#all Iroh is asking him to do is Think

[fuckyouozai]

The genuine anguish in zuko’s voice when he says “stop it uncle. I HAVE to do this” is so good

[seyaryminamoto]

Hello! Long time no see :) hope all is well!

Not sure if you’re still taking Q&A’s, but I was curious about your opinion in regard to this newest addition in the ATLA live action casting for toph. They have opted with making her “more feminine”. I have seen your interpretation of toph and it was very well executed all the way around. From her friendships and admirations, to her romance and personal struggles/goals. It was well rounded and very in character. That being said, do you think making her more feminine will be an issue? Would adding femininity, -in your opinion- take away from her accomplishments as a character ? Would it ruin what she stands for and the social standards she went against? Or could this be a not so serious variable that affects Toph as an individual? This isn’t counting any other changes the creators have/will make ofc.) I look forward to your answer whenever you have a chance.

Thank you for these latest chapters btw, they have been a true delight! Best of luck to you in your future works. XO - a fan

Hello there! I have a lot of stuff to answer and it's been piling on, but yeah, I've been terribly busy lately, so I'm sorry for that :( but here's your answer, and I'll keep it as... concise as I can make it. Haha... ha. It's me, brevity is not in my nature.

Usually, with ATLA's liveaction, I've been able to trace the reasoning behind their choices. Some, of course, are completely ridiculous and can't be justified as anything but fanservice (looking at you, 41st division), but with several others, while the effectiveness of the changes can be questionable, I can trace where they're coming from and why they're trying to do that.

I have struggled to make sense out of why Toph would suddenly need to be less of a tomboy and more feminine. I have a couple of theories right now: one of them is that they believe it would be culturally unlikely for a highborn girl to be too much of a tomboy for believability's sake. While I could, perhaps, concede on this on SOME level... I also find myself thinking on many modern Korean TV series I've watched, where even if the story takes place in the Joseon era, the female leads might even crossdress as male in order to have a stronger role in society, thus, they can be depicted as... not all that feminine? Not COMPLETELY, usually, because there always needs to be some level of femininity to sell the perfect romance, apparently... but they're willing to provide the characters with different facets of personality that make femininity a backdrop, rather than the core of the character.

If this is what they're going for with Toph, then I guess our Blind Bandit's going to be K-Drama-ized. Sort of. I'm not entirely sure whether that will make her believable as a character at all when you consider what her role was like throughout Book 2, unfortunately, but it's, as usual, a case of reaching your own conclusions when we see it live.

The second option is one I find a little more outrageous: the show may be looking to disregard a lot of "character stereotypes" from the 2000's. The erasure of Sokka's early sexism most likely comes from this logic (the bad writing around the rest of his character, unfortunately, makes it a lot harder to love him even if his egalitarian view of society should make him more likeable, weird self-own there...), it's an attempt to "modernize" the story and show us the character as something other than your stereotypical 2000's male cartoon character who masks his insecurities behind sexism. And I will say, in my eyes, the logic of "modernizing" a story is the very reason why remakes are supposed to exist: the issue comes when the people creating these remakes somehow fail to hit the mark and their new version winds up being less genuine and more shallow than the original (see most of Disney's liveaction remakes, ofc). I don't think ATLA's liveaction is necessarily doing EVERYTHING wrong, but while the changes can have their logic, in this instance it would be really hard to argue that the logic sustains itself, because...

I don't know who on earth finds tomboy characters offensive, but if such people do exist? I hope they step on a lego.

Tomboy characters can be great representation and validation for girls who (like me) weren't all that gender-conforming. It could even help some people make sense of their own gender dysphoria! All of which is very modern and forward thinking and not at all stereotypical of the 2000's because nobody in that era was creating these characters for those purposes. But upon removing Toph's "tomboy" status in order to turn her into a more "traditional girl", it leads me to think that Mai's NOT going to be a goth girl because "that's no longer such a common personality type, 20 years later, so its dated and needs to be removed", and Ty Lee is suddenly going to be written as an erudite because a carefree girl who doesn't seem to be all that intellectually inclined (note that she CAN be depicted as smart in her original characterization, it's merely that it's clear her interests don't lie in knowledge or so, she's a physical, spiritual kind of person, not bookish by any means) would be offensive and enforcing the idea that feminine girls are stupid! All of which would, of course, turn them into entirely different characters.

Toph was a great tomboy, a lot of people loved her for it, and a lot of people liked that she could be this while also being blind. It's possible that the liveaction people think that tomboy + blind are one too many traits and she needs to be nerfed (...???) in order to handle her better? I don't even know. While I can't say for sure how bad the result will be once this version of the show releases, I'm not very confident that this change will help her character in any way. I actually think Katara ended up having a curious arc in Book 1's liveaction, if not what her fans wanted, and I don't mind a lot of the changes they gave Aang. Zuko... eh, I will never love him, that much is obvious, but I appreciated that he seemed to take his mission and his honor a lot more seriously than in the show, where he seemed to think that sailing everywhere to find the Avatar was enough to get results even before Aang broke out of the iceberg (the fact that he had a BOOK here where he wrote things down was such a nice change! I was caught off guard completely by the notion that Zuko can write, let alone investigate things! :'D).

But this Toph change honestly seems to lean more towards the Sokka change... in the sense that on paper MAYBE they have their reasons and yet in practice it could just result in a character being completely derailed from its purpose and crippled on a characterization level, which then gets overcompensated with... uh... unnecessary convoluted matters like "my dad doesn't approve of me, my life is useless, this is where all my insecurities come from :((((", for instance.

Time will tell and I guess we'll have to watch it to see whether it works or not... but unless they leaked this information to gauge how to calibrate this change based on fan reaction? I'm not sure this is going to be remotely as agreeable a change as the liveaction's creators might have hoped it was.

Addressing your specific questions: a more feminine Toph will definitely need a wholly different character construction. Her clashes with Katara are bound to lean towards classism now ("I'm highborn, you're a peasant, why would you expect me to set up your tent? You should be the one setting up mine, lesser being"), which won't make her any more agreeable as a character, as long as they do retain some of the story beats from Book 2, ofc. Her training of Aang will definitely be weird because Toph was supposed to be the embodiment of earth, so in tune with her element that she's basically a rock, or metal once she develops that one. And worth noting, she develops metalbending by punching stuff: this isn't very feminine :'D I'm not entirely sure how they intend to recreate these scenes if her character will be fundamentally altered.

I do think that, unless the tomboy side is replaced by something even more impressive (and I can't really think of something), this change won't be very agreeable for me. A great deal of what draws people to characters like Toph is their personality and their willingness to go against the norm. She does this by being a tomboy and by being blind but embracing her condition rather than bemoaning how sad she is about it. And the issue is, considering Toph's background, the only things I can see them replacing the tomboyish behavior with, in order to obtain similar results, is... making her a social snob. Which people won't like. I, at least, can't imagine anyone enjoying that switch. Otherwise? She'll just be a cute, chirpy girl who is perfectly complacent and compliant with everything, meaning there will be no conflict with her character and all issues between her and the Gaang, while shortlived in canon, will be rendered non-existent altogether here.

So... yeah, I'm not exactly hyped, if still slightly curious as to what exactly they're planning to do to her character. It does remind me of Sokka's changes too, because... I don't really hate that he wasn't sexist. But I disliked the writing around him so much that the removal of sexism legit did nothing to improve him, in my eyes (I won't say the lack of sexism made him worse, though, it was the REST of the writing that did that). As a flaw for his character that I didn't really care for, it's weird that its removal didn't help my view of their Sokka in the least, so I am admittedly wary that a personality trait I DID like, Toph's tomboyish demeanor, will get nerfed or deleted outright... and it's hard to believe this can be an improvement for her. We'll have to wait and see.

