#Someone keep Azula and Toph away because they destroy the world together.

[the-genius-az]

What do you think of Azula with the Gaang? And how would Azula get along with them? What things do they mutually share?

Thanks for the question, Amor!

With Aang.

I think they both share how they were child prodigies who suffered from loneliness when they were called the best, you know, the master of the blue flame and the avatar.

They also share how they both don't have parents, although Aang had his teacher (I forgot his name) as his father figure, but he wasn't really his father. meanwhile Azula didn't really have a parent/ mother figure, or at least they didn't act like that.

They are both nobody's children. And I feel like they would get along well, they would both teach each other how to improve as a person and control their elements better.

With Katara.

They both suffered the loss of their mothers from a very young age, although Azula never really had one.

They are also prodigies, the best in their fields, with annoying older brothers.

I like to imagine that they would get along and both would team up to annoy their brothers.

With Sokka.

They are geniuses, or at least Sokka is better than average.

I bet they'd both get along because they're nerds, and they both have a greater sense of loyalty than each other.

but I like the headcanon that it's an adopted older brother/adopted younger sister relationship.

With Suki.

They are born leaders, they both share the desire to fight for others and are very protective of their loved ones.

They would get along if there wasn't a war, or maybe they would be sparring partners after the war.

And finally with Toph.

They both share loneliness and abandonment by their parents, although neither of them would talk about their problems, at least until they are going through a difficult time.

And they would be the explosive dynamic duo, although obviously Azula would be the most responsible and think logically, but sometimes she forgets and becomes just as chaotic as Toph.

Without a doubt Toph is Azula's bad influence.

And I think the one who would get along best with Azula would be Aang, they both share many things in common.

[tiredcath]

Zukka Fic Recs

after atla came back into pop culture i found myself falling back in love with zukka which resulted in me reading (almost) every zukka fic on ao3 and here are my favorites

Transference by The_Quatermasters (146k)

In a modern AU, Zuko has to deal with settling in a new school after expulsion, dealing with an angry ex and an abusive father. Maybe his new found friendships and growing closeness with Sokka will help him make it through. 

Borderlines by The_Quatermasters (73k)

Three years after the war, the work still isn't quite done and the Gaang is scattered across the continents in their efforts to help the world recover. When Aang and Katara pay visit to the Fire Nation where Zuko is Fire Lord and Sokka acts as Ambassador for the Water Tribe, sparks fly between the siblings over Sokka's life choices.

Ashes Inside When You Finish Your Song by Muncaster (47k)

Sokka writes lyrics for his sister’s band. Zuko plays piano and is unnecessarily nice. Fellas, is it gay to write love songs about your friend and his golden eyes?

(AKA, a modern band AU featuring The Gaang, crappy software equipment, homoerotic lyrics, and the realization that maybe, if you think about a guy every night before you sleep, you just might be in love with him.)

sirens & sleepless nights by Satirrian (54k)

Life can be pretty hard living in a city under a totalitarian regime. Between adhering to the ridiculous curfew, keeping himself from being gunned down by a passing patrolman, and paying his unnecessary tolls to the state for, say, breathing, Sokka has his hands full just getting to work. Add aiding a resistance group on top of that, and Sokka should really be getting paid for this.

Then, one night, Sokka finds an injured patrolman collapsed in the street, who tells him with blood on his lips, “If the patrol finds me, I’m dead.”

 Real Slow by surveycorpsjean (21k)

“I see.” Zuko closes the scroll. “Is the Water Tribe sending a replacement?”

“Uh yeah,” Sokka gestures to himself dramatically. “You’re looking at him.”

 First by HoneyBadgerMole (20k)

Zuko has been nurturing a crush on the jock in his AP Psych class but he has been too scared to talk to him until they get paired up for a project.

the benefits of getting a flat tire by LesbeanLatte (64k)

Zuko makes an impromptu decision to run away from home after a disturbing conversation with Azula. Unfortunately, some plans are better when they're actually, well, planned. Zuko isn't counting on getting a flat tire almost as soon as he's far enough away from the city to really be in the middle of nowhere.

Sokka is immediately taken with the stranger he and his friends find stranded on the side of the road during an afternoon joy ride. However, he has no idea what he's getting involved with and a kind attempt to help a fellow teen in need turns into a massive coverup for a missing person who just so happens to be the son of the mayor of Ba Sing Se.

Azula was just trying to help her big brother - in her own way - by telling him things she thought he deserved to know. Now the situation has gotten wildly out of control. Did she enjoy seeing Zuko upset and afraid? Of course. Had she intended to endanger his life? Not necessarily, but of course, her idiot brother overreacted to everything and that's what happened and now she doesn't know how to stop the chain of events she's indirectly put in place like dominoes.

Operation Leverage by snowandfire (50k)

Sokka's instincts are onto something great. Zuko just wants to serve tea and brood in peace. Ironically, Toph is the only one who can see what's really going on.

 The Stingray by Smediterranea (24k)

“You’re not carrying me.”

“I don’t mind,” the lifeguard says easily.

“I can just hop over.”

“On sand?”

Zuko will never admit it, but being carried feels pretty nice. The lifeguard sets him down and eyes him warily.

“Are you really all by yourself?” he asks in a worried tone. “No friends in town you can call to check on you?”

“No,” Zuko confirms. Tears are forming again with alarming speed; his foot throbs painfully with every passing second.

“What kind of burrito do you want?”

“You don’t have to —“ Zuko repeats.

“I’m getting al pastor. You like al pastor?”

 AU: Zuko falls for Sokka, the super hot lifeguard who helps him after an unfortunate encounter with a stingray.

 it's the illusion of separation by argentoswan (110k)

Sokka takes a job washing dishes at the new tea shop in town. It's a great gig, until he finds out his only coworker is his old high school bully. Sokka really should quit, but he also really needs to afford rent.

Also, Zuko is kind of hot now.

 People like to think war means something by trying_to_spell_both_our_names_at_once (21k)

Sokka was the first to leave.

Somehow that hurt the most. . . . Not long after Zuko becomes Firelord, forces gather in the South and next thing he knows he's thrown into a civil war with almost no one by his side. Maybe healing is longer and more complicated than it needs to be, but with the right people by your side it is always possible.

 a way that will destroy you by anothermistakemade (14k)

In the wake of Ozai's death, Zuko begins to fall apart. Sokka will do everything in his power to make sure that doesn't happen.

-

or, zuko might be losing his mind, but he also might just be really sad & traumatized

 Those Who Favor Fire by CSHfic, VSfic (30k)

After a failed attempt on his life, Sokka fakes his death, dons a disguise, and infiltrates the would-be assassin's ranks in an attempt to bring them down from the inside.

Zuko learns of his husband's tragic death, mourns, and vows revenge.

 Words Mean More at Night by DaisytheDoodleDog (28k)

Even ten years after the end of the war, rebellions rise and risk the balance of the nations. Sokka was willing to do anything to protect his people, which is perhaps why he's leading an army against the rebellion, attacking only as a last result. But Sokka's unwinding, it's taking a toll on him, and the only thing keeping him grounded are the letter Zuko and him exchange late in the night when no one can see the messenger hawks. But as they say, nothing's fair in love and war.

another word for wanting by eurydicees (23k)

Sokka begins to dream of his soulmate when he's eleven years old, and it just gets harder from there. Or, 125 moments soulmates share, and none of them come easy.

(In which your dreams are your soulmate's memories, and Sokka dreams of an all-consuming fire, growing and eating at his soulmate until it burns up the connection between their souls. In which they find love anyways.)

 It Has Only Just Begun by Kirazalea (39k)

There is a bitter triumph in crashing when you should be soaring

Zuko had now chosen the path his uncle had been trying so hard to show him; he had someone who believed in him, who maybe loved him; he was travelling with the Avatar and they apparently had a plan to end the war. By all accounts, Zuko should be smiling.

But Uncle was gone (captured by Azula, and Zuko didn't think she would kill him, but he didn’t, couldn’t, know for sure). The Avatar was barely breathing (he could still die at any second and there was nothing any of them could do about it). Azula had conquered the last Earth Kingdom stronghold (all those innocent people who were now at her mercy). It seemed like, for every step Zuko took forward, the world sent him back three more.

But he was determined to push forward anyways. He needed to make his uncle proud, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

aka: zuko joins the gaang at the end of season 2

 Nightmares and Reveries by HisMomoness (20k)

Zuko doesn't sleep because when he does, he's haunted by nightmares. Sokka worms his way into a job and makes it his mission to get Zuko to relax. Lots of head pets and one vacation to the South Pole later, Zuko might just be getting the hang of it.

Cue pining, some fluff, and eventual romance.

 The One Who Stopped Time by ohhihoney (66k)

All hope was lost to Zuko until one day, his uncle asked a random person at the Jasmine Dragon to tutor his nephew. Gritting his teeth and embarrassed beyond the point of no return, Zuko gave the blue eyed boy his number.

Little did Zuko know how much Sokka would change his world.

 Rubbed Off Stars by ohhihoney (2k)

Sokka wasn't going to just sit and watch the boy at the back of the bus cry while trying to rub off pride flags off his cheeks.

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WIP

Ozymandias, King of Kings by Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought (168k)

After that fateful Agni Kai, Ozai makes a different call. Branded as a traitor and banished to a prison camp, Zuko learns how cruel the Fire Nation can be to its citizens. Three years, a water tribe raid, and an unexpected meeting with a gang of over-enthusiastic idealistic children puts Zuko back in the spotlight. The revolution is coming and it wants another poster boy, but Zuko is not willing to lend his face to the cause.

 Another Brother by AvocadoLove (312k)

It was a mission of revenge. There weren't supposed to be any survivors, but Chief Hakoda couldn't bring himself to kill the Fire Nation boy. Against his better judgment, he brought him home. A Zuko joins the Water Tribe story.

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BONUS : zuko x jet

Something to Hold Onto by Wildgoosery (122k)

Since the day the walls of Ba Sing Se fell, the Freedom Fighters have struggled to protect what remains of the city and its people. Jet and his second command, a mysterious boy named Li, have spent the summer piecing together an army, hoping for a chance to take the city back for good. But Li is also Zuko, and the time for that secret is quickly running out. Soon, he'll have to decide exactly who he is, what cause he's going to fight for, and where his heart lies.

[7team7]

Sharp edges

Mai notices. Zutara from an outsider POV // eventual Zutara, eventual Mailee

A/N: ok hi i love sasusaku fics told from an outsider pov, there are a few really good ones from karin’s perspective so i was like ok sorry mai i will do this LOL (if you’re unfamiliar, karin had feelings for sasuke but he didn’t return them and he married and had a baby with sakura) this is not at all supposed to be The Other Woman type of thing, there’s no cheating, it’s really observations and another way to look at zutara yup! 

.

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Mai stood by Zuko because she knew he was a good man. She knew he cared about her. Her childhood crush on him wasn’t misplaced. 

When she first sensed the distance growing between them, she chalked it up to Fire Lord duties demanding all of his time. But despite his good intentions and traits, he was not in love with her the way he was in love with someone else.  

