#and Ozai as father of little children is such a nice thing to read as well

[kigozula]

"I… I won't. I'll be good. I promise," Azula said, her voice small. Ozai, behind her, watched his daughter with amusement.

- Gladiator Chapter 346

The trip was much like those they often set out on, and Azula and Zuko fought throughout it as recklessly as they typically did. The nights, of course, were the better moments, as Zuko and Azula fell asleep, allowing Ozai and Ursa to bask in peace and quiet, watching the stars together on deck. It was a placid, easygoing time, and nothing seemed to get in the way of their tranquility…

Ozai reached down, clasping Azula's hand gently. The girl jolted after him, cheeks flushing with excitement as she tried to keep up with the long strides of the two taller men. Once they stood at a fair distance from the others, near the very bridge and pond Azula had fallen in, long ago, Ozai finally decided to speak his mind.

........

"I can…" Azula said, nervously. Piandao crooked an eyebrow.

"Then you would not ridicule your brother, should you best him in combat? You would not be upset, if he ridiculed you for it either?"

"Why can't I do it if he can…?" Azula mumbled. Piandao actually smiled.

"That's what you understood from that?" he asked. "Not quite the answer I was hoping for…"

"I… I won't. I'll be good. I promise," Azula said, her voice small. Ozai, behind her, watched his daughter with amusement.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

A Life Wasted

Azula Week Day 1: Childhood

Summary: Azula has trouble coming to terms with that she didn’t really have a childhood and struggles to see a future for herself.

She is surprised to get as many visitors as she does, Azula could have sworn that they would stick her in this horrid place and forget all about her, leaving her to her own nightmares and personal horrors. Somehow they don’t forget her. Somehow they find it within themselves to pay her visits now and then. Sometimes they come with specially prepared meals other times they come only with stories and company.

Azula wishes that she could appreciate it. Wishes that she could push her resentment aside. She wishes that they would just leave her to suffer and fester in her shame alone. It is bad enough having them around to see her like this, to make their judgments. But they have to bestow her with stories about how great the outside world is, about how they have all accomplished so much.

They do so until she one day snaps at them to stop bringing her news. She expects them to stay away from then on out. Instead they come back with tales from the past.

TyLee’s childhood is bathed in shades of pink. She was never alone and was constantly at the tailend of a braid chain. She always speaks of laugher and gossip and trips to the berry fields. Of coming home with smeared cheeks and stained clothes.

Mai’s childhood was more subdued, lonely. But when her parents came home it was warm. They would take her onto their laps and read her stories about dragons and courageous Fire Nation warriors until she begged for a blade of her own.

Katara and Sokka both have frosty and cold childhoods but in the most dreamy way. They both recount different aspects. Sokka tells her about fishing and hunting trips with his father; about adrenaline spikes and hiking around glaciers. While Katara paints a more domestic image in her mind; the smell of cooking fish and firepit smoke. Of heavy coats and fur rugs.

Toph’s childhood was sheltered but exciting when she could sneak away. It was full of adventure and mess. Of tussling with the boys in alleyways and knocking on strangers’ doors and running before they can get to the door.

Aang’s was serene. Otherworldly and mystifying. His childhood makes her stomach ache with longing the most. He speaks of how all of the children were raised side by side. Every adult was a mother and a father to all of them and each child was a sibling to the next child over. Before he found out that he was the Avatar he was never alone. He would munch on pastries and and have glider races.

And Zuko’s...she knows about Zuko’s and she doesn’t want to hear anything of it. It is as unforgiving as her own but in such a different way.

She wishes that she could have had a childhood. Maybe she wouldn’t be this way if she did, if she had been allowed to be a child for just a few years before being thrust into the war machine. Maybe if she had hours of running wildly through the palace garden instead of hours of training and katas she would be less of a weapon and more of a human being.

She stares at her palms, trying to recall even one moment where she had been a child. Just one that isn’t tainted by undertones of political speak and warfare. But she can’t find even one. Even her fondest childhood memories are either followed by something awful or had war in the background.

On one occasion, a golden day on Ember Island--she had convinced Zuko to help her swipe some mangos from a fruit cart just to test their skills. They had snatched one and darted off to climb a palm tree and hide as they tasted their prize. Father found them with sticky mango juice smeared around their mouths and dripping down their chin. That evening they were dirty, disgusting miscreants and he was ashamed to be their father. That night there was no trip to the beach to collect shells and build sand castles, they were locked in their rooms listening to mother and father argue; “they’re children, Ozai! Children do that stuff, let them have fun!” “They have duties to their nation, they are better than other children.” Zuko blamed her for getting them in trouble with her stupid idea and she blamed him for talking too loud and getting them caught.