Also? Thank you very much for your kind words regarding how I characterized Toph <3 I actually got used to Toph fans not being very happy with how I wrote her since she was so very aggressive and bold at the start instead of having softer sides all along, but that's why you write very long complicated stories! To flesh things out as you go along rather than since day one x'D Along with that, an older Toph whose life grievances festered for about 7 extra years, and who never had the Gaang's influence, sounded like one hell of a molotov cocktail of a character to me, so I really enjoyed working with her based on this premise. So glad you've enjoyed her <3 and really happy to hear you've enjoyed the newest chapters too! Finally a bit of deserved respite, haha, be it for you guys or for our main dorks <3

[muffinlance]

Consider: Post-canon Zuko wakes up in the body of his childhood self, the morning of That War Meeting. Would he still speak against the plans, knowing his fate? What do you think he would do differently the second time around?

"Turned away at the doors, Zuzu?"

"Shut up, Azula," her brother sulked. But sulked weirdly, after staring at her too long and too wide-eyed, not like she'd surprised him but--

But like he hadn't expected her to be there. At all.

He turned away. ...He turned back. "Hey, Lala? Do you think you could help me practice that one set?"

He didn't meet her eyes.

She narrowed hers. "Which set?"

"The one I'm bad at."

She scoffed. Pushed away from the wall she'd been leaning against. "That's all of them, Dum-Dum."

He didn't shout or stomp or yell about the nickname. His lips twitched.

"It's okay," he said. "If you're afraid you won't be a better teacher that my instructor..."

It was the most obvious manipulation ever.

Perhaps if he proved an adequate firebending student, she'd work on his courtly survival skills next. Honestly, it was good that not even Uncle Gets-Cousins-Killed had been fool enough to take Zuko into that war meeting. She could only imagine how terribly that could have gone.

"Keep up," she said, and turned her steps towards the training grounds.

He did. There, and during the katas she ran him through.

Azula kept her eyes narrowed.

"Hey," he asked, "do you know how to bend lightning yet?"

As if he could have missed it, if she'd been able to get more than sparks. "I will soon," she said.

"You will," he agreed, and flowed through his next set. The one she'd only just mastered.

Father didn't notice how weird Zuzu was being. Uncle never noticed anything. Zuko ate dinner and asked a servant for seconds and didn't stutter or flinch or lose his appetite when father asked, coolly, what he'd done with his day. Azula's shoulders tensed, because one mention of how she'd squandered her own training time teaching him--

"Azula hogged the training grounds. For hours," Zuzu scowled, exactly like a petulant thirteen year old.

Exactly like he hadn't been acting all day.

By the time Father was looking her way, Azula had her usual smirk in place. "I'm sure there would be room for both of us," she said, "you're not afraid of a little friendly fire, are you, brother?"

Zuko sulked. And ate his seconds, like he was enjoying each bite. There was something in his eyes, like a joke no one else was getting.

---

Father died that night. A heart attack. There were the faintest of burns to either side of the treacherous organ; the royal physician hypothesized that he'd grabbed at his chest, fingers burning hot in his final moments; so hot they'd only exacerbated the problem.

The royal physician would never have been brought any victims of lighting strikes. Those that occurred in the capital did not generally require a doctor in the aftermath.

Zuzu ate a hearty breakfast.

He didn't order seconds. Azula gave him points, at least, for not being tacky.

---

The sages named Iroh as regent.

They named Zuko as Fire Lord.

"No," the tiny Fire Lord in his perfectly miniaturized Fire Lord robes said, sitting at the head of his war council. "We're not doing that. And I'll be reviewing all recent battle plans, as well. What's this I hear about a division of new recruits being deployed to the front?"

He did not mention how he'd heard of the 41st Division. No one asked.

"Prince Iroh, surely--" one of the generals tried to appeal.

The young Fire Lord's regent was looking as startled as the rest of them, for a moment. Then he sipped his tea, and smiled.

"Your Fire Lord is correct, of course. A change in our leadership--a change the other nations may mistakenly view as weakness--will necessitate a change in our strategy."

"Now," said their lord, "what, exactly, is our overall objective in this war?"

War, the new Fire Lord decreed, was not an end unto itself.

---

The new Fire Lord continued to have time, to pretend to be trained by her. Azula watched him. Adjusted her footwork. Did not tolerate, and was not offered, any commentary on who was teaching who.

"What did you do with my brother?" she asked, as they flowed from one set to the next. As her hands, poised to throw fire, just so happened to be pointed his way.

He missed a step. It didn't look like an act.

"I'm, uh. Right here?"

She didn't bother to dignify that.

He didn't bother to look worried about her hands, one movement off from a true attack.

He looked around, then grabbed her sleeve, and tugged her further from any walls that may hide ears. The royal family's private training grounds were wonderfully large, and wonderfully open.

"It's me," he said. "It's still me. Just. More of me? Longer of me?"

She narrowed her eyes. A familiar expression, by this point. "Explain."

"...I found the Avatar," he said. "And this is definitely his fault, but--but I guess it started at a war meeting, when I was thirteen."

Azula listened. It was a very Dum-Dum story.

[wileycap]

Selected Excerpts From The Fire Nation Royal Palace Servants' (Unofficial) Handbook

Or: Revisions To Normal Protocol After The Ascension Of Agni's Exalted Flame, The Dragon Of The Sun, et cetera, Fire Lord Zuko

1. Agni's Exalted Flame, The Dragon Of The Sun, et cetera, Fire Lord Zuko should not be referred to by his full titles and styles, no matter the context. This appears to annoy him. "Fire Lord Zuko" and "Lord Zuko" are acceptable, as well as "your majesty" and "my Lord".

1.1 "Lord Hotman", however, is unacceptable.

1.2. Even if the Avatar specifically requests you to address Fire Lord Zuko as that.

1.3. In fact, any attempts by the Avatar, the Lady Beifong, the honorable Tribesman Sokka or even Master Katara to get you to address Fire Lord Zuko by anything other than his proper title should be disregarded.

1.4. Referring to Ozai of the Fire Nation (titles rmvd, dishon.) as "The Loser Lord", however, is acceptable.

2. Fire Lord Zuko is aware of the concept of mortality, but does not seem to understand how it relates to His Majesty. Following activities should be discouraged: Free climbing, glider usage, contact with exotic animals larger than a turtleduck (or smaller, if the animal is known to be venomous), amateur theatre productions, cooking, sailing, spelunking, botany, please see full list in the Matron's office.

2.1. It should be noted that His Majesty's belief that mortality does not apply to him does not appear to be completely unfounded. After several "close calls", it has been decided that upon his demise, Fire Lord Zuko should lie in state for at least two weeks.

2.1.1. We do not want another incident.

3. The turtleducks in the Western Pond do not need to be fed by the servants any more.

3.1. However, the turtleducks should be rotated out at regular intervals in order to prevent overfeeding.

4. At any official social functions, at least three servants should be vigilant in case His Majesty tries to tell a joke.

4.1. It should be noted that there is no concern for His Majesty's jokes being offensive, crass or otherwise contrary to good taste. They are simply very bad. His Majesty always ends up embarrassed.

5. Any children left unattended in the Royal Palace for more than 15 degrees can be retrieved from the Fire Lord's office.

6. Should His Majesty go missing, the following places should be searched: roofs and any high places, cellars and secret passages, the fur of the Avatar's sky bison (which is surprisingly deep), and every place that an ordinary five-year-old would think to hide in during a game of "Hide and Explode."

6.1. All of the Imperial Firebenders as well as any soldier who wears a mask during the course of their duties should be questioned.

