#aang asks iroh about it later and he just gives him a long thoughtful look

[discordiansamba]

aang finds the mystery airbender in yu dao.

looking for the mystery airbender (whom toph had dubbed 'scruffy') wasn't what he'd came here for, but when he'd heard a rumor about an underground fighting ring, he had to come check it out. it was a weird place to find an airbender, but toph had been adamant that the guy was probably a regular on all kinds of circuits.

toph's description of him had been, understandably, vague. a little taller than sokka, but probably not much older. probably had short hair. uses dual dao. on the scrawny side. she'd heard someone say something about a scar once?

so when a swordsman wielding dual dao and sporting a nasty facial scar had stepped in to the arena, aang had leaned forward and paid close attention. his opponent was a firebender, who called themselves the scorcher or something, but he didn't really care about them. they'd introduced the swordsman as 'the blue spirit' which was a baffling nickname given that he was wearing mostly brown.

the fight started- and aang felt giddy.

they were an airbender. he wasn't at all familiar with the techniques he was using- but then, he was using airbending to supplement his sword skills, which wasn't exactly a technique he had cause to be familiar with. the airbenders he'd grown up around had never really needed to be so... well. aggressive, he guessed.

and the blue spirit was very much that.

he dominated the match- it was over in short order. aang felt some of his initial giddiness leave him in the process. he didn't like the look in the blue spirit's eyes- or that grin. he knew toph loved fighting too- and he didn't judge her for that (mostly)- but it was a little different to see it coming from an airbender.

as soon as the match was over, aang sprang to his feet and tried to follow the blue spirit. he must have realized he was tailing him, because he shook him off, disappearing after rounding a corner. aang jumped on a nearby roof to search for any trace of him, but he was just gone.

then he felt the swords against his throat.

"avatar," the blue spirit hissed, "-what do you want from me?"

aang held his hands up in surrender. hey, hold on. he didn't follow you because he wanted to fight you mister blue spirit sir. the blue spirit asks why he did then, and aang just frowns. if he knew he was the avatar, shouldn't the answer to that be obvious?

"you're an airbender," aang said, "-right?"

he swears he can hear the blue spirit roll his eyes, but at least he releases him. don't go spreading that around, he tells him. he also tells him has no interest in talking with him. if you're looking for another air nomad, you're in the wrong place. aang just frowns, and really looks at the blue spirit.

he looks almost... fire nation, he thinks. the burn scar is a nasty one, that took up no insignificant part of his face. it tugged at something in the back of aang's memory. like he was supposed to know this particular scar from somewhere, but where he was supposed to know it from was eluding him at the moment.

"but you're still an airbender," aang says, "-i thought i was the last one."

the blue spirit tells him he wants nothing to do with him.

it stings. he's finally found another airbender, and they're not at all what he was hoping for- and even worse, they don't even really seem to want to talk to him. the blue spirit takes a step back and makes it clear in no uncertain terms that he doesn't want to be followed, and aang forces himself to respect that.

(it's only after he describes the encounter to his friends, that it suddenly clicks why he feels like he should know that scar from somewhere. it's the one iroh had described to him- the one that belonged to a young man he was desperately trying to find now that the war was over.

his nephew.

no, aang thinks, no way. that can't be right. it has to be a coincidence. it's not like the missing prince of the fire nation- ozai's son- can really be an airbender, can he?)

you’ve done firebender/waterbender/earthbender/nonbender/avatar zuko, so what do you think of air bender zuko?

an excellent question!

love the idea of him existing in stark contrast to aang- they're both airbenders, but they're clearly on two very opposite sides of a spectrum. zuko realizes for himself just how much danger he would be in if anyone found out he was an airbender, so he successfully hides his bending- even when his father calls for a farce of an agni kai after he speaks out in the war meeting and burns his face and banishes him.

he still gives him the quest to find the avatar, but things go a little differently this time. zuko searches the air temples diligently for any trace of the avatar- but it's a lot harder for him to ignore the clear signs that history may not have actually played out like he was taught when he's an airbender too. one day he wakes up in the middle of the night with the realization that he doesn't want to go home.

he steals away in the night, not even telling his uncle.

he decides to actually start practicing his airbending, which basically just translates into him making it all up as he goes. in order to make money, he ends up participating in underground fighting tournaments- first just using his dao, and then quietly incorporating his airbending alongside them. inevitably rumors spread of a 'surviving' airbender, and that attracts all kinds of attention.

zuko doesn't care. he's having the time of his life actually.

(he is in fact, not having the time of his life. this is very much a maladaptive coping mechanism. but he's very good at fooling himself into thinking otherwise.)

he never stays in one place for too long, and is constantly on the move. there's always a new place for him to fight. sometimes he does a little light theft. he's definitely fought toph once or twice, who only actually realizes that he was probably an airbender after she meets aang- who is both thrilled to hear about another airbender and is deeply confused by the way toph describes him.

he doesn't understand. his people are supposed to be peaceful.

(zuko isn't one of his people, of course, but he has no way of knowing this. toph's the only one who has ever met him and she's well. blind.)

he winds up completely sitting out the entire war. he just doesn't care. post-war aang spends a lot of time trying to track down this rumored airbender after the war- and also prince zuko of the fire nation, iroh's nephew who went missing about a year into his banishment.

clearly these two tasks are unrelated, right?

[duckiedaledeservedbetter]

finished a:tla netflix

here are some thoughts (idk, they might be controversial)

Things I liked:

Avatar itself is so good that even a bad adaptation is enjoyable, and i really enjoyed seeing the avatar world in live-action style, especially Omashu !!!

Ian Ousley was born to play Sokka idc what anybody else says, idc about the butchered character arc, or the personality changes or any of that, Ian Ousley is the live-action Sokka we deserve and he ate every scene (except one, which i WILL be mentioning later)

Like seriously Sokka has never given such big bro energy before and i'm living for it, Ian looks like Sokka, sounds like Sokka, and imo carried the show a bit.

I love a good long episode, none of this percy jackson 30 minute nonsense.

Fire Nation costumes HIT - like some of the other costumes were lacking but the fire nation uniforms and armor ? amazing.

They kept so much of the original music !!!

Honestly the bending was pretty good. i fully expected it to suck and be super cringey but there were really only a few moments of cringe for me.

Lieutenant Jee!!! best character!!! best casting!!! amazing, 10/10.

Like seriously though Omashu looked amazing, Agna Q'ela looked amazing, the southern air temple looked AMAZING.

Hahn was cute, i liked Hahn.

Blue Spirit accuracy omg i am so glad they stuck so closely to the original blue spirit storyline.

Gran gran was giving, ngl.

Again, Ian Ousley as Sokka. Show stopping.

Things I didn't like (sorry, the list is long):

sorry, gordon cormier did not do Aang justice. maybe it was the writing? idk, either way, Aang was not Aang-ing and he was honestly boring ? also i'm pretty sure Gordon is age-accurate (?) but if i had to guess his age with no prior knowledge i would guess 9. maybe 10. idk. i get that Aang is a kid but idkkkkkk I was just disappointed ig.

KATARA. ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. DON'T EVEN ASK, WE ALL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. Like, i never even liked Katara that much in the og show but dang, they ruined her.

besides katara, Iroh seemed the least character accurate to me. like, in the very first scene in the og show when Zuko is practicing his firebending iroh gets on his case for doing it wrong or whatever and he def has some attitude about it. like, Iroh isn't all chill all the time, let him have some attitude. also where was the wisdom? I felt a bit like i was watching endgame Thor - like iroh was kind of a joke? idk, i couldn't take his character seriously. the actor fell flat for me. bland. didn't sound like iroh, didn't really look like him. writing was weird.

THE PART WHERE THEY HEAL MOMO IN THE POND AND AND AND SOKKA - HUGS HIM ???? LIKE THAT ???? WHAT DID I JUST WITNESS ???? IM CRYING IT WAS SO CRINGE LIKE WHY DID I HAVE TO WATCH THAT WHAT WAS THE POINT

Maybe it was just me but Zhao's actor delivered all his lines like jokes with no punchlines. and he also was not remotely intimidating.

SORRY DANIEL DAE KIM I LOVE YOU BUT no. he didn't do Ozai justice (but really, who could possibly stand up to the performance of mark hamil?)

it wasn't funny. straight up. the whole show. just. not funny.

idk maybe i'm just a nitpicky bitch but none of the performances really hit except Ian's. that's my biggest complaint. they can change what they want (it is an "adaptation" after all) but none of the actors felt right. ig dallas liu wasn't bad ? ian ousley was great, but that's about it.

butchered bumi storyline. no thank you. i will be pretending that didn't happen.

i really just wanted to see live action sokka in kyoshi warrior makeup tbh.

ALSO STRAIGHT UP WHY DID EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER HAVE TO TALK ABOUT HOW SOKKA WASN'T A WARRIOR ??? LIKE YEAH VALIDATE HIS ENGINEERING PASSION AND WHATNOT BUT HE IS A WARRIOR? THAT IS PART OF HIS CHARACTER ? AN IMPORTANT PART ? THAT CARRIES HIS ARC TO THE VERY END OF THE SHOW ? LIKE HE IS A WARRIOR? A NON-BENDING WARRIOR ? idk man don't @ me i stan warrior sokka, it's literally a big part of the show, his growth from child to warrior, his training with piandao, his training with the kyoshi warriors, etc etc. like, it's important.

i feel like they took the wisdom and hard-hitting lines right out of the show. "youre just a child." "well, youre just a teenager." etc etc.

idk. it was fine overall. i watched it. i enjoyed it. i wish it could've been better-acted and more faithful to the original but you win some you lose some.

[lightdancer1]

How does Catzula and Zuko react to seeing each other after the Day of Black Sun? Does Zuko feel betrayed to see his cat joined the enemy side or does he feel relieved that she's okay? When he asks to join Team Avatar does Azula try to make it seenable that she likt him to convince the rest of the team to let him join?

Shisa had disappeared over half a year ago in the wake of the turmoil with the Avatar and that attempt to take the kid captive on his ship. Since then life had been....complicated. Ba Sing Se freed of Dai Li tyranny, and the improbable glimpses of his cat with the Avatar. He had spent a long time thinking when Shisa fell overboard that she'd drowned, and Uncle had taken it much harder than he did.

It was Uncle, not him, who went to Shisa first with a very apologetic look on his face as the cat looked at him with that kind of snooty manner cats could and yet an entirely human kind of disbelief. Especially when he extended his hand to her and quietly told her, kneeling down so his height-weight difference was far less, that he was sorry he hadn't caught her.

Iroh treated her almost like a person (not so long from now Zuko would find that thought to be a revolving door of emotions but....). Zuko just stared.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." He would have liked in later years to say he was dignified when the Avatar seemed to pop up behind him and surprised him. In reality he yelped and a few sparks of fire left his mouth.

"That's my cat," he said with a suspicious tone of voice. "What is Shisa doing with you?"

Aang looked over at the cat that took a few steps toward Iroh's hand and then nuzzled it quietly as Iroh closed his eyes and took a deep breath and quietly whispered where only Aang's wind-boosted hearing could register it "You give me more than I deserve. I will seek to prove myself worthy of it."

Aang blinked and then his eyes narrowed and went wide but he shrugged. He'd ask the old man about it later. For now......

"Hanabi?" He shrugged lightly. "Found her in the ocean about seven months ago and she's been with us since." He had a fond smile on his face. "Made our adventures a lot nicer, too."

He saw the way Zuko looked at the cat and then scratched his head. "I missed her," is what Zuko said. The two girls behind him were very quiet and very confused, Ty Lee mouthing to Mai 'all this over a cat?' (Ty Lee too would find this reaction hilarious in the worst way in just a few weeks' time).

When Hanabi turned her gaze she saw Zuko and then there was a moment of tension. Team Avatar looked from the cat to Zuko and back again and then she mewed and did a single slow blink. Sokka's nose twitched.

"Hanabi likes you," he said suspiciously.

He nodded.

"Well she was my cat first."

Sokka pursed his lips for a moment.

"Hanabi does have good judgment," he said reluctantly.

[bluespiritshonour]

Ooooh. Thank you mentioning TSR. I despise that episode.

Maybe it's not intentional but I've come to read it as Zuko just... Not caring for girls/respecting girls as much as he does boys.

Or rather... The writers caring about the girls—as long as they don't share screentime with Zuko 😃

He repeatedly puts Katara down in season 1. He's not nice to Mai even though she tries so hard for him. She doesn't succeed, but how do you expect a girl the same age as him to succeed when Iroh couldn't?

I was expecting TSR to be at the same level of The Firebending Masters or The Boiling Rock but it wasn't and I remember being very angry: this is what Katara gets?

And later when Toph tries to talk to him about her issues and get comfort from him he brushes her aside...

The only time he ever comforted a girl was when he told Mai that he likes it when she expresses herself. It was sweet; it came on heels of her saying her parents don't. It was almost like he was saying “don’t mind them, I like it :D”—except he was acting like they weren't broken up the entire time. Mai was angry. If he hadn't been trying to get back with her (not in a sweet way, but in a way boys do when they act like nothing's wrong) the entire time, it would've been better.

So that kinda ruins it.

I've thought a lot about him being so dense in TSR even after Katara spells it out for him. And my reading of that is a gap between how they both perceived the events.

Katara is the opposite of a cop. She's compassionate and always gives people the benefit of the doubt.

She did that with Aang when her entire village was suspicious of him. She did that with Jet and was betrayed in return. Put that together with the fact that Sokka is the opposite and it makes sense that she feels stupid if her kindness doesn't pay off.

Except, her kindness isn't stupid. It's just kindness.

So yes. Apart from the mother's death (which resulted in her being parentified) and Aang's almost-death (which forced her to press pause on her feelings for him) and the fact that she was in close-quarters healing him in the aftermath, it must have been emotionally devastating (there's a reason why doctors are often not allowed to treat their own family)—she showed Zuko kindness, and I bet it made her feel stupid when he turned on them.

But from Zuko's PoV; he never asked to be healed. Katara spoke of her mother and Zuko, who's used to trauma-dumping on whoever, wherever shared about his mother too.

He didn't comfort Katara in The Crossroads of Destiny. He heard “dead mother” and went “me too!”

So I can understand that he doesn't get Katara’s exact reasons: he skips over the Spirit Water healing his scar stuff and he probably doesn't realise Katara loves Aang. Which are pretty in character and I wouldn't fault him for.

What I would fault him for is acting so entitled about it. The last thing he should be is entitled!!!

The episode is also a mess. Zuko is unable to look past his own trauma regarding his mother to be able to understand what Katara feels regarding hers. He's projecting on her and thinks she's projecting on him.

But what sucks is that the episode concludes it that way: that Zuko was right. That Katara was projecting on him.

She wasn't.

As for him not telling them about Ozai’s plan for genocide 2.0—I personally like it 👉👈—if only it existed in a vaccum though!

So I totally get it when people dislike it.

He did it because he was ashamed. There's something very delicious about it.

Now, it does mean that he's selfish. He puts his feelings of shame above the need to protect people. Only if the admission hadn't come on the heels of him attacking Aang like that. Even that would have been amazing if he'd been made to feel bad about it and had apologised!

In the end, he never really worked through his issues with pride and shame (which also ties into his treatment of Azula).

So, Zuko really doesn't “feel bad” enough.

It'll be easier to list the things he does feel bad about: his treatment of Iroh.

That's it. That's literally it.

I think he finally realised Azula was also abused after their Agni Kai and felt bad for her—but again. It was literally the last episode and nothing comes out of it!

The Painted Lady and Sokka's Master were alright. After Zuko hounding so much screentime (and not using it wisely) Sokka and Katara deserved this much. Lol.

Ember Island Players however 🔪🔪🔪

I don't think they managed to pick up Zuko's character arc following his regression in Book 3.

Book 1 Zuko seems to have more empathy/his head screwed on right than Book 3 Zuko sometimes—with regards to other people. You can see in hindsight that they were setting him up for redemption by showing that this side of him was beaten out of him.

His entire deal in Book 2 was having his privilege stripped so he gets to see what it's really like. He does some really shitty things: sometimes because he's desperate and sometimes because he's an entitled bitch. But again, they seemed to be setting up for him to be disabused of those notions.

Book 2 even has Iroh say that pride is a source of shame, that being humble is the way to break out it. We know a great deal of Zuko's issues have to do with shame.

Compare how calm Azula is at a perceived insult (she's very confident) to how defensive Zuko usually gets.

Yet. They don't follow any of it up in Book 3: him getting burned to show that he'd make a good leader, one that cares about his people. Him sparing Zhao and being considered weak because of it. And later trying to save Zhao. Him coming into contact with so many Earth Kingdom people and feeling entitled to their kindness—until finally, finally it's him helping Lee and his family.

All this amazing ground work but they dropped the ball.

Book 3... He regresses, yeah. That's the point. But he's somehow a lot more callous to Mai/Ty Lee/the Gaang than he was to Zhao or the Earth Kingdom family he helped. It's almost like they forgot they wrote those things in preparation for his redemption arc.

It goes from assigning equal importance to him and the other characters to coddling him. I guess that's what it is: Book 3 coddles him.

It's a huge missed opportunity because I think they laid good ground work in Book 1 and 2.

[fire-lady-ilah]

What if Ozai actually loved his family?

This could extend to Iroh and Lu Ten and Azulon, but what I mean by this is that he truly loves Ursa (as this is highly debated in canon), Zuko, and Azula. The no strings attached love that children deserve. Buckle up because this is gonna get long and need a cut.

Aang might not win in this universe.

It would start with Zuko’s birth. He has no spark but Ozai has never held something so small that had his eyes. His wife lays exhausted on her bed. Zuko does not almost die that night. He was lucky to be born, yes, but it is said with love rather than scorn.

Two years later, Azula is born and he finds himself loving her just as much as her brother, even if she has a spark he doesn’t. Ursa is severely weakened after the birth and he decides not to try for more children— he loves the ones he has and he wouldn’t want to lose his wife.

Outside the Fire Nation, his brother burns down swathes Earth Kingdom. This Ozai isn’t a good person, he proposes ruthless plans in the war room, just as he would in canon, he laughs as his brother dreams of the day he burns Ba Sing Se.

The only difference is that he loves his family. His son almost dies and he saves him. He thanks the spirits that he was a strong swimmer and makes the point to train his son in swimming for the rest of their time on Ember Island. The current is dangerous, and it is even more dangerous for a weak swimmer.

Azula is a prodigy in firebending. Zuko is not. He makes a point to show them the same amount of love (because he does love them both). He reinforces Ursa’s teaching of empathy, not counteracting it like he might’ve in another universe. Azula begins to tell her brother all her tricks, things that come so naturally to her that her brother doesn’t realize.

He is nowhere near a prodigy like her, but he’s only a few sets behind her at any given time, and he’s leagues better than he would be at the same point in canon. Ursa sits with him and they watch their children fondly— they have a bond no one could break now, able to share thoughts without words. One day, they will be an unbeatable team. Now they’re just children, practicing together, playing together.

The turtleducks in the pond hound both children when they walk by, knowing only soft hands and small pieces of bread.

Azula is a firebending prodigy, but Ozai watches his son carefully. He sees the light touch of his feet, the quick reflexes when he almost knocks a vase off a shelf, the way he watched with wide eyes as they happened upon two guards sparring while not on duty.

Ozai calls for the best swordsmaster he can, housing Master Piandao of Shu Jing in the palace. Piandao’s assignment is to teach two children, after all. It wouldn’t do to send both his children away for so long. (He would miss them, as would Ursa.)

Azula is a prodigy firebender, Zuko is a prodigy swordsman. He picks up any style Piandao tries to teach him with ease, eventually settling on the dual dao as his favourite. Azula picks twin daggers.

Their weapons are two halves of the same whole, just as Zuko and Azula are. Zuko tells his sister all his tricks, all the things about sword fighting that come naturally to him that she doesn’t realize.

The Seige of Ba Sing Se beings. The family write letters to Iroh and Lu Ten often. Iroh sends a doll for Azula and a dagger for Zuko.

(“It’s okay, Lala. Obviously he couldn’t find any twin daggers there. It wouldn’t be right for you to wield just one dagger.”)