On another occasion she found herself sitting at the edge of the turtle-duck pond, kicking her feet at the shimmering waters, the sun reflecting on its surface. In one had she held a calligraphy brush which she was using to paint random doodles on her legs. In the other she held a loaf of bread which she was biting into, paying little mind to where she was nibbling on it. She was quite and out of the way so no one paid her any mind. Which is probably why they so openly discussed how triumphantly they had slaughtered Earth Kingdoms soldiers on the battlefield.

Such are the types of memories her childhood is sprinkled with. And the more she thinks on it, the more she realizes how truly and deeply imprinted the war is on her mind. She doesn’t think that she knows anything else but battles and punishments.

She remembers when her mother stopped loving her. When the woman realized that her baby had already been claimed by propaganda and a sense of patriotic superiority. Azula wishes that the woman would have done something more to keep her from succumbing. From falling so deep into the indoctrination.

She remembers when mother had told her that Lu-Ten had died. That was the night that mother stopped loving her. When mother realized--before anyone else--that something was very wrong with her. That was the night when her father had told her just how proud he was of her.

She was finally the weapon he had been craving.

And now she is broken. The remnants of a once mighty war machine. And in a world without war, she doesn’t have much use. She supposes that it is just as well that she is stuck in this institution. She can’t see herself doing anything anyways. Can’t seem to think up any other purpose for herself.

They mistake her low for recovery. She no longer yells and screams and demands that Zuko and his friends be sent away. She is simply indifferent, it doesn’t matter if they are there or if they aren’t. It doesn’t matter if their happy childhood tales make her tummy tingle with sorrow and longing. Nothing matters. She doesn’t matter.

She had wasted her childhood. Now she is wasting her adolescence. Her life is a waste…

Zuko grips her shoulder. Her blank eyes don’t lift from her palms. Not until he helps her stand and leads her out of the institution. She questions his decision but decides that she can’t be bothered to stir up any trouble anyways, so his decision won’t really leave an impact either way.

“I think that it’ll be good for you to get some fresh air.” Zuko comments. “We’re planning on taking a trip to Kyoshi Island and I thought that you should come with us.”

She furrows her brows, “why would you think that?”

He shrugs. “I guess that I want us to both have a few memories that are just...nice.”

She doesn’t think that this is it.

“We can’t exactly make good childhood memories, but we can do this.”

Azula nods.

“I also thought that it would be good for you to start to...get back into the world so you don’t fall behind.”

“I already have.” She mumbles.

He gives her back a little rub. “You’re not too far behind. Nothing we can’t catch you up on. And besides, we’d like your input on certain things. There’s this new city in the making and we think that you’d be good at helping us plan and fine tune it. You’re good with details.”

“What does that have to do with Kyoshi Island?”

Zuko laughs, “nothing. Kyoshi Island is just going to be a break before we really get into it.”

“I’ve already had a break…”

His smile falters but only for a moment. “I guess that you have. But I’m talking about a real break, Azula. Something that could be fun for you if you’ll give it a try.”

She supposes that, at this point, she is willing to try anything to get rid of the despair and helplessness that has taken root within her soul. “It would help more if I can just have a look at this city. I need something important to do. Something that matters.”

“You will be doing something that matters on Kyoshi Island.”

“Oh.” She quirks a brow.

“You’ll get to have a good time and learn about some new cultures. And you’ll get to watch me struggle with awkwardness. The last time I was on Kyoshi Island I...did some things…”

“How is that important?”

“Because it’s about your health and you matter. You know that, right?”

“Important to who?”

He gives her a gentle hug. “Believe it or not, you’re important to me. And as soon as the others see that you’re not a completely mean and angry person…”

“I’m not angry.” She thinks that she has only ever been angry once, during the comet. Mostly she is just numb and unfeeling. Cold. And maybe that is worse than having a temper. At least a temper can be cooled…

“Trust me, this is going to be good for you. I can’t fix our childhood bet we can make something of the future.”