6.1.1. Important note: Some of the soldiers who are especially close to His Majesty can perform a passable imitation of him. Efforts should be made to prevent an uneducated soldier from, say, conducting a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture.

6.2. After the recent incident, that list is expanded to include the Kyoshi Warriors and any other groups that might wear concealing full face paint.

6.3. If all of these measures prove ineffective, a letter should be sent to The Dragon of the West, Prince Iroh, asking His Highness to return His Majesty.

6.4. If a ransom note is delivered, it should be immediately checked against the handwriting samples from the honorable Tribesman Sokka as well as Avatar Aang, before any other actions are taken.

6.4.1. Replying "Good luck, he's your problem now" to a ransom note is absolutely unacceptable.

6.4.1.1. To further drive home the point, the Royal Archives are required by law to preserve every single piece of royal correspondence. That thing will end up in a museum.

This handbook will be updated should it prove necessary.

[melzula]

hii i was wondering could you write a oneshot of how zuko's self cautious of his scar and reader just kisses his scar and reassures him and tells him that hes perfect and that she loves everything abt him. This is in a very like intimate and loving way ykyk

a/n: ah this plot is so sweet! had to rewrite this piece a few times before landing on something i liked so i hope you enjoy!

summary: zuko asks you to remove his bandages

“Are you sure you want me to do this? I can fetch Iroh instead.”

“No,” comes Zuko’s soft reply, his sullen features bathed in candle light. “I want it to be you.”

Sighing softly, you give him an understanding nod and press a careful kiss to his check. The Prince remains stoic in spite of your show of affection, simply signaling for you to proceed.

It’s been a week since the Agni Kai, and the healer has given Zuko the okay to remove his bandages. The wound should be healed by now, nothing but a painless scar with a painful memory attached to it. It’s not only your first time seeing Zuko’s new face but his as well, and neither of you are sure what to expect.

You were honestly surprised when the Prince had asked for you to be the one to remove his bandages. He’d been cold and standoffish with you since your departure from the Fire Nation, something you couldn’t blame him for considering all he’d been through, but you didn’t expect him to trust you with something so important so soon. It made you nervous, but it also made you relieved to know he still felt he could trust you with such things.

Your fingers work carefully as you unravel the white cloth around his head, doing your best not to cause too much discomfort for your Prince. He says nothing as you move and only watches you through the reflection of the mirror before him.

“Are you ready?” You ask him softly, hesitating as you reach the final layer of wrapping.

“Hesitation is a sign of weakness,” Zuko replies gruffly, and that’s all you need to hear before finally pulling away the last of the bandages.

The room is silent and tense as Zuko stares at his own reflection. The skin around his eye is angry and red, permanently damaged and forever serving as a reminder of his failure. He can hardly see out of his left eye, but he’s still able to make out your figure watching on silently as he assesses the damage.

“Go ahead and say it.”

“Say what, Zuko?” You murmur softly, carefully resting a hand upon his back.

“Say you’re disgusted by me. Say you’re repulsed,” he snarls bitterly. “Say that you’re too embarrassed to be seen with such a failure!”

“Is that really what you think?” You utter sadly, a pained smile on your lips as you carefully reach out to touch his face. His hand immediately flies up to catch your wrist in a firm grip before you can get any closer, and despite the discomfort it brings you make no attempt to move.

“It’s what I know.”

“Then you must not know me at all,” you counter with a small shake of your head.

Reality sets in and Zuko guiltily removes his ironclad grip on your wrist. He doesn’t mean to be so harsh with you, but there’s an amalgamation of emotions festering within him at the sight of his deformity. He was a Prince, he wasn’t meant to look like this, he wasn’t meant to be out at sea fruitlessly trying to find the Avatar so he could end his banishment. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

“You’re perfect, Zuko,” you console with a careful brush of your fingertips against the freshly healed skin. His eyes flutter shut at the comforting sensation, and you take it as a sign to continue. “I love you the way you are, and this scar doesn’t change that.”

He can’t help but gasp when he feels the softness of your lips pressing against his temple. How could you not feel sickened by him? How could you still love him after everything?

“Your scar is nothing but a sign of your strength, I hope you know that,” you tell him before pressing another kiss to his cheek just below his eye.

He says nothing in response, but you know that he understands you. With you, he doesn’t have to feel shame or guilt. Your love for him knows no bounds, and there’s nothing he could do that would ever make you turn away from him.

He sits in silence as you begin to apply a soothing balm to his skin. His eyes close in contentment and for the first time since leaving home he finally feels at peace.

He knows then that he made the right choice in having you be the one to remove his bandages. No one sees him like you do, and it’s more than he could ever ask for.

| zuko tags: @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @taeeemin @lora21 @livelaughlovekuni @lovialy

| atla tags: @sirkekselord @niktwazny303

[evilkitten3]

azula when she's the favorite and is "safe":

azula when she realizes zuko is no longer there to be the unfavorite:

was fucking around on google images and i ended up stumbling on a reddit post from three yrs ago with a picture of iroh grabbing azula during a fight scene...

this is the only time i can think of when azula seems completely terrified.

he grabs her and she's scared shitless

but he just redirects her lightning and she's just bewildered.

i wonder what she was thinking there

[psychronia]

I've been rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender because why not and I'm losing my mind at Zuko's proper introduction. I don't know if it's hindsight, shifting characterizations, or just me not watching this in a long time, but this was amazing.

We start off showing he's an impatient and very angry kid. Reasonable, and the sort of flaw we might expect to see in a villain. Kinda funny that he expects to go up against an adult and fully 4-Element realized Avatar, but the kid is desperate and Iroh clearly expects his nephew to get the banishment-denial kicked out of him.

What's important here, though, is Zuko's introduction to the Southern Water Tribe.

Here, we have a very intimidating entrance where his entire ship just sails through the ice right up to the village's front door. It's quite ominous and this is our first proper introduction to how the Fire Nation interacts with a foreign people.

Sokka charges, I'm assuming fully prepared to die, and Zuko casually knocks him out of the way. Okay, so clearly the Water Tribe are entirely outgunned.

He asks "Where are you hiding him?" and the people of the Water Tribe go silent. I assume they're either just too scared to talk or actually protecting Aang.

Whatever the case, it's important to note that the Southern Water Tribe know the terror the Fire Nation can inflict. We have a whole episode dedicated to tracking down a division of raiders. Sokka was able to not only identify the ash-mixed snow as signs of an incoming attack, but estimate how many ships the amount of ash measures to. These are a people who have experience being terrorized and are probably expecting something terrible to happen.

And then, after they don't answer, Zuko grabs Gran-Gran. There was a horror sting to it, and everything the tribe knows about the Fire Nation suggests that Zuko is about to threaten or straight up hurt her to get answers. Classic "terrorize the elderly" bad guy stuff.

And then...

He goes "He's (the Avatar) be about this age and is a master of all four elements!?" and lets her go.

And all of a sudden, the tension that was built up is shattered as Zuko went "I know, I'll give them a reference for the person I'm looking for because clearly they're confused and I wasn't specific enough."

This went from a show of villainy to a show of Zuko being totally socially awkward and misreading the situation entirely. Not helping is that when he does try to menace them a moment later, his fire is slow and angled quite safely.

It still worked on the Water Tribe because they're understandably scared, but all I could think of is that this was the equivalent of a playground bully trying to make someone flinch with that fake-out lunge thing.

Because the fact-and something we'll come to learn-is that Zuko is TERRIBLE at being a Fire Nation oppressor. He's capable of doing morally dubious things and is a competent fighter. But he's lousy at terrorizing people and cruelty-that's kind of the point of his banishment.

