breakfast, he heard that distinct baby voice he was just thinking about. He glanced at the clock— yup, 7.30 a.m., on the dot. Izumi was awake.

Right now, it was usually a race with time. He had a very short window of time before Izumi’s good-tempered giggles would turn into wailing screams, and he was determined not to wake Mai up any earlier than she needed to be.

She was on vacation and she deserved to rest.

Also, she was mad at him. So. He really didn't need to make it worse for himself.

“I’m coming, darling,” he called out in a whisper when he was close enough, crossing the distance in long strides. At the sight of that little girl in her crib, all chubby limbs and big golden eyes, he smiled and reached to grab her. “Hi, baby,” he whispered, nuzzling into that space between her cheek and shoulder and kissing her. “D’you sleep well?”

She made an incoherent baby noise and happily grabbed a strand of his long hair, which was, positively, one of her favourite pastimes, it seemed. He winced, regretting not putting it up earlier. “Let’s get you changed,” he said, trying to untangle her fingers from his hair— that is, trying to undo that vice-like grip babies seemed to have. I mean, at least that meant her fine-motor skills were good? Pincer grip, and all, right?

She didn’t let go. He sighed.

“Sweetheart, you need to let go so I can get you out of this nasty diaper.”

She didn’t budge.

“Don’t you wanna change so we can surprise Mama with breakfast? We won’t have time if you keep this up.” Just as he had begun to suspect that reasoning with a nine month old was a lost cause, she actually let go.

“Mama!”

“Oh, of course that’s what gets you to let go!” He clicked his tongue.

She giggled again, and, instead of grabbing his hair, she valiantly took to doing her other favourite pastime. Which was just, like, smacking him on the face repeatedly.

Think like, someone clapping their hands, but instead it’s just his face between her hands.

Since he was almost always on morning duty, this was more or less how every morning went.

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

Finally, after much trials and tribulations (i.e. Zuko violently getting his hair pulled and cheeks pinched), Izumi was changed into an adorable onesie and strapped into her high chair in the kitchen.

Oh, also, the water had completely evaporated in the time it took them to do all that, so he needed to refill the teapot. “What would Uncle think if he sees this,” he grumbled, opening the window to let the steam out.

Now that that was all over with, he was again plagued with the fact that Mai was mad at him, and he didn't know why! So, being the mature Firelord he was, he decided to take that issue to council.

“Your mom is mad at me,” he said to Izumi, quickly tying his long hair back and away from his face, in a loose bun at the bottom of his head, and rolling up his sleeves.

Izumi babbled excitedly and kicked her feet at the reference of her mother. “Mama!”

“Yup, that’s the one,” Zuko agreed, chuckling. He pulled out a bamboo steamer and started preparing the dumplings and steamed buns, planning on letting them steam while he washed and cooked the rice. “Anyway, as I was saying, Mama is mad at me, but I don’t know why. I tried asking her last night, of course, but she said she was ‘fine’, which is, obviously, a blatant lie.”

He cut up some fruit on a plate for Izumi to hold her off while everything else was ready. He had approximately twenty minutes until Mai got up, which he figured would be enough.

“I can’t really recall doing anything to upset her last night, and I don’t even know when she got upset, you know? She was fine and then she suddenly wasn’t!” He finished washing the rice and transferred it over to a pot to cook. Drying his hands, he continued, “But” —he turned to Izumi seriously, crouching down to her eye level— “of course, me not remembering or knowing why Mai is upset does not mean that I am not at fault!” He cupped Izumi’s cheeks, interrupting her mid-chew. She grinned happily at him with her whopping six (!) teeth. (New development, by the way). He continued, determined to set a good example for his daughter, “Even if I don’t understand why Mama’s upset — even if she has told me, and I still don't get it — she still deserves an apology, because at the end of the day, I upset her, and that’s all that matters. Understood, Firelord Izumi?” He playfully pinched her little nose (which was identical to her mother’s), and she giggled, reaching for him with fruit-sticky hands.

“Anyway…” and so he continued, thinking out loud with his daughter and trying to puzzle out the reason for his darling wife’s anger at him, all while making breakfast for their family of three.

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

“Mai, come on, we'll be late!” Zuko called out, fastening his red robes around his waist.

“Well I don't know what to wear!” she called back from her place in the closet, frustrated.

“It doesn't matter! You look—”

“—And I love you, but you telling me that ‘I look beautiful in everything’ does not help!”

Zuko sighed. He'd dressed himself and Izumi in the time it took for his darling wife to… affectionately, make a mess of their closet and complain about having nothing to wear.

Placing Izumi in her little chair, he said with an affectionate roll of the eyes, “Yeah, yeah, I'm coming.”

“Is this good?” Mai asked, bashfully, when Zuko rapped his knuckles on the closet door and walked in, leaning against the doorframe.

He breathed out. She looked beautiful.