She doesn’t know if she believes him, but she would like to. At least she is out of that facility. At least she can get back to firebending and relish in freedoms to be rediscovered. He smiles again and she decides that the least she can do is humor him. Either nothing will change at all and she will continue on in her melancholy or he will be right and she will pave herself an adulthood that is warmer than her childhood ever was.

[tiredcath]

Zukka Fic Recs

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

Transference by The_Quatermasters (146k)

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

Borderlines by The_Quatermasters (73k)

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

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

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

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

sirens & sleepless nights by Satirrian (54k)

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

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

 Real Slow by surveycorpsjean (21k)

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

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

 First by HoneyBadgerMole (20k)

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

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

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

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

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

Operation Leverage by snowandfire (50k)

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

 The Stingray by Smediterranea (24k)

“You’re not carrying me.”

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

“I can just hop over.”

“On sand?”

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

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

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

“What kind of burrito do you want?”

“You don’t have to —“ Zuko repeats.

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

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

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

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

Also, Zuko is kind of hot now.

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

Sokka was the first to leave.

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

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

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

-

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

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

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

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

 Words Mean More at Night by DaisytheDoodleDog (28k)

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

another word for wanting by eurydicees (23k)

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

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

 It Has Only Just Begun by Kirazalea (39k)

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

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

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

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

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

 Nightmares and Reveries by HisMomoness (20k)

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

Cue pining, some fluff, and eventual romance.

 The One Who Stopped Time by ohhihoney (66k)

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

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

 Rubbed Off Stars by ohhihoney (2k)

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

--------------

WIP

Ozymandias, King of Kings by Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought (168k)

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

 Another Brother by AvocadoLove (312k)

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

--------------

BONUS : zuko x jet

Something to Hold Onto by Wildgoosery (122k)

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

[5lazarus]

Dragon Eyes: an Avatar-The Last Airbender Fanfic

Dragon Eyes

On a diplomatic mission to the Fire Nation, Katara leaves the children with Aang to have tea with Zuko and Mai. But the two of them have something they want to talk about. They've lived enough of fathers neglecting one child for the other, and they have seen enough.

Katara wishes they had propositioned her, rather than bring this up. Read on Archive of Our Own here.

Years of travel in the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation have not made handling the heat any easier. Katara rejoices in shedding her layers, showing off some skin. Aang is entertaining all the kids—all of them, not just Tenzin, and Zuko’s daughter, too. She is relieved to have them out of her hair, to have the time to sit down and comb through her hair. She twists her hair into her old Fire Nation fashion and grins at herself in the mirror. She loves her hair loopies, but it’s nice to shake things up a bit.

Aang is taking the kids through the palace and tormenting the tour guide Zuko sent them with Ty Lee. Katara is taking advantage of the break. Zuko told her he’ll be in the garden with Mai, doing a tea meditation. Apparently they do that every morning, to keep a finger on each other’s pulse. At first Katara was nonplussed, wondering if that was a euphemism, and was slightly alarmed when he invited her to join them. Aang has talked about how the Air Nomads practiced polyamory. The Water Tribe does not. Katara does not.

It is terribly, terribly hot, humidity a caress on the skin, and she bends it cooler around her limbs, swiping the sweat away. Barefoot she walks down the tile path into the courtyard. Mai and Zuko are sitting by the turtleducks, drinking tea. Mai sees her first and raises a small cup in welcome.

Zuko says, “I told you she’d come.”

Mai rolls her eyes. “Hot tea on a hot day? Only offer this to Katara, not any other officials from the Water Tribe.”

“Fair,” Zuko says. He smiles at her. “Aang’s got the kids?”

Katara settles down at the tea table, one of those elegantly-carved pieces of wood that look deceptively simple and thus cost a fortune. Zuko uses wooden prongs to place a small porcelain cup before her and Mai. She touches it, eggshell thin. It’s warm.

“The tea tastes better that way,” Zuko says. Mai looks at him fondly. “Easier now that I don’t have to hide the fire bending.”

Katara smiles. “I really am surprised we didn’t run into each other earlier. Your uncle’s tea shop was so popular!”

Zuko hides his face behind his hair, and Mai puts her hand on his arm. Iroh’s death is still raw on him. She takes the tongs from him and begins pulling thin, silvery green leaves from a jar. She places them in a scoop made from bamboo.

“Bai hao yin zhen,” Mai says. “Early spring.” An eagerness underlays her usual drawl. Katara raises an eyebrow. She really likes the tea. Mai says, “Here. Smell.”