And while we can see the story paint this picture of Zuko's true character as the story goes on with hints of good and conflicting loyalties, here we get to see just how bad he is at being "the bad guys". He's still unambiguously being the villain of this scene, and it makes no real difference to the oppressed themselves, but there is a comical gap between where Zuko thinks he is, where he actually is, and somehow it still puts him on the same page as his victims just because of how terrible the Fire Nation's influence is on everyone involved.

[ssokkasmoon]

THEIR LOVE LANGUAGE

ZUKO

Physical touch - Zuko is still learning to openly express emotion, but physical touch comes naturally to him as it means of connection. Expect casual affection like hand holding, cuddling with you on the couch, and lingering hugs whenever you're together. Making love is also his way of showing all the feelings he still struggles to put into words.

AANG

Acts of Service- Aang happily handles household chores you don't like so you have less things to care about. He remembers the small things that make your life easier like cooking your favorite meal ,Little pampering back rubs when you're stressed are his love language. His support is unfailing, he'll help you with anything, no request is too small or big.

SOKKA

Physical Touch- Sokka is always finding excuses to be near you, with an arm around your waist or holding your hand. Casual physical intimacy is how he shows his love. Cuddling and lazy morning kisses in bed are some of his favorite ways to bond with you. He gives the best hugs warm, comforting and making you feel completely cared.

KORRA

physical touch and Words of Affirmation - Korra regularly expresses how much she cares through compliments, words of encouragement, and expressing what she admires about you. She's generous with affectionate nicknames that make your heart melt. She also likes to be as close to you as possible, so physical intimacy is very important to her, resting her hand on your waist,holding hands, cuddling,she enjoys each if it's with you.

IROH II

Words of Affirmation- Iroh makes sure to tell you how beautiful, intelligent, and talented he thinks you are every day. Compliments come easily to him. After passionate moments together, he whispers words of adoration and care into your skin. Iroh writes you little cute letters expressing his feelings when he can't see you.

MAKO

physical touch - Mako is surprisingly very affectionate.He enjoys wrapping you in his arms, holding your hand, gentle caresses, kissing your lips/forehead, playing with your hair. Cuddling and intimacy are big for him. Physical touch helps him feel connected.

BOLIN

Acts of Service and physical touch- Bolin secretly enjoys doing thoughtful things to take the load off your shoulders. He'll tackle household chores without being asked or cook your favorite meal. Small gestures to showhe cares. He is naturally affectionate. He loves holding hands, giving you full-body hugs, stealing sweet kisses whenever possible, and finds simple pleasures in little acts like brushing your hair or massaging your shoulders after a long day. Physical intimacy between you is a must.

TAHNO

physical touch -Tahno is very physically affectionate, especially after becoming intimate. He loves holding hands, casual touches, kissing, cuddling, and of course more passionate embraces. Public PDA doesn't scare him,Physical touch is how he feels most connected and shows his deepest affection.

KATARA

Quality Time - Katara is a fantastic listener and gives you her full attention when you're together. Date nights in are romantic - just curled up together talking for hours means the world. She loves learning about your interests. the time you spend together is always meaningful.

ASAMI

Receiving Gifts - Gifts from Her always feel personal ,something she saw that made her think of you. She pays attention to little things you mention in passing just so she can surprise you later.

JET

Quality time - He tries to spend as much time with you as possible, Jet is an excellent listener and loves engaging in meaningful conversation. One on one dates, walks together, dancing, hanging out without distractions are quality time he cherishes.

© 2024 ssokkasmoon

[pinkiemachine]

ALSO, for my Legend of Korra Rewrite, there’s an opera house in Republic City, and they do their own production of “The Boy in the Iceberg.”

It’s heavily inspired by Beijing/Peking Opera, native to China, and I’ve been having way too much fun writing this truly ridiculous, over romanticised version of the original AtLA story 😂 First off, the costumes and props—Now, Peking Opera has a set of rules/guidelines for what colours mean what, which costumes go to what kind of character, and which face paint is appropriate for this and that person, but hardly any of it aligns with the world of AtLA, so it will have its own rules. Naturally, the people are colour coded. Blue = Water Tribe, Red = Fire Nation, Green = Earth kingdom, Yellow = Air Bender. How can you tell if a character is royalty or super important? If they’re wearing any kind of elaborate headpiece. How can you tell who the Avatar is? The Avatar alone has special face paint that covers his entire face. Also, how light or dark their clothing is can inform you of their badness level, and also also, if a character’s hands are covered, it usually means they are hiding something or are very sly and cunning.

Then there’s the bending. Airbending is represented by the staff illustrated above, with two tufts of blue fluffy stuff on either end, similar to what the Ember Island Players did. This prop is very similar to a real one used in Peking Opera. Waterbending is achieved in two forms, either with long sleeves or ribbons, both used for dancing. Also straight from Peking Opera. Fire Bending is achieved through flags/staffs very similar to Peking Opera and the Ember Island Players alike. Finally, Earthbending comes across more like hand-to-hand combat in the choreography, because they use large fans to represent their element, inspired by Kiyoshi, and real life Peking Opera.

Now, the story is hilariously fun—it’s been eighty years since the events of the war, and the story has been dramatised to the Poles and back—so strap in and just imagine what the Gaang would be saying in reaction to all of this 😂

Once, there was a prince and a princess of the Southern Water Tribe. Prince Sokka was a brave and mighty warrior, and Princess Katara was the most beautiful and intelligent woman in all the South Pole. One day, they happened across a glowing iceberg, and from within emerged the Avatar! Avatar Aang was a very playful and mischievous boy (think “The Monkey King”), and upon seeing the beautiful Princess Katara, he immediately fell in love and proposed to her. But the mighty Prince Sokka took offence at such cheekiness, and challenged Avatar Aang to a duel to defend his sister’s honour. Here we have the first of many action scenes. Ultimately, Avatar Aang defeats the prince, proving his worth and proving that he is in fact the real Avatar, but when he asks the princess again if she’ll marry him, she replies that she might, if he can teach her to waterbend.

It’s about this time that Zuko, the Banished Prince of the Fire Nation, and his uncle, General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, arrive to capture the Avatar!

They are unsuccessful of course, and Team Avatar escapes. They go to the Southern Air Temple where Avatar Aang grieves the loss of his people, and then he suddenly gets a vision from his past life, Avatar Roku. Here, it is explained that Sozin’s comet is fast approaching, and Avatar Aang must learn all four elements before it comes, or else the whole world will burn. Having received his instructions, the team sets a course for the North Pole. (Oh, and Momo is represented by an actor who’s a type of “clown” as Peking Opera puts it. There to be the comic relief. Not sure if I want the same for Appa…)

At the North Pole, Aang and Katara learn waterbending, and the Chief throws a massive party to celebrate the return of the Avatar. This is where Prince Sokka meets Princess Yue of the Northern Tribe, and they fall madly in love. But it is not to last. Zuko and Iroh have arrived with a Fire Nation fleet and lay siege to the city of the North. In their darkest hour, just before the city falls, Princess Yue sacrifices herself to the Moon Spirit, saving everyone, but losing her mortality in the process. It is said that she now lives on the moon, weeping to this very day for the loss of her one true love. (Keeping in mind, Tui and La are now a state secret, as no one wants a repeat of “Admiral Zhao,” who coincidentally, is nothing but a footnote in the history books due the secrecy of the moon and ocean spirit’s physical home.)

Then, of course, the second act begins with Avatar Aang asking if Katara will marry him now that she’s learned Waterbending. But the princess is far too crafty for him, and becomes sly yet again. This time she says, she might marry him if he can find for her the impossibly rare Panda Lily. Aang is determined, though it may take him a while.