She was wearing a long, pretty, dark red dress that hugged her curves and flared out at the bottom. It had a row of buttons that sloped from the neckline down to her side, and dainty golden embroidery that matched her eyes and the gold and red fan earrings she wore. Her hair was in the usual hairstyle she'd adopted in her adult years— half of it in an elegant bun at the back of her head towards her nape, and the rest in two strands over her shoulders and down over her chest.

He noticed she put two beautiful gold pins through the bun.

“Do you like it?” she asked again, and he had an inclination her rosy cheeks weren't just due to an excess of powder blush. She adjusted it over her hips. “Is it too tight? It doesn't fit the same since” —she bit the inside of her cheek, averting her eyes and smoothing the fabric over her stomach— “Izumi.”

Zuko moved closer, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her against him. Her hands went to his chest automatically, a familiar affection built over years of being together. “You look,” he rasped, hoisting her up by her waist and wrapping his arms around her middle, “absolutely ravishing.”

He craned his neck and caught her bottom lip between his teeth, kissing and gently tugging back. She wrapped her legs tighter around her and grinned despite herself, cupping his cheeks and looking down at him. One thing she enjoyed about being carried was the limited height she gained over Zuko.

She leaned down and kissed him again, their lips interlocking in an easy embrace. “Are you sure? You're not just saying that to get me to hurry up?” He could still hear a hint of unsurety in her low, raspy voice.

“Positive,” he responded in kind, slanting his lips over hers, “but if you don't want to go…” his hand slipped down her back to her ass.

She rolled her eyes without any heat, picking up on his very obvious implication. “Alright, horndog. Hands off.” She hopped down and adjusted her dress before looking up at him through her lashes and, teasingly, parroting back, “We'll be late.”

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

The sight Mai was met with when she walked downstairs was, she thought, a sight she could never get bored of. It was such a quintessential picture of domesticity she, at one point in her life, could've never imagined would've been hers.

Her husband in the kitchen making breakfast while their daughter sat beside him, babbling incoherently the way babies did.

“Really?! And what after that?” he asked animatedly, humouring said daughter while still focused on the plate he was assembling. Mai exhaled softly, leaning against the doorframe and just watching.

Watching her husband’s overly focused face as he diligently placed the fresh steamed buns onto a plate using chopsticks, a furrow in his dark brows and his hair tied back, all the while nodding along with Izumi’s story (which was, of course, all adorable gibberish).

And Izumi, who was sitting in a high chair and shoving eggs into her mouth using her entire fist, no doubt making a mess around her. What struck her though was Izumi’s hair, which was in two little buns at the sides of her head, and the front was smoothed over her head in a silly imitation of a fringe.

Mai bit back a smile.

This was obviously Zuko’s attempt at recreating Mai’s infamous hairstyle on their daughter. Which was a regular occurrence.

“Mai!” Zuko had finally noticed her.

Even after all these years of being together, and a whole child together, he still had a way of lighting up so genuinely every time he saw her. And no, this is not a firebending pun.

The way his eyes widened in an almost child-like excitement and his immediate awestruck kind of smile that made him resemble his sixteen year old self were almost enough for her to forget the fact that she was upset with him. Almost.

He set down the food, which was all ready now, and wiped his hands before walking up to her. “Sleep well?” he asked gently, tilting her chin up to kiss her. His touch was feather-light, so she could tell he was hesitant. Clearly, he hadn’t nor was he pretending to have forgotten about her mood, so. One point for him.

She let him kiss her, and she kissed back, because over their years of being together, one of the things she realised was that dealing with conflict did not mean that they had to rescind their love from each other— and especially for them two, whose primary language was physical touch.

“I slept pretty well,” she replied, her raspy voice full of that polite disinterest most people were used to hearing from her. To someone else, maybe, this wouldn't have been any cause for concern or anything out of the ordinary, but Zuko was immediately alarmed.

He could always tell.

So she's still upset. That was fine. He hadn't really expected otherwise. In fact, this was good for him, because there was no chance she could dismiss his questions about it now and say that ‘Oh, it's nothing, don't worry about it’.

They sat down to eat, and after a moment of awkward silence that made him feel like a seventeen year old in an argument with his girlfriend (also Mai) again, he broke.

“What did I do?” he blurted out. It wasn't an accusatory or patronising or deliberately obtuse question in any way. He sounded painfully earnest. “I know I did something to upset you, but I just… don't know what it is. I'm sorry. I tried to think, but I still don't know. I love you. Please tell me.”

If any of his friends could see him right now, the high and mighty Firelord, practically (unintentionally) giving his wife puppy eyes, they'd probably say he was pathetically in love.

And they'd be right.

Mai sighed and put her chopsticks down.

Another thing she'd realised over the years was that, as corny as it sounded, communication really was key. There was no use going in circles and beating around the bush and waiting for the other person to figure it out. Sometimes—most times—you just needed to have the conversation and move on.

Butttttt that doesn't mean that she didn't enjoy making him sweat sometimes. Most times.