Katara leans forward. “The things I do for diplomacy!” She grins, and takes a cautious sniff. Her eyes widen, and she inhales deeper, drunk on the scent. “That’s like the sun!”

Mai smiles, and Zuko shakes himself out of his reverie to say, “Uncle always said the tasting notes were honey and sun fruits, after the rain. This is the new buds of a tea tree. There are other white teas, just as exquisite, that include the leaves, but I’ve always loved this one. It’s a treat.”

Katara says, “Well, thank you for sharing with me. If it tastes anything like it smells….”

“Uncle always served you red tea, right?” Zuko takes an open pot and closes a hand gently around its handle. The water begins to bubble. “He thought you’d like a deeper flavor. It’s good for the cold. But white tea cools me down.”

Katara leans back on her haunches, raising her face to the sun. She listens to the burble of the koi pond behind her, where Zuko has placed a shrine to Yue. Reparations, she thinks. Not enough: Sokka and Suki broke up, of course, and he has never quite been able to settle down since. She’s there, silent in the bright sky, and while it is not enough, at least the world is whole.

The courtyard is gritty under her hands, and she wipes at them, wincing at the soreness in the joints. She’s been stressed. These family trips are always stressful. Aang, for all his meditation, never seems to be able to focus on packing and he makes Bumi’s inattention worse, and then Kya gets upset that Bumi is bothering her and kicks up a fuss, and then Tenzin of course cries, and Appa covers him in slobber trying to comfort him, which makes him cry worse, and then he needs a bath, and then Bumi and Kya get upset, because the baby is the baby and the Airbender and everything, as Kya once screamed. She sighs. It is good to have some time in the sun, while Aang takes care of the kids, and have some intelligent conversation besides when she was having her next baby. She wasn’t. Three and a husband were enough.

Mai says, apropos of nothing, “Dragon eyes.” She slides the tea from the scoop into a gaiwan, shaking the leaves to spread them on the bottom.

Katara opens her eyes. “What?”

Mai says, “It means the water’s boiling. When the bubbles are that large, like dragon eyes. It means it’s the temperature that’s good for this kind of white tea. Though some brew it cooler—with crab eyes, rather than dragon eyes.”

Zuko takes his hand from the pot and skillfully pours the boiling water into the waiting gaiwan. He places its lid on the top, and pours it swiftly into another exquisite porcelain pitcher, almost translucently blue. Like blood, Katara thinks, and then banishes the thought. Hama wouldn’t like her here. The honeysuckle smell fills the garden. Zuko pours the tea, almost silver-green, into her cup.

He says, “Don’t drink. Just smell.”

Katara looks at him doubtfully. It seems like such a waste of such wonderful-smelling tea. The Fire Nation court has always struck her as excessive, though she is leery of people who prattle on about decadence.

Mai says, “You can drink it. But it’s the rinse, you rinse leaves like this the way you do rice.”

Katara says, “You ever cooked rice?” Zuko laughs, and Mai rolls her eyes.

“Very funny,” she drawls. “When we searched for Ursa. Eventually I got it right.” Zuko grins in a way that makes Katara think that perhaps she never did.

He points to the figure, painted in blue, sitting serenely at the center of the tea table. “Or you can offer it to her.” Katara picks up the porcelain figurine. It’s of a woman, a mother, holding a child close. She catches Mai’s eye. Zuko still hurts for his mother, for his father, for his cousin and his sister and his uncle. It manifests in such obvious ways, how he grieves his family. She doesn’t even need to hear it, but Zuko says it anyway. “It was my mother’s. Noriko, I mean.”

“Have you spoken to her recently?” Katara says carefully. She places the figurine back onto the table and unceremoniously dumps her cup over it, hoping it scalds through the paint. Families are complicated, Zuko’s insanely so. Mai gives her an amused look and does the same.

Zuko shrugs. “I just wish she’d talk to Azula. She hasn’t visited her once. And I know it’s hard, and you never really know when the lucid period will end, but—“

Mai says, “Loving Azula isn’t easy. It might get better when Ozai dies.”

Then they are silent as Zuko picks up the pot again and flash-brews the tea. It is hard to be sour with such a sweet smell filling the air. They don’t need to say it. It would have been better if Aang had killed Ozai. It is easier to come to peace with the dead father than the living disposed king and his mad daughter.