She first really noticed when he was running around the palace like a komodo chicken with its head cut off while preparing for visitors. Not just any visitors — his old friends from across the nations used the one year anniversary of his coronation as an excuse to get together. She had sensed his loneliness in the way he constantly gazed at the sky, lost in his own thoughts, in the way he sent off pages and pages of letters. But she assumed he yearned for friendship and not romance. She was only one person, she could only give him so much.

The palace was ablaze with activity in the days before the highly anticipated celebration. “Aren’t you excited?” he asked her, looking like a kid on the morning of his birthday. 

His face drooped when he realized, no, of course she wasn’t. They weren’t really her friends, they weren’t here to see her. 

She verbalized her feelings anyway, “Why would I be?” 

“Oh! I forgot to tell you that Ty Lee is coming too. And my sister got cleared by her doctors to join us for a while. That’s something, right?” 

She sighed. He was trying. He always tried his best and that was one of the things that was so endearing about him. “Should be an interesting mix,” she remarked. She excused herself to go lay down and left him to finish hanging the flags of the other nations in the hallway. Even with all his servants doing their best, no one could work fast enough to keep up with his boundless energy. He really was excited, wasn’t he?

Before she rounded the corner to her room, she could’ve sworn she noticed the way he seemed to hold onto the blue Water Tribe fabric just a bit longer. She shook her head. She must have been tired, imagining him run his thumb over the fabric before hanging it. 

.

The Gaang arrived noisily as usual. The way they all arrived on time (at noon, peak Zuko energy time) was a little freaky. It seemed no amount of time would mess with their sync. 

A seemingly endless round of hugs was exchanged, everyone chattering excitedly as they caught up with each other and made plenty of nostalgic jokes that you really had to be there for to understand. 

Aang had arrived first, flying in and bowing with exaggerated politeness to “Sifu Hotman” that only served to send both Zuko and himself into a fit of giggles. Two of the world’s most powerful benders were really still kids. 

Toph came stomping in next, wondering aloud if Zuko would change her life today. He gave her an affectionate noogie, and asked, “Haven’t I already?” 

She shoved him, “Don’t go thinking you’re Iroh.” She was happy. 

Sokka would’ve been next had he not been intercepted by Suki. They had their own little reunion on the docks before joining the group. 

So that left Katara to skip up to the palace, leaving her brother behind. Mai could’ve sworn Katara was an airbender when she all but flew through the air when she launched herself at Zuko, arms outstretched for an embrace. 

And Zuko caught her. 

He captured her in a tight hug and spun her around, looking like they hopped straight out of an Ember Island Players romance.  

When her feet met the ground again, the waterbender seemed to grow embarrassed as she quickly turned away from Zuko to greet her other friends. Zuko seemed to reach for her again, but dropped his hands and squeezed them into fists. The smile on his face was just a bit less dazzling than it had been a moment before, even when Sokka came barreling through the scene with a witty comment.  

Mai tilted her head, surveying the situation. To Sokka, he was a fellow swordsman; to Aang, he was a firebending master; to Toph, he was the sibling she never had; he was their friend. To everyone — Suki, Ty Lee, Momo, Appa — he was a friend. 

But who was he to Katara? The question grated on her nerves. It was too loud. She left to check on Azula. 

.

Maybe she was reading into it too much. It wasn’t like Katara had no options: Aang’s feelings for her were obvious. She watched closely to determine if those feelings were reciprocated. Maybe time and distance had changed things.

Katara had suggested going into town to explore the marketplace and Aang jumped up to join her. But then Zuko started droning on and on about the economy and instead of being bored to death like any normal person, she started offering her own suggestions for improving revenue streams and diversifying product offerings. Yawn. 

Aang trailed after then, looking forlorn. Katara had the Avatar hanging on her every word, yet she chose to pay attention to Zuko, her former enemy. That was really something. 

And Zuko, he was listening to her more intently than he ever listened to his aging advisors. 

Mai stayed back. She wasn’t interested in inserting herself. Time and distance only seemed to make Zuko more sure of his feelings, even if he didn’t realize it yet. She would need to reevaluate the situation herself. 

.

Mai never felt left out as a nonbender. She had seen the way fire had destroyed her own nation. 

But she had always wished they could spar together. It wasn’t about meeting halfway, she could have easily requested that he use his swords to level the playing field. 

But his identity would always be tied to that of a firebender. He was the Fire Lord, for one thing. He could put down the swords whenever he wanted, but the fire would always be inside him, licking at his insides, smoking its way out in every exhale.  

Fire and water were opposites, but they worked together surprisingly well. Balance, she thought as she lazily twirled a dagger in her hands while watching Zuko and Katara’s sparring session.  

“You’ve improved,” he praised her, clearly impressed. Zuko wore his heart on his sleeve, something he apparently thought Mai should try. Her face pinched in for a split second when Katara’s shining eyes met his. For a waterbender, Katara’s eyes had so much warmth. Like the changing tide, they held a special sort of softness when she looked at Zuko. 

“You have too. But what else would I expect? You’re the Fire Lord now,” she teased. Fighting alongside Zuko had always felt natural, but it was a joy to be able to practice against him now that they weren’t sworn enemies. 

“A Fire Lord who will get rusty if he has to do anymore paperwork,” he grumbled, wiping the sweat from his brow. 

“Well come on. I’m sure paperwork can wait for a little while longer. Can you show me that new move you did at the end?” 

Mai remembered Zuko promising the other benders that they’d get a chance to spar with him too, but that seemed to slip his mind. He eagerly started showing her the forms. Katara picked it up quickly: it was clearly a fusion of water and firebending styles. 

An understanding started developing at the back of her mind: there were things Zuko and Katara had that Zuko and herself could not have. 

The session only ended when Azula came waltzing in, asking if anyone was up for a little fun. 

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Breakfast the next day was held outside to take advantage of the favorable weather. The pleasant breeze coupled with sunshine put everyone in a merry mood. Instead of Zuko sitting at the head of the table in his fancy throne-like chair like he would inside, everyone squished together on two long benches at one table. Mai sat to Zuko’s immediate left, at the edge of the table. 

People like Aang, Sokka, and Toph were driven by hunger and started digging in quickly. Suki had clearly taken a moment to actually get ready because when she took her place next to Sokka, her hair was neater than almost everyone else’s.

Katara came in last, yawning and rubbing the last remnants of sleep from her eyes. Zuko brightened when he saw her, “Katara! I saved you a seat.” He scooted closer to Mai, brushing her side with his, but only so he could make room for Katara. Mai sighed. Why was he so clueless sometimes?

As soon as Katara was settled next to him, Zuko poured her a steaming cup of tea. She gave him a sweet smile in thanks. He pushed a plate towards her, “Here, this one shouldn’t have any fire flakes.” She dug in eagerly, nudging his shoulder with hers in silent happiness while she chewed. Zuko’s body jostled up against Mai’s as a result of being nudged, but he had never felt so far away.

“Anyone else want some tea?” he asked the table. Of course everyone wanted a sip of Iroh’s delicious breakfast brew, so they all said yes. But instead of serving everyone the way he had served Katara only a moment ago, Zuko just passed the teapot across the table so everyone could pour their own cup.

Clueless, truly clueless. 

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“Guess what my silly brother told me when I arrived yesterday? He said, ‘Be nice.’ Ha! As if I would ever imagine being anything but,” Azula cackled. He had pulled her aside when he noticed the way everyone (or really, Katara) hesitated around her. Her unpredictable energy still put everyone on edge. 

“I can hardly believe little ZuZu is the great big Fire Lord now,” she continued. The original trio — Azula, Mai, Ty Lee — were strolling around the city. There wasn’t much to do at the palace until dinner time seeing as Zuko was tied up with his daily meetings. Bureaucracy didn’t stop, even for visitors. 

“I know right. Things are so different now.” She knew what Azula left unsaid: Zuko was Fire Lord and she wasn’t. Mai still wasn’t sure exactly how to go about tending to Azula’s feelings. She was still her friend, but everything had changed so much, there was a much needed distance between them. No matter how bored she was, she would never follow the princess’s every whim again.

“I’ve been told to work on being happy for others. Even if they have what I want, even if I can’t get it. He’s still a dumb dumb, but you know. I’m working on it.” Azula examined her nails as if the conversation was completely casual, but her words held great significance. 

Oh. 

It would take time, but maybe she could work up to being happy for them.

.

She waited a day, mulling it over on her own. But she didn’t wait until everyone else went home to end it. Really, why bother? 

“What are you talking about? Why would you leave? Does this mean we’re breaking up?”

She closed her eyes. The pain and confusion written all over his face were making this difficult. “Yes. I’m not the one for you and you’re not the one for me. There’s no reason for me to stay here anymore.” She wasn’t sure where she’d go, but it might be nice to see the world when she wasn’t on a manhunt. 

He spluttered, “But if it’s not us, then who is it?!”

She waved her hand vaguely, “You’ll figure it out.” Even if he wasn’t in love with her the way he was with Katara, he was still emotionally attached. Since he had yet to confront his own feelings, she realized this break up came as quite the shock. But he’d get over it. There was someone who would help him. She was almost positive that he’d go running into her arms momentarily. 

Mai was truthful when she told Azula she loved Zuko more than she feared her. 

Zuko had done a lot of growing up, had gotten so much stronger; she was proud of him for it. But Mai had to come to terms with the fact that Zuko still feared Azula because of her capacity to hurt Katara. He still feared Azula because he loved Katara. 

Katara was so precious to him, he would put his life on the line to save her — he already had. 

That pained Mai to think about, it cut her to the core, it stung so, so badly to be the second choice. But there was nothing she could do. 

How could she compete? The difficulties of a Water Tribe girl being with a Fire Nation boy obviously didn’t matter. They would make it work. 

Conceding defeat to someone like Katara should not be so hard. Bowing out was the graceful thing to do. She wasn’t the type to make a dramatic scene anyway.  

But when she finally walked away, she dug her fingernails deep into her own palms despite it all. Loving Zuko was not so easy to let go of. 

.

She returned months later with a slew of Kyoshi Warriors to celebrate Zuko’s birthday and found that Katara had never left. She squeezed Ty Lee’s hand to say I told you so. 

The girl in pink gazed up at her in wonder, “You’re so good at predicting!” 

Mai muttered, “Not that hard when it’s right in front of you.” They were clearly not shy with the displays of affection now that they were officially a couple. 

Ty Lee sighed in contentment when they walked into the palace, “The auras in here are so much happier than they were a few years ago, it feels great!” She turned to poke her girlfriend’s side, “Yours too.” 

“Don’t make me blush,” she murmured. 

“That’s why you like wearing the Kyoshi Warrior makeup, huh? But I know, I always know.” Her tone was light, but it was true. Out of everyone, it was Ty Lee who knew her best, who always stood by her. It was Ty Lee who dealt with her dreariness after breaking up with Zuko, and it was Ty Lee who gave her time and space when she hesitated to step into a new relationship. And Ty Lee was the one who made it worthwhile.

“How are you feeling though?” Ty Lee regarded the other girl carefully. Zuko had been part of her life for so long, it was no simple feat to move on from him. 

“The usual, I’m fine.” Her emotions had always been low key and thankfully, no jealous beast reared its ugly head upon seeing Zuko and Katara together. Really, she was fine.