“Last night,” she supplied. “At the party.”

“Yeah, I figured,” he responded without missing a beat, spooning a bit of dumpling into Izumi's mouth. “Good, huh?” He grinned when she got all excited and signed more. He directed his attention back at Mai, “Sorry. Keep going, baby.”

She feigned frustration, turning her face away from him while stroking Izumi’s hair, playing with the tiny buns. The feeling of the soft sprouts of hair between her fingers almost made her crack a smile. She knew it was Zuko's way of softening her up, but she didn't crack, wanting to make him sweat a little longer.

She shrugged nonchalantly, saying, “Your little… girlfriend was there last night. You didn't tell me she'd be there.”

He blinked. “Jin?!”

Mai scoffed. “Still on a first name basis, huh?” She shook her head in bewilderment, muttering, “You'd think the Firelord would have some respect for his wif—”

“Darling,” he breathed, interrupting her, in so much theatrical disbelief she almost laughed. He was so dramatic. He left his chair and immediately went to kneel in front of her, taking her hand in his.

Out of everything he could've guessed, it never would've been this. Mai was never jealous—not of his old girlfriends (just the one), that is. And of course, he wasn't faulting her for that or anything, but it was just… unexpected.

They'd met Jin the previous night unexpectedly at the party, and having already been well acquainted years ago (and having gone to Jin's wedding and having invited her to theirs, and having had Jin visit them on numerous occasions, the most recent being Izumi's birth), he'd safely assumed that speaking to Jin was fine. Right?

I mean, come on, Jin and Mai were closer than Jin and Zuko ever had been! They'd gone on one date, for God's sake!

But he wouldn't dare discredit Mai's feelings, no matter what.

“Did I say something specific that upset you? Or was it just the fact that I was having a conversation with her to begin with?” he asked, stroking her cold knuckles with his thumb, the contrast between their body temperature making him want to just scoop her up and take her to their bed to warm her up. In any means necessary.

Again, his question was nothing more than earnest.

“I… don't know,” Mai answered honestly, because even though she thought she didn't really care, she realised that she really was a little hurt, still. She had, of course, had time to think about it the previous night in the shower, and she'd come to the conclusion that while, yes, she was a little hurt at him barely paying any attention to her the whole night, busy both with Jin and everyone else who kept flanking him for a chance to speak with the Firelord, it was mostly the hormones speaking and after taking a little time to cool down, she understood that her feeling left out didn't mean that he was intentionally leaving her out. “I guess I just felt a bit jealous. And left out.”

“Mai…”

She squirmed. Even after all these years, she still felt that vague discomfort in the pit of her stomach when vocalising her feelings.

She rushed to say, “I know it's nothing and that you love me and that you're the Firelord and it's your duty to—”

“I am your husband before I am the Firelord,” he fiercely interrupted and pulled her down to join him on the floor. The gentleness of his touch contrasted the tone of his voice, both determined and desperate. “I am yours before I am anyone else's. My duty is to you, first and foremost, and I was wrong to neglect you in a party I brought you to. We came here to relax— to enjoy time away from all that Firelord bullshit, but I still found away to sink back into that role.”

“Zuko,” she said quietly with a hint of a smile, leaning into him and looping her arms around his neck, “it really isn't that big of a deal.” She kissed him sweetly once, his arms instantly going around her and pulling her closer against him. “I was just hormonal.” Then with an adorably teasing smirk that Zuko wanted to kiss off her face, she jested, “You can stop with the melodrama now.”

He huffed a laugh and spoke sincerely against her lips, “Still. I don't care if it was ‘the hormones’. I still upset you, and I'm sorry.”

“It wasn't a big deal,” she insisted, but deep down, she was really glad he cared so sincerely for her feelings.

“Don't care. I'm still sorry.”

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the smile and the rumble of laughter in her chest. “Fine, you drama queen.” She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. “I forgive you.”

He ran his tongue across her bottom lip, one side of his lips tugging up in a smirk. “So soon?” he murmured against her, slipping his fingers in her long silky hair. “I was ready to make it up to you.”

Before the kiss could escalate any further—their daughter was right there, hello?—Mai pushed Zuko away, laughing. “Are you in heat?” she asked, giggling.

He gave her a lopsided grin. “For you? Always.”

She shook her head with laughter and pulled him up to stand. They made a good couple.

[blues824]

The Remarried Empress cast where male reader is Zuko from ATLA? He's a Prince born from a prominent Fire Mage who runs away to escape the tyrannical reign and ends up becoming a guard for the Empress. One day, during a party where many from different countries come, someone from his 'country/nation' recognizes him and begs him to come back and help the powerful elemental mage 'the Avatar' learn fire magic to save their kingdom from his father.

He's made good friends here and is happy by Navier's side (maybe he even loves her) so he doesn't want to leave; I assume Sovieshu would try to kick him out of the Eastern Empire to get him away from the Empress while Navier would want him to help stop his country from tearing itself.