Zuko pours the honey-sweet tea into her little cup. She sips it, lost in its clear light taste. This is what the dew hidden in a flower tastes like, she thinks. She tries to slow down sipping at this minuscule cup, but too fast, the tea is gone. Zuko is smiling.

“Another cup?” he says, and she nods eagerly. “This was one of my uncle’s favorites. One of the many things he loved from the Earth Kingdom.”

They drink, reveling in the sheer loveliness of it. It’s like drinking light, Katara thinks. Earth and fire and water, in one cup. The warm porcelain soothes her aching hands. A muscle relaxes in her neck, and she lets her shoulders down. She rolls them, happy in their mobility.

Mai looks at her with an acupuncturist’s eye. “Pinched nerve?” she asks. “I can look at that. If you’re comfortable.”

Katara stops, cup halfway to her mouth. She’s going back to her original thought that they were hitting on her, which is flattering, but no. Absolutely not. She’s got enough going on, even if Aang wouldn’t mind, or even be into it. No.

Zuko leans forward. “There’s something we’ve been wanting to ask her.”

Katara’s heart stops. She puts the cup down, a little too hard. “I—uh—“

“Have things been alright with Aang?”

Mai’s mouth twitches. “I think she thought we were going to ask her something else.”

“Everything’s fine!” Katara blurts. Mai can be such a troll sometimes. “I mean. Traveling with the kids is always…a lot, but—why?” She’s irritated now. She has not been pleased with Aang, but three small children take a toll on communication in a marriage. She’s embarrassed that it has been that obvious. She fiddles with the figurine on the table.

Zuko and Mai exchange a look. They look like they’re waiting for the other to speak. Finally, Mai heaves a sigh.

“Bumi wrote Izumi something in a letter,” Mai says. She folds her hands in her lap. “You know how they’re friends. And it made her very upset.”

“Well,” Katara says. “If he was nasty to her, I’ll speak to him, but I don’t see what this has to do with my marriage. Bumi is—“ She stops. Bumi is always in the middle of things, fussing around, crashing into walls just like his namesake. She loses patience with him too often, she knows that, but Kya’s easy to distract with a waterbending lesson, and Tenzin just sits with his scrolls when Aang isn’t putting him through his paces. He’s so much like his father, an absolute whirlwind of energy. She’s privately thought it’s a shame he didn’t inherit his father’s bending, rather than Tenzin, but that is something she can not let herself think for long.

“He says he doesn’t think his father loves him, because he’s not a bender,” Zuko says. “Which I know is not right. But I have been in that position before. And he told her that Aang is never around, that he just travels from temple to temple with Tenzin, and he and Kya are just left at home. And that he’s worried about you too. It was a very…” He trails off, and looks at Mai.

Mai finishes, “The ink was smudge. He’d been crying. So we wanted to talk to you, because it scared Izumi. Because we both know what it is like to be ignored by our fathers.” She smiles thinly. “And the toll it took on our mothers.”

Zuko says, “I’m sorry if we overstepped, it was just—hard to read.”

Katara says, “Why didn’t he tell me? It’s—he does his best to present for the kids, but Aang has his Avatar duties, and as the last airbender, there’s so much he needs to teach Tenzin, so it’s just easier for him to bring only him along. Have you tried to move three children around the world on bison-back?”

Zuko looks wry for a second. “Well,” he says. “It depends if you count Sokka as a child.”

Mai puts her hand on his arm: not the time.

Katara says, “I wish it was better, but I knew I wasn’t walking into something that was easy. From the start. He could be a better father, but what can I do? What can I do?” She’s furious now, tears rising to her eyes, and she looses a ragged breath, surprised at her own fervor. Wordlessly Zuko pours her another cup. She downs it, barely tasting it.

Mai says, “If he’s not being a good father to your children and a good husband to you, you can leave. We’re not our mothers, Katara.” Zuko looks at her warningly. “Sorry. I don’t know how it was in the Southern Water Tribe, but for my mother, she thought she had no choice. But there is always a choice. Even if it isn’t easy. I don’t—“

Zuko says firmly, “You deserve better. Bumi and Kya deserve better. And Tenzin too. That sort of resentment between siblings is poison. I should know.”