Team Avatar journeys to the Earth Kingdoms in search of an Earthbending master. Now, although the rumours of Toph being a man did stick around for quite a while (helped in no small part by Toph herself) eventually the truth comes out, and the play is amended accordingly. HOWEVER… no one is convinced that Toph is an ordinary human, oh no no no. They believe, whole heartedly, that she is a direct descendant of the badgermoles themselves, and is therefore some kind of half-human-half-spirit type being who sprouted up out of the ground one day. They fear her. As they should.

So Azula and her girlies make their appearance and they and Team Avatar make their way to Ba Sing Se, where they run into Zuko and Iroh, officially outcast from the royal Fire Nation family for failing to capture the Avatar at the Siege of the North. Azula infiltrates the city by impersonating the Kiyoshi warriors (who mysteriously replace the Dai Li in this story, and all mention of the city being controlled by a puppet master and brainwashing people is also mysteriously absent) and we meet Suki, leader of the Kiyoshi warriors, and she and Sokka begin to fall in love. Then, Aang manages to find the rare Panda Lily, but he’s not able to give it to Katara because the Last Stand of Ba Sing Se begins. There’s a massive fight at the palace, and Aang gets struck by lightning and falls into Princess Katara’s arms, trying to give her that Panda Lily she asked for. Then he falls into slumber as Princess Katara weeps. Zuko joins his sister Azula, Iroh is captured, and team Avatar flees.

That night, Katara begs the spirits to spare Avatar Aang, and Yue appears, bringing Aang back to life. It’s at this time that she gives the team a grave warning about the journey ahead of them. She reveals to them that the Day of Black Sun may aid them in their fight against the Fire Nation, and she also gives Sokka a special gift: a sword carved from moon rock. May it serve him well.

End of act two.

Act three begins with the mighty Sokka rallying all their allies together to launch an assault on the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun. Meanwhile, the Fire Prince Zuko battles with himself over his decision to betray his uncle and join his sister. He thinks of his mother, and how she would not have wanted him to follow the path of his father, Firelord Ozai. On the Day of Black Sun, he chooses to redeem himself by helping Avatar Aang defeat the Firelord once and for all. The battle was fierce—Princess Katara feared that she might lose Avatar Aang yet again—but when they arrived at his palace, no one was home. The Firelord was very crafty. He devised a labyrinth beneath his palace in which to hide, and he evaded the Avatar until the eclipse was over. The day was lost. Team Avatar was forced to retreat. However, now Aang had a Firebending Master to teach him the final element.

After much training, and much preparation, Aang was ready to face Firelord Ozai on the day that Sozin’s Comet came ripping across the sky. He tried to ask Princess Katara one last time if she would marry him, and this time she replied that if he survived his fight with the Firelord… she would marry him.

It began. Prince Sokka, Warrior Suki, and Master Toph led the charge against the Firelord’s army. Prince Zuko and Princess Katara held off Princess Azula, and Avatar Aang took on Firelord Ozai alone. Using all that they had learned across their journey, fuelled by the power of friendship and love, Team Avatar prevailed. The Firelord’s army fell, Princess Azula fell, and finally, Firelord Ozai himself fell before the mighty Avatar Aang. (Aang’s ability to energybend remains a secret.) And in the end, Prince Zuko took the throne of the Fire Nation, Prince Sokka took the throne of the South Pole with Suki as his queen, Toph became known as the greatest Earthebnder in the world, uncle Iroh opened the best tea shop in the world, and Princess Katara agreed to marry Avatar Aang. It was a happy ending indeed.

Can’t wait to finish the costume designs! Let me know what you think!

[shanastoryteller]

HAPPY HALLOFUCKINGWEEN SHANA!! 👻🎃 🧛 Atla with Rainbow Fire zuko (zukka) please and thank you 🌈😘💖

Sokka squints on the window. "What the hell is that?"

Zuko doesn't look up from his scroll. "Fire."

Not for the first time, he considers the merits of killing a fire lord. He did it once, surely he could do it twice. It's unfortunate he's married to this one. "Why is it so many different colors?"

The flames lighting up the palace have all shifted to brilliant greens and blues and purples, beautiful but not exactly fire-like.

"Celebration for some sort of cosmic event, the stars are in alignment. Or maybe out out alignment. I don't know, ask Uncle."

There's almost no question he wants answered badly enough to get stuck drinking tea with Iroh for several hours. "Not really what I was asking. How is it so many different colors?"

"Salt," Zuko answers.

He thinks of how fucking difficult it was back home to get the salt they needed to preserve food, scooping up sea water and simmering and scraping it into containers. Sometimes it's not the gold and silk that reminds him of the opulence of his current life. It's shit like using salt to make pretty fire. "Can't you do it without salt?"

"I can," he says. "Aang can. But having a fire lord or an avatar standing outside to make pretty colors seems a bit like resource mismanagement."

Aang would probably love it, actually. It's too bad he's in the Earth Kingdom right now.

[jasminedragonart]

Hi. Since you are so generous I want to ask about the college au. Do you have any ideas of the Katara 's side of the story? Or is it a spoiler? And I'd also love to know anything about Sokka-Suki-Yue co-living. How Suki and Yue became a couple? How did Sokka handle this?

This story is a very interesting version of college modern-au and I want to explore your universe more :)

Katara's story follows canon, kind of. She lives in the south pole with her mother, the village is very depleted as the men, like in canon, went off to war. Kya is very hands on with her daughter, helping her hide her bending.

More under the cut

For context, they went south because Kanna mentioned the two poles to Kya and explained how misogynistic the north pole was. They decided to chance going south and the village was fine when they got there. They were told about the raiders coming and taking waterbenders and while Kya wanted to leave she also didn't know where else to go, she'd used all the money she'd brought with her getting her and Katara to the south pole. The men also warned it was probably the same up north so the south pole agreed to help hide katara. Then the raids happen and while Kya was injured, she wasn't killed.

They find Aang in an iceberg and it's only when he also says he needs a waterbending teacher and he has a way to get them there- Appa- that Kya organises a trip to the north pole. It's a lot more organised than in canon.

The fire family's story is a lot different too. So, Ozai is the one tracking Aang down not Zuko. Ursa didn't leave or poison Azulon. Zuko's face was burned because he asked his dad why Iroh and Lu Ten were in the army and Ozai wasn't which, obviously, offended Ozai's fragile ego and he challenged his child to an Agni Kai to prove he wasn't as weak as Zuko was implying. Iroh took Zuko off his brother, with Azulon's permission (I am of the opinion that Azulon never wanted Zuko dead and it was just something used as a way to get Ursa to poison Azulon to save Zuko's life) and he's raised as Lu Ten's brother. Ozai is basically ostracised and believes that bringing the Avatar to his father will restore his status in the Fire Nation since, well, he did literally challenge a child to an Agni Kai.

This is how Zuko is allowed to go to college in the first place. As the, now, third in line, he's likely going to be a diplomat when Lu Ten takes the throne after Iroh. He's told about the fragile peace with the other land and poses the question on what they're like, Azulon takes this as a great opportunity to show Zuko just how superior their side is and sends him over to the other side on an 'exchange' program. Zuko has a lot of limitations placed on him but he finds he doesn't mind it. It's also easier when he finds that the water tribe had the same idea and he finds a kindred soul in Yue.

Suki gets mixed up in this because she used to be a Kyoshi warrior but, after Zuko was given to Iroh a summons went out for a personal guard for young Zuko (since Zuko is a traumatised flight risk and Lu Ten refuses to let anyone in Ozai's faction near his cousin again). Suki sees this as an opportunity to spy on the Fire Nation and is taken on straight away by Lu Ten (who basically takes over this process of finding a bodyguard after his father proves to be useless). Lu Ten sees Suki as someone who can be both a friend and protector of his cousin and after his near miss in Ba Sing Se and being healed by earthbenders in a distant village, he's a lot more sympathetic to the other side than he wants his superiors to think. He's the one who insists Suki go with Zuko to college as, that's basically her job.