Ty Lee nodded in satisfaction. She tilted her head thoughtfully, “They look happy, too. I’m happy for them!” Ty Lee might’ve felt it more acutely, but Mai agreed. It was a good feeling, light and sweet and satisfactory. She hoped Azula could feel even a fraction of this relief in her own life. 

It had taken a while for all of them to get to this point, but it was worth it and they were all good. If that wasn’t something to celebrate, she didn’t know what was. 

She finally walked up to him. “Happy birthday, Zuko.” 

“Thank you, Mai. It’s good to see you.”

She nodded at him. It really was good to see him so happy. It didn’t hurt anymore. Letting go of each other didn’t necessarily mean that they had lost. 

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A/N: I chose Mai over aang bc I feel like her quiet nature is just more observant and aang is babie. Also I don’t hate Maiko lol I just. Ship zutara :P I don’t really ship aang with anyone, so he’s j chillin, he has his own happy ending everything is fine 

Please let me know what you think about this one >_< I have a few other zutara things in my wips, plus of course I need to keep updating my sasusaku arranged marriage story, so some of those will come out eventually. Couldn’t keep up with zutara week or ss month but its ok! 

[seyaryminamoto]

I feel like i'm gonna regret asking this but what is hiby

Oh. Ohohoho, oh. I recently answered this to someone else (not on this blog), I suppose there are so many newcomers in this fandom lately that HIBY has become slightly less known than it used to be.

HIBY stands for How I Became Yours, the most polemic and catastrophic fancomic in the history of the Avatar franchise. If you thought any of the official comics were problematic in any sense, woah boy, they’re goddamn flawless masterpieces compared to this thing.

Every possible angle of HIBY is problematic. Spot-on accusations of tracing were the main reason why Deviantart took down Jackie Diaz’s profile and comic from their platform. I heard Nickelodeon also got involved legally, not 100% sure on that front, but if true, they cracked down on her because she attempted to profit off this clunky mess of an inconsistent story by claiming it was somehow an official sequel to ATLA. To clarify, this last thing is something I was told, I can’t find actual sources to confirm it… so maybe I heard an exaggerated account of the tale of HIBY and it never went that far. Nevertheless, this comic didn’t need to escalate into a legal problem to be absolutely abhorrent.

In regards of art, HIBY somehow keeps discarding the asian-inspired setting seen throughout ATLA and instead favors showing the characters in European castles and outfits that don’t fit anywhere within ATLA’s world at all:

Katara is basically wearing a red version of Belle’s dress from Beauty and the Beast, if I’m not mistaken. The architecture of the place they’re at is so European it’s baffling (if I’m not mistaken, this is supposed to be Toph’s family’s house :’D). Also, it’s blatantly obvious that the background is a photograph, so she could’ve just as easily looked for photos of asian locations instead, but she picked european architecture because yes. Yet more blows against the possible artistic merits someone could offer this comic (if there’s any).

Now, though, the BIGGEST problem in HIBY is, of course, the story:

To recap: ATLA ends with Aang and Katara kissing at Ba Sing Se. Whatever problems someone may have with their relationship, or Mai and Zuko’s, or Sokka and Suki’s, it’s unquestionable that those three ships were canon by the end of the show.

Jackie Diaz’s SEQUEL COMIC doesn’t acknowledge this finale: somehow, Aang is in love with Toph but they’re not together despite there’s literally NOTHING in their way, since Aang and Katara weren’t together at all, according to Diaz. And Katara? Oh, she’s pining endlessly over Zuko, who somehow married Mai…

… Despite wanting Katara too.

… Despite he literally knocked up Katara back when the war was ending, which resulted in a miscarriage because of Mai’s wicked schemes~~!!

Can someone please explain to me in what world does it make sense for Zuko, FIRE LORD ZUKO, to be in a relationship with someone he doesn’t want, when the person he does want is RIGHT THERE, AVAILABLE, when there’s no real political consequences to ANYTHING that happens in this comic? You could say “oh no the Fire Nation people wouldn’t accept a Water Tribe woman…” … but then Zuko ends up with Katara anyways and the only problem is that Mai wants to kill them for that :’) so… no excuse works.

Basically there’s no real plot, the whole thing boils down to “I want these ships to happen and I need them to face hardships even if they don’t make sense”. The main hardship is that Mai doesn’t want her HUSBAND to carry out an affair with Katara. Zuko’s response to Mai’s obvious and reasonable complaint about their illicit relationship is to TURN VIOLENT WITH HER. And he’s the good guy :’)

Mai has a non-existent older brother Sho, who looks like a BLEACH character with Ozai’s hairstyle, and together they will try to kill Katara because, welp, someone has to give them trouble, I guess. In all fairness, the only character with a relatively logical flow of thought in this damn trainwreck is Mai. I mean, “my piece of shit husband married me for political clout, got his mistress pregnant, I didn’t want the kid to be a problem for me so I induced a miscarriage in Katara by poisoning her, probs just wanted Katara dead altogether but whatever, I only got the kid. Then Zuko threw me away despite I’m his legal wife and I’m really pissed about it so I want Katara dead” is the smartest writing in this entire comic. And no, that’s not a compliment, it’s still stupid as fuck but that’s how much more stupid everything else is. 

So, the happy couples are, like I said, Zuko and Katara, who get together despite Zuko is married to Mai, Aang and Toph, who somehow weren’t together despite there’s nothing in the way, AAAND… 

… Sokka and fake!Azula. Because I refuse to acknowledge that thing as the Princess we all love and adore.

Frankly, I consider it a miracle that HIBY didn’t destroy our ship completely when it was posted online, seeing as it was amongst the most talked-about fanmade content in Avatar’s fandom at the time. If people no longer associate Sokkla with HIBY immediately, we’ve definitely done a good job saving our poor ship’s face and showing it’s got a fuckton of potential compared to the shitfest that comic portrayed.

Why is Sokkla so problematic in HIBY? Because of fake!Azula, of course. Why is she fake!Azula? Because she’s got plot-convenient amnesia! Turns out that, for some reason, Azula forgot all the events from ATLA (let’s be real, so did Jackie Diaz so it’s not just her) and she shows up in this comic as a completely different character, so much that, upon hearing about the TERRIBLE THINGS SHE DID AND WAS, her reaction is…:

Fascinating, am I right? :’D She’s nice, sweet, shy and as good as brain-dead. And as she’s so sweet and cute now, somehow that becomes absolutely appealing for Sokka. And he falls for her, she falls for him, they bang dramatically, and so on and so forth…

Eventually Azula sacrifices herself in the final battle when Mai and her brother try to kill everyone and oh no! Sokka’s love interest dies again! Such a shocker, however, that Sokka goes to the Spirit World to save her, and unlike Iroh he succeeds… but what does Azula look like post-Spirit World shenanigans?

… Yeah, okay, fake!Azula calling anyone her “little angels” is just proof of how IC she is, if you had any doubts still.

But isn’t it FUNNY. Isn’t it HILARIOUS. That Azula not only undergoes an atom-deep brainwipe that turns her into a flat non-character, but that after dying she’s revived with WHITE HAIR, dressed in blue clothes and whatnot…?

My interpretation, and honestly, I don’t know if there’s any other possible interpretation… Jackie Diaz wanted Sokka to be with Yue :’) She fucking wrecked Azula’s character to turn her into a fake!Azula, who would eventually turn into fake!Yue after being resurrected because oh that’s just perfect to close off Sokka’s storyline, isn’t it? Only, he’s not with Yue nor with Azula because it’s neither of them. Just as it isn’t really Sokka either, or Katara, or Zuko or Aang or Toph.

Now, revisiting this trainwreck, there is a throwaway line where Ty Lee, in her (I think) only appearance in the story tells Katara that Suki and Sokka broke up. So um, Suki does exist, officially, in this comic, and she did date Sokka but it ended, and she’s back in Kyoshi Island with her team. 

Which elicits the question… why the fuck is she Mai’s maid?

I assure you, if you decide to delve deeper into this mess, you’ll absolutely find a lot more things to laugh about, to be outraged about, and to facepalm about while you wonder how on earth would someone, ANYONE, create something like this and not die of cringe looking at the finished product. It’s baffling to me.

At any rate, if you’d like to torture your own eyeballs reading this comic for yourself, there’s a Tumblr blog that gathered HIBY perfectly neatly for all curious eyes eager to torture themselves with this OOC fest. If you want more details than I care to remember about this catastrophic mess of a story, there’s always the TV Tropes page, which I think illustrates everything rather well. 

So… that’s HIBY. While I don’t think it should be sentenced to oblivion (we had best never forget the lowest lows the fandom has reached, else someone might be tempted to outdo them), this particular fanwork is quite the trainwreck in just about every regard. I really don’t think there’s anything worth salvaging in it. So, if you wanna read the whole thing (I’d be surprised if you would xD), knock yourself out in the blog link I posted up there. Otherwise, have a nice day if you still can after reading my answer to your ask :’D

[moonsp1r1t]

8 Tips for writing an effective redemption arc (featuring Zuko and Catra!)

1. Consider what kind of redemption arc you want your character to go through

Generally speaking, there are two different kinds of redemption arcs your villain can go through; sacrifice arcs and temptation arcs. I will describe both of these, but ideally your character will have pieces from each in order to create a nice, well rounded arc.

A sacrificial redemption arc is pretty easy; towards the end of your story, game, or other writing, your character goes through something of a “waking up.” They realize that what they thought of events or their surroundings is wrong, or realize that what they thought they want isn’t really what they want OR need. Another way they could go about this is by realizing that through their ambition (or other motivation) things had gotten too far. For example, throughout She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Catra’s goals have surrounded getting the things she feels like she has been deprived of her whole life; within the first season, this involves getting power over her abusive mother figure, Shadow Weaver. She then continues her climb for power within the Horde, but in the final season as she sits in a space ship and watches her home planet burn, she realizes that her push for power has gone too far and sacrifices herself for one of the main protagonists so that she could escape. It is essential that characters have a chance have a moment of realization in which they not only realize they’ve been evil or cruel, but also that they need to make amends in one way or another.

Temptation arcs are when villains waiver between good and evil throughout much of the story. They waver between good and evil, typically committing both acts that are beneficial to the protagonist(s) and against them before eventually permanently sticking with the side of good. This form of redemption arc involves lots of internal conflict within the villain. The second half of Book Two in Avatar: The Last Airbender is an excellent example, with Uncle Iroh really pushing Zuko to consider what HE wants and thinks his destiny should be rather than the destiny that Fire Lord Ozai had put upon him. Zuko constantly grapples with this and does both good and bad things that affect Team Avatar, such as freeing Appa underneath Lake Laogai and siding with Azula during The Crossroads of Destiny. An arc in which a character solely moves upwards or downwards is not that interesting. In order to tell a more powerful story that keeps the audience engaged, there has to be some variation- after all, if it’s all going one way, it’s predictable, and no one cares to see what could happen next.

2. Establish why your villain is evil in a way that makes them sympathetic

Villains who are evil for the sake of being evil are boring. They need to have a reason to be evil and to be motivated towards evil especially if they’re going to eventually turn towards the side of good. If a character is good and they’re just with the bad guys for no reason, their switch over to the side of good is ineffective and boring in a “why didn’t they just do that in the first place” sort of way.