The doll doesn’t burn, though it lays in a chest, collecting dust. Zuko’s dagger is used to open each subsequent letter, though it has little other use. He has his dao for fighting, and Azula has a collection of far better daggers that she would let him use if he asked.

(Mai tells Azula (who is a bit softer around the edges than she could’ve been, though her teeth remain sharp) of her slight crush on her brother. She just pushes them together like any other child would and laughs at their blushing cheeks.)

Ozai and Ursa watch their children, hand in hand as they walk together. Neither of them have a reason to be disappointed in their children or in each other.

Lu Ten dies. Azula’s voice is cold as she proclaims that her uncle should have burnt Ba Sing Se to the ground.

This time, everyone recognizes the words for what they are. Ursa holds her daughter and soothes her as Zuko collapses into his father’s arms.

(A doll is pulled from a dusty chest and held to a girl’s chest.)

Ozai kneels before his father and says he would make a better Fire Lord than his brother. He may love his family, but he still wants power and his words are logical.

This time, his punishment sounds like a punishment and not a boon.

(“Grandfather ordered dad to kill you.”

“Dad wouldn’t do that.”

“I know.”

The siblings spend the night huddled into the same bed anyway.)

Morning comes and Fire Lord Azulon is found dead in his bed. Prince Ozai and Princess Ursa are taking breakfast with their children when they find out. They are the picture of calm.

They are a family and they love each other. Ozai would not let Azulon break them apart, even if it meant committing parricide with his wife’s aid.

Prince Ozai becomes Fire Lord Ozai. Princess Ursa becomes Fire Lady Ursa. Prince Zuko becomes Crown Prince Zuko and Princess Azula is his closest confidant as she always is. Everyone knows the Fire Lord’s Chief Advisor is nearly as powerful as the Fire Lord themselves anyway.

The war in the Earth Kingdom continues. General Iroh returns as a changed man, yet finds solace in the fact that half of his family is healthy and whole.

Two years pass with Zuko as the Crown Prince. He is known as a formidable firebender (though still weaker than his sister. He was the first person she showed her new, blue flame to) and a master swordsman. He cannot lie to save his life, but he has a charisma that he clearly got from his father. His father looks at him and sees the greatest Fire Lord the Fire Nation will ever have, even if he still has a lot to learn. This is his son.

Two years pass with Azula as his best friend (as if the nine years before hadn’t been the exact same). She is known as a master firebender, though few know of her skill with a blade. Lies fall through her lips as easily as any other word. Her father looks at her and see’s the actress her mother once was (still is) and pride surges in his chest. This is his daughter.

Iroh brings Zuko into a war meeting. Zuko speaks up against a plan he finds despicable. He is more confident now, his words more eloquent, but he has the same conviction and tendency to speak without considering the consequences of his actions.

The Fire Lord hears not disrespect in his son’s words, but the voice of his people. Ozai is not an idiot, and loving his son is all it takes for him to listen a little deeper. He knew of his people’s growing discontent with the war, but he didn’t care until their words find their way through his son’s lips.

Ozai forbids the plan. His brother (for he was once the Dragon of the West, for he still is and Ozai should do well to remember as such) suggests a plan that would cost less lives and only a little more time. It is an acceptable exchange.

Zuko walks out of the war room, his head held high. His face remains unblemished.

His mother scolds him and punished him, for he was still disrespectful and the general would’ve been within his right to challenge him to an Agni Kai.

(“I could beat him.”

“Of course you could, I taught you. But mom’s right, it’s a stupid risk to take, Zuzu.”)

The forty-first finds themselves passing a letter between them that speaks of a prince speaking up to save them from a general. Loyalty to the royal family is cemented in this one group of soldiers, barely more than recruits.

Azula finds herself thankful for Piandao’s calligraphy lessons. The small glass vials, prepared with her mother’s careful tutelage remain hidden in her room.

Part of being the Fire Lord’s Chief Advisor is keeping him safe from his own stupidity.

Ozai takes the time to teach his son to hold his tongue. It is a lesson taught not with pain and fire, but that was a mode of teaching he would’ve never considered. He loves his son.

Years pass and the siblings flourish. Zuko begins to officially court Mai and deals with his sister’s incessant teasing. He knows he has her to thank for their relationship anyway.

He could’ve done without his father’s attempts to give him the Talk though. He sat in horrified silence for nearly ten minutes of pure awkwardness on both sides before he managed to squeak out that his mother already gave him that conversation.

Both father and son are quick to flee from each other.

Zuko is fifteen and Azula is thirteen as they begin their journey in learning lightning. Azula does not pick it up nearly as quickly as most firebending and finds it a thrilling challenge. Zuko finds himself pulled away by his uncle and taught to redirect lightning.

Why Iroh ever thought he wouldn’t share it with his sister, he didn’t know.

Zuko is sixteen when he manages his first bolt of lightning, his sister having almost perfected the art.

Zuko is sixteen when news comes from Commander Zhao that the Avatar has been spotted in the viscosity of Kyoshi Island, wearing the tattoos of an airbending monk.

Zuko is sixteen, face unblemished, head full of hair pulled carefully back into a top knot when he approaches the Fire Lord and Lady (his father, his mother) and requests to hunt down the Avatar.

His sister is only a half step behind him, for what is the future Fire Lord without his Chief Advisor?

(What is the Fire Lord without his heirs? Ozai thinks. What is a father without his children?)

Part: [2] [3] [4]

[azenkii]

Sokka/Suki/Zuko Brotp Headcanons

These three are a god-tier brotp and i'm here to prove it

100% that one friend group who does the stupidest, most impulsive shit but they’re also super nerdy at the same time?

Like they'll be left alone together and you can guarantee that by morning they'll have broken into several heavily guarded government buildings. But like,,they didn't even steal anything important? they just wanted to see if they could find bosco's birth records and figure out why he's a regular bear

The last time they got drunk together they woke up on the Beifongs' roof in librarian's robes with a fully labelled diagram of a nonbending submarine in front of them

Suki and zuko braid each other's hair and sokka got jealous that he couldn't join in so he grew out his hair until it was long enough to braid

Suki teaches zuko how to fight with kyoshi warrior fans and he's absolute shit at it

In return, he teaches her how to fight with dual broadswords and she is not shit at it, which zuko thinks is unfair

all three of them spar together, all the time

sokka’s the unofficial leader of the group

he’s almost always the one who suggests the dumb/smart ideas

suki and zuko are pretty much on the same wavelength as him when it comes to plans so whenever he suggests something it goes like

sokka: so you guys know the new ozai society? well i was thinking about the pipes under the city-

suki: that’s a great plan. dibs on scouting the eastern block, zuko can you-?

zuko, nodding: the night market? on it

no one else can ever eavesdrop on their conversations because they just don’t make sense

the story of their escape from the boiling rock becomes legendary and they make a game out of retelling it. every time someone asks about it they’ll add something new. eventually the story ends up involving a platypus bear named Mai II, Chit Sang’s identical twin, a rope made out of bedsheets and three separate riots

sokka and zuko thought for a solid year that suki didn’t really like drinking because she always ended up relatively sober whenever they went out. turns out she drinks more than both of them combined and she’s just really, really good at holding her liquor

the amount of decrees they’ve passed while drunk is honestly ridiculous. only half of these decrees were cancelled afterwards because the other half actually made sense

suki once genuinely threatened to throw hands with one of zuko’s ministers. her reasoning was ‘he kept making weird faces whenever sokka suggested anything’

sokka and suki once ganged up against zuko. they called it ‘nonbenders solidarity’

zuko retaliated by creating a super-secret best-buds-only handshake with toph and they did it in front of sokka and suki whenever they could. sokka and suki eventually went ‘okay OKAY we GET IT also can you please...teach us the handshake it looks really cool’ and zuko was like ‘hm. no i dont think i will’

he then proceeded to drive them insane by immediately teaching the handshake to everyone he knew. aang? knew it. katara? knew it. mai and ty lee? knew it. every single one of his ministers knew it. the kyoshi warriors knew it (and wouldn’t tell suki). hakoda knew it. iroh knew it. that random regular visitor to iroh’s tea shop knew it.

sokka and suki gave up on ever learning the handshake. exactly one (1) day later zuko and sokka were playing their own modified version of pai sho with suki watching them and then zuko just casually went ‘so now that you’ve given up do you want to learn the handshake’

sokka and suki went FERAL and suki flipped the board

sokka: HOW DID YOU KNOW WE GAVE UP

also sokka, exactly 0.02 seconds later: also yes please teach us the handshake sifu hotman

the handshake is the stupidest most needlessly-complicated thing in the world but they learn it anyway and they don’t stop using it for approximately a month

and oh did i not mention that they made their own version of pai sho? they call it die sho and it features 16 homemade tiles and a set of rules that only suki understands. one game can last anywhere from 2 minutes to 2 days

they once wrote a book together under the pseudonym Wang Kyo-Lee. The book was a 500-page rant about plant husbandry. it became a bestseller in the earth kingdom.

they also once did a role swap for a day. zuko dressed up as a kyoshi warrior/the fire lord’s elite guard (complete with makeup to hide his scar), sokka was acting fire lord, and suki was his water tribe ambassador. that was how they discovered that they worked together so much that their jobs were literally interchangeable

there are rumours that the three of them are involved in a poly relationship. when asked, none of them will give a definitive answer

sometimes they’ll just go on holiday to some random obscure place without telling anyone and come back four days later with a frog, three new swords, a crate of theatre props and a valuable compilation of historical accounts that’s been lost for over a century

the most memorable thing they ever brought back was druk, aka a literal dragon

out of the three of them, suki makes the best tea. however, she’s also the worst cook

sokka learnt how to knit and promptly made them matching scarves. the scarves were ugly af but suki and zuko wore them anyway

when zuko overworks himself sokka and suki will literally manhandle him away from his desk and into his chambers, all while lecturing him as he nods sleepily and dozes on his feet

when suki overworks herself sokka and zuko will bring her tea and wrap her in blankets until she eventually falls asleep

when sokka overworks himself suki and zuko will drag him out somewhere under the open air and just sit with him until he relaxes and falls asleep on one or both of them

they have a running joke where suki and zuko will, in the middle of a discussion, go ‘GODS you remind me of this one guy i met while i was travelling’ and then proceed to describe sokka until he realises they’re talking about him

they all have a very dark sarcastic sense of humour that can honestly be alarming to anyone who doesn’t know them. mai thinks it’s hilarious

suki knows how to juggle. she tries to teach sokka and zuko and they both fail miserably

sokka takes them ice-dodging. sokka (once again) earns the mark of the wise. suki earns the mark of the brave. zuko earns the mark of the trusted. 

(does zuko earning the mark of the trusted make him cry? perhaps)

hakoda takes one look at suki and zuko and immediately goes ‘oh ok youre my children now’

zuko can handle himself pretty well in the cold (breath of fire, remember?) but that doesn’t mean he likes it. sokka and suki constantly tease him about it whenever they visit the south pole

zuko once startled suki while she was sleeping and she accidentally chi blocked him. sokka laughed until he cried

they 100% have heated debates about super niche topics

anyway they’re all bffs who may or may not be dating each other send tweet

[seyaryminamoto]

Do you think canon Zuko has any understanding of the idea of duty? That he, especially given that he aspires to political power, should act like his status as Prince gives him certain responsibilities? That doing what's best for the for Fire Nation or the world might require him to do things which make him unhappy or uncomfortable or require him to make grave personal sacrifices? Does he even understand duty as a concept?

Oof. Complicated questions, thus, this sat in my inbox for a veeeery long time.

I honestly, seriously, genuinely... don't think Zuko truly understood, at any point in canon, what it really meant to be a leader. I know many of us (and I think you, too?) don't particularly like the comics, but in my opinion, The Promise did a surprisingly decent job at highlighting several problems left in the wake of the end of the war, and perhaps unintentionally, this is one of the problems: upon becoming Fire Lord, Zuko is remarkably erratic, unsure of his choices, even seeking advice from his FATHER, of all people, because he has no idea what he's doing.

In the most favorable possible view of Iroh, he taught Zuko to be a better person. I don't entirely adscribe to this belief, but fine, let's concede that he did, or else this answer would never end: not just because you're a good person, however, are you guaranteed to be a good leader. Zuko, as we both know, is far from the best person in the world, and he is prone to making impulsive, emotional mistakes that can cause harm and trouble, and typically, Zuko doesn't face the consequences of most his actions, or the narrative just pins the blame on someone else. When we see this sort of behavior in a real-life politician, the immediate reaction we would have is "this guy is awful at his job", and sadly, I find myself thinking that quite often when it comes to Zuko's canon tenure as Fire Lord.

So... what is Zuko's concept of duty? Going by his pursuit of Aang in the first two seasons, duty is a task given to him by someone whose approval he seeks (in this case, Ozai) and he must pull it off, no matter what, to gain said approval. By Book 3, this logic still applies fairly easily to how Zuko acts over Iroh: I've highlighted in the past that the main motivation for Zuko's redemption is Iroh, doing right by Iroh, making amends to Iroh, regretting how he treated Iroh. He points that out explicitly in Ember Island Players, he does it as well indirectly by bringing up Iroh first of all, when confronting Ozai: this is his main priority. Ergo... I'd honestly say it's safe to judge that this is what Zuko regards as duty, as what he has to do. Iroh wants him to be Fire Lord? That's exactly what he becomes. The difficulties and complications in this particular line of work are taken for granted, and so, we have an outcome that was remarkably well depicted in The Promise, despite that comic's many glaring flaws: Zuko gets swept back and forth, twisted left and right by all the pressures and responsibilities, because he has no idea what he's doing as Fire Lord, and no idea/experience in how to be a real leader.

As far as I can tell, the core of the matter is that nobody really seems to have taken Zuko all that seriously as future Fire Lord. Ozai, evidently, wasn't training Zuko to be his personal heir. Ozai himself is a questionable source of information regarding learning what it means to be Fire Lord, considering he, as well, wasn't raised to take that role, just as he didn't raise Zuko for it. Yet Iroh didn't exactly teach Zuko how to lead anyone either, as far as I can tell: his lessons were meant to be of a more personal nature, and even then, Zuko had lots of trouble accepting most of them. Iroh's firebending lessons to Zuko were typically stunted in the basics because he was hot-headed and rash about getting to the intense and interesting stuff...

So: neither Ozai nor Iroh gave Zuko actual responsibilities. Ozai gave him a punishment Zuko was trying to endure however possible, a punishment he wanted to prove himself unworthy of by finding the Avatar and "regaining his honor". Then, Iroh punished Zuko as well by giving him the cold shoulder in Book 3, then he escaped and Zuko did everything he did, after betraying Ozai, to prove himself worthy of Iroh's kindness once again. It's not actual duty, the way it is in Azula's case: no doubt, Azula wants Ozai's approval too, but she has the madman's trust when it comes to finding her brother and uncle, to taking down the Avatar, and to conquering Ba Sing Se, as far as anyone can tell. I do doubt Ozai gave her all these missions at once, but he gave her the resources through which she pulled off ALL of them: she had the firebending procession, she had a ship, she had a train-tank, she had mounts... Zuko had a rundown ship that looked like a 1:10 scale version of every other ship in the harbor back in the very third episode: he was being punished. In contrast, Azula is entrusted with a mission, with LEADERSHIP, while Zuko has no visible, tangible, objective experience with the latter (consider how Azula steals the Dai Li's loyalty from under Long Feng: when did we see Zuko pulling off something like this? Even with Jet, Zuko was more of an associate to the Freedom Fighters, and Jet was still the leader).

I've always thought Zuko wasn't prepared to be Fire Lord, and the main reasons are the ones you indirectly point out through this ask: Zuko doesn't seem to treat the throne as a responsibility, but as his right. I won't get tired of pointing out that this was NOT Zuko's birthright, he was NOT born thinking he'd be Fire Lord: he was born to the second branch in the Fire Nation family. We literally SEE the day in which Lu Ten's death is revealed to him. According to somewhat official sources? He's ELEVEN in Zuko Alone's flashbacks. I, personally, think he looks a little younger than that, but I think that's the official wikia age, no idea where they got that info but that's what it says. Meaning...

Zuko, objectively, only had been crown prince for FIVE YEARS.

Zuko was NOT raised, not by his mother, not by his father, with the belief that the throne would one day be his (Ursa is gone before Ozai is crowned and Ozai clearly wanted Azula for the job rather than Zuko).

And yet, when you backtrack to the show? It seriously looks like that was the case. He clings to the throne in Books 1 and 2 as though he had no other purpose in life, as though this was everything that was promised to him (in contrast, Azula only ever indicates wanting the throne in Sozin's Comet: Part One). Even when he's an outlaw, discarded and cast out, he STILL talks about the throne, as though most his identity were built upon the notion that he must become Fire Lord: why? How come? Within five years, he's crafted his entire existence around being the heir to the throne? That's... a bit weird.

And a bit wishful, too. Which is why I commend that the comics show him struggling as Fire Lord, if anything they should've had him struggling MORE than that, because Zuko is simply NOT prepared for these responsibilities. He never gave any indication, any sign, of seeing it as such. He sees it as his right, his birthRIGHT. Why? Why more people don't ponder how utterly strange this behavior is, beats me. But it really does bother me that Zuko built his entire existence around being Fire Lord in a very similar way to how Korra built her own about being the Avatar. I have very little praise to give LOK in general, but the premise of Korra learning she was a person, a human, and not just the Avatar felt like the perfect parallel to Aang's story, where he was very much anchored in his humility and belief that he was just "one kid", and his rejection of his duties as the Avatar was meant to change gradually as he learned to accept himself as he was. Korra, however, never fully hit the mark with this subject, in my personal opinion... much as Zuko doesn't hit the mark either, since the show's only direct attempt to "deconstrue" Zuko's clinging to the throne happens in one dialogue, and his attachment to the idea is built up again, right afterwards:

Zuko: And then ... then you would come and take your rightful place on the throne? Iroh: No. Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko. Zuko: Unquestionable honor? But I've made so many mistakes. Iroh: Yes, you have. You've struggled; you've suffered, but you have always followed your own path. You restored your own honor, and only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation. Zuko: I'll try, Uncle.

And there we have it. The only point in the show (that I can remember) where Zuko seemed to not feel worthy of the throne and questioned he should be the one sitting on it (RIGHTFULLY!), buuuuuuuut he goes right back to wanting it, right afterwards, based on how this single exchange was enough for him to be 100% determined to take down his sister, merely a few lines later.

As for his willingness to make personal sacrifices... some might say he was outright willing to die for Katara in the finale -- though I'll point out he was trying to redirect the lightning anyway, didn't do it as well as he should have, but he wasn't exactly, consciously, trying to DIE for her... --, some might say that he left Mai behind in the FIre Nation, and that as well was a sacrifice... but was it? We don't see him missing her, or suffering about her fate, at any point in time after SHE sacrifices herself for him in the Boiling Rock (my biggest gripe over this particular canon couple is this, tbh). I feel like the show generally presents Zuko's situation as somewhat... self-sacrificial? Especially in Books 1 and 2, and yet that's really not the case: it isn't Zuko himself who makes the choice of traveling to find Aang, it's a punishment inflicted upon him.

This particular view upon his circumstances makes it so Zuko is never responsible for... well, any of his choices? It's always someone else's fault, therefore, whatever he suffers through, there's always someone he can (and usually does) resent for it. Therefore... I can't genuinely think of anything Zuko sacrificed in order to come as far as he did. He was forced to let go of things by his father, typically, by Zhao as well, maybe, but even then, it's not like we saw that he has a super healthy and happy relationship with, I don't know, Earth Kingdom people (his only meaningful positive EK bond was with Jin, which went nowhere and goes forgotten after a single mini episode)? The Palace staff? The commoners of the Fire Nation (they just treat him like a hero and he seems awkward and distant about it anyway, like he can really just do without their worship)? He doesn't have other friends beyond Azula's own friends... thus, he doesn't sacrifice anything that really matters. And in a sense, some people might say he doesn't have to sacrifice anything at all: he already went through so much strife and struggle that why would he need to sacrifice anything else? But the thing is... you DO have to learn to make such sacrifices if you're going to be a good king.