Suki likes the other side a lot. The non benders make her feel more normal and it's nice that she can do martial arts without having to look for any elements being flung at her. She gets to know Yue through Zuko. Zuko gets to know Yue because he's socially awkward and Yue finds him endearing, the two of them bonding over weird expectations and their overwhelming duty to their land.

Suki, at first, takes Yue on as another job since the northern water tribe sent Yue incognito on her own. Suki thinks this is ridiculous and spends half her time teaching Yue to defend herself and the other half keeping watch over her. Yue thinks this is funny since she's supposed to be looking after Zuko but, well, Zuko doesn't really need protecting, he just needs someone to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid like set fire to their dorm curtains. Suki is Yue's link to understanding the lower class and Suki just finds Yue surprisingly mischievous, the two getting along as friends.

They grow closer once they both dump Sokka. Yue finds out that girls are an option after Suki mentions it one day and Suki had her eye on Yue from the start but figured she was straight so didn't bother. (Zuko is sick of both of them simping over the other to him.)

As for when they get together, Sokka's very supportive. They all end on amicable terms. They all found out they liked each other as friends more than partners and while it was a little awkward at first to see his exes get together, Sokka supports them wholeheartedly. Namely because, by then he knows a bit about their backstories and really wanted Yue to live life as she wanted to live it and not for others and for Suki to just do what made her happy.

They all love Sokka too. They adopt them into their little group and use him as a translator for things they don't understand. Sokka thinks he's surrounded by out of touch rich kids and doesn't really see anything weird about them until he lands in the ATLA world. They use Sokka to help with grocery shopping, clothes shopping, slang, driving, money and when they realise that he's having a hard time finding somewhere affordable to live for their second year they all agree to chip in and help him. The thing is, they know he wouldn't accept any monetary help so they just decided to move in with him. Suki was on edge with the idea of an apartment after so many break ins at the palace. She likes the idea of somewhere she can easily move around. Sokka agrees that a caravan is a lot cheaper than an apartment as well. They settle on a campervan. An old beat up thing they usually park in the middle of nowhere and drive around to classes and the shops or wherever Suki wants to take them. Zuko likes it because the trees are away from prying eyes enough he can slip away and practice his bending and Yue is just there for the adventure.

I think I need to work out a few more details before giving more information than this. But this is the dynamic at the start of the would be comic that might get made at some point in the future.

[ssreeder]

“He didn't want to think about the ramifications of the Fire Nation successfully flying one of those war-balloons over the Lower Ring… The only protection available for those poor people would fall squarely on the shoulders of those new recruits, and they would have to be ready to carry that responsibility. This situation was already a mess and they were still in the planning stages.”

Can’t believe I ignored this last chapter. Good thing Zuko isn’t in one of these meetings or there’d be a fight. Interested to see if this is a redemption for Iroh though to think of the little people or if everyone is just completely fine with the lower ring being burnt to a crisp. Bato clearly has his mind on other things so someone else needs to step up. Jeez

Bato isn’t the only one concerned about this, Suki is also pretty fired up about it in the next chapter… the tension of the upcoming battle gets heavier as we go along.

Unfortunately, there really isn’t much they CAN do to keep the Lower Ring from experiencing casualties…. but how many citizens survive & how bad the destruction is will depend on how many resources they send down there and what their plan of action will be to save lives. (If they even care about saving those lives… many of them being refugees and ‘lower class citizens’)

I am also curious to see if Iroh shows any interest in trying to help the citizens in Lower Ring or if he keeps his focus strictly on keeping the forces from reaching the Upper Ring (where his precious Zuko is)… chaos in the Lower Ring can keep troops from advancing, and there is limited space to flee depending on how Azula advances upon the city… idk. I can’t see it going well, and even Iroh, as powerful as he is doesn’t hold much authority over what the generals do with BSS… He is a tentatively welcomed guest after all. Haha.

we’ll see I guess!! Haha thanks for the ask!!

[twinklecupcake]

Azula is the Avatar.

Nobody is more trilled than Ozai.

The most powerful bender in the world, and they've been born into his family, as a firebender. It's a sign, he knows. Azula trains. Azula becomes his weapon.

The rest of the world doesn't stand a chance.

--

Azula is the Avatar.

The tiny toddler waves her hand and pulls a ribbon of water from the turtleduck pond, laughing to her brother to look at what she can do.

Zuko tries his best, but can't do the same.

Iroh watches and breaks into a cold sweat.

---

Azula is the Avatar.

Her mother takes her away with her, and won't turn back or tell Azula why, even when she pleads.

--

Azula is the Avatar. Iroh tells her that her bending is impressive, but she must never show her father. She must never show anyone.

Azula doesn't understand. Isn't this just a sign of how powerful she is?

She shows off her bending in front of her father.

Any amusements she'd been permitted before are immediately taken from her, and her life is a rigid regiment of training. She doesn't see the rest of her family again. She trains hard, becoming her father's weapon.

He's all she has, she must make him proud.

--

Azula is the Avatar, and she shows off her bending in front of her father. The next morning, the princess has been killed.

---

Azula is the Avatar, and something about the graveness in Iroh's voice, the way her mother holds herself, convinces her not to bend earth again. Never to show anyone else what she can do.

She, Zuko, Iroh, and Ursa share the secret between them.

Zuko is exiled and told only finding the Avatar will restore his honor.

For an instant, Azula's heart skips.

But Zuko leaves, knowing full well the Avatar is in the palace.

Alone in the palace with Ozai.

--

Azula is the Avatar.

She trains in secret, bitterly thinking that if she has the power and the ability, there's no way anyone is telling her she can't keep bending anything but fire.

She lives two lives: the perfect Fire Nation Princess with her father, and disguised girl in the city who bends earth and water with the precision of a master.

One day she lets her friends - Mai and Ty Lee - in on her secret. She can trust them not to leave.

Another day, she casually bends the wall open. "Ready to blow this pop stand?" she asks.

--

One day she lets her friends Mai and Ty Lee in on her secret.

She can't trust them not to leave, so she tells them of her power, so they'll know they have to stay with her.

--

Azula is the Avatar, and she stows away on Zuko's ship. By the time she shows herself, it's too late to turn back, and her older brother helps cut her hair to hide herself.

--

Azula is the Avatar, and she trains and bides her time until her father sends her off on a ship of her own.

She brings Mai and Ty Lee, and a small, carefully-chosen group of soldiers and attendants.

Instead of heeding her father's orders, she goes the opposite direction.

--

Instead of heeding her father's orders, she fakes a shipwreck. The three girls go into the Earth Kingdom in disguise.

--

Azula is the Avatar, and after years of being her father's weapon, she turns against him. Ozai is battered by fire, earth, and water together, and Azula takes his throne for her own.

"You should have feared me more."

--

Azula is the Avatar, and she returns to the Fire Nation with all four elements at her hands. She looks Ozai dead in the eyes, wanting him to know exactly who she is.

"You should have feared me more."

[zuko-always-lies]

Dark Idea (warning)

I'll be honest, I kind of want more stories where Zuko condemns Azula to death/orders her execution/signs her death warrant. Not necessarily stories where she ends up dying in the end but stories where he orders her execution.

As for why he might do that:

She's a massive threat to him and his postwar regime as long as she lives, as she has an extremely strong claim on the throne, while his is kind of tenuous, to say the least. Some of his advisors might urge him to have her killed, for that reason. I could see Iroh "reluctantly" calling for Azula's death, for this reason. Ozai would probably say the same to Zuko, if Zuko asked for advice. And killing her could help symbolically shore up Zuko's authority. All of this is fairly normal for historical royal families.