When writing an effective redemption arc, your audience needs to be sympathetic towards them in one way or another. For both Catra and Zuko, one of the ways that the writers made the audience sympathetic towards them is through their abusive parental figures in Shadow Weaver and Fire Lord Ozai. The reasons that Zuko and Catra do the things that they do in opposition to the protagonists is because of the actions of their abusers.

Zuko is going against Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph for much of the series is because he has been lead to believe that the only way to gain the love and approval of his father is by capturing the Avatar. Catra, however, takes a different approach; while she craves the feeling of being loved and belonging, she has been put into a powerless position by Shadow Weaver enough times that she desperately wants power over her and works to climb through the ranks of the Horde in order to do so. A major part of their redemption arcs is when Zuko realizes he doesn’t need the love of his father and Catra realizes that her ambition has put her entire planet in danger of being razed by the dictator of the rest of the known universe.

Rising up against an abusive parent or an otherwise tragic backstory doesn’t have to be the only way to make a character sympathetic, however. There are lots of ways to make a character sympathetic.

3. Give the audience a reason to root for the villain too

If you’re planning to give a character a redemption arc, it’s necessary to make it so that they root for them from time to time. That way it will ensure that the audience doesn’t hate them when the time comes for them to join the protagonists on the side of good. If they don’t like them, even if the redemption arc is well written, it will seem forced in a certain way. This is usually accomplished by the presence of another villain.

For example, while Zuko is certainly the most prominent villain of Book One of ATLA, Admiral Zhao is arguably the main antagonist of the season. Fire Lord Ozai hadn’t even been introduced officially yet (besides being mentioned) so as the man that had the goal of destroying the Northern Water Tribe by killing the Moon Spirit. He repeatedly attacked Team Avatar throughout the season, with much higher firepower, more brutality, and lack of regard for civilians. Zuko, however, while he had similar goals in regards to capturing Aang, was much more “reasonable” when it came to other things, such as keeping his promise to leave the Southern Water Tribe alone if Aang agreed to go with him in the second episode. We also see Zhao being cruel to Zuko in multiple instances, even getting into fights. Because Zhao is more brutal and is motivated by greed over honor, the scenes in which Zhao and Zuko are fighting, the audience is rooting for Zuko.

Similarly, at the end of the first season of She-Ra, Catra fights against Shadow Weaver; in the scenes in which they portray the two of them interacting previously, Shadow Weaver is cruel to Catra, constantly scolding and threatening her. Despite both Shadow Weaver and Catra being Adora’s enemy throughout the series, in this fight the audience is genuinely rooting for Catra in this fight because until that point, Shadow Weaver has been the more cruel and abusive villain.

4. Keep up with them even when they’re not in direct contact with the protagonists

This may seem obvious, but if you’re going to give a character a redemption arc you and the audience need to keep up with them even when they’re not interacting with the main protagonists. It will not only allow the audience to see the progression, but it will also keep the audience from being confused when they show up suddenly on their side. It’s perfectly reasonable (and expected) for the protagonists to be confused, but the audience shouldn’t share that same confusion (unless you’re planning on having the villain’s redemption arc be described in flash backs or have them explain it in a long monologue).

For Catra, there are many episodes when we see her without Adora, Glimmer, or Bow, instead just being with Scorpia, Hordak, and Entrapta. This way we are able to keep up with her when she’s not fighting with the Rebellion, allowing us more insight into her thoughts, feelings, and relationships. We are able to see her drive people away in her desire for power, not realizing that she is looking for acceptance all along.

Likewise, Zuko in the beginning of Book Three doesn’t interact with Team Avatar; instead he is in the Fire Nation Royal Palace, with anything he could ever want, realizing that he is still unhappy. It would have made no sense from the perspective of the audience if the last time they saw Zuko was when he betrayed Team Avatar and his uncle in Ba Sing Se and then he just showed up after the Day of Black Sun and offered to teach Aang firebending.

5. Introduce a good influence

The villain needs something or someone that can help them inspire change within. It isn’t just enough to vow to stop committing evil and then all is swell; they need to genuinely learn from their mistakes and commit to change within. This catalyst can be something they haven’t previously encountered (giving them a new perspective) or something else that pulls on their heartstrings. Either way it’s something that needs to get their attention.

Zuko would not have been able to change as much as he did throughout his redemption arc if it weren’t for Iroh. Iroh is a great influence on Zuko, constantly encouraging him to think for himself and make his own decisions. Iroh wanted Zuko to be able to decide for himself what his destiny is instead of just fulfilling the destiny that Ozai had put upon him. Zuko also was able to gain perspective when he and Iroh are disguised as refugees, seeing that the citizens of the Earth Kingdom are not only real people, but also that they are afraid and hurt by the Fire Nation instead of like the propaganda that the Fire Nation is bringing greatness to the world.

For Catra, in a certain way, one of the final catalysts to her finally joining the side of good is Queen Glimmer. When they are both trapped on Horde Prime’s ship together, Catra realizes that she is the one that has brought him and his galactic empire to Etheria, which he has every intention of using as a weapon against the rest of the universe. She feels alone and isolated and the only person she can talk to about it from her own planet, who has also contributed to the arrival of Horde Prime in her own way, although she is being treated as a prisoner. Glimmer begs Catra to help her and, upon realizing the destruction she has wrought and all the bad things she has done, Catra does help her and states that she wants to do one good thing in her life. Catra knows that she has done awful things in her life but this is one of the first times that she is able to really admit to herself and others that she knows that much of what she is doing is wrong.

6. The reactions of others

If your character has been an antagonist for a long time, it makes absolutely no sense that your other protagonists would accept them. It takes a long time to earn people’s trust so even if a character does something dramatic like self-sacrifice many characters should be suspicious of them. It’s unrealistic to expect everyone to be buddy-buddy immediately.

After Catra sacrifices herself so that Glimmer could escape, Glimmer and Adora want to rescue her, but the others were quite skeptical, with Nettossa and Frosta actually attacking Catra until Adora vouched for her. Similarly for Zuko, he had to prove himself to the original trio by helping Aang learn an ancient technique of firebending, helping Sokka rescue Suki and his father, and helping Katara find the man that murdered her mother. Trust is not easily given, so if your ex-villain has been going against your protagonists for several seasons, trust is not going to just be given to them so easily. There’s bound to be a lot of distrust from those who have known them in the past, but some are going to struggle with that doubt more than others. It’s important to actually consider your characters’ personalities and rationale and stay true to how they would actually think, along with the logic behind their decisions, in regards to your ex-villain’s redemption.

It can also be helpful to add in some jokes made by the ex-villain or at their expense in order to alleviate tension or show that they’re starting to get along better with the other protagonists (ex: “That’s rough buddy” or “I can’t believe the whole time you were trying to kill us you had the cutest sneeze of all time!”)

7. Realizing they’re in the wrong should not be the climax of their arc

Your character realizing that they’re wrong should not be the final step of their redemption arc; in fact, realizing they’re in the wrong should be among the first steps of their redemption. The redemption arc isn’t about realizing that they’ve been the bad guy all along and that’s... it. There’s a certain level of atonement that needs to be done in order to be redeemed. At the very least the character needs to realize why they’ve been wrong after realizing that they’re wrong.

After Zuko realizes that he is wrong for trying to capture Aang and that the Fire Nation is wrong for prolonging this war, he takes steps to make things right. He confronts his abusive father, leaves his home voluntarily, and helps to train Aang in firebending among other things, eventually allowing them to defeat the Fire Lord. Zuko even apologizes to the entire group for his prior misdeeds.

Catra also has to work for her redemption. She realizes that she’s in the wrong, but even afterwards she persists because she believes that staying with the Horde is the best way that she can get back at the people who have hurt her, namely Shadow Weaver (for her abuse towards her) and Adora (for leaving her behind to join the Rebellion). It isn’t until she is captured by Horde Prime that she makes the decision to atone for what she has done by rescuing Glimmer and sending her back to Adora. Even after Catra is rescued, she is still making efforts to be better than she was before, saying that she’s working on controlling her anger.

8. Sometimes it’s not meant to happen

Sometimes characters can’t be redeemed. Genocidal dictators, fascists, and abusive family members are generally figures that should not be redeemed. Imagine the main evil antagonist of one of your favorite book series, television shows, movies, or video games announcing he/she/they have seen the light, apologizes for everything they’ve done, paying for funerals, reaching out to the families of those they harmed or killed in an effort to make amends or at least. They’ve promised to seek out religion and take up crocheting instead of killing and go to therapy.

It’s just not realistic. It’s a good thing to want to believe that there’s good in everyone and that everyone can be redeemed, but sometimes they just can’t. For some people, it’s not possible to come back to the side of good, especially if they don’t want to. Being good is a conscious choice that people have to make and sometimes people and characters will stick with being bad.

Not just anyone can have a redemption arc, which is why for the characters that are able to go through redemption arcs, it’s something fantastic when done right. Don’t try to force characters who can’t be redeemed to go through redemption arcs and save it for the characters that deserve it.

Have fun!

8 Character creation tips

8 Relatable character tips

[double--plus--good]

I Still Love You - A Zutara Fic 2020

Hey y’all

So I’m in my feelings about Zutara and decided to write out a fic I had in mind dealing with post-Ozai defeat and Zuko going out to look for his mom with Katara. I think it’ll be a few chapters if anyone’s interested but I’ve been playing around with this idea for a lil while now and being reconnected with my love for ATLA really pushed me to write it out.

I’d like to make a disclaimer: I love KatAang, really, I think their relationship made the most sense to end with and I appreciate their character development and how it developed their relationship! But I have such a soft spot for ZuTara and they’re honestly my favorite. I’m trying hard not to make this a ship war kind of fic and more of a different development, if that makes sense.

Anyway, here it is under the cut! I really hope you guys enjoy what I’m making

“Thank you Katara.” he said weakly as the water began to slowly dissipate from his wounds. 

Zuko slowly sat up but was stopped, gently yet abruptly, by two cold hands pressing themselves against his chest.

“Please Zuko, I need you to lay down and rest. Your wound is healing but it’s still going to be another day before you can get up.”

Zuko took a hold of one of Katara’s hands and pressed it to his mouth before nodding and sliding down against the pillows beneath him. He peered up at her with half lidded eyes and managed a soft smile.

Katara reached up and pushed Zuko’s dark hair out of his face and peered back, mirroring the soft smile and allowed herself to be taken by the peace and quiet surrounding them. 

For the first time in what must have been forever, there was serenity and calmness around them. Both benders took a deep breath, soaking in as much as they could before Katara pulled her hand away, slowly but all too soon.

Zuko sighed softly and looked to the wall beside him. Katara faced the opposite direction and leaned some of her weight against Zuko’s side, being careful not to disturb his wound too much. Zuko winced for a moment and the pain subsided quickly. They sat in silence for a while.

“I know we can’t be together” Zuko spoke up after what felt like an eternity which actually only amounted to two and a half minutes. “And I know you love Aang more than the world itself. You two suit one another and I’m happy you’ve been able to work through the confusion and hurt that the world has thrown to you. I don’t want you to feel as if you’re abandoning me. I know you’re worried, but, Katara, you and I have gone through a world of pain and suffering; we battled our way through the lowest points and I’ll never be able to repay you for all you sacrificed and gone through because of and for me. I’ll always have a special place for you as I know you’ll have me. You’re making the right choice and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

He turned his head to face her but she didn’t meet his gaze. Instead, she brought her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly. Zuko continued.