So often, people who devote themselves to their jobs have to consciously neglect their families, to name one thing: Zuko neglects Mai and she explodes at him for it in The Promise, then he just tries to get her back at all costs in Smoke & Shadow, with no thoughts given to the fact that maybe he isn't ready to juggle both a relationship and the throne, that maybe Mai could be happier with someone other than him, someone who can give her the attention and relationship she's looking for... THOSE are the sacrifices I'd be referring to, personally, sacrifices where his happiness and peace of mind have to be set aside for the sake of something much more important than himself, and I expect that's the kind of sacrifices you're referring to, too. I seriously don't think he's ready to make them, and with the comics as reference, there's seriously no evidence to suggest he's prepared to accept these burdens that come with the heavy mantle of leadership and ruling. I've never seen any signs of him being ready for it, myself. Maybe I need to reexamine the show and see if maybe I'm missing something... but I don't really think I am.

The worst part, for me, is that Zuko isn't even doing the bulk of the things he's doing in pursuit of genuine happiness: he's doing it over a sense of destiny. He never stops to reason with that destiny, to wonder if maybe he doesn't need to be Fire Lord, if maybe he could have a life beyond that role. Book 2 veeeery briefly suggests he MIGHT be on his way to questioning that destiny, but as I've said before, I don't see the sense in Zuko's big change of heart after the Appa incident considering we don't really understand what he's learned, other than how to be the perfect nephew for Iroh, apparently. Zuko never really is happy, as he says in the show: his happiest moments are with Mai and they're only like a 25% of his relationship with her, everything else is a mess (and his relationship with her isn't exactly the core of his character, either). So, the way I see it... Zuko is even worse off than it looks at first glance. He's out to fulfill a destiny he has never stopped to reason with, a destiny he's 100% sure is his, despite he has only been on that path, objectively, for five years? Despite he wasn't raised all along under the belief that this was what he was supposed to be? If given a chance to be genuinely happy, what on earth would he even do? A lot of the growth I gave him in Gladiator was based on that particular question: is the throne really what Zuko needs to be happy? It doesn't look like it, even in canon. If it's not... then it's not happiness he seeks, it's some sort of sense of assurance that he's doing the right thing, according to the figure of authority he follows at a set point in time: by Book 3, said authority is Iroh, and Iroh wants him on the throne. His motivation, as far as I can see it, is as simple as that.

Long story short... I don't think Zuko really has a strong grasp on many concepts that he absolutely should have reasoned with and worked out in order to become Fire Lord. In a sense, he's way too young for the role he's given, for the heavy burdens he has to deal with, and I'll NEVER see the sense in not having Iroh taking the throne (beyond how "poetic" the creators and writers found it to crown Zuko to finish his story, of course), at least for a short time, before Zuko can be ready. This is exactly why I wrote things that way in my oneshot where Azula takes Zuko's role, more or less: Iroh serves as regent while Azula prepares for taking the full role of Fire Lord when she's ready. I love her, she's awesome, I absolutely adore her character... but I don't think an Azula who was sidelined and sent on a long voyage with her uncle for YEARS could possibly be ready for the responsibilities of being Fire Lord right away.

Meanwhile? Iroh was given leadership of military missions enough times that he became a general in the Fire Nation forces. By all evidence, he was Fire Lord Azulon's pampered and spoiled son, whom he DID prepare for the duties of a Fire Lord for as long as Iroh was born: Iroh literally had fifty-ish years of preparation, as far as I can tell? How is he NOT the better suited person to take the throne, if just temporarily, while his nephew learns what it really means to rule by watching him, or by maybe learning leadership by managing smaller duties first, a specific town or city, and then putting his knowledge to good use by becoming Fire Lord properly?

Eh... because it wouldn't be an epic enough finale for the show, I suppose. That's the only answer I can find for this particular question.

So... yeah. That got long :'D but in short... I don't think Zuko has a strong grasp on responsibility and duty, let alone on the burdens inherent to these concepts. Yet more reasons why his character's arc can't hit all the marks it should, imo, to make it as great as the whole fandom is already convinced it is.

[flameohotwife]

Okay, #41 for the fluff prompt!! (I feel so powerful, hahaha!)

41. "Darling, I love you and all but please step out of the kitchen."

This turned... long! And sad-ish in parts, so I'm sorry! Maybe more hurt/comfort? But there is still fluff. I hope you enjoy!

Rated T. 2.2k words.

“Aang? Have you seen the dumpling pan?” Katara was crouched down, head and shoulders deep in the cupboard, looking for the right pan to crisp the dumplings she was planning on making for dinner. Her husband was flitting about, albeit slower than he once could, on the other side of the kitchen with what she assumed were fruit pie ingredients for dessert. The original Team Avatar were travelling to Air Temple Island from all over the world in a few hours to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the war ending, and their 50th anniversary together. They always tried to get together the week they’d met in Ba Sing Se at the Jasmine Dragon to remember what they’d lost, and to see how far they’d come. Though Aang and Katara hadn’t gotten married until several years after the war, they always counted that day on the balcony as their anniversary, as the only thing that had truly changed with their marriage was the world’s recognition of their relationship and its permanence. They were devoted and dedicated from the very beginning. Perhaps even before that.

“Oh, I’ve got it over here, Sweetie,” Aang called back to her. She jumped up, almost bashing her head on the top of the cupboard before wriggling properly out to stand and face him. Even in his old age he still maintained a certain twinkle in his eye when he was up to something, and Katara’s hands flew to her hips when she saw it.

“What are you doing with my dumpling pan?” she asked, warily.

“I thought I’d cook tonight,” Aang replied, though his hand rubbed the tattoo on the back of his neck tellingly. “I wanted to add some Air Nomad dishes to the menu. Sokka will be bringing some Water Tribe food already, Toph and Suki will have Earth Kingdom, and Zuko and Mai will bring Fire Nation… I just thought I’d add something of my own in.”

Katara’s throat caught for a moment, as it always did when she remembered. His loss always felt bigger on anniversaries, though his grief was an ever-present emotion. It rose and fell like the tides, but was always there, under the surface. Most people saw his smiling face and kind, loving spirit and forgot that there were only two airbenders in the world and why. That Aang had actually known and loved so many of the ones Sozin had murdered. He masked his pain well, but took that mask off around Katara from time to time, when he needed to.

“Sweetie,” she began, stepping forward to grasp his wrinkled hands. “Oh Aang, I was going to make Air Nomad food, too. I would never leave you out like that.” Her tone wasn’t defensive, only calm and reassuring, as she rubbed gentle circles on the blue arrows that adorned the backs of his hands with her thumbs. She wanted to remind him with her touch that his grief didn’t have to be his alone to bear. That she would remember his people with him. Just as she had taught their children old Air Nomad fairytales when they were small, and celebrated their holidays with him, and learned to cook their food. Katara was Water Tribe through and through, but her soul was bound to an Air Nomad. Moreover, she was bound to Aang, and she always felt his loss. Even when he hid it well.

Aang melted into her, then. A hug that was so deeply meaningful it was reminiscent of the one they’d shared on Iroh’s balcony, but with all the weight of his pain crushing down on them along with that promise of love and acceptance. It was as though through this hug she was able to share that weight with him, so she held him tighter. Half a century after learning about the deaths of his people, sometimes the wound still felt fresh, and Katara was always the healing balm to whatever ailed him, even when she knew she could never heal it completely.

Katara stroked his back lovingly with one arm as he clung to her. She waited for his breathing to even out, for his muscles to relax. Waited for a sign that she had taken enough of his grief that he could function again. Finally, he moved his head to kiss her sweetly. It was wet, and salty, but his movements were lighter again. She moved her hands to his face, wiping his tears as she pulled him closer, and he deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms fully around her waist and pressing against her.

“Thank you,” he whispered. He knew his grief was never hers to bear, and yet she did so willingly and with so much love. He could never thank her enough for the way she cared for him when he hit his lowest points. He wasn’t sure he could have made it without her. Sometimes the weight on his shoulders was so heavy he felt like he would sink without her unending love and support buoying him up, keeping him afloat.

“You’re not alone, Sweetie. Never.” Katara continued to caress his face as she looked into his sparkling, sad eyes.”Do you want me to help? I can make the dumplings and the butter tea. I never quite mastered the tofu but I could try if you want…”

Aang silenced her with another kiss. “You’re wonderful,” he said, pressing his lips to hers again. “The best wife, partner, and friend in existence.” Yet another kiss. “I think I’ve got it from here. Why don’t you take a break before everyone gets here?”

Katara laughed, not quite knowing what to do with herself. She reluctantly removed her hands from her husband and settled on making herself some tea and sitting at the kitchen table to observe him. Even though he was aging, Katara still enjoyed watching him when she had a moment, whether it was bending practice, or working hard on something, or even something as simple as cooking. She still appreciated the lithe way his body moved, the smooth, airy motions he made, the way his tongue stuck out when he was concentrating…

She sat back in her chair, grinning over her teacup as she watched him chop vegetables and boil water and roll dough. Sometimes observing him do the most trivial things—like cooking dinner for friends, or braiding their daughter’s hair when she was small, or working in the garden—reminded her how lucky she was to have him in her life. He was the Avatar after all. He could have maids and cooks and servants and never lift a domestic finger in his life, but that was never in Aang’s nature. And he could have chosen anyone as his companion, but he had always and only ever chosen her. Over and over. It was somehow both humbling and assuring all at once.

After some time, she rose from her seat, walking behind him to wrap her arms around him, reveling in his warmth. She couldn’t see the smile on Aang’s face, but she knew it was there when he pressed one arm over her interlocking ones, squeezing lightly with his hand.

She leaned up to press a light kiss to the back of his neck.

“You’re awfully distracting, you know,” Aang chided. He turned in her arms to peck her on the nose. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to watch you cook. I forgot how much I enjoy it.” She gave him a very pointed look and he laughed heartily.

“Well, by all means, enjoy the show,” he said, wiggling his hips for her benefit as he extricated himself from her grip to keep working. Katara giggled. She was about to return to her seat when she noticed the clutter Aang was leaving in the kitchen as he worked, and decided to help him by tackling some of that so he could focus on the food.

When Katara cooked, she was very methodical. Every ingredient, pot, pan, and chopstick had its place, and was immediately returned to that place when she had finished with it. She knew if she didn’t keep up with the mess as she worked, it would pile up to the point that she would feel overwhelmed at the end, so she tidied continually. Aang, on the other hand, was much more impulsive in his cooking. He would think of an ingredient to add mid-stir, and leave the remnants on the counter, never quite sure if he might want to add more later. He would wait to clean up all the messes at once.

There was a time in their marriage where this had driven Katara crazy. The kids were still very young at the time, and the extra mess on top of the cacophony of kid-sounds and clutter and Momo swooping around the house would become too much, so she would constantly buzz around him, taking things and washing and putting them away before he was even finished with them. He would turn around for more of an ingredient and find it wrapped up in the icebox. More than once, he had had to take Katara by the shoulders, kiss her gently, and exclaim, “Darling, I love you and all, but please step out of the kitchen.”

Now, much like in other parts of their relationship, she had learned which parts of the mess to let be, and which ones she could handle that would actually help him. She sat up with him at night while he transcribed ancient Air Nomad texts and histories; her presence a comfort as he worked through it all and felt the loss more keenly. Tenzin joined him now, of course, when he was home, but Aang still felt more able to work through his grief when she stayed too. When they were younger, she had sewn Air Nomad clothes for Aang and for the acolytes, and eventually taught the acolytes to make them herself not because Aang couldn’t sew or teach them, but because it was one of the things that they both could do. Something that she could take off of his already over-heaped plate.

They balanced each other. He was her rock on full-moon nights or when she missed her parents or when her emotional storm was raging. He was her center of calm when she was worried about the kids or about the world. But today, Aang needed her. So she washed the used dishes for him to use again if needed, and cleared the wrappings for him, being sure to leave the ingredients on the counter. She made sure to give him gentle touches as they worked; a hand to the small of his back as she passed him, a bump of the hip as they worked side by side. Loving smiles and stolen kisses as the afternoon sun fell lower in the sky.

Eventually their friends would arrive and they would be able to laugh and joke and remember together. There would be group hugs and arm-punches and happy sounds and smells would fill their home as they reminisced. Through all of it, Aang would sneak looks across the table at Katara, with a special smile reserved for her. Fifty years! They’d made it fifty years together, in no small part because of everything they had learned through their struggles as they grew together. Because of the weights and grief they shared with one another instead of bearing them alone.

“I may be old, Twinkletoes, but I can still feel your heartbeat when you look at Sugarqueen like that,” Toph jabbed as Aang snuck another glance at his wife. “How can you two be together for fifty years and still act as disgusting as when we were teenagers? I’m not going to have to pull you out of a linen closet at the official event tomorrow, am I? Because we are all too old for that.”

Knowing that she still sent his heart a-flutter the way he did to her warmed Katara’s old bones from head to toe, and she sent a look of her own towards her husband. Aang’s face reddened.

“Oh, no,” groaned Sokka. “Oogies! I’m out.” He rose from the table, pulling Suki along with him. “Dinner was great guys, and I’d like to keep it in my stomach, thanks. So, we’ll see you all in the morning when the kids get here?”

“Sounds good,” replied Zuko as he and Mai rose to join them. “We should probably turn in anyway. It’s getting late.” Aang and Katara stood as well to accompany their guests to the door before everyone went their separate ways.

“Thanks for a wonderful evening as always, guys,” Suki added as she hugged them both goodbye. “Try not to wear yourselves out too much tonight, hmm? It’s not as easy to recover as it used to be and we have a busy day tomorrow.”

Katara feigned shock at her sister-in-law’s tease but Aang only blushed further as Sokka faked retching and promptly exited with their friends. Aang was always so open about his emotions and intentions when it came to Katara, whether or not he intended to be. She simply smirked back up at him and took him by the hand, waving to everyone one last time before pulling him back to their bedroom. And, maybe they were a little extra tired the next day, but it was worth it. Loving each other through the many ups and downs of a lifetime together would always be worth it. Even when Toph berated them for it outside a linen closet door.

[nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice]

Ok modern zuko would be an expert at breakdancing and sokka would be the guy who just bi-panicks whenever he does

(whoops, my hand slipped and I accidentally wrote a modern au headcanon turned zukka karate au one-shot) 

Okay but consider this instead: Zuko doesn’t know how to dance for shit and has horrible rhythm, but he is a GOD at martial arts. He’s been doing some type of style since he was a kid and is a full black belt by the time he hits high school. Martial arts was always something he excelled at, but it was also something that made him feel more secure. It was something he could work on to help him protect himself from his home life, even if it wasn’t enough most times. He specifically excels in weapons forms (I’m thinking twin sais) and you DO NOT want to spar with him. Because he may be skinny and shorter, but he’s quick and can hit hard at just the right spots. 

When he was younger he was obsessed mainly because he felt that belt rankings and trophies from competitions were a way to prove himself to his dad, but when he moved in with Iroh (who encouraged him to keep it up and was so proud of how talented and passionate he was about it), he basically used it in place of talking about his feelings. He didn’t talk about his home life or the shit Ozai did, instead, he put all his energy into his black belt levels, learning new weapons forms, and eventually into teaching new students as a junior instructor. 

At school, he’s awkward and asocial and just doesn’t have the energy for people. Zuko has little patience for asshole classmates who ask intrusive questions about his scar or spread rumors about where he got it. He eats lunch in his English classroom and would be a complete shut-in if Iroh didn’t get him to work part-time at the Jasmine Dragon. But in the dojo, he’s focused and is able to direct his energy into improving his forms and teaching younger teens. 

One of his newer students transferred from a different dojo after moving from a different state. He’s actually a freshman at Zuko’s high school but it’s not as if Zuko really interacted that much with him. This kid, Aang, is as talented and dedicated as he is, but has a long way to go to learn all the new katas. Zuko’s been dubbed the ‘scary’ trainer at the dojo. He’s the serious one who will yell if someone is goofing off and everyone’s seen that he has no problem using full force in a demonstration (little kids love him and he’s super nice to them, but he teaches the 12-15 age range). Plus there’s that scar, which doesn’t make him the most initially welcoming person. But this new kid Aang just latches onto Zuko immediately. He says hi to Zuko in the halls at school and works on his katas outside of regular practice times. At first Zuko thinks this sickeningly positive kid is annoying as crap, but warms up to him. He likes that Aang cares about martial arts and isn’t nice as a show, he’s just genuinely nice. 

And maybe he sees Aang hanging around school with a sophomore girl and her brother who just might be in Zuko’s calc class and English class. 

And maybe Zuko thinks this guy is insanely attractive and somehow incredibly funny even though most of his humor consists of the worst puns imaginable. 

But obviously, Zuko hasn’t attempted to ever actually talk to this guy. The most that he could classify as ‘talking’ to the cute, funny guy on the robotics club is the one day in English class when he had to respond to someone’s dumbass comment about Macbeth with what ended up being a ten minute spoken essay about obvious motifs and symbolism. To which Mr. Puns and Ponytail was very obviously paying great attention to and even gave Zuko a smile and thumbs up for. 

Zuko knows it’s pointless to engage. After all, he’s a senior and he doesn’t have any friends anyway. There’s no point in making any this year. Crushing on this guy from the comfortable position of the other side of the room is totally good enough for him. Totally. This is fine. He’s fine.  

Besides, he’s got competitions and if he doesn’t secure the regional championships this year he’s never going to get the chance after he goes to college. And he’s got his kids to train. Aang in particular is gearing up for his first debut into this area’s tournament. 

The tournament’s in October and usually, Zuko focuses on his own matches and performances, but Aang really wanted him to watch his set. So on this day, he stands on the sides of Aang’s zone instead of obsessively going through his katas in a corner.He’s not going to be able to watch the whole set because it overlaps with his own weapons portion, but he stands on the side and gives Aang a reassuring look that, ‘don’t worry, you’ll do great, you’re a talented kid,’ when his student looks over to him nervously. 

And wouldn’t you know it? Aang brought some friends to come watch. And one of them is Mr. Zuko’s Big Gay Crush. 

“Oh, hey Zuko,” are the words that come out of this guy's mouth that give Zuko a near-stroke. And damn if this guy’s eyes aren’t blue and pretty and he usually wears his hair in a ponytail at school, but now he’s wearing it down and Zuko wishes he could take screenshots with his brain because holy moly. 

“Hey.” Is the best that Zuko can get out of his dumb mouth. “You’re Sokka.” 

“Aang invited us to come watch,” Sokka nudges his head to indicate the ‘us’ includes his younger sister, who Zuko doesn’t know the name of. “How do you guys not get heatstroke during these things? It’s like a million degrees in here.” 

“Oh the gi’s pretty cold, I mean, it’s got air and stuff.” 

Zuko decided right there that he would be completely fine with being struck by lightning. Of course, that’s what his stupid brain would come up with. Of course, that’d be the thing he’d say in front of one of the smartest guys in his class. 

They watch Aang perform his set for the judges. Zuko recognizes that Aang took his advice when he said that he wasn’t putting enough force into his hits. He’s never seen Aang be as, well, aggressive isn’t the right word, but he’s definitely putting more power into his form. Zuko wouldn’t admit it, though, but only part of his attention was for Aang at the moment. The other part was for Sokka, who was smiling bright and pumping his fists when Aang completed a row of kicks. 

The small part of Zuko’s brain that wasn’t being taken up by watching Aang or trying to act normal around his crush noticed the clock on the wall indicating that the weapons portion would be starting in five minutes.  

“I’ve got to go do a thing so I’ll just, um, go do that now.” 

“Are you competing too?” Sokka asked. 

To this question Zuko just holds up his sais and raises his eyebrow as if to say ‘it’s a tournament, what do you think?’ Because yeah, he knows Sokka’s super smart, he’s seen him churn out calc answers at the speed of light and noticed his name on the robotics club awards update on the school’s website, but he’d also seen Sokka eat 5 packs of fundip at once on a dare and unironically wear a ‘women want me, fish fear me’ t-shirt for most of junior year. Somehow he had managed to fall for the smartest dumbass on earth. 