Preface: You were the Prince and heir to the throne of the Southern Kingdom, but you had escaped so you wouldn’t be subject to your father’s tyrannical behavior. There was a merchant ship, and you made your escape to the Eastern Empire. Because of your fire-bending capabilities, you rose through the ranks of the Empire’s military. and therefore won your way into nobility.

Sovieshu

Bro’s mad that you’re closer to his wife than he is. You were handsome, mysterious, and foreign. Plus, the scar on your face showed that you were strong enough to endure such a burn. But, that gave you no excuse to go escort the Empress and get a closer relationship with her.

When the New Year’s Party happened, there was already a crap-ton of drama stirring up. Then, someone from your kingdom recognized you. Sovieshu realized that he could use this to his advantage. Since you crossed borders illegally, he could exile you.

And that’s what he did. Sure, you had to go back anyway, but if you were exiled then you couldn’t come back. It may be a hassle for the Emperor to find someone to take over your position, but anything is better than a foreigner trying to get with Navier (just wait for Heinrey, bro).

Rashta

You were a handsome, mysterious young man who was a strong soldier and an even stronger general. If she hadn’t scored Sovieshu, she might have tried to go for you. She did try to befriend you since you both were in similar positions (starting at nothing and building yourselves up to be something), but you were dedicated to Her Imperial Majesty.

But, you did not start at nothing. One of your former subjects had recognized you at the New Year’s Party, and you had been revealed to be the Prince of the Southern Kingdom. Rashta was definitely shocked, considering she tried to befriend a literal Prince.

Even though the young mistress was angry that you chose Navier over her, she really wished that His Imperial Majesty would reconsider your exilement. To be fair, you had to leave anyway to train the ‘Avatar’ to overthrow your father and install you as the King, but still.

Navier

You would think that she would be attracted to you because you were a foreign man (as per Sovieshu’s thoughts), but she only saw you as a dear friend. Even though you loved her so much, you let it go. If I’m being real, the heartbreak added to your charm because now you were a saddened bachelor of high ranking.

Then, the New Year’s Ball happened and an ambassador of the Southern Kingdom attended and recognized you. This is how Navier found out you were from another kingdom, and that you were a warrior as well as a Prince. This night was turning out to be a real headache.

When she heard your sentence from her husband, she agreed that it would be for the best if you had left before then. She was the one to see you off, bidding you farewell and good luck in overthrowing your father for the title of King. Maybe she would see you again as a reigning monarch. She hopes to see that day.

Heinrey

He could tell that you were in love with Navier, and every single time he heard that you and her were either going for a walk or just discussing plans to increase security, he got insanely jealous. However, when the Empress made it clear that she’s friend-zoning you, you tell the Crowned Prince of the Western Kingdom that you were backing off and were keeping it professional.

During the ball, you both actually got to know each other more personally. But, your former subject had to go and ruin shit by recognizing you. Heinrey would have never guessed that you were the Prince of the Southern Kingdom. He also never would have guessed that the Emperor’s next course of action was to exile you.

Heinrey would have offered his kingdom as a refuge, but you patted him on the shoulder as you explained that your subject was right: you needed to overthrow the tyrant on the throne back home. You wished him good luck in his journey with Her Imperial Majesty, and made your way to pack your things.

[mysticwolfshadows]

Taken - Zutara - Part 33

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When they get to the arena, Toph and Aang are dangling in the air in metal cages.

And then Lord Beifong, the bastard, tried to take Toph and leave Aang too be handed over to the Fire Nation. When the Beifong's were walking past her, Katara tapped her foot, making Toph pause.

"It's your choice," Katara said. "But we could use the help."

Toph's father scoffed. "My daughter is blind. She is blind and tiny and-"

"I'll help," Toph said, pulling away from her father.

They joined the fray, despite Toph's father shouting at them. Toph takes over, telling Sokka and Zukoo to go help Aang instead. Katara smiled, knowing this girl could take care of a few lesser benders. She joined the boys at the cage, nodding to Zuko as she pulled water from her pouch.

"Heat the lock," Katara said.

Zuko nodded, trusting her judgment, and grabbed the lock in both hands, heating it until it was red hot. Quick as a whip, Katara doused it in water, freezing it all at once. There was a crack, and the lock came loose with a tug. Aang crawled out, staring at Toph.

"Wow," he said, blinking. "She's so good. Am I really gonna learn from her?"

"Maybe," Katara said, as Toph finished up. "That's up to her..."

Back at the Beifong estate, Katara stands with the others as Toph confronts her parents. She listens as Toph confesses her feelings, her desire to fight, and genuine love for it. She confeses never having a real friend, but feeling like she has the chance to now.

Katara was so proud of her, only, Toph's father is an absolute ass.

"I've let you had far too much freedom," the man has the gaul to say. "From now on you'll be cared for and guarded twenty-four hours a day."

"But dad!" Toph cries, then turns her head. "Katara-"

"They have no say here," Lao said, scowling at them. "This is for your own good."