“You and Aang have been side by side since the very beginning, you and I both know this all too well. I see how you look at him and worry for him and I understand, I do.”

Katara let go of her knees and slowly turned to face Zuko, a small smile on her face as she reached back to brush his hair back again. Zuko took a hold of her hand and held it to his face while his other hand rubbed her other arm.

“I love you Zuko, I do. After everything we’ve done and gone through, I’m glad we could have the time we did. But you’re right. Aang is everything I need and want. You helped me realize this. Thank you for helping me understand and thank you for understanding. I’ll always love you, Zuko. And you’ll always be part of Team Avatar. You’ve truly shown your worth and I know that you’re going to help bring peace back to not just the Fire Nation, but every nation.”

Zuko propped himself on one arm and pulled Katara down for a long, much needed kiss. She was surprised at first and moved a hand quickly to his wound to make sure it was okay. Slowly, however, she melted into his arms and savored their final kiss which ended too soon as well.

When they parted, Zuko forced himself fully upright and began to stretch his arms, grimacing as he felt the skin tighten at his wound. Katara sighed in irritation.

“If you’re going to disregard my instructions, at least do so when I leave. It’s frustrating to see you slow your healing.”

Zuko continued his stretching, bending an arm behind his head and placing a hand on his elbow to assist. “I’m alright Katara, really. It doesn’t hurt as much as yesterday. Besides, if I wait until you leave, I won’t be able to move until morning.” 

He smiles at her cheekly as a blush forms over Katara’s cheeks.

“One last night together? Please? We can sleep separately, but I’d like to savor just a few more hours of peace.”

Katara rubbed her arm a little, hesitating to answer at first but then nodded and agreed to stay the night. 

“But we won’t sleep separately.” she said softly, pushing the blanket off of Zuko’s lap so she could slide in beside him. “I want to make sure you won’t try anything dumb at night that will open or expose your wound anymore.”

She gently pushed him back down and pulled the blanket over him then laid down against his shoulder. She placed a soft kiss onto it and hugged his arm. Zuko leaned against her kiss and touch and closed his eyes, allowing himself to fade into her touch. He sighed softly and drifted away into a calmness in his mind.

She said one last thing to him before also allowing herself to follow him in the calm.

“When you wake up, I won’t be here to greet you. I hope you understand.”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he brushed her hand softly and laid in the quiet again.

--

Six years have passed. 

They weren’t the quickest years but they weren’t the slowest. Some days seemed to drag on as they tried to regain the trust of the separated and damaged nations. No one blamed anyone who was frightened and skeptical, but the team managed to reach several agreements to help move progression along.

The team made sure to keep in as much frequent contact as possible especially when regarding peace treaties and celebrations but of course, they had a lot to take on even as a team. They each helped to rebuild and restore many of each of the nation’s ancient ruins and destroyed cities and brought  villages and cities together to create  joining forces along the way. But as time passed, they saw less of one another so they could focus on leading and helping their nations and allies and mostly relied on postage from one another.

During this time, Zuko made sure to keep his father and sister far away in safe containment and abandoned his mission to find his mother when his father provided him with misinformation that nearly got him and his teammates killed. He hadn’t lost hope in finding her but of course, there were several pressing matters he had to attend to as Fire Lord to his nation and a friend of the Avatar.

Things began to calm, however, in the sixth year and after a long, boring day of sitting in on plans of restoring some old ruins and planning new trade routes between the nations, Zuko made his way to his sister’s containment with a book from their childhood and some cooled tea. He requested his guards stay outside, as usual, and he sat in front of a glass wall that separated her space from the visitor space [compliments to Toph and himself for discovering what happens when you burn sand just right after a rather difficult encounter along a shore].

Azula sat slumped against the wall, staring angrily at the ground. She didn’t speak and hadn’t spoken since the night her father had been defeated. She also rarely moved despite the freedom she had to do so [with proper supervision, of course].

No one really knew why the Fire Lord did this and no one felt as if Azula understood or appreciated that her brother would continue to visit her and read to her; yet, they felt no need to stop him from doing so and kept their opinions to themselves in hushed voices.

“I’m here, Azula.” he began as he slid the tea through a small opening made for her meals. “I brought you another story book. It’s the Tales of the Turtle Duck and the Kola Otter.”

Azula perked up just a bit at the mention of the book and she pushed herself up a little bit so she could see the book better. She said nothing and maintained intense eye contact with Zuko’s hands and the book.

Zuko sighed and began reading the first fable of the book to her. 

Once he reached the fable’s conclusion, Zuko carefully placed the book in a pocket hiding in his coat and stood slowly, observing his sister and her surroundings carefully. Even after six years of visiting and constant renovations to the cooled chambers that surrounded them, he was always on guard around her and ready for any attack. When he was fully upright, Azula stood up and began to slowly step towards the glass, an eerie smile creeping onto her face once she was at the wall. She pressed her hands against the glass and began to laugh softly under her breath before bursting into a fit of righteous laughter.

Zuko jumped back at the sound and watched in shock while his sister began to claw at the wall between them, laughing and screaming in hestarics. The guards rushed in at the sound and called for someone to sedate her while they rushed the Fire Lord out and escorted him to the palace.

Zuko’s heart was pounding fast during the whole escapade and he found it difficult to walk and breathe as he was forced out of the chamber. He hadn’t seen his sister move or heard her make any sound [other than the occasional grunt or sigh] in six years and he couldn’t imagine what had triggered that response. He also couldn’t figure out what caused him to just stand there, unable to move at first until a guard nearly dragged him out. He couldn’t look away either; the image of his sister smiling at him as one of the servants charged with caring for her grabbed her arms and forced her into a drowsy state.

Once he reached the palace, Zuko was taken immediately to be checked on by the palace medical staff, despite his protests and was made to stay in the medical chamber for the night to monitor his shock response.

--

It was another sleepless night for Zuko which he had become accustomed to throughout the years but this time it was different.

Most nights he would busy himself with work or reading or even walk through the villages but the night he spent in the medical chamber left him staring at the ceiling the entire time with no shift in his gaze.

When the palace medical staff came in, they were shocked to see the Fire Lord in the same position as they left him, his face unmoved and they hesitated to approach him. The head staff member made their way to Zuko but jumped back when he suddenly sat up and began to put his robe back on.

“Your majesty, won’t you let us help you?” She asked, moving towards him again until she reached his bed.

Zuko looked up at her with a gentle but indifferent face and shook his head. “I’m fine, really. Thank you for your care.” He then stood up and began to tie his sash.

“I just needed to read my head. I’m ready to take on the day.”

The staff looked at one another and nodded before bowing and stepping outside. Zuko began to make his way to his personal chambers with his guards at the lead but was stopped halfway down the hall by a familiar chirping sound. 

He turned slowly to look behind him and was greeted by a furry belly smashing into his face, knocking him to the ground. The animal’s tail swished around Zuko’s neck as it began to crawl around the Fire Lord’s shoulders and chest and his guards ran to his side.

Zuko let out an uncharacteristic belly laugh and pulled the lemur off of his chest, holding him above his head. His guards stared at one another in surprise before watching their Fire Lord jump to his feet.

“Momo, good to see you too.” Zuko said with a smile, placing Momo onto his shoulder. “Am I to assume the Avatar will be joining us too?” 

Momo rubbed his own face vigorously and Zuko’s attention was caught by another familiar noise. Or rather, a voice.

“Well, you’re almost right,” Aang said as he rushed down the hall with a small fleet behind him. “The Avatar and his team will be joining” 

Zuko opened his arms and braced for the crash of bodies that ensued as Aang, Sokka, Toph, Suki, and Katara threw themselves onto him. They crashed at the feet of the guards, who all sat puzzled yet delighted at the sight of the nation's saviors laughing and tossing around trying to stand back up.

Team Avatar, reunited physically after some time.

“This is such a surprise. I can’t believe you’re all here” Zuko said with a smile saved only for his dearest friends. He looked around at all of them but kept a very special and lingering stare at Katara as she stretched her back and arms, laughing.

“Well, of course we’re here,” Aang remarked, holding his arm out for Momo to perch himself on. “It is the Fire Lord’s birthday celebration this weekend, isn’t it?”

Zuko looked away from Katara and looked up at the ceiling with a puzzled stare. “Oh, is it? I honestly forgot”

The team shared a small laugh and Zuko looked back at his teammates, joining in.

“That’s just sad, Zuko” Toph teased, folding her arms over her chest as a smug smile formed over her face “Are you getting so old that you’re already forgetting?”

The team laughed again and Zuko stepped passed them, urging them to follow him. “I guess I am. Let’s go to the dinning hall. I’m sure you’re all tired from traveling.”

They all followed, making small conversation with one another as they made their way through various halls and stairs.

--

A variety of tarts, fruits, breads, meats, and teas were laid out for the visitors as they sat on the floor at a round table, catching up with one another about their journeys. Zuko remained silent, listening contently to the laughter and clinking of glasses and looking over his friends fondly.

His attention was then caught by a gentle hand on his shoulder that caused some tension in his muscles. He turned his head slowly and slightly and made eye contact with Katara, who gave him a small but worried smile.

“You okay?” she asked, retracting her hand when she felt Zuko become tense.

Zuko sighed softly and nodded. “Yea, I’m just surprised. I know we all talk and see each other when we can but it’s so rare to see everyone together like this. And, it’s weird that it’s for me. Ever since Mai and Ty Lee left, I’ve been really alone.” He rested his hands against the floor behind him and began to look around the room again with a warm smile. “ Now, hearing so many people and seeing the laughter and warmth, it’s kind of jarring. I’m happy and sad all at once.”

Katara frowned a little and looked around the room before turning back to Zuko. “I didn’t know Mai left. I’m sorry to hear that.” She hesitated for a moment then placed her hand on his shoulder.

Zuko leaned into the touch this time and looked over to Katara, frowning when he saw her expression.

“I guess it just didn’t come up. I’m not upset by it at all. She had a lot of things she came to terms with and I was glad she found herself. Ty Lee came back from Kiyoshi island and they worked out some feelings they had for each other. It was kind of sweet.” He turned his attention to Sokka, who was poorly imitating the events of Boiling Rock, and chuckled softly shaking his head. “Everyone comes and goes and I’ve learned to hold onto their memory and move on. I’m lucky that I have a lot of work to keep me busy and honestly, a life of solitary is more my style. I focus my energy on helping my country heal from the scars left by my forefathers.”

A loud crashing of plates and cups caused heads to jerk at Momo and Aang, who were now covered in pastry curd and custards, laughing. Zuko sighs with a tired smile and motions for a servant to bring the Avatar a cloth to wipe himself with.

Katara let out a small laugh and moved her hand away from Zuko’s shoulder to his hand, giving it a soft squeeze. “Well, I’m glad you took it so well and I’m glad it all worked out. But Zuko, you should really try to be more social. Of everyone, you’re the one we all talk to the least and it’s been concerning us. It’s one of the reasons we came this weekend aside from Mai’s invitation.”