“Oh yeah, right.” Sokka eyes the sais and then looks right at Zuko’s face, “Aang says you’re really good.” 

Zuko decides that thinking about Aang talking to Sokka about him was something he didn’t need distracting him during his set. That was something he could anxious about later. 

“Hopefully good enough for those five assholes,” Zuko replies, gesturing to the panel of judges in the weapons section of the gymnasium. To his shock, Sokka laughs. It’s a nice laugh, too. And Zuko really hoped he could blame the blush that was one-hundred-percent creeping up his face on the lack of AC. 

“You know, you’re pretty funny man,” Sokka tells him. Zuko has no clue how to take that compliment, but he really does need to go. 

“Right,” he grins nervously and shifts his left foot around to bounce away, “well I have to go do my thing.” 

“Good luck!” 

That’s where Zuko thinks the beginning and end of his interaction with Sokka would be. 

The weapons portion thankfully goes by age. And since Zuko’s one of the youngest competitions, he gets to go first for his sai katas. This is what literal years of training have prepared him for. At regionals last year, the second advanced kata got him placed high enough to qualify for states. This is what he’s good at. He tells himself that a thousand times before starting his set. 

There’s not a thought in his head as Zuko goes through the form. The sais glide through his fingertips with every jab, block, and hook. The imaginary opponent doesn’t stand a chance. He’s cool and competent and graceful. It’s therapeutic in a sense. There’s enough adrenaline to make Zuko feel like he’s worth something, but more importantly, he knows he’s nailing this. Whatever the judges say about it, he knows that he’s perfected this form after practicing it at least a thousand times over three years. 

The judges agree with him. He’s the first competitor of the weapons portion but there isn’t really a doubt in their minds about who’s going to place. 

Zuko zones back in to the gym after bowing to the panel. He walks off, feeling lighter and letting a satisfactory smile take over his face. 

He expects the hug from Uncle and the proud smile from Sensei Piandao, but what he doesn’t expect is to see Sokka, eyes wide as globes, staring at him from the other side of the mat. 

Because what Zuko doesn’t know is that the second he turned his wrists in his first form during his hooks, Sokka’s brain went into Full Bi Panic Mode. 

And Zuko thinks the one conversation where he couldn’t talk like a human and wanted to die for most of it would be the only time Sokka would decide to willingly talk to him. Zuko is dead wrong. Sokka, in fact, has decided that this, this is the guy his Disaster Bi Brain has decided to latch onto. Sokka’s brain and all his squishy feelings have apparently decided to attach to this aloof kid with the scar who reserved his voice for eloquent, impassioned speeches about dramas and was apparently an actual god with weapons. Sokka decides that Zuko could roundhouse kick him in the side and he’d thank him. And right now Zuko’s looking at him with a dumbfounded expression, prompting Sokka to remember how to function so he can go over to congratulate Zuko and maybe ask if his dojo provides a free trial. 

So yeah, that one conversation ends up decisively not being the end of anything. 

[passable-talent]

Is this even necessary? Yes please part 6!!!

and so we return, one whole month later

| part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 |

After Azula’s attack, and the forced flee from the Western Air Temple, you spent a few days being pissed at Zuko. Like, really pissed. You didn’t speak to him at all. This was something that concerned and confused the prince, because it had seemed like the two of you were making real progress only a few nights before.

What had happened?

He didn’t try to fix it before he left with Katara. Partially, he thought, to give you space, and because he assumed that your issue would be easier to fix than Katara’s. So for a day or so you simmered, just like you had back at the Western Air Temple, rage as always masking your hurt.

When he returned, and things with Katara settled down, he found you perched among the jagged stones that lined the pathway up to his family’s old vacation home. You were still hidden here, but felt even excluded from the team, which let you think, and sulk.

“Y/N,” he said, announcing his presence as he climbed up the rock. You had your back to him, and your shoulders tensed up. You didn’t face him.

“What do you want,” you asked, giving him a shoulder so cold he’d lose his firebending.

“I want to know why you’re angry with me,” he said, and you looked up at the sky, frustrated, as though he should clearly know without you needing to tell him.

“That so?” You spat, and as you weren’t wearing shoes, you sensed as he walked closer to you, arms at his sides. It seemed he was attempting to be non-threatening.

“Yes. I realized I’ve done a lot of explaining, and not much listening. Whatever is keeping you so angry at me, I’ll listen.” You fixed your gaze to the stone in front of you, glaring, before you shut your eyes tightly. Your fists tightened up, and you brought your arms to your chest, and it was like your body was contracting to prepare for an explosion.

It was.

“You want to know why I’m angry with you?” You shouted, turning around while throwing your hands down to your sides, “it’s because you’re so stupid!” Your gaze avoided his, but not purposefully, instead because your anger manifested in rapid movements while you spoke. “You get ambushed by your psychopathic sister, who has been known to manipulate you, and you- you go after her anyway?” You held up your hand, four fingers shown to him, just in case he’d forgotten how to count.

“She had four airships. And you had nothing. No backup. You didn’t let Aang or I follow you, and you charge off into battle.” You leaned forward, a snarl on your lips.

“I watched you fall. I thought you died!” With the final exclamation of your anger, you stepped forward and shoved him backwards, but with a twist of your planted front foot you moved out of the way some of the jagged rocks he might’ve stumbled or fallen onto. Anger finally released, your expression turned to one of pain, of fear, of sadness.

“You told me you’d make it up to me. You can’t do that if you’re dead.” You turned to the side, now avoiding his gaze as he collected himself from the ground, and felt tears begin to fall.

“For so long I mourned Lee, right? Thought that the guy I loved was gone, because who you are isn’t who he was. And I finally figure out that that’s not true, that you are almost as good as I thought you were, and then I think you’ve died...” you trailed off, wiping the wetness of your face with a roll of your shoulder.

“I’ve already mourned Lee, I cant mourn Zuko, too, okay? I don’t want you to die, especially not by something stupid, like charging into a battle you couldn’t win.” You turned your eyes back to him, and found him staring at you, an expression you’d never quite seen on his face. It wasn’t a clear expression that you could pin, other than that he looked so... young. Surprised, almost.

“What?” You asked, voice still a bit jumpy from being choked up.

“You said you loved me.” It took a mental backtrack through your words to realize that you had, indeed.

“Zuko...” you breathed, and you turned toward the horizon, where the sun had long ago dunked into the ocean but still it reddened the sky. You brought your hands to the other’s bicep, as though it could help you protect your heart, and you forced some of your own hesitation away as you breathed out.

“Zuko, I loved you,” you admitted, finally, and that rush of it almost made tears re-emerge. “I did. You were sweet and funny and we got on so well.” You heard him step toward you, and you looked away from where he was near to being. “But the reality I thought I was living in... the floor fell out from under me. The Dai Li were secretive, and they weren’t what I thought they were. Iroh wasn’t just a kind old man, but was a fire nation general. The new leader of the Dai Li wasn’t a brilliant young soldier, but was a fire nation princess. A manipulative and snakish warrior who wanted to topple the earth kingdom. There was a war going on I’d never even heard of!” After the volume of your statement drained away, you hung your head, closing your eyes before your gaze could find the ground.

“And I wouldn’t have minded finding out you were the prince of the fire nation. Some part of me says I should’ve figured it out myself. What hurt me was that... you had so much more anger than I thought you did. Sure, you could be moody, but when we found you in those catacombs, the way you looked at Aang...” You let out a breath, and opened your eyes to look out over the ocean.

“I didn’t know you could be so... malicious. It was something I’d never seen from you before.” You turned your gaze to him, and let your mind wander to the moment when you stood between him and Katara, when Aang was dying. You remembered that predatory look in his eye.

“Did you even see me, that day? Or could you only think about getting to Aang?”

He didn’t answer, and you spared him from needing to. You didn’t think you wanted to know his answer.

“I think that I’ve blamed you for everything that went wrong that day. Aang’s death, your betrayal, the Dai Li’s betrayal. And I guess that isn’t fair. But I can’t seem to let it go.” You felt tears well up again, and Zuko slowly slipped his hand into yours.

“I want to forgive you,” you said, squeezing your palm around his fingers, “I want to let go of all this anger, and grief, a-and confusion, but I look at you and I... I see this boy who made the wrong choice. And that’s so frustrating, because you’ve made the right choice, again and again, you’ve defended us and helped us and fought alongside us. It’s not fair of me to focus on your mistakes when you’ve been making up for them.” You took a deep breath, and with its shaky exhale, let go of some of the sadness still clawing at you.

“I just want to let it go, so I can love you again.” There was an instant’s pause, when the prince took in your words, an instant’s pause in which the waves crashed on the shoreline and a bird cawed overhead. An instant’s pause, and then Zuko tugged you by the hand into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around you. You hugged him back, tightly, almost squishing his torso into yours while a final few trembling breaths fought their way out of your lungs.

“I’m sorry,” he said to your shoulder, and you could hear emotion in his voice. “You deserve so much better than me. I’m so sorry. I- Y/N, I loved you then, too. If it weren’t for you, I might not have had the courage to leave the fire nation. You helped me change, and you didn’t even know it. Please, please don’t be mad at yourself.”

“I’m glad I met you,” you whispered, when a few moments had gone by.

“Me too,” he said back, laying his face down and into the crook of your neck.

You could’ve stood there and hugged him forever. You could’ve stayed in his arms, where you knew it was safe to be conflicted. He understood, and didn’t ask you to change, or make a decision. Maybe Zuko was better than Lee after all- he was flawed, but he chose to overcome those flaws and be a better person in spite of them.

It made him stronger. And, you thought, it would make you stronger.

Your heart had been broken. You’d been lied to, and cast aside. But you found it in yourself to forgive him, and to be honest with him, and to keep him close to you.

“Zuko?”

“Hmm?” You pulled from his chest, your eyes dry of their tears but heart still raw and open. You were ready to forgive him, and to move forward.

But there was one more thing.

“I need you to tell me what happened to Iroh.”

request for pt 7

edit: pt 7 requested!!

edit: | part 7 | part 8 |

-🦌 Roe

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[the-last-cuddlebender]

I straight up check your profile daily for the southern raiders analysis you’re working on. 👀👀 where IS IT 😩

bRUH I am so excited to drop this analysis you have no idea (It’s creeping up to 22k+ I am gonna cryyyyyyyyyyyy). The only problem is that my TSR analysis and “Moon theory” are so incredibly hard to structure and articulate. I’m happy you’re so excited for it, though!!! Truly, it’s an honor. I’ll give you a taste of my madness and what’s to come, but be warned: it may be a bit hard to follow because TSR (from how I’ve come to understand it) is about the vagueness of beginnings, endings, and cycles, so there isn’t really a starting point for me to begin with. (So it may seem a tad bit like a ramble in some points that I haven’t fleshed out yet/am summarizing for this ask)

This analysis has me on trails like THIS brilliant nonsense, and I am 1000000000% here for it:

Roku: “The spirit's name is Koh, but he is very dangerous. They call him The Face Stealer.”

Katara: “We’re going to find the man who took my mother from me.”...“That’s him. That’s the monster.”

Lion Turtle: “To bend another's energy, your own spirit must be unbendable, or you will be corrupted and destroyed.”

Roku: “When you speak with him, you must be very careful to show no emotion at all. Not the slightest expression, or he will steal your face.”

Hama: “Congratulations, Katara. You’re a bloodbender.”

(If Katara had killed Yon Rha, she would be giving up her identity--her face. Not only would she have become a killer, but she would be killing what made her Katara)

Aang: “Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him.”

Forgive him--approach him for what he is, not the faces your memories or your heart are having him wear. See him for the pathetic man he is in that moment right in front of you.

Aang’s forgiveness is seeing someone for the sum of their parts. It’s judging them and seeing through into their very soul, just like the Firebending Masters saw through Zuko being the Crown Prince and Aang being the Avatar. That meant nothing to the Masters. What did matter to them was who the boys were right there, right then, right in front of them.

“Why should I hold a grudge against you for something you did in a past life? After all, you’re a different person, now. You’ve come to me with a new face.”

But anyways...

If I can give no other take-away from my analysis and moon theory, it’s that Yin and Yang are not two entities; they are three. I think the fandom’s misunderstanding of it may be why the discourse on TSR (and Aang, Katara, and Zuko) is so black and white (pun intended lol). 

“But Yin and Yang are obviously two things. Don’t you know the symbol?” I hear some people already saying.

Wrong, sir.

It has never been just Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang have never existed as just two things.

They are Yin and Yang and Wu Wei.

(Aunt Wu has her name for a reason, and she has the mark of the wise in her hair for a reason, too...AND she is at odds with Sokka in The Fortuneteller for a reason, too!!!...but that’s for the analysis😉)

Balance isn’t good triumphing over evil. Balance is good and evil. Balance is standing on the flow between two opposites--it’s the compliment that connects them. (The koi fish live in an oasis for a reason.)

I’ll explain what Wu Wei is later in the full analysis (like many things in here), but here’s some of my evidences and proofs for the “Yin Yang trio”:

The Tibetan “Wheel of Dharma”

(I’ll also explain the Wheel and Dharma and etc. later because it has everything to do with Koh and the moon) Long story short, the wheel and its spokes are representative of the 8 steps to enlightenment and the cycle of rebirth. 

Look at the hub of the wheel. It’s a swirl made of 3 parts.

It is also a white lotus

Here’s the colored version of the wheel (as an alter):

Recognize the colors?

BLUE, WHITE (or gold, depending), & RED

These are the “THREE TREASURES” OR JEWELS.

They symbolize DHARMA, BUDDHA, & SANGHA respectively. 

KATARA, AANG, & ZUKO

water, air, & fire

T H R E E

Bato: “Ice dodging is a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery, and trust.

Bato: “The spirits of water bear witness to these marks...”

Why does Bato say spirit(s) plural? The Ocean and the Moon are only two spirits. The Ocean can’t be two things. Right?

WRONG

Yue: “The legends say the Moon was the first waterbender. Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves.”

The Moon--singular. The Tides--plural (push and pull)

Lion Turtle: “In the era before the Avatar, we bent not the elements, but the energy within our senses.”

The moon pushing and pulling the tide is the moon bending the energy of its world. 

Katara finding balance between “being too weak to do it” or “strong enough not to” is her bending the energy within herself.

It’s two solutions written as a question but said as a statement.

Yue: “Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves”

THE SOUTHERN RAIDERS IS ABOUT AANG AND ZUKO LEARNING FROM KATARA. Katara had already learned from Aang and Zuko all leading up to TSR. That was her studying. TSR was her test.

TSR is Zuko’s and Aang’s studying. Sozin’s Comet is their test.

Bato: “For Sokka, the Mark of the Wise. The same mark your father earned. For Katara, the Mark of the Brave. Your courage inspires us. And for Aang, the Mark of the Trusted. You are now an honorary member of the Water Tribe.”

Aang - Wise (”you’re pretty wise for a kid”)

Katara - Brave (the same mark her mother earned)

Zuko - Trusted (”I was the first person to trust you”)

Sokka - Bato ("I am to have no part in this--you pass or fail on your own.”)

Yin and Yang are nothing without their dance. The Avatar and the Firelord mean nothing if they don’t have a world to rebuild.

The valley means nothing if there isn’t anyone to live in it.

Fighting is useless if there isn’t someone to fight for, otherwise it is “selfish and stupid”

Katara had to have a reason to return from Yon Rha. She needed to have Aang waiting for her. If she didn’t have a reason to stay, then she wouldn’t have a reason to go.

To have a reason to sleep, a person has to have a reason to wake up.

Katara: “Aang. He just took his glider and disappeared. He has this ridiculous notion that he has to save the world alone; that it's all his responsibility.”

Hakoda: “Maybe that's his way of being brave.”

(Bato: “For Katara, the Mark of the Brave. Your courage inspires us.”)

Katara: “It's not brave! It's selfish and stupid! We could be helping him! And I know the world needs him, but doesn't he know how much we need him, too? How can he just leave us behind?!”

(It was, in fact, not easy for Aang to ‘do nothing’)

Katara: “I understand why you left. I really do, and I know that you had to go, so why do I still feel this way? I'm so sad and angry...and hurt.”

Hakoda: “I love you more than anything. You and your brother are my entire world. I thought about you every day when I was gone, and every night when I went to sleep, I would lie awake missing you so much it would ache.”

(AND YUE IS ONE OF THE ONES TO SAVE AANG IN THE OCEAN FOR A REASON)

Thinking and missing: a matter of mind (who) and heart (want). 

Iroh: “Who are you? And what do you want?”

Sokka: “We need to go back. I wanna see Dad, but helping Aang is where we're needed the most.”

Mai: “I love Zuko more than I fear you.”

BUT YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THE MOON FOR A HOT SECOND???

I’LL TELL YOU ABOUT THE MOON

I’LL TELL YOU ABOUT 2 MOONS

OH

OH REALLY???

OH REALLY, ZUKO

A FEW HOURS YOU SAY?

THEN TELL ME, ZUKO

WHY IS THE SUN GOING UP

WHEN IT IS THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT A FEW HOURS LATER

AND KATARA IS SLEEPING SO YOU CAN’T TELL ME IT’S BECAUSE YOU RISE WITH THE SUN OTHERWISE SHE’D BE WIDE AWAKE DURING THE FULL MOON THAT SHE USES TO BLOODBEND NOT EVEN TWO MINUTES LATER

THIS, MY FRIENDS, IS A HARVEST MOON

WHICH IS THE LAST FULL MOON OF THE SUMMER 

(and looks off color when it rises/falls because of the angle of the rise/fall in the atmosphere...it’s normal once overhead)

AND SYMOLIZES HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF

“We’re going to find the MAN who took my mother from me.”

“That’s him. That’s the MONSTER.”

8 spokes on the wheel

Katara was 8 when Kya was killed

8 steps to enlightenment (the “Eightfold Path”)

8 phases of the moon

8 faces of Koh

“One of your previous incarnations tried to slay me! Be it 8 or 9 hundred years ago” (but time is an illusion, so hundreds mean nothing)

THE OTHER TWO MOONS THAT ARE CONSUMING MY EVERY WAKING MOMENT???:

1.) The WOLF MOON--the first full moon of the new year (a love between the wolf and the moon in the harshest winters...connection is kindof obvious lmao)

2.) THE THUNDER MOON

The Thunder Moon is the full moon of July. It is also known as the Buck Moon--for when young buck regrow their antlers.

Yue: “My hair turned white.”

Zuko: *cuts and re-grows his hair*

Aang: “I have hair?”

The Thunder Moon--the full moon of July--is also the beginning of a certain Buddhist holiday.

DHARMA DAY

WHICH CELEBRATES THE BEGINING OF BUDDHISM AND THE FIRST OF THE 8 STEPS (the first spoke of the Dharma Wheel) TOWARDS ENLIGHTENMENT

AVATAR IS ALL ABOUT CYCLES

THE SOUTHERN RAIDERS IS ALL ABOUT BREAKING THEM

I haven’t even touched Jung, Koh, Hinduism, and Buddhism yet

or the fact that Katara and Kya are the only characters in the entire series to wear moons on their clothing and that, together, they form an actual lunar phenomenon

or why the spirit oasis isn’t a complete circle

or the fact that this thing that Aang is told to chase is just like Whaletail Island:

or how important the Great Divide and the Solstice are

AND I’M JUST GETTING STARTED

BECAUSE EVERYTHING IN THE SOUTHERN RAIDERS--RIGHT DOWN TO THE SOUND DESIGN--IS ABSOLUTELY MONUMENTAL IN UNDERSTANDING THE SHOW, ITS MESSAGE, ENERGYBENDING, AND LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE

TLDR: Idk how the heck I’m going to arrange or articulate this analysis because it is WILD. Be warned: There is literally no exact beginning and ending to this analysis because the whole point of Yin and Yang is that is has no beginning or ending (...kindof...), so you’ll have to bear with me once I’m done editing it into something that’s somewhat coherent.

These are just SOME of the things I’ve been able to answer with my moon theory and analysis of The Southern Raiders as it currently stands:

Why “letting go” isn’t really letting go (as we understand it...see: Aang’s confrontation with Koh)

Why Lake Laogai and the Spirit World are symbolically the same thing.