But it wasn't Katara that spoke up. It was Zuko, his hands clenched, that stepped forward.

"No," Zuko snapped. "You're doing this for you. Your insane desire for control. You'd rather destroy your daughter than release any of your control over her."

"You don't know what you're talking about, boy!" Turning Lao shouted. "Guards! Escort the Avatar and his friends out. They are no longer welcome here."

As the guards stepped forward, Zuko turned, sweeping a foot out, shooting flames at the approaching enemy. The guards stumbled, and Katara got into her own fighting stance, ready to defend.

"Firebender!" Poppy gasped, shrinking away.

"I am Prince Zuko, son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai." He turned back to the Beifong's, smoke rising from his fista as he glared. "And I speak from experience when I say you will break your daughter one day. And when you do, it'll be something you can't take back."

"Get out," Lao tries, even as his voice shakes. "Get out of my house."

"We'll leave in peace," Aang cuts in, his staff pointed towards one man. "Toph?"

"My daughter-!"

"Has the right to choose," Katara said, reaching with one hand to touch the earthbenders shoulder. "Toph, if you want to leave, we won't let them stop you, even if you don't come with us."

For a moment, Toph just stared in the direction of the floor. Then, she nodded. "I'll join you," she said, ignoring her parents cries. "I'll teach the Avatar."

Her father was shouting, and the room was thrown into chaos. They took off, fighting their way out, climbing quickly onto Appa and flying off.

"This is gonna come back to bite us, isn't it?" Sokka asked, peering over the saddle as the Beifong Estate grew smaller and smaller.

"Probably," Zuko sighed. "I shouldn't have done that."

Katara shook her head. "Toph deserved to make her own choice. Right, Toph?"

She turned, finding the younger girl clinging to the saddle. She was looking kind of green. "I think I'm gonna hurl!"

"Over the side!" Sokka shrieked. "Over the side! Not in the saddle!"

First / Previous / Next / Masterpost

[kazperthegh0st]

Hi. Im writing my fanfiction on here because writing a oneshot takes more than a month and i dont want to open google docs. (Will be on Ao3 when complete).

Summary: Sokka/Zuko where they want to go on a nice, relaxing vacation but Azula just got out of the mental hospital (again) and Zuko cant leave her by herself so Katara is paid to babysit her. (Modern Setting AU). Azula/Katara.

Ill reblog with updates as time goes on.

Actual fanfic begins here:

Zuko has no idea where Azula got the baseball bat. Thats his first concern. The second is this: What the hell happened to her hair?

“Hello, Zuzu,”she greeted. Then she pushed past him.

She showed up at his door at 4 in the morning with a red duffel bag over her shoulder and a black metal baseball bat with lightning decals in her left hand.

Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun. But her bangs. They were completely crooked and angled and an utter mess.

She had bright red headphones around her neck and Zuko could her some shitty metal music playing.

And all Zuko could think was what the fuck.

Azula collapsed onto his couch, dropping her belongings on the coffee table, propping her feet up on the armrest, and securing her headphones over her ears. She closed her eyes.

Zuko closed the door and took a deep breath.

“Hello, Azula. Why are you here? In my house. With me. Instead of… an insane asylum,” he questioned.

She didn’t respond, only nodded her head to the music filling her ears.

He poked her.

Her eyes opened and she glared at him.

“‘Relaxation is the key to a swift recovery’, Zuzu” she told him. He hated that she was quoting Iroh.

She removed her headphones.

“Do you need something?” She questioned.

“Why are you in my apartment, Azula?”

“Did you think i was going to sleep under a bridge like a homeless person? How pathetic do you think i am?” She rolled her eyes.

“Why aren’t you with Mai? Or Iroh? Or Ty lee, even?”

“Mai kicked me out. Ty lee wouldn’t answer her phone—probably on some stupid anti technology shtick because its ‘aura is off’. And Iroh gave me your address and said i was your problem until he got back from Japan. ‘Familial bonding or whatever’.”

“Iroh sent you?” Zuko felt betrayed.

“Yes, Zuzu.”

“Hes not coming back for another month.”

“Guess im your problem for another month, then”

“I have plans, college, a life, Azula! I cant have you living here! Im leaving for my own vacation in a week!”

“You dont want me in your life, Zuzu? Thats cruel. I thought you were the good sibling. Guess I was wrong for once.”

Zuko stalked off into his kitchen. His house was being corrupted by his evil sister because he couldn’t find it in himself to throw her out.

He couldn’t take it out on Iroh. His uncle worked so hard and needed this break.

He couldn’t take it out on his dad. That evil man was in a prison cell on the other side of the country.

He couldn’t take it out on Azula. It wasn’t really her fault she was the way she was. It was their dad’s fault for traumatizing his kids.

Azula was just as much of a victim as he was.

More will be added later and will eventually end up on Ao3.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Random Miraculous Gaang thoughts

All are suggestions, feel free to take or leave whichever!