Zuko’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of Mai and her invitation and he turned his attention back to Katara. “Mai sent the invitation? Are you sure?”

Katara stared back at Zuko, a bit shocked by his reaction. “Uh, yea. She always sends the celebration invitations. That’s why I was so shocked to hear you say she left. But I figured maybe you guys stayed in contact or something.”

Zuko looked down at the ground and thought for a moment before sighing deeply and looking back at Katara. “Maybe she was worried too,” he concluded. “It’s been awhile since she’s planned any of the celebrations, usually I have a staff for that.” His eyes softened and a sad smile found its way to his mouth. “I’ll have to thank her, I guess.”

--

The team decided to wind down after dinner at the springs just behind the palace. Their boisterous laughter and stories were now soft chats and whispers as to not break the ambience of the springs.

“So, what’s the celebration plan, your majesty?” Aang asked teasingly, floating over to Zuko’s side. “I’m sure there’ll be plenty of food and shows.”

Zuko kept his eyes closed and his head back as he spoke to Aang. “Honestly, I don’t know how they plan the celebrations and this year, with you guys invited, it may change but they’re usually the same each year.” He reached over to his tea cup which sat close to the edge of the spring and took a sip of his tea before resuming. 

“The village lines up to greet me in the morning, people from other nations come with lavish gifts, music is played all day, people dance and play games throughout the day, and we end it with fireworks and a big feast. But if I’m being honest, I haven’t had a birthday celebration in the last few years. The town still holds the festivities but as far as the feasts and gifts, I haven’t really taken a part of them.” Zuko then opened his eyes but kept his face directed to the sky. “I’m not ungrateful to them, but these celebrations are kind of overdone. I let them plan it mostly for the village and servants since they really enjoy it.” He shut his eyes again.

Aang leaned his back against the wall of the spring and looked up at the sky. “I get it. The parties seem like a lot, don’t they?”

Zuko nodded. “Yea. Whenever the anniversary of the day we defeated my father, I get tense. Those are really big here and I can’t escape them. The first year was fine especially since we celebrated it together, but after? Ugh.” 

Aang let out a small laugh and they turned to face each other.

“Maybe we can get you out of the palace this year for your birthday.” he suggested, a big grin on his face.

Zuko shook his head and chuckled. “No. Clearly they planned something bigger this year since Mai invited you guys. I wouldn’t want to ruin anything for anyone.”

“Well, I don’t see why you’re being so gloomy about it. I mean, I’d kill for any recognition honestly” Sokka chimed loudly “Most people don’t even recognize me and when they do, they always tell me to congratulate you guys and Katara. I mean, come on! I was the mastermind!”

Everyone let out a hearty laugh at Sokka’s commotion and Suki made sure to give him a big kiss on the cheek as congratulations from the nations.

After some time relaxing in company, Zuko stood up and slid into his robe.

“I think I’ll retire now” he said as he began to take a step out. “I’ll have the guards escort you to the guest chambers.” He turned to face Aang and held out a hand to help him out. “I usually mediate in the sand gardens in the morning if you’d like to join me before dawn.” 

Aang took Zuko’s hand and pulled him back into the water with a hearty laugh. “Sure thing, pal.”

Everyone roared with laughter and quickly hopped out of the spring as it became boiling from Zuko’s irritation. Aang jumped at the heat and floated upward, still laughing at Zuko.

Zuko groaned and began to stand up, removing his robe. As he strained it, he caught a glimpse at Katara, who was watching him giggling and blushing slightly. He felt his cheeks turn red and quickly focused on straining his robe.

His heart skipped a beat.

[elizabethemerald]

Azula and the Spirit Library

Lighting Scars, Lightning Heals

AO3

  This another part to my Lightning Scars, Lightning Heals story, read that part first for context. I had the sudden image of Azula, traumatized by fire, stumbling upon the damage Zhao wrecked in the library and how she would deal with that.

The massive Owl spirit towered over them. It glared at the Gaang as it closely inspected each of their gifts for the library. Each stepped up to the spirit in turn, each passing on under its shrewd eye. Zuko, in front of Azula, stepped forward, however the Owl immediately screeched and flared its wings. 

“Firebenders are no longer allowed in my library!” Its voice thundered around the library. 

Zuko stepped back, his hand moving protectively in front of Azula, even as she stepped forward. The heat around the two of them jumped. Katara and the others stopped and watched, eyeing the spirit warily. 

After a moment of tension Zuko bowed to the spirit. 

“Understandable, O wise one. My sister and I will remain above. We have no desire to threaten your library.”

He turned away towards the rope that hung from the ceiling, but stopped in surprise when Azula didn’t move. She stared boldly back at the spirit, still standing tall. She glared at it for a moment, and Zuko became afraid that they would have to fight the Spirit in its own library. Then Azula bowed deeply and her hands moved rapidly as she made her case. 

The Owl spirit looked at her, its head cocked to the left. Zuko was about to step forward again to translate his sister’s words when the spirit’s wings flexed and the feathers flared and it replied with signs of its own. 

“Interesting. Airbender hand speak, changed by their absence, then modified to match Fire Nation dialect. You say you are not a firebender, but are you not the daughter of the FIre Nation?”

Its sign language was different than Azula’s. It more closer matched the Air bending Aang used and was teaching to Azula. But she could still understand it. 

“I am not a fire bender.” Azula’s hands hesitated, her lightning sparking between her finger tips. “Anymore.”

The spirit rolled its head to other side until it was almost looking at her upside down. Azula continued to gaze back at it. The momentary hesitation gone, she kept her back straight and her head high as it watched her. 

“Very well.” It signed. “I will allow you to enter, if you show me your Fire Nation dialect of the language. The firebender must remain out side, however.”

Azula was mid bow when she stood bolt upright her eyes flying to her brother. He smiled at her, then nodded to the others. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll go keep Toph company.” Zuko said nonchalantly. However his hands moved rapidly in a brief conversation with his sister that only the spirit and Aang could follow. When they were done Zuko returned to the rope and climbed back to the surface. 

The spirit nodded and the rest of the Gaang began to disperse around the library. Katara waited till Zuko had reached the top to make sure he made it out safely. When she returned her focus to the library she was surprised to find Azula had pressed up against her. 

Katara remembered that Azula had rarely been by herself in the past two years since her and her brother’s exile. She signed clumsily to her, still unfamiliar with the Airbender language. 

“Do you want me to stay?” She asked. 

Azula looked at her for a moment. Katara tried to follow the journey her face went on but Azula was an expert at not allowing her emotions to show when she wanted. At best she could guess Azula was suspicious of her, then thankful, however briefly. Her face finally settled on the smug expression that was her default. 

“I’ll find you later.” Azula said before turning her attention to the spirt. Katara rolled her eyes at the dismissive hand wave, but moved to explore the library, leaving Azula alone with the spirit. 

Sometime later Azula found herself wandering the halls of the spirit library. The Owl spirit had been, unsurprisingly a very quick study and had thanked her for adding to its knowledge. She didn’t know how she felt about teach it her language, the language she, Iroh and her teacher had worked together to create. On the one hand, she needed to be able to communicate to people to convince them to do what she wanted. On the other, there was now another being that knew her language. Another being who could spy on her and steal her secrets, or worse sell them to her father. 

She clenched her fists at the thought. She carefully kept the lightning that constantly crackled within her safely hidden. She didn’t want to risk the spirit banning her when there was much she could learn here. The scar on her face pulled her lips down into a frown. She tried to ignore her internal feelings and focused on the titles around her. Some where in this library there might be something that can help her. 

Azula turned a corner of the library and found herself in the Fire Nation section. Her jaw dropped and she struggled to stay on her feet. The entire section had been destroyed. Burned. Ruined. Just like her. 

She fell to her knees as a scream tore through her mind. And she was gone. 

Zuko’s scream echoed around the arena. She couldn’t stomach it. Couldn’t bare for her father to treat her brother like this. She jumped to the battle ground, riding a wave of blue fire. She landed squarely in front of her father, Zuko on the ground behind her, a hand pressed to his face. 

“You always said family is the most important thing in the world and this is how you treat your family?” She screamed at her father. “You don’t get to hurt him any more!”

Firelord Ozai stepped forward. He towered over her. In her memory she could never say exactly how tall he was, because she always felt like his face was lost in the sun he was so tall. She stood bravely, protectively over Zuko as the Firelord bore down on her. 

Azula took her fighting stance unleashing a wave of fire, however Ozai stepped inside the wave, grabbing her wrists before the flames touched him. He pulled her into the air, his strong arms that she had always desperately wanted to pick her up and carry her, lifting her easily. 

Fire burned in his eyes and out of his mouth, and she screamed. She screamed as the hands on her wrist burned her. She screamed and writhed in pain, trying desperately to break his hold, only distantly aware of Zuko behind her trying to rise to stop their father. 

She lifted her legs, pushing through her pain to to thrust them into her father’s face. Blue flames erupted from her heels, and her father released her. She fell hard, unprepared for the sudden descent and skidded against the ground as the force of her fire sent her backwards. 

Azula stood up, her whole body shaking to see Zuko standing before her. She kept her arms pressed tightly to her chest, the burning there bone deep. Tears filled her eyes as she screamed at him. 

“Go Zuko! Run!” 

She watched his eyes. A flash came from behind her, reflected there. She watched his eyes widen in fear and Azula turned her body. Not to face her father, but to shield her brother. She felt the electricity hit her, but she couldn’t afterwards describe the pain of the blow. Whether its memory was lost in the pain in her arms, or in the look of fear on her brother’s face, she couldn’t say. 

She screamed nonetheless. Lightning flew from her hands, and out of her mouth. The entire sky whited out as she screamed and screamed. She carved massive channels out of the arena with her lightning. 

When she could see again she turned, lightning still crackling from and across her body as she faced the Firelord. She threw her lightning at him, making him again reel back. 

That was the last moment she was truly aware of. Unleashing lightning against her own father, who had just maimed her brother. She was only vaguely aware that Ozai had grabbed her by the throat, choking and burning her as she poured more and more lightning into the air around her. 

She was told later that her uncle, Iroh had stopped the fight, ushering her and her brother out of the palace. He got them onto a Fire Nation ship and set sail immediately. The next thing she could really remember was waking up crying on the rocking ship. Small sparks traveled and jumped down her body, shocking her anytime she touched the door to her cabin. 

And she cried. She was so lost in the whirling memories of pain and of fear that she didn’t notice someone was calling her name. The entire spirit library had faded from her vision. All she could see was her father burning her again and again. 

“Azula!” A voice screamed from nearby, but she couldn’t separate it from the screaming in her head. “Azula I’m coming closer. Please, let me help you.”

She turned her head to look at the voice. Katara. Lit by bright white glow, like she had been when they were in front of the spirit font at the North Pole. But this glow was different. Katara took a cautious step forward then had to jump back as an arc of electricity almost hit her. 

Azula became distantly aware that the lightning was coming from her own body. She pulled the lighting back, allowing Katara to get closer. The water bender girl slowly crept forward, still wary of the lightning. When she tried to lay a gentle hand on Azula’s arm, a spark jumped between the two girls, making her pull her hand back in pain. 