Zuko’s advice to the bullfrog is actually a summary of the show, energybending, the origin of bending, and the definition of Aang’s “forgiveness” I stg

Why “Sokka’s instincts” are the reason Katara yells at Sokka

Believe it or not, every time Katara mentions her mother, it is at specific times for specific reasons.

^^^same thing for the moon, lack of moon, moon positioning, etc.

Katara’s mother’s necklace is more important than we realize.

Who the faces of Koh are and WHY they are there.

The true meaning of Jet’s sacrifice.

Why Jet’s episode about the dam explains the entirety of TSR as it pertains to Katara (all the way down to the little girl who runs to get her doll after the dam breaks)

Why Katara actually DID forgive Yon Rha, and the fact that she doesn’t even know it is proof that she did

^^^^^Aang’s definition of forgiveness is completely misunderstood by the fandom, and the way he “forgives” is sososo much deeper than “moving on”, and it is DEFINATELY by no means “doing  nothing” or “excusing” past actions.

The importance of lightning, Zuko, Aang, and Katara.

The absolutely monumental and not nearly talked about importance of Jeong-Jeong like holy crap.

How Katara and Azula are just as much of a Yin and Yang as Zuko and Aang but not in the way we think they are

Why Koh has the Blue Spirit’s face

Why Koh DOESN’T have the Painted Lady’s face.

Who Ni-Ni from Katara’s campfire story in The Puppetmaster is 

How and why Iroh was able to learn firebending from the Masters even though he didn’t have a partner. 

How/Why Azula had her breakdown and why she saw her mother in the mirror

Why “Leaves from the Vine” and “Four Seasons” are the same song, explain Azula’s downfall, and explain the Yin and Yang of TSR.

Why Katara and Sokka are so often mistaken for parental figures.

Why Aang’s flashbacks to the Air Nomads are so important in understanding TSR.

Why Toph and Suki disappear after the campfire in TSR.

How Hakoda, Gyatso, and Kya are all connected.

Why it is so dang important that Azula shows up in the beginning of TSR.

The importance of the Spirit Oasis.

Energybending, healing with waterbending, Aang’s trauma, and Zuko’s scar.

Why Zuko gives Katara the exact opposite advise in TSR that he gave her in the catacombs. 

How everything could be predicted and read by the moon.

WHY YIN AND YANG ARE THREE THINGS AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THREE THINGS.

HOW ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OF THIS TIES BACK TO THE MOON AND BUDDHIST BELIEFS--AND YEAH THE MOON AND BUDDHISM AND HINDUISM ARE MORE CONNECTED IN ATLA THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE.

AND HOW IT LEADS INTO OUR MODERN UNDERSTANDING OF THE SELF--BECAUSE JUNG TOOK GREAT INFLUENCE IN HIS DEVELOPING THEORY OF THE CONSCIOUS AND THE SUBCONSCIOUS FROM THE HINDU/BUDDHIST RELIGIONS 

^^^^AND ALSO THE THEORY OF THE SHADOW AND THE PERSONA 

The ocean is a deep, dark, unknown place with a lot of hidden monsters (like Yon Rah). Katara needed a light to find her monster, but she also needed somewhere she could breathe when she came back up for air.

If she didn’t have both Zuko and Aang, Katara would have drowned. 

I wasn’t kidding when I said this was a thesis, and what I’ve said and listed here isn’t even all that I have.

btw This all does line up on the traditional Yin Yang symbol we know and see in the show, but I don’t have enough space here for that lmao. That’ll be in the analysis

I hope you enjoyed this little taste, my friend, because I need to sit down for a hot second before my brain leaks out of my ears. Sorry for the ramble. I promise the analysis isn’t like this lol. This is just me trying to summarize as best as I can. 

***Disclaimer: My points are always subject to change since I am still researching. These are the facts as I’ve found and applied them to the evidences I’ve noted from in the show. I’m always open for friendly discussion or any directions to better sources on Buddhism/Tao/Jung!***

[reinerispretty]

beneath the moon. (sokka x f!reader) pt16

hiiiii everyone :) i am back! i’ve finished my finals for the semester and i am so so excited to continue these fics! i’ll admit i was experiencing some major burnout and just overall not having fun anymore but i think having my worst semester ever be over will help a lot hehe!!

pt1

pt15

pt17

“We’re coming back for them,” Sokka reassured her. “We just have to get Appa first, and then we’ll all escape.”

(Y/N) looked back toward the palace. It made her uneasy to leave her friends when they might need her, even if it was only for a moment. She looked at Sokka once more, taking his hand in hers and squeezing. “You guys go ahead, I’m going to find them.”

“(Y/N)!” Sokka whisper-shouted after her, but (Y/N) couldn’t just go with them and hope that her friends would be okay, or that they would know what was going on.

The Southern Water Tribe armor that (Y/N) wore on her back weighed a few pounds, slowing her down as she ran over to Aang and Appa. Sokka reached him first and (Y/N) could hear their two voices but not the words they were saying. Sokka turned to look at her, his face contorted in an expression of anger, fear, and sadness, and her stomach dropped. “What’s going on?” She asked once she finally reached them. 

Aang looked panicked. “Katara’s in trouble! We have to leave now!” 

“Okay,” (Y/N) said with a breath. As scary as the prospect of Katara being in danger was, her own emotions would have to be put aside. “We’ll say goodbye and then we’ll head out.” 

“There’s no time!” Aang insisted, and (Y/N) glared at him. Sokka had literally just reunited with his father, his hero, and the moment was being ripped from him. The least they could do was let him say goodbye. Katara was strong, she’d be alright. Or at least, that was what (Y/N) had to keep telling herself. 

“Sokka, tell your dad thank you for his hospitality,” (Y/N) said with a slight smile. “We’ll see him again soon.” Sokka ran back to his father and (Y/N) turned back to Aang. “You,” She said, jabbing her finger at him. “Need to calm down.” She grabbed his hand and lifted herself onto Appa’s back, flopping over awkwardly in the saddle from her armor. “I know you’re in love with Katara, but she’ll be okay until we can get there. She’s one of the best fighters I know.” 

Aang’s face paled. “W-what are you talking about? I’m just worried about my friend.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” (Y/N) muttered. Her eyes caught Sokka as he jogged back over to them. “I’m just worried about my friend, too.” 

Once Sokka was on Appa’s back, they flew off back toward Ba Sing Se, the afternoon sun behind them. Aang confessed that he didn’t know the details of what was happening to Katara, only that he had seen a vision of her being in trouble. “Normally I’d call you ridiculous,” Sokka said as he lay in a starfish position on the saddle. “But Avatar powers always prove me wrong so I’ll just shut up.” 

“Did you guys manage to convince the Southern Water Tribe to go to the North, at least?” Aang asked. (Y/N) shrugged. 

“I’m not sure how many of them were fully convinced.” 

“I don’t know if they’ll go now that we’re not there,” Sokka said. “(Y/N) was the only reason they were even starting to consider it.” 

“It would have been a nice accomplishment, but they don’t even teach women anything beyond healing. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to leave the city so exposed.” (Y/N) sighed. “Would have been nice though, so give Hahn another punch in the nose for challenging my claim to the throne.” 

“You’re thinking about going back to rule?” Aang asked. 

“You never told me that,” Sokka looked at her with furrowed brows.

“The war will be over at some point,” She said quietly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed movement down below. She leaned over the side of Appa’s saddle to see the earth moving in a rather unnatural way. “What is that?” She asked Aang. 

He swooped Appa down toward the movement and there, at the base of it all, was a familiar tiny girl, surfing across the rock. “Hey!” Sokka called out to Toph. “Need a ride?” Toph flailed at the sound, losing her focus and falling to the ground. Aang, Sokka, and (Y/N) winced at her fall. 

“Are you okay?” (Y/N) called out, but before she knew it Toph was barreling toward them. She had used her earthbending to launch herself in the air and the three of them all scrambled to catch her safely. Toph crash landed on (Y/N), sending her rolling onto the other side of Appa’s saddle. She sat up quickly, an angered expression on her face. 

“Don’t scare me like that!” She said into the empty air where she thought Sokka would be. 

“Sorry,” Sokka said from the opposite side of the saddle. (Y/N) coughed as she sat up, trying to gain back the air that had been knocked out of her. The armor had protected her a bit, but although Toph was small, she was as dense as the rock she bended. 

“What happened to meeting with your mom?” Aang asked, and Toph frowned. 

“It was a trap,” Toph grumbled. “Two idiots captured me. Unluckily for them, I invented metalbending.” 

Sokka laughed, but it slowly faded when he realized that no one else was joining him. “You’re not...you’re not joking?” 

“Toph!” (Y/N) exclaimed, grasping her friend by the arms. “That’s so exciting! You invented metalbending--that’s supposed to be impossible!” She engulfed Toph in a hug and squeezed tightly. 

“Get off of me!” Toph protested, squirming in (Y/N’s) arms. (Y/N) released her, but the smile on her face never faded. “But yeah,” Toph smirked. “It’s pretty cool of me. What about you, Aang? How’d it go with the guru? Did you master the Avatar State?” 

(Y/N) had meant to ask Aang about that as well, but had gotten distracted. All three of them turned to look at him, but he stared off into the distance. “Aang?” Sokka asked, and the young boy tensed, turning back to stare at his friends. 

“Yep, everything good with the guru! Avatar State, completely mastered,” He said with a slight laugh. (Y/N) and Sokka exchanged a confused look. 

They landed at their house in the city and rushed inside. They were immediately greeted by Momo, who had crawled onto Aang’s shoulders as soon as they entered. Toph flattened her feet against the floor of the house. “There’s no one else here.” 

“I knew it!” Aang exclaimed. “Katara is in trouble!” 

“Oh no,” Sokka breathed. (Y/N) opened her mouth to reassure her friends, but she closed it quickly when she realized it would be no use. She knew it in her heart that Katara was in trouble and the longer they waited the further away they were from saving her. 

“Wait! Someone’s at the door,” Toph said, and a second later a knock sounded against the thick wood. “Actually, I know who it is. It’s an old friend.” Before (Y/N) could inquire just exactly who Toph could have become friends with, she opened the door, revealing General Iroh.

Now normally, upon seeing a member of the Fire Nation, (Y/N) would whip out her water from the pack at her hip and immediately start fighting. But although it had been months since she had last seen him, she remembered his face. He was there the night Yue had died. He had fought against a member of his own nation in order to protect the Moon Spirit. He had fought alongside them against Azula just a few weeks prior, when she had been hunting their group through the Earth Kingdom countryside. It was safe to say that she was rather conflicted over her opinion of General Iroh, but she figured no one who had come to attack them would knock first. 

“I need your help,” He said, looking gravely at the four of them. At her side, Aang and Sokka took their fighting stances while Toph simply waved. (Y/N) remained rather relaxed. 

“You know him?” Aang questioned Toph. 

“Yeah! We met in the woods and I knocked him down. Then he gave me tea and some very good advice.” 

“Toph, I think the next time you meet our enemies in the woods, you should share it with us.” (Y/N) stared down at her friend, but it had no effect on her. 

“I can’t tell someone’s an enemy by their feet,” Toph scoffed. 

“May I come in?” Iroh asked, entering the home once Toph gave him permission. “Princess Azula is in Ba Sing Se.” 

“She must have Katara.” Aang’s brows furrowed in anger. (Y/N) had only met Azula a handful of times, but one time was too many with the evil Princess of the Fire Nation. 

“She has my nephew as well,” Iroh said. 

“Then we’ll work together to save Katara and Zuko,” Aang said very decidedly, resulting in Sokka blinking his eyes in confusion. 

“I’m sorry, you lost me at ‘Zuko,’” He said. Iroh placed a hand on Sokka’s shoulder. 

“I know you do not like my nephew, but I promise that there is good inside of him.” Sokka shook Iroh’s hand off of him. 

“Good inside of him isn’t enough! Come back when the good’s outside of him, too.” 

“Katara’s in trouble!” Aang said, perhaps the most serious that (Y/N) had ever seen him. “All of Ba Sing Se’s in trouble. We have to work together.” 

Sokka’s blue eyes flickered to meet (Y/N’s), the edge of his eyebrow raising as he silently asked her opinion. She spread out her hands and shrugged. “We’re supposed to help people, Sokka.” He inhaled a deep breath before nodding. 

“I brought someone along who might be able to help.” Iroh led them outside, where a Dai Li agent was tied up and gagged on their front steps. 

“Oh dear,” (Y/N) said, surprised at the sight. Iroh removed the gag from his mouth. It took very little to get him to talk. 

“Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup! They’re going to overthrow the Earth King!” 

“Where’s my sister?” Sokka demanded, gathering the Dai Li’s shirt in his fist. 

“In the crystal catacombs of Old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace!” 

Their group traveled to just outside the palace, where Toph confirmed that there was indeed an ancient city beneath the present one. They decided to split up, Aang and Iroh would rescue Zuko and Katara, while Toph, Sokka, and (Y/N) would warn the Earth King about the coup. 

The group of three ran up the stairs to the palace when they noticed General How making his way toward them. Sokka pulled both girls behind a pillar and they watched as the General was arrested by Dai Li agents. “The coup is happening right now,” Sokka whispered. “We’ve got to get to the Earth King.” 

As silently and as carefully as possible, they ran to the throne room. Earth King Kuei sat pleasantly in his seat, his beloved bear Bosco at his side. They had made it, with only a few moments to spare. 

The traditional green and gold colors of the Kyoshi Warriors flashed in front of (Y/N), landing just a few inches from Sokka’s face. “Hey there, cutie,” The warrior said, and both Sokka and (Y/N’s) faces reddened, albeit for different reasons. 

“I’m uh,” Sokka stuttered, but Toph used her earthbending to fling the girl out of the way. 

“They’re not the real Kyoshi Warriors!”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” said the familiar voice of the Fire Nation girl, Mai. She flung her daggers at (Y/N), but she waterbended a stream of water in front of her and froze it, catching the daggers within it. She melted the ice and the sharp pieces of metal clattered to the floor. 

“I don’t really have any training in throwing daggers,” (Y/N) said as she picked them up. “But back home I used to throw spears to catch dinner. It’s kind of the same, right?” She used all of her force to throw a dagger back at Mai, missing her by only a few inches. The girl quickly darted for her, so (Y/N) had to think on her feet. She encased the daggers in a water bubble, freezing it as hard as she could and pelting it at Mai. 

“This fight is over,” Azula said, drawing everyone’s attention to the center of the room, where she held a flame dagger against Kuei’s throat. (Y/N) looked to Sokka, who dropped his weapon and sank to the ground. She and Toph followed suit. Ty Lee fiercely jabbed at their backs and sides, effectively chi blocking all of them. 

Dai Li agents lifted them to their wobbly legs, taking the friends, King Kuei, and Bosco to the lower levels of the palace, where the prisons were. They were tossed unceremoniously into their cell and had the door shut behind them, allowing for only a sliver of light to enter the room. 

(Y/N) had been thrown in last, resulting in her being closest to the exit. Blinking her eyes to help them adjust to the darkness, she stared at the door, which was fashioned from thick metal to keep earthbenders in. “Toph,” (Y/N) called out. It would take a bit for them to regain their ability to use their limbs and bend, but there was still hope. Toph grunted in response, her face smushes against the floor of the cell. “The door is metal.” 

Toph grinned into the darkness. 

Once each member of their party had gained their mobility, they made sure the outside of the cell was completely free of Dai Lee agents before making their escape. The door loudly crunched beneath Toph’s hands and clattered even more loudly as she tossed it into the hallway. “I hope no one heard that,” King Kuei said. 

“Let’s go,” Sokka ordered, and the four of them plus Bosco ran back up to the surface. Night had fallen while they had been imprisoned, allowing them to sneak around the palace grounds with little difficulty. 

“We have to find Katara and Aang,” (Y/N) whispered, stopping in her tracks just before they were about to pass through the gates. 

“We’re coming back for them,” Sokka reassured her. “We just have to get Appa first, and then we’ll all escape.” 

(Y/N) looked back toward the palace. It made her uneasy to leave her friends when they might need her, even if it was only for a moment. She looked at Sokka once more, taking his hand in hers and squeezing. “You guys go ahead, I’m going to find them.” 

“(Y/N)!” Sokka whisper-shouted after her, but (Y/N) couldn’t just go with them and hope that her friends would be okay, or that they would know what was going on. She first went to the spot where Iroh and Aang had disappeared into the ground. The hole they had created to travel to the catacombs had been covered up by Toph, so as to not draw unwanted attention to them. When (Y/N) didn’t see Aang or Katara there, she made quick laps around the palace, evading the sight of the Dai Lee. 

Oddly enough, sneaking around the palace felt comforting to her. It reminded her of being back home and sneaking past her own guards, so that she could practice her waterbending through the night. Yue would be waiting up when she returned, a disappointed yet humored look on her face. 

(Y/N) was nearly finished with her second lap around the palace when she spotted them. Encased in a beam of moonlight, Katara had Aang’s arm strung around her shoulders as she attempted to carry him to safety. (Y/N) ran forward, quietly calling out Katara’s name. The girl turned around, her eyes welling with tears. (Y/N) noticed immediately how limp Aang was in her arms. The edges of his clothes were singed and at the very base of his back was a raw and angry burn mark. 

(Y/N’s) ears were ringing as she stared at Aang. This couldn’t be happening. There was no way that she could be losing yet another person she loved too soon. But here Aang was, his head slumped forward and all of his weight leaning into Katara’s body. She couldn’t see his body rising or falling with his breaths. Tears fell against her cheeks one by one, the shock settling in her bones.

Numbly, (Y/N) took Aang’s other arm and slung it around her own shoulder. She led Katara to the spot where she had left Sokka, and he, Toph, Kuei, and Bosco were all waiting atop Appa’s back. Sokka hopped down to help them. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” He said quietly, looking from Katara to (Y/N). It only took a few more seconds for his own realization to set in. “Let’s get him on Appa.”

They lifted him onto the air bison and took off, fleeing Ba Sing Se. Katara pulled out the small vial of water from the Spirit World Oasis. Master Pakku had given it to her before they left the North Pole. Carefully, she moved Aang onto his side and applied the water to his back. It glowed bright blue, as it water usually did when it was used for healing, but then the color suddenly faded. From all of her years of healing training, (Y/N) knew that could only mean one thing. A sob collected in her throat and her eyes welled with tears once more, her fingers curling tightly into the fabric of her clothes. 

Then, as Katara held onto Aang, his tattoos began glowing the same bright blue as the Spirity World Water. He groaned lowly, just barely enough for anyone to hear, but all of his friends were listening so intently. His eyes opened just enough to look up at Katara. He gave her a small smile before slipping back into unconsciousness, his chest rising and falling with breath. (Y/N) let out a deep sigh of relief, wiping the tears from her face. 

Toph remained toward the back of Appa with Katara and Aang, while (Y/N), Sokka, and King Kuei devised a plan about where they should head next. It was mostly just Sokka and (Y/N) coming up with a plan while King Kuei listened intently. “We should head back to Chameleon Bay,” Sokka said. “My dad might still be there.” 

“And if he isn’t, we have a good enough view from Appa to see them if they’re anywhere else.” 

They flew back to where they had been just a few hours prior and luckily, the men of the Southern Water Tribe remained where they had left them. Hakoda walked out to greet them, his face becoming grave once he saw the condition Aang was in. 

“Katara,” He opened his arms to hug his daughter, but she ignored him, instead giving orders to the Water Tribe men about where exactly to place Aang and what she would need. Awkwardly, Hakoda turned to (Y/N) and Sokka. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon after you left.” 

“Ba Sing Se has been taken by the Fire Nation,” Sokka said, very seriously for a boy of fifteen. 

“Princess Azula has the Dai Li under her control,” (Y/N) said. “If we don’t act carefully, the rest of the Earth Kingdom might fall.” 

“Sounds like we need a plan,” Hakoda said. He smiled down at his send. “Care to lead a war meeting?” Sokka met his father’s smile with one of his own. He nodded eagerly. “Meet me in my tent in a few minutes. I’m going to get some tents set up for you and your friends.” 