In no particular order:

(this got REAL long lmao)

1) Sokka is 16, Katara 15, but they are JUST close enough in age to be in the same class. Irish Twins, or whatever they call that. Everyone else’s ages to be decided in relation to them. So, Aang and Toph are 14, but got bumped ahead a year. Zuko is 17 but got held back. Suki and Yue are 16. Ty Lee & Mai are 15. Azula, I’m split on her being 14 or 15? She’s in Katara and Sokka’s year, regardless. Kuzon, Bumi Jr, and Teo are JUST 15, like barely. Haru is 17, but he’s friends with Sokka and Katara, so hangs out with them. Haru and Zuko used to be in the same class. (Please, someone who is better at numbers try this list)

2) Cabbage Man is here. He’s their version of Mister Pigeon. Is regularly Akumatized when his fresh produce stalls get wrecked. He’s either just generally unlucky, has TERRIBLE spacial awareness, or whoever makes his carts keep ripping him off, cause these things are so shoddily designed.

3) Uncertain musing, but. I think I said before, the night Zuko gets his scar, Azula calls Iroh in a panic, that’s how Iroh knows to go and look for him. I guess my question is, would this version of Azula do this? Like, Canon!Azula wouldn’t, but Canon!Azula had a whole bunch of other shit going on, that MG!Azula wouldn’t, so. Would she call Iroh, and straight up tell him “Zuko got his face burned, Dad threw him out” or more vague, “Zuko needs you to come get him”? Would she not call at all, worried about Ozai finding out?

Also, like

3.5) Like, If we are taking the “burned his face and tossed him out” literally, Zuko is heavily injured, in a lot of pain, probably disoriented - would he be able to find his way to Iroh’s? Assuming it’s late/nighttime - cause middle of the day, I’m assuming someone would, ya know, notice the injured bleeding kid stumbling around and call somebody - would he even be able to see? And what age exactly is this happening? Like, my general understanding of Canon!Atla was, Ursa leaves when Zuko is about 9 or 10, then he gets burned at 13, spends the next 3-4 years looking for the Avatar. But we’re bumping around the ages, and most of these kids go to school together, so if 13!Zuko got the burn and got pulled out, wouldn’t everybody be talking about it? Was Zuko out of school for A WHILE (say, a year or more), partially cause medical reasons, then trauma stuff, and is just going back to public school at the start of the series? Did Ozai even burn him with fire, or is this more of a “Shoto” burn, boiling water and ice? Just generally musing how this scene translates to MG-verse, I guess.

4) pure suggestion, but Sokka and Yue date BEFORE the start of the “series”, and “mutually” decided they were better off as friends. Reality being that Yue broke up with Sokka cause of family drama with her’s and Hahn’s parents playing matchmaker, and Yue trying to protect Sokka from Hahn’s folks possibly being … well, not sure WHAT she’s scared of, but that’s the general idea. And by the time that all gets hammered out, Sokka is dating Suki, and starting to get into a situationship with Zuko and Jin, while Yue has started falling for Azula. So, it’s not that they were bad for each other or anything, or even that they wouldn’t have lasted or been a good couple, but they kind of … miss their window? Cause my other thought is, if Yue and Sokka stay together, how does that work out with all the other ships? (I need a frigging chart for this)

5) Since I’m pretty sure Ty Lee’s parents are rich, or at least influential, how likely is it that she’s met Toph before? Actually, how likely is it that Toph has met Ty Lee, Azula, Zuko, and Mai? Did any of them help convince Toph’s parents to let her attend school? Has Ty Lee taught her all the insane stunts she does? Do Toph and Ty Lee share a love for professional wrestling?

6) Would Iroh have an actual shop, or a roving food-cart? Cause on the one hand, he canonically HAS a shop, while on the other, I’m really attached to the idea that Iroh has a roving food & tea cart, and seems to appear just when someone needs tea and advice. Also, I got an image of him getting into a fistfight with Andre the Ice Cream Man, and I kind want to see that?

7) What school do these kids go to, Cause Avatar Academy appeals in a very kitchsy kind of way.

8) Did we decide on Harmony City? Cause if Sokka isn’t using Harmonia, that could work too. I’m imaging a city that’s like, in a bay, or close to the sea, but also some mountains? Maybe, like. An hour or less from a desert, or large forest?

9) So, like. Ursa kills Azulon cause of Ozai’s machinations. However, since this setting and situation are different, thoughts on Ursa spending however long she’s gone working to get enough evidence to take Ozai down? Trying to figure out a way to contact the kids without Ozai finding out?

10) Someone mentioned Meng, the girl who worked for Fortune Teller Wu. ( Fun Fact, Meng and Toph share a voice actor!) But anyway, I suddenly have an image of Iroh and Wu dating. Zuko and Lu Ten are both, “ok, well. This happened.”

11) Do we still have “secret identities at all costs” and how long does that last for the whole team?