At that Azula reigned in her lightning completely. Katara had been one of the first people to try to be friendly with her after her banishment, that wasn’t family. Even the crew members on their ship had been more afraid of her than friendly. She couldn’t excuse hurting her. 

When no more lightning crackled across her body, Katara again tried to put a hand on her arm. When she could do that without pain, she pulled Azula into a tight hug. 

For the first time in her life, someone outside of her family saw her cry. Azula pressed her face against the other girl’s shoulder, as she sobbed. Each silent sob, brought fresh pain to her burned throat, yet still the tears flowed down her face. 

Katara didn’t try and speak. Didn’t try and ask. All she did was hold her as tightly as she could. 

When Azula could breath without screaming again she pulled back a little from Katara. Her hands shook as she signed. 

“All fire does is burn and destroy. Look at this room.”

Katara looked at her briefly before water bending her tears away from her eyes. 

“You don’t have to be like the other fire benders. You don’t have to be like Zhao or your father. You can help the world heal.”

“How can I do that?”

They just stared at each other again. Then Katara turned away and pulled out a book, that she had found in the library. 

“It was in the water bending section, because it talks about healing techniques. But there’s something that might interest you.”

Azula opened the book to the page Katara pointed to. There she could see a simple diagram showing a person fire bending. She flinched at first, squeezing her eyes shut, but Katara only held her tighter until she could look again. Unlike the other firebending techniques she had seen this one wasn’t destructive. A firebender used their fire to close a wound allowing a water bender to fully heal the injury. 

She stared at the page. Then began studying it and the surrounding pages in closer detail. She had never learned about how the body reacted to the application of heat or fire. As she looked she analyzed the firebending techniques, some of the fire bending was, in a word, sloppy. Whoever the firebender had been they had no where near her skill. Even Zuko could out bend them any day. 

“The fire bending is imprecise.” Azula signed. “However with lighting…”

Azula allowed a small arc of electricity to dance at the tip of a finger. She ran that finger along her other forearm, stopping just short of the burn scars left from her father. Katara gasped and immediately pulled water from her waterskin, it glowed with its healing light, however she stopped and stared at the wound. Despite its length the wound did not bleed. Azula looked at it in surprise before allowing Katara to close the wound. 

The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds, tears shining in both of their eyes. However before they could say another word the temple ground around them suddenly shook. They both jumped to their feet and raced back towards the center. 

Later they immerged from the temple window to land on the surrounding desert sand. The sand had streaks of glass blasted into it from Zuko’s bending as well as deep craters from Toph’s. Appa stood near them both growling softly at something that was disappearing in the distance, but turned and made a happier noise when it saw Aang was safe. 

When they were again soaring over the long miles of desert, Azula pressed the book Katara had given her to her chest. She made eye contact with the water bender and gave her a single sign. Her open hand tapped to her chin, then moved away. 

“Thank you.”

I'm loving this AU idea more and more. Azula has some pretty bad ptsd from what her dad did to her. Katara doesn't really understand but she wants to help. And she finds a book that helps Azula make the connection that she could perform surgery with her lightning, instantly cauterizing the wounds. And later they kiss. Also I totally made it so Aang didn't lose Appa, because I didn't want to deal with that. Also also, Azula's gay awakening was absolutely seeing the glow of the spirit water reflecting on Katara's face. She just hasn't come to terms with that just yet.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

A Flame For A Cabbage (Part 14)

Sneaking into the boiling rock is much easier than expected. All it takes is a long and convoluted plot. Such is easy for Azula to come up with. Really, all she had to do was put on a false mustache and claim that her name is Jake, from State Farm, there to update them on company policy. Everyone knows that State Farm is the insurance company used by the Boiling Rock. But Azula does not like such simple thinking. Instead she had come up with a much grander scheme. She journeyed deep into and past a plethora of boobytraps until she came to a lost tribal society. A society that owns the last few dragons in the world. Her world anyhow. They were kind enough to allow her to borrow dragons red dragon, free of charge. Azula, however, felt a sense of kinship with the blue dragon.

The tribesmen had clicked their tongues, tsking. But they said that she could take the blue dragon, all she needed to do was part take in a ritual sacrifice. Being that, according to mother dearest, she is the spawn of Satan himself, this was no big deal for Azula. Unfortunately they were not expecting to do a ritual so soon so they did not have all of the necessary alter tools. So it was that Azula had to journey to find the special dragon atheme. She searched each of the four nations but came up empty handed. She knew that she needed to enter a different dimension.

Unfortunately, Bosco had been in charge of all interdimensional and alternate universe travel--since his death glitches in time and space have been far and few in between. So Azula made her way to the Foggy Swamp where she met with the witch doctor, who informed her that witch doctors and necromancers are not the same thing so he could not  resurrect Bosco. But the witch doctor was kind enough to point her in the direction of the Foggy Swamp necromancer.  Feeling optimistic, she had knocked on the woman’s door. The woman said that she would help resurrect Bosco, but she was all out of ritual candles.

So it was that Azula journeyed back to the Fire Nation to pick up several ritual candles. But they were all out of black wax. However, the candlemaker was willing to make her a special order if she could procure an item for him. Azula had nodded and asked him what item he seeks. The man said that he needed some protective paper. Easy enough, Azula had thought, forgetting that the virus had left toilet paper in short supply.

After combing through dozens of stalls and finding them baren of toilet paper, the merchant decided that she would have to break into the palace and steal some from the Fire Lord’s stach. She had tried to bribe the guards but he wanted a free cabbage. By all means that was easy enough but Azula never sells her cabbages for free. Instead she seeks out an unlikely alley.

It had taken a lot of searching, but finally she found the hideout of team avatar. Upon asking for help, Katara threw several items at her including a crowbar,  a ceiling fan,  a spare tire, a walrus, and an electric stove. “You killed Aang!” She accused. And it was a true accusation. And so Azula informed her, “if you help me break into the place to steal toilet paper, I can go to the candlemaker who will make me some ritual candles to take to the necromancer will summon Bosco for me. And while she is resurrecting Bosco, she can resurrect that arrow-headed cabbage killer, Aang.”

Wholly confused by the whole situation, Katara agreed to help Azula break into the palace. “Here, you can borrow our Toph. That ought to get you in.” She had lifted the blind earthbender up and handed her to Azula.

Azula thought that it would be smooth sailing from there, but she was wrong. The Earthbender said that she would only help if Azula could make her see. So Azula tried seeking out Christ. But Azula is an unholy creature, according to her mother, and so it did not work. What she did not know is that all she had to do was go to confession and then she would be forgiven. But Azula is afraid of confessing anything so she chuckled nervously and accepted that it was a hopeless cause. Toph had laughed and said, “man, I’m just messing with you, I’ll help.”

With that they broke into the Fire Nation palace and stole a few rolls of toilet paper as well as the Fire Lord’s toothbrush. Sie cried out in frustration because it was actually his toothbrush.Toilet paper in hand, Azula returned the Toph and fetched the Katara. Katara followed her to the candlestick maker.

“I promised you enough black candles for one ritual!” The candlestick maker had noted. But Azula is intelligent. She had planned for this, “which is why I brought you two rolls and the Fire Lord’s special bedazzled roll!”

The candlestick maker’s eyes had lit up and he procured the black candles. So the cabbage merchant and Katara journeyed back to the foggy swamp where the necromancer lit the candles and resurrected Bosco and Aang. Aang muttered an apology to Azula for destroying her cabbages so many times. Azula faintly thought that she should have apologized to him for murdering him, but apologies are dumb. And for people who are wrong. Azula is, in fact, always right 100% of the time. The merchant and Katara parted ways. Bosco, thankfully was a slave to the necromancer who summoned him was forced to obey her commands. So he had to help Azula with her interdimensional travel. Unfortunately, the author forgot what Azula was supposed to fetch so she had to scroll all the way back up. Azula used this time to file her taxes. With her taxes done and out of the way she journeyed through several dimensions similar to her own but not the same and found the super special, magically sinister, dragon atheme. Having accomplished this she sought out Mai and her Kenu Reeves knife, fought Bosco, and banished him back to the other side. She returned the Kenu Reeves knife, but only because it was along the way to the tribe.

She arrived at the tribe and set the dagger before the tribesfolk who gathered around it and said, “ooo, ah” and “wow that’s so purtty” and “ain’t she a beauty.”  They put the dagger aside and began the ritual which consisted of doing the soulja boy twice and the macarena once, followed by the cha cha slide. EVERYBODY CLAP YOUR HANDS!!! The closed the ritual by creating their own hybrid variation of all three dances. Satisfied, the blue dragon accompanied Azula to the Boiling Rock. Thank spirits that they have State Farm insurance, because they were about to need a good neighbor. For the dragon had punched through the window and placed Azula into one of the cells. “Watch my cabbages.” Azula requested of the dragon.

“I will if you bring me two cheez-its.”

With that promise in mind, Azula sets out on her real mission.

“Hello, Suki.” She greets.

Suki flips her off before apologizing and saying, “sorry I mistook you for someone else.”

“Who?” The merchant asks.

“That guy who put me here!”

Azula nods. But she has no more time for discussion. She needs to find Iroh now.

.oOo.

“I'm telling you it wasn't me!” Vows the guard.

“Save your breath! I know you were working together. You threw Chit Sang in the very cooler they used to escape. It was all part of your plan.” Says the warden.

“That didn’t even happen.” The guard points out. And he is right. But now the warden feels all awkward so he decides that he will keep pretending that he is right, despite knowing very well that he is wrong. Before he can begin reveling in his wrongness the door opens and someone enters. “There's someone to see you.” Informs a less troublesome guard.

“Who told you to interrupt me?” The warden snaps.

“I did.” remarks princess Sie.

“Princess Sie, brave and powerful, Princess Sie!  It is an honor to welcome you to the Fire Nation's most exemplary prison.” He backpedals. “I didn't realize you were coming.”

Sie enters the room and takes notice of the guard being interrogated. “Who is this?”

“He's a guard who was involved in a recent and feeble escape attempt.”

“What escape attempt!?” Asks the guard with more ferocity. With no real defense, he resorts to a harsh, “Quiet, you!”

Sie folds his arms. “You're wasting your time. Zuzu isn’t around to try to help Sokka break his father out of prison.”

The warden turns around with a look of shock and befuddlement. He does not realize what has transpired, dear reader. You see, in Ozai choosing not to acknowledge the eclipse, the eclipse had never happened. It had been skipped. But this has caused a horrific rift in time. It was in this chapter that Zuko was supposed to break free, but with the opportunity lost, the void had sucked him in and claimed his existence. Perhaps one day he will emerge again.

Presently, the warden looks at Sie. “How do you know?”

“Because I'm a people person.” This is not why. It is actually because he saw the void claim Zuko and he has seen enough bizzare happenings to know how it works. But, ‘I’m a people person’ sounded so much cooler.

.oOo.

Azula sits in her cell feeling like a complete and utter moron, but she knows that the absurd deeds that she is doing serve a greater purpose and she has never been one to shy away from a task. So,  without thinking too much, she makes another hideous and obnoxious screech. She has been going for pterodactyl but she is not practiced enough to manage that yet. So she is only able to manage a brontosaurus screech.