(Y/N) grinned at Sokka, hitting his arm playfully with his fist. “Look at you! Soon you’ll be Commander Sokka or something like that.” He turned to look at her. 

“What you did back in Ba Sing Se was risky, (Y/N). You could’ve been hurt.” (Y/N) scrunched her nose. 

“I said you’ll be Commander Sokka soon, not right now.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I couldn’t leave them behind. It might not have been the move you would’ve done--” 

“You’re right, I wouldn’t have. You can’t jeopardize your own life to try to save people.” 

“If I hadn’t tried, there might not have been any lives to save!” (Y/N) snapped. “Katara was weak and Aang...Aang was dead, Sokka. I don’t care what you say. I know I did the right thing.”

Sokka opened his mouth to fire back, but stopped himself. He inhaled a deep breath. “You’re right. But you have to be more careful. Don’t think I didn’t notice your empty water pack.” For good measure, he squeezed the pack at her hip and nothing came out. She had used it all when fighting Mai. (Y/N) hadn’t even noticed that she was out of water. 

“Sorry,” (Y/N) muttered, avoiding his gaze. She felt like she was in trouble. Sokka took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. 

“Come lead the meeting with me?” He was smiling down at her and (Y/N) rolled her eyes, her own smile appearing on her lips. Sometimes, being with Sokka felt so natural that it was so easy to get back to normal. 

They remained with the men of the Southern Water Tribe. King Kuei would show off Bosco to anyone who would listen and eventually, the two set off to see the world. When Katara wasn’t healing Aang, she slept on a cot at his side, to make sure that he wouldn’t need anything throughout the night. She had all of her meals delivered to the tent. The only time anyone could talk to her was if they entered with her express permission. 

Sokka and (Y/N) spent the majority of their time together. They attended war meeting after war meeting. They took their meals together so they could continue their discussions of how to best attack the Fire Nation during the eclipse. Some nights, they would fall asleep among their work. 

Toph spent the majority of the time bouncing between Sokka, (Y/N), and Katara, or resting against Appa’s comfy fur. Toph was perhaps the only person who was getting an actual break from anything, but during the nights where (Y/N) and Sokka would present their plans to the rest of the tribe, she would be listening intently to uncover anything that needed to be adjusted. 

After about a week of remaining in the same spot, the tribe loaded onto their ships to find a new area to camp. Only a few days after they had set sail, they encountered a Fire Naiton ship. Part of Sokka and (Y/N’s) plan was that Aang could not be discovered, so they all attacked with full force and commandeered the ship. The men changed into Fire Nation uniforms while Toph, Katara, and (Y/N) used cloaks to cover the clothes that would be a dead giveaway. Having a Fire Nation ship under their control allowed them to pass through the seas without any fear of danger. 

Perhaps the nicest thing about staying on the Fire Nation ship was that (Y/N) had her own room and a nice bed to sleep in. It had been ages since she had slept on anything other than a mat on the floor, so as soon as she claimed the room for her own she slept for hours, only being woken to a heavy banging at her door. 

Sleepily, she stood, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she opened the door. Sokka was in front of her, a plate of food in his hand. “I thought you had died,” He said, pushing past her to enter her room. “You slept for thirteen hours!” 

“‘S that a lot?” (Y/N) asked through a yawn. Her brain was taking longer to wake up than her body. “I don’t think it’s enough.” 

“I brought you dinner. I tried to wake you up for it but you wouldn’t answer. You scared me,” Sokka grumbled. (Y/N) couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s so funny?” 

“You’re so dramatic. I was just sleeping.” She took the plate from Sokka’s hands and began picking at the food. “Thank you, I appreciate you.” She sat on the edge of her bed and Sokka joined her. 

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” He said, and she yawned. 

“If anyone tries talking to you after you’ve woken up, you’re such a monster, but you want to have full on conversations with me four minutes after I’ve woken up.” 

“It’s been more like three minutes, I think,” And they both smiled. “Do you remember when you said you were going back to the Northern Water Tribe after the war?” 

“I don’t think that’s what I said, but I’ve thought about it.” She rubbed her eye once more. “People are trying to challenge my throne, so I’d like to put a stop to that.” 

“So you want to rule the Northern Tribe? I thought you hated it there.” 

“I do,” (Y/N) said immediately. “Or, I did. But I don’t know what I’m going to want in the future and we definitely don’t know what’s going to happen once Aang defeats the Fire Lord.” She shrugged. “It’s not like I’m going to become the chief of my tribe tomorrow.” 

Sokka nodded, rubbing the palms of his hands against his pants. “Okay, cool. You had me worried for a second.” 

“Worried about what?” 

“You leaving.” (Y/N) smiled, offering him a grape, and he popped it into his mouth. 

“I’m not leaving anytime soon. Someone has to shut down your ideas about convincing animals to fight against the Fire Nation.” 

“Appa and Momo do it, I can’t see why other animals won’t!” (Y/N) giggled. 

“As much as I’d love to see a platybus bear absolutely wreck Prince Zuko, I don’t think it’s going to happen.” Sokka threw his head back at the mental imagery, his laugh sounding throughout the room. (Y/N) smiled at him as he laughed and realized just how unlucky she was. (Y/N), last remaining princess of the Northern Water Tribe was head-over-heels, wholeheartedly in love with Sokka. 

---

PERM TAGLIST:

@beifongsss , @aroyaldarknessblr , @musicalkeys , @thefandomimagines , @blondie0458 , @kairiririri , @awesomelupe , @zukosvice , @tomshollandz , @lavendercrystals , @astralsaf , @realimbo , @mycollectionofnuts , @wingeddemonclub , @gingersnap126126 , @aangsupremacy , @marvel-ing-at-it-all , @davnwillcome , @someoneovertherainboww , @bigbuckyenergy , @breadqueen95 , @buttholland , @noodlesfluffy , @busyforkuvira , @error-loading-sorry , @bombardia , @la3divine , @just-a-teal-android , @theeavtrkyoshi , @brokennerdalert , @sukifans

FIC TAGLIST:

@aangsupremacy , @treestarrrrrrrr , @beifongsss , @mdgrdians , @aroyaldarknessblr , @musicalkeys , @aimee1602 , @plxstic-rose , @davnwillcome @squeamishdionysus , @clowninfortodoroki @thia-aep , @jinxed-tea @sara5208 @valiantprincessthea @alrightazula , @awesomelupe , @itsivyberry , @thebluelcdy , @samsmultifandomblogs , @loganrwebb , @minifruity , @cuddlykoala101 , @dionnaea , @alive-ahahah-fuck , @pipsqeak1326 , @krxliesdexd , @wastelandbbyg , @milk-n-cheese , @the-firebender-girl , @zukosvice , @justab-eautifulmess , @awkwardnesshabitat , @tomshollandz , @mmmidek-blog , @lavendercrystals , @dailytrashypanda , @bigbuckyenergy , @honey-ruel , @jackbamexpress , @astralsaf , @thebluelcdy , @solarsuki , @sometimeseverythingsucks , @nataliahaslosthershit , @teenbiology , @eridanuswave , @izzieserra , @astroninaaa , @jaylarkson , @realimbo , @chilifrylizard2 , @barnesdameron , @spacelesbianfanclub , @loser-keiji , @atlafanforlife , @mycollectionofnuts , @sokka-simp-420 , @thefandomimagines , @11mb0 , @wingeddemondclub , @waves-and-sunflowers , @none-of-ur-frackin-business , @alive-ahah-fuk , @hola-ninos , @maruchan77 , @killjoyybsinner , @jasminecalia , @moon-spirit-yue , @buttholland , @idk123906 , @missmorosis , @hola-ninos , @eruption951 , 

[masterghandalf]

MG Reads Embers: Chapter Ten

Note: This is a continuation of my reread and commentary of Embers by Vathara, originally posted last fall and winter on my Dreamwidth account.

Chapter Ten We open with an author note. A/N: To anyone who thinks Zuko's met too many nice people lately... remember first, they don't know who he is. Second, some of these people may be Iroh's White Lotus contacts. Third, people in Ba Sing Se go to great lengths to avoid trouble. (Dai Li for troublemakers, anyone?) And finally, remember Zuko's usual luck. When things do go wrong, they're going to go wrong catastrophically. The chapter opens with Zuko and Iroh in their new apartment, as Iroh pours tea and asks if he can show him more of what he did during the fight with Jet. Zuko hesitates, and Iroh knows that because of what Ozai and Azula put him through, he deeply fears failure. And yet, Zuko manages to carefully bend a slim strand of water out of the teapot. He thinks it’s only a little water, but Iroh reminds him that a great tree can grow from only a small nut – he’s done well. Zuko thinks it makes him look like a waterbender, and Iroh tells him he probably doesn’t want to do that in front of the Fire Sages – it wouldn’t be seemly for the Fire Lord’s heir to bend something other than fire, after all – but so long as they’re in Ba Sing Se, Zuko can carry a waterskin, bend anywhere, and blend in. Iroh is also pleased with how Zuko handled things during the fight earlier, knowing he has no particular talent for deception, but he did well.

Iroh sweeps Zuko into a hug, telling him not to scare him like he has again; Zuko is awkward and hurting, but accepts it. Zuko says he’s not going to give up, though, and Iroh understands what he means. Still, he thinks that all he has to do is delay the pursuit until summer, and Aang isn’t likely to come to Ba Sing Se – but then again, Iroh realizes, that might mean he actually will. Later that evening, Zuko is unable to sleep and throws on a robe and goes outside. He thinks to himself that the city is so peaceful, you’d never know there was a war going on outside its walls – and then something soft brushes against his hands, and he recognizes it as bison fur. For a moment, Zuko panics, thinking that Azula succeeded in killing Aang, but then he realizes that Ozai would have announced his triumph to the world if she’d done that – and besides, Zuko has to believe Aang is still alive. Shocked to realize that he thought of the Avatar by name, he waves his hands – and water responds. Zuko realizes that he can sense it; not like fire, but he can sense it, nonetheless. He takes a moment to check that his firebending still works, confirms to himself that he’s definitely bending the water itself without using heat, and realizes that he’s somehow acquired the ability to bend both elements. And that means he’ll never be allowed to return home. Staring up at the moon, he accuses Yue of trying to destroy the Fire Nation, just as the Fire Nation destroyed the Air Nomads – by giving him water, she disqualified him as an heir, which means Azula will inherit, and she’ll destroy the Fire Nation if she rules it. And if Azula doesn’t inherit, there won’t be anyone for all firebenders to be loyal to, and they’ll tear each other apart in internecine war. And once they’re at their weakest, the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom will invade and finish the job.

But, Zuko tells Yue, the Fire Nation aren’t the Air Nomads, and they’ll fight – and he’ll save as many as he can. He’ll learn healing from Amaya, and after that… he’ll think of something. We then cut to Amaya herself as she comments that “Lee” is unusually awake for this early in the morning, and privately thinks to himself about things Huojin has told her and how he’s like a chieftain’s son pretending to be a commoner. Zuko says that firebenders rise with the sun and comments about how awful it is for them at the poles, something Amaya carefully files away. Amaya herself prefers a more irregular schedule, though she comments to Zuko that his uncle speaks well of him. Apparently, Amaya herself is only up this early because she has to make a house call, and Zuko figures out that she’s expecting trouble. Amaya thinks to herself that he reminds her of what Chief Arnook was like, when she knew him as a young man – someone raised to power and command. Amaya isn’t sure what the situation is, and she doesn’t want to tell Zuko, since she wants his unfiltered judgment. They’re visiting Huojin’s friend, Meixiang, who is Fire Nation, but married to an Earth Kingdom man – a professor at Ba Sing Se University, Tingzhe Wen. Tingzhe is a historian, and apparently when one of his children was born, he had to be pulled out of the library, he was so busy researching Fire Nation correspondence about the Avatar – and Amaya notes that Zuko is very careful not to react to that. The couple has four children, who don’t know their mother’s family history. Changing the subject, Amaya asks how Zuko is doing, and though he says he’s fine, he’s still shaken by his realization the night before. Though at least he can feel sure that Iroh, alone of his family, won’t turn him away.

Finally, the two of them reach their destination and are greeted by a well-dressed middle-aged woman. Amaya greets her as Meixiang and introduces Zuko as her apprentice Lee; Meixiang explains that her daughter Suyin is injured. Zuko recalls what Amaya told him about the siblings – Suyin is thirteen, and a nonbender; Jia is a good bender, but likes to hide it because it’s not considered ladylike, and is a student at the university as is their brother, Min, who is being eyed for training as an official. Jinhai, six, is the youngest. Looking around the house, Zuko notices sparks and burn marks, and thinks it’s a bit far from the kitchen. Examining the patterns, and remembering his own childhood, Zuko comes to the conclusion that one of the children might be a firebender and notices Suyin, who is being tended by Amaya, eyeing him oddly. Zuko asks where Jinhai is and confirms that he was there when Suyin was burned. He says he can help, but doesn’t specify what with, and then another voice asks where “he” is. This is Min, the elder brother, his university uniform half on and brandishing a sheet of notes someone has clearly ruined. Recognizing that Min is an earthbender, Zuko realizes he really doesn’t want to be dealing with this right now; he says he’s here with Amaya, and he’s going to get the “accidents” to stop. Min storms down into the cellars and pulls out a small boy who is clearly distraught. He yells at him, obviously about to punish him, but Zuko intervenes. Jinhai, panicking, causes sparks to appear – Zuko extinguishes them, shoves Min away, and turns to the boy. He says that everything is going to be all right, but Min is shocked that his little brother is a firebender. Suyin, though, apparently realized a while ago. Zuko brings Jinhai upstairs to his mother, and tells her that Jinhai isn’t hurt, but he does need to learn self-control before people start asking questions.

Meixiang is surprised that Jinhai is showing signs of being a bender only now, at six; Zuko thinks to himself that he was eight before he did but doesn’t say anything. Min wants to know how this could happen, when their father’s an earthbender, but Suyin tells him that their mom was a war refugee and prods him to put two and two together. Amaya asks Zuko if he can teach Jinhai, and he says he can. Min wants to know what a waterbender can teach a firebender, and Zuko dodges the question, just saying that firebending is good for lots of things other than fighting, while thinking to himself that it’s wrong, and largely his father’s fault, that the world only knows firebending as a tool for killing. Min thinks that all of this is crazy, but Zuko thinks it’s just his life. We then cut to the clinic later, as Amaya watches her apprentice and wonders about the military discipline he seems to have. Except, unlike ordinary soldiers, he’s clearly not expecting to ever have anyone to watch his back. She remembers how he tried to attack her, but after seeing him with Jinhai, she can’t hold it against him anymore. She asks to examine his scar, which he tells her is old and can’t be healed, but Amaya is willing to see what she can do. She examines the scar carefully, working on it with water, and finally says she’s done all she can tonight, but wants to try again for at least a week, and she might be able to help some. She wonders at the technique he used to shove Min away – and the damage it apparently did to Meixiang’s cellar door – and Zuko admits it’s not that complicated, but Iroh is better at it than he is. But he doesn’t like to rely on it, since it’s tied to bending and that can be taken away. Amaya is shocked, and Zuko explains a bit about chi blockers and asks if there’s anyone in the city who can do that. But if there are, she hasn’t heard of them, and she thinks she would have – still, she’d like to know the symptoms, just in case.

We then cut to Amaya and Iroh, and Amaya explains to him that she’s examined Zuko’s chi, and thinks it’s been sabotaged – he told her about Ty Lee, and she thinks that she might have been pressured into doing “training” with Zuko that permanently damaged his bending. Iroh thinks that Azula would have been fully capable of killing Ty Lee’s sisters if she didn’t do what she wanted and imagines how such a thing could be done; Amaya is mostly shocked that Zuko’s own sister could torture him like that. Iroh recalls returning from the war to find Zuko traumatized and his skill stunted and knowing that Ozai and Azula were somehow to blame. Though in this case, he expects Azula planned it, and Ozai just turned a blind eye. Amaya is even more shocked to hear this, but Iroh tells her Azula would be fully capable of it. Amaya wonders why he didn’t just grab Zuko and run, and Iroh admits he didn’t think Zuko would survive breaking loyalty so suddenly. And besides, Ozai would have hunted them to the end of the earth. Iroh himself only barely survived when his loyalty broke at the Siege of Ba Sing Se, and only because he had loyal subordinates who covered for his illness. Zuko still doesn’t know the details. Soon after, Zuko himself arrives home, and Amaya tells him to have a talk with Iroh about Jinhai before leaving. Zuko gives a brief rundown of the situation, and Iroh is intrigued – and impressed by Zuko’s since of duty to his people. After dinner, they discuss things a bit more – apparently, it’s very rare for a firebender to be born somewhere that fire doesn’t rule, and since Ba Sing Se is the Earth Kingdom capital, it is very heavily inclined towards earth. Zuko’s skeptical – after all, the Avatar is every kind of bender, and has to be born to a particular nation each time. Iroh admits it’s true, though he’s never heard of a family containing benders of more than one element. Though he does briefly think of Kyoshi Island, where the people are Earth Kingdom, but with Water Tribe blood too. Zuko thinks that Ba Sing Se isn’t what Iroh has told him earth is usually like, and Iroh reminds him that earth is diverse. Amaya, meanwhile, is adaptable, like water. So if any element can potentially be born here – Jinhai won’t be the last. Well, maybe not any element – there’s no freedom in Ba Sing Se, and air is the element of freedom. Zuko wonders if there’s a place where everyone could be free, and Iroh tells him such a place doesn’t exist. Yet. But Zuko is trained in all the things needed to found a new colony – and the last time he fought Azula, he didn’t win outright, but his plan worked enough that both he and Aang survived and escaped. Zuko realizes that he needs a location, and a plan, and Iroh admits he may have both.

We cut to Zuko practicing with water, thinking about how it’s different from fire, and how it’s like learning to write left-handed. Still, he starts to feel the flow and thinks he can make things work, and at last goes to bed, intending to make plans with Iroh tomorrow as the chapter ends.

We then have a long Author Note: A/N: Some of you have asked about Sozin's style of firebending, and why Zuko has such a problem with it. Here's a few plotholes for your enjoyment. Warning, some of these are spoilers... At one point in the Avatar canon, we see an unnamed Fire Nation Avatar, in the past, summoning volcanoes to erupt. Which implies he could stop them, one hopes. We also see Kyoshi work with lava when she splits Kyoshi Island off from the mainland. And yet Roku not only doesn't know his island is going to erupt, he gets killed by it. Sometime between Kyoshi and Roku, a critical part of firebending must have been lost. Combine that with the creators' statement that "Fire Lord" used to mean just the head Fire Sage. But by Sozin's time it obviously doesn't; he's the crown prince, and it's hereditary. And, when he's helping Roku with the volcano, he does not bend the lava - he bends the heat out of it to cool it. Add to that the fact that Kyoshi created the Dai Li. And that she was Avatar for over two centuries. What else did she do? Some answers will turn up in later chapters. To put it shortly - in this AU, the "darkest day in Fire Nation history" was during an eclipse. But the eclipse itself was the least of their problems. As for why Zuko has problems? Remember what Iroh said a few chapters back. Zuko handles energy in a way most firebenders just don't. Not for a very long time. MG’s Thoughts I’m of two minds about this chapter. On the one hand, I actually like a lot of the a-plot. Zuko learning to be a healer and having to help a firebender kid who’s born to an Earth Kingdom family is a totally different situation from anything in canon, and it’s good stuff, helping to explore the duality of Zuko the prince and Lee the healer, and introducing Meixiang and her family, who will be more of our important OCs down the line. Amaya and Iroh talking about Zuko’s childhood and history, and just how messed up he is from Ozai and Azula’s abuse and how to help him, also mostly works, with the exception of a particular reveal I take issue with.