12) suggestion: Gyatso managed to track down the Butterfly, just as Ozai did, and the two duke it out, before Ozai yoinks it and vanishes. Gyatso was Miraculoused up, so Ozai doesn’t know who he is, but he knows the “Guardian” exists, and is an old man, while Gyatso now knows someone with likely less than noble intentions took the Butterfly, and that he couldn’t stop him even with a Miraculous of his own.

13) Aang has a large, fluffy dog called Appa, as well as Momo (cat or sugar glider?). Appa seems a … touch too smart to be a regular dog, but no one brings that up.

14) if the city is broken up into districts that mimic the Canon Four Nations, make it a harbour/port city, and Sokka and Katara live at the marina, on their house boat. Like, they have smaller boats that they use to give boat tours/clean the city rivers, but also their neighbours and everybody does a lot of fishing and transport of goods. 

15) Possible Akumas!

- “The Boulder”, wrestler who got pissed about something, and becomes a massive rock man; probably the debut of Tiger!Toph

- Zuko: gets into a fight with someone about [his dad/his scar/his status/whatever], becomes “the Blue Spirit”

- Rando gets upset because people keep calling him “bland and boring”, saying he “doesn’t have an interesting face”, becomes “Koh the Face Stealer”

- Kuzon gets mad about something environmental, turns into that Panda Spirit 

- Toph gets into a fight with her parents, Akumatized into the Blind Bandit

- Wu, gets upset when Sokka dismisses her fortune-telling (I mean, here, she might actually have some ability, but it’s also, like, her living? And when Sokka discounts it LOUDLY, IN PUBLIC, it harms her business) become Fortuna, Goddess of Fate

- Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot are the first Unified Akuma, ie, the first time Ozai Akumatizes multiple people at once. They’re collective Akuma is called the Freedom Fighters. (Unless someone knows their ACTUAL names, I’m calling them Ren [Smellerbee] and Hao [Longshot]).

- Iroh gets Akumatized into The Dragon of the West, in a scheme to throw him off Ozai’s trail. Ozai has Noriko use the Butterfly to Akumatize Iroh, while Ozai is with him, so Iroh thinks it isn’t Ozai.

- Azula, the “Phoenix Princess”. Possibly Dragon Princess.

- Yue, the “Lady of the Moon”; other thought, have her be a dual Akuma with Sokka, as “Tui and La: Spirits of the Moon and Ocean”

Ok, this got longer than I thought it would! 

(thoughts, feelings, opinions, new ideas?)

-

Let’s go!

1.) We actually don’t have to change their ages at all tbh. Katara, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee are all 14. Sokka is 15. Zuko is 16. Aang and Toph are 12.  Yue is the only character with an on-screen birthday turning 16. I don’t think any of the other kids have canonical ages.

So we can have Aang and Toph skip a grade or two because homeschool-to-publicschool  placed them according to ability rather than age. And then Zuko and Yue are both a grade younger for various reasons (Zuko got held back due to all the missing class when he was kicked out. Yue would still have her health issues as a child so she started classes a year late on the whole).

Everyone else is in the 14-turning-15 range already and/or don’t have exact ages.

2.) Cabbage Man as Mr. Pigoen is fucking perfect oh my god.

3.) I think she would in like. For me, the reason Azula got as bad as she did in Canon is because she was exclusively around Ozai and/or people who agreed with him for three years after Zuko’s banishment. Before that she wasn’t perfect, but she still had the capacity to care instead of shoving it down out of fear for what her father would do to her.

Which continues with Azula being a bit better because, due to the change in circumstances, she hasn’t been able to be as isolated. There’s certainly still a lot she needs to unlearn, and she still would throw others under the bus to save herself from Ozai’s wrath. But she’s not fully loyal to him and will do things he doesn’t want if she thinks she can get away with it.

3.5) I’m still having it be when Zuko is 13 to keep with Canon. The exact ‘how’ is up in the air but a lot of household objects can cause burns. Unlike the Shoto thing though this was done 100% intentionally. (Though Ozai gaslights everyone and lies like ‘oh i have no idea how he got that!’). 

Zuko’s been back in school for a bit. But I think. I think we’ll go with American grades so they’re all in their first year of High School which is how everyone is kinda just now meeting. Like they all went to different Elementary/Middle schools but now for High School they’re together.

(side note, just having a mini crisis of ‘oh my god they’re BABIES’ because holy shit.)

Anyway! Night of the getting kicked out! I think Zuko even kinda half-there would be able to make his way over because at this point Iroh has the Jasmine Dragon so he’d know to go there. Combined with Azula calling Iroh so he’s out looking for the kid, they kinda meet in the middle. Iroh would take Zuko to a hospital and ofc the hospital calls Ozai who lies and is like ‘Oh we got in a fight and he decided he wanted to run away. You know how disrespectful teenagers can be. But sure if he wants to throw a fit and stay with an uncle who enables that behavior, so be it! Oh the burn? No idea how that happened nope not at all!’.