Katara would have preferred that they proposition her. She closes her eyes. “I don’t know what to do,” she whispers. Louder, she continues, “I know Bumi deserves better. From both of us. I know it hurts them. I can see it in the way they treat Tenzin. Kya already barely speaks to Aang. But. Tenzin is my son, too. And of course he and Aang would be closer. It’s just—if I take my children and go, I’m taking Aang’s family away. And I know the Air Nomads were different, he wasn’t raised to stay in one place, if you were a bender and a boy you’d be sent to the temple and that was it, but—“

“Bumi is Southern Water Tribe,” Mai says. “And even if his father is an Air Nomad, only his brother counts as one. Because of bending. And that isn’t fair for him. For Kya either, because they are both. And you know you need to do something about it.” Katara looks up, surprised at the emotion in her voice. Mai stares at her steadily. “Katara, you saved the world. You’re the hero of the Fire Nation, the Painted Lady, the chief of the Southern Water Tribe. You deserve a husband who is a coparent to all your children, not just one.”

Katara says, “You don’t—“ and then there is a crash and a scream and the sound of raucous laughter as Aang comes running in on an air ball, Tenzin nipping at his heels.

“C’mon,” he yells behind him, “faster, you snail sloths!” He and Tenzin pause, perched on the air they so effortlessly bend. Tenzin looks a little harried. Bumi comes running in, panting, then Kya, and Izumi at a more sedate pace.

“That’s…cheating,” Kya says. She grips at the wall. “That wasn’t fair!” She is genuinely angry, almost at the brink of tears, and Izumi bumps her reassuringly. Bumi throws himself on the ground.

Tenzin says pedantically, “You didn’t say no bending.”

Izumi snaps, “Maybe it didn’t need to be said!”

Aang jumps onto his feet, and Tenzin follows. Kya is crouching over Bumi now, muttering to him. Mai’s face is a stone. Zuko is blushing.

“What’s up?” Aang says, grinning. “Did I miss anything fun?”

Katara pours herself a cup rather than answering. She considered the heat and sweetness in the air. With a flick of her risk, she bends it over the mother figurine, washing her clean.

“Oh, you know,” she says. “Diplomacy. We’ll talk about it when we get home.”

[dahliax]

Goddess of the Sun

Chapter Two

Description : Zuko x oc Dahila, Goddess of the Sun who was sent by the spirits crosses paths with Ursa, who changes her life forever.

Note : I started this fanfic for fun but now I like it. I haven’t posted fanfic in years but I thought it would be fun to start again. It’s obviously not amazing but I’m hoping to improve with practice. I’m also open to requests in my ask box preferably just Female!Reader x Zuko or Sokka (fluff, smut, oneshots, and headcannons are welcome). Right now I’m character building for the first few chapters soon we will get to the good parts :) Let me know what you think so far! 🌸 (im real soft so pls try not to be too mean)

Warnings : fluff, angst, eventual smut (in aged up chapters).

꧁𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑂𝑛𝑒꧂

꧁𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑇𝑤𝑜꧂

꧁𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒꧂ Coming Soon

10 years later

“But Zuko, what if I want to be the hero this time!?” Dahlia’s voice echoed through the palace gardens.

With a sigh Zuko turns “I guess you can play the hero this time. But I am NOT playing the princess,” Zuko finally said yes to the little girl standing in-front of him. She gasped and squealed and ran as fast as she could to give her best friend a big hug.

“Yay! But who will play the princess?”

“I will”

Dahlia and Zuko turned around to see where the voice was coming from. Azula.

Dahlia’s stomach dropped. Azula never played fair and someone always got hurt by the time she was ready to quit playing. “Zuko, maybe we should just play with the turtle ducks,” Dahlia whispered so only Zuko can hear but she was wrong. “Well it would only make sense.. I am a princess in real life.. I would be perfect for the role!” Azula slyly slips closer to them igniting the fear in Dahlia she was all too used to here at the palace.

“Okay then I can play the villain!” Zuko faked being excited. He shot Dahlia a soft look seeing in her eyes that she was scared. He hated seeing her this way, she was his best friend after all. This always made Azula jealous seeing her brother constantly playing with Dahlia instead of her like Ty Lee and Mai. Azula knew there was something off about Dahlia, why would her mother bring a random peasant baby into the palace? This made Azula’s blood boil even hotter, mapping out her attack plan quicker than Dahlia could even blink. She’s been dealing with this for too long. She had to end Dahlia.

Azula smirked and pushed out a huge ball of fire at Zuko and Dahlia. Zuko’s heart stopped, “hey! You know we don’t use fire outside of training and around Dahlia you know it’s not fair!” Zuko squeaked after diverting the fire. Dahlia’s heart sank, another reminder that she could never stand a chance against Azula without bending.