On the other hand, I do have a few issues. To start off with, the revelation that Zuko is a less powerful firebender than Azula because Ty Lee was chi-blocking him his entire childhood bugs me. IMO, a large part of what makes Zuko compelling is that he’s not a naturally gifted bender on the level of Azula (or Aang, or Katara, or Toph) but he makes up for it with sheer, bloody-minded determination that eventually gets him to a level of skill where he can compete with people like that evenly. And, in my admittedly limited experience, I don’t think that’s a terribly uncommon archetype in martial arts fiction in general. The reveal that Zuko apparently should be that naturally gifted and Azula was undermining it – I don’t know, I think it cheapens things a lot. Really, it’s only a small part of how I think Vathara’s seeming determination to make her favorite character an absolutely awesome badass ends up making him so *special* that it dilutes a lot of the underdog nature that makes canon Zuko such a popular character to begin with (of course, Zuko’s explicit elevation to being a two-element bender this chapter is part of that as well, but I’m still saving my commentary on that until we get a better idea of what’s really going on). Iroh and Zuko’s discussion at the end also plays into some of the, I guess I’d call it “element determinism” that pervades a lot of the later parts of the fic, where the elements are shown to influence people a lot more than they do in canon, though it’s not really too bad yet at this point.

Bigger issues are in the last AN, which hints at some of the more… interesting directions that the fic is going to be going in later. First off, I really don’t follow Vathara’s chain of logic here. For one, I’d imagine that controlling a volcanic eruption you, personally started is probably a lot easier than stopping a volcano erupting out of your control. For another, Roku is the absolute last person who’d be affected by a firebending technique being lost, because he’s the Avatar. He can summon any of his past lives for advice and training, or channel them directly through the Avatar state. Even if the whole rest of the Fire Nation forgot a technique, the Avatar would still have it, buried somewhere in their collective memory (and Roku was using the Avatar state at various points during that scene). But this plays very hard into Vathata’s ideas of Fire Nation victimhood (we also saw some hints of that in the chapter proper) that the fic is going to make a big deal about later. Let’s just say, it was Kyoshi’s fault. On note that may be more nitpicky, in canon it was explicitly stated that something other than the eclipse happened on the Darkest Day, the eclipse just made whatever it was possible, so that’s not new. I, at least, was always under the impression that Sozin’s technique for bending heat was similar to Iroh’s lightning redirection, based on the effects and hand movements. And as for the title “Fire Lord” – well, to use some real-life examples, a Senate was originally a council of elders that advised the king, and an Imperator was a general. I don’t think there’s any reason to assume the shift was a particular recent one – and indeed, the Kyoshi novels would eventually prove the monarchy was well-established centuries before Sozin (more on why this is relevant later, but… let’s just say the Kyoshi novels make parts of Embers look… interesting in hindsight). And, I have to wonder what Vathara thought when it turned out that lavabending is an advanced earthbending technique, and isn’t actually firebending at all?

[pink-bird-30]

Zutara Week 2021: Day 6 Spirit

Lets get to it! Day 6 of Zutara week: Spirit!

As always, you can read my completed works from this week here at FF.Net

Happy reading!!

----

“The Blue Spirit? Who the hell is that?” Sokka says as they pass the 10th wanted sign with a painted photo of an angry looking mask.

Katara stops to look at the photo, reading the description in detail. “’Wanted for crimes against the Fire Nation, theft, and arson’.”

“Sounds like our kinda guy, what does he look like?” Toph asks. They were heading back to the upper ring of Ba Sing Se after searching all day for Appa.

“It’s just a blue spirit mask.” Aang explains.

“Oh blue, my favorite color!” Toph sarcastically replies.

Katara rolls her eyes, “Haha, very funny, Toph.”

“Thank you, I’m here all week!”

A few hours later as Katara is making dinner, she realizes she’s out of cabbage for her stew. If she weren’t so caught up looking for Appa, she would have remembered to buy cabbage from the cabbage guy that was robbed yesterday.

As she walks down the street she starts to get a bad feeling, like something was following her. The sun was almost completely gone from the sky and the moon was nothing more than a small sliver tonight. The usually busy streets silent as the curfew of Ba Sing Se is almost near.

Clutching her bag closer to her chest, Katara moves more quickly down the streets, hoping to make it back to the other’s before nightfall.

But that wasn’t the case.

“Hello, sweetheart. What’s the rush?” Two figures emerge from behind a building stepping into her path to the upper ring. They were both middle aged men, wearing what seemed to be rugged old clothes, warn and torn from old age. One of the men had a thick black beard and short black hair. While the other was bald and missing a few teeth.

The man with the dark bears steps towards her as she takes a step back, “Awe, we’ll be nice with you. Won’t we Toshi.”

“Yeah, real nice.” He gives her a sinister smile before diving for her. But that was their first mistake. Uncorking her waterskin, Katara forms a water whip swatting back at her two attackers, pushing them away so she could run in the direction towards her home.

She makes it about a yard away before a wall of rock breaks out in front of her, thwarting her path to freedom.

“Uh-uh.” Her attacker says. “No escaping tonight, young lady. Who knew there was a Waterbender among us.”

“I bet she’s worth a lot in the trade, boss.”

“Oh she will be.” The words sent a chill up her spine.

They want to sell me?!

“I don’t think so!” A deep voice rings out from above. A dark figure cloaked in black jumps from the roof swinging two twin Dao swords ready to fight.

Katara’s eye widen in shock.

“You’re the Blue Spirit!” The bald man yells.

His partner crouches down in a wide spread motion before a boulder rushes towards the Blue Spirit.

“No!” Katara yells, warning the Spirit of the on coming attack, but he’s much quicker than she expected. He jumps over the rock with ease and uses it to flip and land in front of the two men.

With quick precision, the Blue Spirit fights against the two Earthbenders. Keeping up with each of their attacks. Katara knows she could help, but she’s rooted to the ground watching the fight unfold before her.

It doesn’t take long for the two Earthbenders to grow tired against the quick attacks of the Blue Spirit. Eventually the Blue Spirit has them cornered and the two Earthbenders are begging for mercy. With a quick motion of his swords, the Blue Spirit pushes the men back and they find themselves running off in the opposite direction from where they once came.

“That was amazing!” Katara runs up to the Spirit, forgetting he was a wanted criminal. “How can I ever thank you?”

The Spirit turns to her, finally seeing the person he had saved.

It’s the Avatar’s Waterbender…if I follow her maybe I can-

No.

Zuko’s thoughts come to a halt. He can’t jeopardize his and Uncle Iroh’s new lives over his selfish need to restore his honor. If anything, it’d be the dishonorable thing to do.

But I could go home.

The Blue Spirit shakes his head and turns away from Katara, ready to leave her and head back to the Jasmine Dragon. But before he could run down the closest alleyway, a soft hand grasps at his arm.

“I really would like to thank you for saving me back there.” Her eyes full of gratitude. Zuko felt his heart jump into his throat. He knew the Avatar’s Waterbender was attractive, but he never had a chance to really look at her before, and under the moonlight she was absolutely glowing.

Wow.

He finds himself leaning towards her, completely forgetting he’s wearing the Blue Spirit mask. When he’s inches way, she places her hands on the mask and pulls on it slighting, freeing the bottom portion of Zuko’s face. She leans up to meet him, placing a short chaste kiss on his lips before pulling away.

She smiles to herself, a soft blush settling across her cheeks. “Thank you.”

Before Zuko could move to catch her, bring her back into his arms, she’s off running back to her friends, away from him.

He feels the urge to follow her, not to find the Avatar, but for her.

Maybe one day…

[writings-of-a-daphodil]

Best Friends

Zuko x fem!reader

Summary: You stayed with Zuko in the Fire Nation and when he gets a little jealous he realizes he likes you, his best friend.

Requested?: Yes! This was inspired by a wonderful anon's request:

Love that you are taking requests, I’m so excited! Could you possibly write a jealous Zuko of Y/N, potentially best friends to lovers kind of thing, maybe when he is fire lord? Would love to see what you would do with something like that 😁

I hope you like it!

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Requests are open!!

A/n: If y’all couldn’t tell by now, I suck at thinking up titles.

  “What are you gonna do now, Y/n?” Aang asked as you looked out over the party with the rest of the group. You were the only one who was undecided about their plans after the war, but now that you'd had some time to think, you knew.

  “I’m staying here,” you announced, smiling at Zuko. He gave a small smile back as you continued, “There isn’t anything left for me back home since somebody *cough* Zuko *cough* burned it down.”

  He frowned at you. “How many times do I have to apologize for that?”

  You considered the question. “Oh, I don’t know, forever?” You chuckled. “I don’t mind though, it led to me meeting my best friend.”

  Zuko smiled again as you gave him a quick hug. “I need a new advisor if you're up for it.”

  “Challenge accepted.”

  For a while you all talked, finally enjoying yourselves. It was really nice, but eventually you were all pulled away to go and join the party. Duty called.

   As you made your way from person to person, they each congratulated you on your appointment as Zuko’s advisor. Some were less genuine than others, obviously upset that they hadn’t gotten the position.

  All of it made you a little nervous and when you finally pulled away from a not so genuine couple, you made your way to Zuko. You wanted to dance and why do it with a stranger when you could do it with your best friend?

  You were a third of the way to Zuko when you felt a tap on your shoulder. You snapped around, months of traveling with the gaang made you expect a fight, but instead you found a man a little older than you standing there.

  “You’re Y/n, right? Zuko’s advisor?” He asked.

  You nodded, giving him your default charming smile. “I am.”

  “Nice to meet you, I’m Lee.” He bowed and you quickly mimicked him. “I’m hoping to be on the council.”

  “Oh? Where are you from?” You asked, trying to make conversation as you looked for Zuko again. He had moved in the brief time you had spoken to Lee.

  “A small village that you’ve probably never heard of near another small that you’ve probably never heard of. All of the town leaders elected me to come here.”

  You nodded, finally spotting Zuko. “Maybe I’ll put in a good word for you, but for now, it was nice meeting you.”

  “Nice meeting you too, Y/n,” he said and you let out a sigh of relief as you left. It was so stressful just to talk to people now. They always wanted something and while Lee seemed kind it was hard to be sure.

  You pushed your anxieties away though as you finally found Zuko.

  “Enjoying the party?” You asked after he’d finished talking to a couple.

  “If you can call it that.”

  “Well, let’s remedy that. Come dance, it’ll be fun.”