There's also a personal angle to this. I don't think Zuko's first instinct is to execute her, but he does like the idea of having power and control over her and to some extent having her killed is the ultimate expression of power over her. And if, say, Zuko has agreed to "international trials of war criminals" and thinks that the international tribunal will end condemning her to death, he might prefer to do it himself instead. I'm sure he could come up with some justifications about why this is "better for everyone," but ultimately it'd be about control.

Thoughts?

[the-badger-mole]

Duty, Honor and Love

Zuko paced the room, stopping every so often to let out a string of swears and kick something. Iroh watched his nephew in equal parts concern and amusement. It was the amusement that bugged Zuko the most.

"Do you think this is funny?" he demanded, rounding on his uncle. "They are telling me I have to choose between my throne and...and...reaughhh!!!!" Zuko shouted in aggravation and kicked his desk. A long crack appeared in the side, which Iroh noted with some consternation.

"I promise, I am not laughing at your situation," Iroh said placidly. "I don't find that at all funny."

"Then why are you smirking at me?" Zuko glowered at the older man, feeling moments away from knocking the teacup out of his hand.

"After all these years, the lessons I've tried to teach you about diplomacy still haven't stuck." Iroh sighed and shook his head. "If I am amused, it's only because I'm reminded of you at a younger age, and I'm remembering those days fondly."

"Why do you always have to be so...so mellow?" Zuko threw his hands up and resumed his pacing. "Do you understand they're trying to force me to choose between my people and the one person I don't want to live without? I've had to fight for every inch of ground I've gained since I took the throne, and now the one choice that should be mine. Completely mine! They say that it's not possible? That I can't do what I want? It's my personal life. And it's not even like-"

"Not like what?" Iroh pressed. Zuko shot him a mutinous scowl, and Iroh was reminded of his nephew, ten years younger, and still not ready to hear the truth about his "honor restoring mission". It was a flicker, though, and gone almost as soon as it had come. Iroh was Zuko's best ally, and they both knew it. Zuko sighed and sank down into the chair across from his uncle.

"The role of the royal consort hasn't been more than symbolic in generations," Zuko said. "Not since well before grandfather Sozin's reign. I know I can't keep Katara from making her mark, but they don't know that. For all they know, she's planning on being like the consorts before her. Quiet, demure, unobtrusive-"

Iroh couldn't stop the peal of laughter that burst from him if he wanted to. And he most certainly did not want to. His stomach had begun to ache before he could gather himself and meet his nephew's petulant glare.

"Please forgive me, Fire Lord Zuko," he said, wiping his eyes. "It's just I think you give your council far too little credit. I doubt anyone who's spent more than half an hour with Master Katara would think that she would be a quiet and demure Fire Lady. She is not one to fade into her husband's shadow, no matter how powerful he is. And anyone who's spent more than half an hour with you would know better than to expect you would ever allow that."

Zuko groaned and let his head roll back against his chair. He knew Iroh was right. He knew his council saw how often he would defer to Katara, especially on matters she was passionate about, like education, health and foreign affairs. He loved her for himself, but he also loved her for his people. But the idiots who served on his council were too concerned with how the other nobles (who'd only just kept their titles by the skin of their teeth) would feel about her with a crown on her head than what the rest of the citizens would feel about Katara on the throne (and he knew for a fact that at least a handful of villages already considered her some sort of saint. One of them had built a statue of the Painted Lady with Katara's face). His citizens would grow to love her, he knew, regardless of what his councilors thought. And yet, they had given him this ultimatum.

"I can't abdicate," Zuko said, finally. "But I can't lose Katara, either." Iroh sat quietly for a long moment. He poured himself another cup of tea.

"Is this your way of asking for my help?" he asked. His face was serious, but mirth sparkled in his eyes. It pissed Zuko off endlessly, but he knew he had no other choice.

"Yes, Uncle," he sighed. "I'm asking you to help me find a way for me to be able to stay with Katara and not abdicate my throne. And do not even think the word concubine. Advisor Wong suggested it in front of Katara, and she nearly castrated him. And then I got an earful for not "shooting the idea down fast enough" even though I was just gathering my thoughts." Zuko shook his head at the memory with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Iroh chuckled. "I have managed to stay off of Katara's bad side, and I intend to continue that. Besides, i can't imagine a better co-ruler for you than her. No, I have something much less....complicated in mind."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Iroh had gone over his plan with Zuko several times. It had made sense in the comfort of his private office, without the weight of his council's eyes on him, but now, Zuko was less certain. Katara was not here today. She had no idea this meeting was even happening. This, Iroh had assured him, was for the best. Zuko wasn't sure that Katara would see it that way, but he figured his uncle could take the heat for it, should she be upset about it later on. Right now, Zuko was content to let Iroh take the lead here. Midway through the meeting, once the other business for the day had been discussed, Zuko gave General Iroh the floor.

"Gentlemen," Iroh said, gravely. "We have an issue to discuss." The council members, the majority of whom had a deeply rooted respect for Iroh, leaned forward anxiously. He took a heavy breath and clasped his hands together. It was all very dramatic, Zuko thought, but made no attempt to speed the proceeding along.

"A very serious issue, indeed," Iroh continued. "As you know, I have some ties with several leaders from around the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes." Acknowledgement rippled through the room. Iroh waited until everyone grew silent again to continue.

"Has something gone wrong?"

"No," Iroh said, slowly, with less finality than anyone found comforting. "Not as such. There is no immediate danger, except perhaps...financial." If Iroh had failed to get everyone's attention before, he certainly had it all now. Zuko watched his councilors closely, biting back a smirk. Iroh had said the magic word. The bait had been taken. Now he just had to reel them in.

"As you know," Iroh continued, "there are several trade agreements- things that the Fire Nation must rely on to be imported from the Earth Kingdom- like their metal goods, and building supplies. The Northern Water Tribe has been negotiating on sending us healers to help get our hospitals off the ground, and the Southern Tribe, as you know, has recently begun trading raw oil, something we need to help move our own industry along.

"And what is the issue?" a councilor demanded. "Are we not paying enough for these goods? Are we not treating the Northern healers like royalty?"

"We are," Iroh agreed. "But there have also been complaints about the exchange-" his gaze hardened and landed on a select few, "-and they have not been discreet enough for some very important people to ignore. There have been some concerns voiced that the Fire Nation is still too insular for comfort. There are those who fear that the Fire Lord is in danger of being cut off from the concerns of those who this country not only relies on, but owes a great deal to in terms of reparations."

"What would you have us do?" another councilor demanded. "Are our treaties and trade agreements not enough?" Iroh regarded the man with a placid smile.

"I begin to fear they are not," he said. "And can you blame them? After all, before Sozin began his war, the Fire Nation had had treaties and agreements with all the nations. Now, Fire Lord Zuko has proven his willingness to deal fairly with the other nations-" this set off a round of grumbling at Zuko's idea of fair, but Iroh ignored it "-but the they are still understandably skittish."

"What do you suggest then? Don't speak around the issue, tell us what your plan is!"

"I suggest," Iroh said slowly, "a closer tie than mere paper. A marriage contract with a proper match would put the rest of the world at ease about the Fire Nation's continued insularity."

"And let me guess," the room spun toward Advisor Wong, who sneered at Iroh from his seat at the opposite end of the table, "is Master Katara the right choice?" Zuko bristled at the man's mocking tone. He would've said something then- something hasty, and inflammatory that he probably would've regretted later- but Iroh stayed him with a hand on his forearm.

