#HOWEVER...zuko being made the fire lord? WACK

[gasmeros]

May I haps ask about the solstice kidnapping zuko AND the zuko jumping one? That smiley face makes me so nervous

ok so the solstice kidnapping one is basically all plotting with a few lines of actual prose that are totally unrelated, so uh. don't actually really have a snippet to share there hhhhhhhh. but basically, there was this post ages ago that got popular, got a lot of fanfic spin offs actually. i just wanted to do my own take on it. the post is here

to sum up, during the winter solstice episode (the one where the gaang fly into the fire nation to go talk to roku for the first time), zhao locks the water siblings up with zuko instead of chaining them to pillars, and they end up talking, and the sibs learn about how zuko got his scar, and thus the gaang basically adopts zuko.

so it's like. imagine that but with my style dialogue and extra whump cuz im me. here's a bit from my plotting:

commence operation learn more about zuko through various kidnappings. from here on, the formula is zuko chases aang, aang kidnaps zuko :) zuko fucking hates this. each kidnapping reveals a bit more information about zuko's circumstances, and last a lil bit longer than the last. at some point the gaang officially decides that zuko is really just a proxy for their real enemy (the fire lord), and they're gonna try their damnedest to sway zuko out of his mindset, or at the very least not cause any harm to him while they defend themselves. zuko's fuckin confused cuz why are they refusing to fight?? to the point where he gives them opportunities to hit him back in combat just to verify that they're actively choosing only defense. that pisses them off cuz what if they weren't doing that? dude??

i actually have two variants branching off this prompt, the other is technically better plotted? that one's the s1 soltice to boat au. basically the same start, but then the gaang starts camping out on zuko's boat with immunity due to a technicality in a promise zuko made to them. here's some of that plotting cuz i feel bad not having actual writing to share with either of them ahdmhsjg

so we get Bison Time, wherein zuko's still not a fan of anything that's happening, but compared to how he was acting with zhao, he's downright pleasant. which is not to say that he's actually pleasant, he is very much being an angry brat who's like one second away from trying to fight them while still on the bison. the siblings have a lot of questions, because what zhao said about banishment and two years searching and public executions was fucking wack and they need to know why he said that, why zuko fought so hard that he thought burning his mouth as bad as he did was an acceptable trade off. they know why, but they need to hear it.

zuko does not let them hear it. he yells and doesn't answer any questions and demands they put him down or else. bits about the mouth burns obviously bothering him, just cuz im me and im predictable

they end up going to drop him off at his ship cuz his crew wont attack without a command, and zuko's not so dumb to make them attack the bison he's on. they end up making him swear to not do anything until after they fly away

Eventually theyre able to land on zuko's ship without risk of zuko being arrested. zuko keeps his word and doesn't let anyone attack until after they leave, and THEN. aang is a smartass and takes advantage of that by just. not flying away :) so zuko can't do anything, cuz then he'd break his word!! that's pretty fuckin dishonorable!! zuko would like to murder aang.

so yyeah. sorry for the dud ask there.

PART 2!!!! zuko jumping :) is about a suicide attempt :))) sorry agsjshf. basically zuko goes to offer his help to the gaang in s3, they reject him, and he just. has nothing left to do with his life?? like he can't go *back,* and he can't do what he set out to do, so.

viewer discretion advised for this snippet, obviously. like the snippet isn't that part, but still, the context might be enough to want to avoid.

Katara's gaze is worried, and she's always been too good at reading him. "Aang? What's wrong?"

He knows he shouldn't say anything, that Zuko's hardly comfortable letting Aang see his suffering, let alone the rest of his "maybe, sort of, don't want to be but am" enemies. Not when they're the reason he—

Aang starts bawling.

i have no idea if i intend to finish this one. it's just not something im sure i know how to handle appropriately.

[garrettrulefivewhitlock]

Finished season 3!

I just finished season 1 of ATLA and I’m really enjoying it so far!