  Zuko nodded, offering an arm to lead you out to the dance floor.

  ~~~~

  “Iroh!” You greeted the old man with a bright smile and a hug. It had been a few months since you’d last seen him and you missed him and his cheerful energy. And not only that, having him around always made Zuko happier.

  “Y/n, it’s good to see you again. I hope you’ve been well?”

  “Of course, I love the Fire Nation, especially with what we’ve done with it. Zuko’s been great!”

  “Speaking of him, where is my nephew?”

  “I’m here, Uncle!” Zuko called, speeding down the steps and immediately hugging Iroh. “How have you been?”

  “Wonderful! The tea shop is as busy as ever.” He smiled. “How are you? I hear you’re pretty busy too.”

  “Incredibly,” you agreed with a tired smile.

  Iroh nodded understandingly. “Well, now that I’m here it’s time for some fun!”

  The three of you turned to walk back into the palace, but a servant came rushing down the steps. “Your Majesty! Lady Y/n!”

  “Yes?” Zuko asked after they had bowed.

  “There’s a problem, an emergency meeting had to be scheduled.”

  You sighed, but Iroh just chuckled. “Work never really takes a break.”

  “Would you like to join us?” You asked.

  “Will there be tea?” Iroh asked, earning a laugh from you.

  “Whatever you’d like,” Zuko confirmed as you made your way to the meeting room.

You walked inside and took your seat next to Zuko, waving at those who had already arrived. Lee, who had been appointed to the council, waved back and moved to take a seat next to you as Iroh took the seat across from you.

You leaned over to Zuko. “Do you have any clue what this is about?”

“No,” he whispered back.

You sighed. “It’s probably something bad.”

Zuko was cut off from answering as a younger general, Xu, stood to address the room. He began to speak and you listened intently as he discussed a problem with the colonies: some people didn’t want to acknowledge that Zuko was the Firelord, instead they were choosing to follow ‘Firelord Azula’.

It was a problem you’d heard of before and you wondered why Xu was bringing it up now, in an emergency meeting, on your day off.

Just as you were about to voice your question Xu answered it. “Some of the leaders of the colonies have come here and we are worried that they might try something...drastic,” Xu stated.

Zuko nodded thoughtfully and you spoke up. “What do you think about giving them a tour of all the good things that Firelord Zuko has done? Maybe then they will see that he isn’t all bad?”

“Sounds like a great idea!” Lee exclaimed from your right and Zuko nodded in agreement, though there was a frown on his face. You gave him a reassuring smile and he gave a small one back.

“And you should add some more guards to Azula’s cell,” Iroh added. “But don’t let her know about this. I know that my niece is crafty, if she has hope she will act on it.”

With those decisions made, the meeting went on smoothly and you were able to get out of it relatively fast.

As people filed out of the room you turned to Zuko and Iroh. “I’m going to run up to my office real quick. I want to send a hawk to everyone about this.”

Zuko nodded. “Meet us by the turtle duck pond?”

“Yep,” you moved to leave the room, but Lee grabbed your attention.

“You know you have such amazing ideas, why do you always look to Zuko to make sure he approves?” He asked, putting his hands on your shoulders.  

You gave him an incredulous look as you gently moved away. “He’s the Firelord, he has the final say on bigger matters and I’d prefer us to be on the same page.”

“His uncle didn’t ask for approval to move guards to Azula’s cell.”

“We would have moved guards to Azula’s cell no matter what, Iroh just so happened to be the one to say it.” Lee opened his mouth to argue more, but you continued, “Maybe we can talk about this another time,” you suggested, backing away. Though, by ‘another time’ you meant never.

Lee nodded. “How about at dinner tonight?”

You shook your head and gave him a fake smile. “I have plans.” With that final statement you turned around and quickly left the room. While Lee typically made you feel more comfortable in meetings, this time he was doing anything but.

You were halfway down the long hallway when you realized that you had forgotten your notes. You sighed turning around, you’d need them to write a letter to your friends. You wanted to give them as many facts as possible so they could decide what to do.

Your footsteps echoed ominously in the hall and you realized how uninviting and creepy they seemed. It was another thing you’d have to talk to Zuko about.

  You pushed aside your thoughts and slowed down as you heard slightly raised voices in the meeting room. Two you immediately recognized as Zuko’s and Iroh’s, but third, Lee’s, took you a little longer.

  “You were clearly making her uncomfortable,” Zuko stated and you could tell that he was irritated.

  “Maybe you were just uncomfortable thinking about Y/n and I dating?” Lee asked.

  “You don’t care about her, you just want power,” Zuko argued.

  You heard Lee scoff. “Maybe I do. I would be a better Firelord than you. I’m beginning to think it’s your family that’s the problem, you’ll just lead this country to ruin.”

  You let out a quiet huff of annoyance. The result of many late night chats with Zuko had led you to know one of his greatest fears: failing. You scowled though no one could see you. How dare Lee say that? You had half a mind to challenge him to an Agni Kai right here and now.

A few calming breaths later led you to remember that you weren’t a fire bender and neither was Lee. However, you still weren’t above fighting him after what he had just said to your best friend. You did not appreciate Lee speaking to him like that.

  Zuko was handling it though. “Leave,” he ordered and you could hear the glare in his voice.

  “W-What?” Lee asked, all of his fight gone.

  “I said, leave. If you are going to disrespect Y/n and I then you don’t have a place in this meeting room or in this palace.”

  You didn’t hear anything else as you hid in an alcove by the door. Lee walked out of the room and you could see he was seething, you’d never seen him that angry and you were glad he couldn’t see you. You did not want to talk to him.

  You moved back to the door to head inside, but Iroh spoke, “I’ll have some guards escort him out.”

“Thank you.” Zuko’s voice moved away from the door. “Do you think I was overreacting?”

“No,” Iroh stated. “You were concerned for Y/n, I can see how much you like her.”

  “What? No!” Zuko protested. “She’s my best friend.”

  “She’s not more than a friend?” Iroh asked teasingly.

  “I-I don’t know,” Zuko admitted much to your surprise.

  You couldn’t imagine Zuko liking you, it was a miracle you were friends after the way you had met. Could you even be more than friends? If you really thought about it you weren’t opposed to the idea.

  A chair creaked. “I’ll leave you to think about it,” Iroh said.

  “I’ll meet you at the turtle duck pond,” Zuko responded, his voice distant, as the door opened.

  “Hi,” You said, slightly embarrassed that you had been found listening.

  “You should talk to him,” Iroh advised, a kind smile on his face.

  You nodded, pushing open the door. “Hey Zuko.”

  “Y/n? H-how much did you hear?”

  “All of it,” you admitted feeling your face heat up.

  “Oh, um-“

  You cut him off. “Thank you for defending me.”

  “Of course.”

  You smiled at him. “About what I heard after that...”

  “Oh, that,” He repeated, flustered.

  “Mhmm,” you proded.

  “Well, I-I guess I like you then.”

  You chuckled at how spontaneous this situation was, but quickly realized it wasn’t a good idea. You moved over and sat in the chair next to Zuko. Taking his hands you beamed at him. “I like you too...even if you burned down my village.”

  He groaned. “I’d like you a lot more if you’d stop binging that up.”

  “It’s all a part of our story, the good and the bad.”

****

Tada!!! Thank you so.much for this request and I hope it's what you wanted! I hope y'all have a fantastic and safe day/night! I wish you all the best!

P.S. I am open to requests!!!!!

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Taglist: @duh-dobrik

[azucanela]

[HOME] IS WHERE THE AVATAR IS [PT.3]

HOME MASTERLIST

SUMMARY: Iroh has been kidnapped, and by the time they get him back, they’re chasing after the Avatar before Y/N has time to unload all her problems to the old man over a nice cup of tea. Which is a shame since the list of problems is getting longer by the minute. 

WORD COUNT: 5k

WARNINGS: violence, mentions of death, threats

A/N: woo!! its 1AM lads life is good and i hope this is also good <3

Iroh was missing. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out, the old man, no matter how questionable he was at times, was punctual. Y/N had yet to see him late to anything and she sincerely doubted he was going to start now, especially since Zuko had reminded him, rather rudely, that they had to leave soon if they were to catch the Avatar. Following Zuko through the forest, Y/N quickly realized that Zuko was not a genius.

Of course, if Zuko was a genius, Y/N wouldn’t be around. Her whole purpose since she’d been in the Fire Nation was to serve as his right hand, to be the things he couldn’t. If Zuko couldn’t do something, then she would, thats why they complimented each other so well. When he’s incapable of fighting, she beats enemies with ease. Where he lacked a strategic mind, she could develop revolutionary strategies, similar to the ones Zhao had referred to during their last encounter.

The man had clearly gotten under Zuko’s skin, and it seemed something about this was still bugging Zuko. Y/N had noticed his... odd behavior. He’d seemed far more withdrawn than normal, their late night talks had been far less frequent than normal. Of course, they were also no longer in the privacy of the ship, instead camping out in war torn territory of the Earth Kingdom. This left a weird atmosphere between them, and it was mostly Zuko’s fault, though Y/N probably should’ve confronted him when she first noticed. She was beginning to miss their conversations, and the more relaxed Zuko that only she saw. Now, it seemed that each time they interacted he was becoming far more awkward than normal.

Sighing as she trailed behind him, and calmly walking throw the brush of leaves in stark opposition to Zuko’s rather aggressive walk, Y/N simply sighed. “Zuko, perhaps you would get there faster if you didn’t spend all your time fighting the trees.” She gives him a sarcastic smile, eyes narrowing at him as he turns back to look at her, as though he’d finally been reminded she was nearby.

Zuko frowns, coming to an abrupt stop, “come here.” They were nearby the ‘hot spring’ Iroh had discovered, or more accurately, made. In the event that Y/N was wrong, a ‘rare’ event in her words, Zuko needed to take precautions, he would not allow Y/N to see his Uncle like that.

“Why?” Y/N asked incredulously, moving to enter the area, but Zuko yanks her back by the wrist.

She turns to look at him, just to have her eyes covered by his hand, “just in case.” He explains, taking her hand in his free one and guiding her to the hot spring. Zuko is suddenly glad that he has a hand over her eyes, because if Y/N could see him, she definitely would’ve started teasing him by now, especially since he can feel his cheeks burning as he pulls her along.

“I think you just wanted and excuse to hold my hand.” Y/N teases, a grin spreading across her face. Zuko had always been like this, protective, even when they were children and as far as he knew, she was anything but his equal. Y/N had always found it funny, seeing as she could easily handle herself in a fight, not that this fact ever stopped him.

Though she can’t seen Zuko, Y/N has a feeling he’s blushing as he grumbles out, “shut up.” He’s pushing through the final bushes, and when he freezes Y/N knows her theory was right. Zuko’s hand releases hers and Y/N dislikes the way she feels disappointed when it does, his other hand falling from her eyes to reveal the once prosperous hot spring was now sullied by raised earth.

Iroh is missing. And Y/N can’t help but feel worried as she stares at the scene, if the apparent Earthbenders caught him by surprise it’s no wonder he didn’t escape. Iroh, no matter how docile he may act, was a force to be reckoned with. Now it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was Earthbenders, which probably explains why Zuko points it out so quickly.

Or maybe he just doesn’t need Y/N anymore. The thought brings about an odd feeling, one that Y/N can’t describe. She’d been by his side for as long as she could remember, and the thought had never crossed her mind, that one day she might not be by his side, one day he might not need her anymore. The possibility was bringing about several emotions, and now she was missing the one person she’d go to for counsel.

Counsel she definitely needed at the moment, seeing as she’d intertwined their destinies, as Zuko put it, permanently. There would be no getting rid of her. 

Her list of problems was growing by the minute, and Y/N finds herself wishing that it was her list of excuses instead, seeing as she was going to need several excuses if he found out anytime soon. Iroh was missing, taken by Earth Kingdom soldiers, likely to be executed in the very city he’d once tried to overthrow. And Y/N had yet to even get any idea of how to handle Airbending, much less tell Zuko about it. Not that she could if she wanted to, seeing as he’d been avoiding any prolonged conversations with her.

And yet Y/N find herself grabbing Zuko’s hand, bringing his attention back to her and away from the thought of his missing Uncle, the man who had practically raised him. Though Zuko didn’t act like it, he cared for Iroh, and Y/N could see it in the way his body stiffened as he cursed his Uncle for his foolishness. “Everything is fine.”

This was a mess. Nothing was fine. Everything was pretty chaotic, actually. 

That’s how Y/N ended up riding a Komodo Rhino in search of the old man, Zuko seated behind her as they made their way down the path. He was honestly way more stressed about the situation than he should’ve been, his Uncle was once a war general, he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Except, Zuko found the fact that he’d been captured in the first place rather concerning, especially since the man seemed to be more and more passive each day.

Zuko blamed the tea.

Though he found himself wishing for tea to calm his nerves as they the Komodo Rhino stumbles slightly, causing Zuko to fall off the animal entirely. This was mostly because he was far too awkward to place his hands anywhere near Y/N’s body, despite her warnings that something like this would happen. 

Y/N brings the beast to a stop, dust rising as she maneuvered the animal towards Zuko, followed by guards that she was sure were struggling to stifle their laughs as Zuko grumbled, “go ahead and say I told you so.” He’s practically glaring at Y/N, who dons an amused look on her face as she stares down at him.

“Told you so.”

Zuko groans, allowing his head to hit the ground momentarily, wincing at the feeling before moving to stand, only to notice a shoe on the ground. One that he recognizes as his Uncle’s. Moving to pick it up, Zuko grins despite the putrid smell as he extends his hand outward to try and escape it. “I fell on purpose to retrieve this.” He couldn’t help but feel relieved, hopefully this was a sign from his Uncle, and he’d dropped the shoe on purpose.

Y/N is laughing now, “sure you did. But this is good, Iroh is probably nearby.” Her eyes scan the area, hoping to find some other indication of Iroh’s presence, Y/N notices the fading trail of Ostrich Horse tracks. “We should head in this direction,” she turns to Zuko, who is dusting himself off and climbing back onto the Komodo Rhino, “hold on this time.” Y/N says, giving him a tight lipped smile as she brings his hand to her waist, trying to ignore the way her cheeks warmed.

She whistles, signaling for the Komodo Rhino to begin to move again, while Zuko begins to panic internally. His hands were on Y/N’s waist, and he was trying to keep his touch as light as possible so as not to disturb her, but the way she glared at him suggested he should stop freaking out. Alas, the blush that painted his cheeks persisted as he wrapped his arms around her waist to keep from falling, that was the only reason he wrapped his arms around her. It wasn’t because he missed being around her— of course the lack of her presence was mostly his fault since he was avoiding her.  

Regardless, Y/N almost falters at this action, almost, at the feeling of his hands resting on her. It’s been a while since they were this close to each other, and Zuko had no choice to endure it. But, it’s the sight of a dragon along with the Avatar in the sky that causes her mouth to gape open, distracting her from steering the Komodo Rhino away from the upcoming cliff.

Zuko throws his hands forward, snatching the reins from her as he swerves the animal away from the cliff, his body enveloping Y/N’s as he breathes heavily from the sudden event. “What the hell was that?” He exclaimed, hands remaining on the reins as he continued to maneuver the animal. Though the look on Y/N’s face worries him as she nods absently.

“Nothing, it was nothing.”

Nothing didn’t cause you to nearly go off a cliff. But he’d discuss that with her later, he decided, noticing the Avatar’s Sky Bison flying through the sky. “The Avatar!” Zuko called out, bringing the Komodo Rhino to a stop entirely as he watched the Sky Bison fly across the sky.

His words brought Y/N’s attention back to the present, her eyes snapping over to the Sky Bison. Zuko may not have known it, but Aang definitely wasn’t on that Sky Bison, or maybe his body was. Y/N didn’t know how the whole spirit thing worked, and if she was honest, she wasn’t really to eager too find out. Regardless, it would be a pointless chase.

Yet she suddenly felt worry fill her, because Y/N truly didn’t know if Zuko was willing to abandon his Uncle if it meant capturing the Avatar and restoring his honor. Would he do that to her? Abandon her entirely if it meant going back to the Fire Nation? Sure, he’d left behind the possibility of returning when they’d discovered her Waterbending, but with his renewed determination Y/N couldn’t help but wonder if she would get left in the dust as he chased the Avatar across the globe.

The thought left her mouth dry as she looked to Zuko, who had paused, eyes following the Sky Bison. Then he scowled, hands still on the reins of the Komodo Rhino as he whistled, steering the animal in the direction of the fading Ostrich Horse prints. 

Y/N couldn’t help but feel flooded relieved, but that didn’t quell the anxieties within her. She’d seen... an intangible Avatar and dragon, as though they were ghosts, spirits even. This was a brutal reminder of the Avatar’s duty to bridge the worlds of spirit and human, Y/N had only read stories of the Avatar’s ability to enter the realm and interact with them. It was an ability she thought she lacked, until now.

This was a problem. A very big problem.

Letting out a shaky breath, Y/N shut her eyes momentarily, “what’s wrong?” Zuko asked, her behavior was abnormal, she was distracted and Zuko didn’t have time to worry about her, his Uncle and the Avatar.

Hesitantly, Y/N relaxed against him, her back resting against his chest as she frowned, “later.”

“Right.” Comes his response, and Zuko’s face was burning as he cleared his throat before continuing to guide the Komodo Rhino in the direction of the tracks.

They don’t discuss it later, mostly because ‘later’ is when Zuko finds himself saving his Uncle, and then threatening villagers for the Avatar’s location while Y/N threatens him for his violence. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, much to Y/N and Iroh’s dismay.

If Y/N was honest, she wasn’t shocked that they didn’t have time to discuss it. Seeing as they didn’t discuss the fact that she was capable of bending multiple elements, confrontation was certainly not their strong suit, and the fact that everything seemed to revolve around the Avatar wasn’t helping. At this point, home was wherever Aang went. 

What Y/N would give for a conversation with Aang right about now, not that she knew what to say. He had no idea what she was capable of, and yet Aang seemed to be the only person who would likely understand even a fraction of what she was going through.

Barreling through the Fire Nation barricade, filled with ships that Y/N recognized from General Zhao’s fleet, it appeared Y/N would be giving her life just to see Aang again. She was beginning to think that this was the worst idea Zuko had ever had, and she’d been there for a lot of foolish ideas. Especially since there was no reason for Zhao to let Zuko pass, unless he needed something, that something was likely the Avatar. Y/N was pretty sure she needed him too, now that her Airbending at shown itself, accidents were becoming more... frequent, and hiding it from Zuko and more importantly, the crew, was far more difficult.

Aside from control, Y/N couldn’t deny that Aang’s abilities were impressive, watching him block a ball of fire surging towards his Sky Bison had been a sight to behold. And she couldn’t help but consider how insane it was, that she was seeing the only Airbender left, the only demonstration of Airbending in over one hundred years.

Poor kid. He’d come back to a mess of a world.

Y/N finds herself frowning at the thought, and at the possibility of Zuko departing on another ship to go after Aang, who appeared to be heading for the Fire Sage’s temple, “are you serious?”

Zuko is rolling his eyes at her tone, already boarding the ship as he turns to her, “are you coming, or not?” He’s taking the helm as Y/N’s mouth gapes open, struggling for words, she follows him onto the ship nonetheless. 

“This could go very wrong.” 

He grins at her, and the smaller ship begins to move, hidden by the smoke of the larger one, “that’s why I have you around.” 

Y/N really wanted to wipe the grin off his face as she sat on the bench that was against the railing of the ship. Crossing her arms, she glared at him as she leaned back, eyes on the crashing waves below. It’s rather calming, especially when compared to the harsh environment they’d been living in while moving through the war torn Earth Kingdom territory. She’d gotten used to falling asleep to the rocking of the boat during their years of travel. Maybe that’s why Y/N’s eyes begin to flutter shut as the boat begins to move once more.

There’s a dragon. Why is there a dragon? 

The sight of the beast serves as a reminder of the tattoo she’d seen in her previous ‘dream’ though Y/N can’t help but wonder if they were a little more than that as she stares at the dragon. It looks exactly like the one she’d seen Aang riding not too long ago.

This was a dream, great.

Rolling up her sleeve, the tattoo is there, the black and white dragons snaking up her arm, parallel to each other. Y/N finds herself returning her gaze to the real dragon, which probably should’ve shocked her more, except there was a reason she was a talented Firebender. 

Whenever a Firebender sought out to earn the title of Dragon, they needed a witness, someone who saw the defeat of the Dragon and could serve as proof of the event. The Dragon of the West, otherwise known as Iroh, had selected the young and impressionable, Y/N L/N, viewing it as a learning experience for the young girl. Y/N thought she was going to see the end of the species, not it’s salvation, and perhaps that’s why she was the way she was.

Nothing could compare to what she’d seen in that fire, alongside Iroh. 

The dragon before her looks angry nonetheless, almost annoyed at her presence as though it wasn’t the weird thing about this whole dream, a translucent blue color, like this was completely normal. 

Y/N ends up glaring at the dragon as she asks, “what do you need?” And as though it can sense her own annoyance, the dragon releases a low growl in response, letting out a huff of flames onto Y/N that almost has her screaming in fear as she squeezes her eyes shut in preparation for death. Could you die in a dream? Y/N didn’t really want to know seeing as normal dreams didn’t involve historical events like her last one did. 

She opens her eyes to see the flames dissolving around her, but she’s in an entirely new area. If Y/N is honest, it looks similar to the palace she grew up in. Fancy pillars line the room, along with a few murals on the walls. 

This must’ve been what the dragon had flown Aang to when they were... spirits? Y/N didn’t know, nor did she understand much as she carefully moved around in the room, in the middle of it lied a statue of Avatar Roku, she recognized him from history books. The Fire Nation’s greatest enemy, that had once been its pride and joy. 

The dragon still stood in the room, behind her now, staring almost judgmentally at her, Y/N turns to it nonetheless, “this is what you showed Aang.” A huff in what she hoped was agreement, “I need to be here too.” She deduced, staring the the doors that lied behind the dragon.

It seemed satisfied with this deduction, and Y/N decided to continue, “mind explaining the tattoo?” She gestures to her arm. 

In response, the dragon allowed more fire to escape its mouth, causing Y/N to bring her arms up to shield her face as she yelped in surprise when she became engulfed in flames.

Y/N flinches in her seat, head whipping back and forth as she scans the area, just to realize they made it to the island. “Oh good, you’re awake.” 

Stupid dragon.

Y/N nods slowly, hand gripping her arm, which burns, and she’s unsure if that’s because she literally got burnt in the dream, or because of the tattoo. Y/N can’t help but let out a shaky breath as she blinks a few times, eyes adjusting to the light as she sits up, “yeah.” She mumbles, pulling up the sleeve of her Fire Nation clothing just to find her blank arm. No tattoos, just how she’d left it. She can feel Zuko’s eyes rest on her as she does, likely in confusion.

Regardless, this is good. There’s no tattoo. Sure, Zuko probably thinks she’s insane, but who cared what he thought?

“I don’t understand how you feel asleep.” The boy in question grumbles, “have you not been sleeping?” It’s his own way of showing he cares, an insult followed by a question about her wellbeing, Y/N is used to it at this point, but this time around she can’t help but feel sad, knowing he formed this habit because of his childhood. Things had been different once. He’d been different once.

As Zuko helps her out of the boat, taking her hand to help her step down and off of it, Y/N replies, “not really.”

His brows furrow at this, “why didn’t you tell me?”

Y/N is opening her mouth to respond only for an explosion to sound within the temple, tearing his attention away from her.

What a nice reminder that she wasn’t the priority. Again. 

Maybe it was stupid for her to want to be his priority in the first place, because he was definitely her priority. She’d left the life, the luxury, everything she’d built in the Fire Nation after having her life torn down, just to rebuild everything again at sea, for him. And he didn’t even have to ask her to, he didn’t have to ask her to have that horrid conversation with his father that she hoped he never found out about, and he didn’t have to ask her to just be there. 

Then again, it had been drilled into her mind to protect and serve Zuko since she was a child. Maybe none of this was real, maybe Y/N didn’t actually care about Zuko, maybe it was just another one of the things she’d been brainwashed to believe by the Fire Nation. Maybe the days they’d spent together as children, the nights they’d spent now, the time at sea, maybe it meant nothing. 

No, this was different. This was different and Y/N knew it, she just didn’t want to admit it. This was another thing on her list of problems now. 

Y/N brushed these thoughts away as they mind their way through the temple, she didn’t have time for this, the horrifying dragon had given her a task and she was going to see it through. She needed to get into the room, and if Y/N had learnt anything, it was that wherever Aang was, that was probably where she had to be as well. 

As they enter the room the explosion had come from, Zuko spares her a glance, bringing his hand to his lips as he nods to her. Aang is hidden behind a pillar as the Fire Sages set the door alight, causing it to slowly move upon, the gears within working for what was likely the first time in a century. It’s then that the rest of his friends strike, restraining the Fire Sages, one of them even betraying his colleagues as they call out for the Avatar, “Aang! Now!”

But Zuko’s already captured the boy, ensuring he can’t head into the now open doors and providing the distraction that was vital to the escape of the other Fire Sages, he called out, “shut the doors!”

Y/N has about half a dozen thoughts in her head as she wonders how she’ll get into the room if they close the doors, because as much as she hates the whole Dualbending— Tribending thing, she needs answers. Which is why she’s thankful when Aang manages to escape Zuko’s grasp without her aid, though Y/N’s feet seem to move on their own as she chases after him.

The bright light is almost blinding, but she can hear the doors shut behind her as she lands rather painfully on her side, pushing up on her arm to see Aang staring at her in shock. This quickly morphs into a smile, “hey, Y/N!” His brows furrow as he tilts his head at her, “what are you doing in here?”

Moving to her feet, Y/N grimaces as she dusts off her pants, “I was threatened by a dragon.” Aang’s face becomes one of shock, but before he can respond, something akin to thunder sounds through the room, light shining onto the stone on the statue of Roku.  “What the-”

A fog starts pouring out of the statue’s mouth, swirling around the pair that lock eyes once more before Y/N finds herself atop a mountain, falling onto the ground and groaning in pain. Y/N brings a hand to her face to shield it from the bright light that is the sun? Or maybe its a fake sun seeing as this can’t possibly be real, not that it matters as she places her hand in the grass to push herself upwards, just to meet the eyes of the infamous Avatar Kyoshi. 

Oh god.

“So you’re the mistake.” She mused, scanning Y/N’s figure. She had read about Avatar Kyoshi, and from what she had gathered, she had by far been one of the most powerful Avatars to ever exist. And one of the most violent. 

Pushing away these thoughts to try and calm herself, Y/N simply frowned at the Avatar’s words as she moved to stand, the strikingly tall woman was already intimidating, her tone and history was not helping. “You could’ve been nicer about it... but yeah.” Y/N agreed, recalling her conversation with Iroh. She was just nature’s lovely mistake.

“Interesting.” 

Y/N grimaces, steadying herself as she speaks, “there are probably lots of other... mistakes, so why am I here?” Iroh had spoken of the likelihood that there were others around the world, and Y/N herself had heard the rumors of Dualbenders across the globe in their search for the Avatar. She wasn’t special—well, she was definitely special, but at the end of the day she wasn’t the Avatar.

Kyoshi narrows her eyes at Y/N’s words, scoffing, “don’t tell me you’re dumb.”

“You are just as nice as they said you were.” Y/N grumbles, bringing a hand to the back of her neck, “care to answer my question?”

Raising a brow, the woman’s glance turns to the sky, “you are the mistake.” Kyoshi replies, “the only mistake of this cycle. The others have all be fakes.” Y/N can practically feel the disgust in Kyoshi’s words, and she doesn’t know if its because people lied about being Dualbenders, or if its because they exist in the first place. Not that she wants to know.

But what she implies rings through Y/N’s head as she speaks, “I still don’t matter. There’s a perfectly good Avatar already.” If Y/N theoretically was another Avatar, what purpose could she serve? They had an Avatar, one that was far more moral than she ever was, one that was ‘hero’ material. Iroh had also suggested that if there was only one ‘mistake’ then they were likely powerful, which could explain the possibility of Y/N being another Avatar. 

Inhaling deeply, Kyoshi’s eyes fall back on Y/N as she says, “I have a feeling that when push comes to shove.” Her hand form a fist, “he will fail to do what is necessary. You on the other hand...” She trails off, her hand unclenching as she continues, “your Fire Lord seeks world domination, and it is disrupting the balance. You were made because the boy’s disappearance worsened the unbalance.” 

“He’s not my Fire Lord.” Y/N grumbles, running a hand through her hair, “so what do you want me to do?” She asks, cutting to the chase, there’s no point in hopping around the subject. She’d been summoned for a reason.

Kyoshi offers her a smile, though Y/N can tell its not a friendly one as she speaks, “I chose to speak with you because you have yet to Earthbend and still, you remind me most of myself.” She raises a hand to the sky, and it darkens into a red hue as she explains, “Ozai will use Sozin’s comet to carry out his goal unless he is stopped. And you are progressing far quicker than the newest Avatar.” 

The comet that aided in the destruction of an entire race, Y/N was familiar. Firebenders became unbelievably powerful during its appearance, and it would serve as the perfect opportunity for an invasion. 

Y/N would know, seeing as she suggested it. She recalled the conversation in the War Room vividly, during a discussion on how they could defeat the Earth Kingdom in a quick manner. It was the first time she had outshone General Zhao, but not the last. 

“You’ll have no choice but to work together, you must learn Airbending from someone, and there are no other teachers around.” Y/N can practically feel the woman’s anger, and wonders if it truly belongs to her, if she understood the Avatar Cycle properly then they were all connected somehow. 

Y/N really wished this was a dream. But, this wasn’t a dream, and the fog seemed to swirl around her once more was a reminder of this fact, “Aang is the Avatar. He can handle this alone, I’m not getting involved..”

There’s a knowing look on Kyoshi’s face, and as she fades away Y/N can hear her final words, “you don’t really mean that.” 

And Y/N had a feeling that she was right. A feeling that she absolutely hated.

A/N: anyways i wanna cut like at least six inches of hair and get bangs oh no also KYOSHIIIIIIII THE BADDEST BEST AVATAR writing this made me happy

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