"I believe so, yes," Iroh said, meeting Wong with his same benign smile. "After all, she is not only Chief Hakoda's daughter, Master Pakku's granddaughter, and the Avatar's guardian, she also has the ear of King Bumi, King Kuei and is an honorary member of the Foggy Swamp Tribe's council. Not to mention how much support she's gained amongst the citizens of the Fire Nation. I'm sure you've heard about the statue in Jang Hui." The room fell silent. Iroh looked from one advisor to another. A few of them looked disgruntled, but many of them seemed to be taking their time considering Iroh's words.

"We have to think of the future," someone said. "Suppose she has no firebending heirs for our Fire Lord. What then?"

"We've had non-bending rulers," Iroh pointed out. "Some of our best, in fact, had no firebending. It's never been an official requirement for taking the throne, though it has been preferred, especially recently."

"What if all her children are waterbenders?" someone else asked boldly. "A non-bender on the throne is one thing, but a waterbender?"

Iroh had diplomacy down to an art. Zuko sat in awe of his uncle. Every argument that had come up Iroh had been prepared for. This particular concern was one that Zuko had himself brought up. After all, this hypothetical waterbending heir to the throne would be Zuko's child, too. He would die rather than see his son or daughter fight the way he'd had to for his birthright. Iroh's solution to that was... scary to say the least.

"Do you love Katara?" Iroh had asked Zuko.

"Of course, I do!" Zuko replied without hesitation. "And I already know I'll love our children whether they're firebenders or not."

"Then you'll have to accept the possibility of having all waterbenders," Iroh said. "It'll cause a stir to say the least. But you're both young. You'll have many years to figure out how to navigate that particular issue should it come up. And of course, I'll spend my remaining years helping you secure my grandchildren's futures."

"And if it comes up in this meeting?" Zuko pressed.

Iroh had a reputation for being a very wise man. And he was very wise. He was also very shrewd, and very skilled at the complicated dance steps that were required to make it in the Fire Nation's court. No one could fairly call him a liar, but he did on occasion take liberties with the truth.

"Fire is a very powerful element," Iroh said the the councilor who'd raised the question of Zuko's potential waterbending heirs. "As is water, to be sure, but the Fire Lord comes from a long line of powerful benders, and he himself is dragon-touched. The chances of none of Zuko's children being a fire bender is small."

This was a stretch. Thanks to Druk, many in the Fire Nation saw Zuko as especially blessed by Agni and the dragons themselves. There was no real way of letting his subjects know that there was nothing special about his connection to the dragons without giving away the secret of the Sun Warriors, who preferred to remain undisturbed for as long as possible. Still, Iroh's words were enough to make the council think. Zuko watched their faces carefully, and saw one by one as they considered what Iroh had said. In that moment, Zuko didn't care at all which part of Iroh's argument had made the biggest impact. All that mattered were the looks of resignation on his staunchest opponents faces. Even Wong seemed to acknowledge his defeat. After a few moments, one of the councilors asked Zuko and Iroh for some time to discuss the matter.

"Of course you will need the time," Iroh agreed. "I believe that would be wise, don't you, Fire Lord?"

"You can have the rest of the day," Zuko said. His tone was severe, and his face impassive. He declared that day's session over. As he left, he heard Iroh asking a servant to bring up the popular Earth Kingdom drink that had been all the rage in the Fire Nation for the past five years. Coffee would serve as both a reminder of why trade with the Earth Kingdom was so important, and as a stimulant so the councilors would stay up as long as they needed to come to the right conclusion.

"We've done what we can," Iroh said when he caught up to Zuko. "The rest is up to them. I'm sure it will work."

"Just in case," Zuko muttered, "I should ask Katara how she feels about eloping."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

It didn't take the council as long as Zuko feared to come to a conclusion. The request for an early meeting came to Zuko's suite as soon as he was awake, and he and Iroh reconvened with the council just after breakfast. Iroh's points had won out, and while Zuko's council didn't quite demand that he marry Katara, they had put up much less of a fight than Zuko had prepared for. They conceded to Zuko's greatest desire, and gave him their blessing to ask Katara's hand in marriage. He didn't have the heart to tell him they'd been engaged for nearly two months already.

[zukosdualdao]

just… the absolute trust between zutara in the finale is unreal. after zuko’s impromptu training attack session, yes, katara is surprised and even somewhat angry as she confronts him, but when she says “you could have hurt aang!” all it reminds me of is the fact that just a few episodes ago, she literally threatened to kill him if he ever gave her a reason to think he might so something to hurt aang. but here, now, even as she’s confronting him, she just… waits for him to explain, and she actually sees and agrees with his point once zuko tells the gaang about ozai’s plan.

there is also the absolutely, 100% synchronized way they fight during the simulated training session, something that calls back to their synchronization and teamwork in the southern raiders, and that inherently shows a lot of trust and understanding between them.

katara is the one who initially asks zuko what they should do after aang disappears. everyone else agrees, but it's katara who trusts him enough to position him, not just to herself but to everyone else, as someone they should listen to because of his history, skill, and experience, especially noteworthy because the reason she gives—“you are sort of the expert at tracking the avatar”—is what used to make him untrustworthy in their eyes. they’ve come such a long way.

then katara notices zuko freeze and sit in front of iroh’s tent, and when she asks if he’s okay, he just… completely trusts her with exactly what he’s feeling, and if he’s even a little worried that what he’s saying might cause her to act derisively, because what he’s referencing here is also what katara was angry and hurt about, he doesn’t show it. he just so completely trusts her with it, and her insistence that iroh will forgive him is born from her own trust of zuko, and she's able to tell him what he needs to hear because she was once in iroh's position and zuko proved his genuine remorse and care to her.

then, of course, we've got zuko not missing a beat as he asks katara to be the one to come with him to confront azula, and her ready acceptance. they make a good team, and they know it.

but when they get there and azula challenges zuko to an agni kai - though she initially has misgivings, katara ultimately trusts zuko when he says he can handle it and understands that he doesn't want her to get hurt if she doesn't have to. (an aspect of zuko's "i can't explain it, but she's slipping" line that i think gets underexamined, btw, is that that's not an inherently good thing for them. yes, maybe that means zuko will be able to take her, particularly because he knows azula and her fighting style well. but someone who is "slipping" is also, in this case, desperate, and more prone to being reckless with people's lives. zuko tries to mitigate that by fighting her alone, but it doesn't work because azula can't follow the terms she sets when she realizes she's losing.)

the lightning scene is a really interesting example of trust as it relates to zuko and katara, because to me, the emphasis there isn't quite so much on zuko and katara trusting each other. there's barely time for katara to think through what will happen to as azula aims for her or wonder what zuko will do, after all, and zuko is probably in too much pain and too out of it to think about katara coming to try to heal him. (though if they did have the time and mental faculties to think it through, i think they would both 120 percent trust the other to help them.)

instead, the emphasis is on the audience trusting the characters. from the moment zuko sees where azula's aiming, he doesn't hesitate, doesn't even think about, just. immediately jumps in front of the lightning before it can reach katara. i've said this before, but as soon as he understood what was happening, there was just no chance of that lightning ever getting to katara and that's the point. we've seen what zuko looks like when he's hesitating or conflicted, and the difference is stark. the show never wants you to question exactly what zuko will do, that he refuses to let katara get heart, that he'll save her.

and for her part, katara immediately runs to try and save zuko despite azula still being around and attacking, and tries again before realizing she needs to defeat azula in order to do so. but the entire scene of katara's defeating her, while obviously heroic and emblematic of katara's power and the culmination of her arc as a girl whose culture and identity was nearly stripped away from her to being a master waterbender, is also framed as katara defeating azula so she can get to zuko. she would have done it anyways, yes, but in this context, right now, she is fighting azula so she can get to zuko to heal him.

here, in the narrative culmination of their arcs together, it shows not just that they trust each other, but asks the audience to not doubt the development of the dynamic that’s been built, to trust that they will take care of each other. and they do.