It serves its purpose, for Iroh responds back. They have been communicating like so for the better part of the day. By the next morning each and every guard is equipped with a pair of ear plugs (the higher ranking guards get air pods). It is to her advantage for they, having their air pods in, don’t hear her slinking out of her cell.

She takes a moment to think of her cabbages because we have gone several paragraphs without mentioning them once. After listing off the anatomy of a cabbage in her head, Azula proceeds down the hall and finds Iroh’s cell. She gives a faint brontosaurus call to let him know that it is her before opening the cell.

“Here, take this.” Azula hands him a top hat and a wizard cloak. Azula, though off screen, has managed to acquire a guard uniform. She leads Iroh out of his cell. No one questions it because she looks like a guard. But really, she is a cabbage merchant. The top hat and the wizard cloak aren’t strictly necessary. They just make Iroh feel cool™. They please him. Suddenly the plague begins to retract.

The two confidently march out of the prison, Azula wearing gucci shades and Iroh wearing pimp shudder shades. Iroh had found himself a gun holster and is now packing! This would have worked out well and it would have looked so cool™, had the blue dragon not taken off. Azula had not been able to get her hands on any cheez-its.

Azula still isn’t worried. She looks at her new business partner. He gives a cool™ wink and pulls out his gun. He doesn’t have a chance to fire it when Hakoda shouts,  “wait! Who's that?” You see, Hakoda was beginning to feel left out, this was supposed to be his time to shine.

“That's a problem. It's my sister and her friend.” Says Zuko as he emerges from the void. But he is different. Changed. His abs have abs and his eyes have a haunted look (and somehow they also have abs). Momo has abs too (but we already knew that). Iroh got abs in prison. Azula has abs. Literally everyone has abs right now. Everyone has abs except Haru who only has a mustache. Nothing else. Just a mustache.

Sie looks up at the gondola that Iroh and Azula are riding as they make their escape. Unfortunately the bit about abs had not been long enough for them to escape unnoticed. Sie decides that this is it. This will be the moment that he gets rid of that pesky merchant and her meddling cabbages.

.oOo.

Offering a guard no word of warning, Sie snatches a set of handcuffs from his belt. But it doesn’t matter because that guard is only a background character and everyone knows that background characters don’t have feelings. TyLee, happy for the opportunity to pretend like she is at the circus again, dashes up the cable.  Sie blasts himself with a wave of green fire onto the gondola.

Azula is there. Iroh and Zuko are there (but they are not talking; everytime Zuko tries to speak Iroh ‘hmmps’ and turns his back). Hakoda is there. And for some reason, so is Suki. No one knows how Suki managed to get up there. She hadn’t even been a part of the breakout. No less she declares how excited she is for a rematch against TyLee.

“Me too!” Says Zuko. He looks over at Sie, who he has actually been getting along with rather well lately. He realizes that it is actually Azula who needs to fight the princess Sie. His fight is with Iroh. He knows how it will end. It will end with him in tears. And then Iroh crying for making him cry. And then he crying harder for making Iroh cry. And then Ursa crying for leaving her family behind and losing so much free entertainment.

Sie strikes first, kicking an arc of fire at Azula. The cabbage merchant dodges the attack. She wishes that she had her cabbages to throw. A hole in the sky opens up and her cabbage stall drops onto the gondola. Like a kid on a seesaw at the park, Suki is catapulted back to Kyoshi island. She is not happy that she didn’t get her rematch. But she is glad to be home, she had left the stove on.

Sie snarls, why did things always come so easily to that vile merchant. Nothing ever comes easily to him. He is just regular old princess Sie and his father expects so much from him. No less, he keeps blasting green fire at her. All the while TyLee is jabbing and swiping at the air, not realizing that her opponent is no longer there.

“I don’t need you Zuko, I have cool™ sunglasses now.” Iroh remarks.

“But I need you, uncle.” Zuko replies. “I made a mistake.” Sie was being supportive and everything, but Ozai! Ozai is a beat. A toilet paper shrouded absolute fiend. “I care about you, uncle.”

Iroh readjust his shades, “Did I ever tell you the story of the old man and his pet rabaroo?”

Zuko shakes his head and prepares himself for a long story with a confusing metaphors. Instead, Iroh relays the tale of the two lovers but with a rabaroo and an old man instead.

Hakoda doesn’t ‘do anything because he has stage fright and the guards have taken to watching the scene unfold with bowls of popcorn.

Sie does not have stage right, he kicks more fire at Azula who begins her magical girl transformation. “I don’t think so!” Sie declares before doing the unthinkable. He takes one of her own cabbages and throws it at her, knocking her to the floor, which is actually the roof because they are on the gondola, not in it. So the floor and the roof are technically the same thing???? Sie does not have time to contemplate the circumstances under which a roof can become a floor, for he finally has the upperhand.

“There's the warden! I see him!” One of the guards points out through a mouthful of popcorn. Sie shudders, he knows that something is going to go astray. Nothing ever just comes easily for him.

“Cut the line!” The wardan hollars. Unlike Suki, he is in the gondola for a reason. He likes to read sappy romance novels and shonen manga on his breaks. He is fine with everyone knowing that he likes romance novels, but no one can know that he is a weeb so he hides in a random gondola on his lunch breaks.

“He wants us to cut the line” Says the guard.

“But if we cut the line, there's no way he'll survive!” Declares the guard next to him. The first guard does not know why this one is shouting as they are sitting right next to each other.

“Shhhh!” hisses a third guard. “I’m trying to hear the movie!”

The first guard jams the gondola system with the nearest object he could find, which, surprisingly, is a mechanism specifically for emergency braking. The abrupt halt causes the merchant’s stall to teeter precariously. Sie smirks but the stall does not fall.

“WOOOO HOOO!” Aang shouts as he sails by on his glider. “I’M ALIVE AGAIN! WHEEEE!” The gust of wind that follows him, pushes the stall closer the the edge. Azula is twitching anxiously and Sie is watching smugly.

He swoops down a second time, this time Momo follows. Momo, who is still unapologetically jacked, only nudges the stall and it finally falls over the edge.

Azula’s eyes seem to narrow, but she doesn’t even have time to shout, “my cabbages!! Before TyLee exclaims, “they’re about to cut the line!”

Sie does not have time to relish in the cabbage merchant’s visible distress. “Then it's time to leave.” For once things go according to plan and her blasts himself onto a gondola that just so happens to be approaching. “Goodbye, merchant.”

“They're cutting the line! The gondola's about to go!” Zuko notes.

“Come on nephew, we will cry at each other later.” Iroh gives a particularly loud pterodactyl screech. The sky splits and a flock of the prehistoric marvels swoop down. Iroh extends a hand and helps Zuko onto one of them.

“What are you doing?” A guard shouts, drawing attention to Mai, who throws a fidget spinner in Sie’s direction.

“Testing out my new weapons.” She shrugs. She is confident that figit spinners are more effective than knives because in PG-13 shows blood is not allowed to be shown and she is very tired of having always missing her targets or simply pinning them to walls by their clothes. “I think that this one is going to work.”

Azula, not one to back down over a simple mild inconvenience, realizes that not all is lost. Her new business partner might have abandoned her, but her cabbage stall is still clinging to the gondola. She must stop them from cutting the line! “What is she doing?” Sie asks upon noticing Azula pickpocketing Mai for her fidget spinner.

Ty Lee shrugs and gives a mumbled “I dunno.”

Azula flicks the fidget spinner and it lands a few hits and one critical strike before returning to her. The guards have fallen. She watches the gondola and her cabbages drift off to safety. “My cabbages.” She sighs with relief.

“Leave us alone.” Most of the guards leave at Sie’s command. “I never expected this from you.” She looks to Mai and TyLee as though it was they who had assisted the gondala’s escape.”The thing I don't understand is why. Why would you do it? You know the consequences.”

Mai shrugs and says, “I didn’t know she could do that much damage with a fidget spinner.”

Sie turns to Azula. “And you! You know exactly what happens to people who interfere with my plans.” He pauses for a moment to recall his objective. For a moment, he doesn’t think that he has one. But then he remembers that his father had wanted him to find Zuko for betraying his nation again. He was also sent there to make sure that no prisoners escaped. Ozai bet one of his war generals 300 gold pieces and a roll of toilet paper that no one would ever escape the Boiling Rock. But now Hakoda, Suki, Iroh, and Zuko have escaped. “You know how this is going to end.”

“I guess you just don't know people as well as you think you do.” Azula says. She shudders to herself. Something is not right about this. No, she does not like this at all. She has a deep aversion to what she is about to say and she can’t place why. She ignores the unsettling feeling growing within her.  “You miscalculated. I love cabbages more than I fear you!”

Sie’s face twists into a snarl and pulls out a calculator, it reads ‘12’. Just ‘12’.  “No, you miscalculated!” He points furiously at the calculator. “You should have feared me more!”

Azula is in fact afraid. But not of the princess. She is afraid of the princess’ words. Not because they have been directed at her, but because of that something. That strange something, that she cannot place. She feels like she should be offended. She is suddenly overcome by a sadness. A feeling as though she has lost something dear and important. But her cabbages are safely sitting on the other rim of the volcano. So what then? What has she lost? Why did his words make her feel so hollow? Why did it leave her feeling so haunted to inform him that he has miscalculated.

Sie begins to generate lighting. Azula clutches the fidget spinner. Mai too holds a fidget spinner. But before Sie can send off his lightning bolt, TyLee jabs him several times and he falls. Azula can’t help but feel a hint of shock; she has no connection to TyLee whatsoever.

“Sorry, my hand slipped!” She explains apologetically, clearing up any confusion.

Sie is well aware that TyLee sometimes has muscle spasms. They mostly happen when she stands or sits still for too long. But in his disgust and outrage, he forgets this. Laying with his cheek pressed firmly against the floor, Sie declares, “you're both fools!”

Azula looks between Mai and TyLee. She isn’t sure which one of them isn’t a fool.

“What shall we do with them, princess?” Asks one of the remaining guards.

“Put them somewhere I'll never have to see their faces again, and let them rot!” Sie says. He realizes that he is being very harsh and that this is probably a misunderstanding. But he has had a taste of power and power changes people. He is a new man now. He decides that he is no longer going to be timid and shy. He is going to be a badass like Iroh.

The guards cuff Mai and TyLee and whisk them away before he can say that he was referring to Azula and TyLee, not Mai and TyLee. He does not have a problem with Mai, as far as he is concerned, she is a victim of the evil merchant too.

The merchant in question had pickpocketed two cheez-its and is smirking at him as a blue dragon flies her to safety. This is the worst day of Sie’s life.

.oOo.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, Azula sets up her cabbage stall next to the one she had left in the Fire Nation capital. She takes down her ‘back in 15’ sign. And what an eventful fifteen minutes those had been!

“Oh good, I’ve been waiting for you for ten…”

Azula does not let the female soldier finish, for she knows that the woman is only going to set her stalls on fire again. She hastily packs up and hustles to find the tea man.

.oOo.

“Hello?” The warden says into the phone.

“Hello, warden!” Greets the man on the other end.

“Is this Jake from State Farm?”

“It is!” The many replies.

“Wonderful, I’m calling about a busted window and a broken gondola system…”