4.) Oh yeah the- the Sokka/Yue thing! I think it’s like. Yue knows her parents are kinda pushing her toward Hahn, and she’s not sure how they’d react to her dating someone else because of that. Eventually she weighs the options and decides to save Sokka the drama and do what her parents seem to want her to do. Which. Sucks.

And like later when Sokka’s in his situationship and Yue starts falling for Azula they kinda talk about it and like. He gives her advice to fight for it this time around.

5.) I’m not sure because knowing Toph’s parents, they’d very much keep her away from most people in general. Too fragile to really attend those galas. After all, she can’t see! What if she runs into someone! No if she must make an appearance, she must have someone Actually Capable™ holding her hand the whole time!.

Like seriously though. Reminder that in Canon the local townsfolk didn’t even know the Beifongs had a daughter at all. Not just ‘oh she’s reclusive and stays on the manor grounds’, just ‘they don’t have a child’.

Here it’d be harder to fully hide a child’s existence, but they’d keep her close.

I think Toph may kinda leverage the whole publicity thing of like. If she sneaks out into the school and makes it a public thing of ‘oh yes my parents just finally decided to trust me enough to let me go! Aren’t they so wonderful? Isn’t it so kind that they believe in my despite my disability?’ it’d kinda force their hand because they can’t go back on that and call her a liar without looking bad. 

6.) I want Iroh to have the actual shop but there can also be a cart as well. Like a combination of extra business and advertising.

7.) ‘Avatar Academy’ sounds so lame I fucking love it.

8.) Harmony City! Named for the most fucked Minecraft-looking terrain of chaos. I say this with all the love in my heart I love it .

9.) Yes and no and yes? So like. Here, Ozai has a lot less power than he does in Canon. He’s not ruler of a nation, he’s some rich asshole. But he does have some pull in the City Council and connection to shady people (he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty looking for the Miraculous). 

Ursa may have more of a chance to be able to do something if she can look into his dealings. But as much as she’d love to get in direct contact with her kids she has to wait. To act too soon could seal their fate.

Doesn’t stop her from low-key stalking their social media accounts and becoming very concerned about Zuko’s scar.

10.) Iroh/Wu is a fantastic addition. I’d imagine Aunt Wu’s shop is like right next to the Jasmine Dragon.

11.) Secret Identities are more chill. Like. Gyatso isn’t as paranoid as Fu is more of a ‘I respect the rules but I will break them if I feel necessary’ person. Sokka and Katara immediately clock each other. Since Gyatso was training Aang a little, Aang probably knows who is who. Toph accidentally connects the dots re: me replacing her Earthbending Sight with Magic Synesthesia. So they’re kinda ending up in a ‘the Gaang knows but don’t tell anyone else’.

12.) That works in an explaination for how the Butterfly ended up where it did and why Ozai would think that causing Akumas would lure in the Guardian. (Something ML canon never gave us for Gabriel).

13.) Appa is a big doggo! Also in reference to Something Else, I suggest the comedy of Momo actually being a Sentimonster that had been created back before the Order went to shit and Sozin yoinked the Peacock. He’s just stuck around since then.

14.) Oh yeah the districts being like the Elements and all works well!

15.) I love all of those Akuma Suggestions

[kacievvbbbb]

I know, especially with how much more proactive he is in the live action, some people think that Iroh was too complicit with Zuko and should have put more effort into pushing Zuko down the right path.

But I don’t know I think the point was that it had to come from Zuko. This great change had to be something that Zuko wanted for himself and not something Iroh pushes him into. It’s why although he tries to distract or dissuade him subtly he’s pretty content to let Zuko do as he feels the need to (except when he’s taking insane actions that would have killed him if he wasn’t too spiteful to die)

The closest Iroh gets to forcefully pushing Zuko towards any direction is him yelling “It's time for you to look *inward* and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you and what do *you* want?”. And then siding with the avatar during the fall of ba sing se.

If Iroh tried to manipulate him, take advantage of this scared angry child to unconsciously steer him towards his own side then he’s just be another person wrenching control from Zuko life. But instead Iroh offers him that control, let him go out and see what the world is and let the conclusions of whatever he finds be the foundation on which he is rebuilt again and and again. It’s why when he stands infront of Ozai and says “ No, I’ve learned everything! And I’ve had to learn it on my own” we feel that shit. Because yeah he did, he struggled and he fought and he learned and damn it all, he is making a choice for himself.

The story works because Iroh isn’t his mentor, he’s his uncle and he loves him enough to push aside his own personal belief to allow Zuko the space to decide who he wants to be, to give him the agency over his own life. That’s why Zuko’s redemption works so well because he’s not forced into it, If he decides to join the avatar to take down the thrown that has to be his choice. If he decides to stay with the fire nation be the prince he was born to be….well that had to be his choice as well. Because that’s the crux of this. None of it matters if it isn’t Zuko, with everything that he has learned, making a decision for his own life.