“Well Dahlia, you wanted to be the hero, now be one” Azula’s words were like venom in Dahlia’s heart, everyone knew she couldn’t stand a chance. “Don’t hurt anyone Azula” Zuko said lowly. “Now what makes you think I’d do that Zuzu? It’s just a friendly game” Azula smirked and threw another fireball at the two children. It was always fun and games until Azula showed up. Zuko diffused the fireball while Dahlia ducked only to see Mai and Ty Lee coming through the entrance of the gardens. She was in big trouble now.

Zuko was trying to make a plan in his head. But he knew he wasn’t as strong as Azula, she was so much farther in training than him. Before Zuko could think another thought Azula sent another blast knocking Dahlia and Zuko on their butts.

“Guards! Arrest this man!” Azula yelled at Ty Lee and Mai. They ran to Zuko before he could get up and wrapped his wrists with Mai’s hair ribbon. A blush crept up on Zuko’s face from Mai’s touch, he had a crush on her. Dahlia watched, she felt so helpless. The boy she had a crush on was entranced by another girl and her bully was standing right in-front of her waiting to attack.

Deep in Dahlia’s heart she’d hope Azula would show mercy to the little girl sitting there with tears welling up in her eyes. She had no way out. And Azula never showed mercy, she seen it as weakness. And as soon as Zuko looked over from Mai’s eyes a crack of lightning came from the sky and the most disturbing scream rang in Zuko’s ear drums.

Everyone’s heart stopped. But Dahlia continued screaming. Tears immediately hit Zuko’s eyes.

“Finally! My best move yet! Daddy will be so proud” Azula squealed and kicked Dahlia over on her side. Zuko was almost positive she was dead. There’s no way a regular 10 year old could survive but somehow she was still screaming. The fire in Zuko’s heart made him see red and he immediately destroyed the ribbon around his wrists, running over to Dahlia and cradling her head in his small hands.

“Dahlia are you okay?” Zuko managed to speak even though he could barely hear himself. Dahlia thrashed in pain, blood trickling out of her side. Zuko noticed the lighting marks crawling up her hip under the destroyed part of her kimono. His heart sank. She’d have this scar forever if she survives. Soon they could hear frantic foot steps coming from inside the palace. Zuko pushes up from his feet fuming, “Why would you do this?!”

“Azula!” Iroh and Ursa scream in unison seeing Azula above Dahlia giggling. “Look mom you’re going to be so proud! I can use lightening now!” Azula smirked brightly but Iroh and Ursa were less than impressed. Iroh had been visiting and Ursa wanted the kids to be on their best behavior but obviously Azula couldn’t let that get in the way of her plan.

“Get the healers immediately and prepare the royal hospital room,” Ursa quickly said to the guards. “The royal hospital room? She’s a peasant!” the guard talked back. Iroh’s eyes widened, “I don’t think it’s your place to be questioning her royal highness in such a situation. Now go.” Iroh said coldly. Ursa ran to the children trying to ignore the tears threatening to spill over. To say the least Dahlia was the daughter Ursa wished Azula was.

“Azula. Go see your father.“ Ursa had enough of Azula’s antics. And everyone knew if Ursa sent anyone to Ozai that they were in big trouble.

ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

Dahlia’s eyes finally fluttered open to see Ursa sleeping on the chair aside her. Dahlia panicked, she didn’t recognize where she was. Her eyes adjusted to see its the royal hospital room. She grabbed Ursa’s hand startling her awake. Tears lining Dahlia’s eyes as she remembered what happened. “I-I” she could barely speak, her throat felt like it was on fire from screaming, “I tho-thought I was going to die” she finally said with tears flowing down her cheeks like a waterfall. Ursa pulled her into a gentle hug minding her wounded side. “You’re safe now darling, I promise” she croaked out exhausted from crying and all the emotions the day brought.

ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

“You know Zuko would like to see you,” Iroh says to Dahlia while she scans the book he brought for her to read during recovery. “Oh no Iroh.. I look so terrible right now” the redness in her cheeks told Iroh all he needed to know. “Don’t worry ladybug, he told me he thought you’re the most beautiful girl in the palace” he said in hopes to lift her spirits. Somehow Dahlia’s face got even redder, “You’re only saying that to be nice” she said as she crossed her arms.

“Well he’s got a present waiting for you and I’m sure you’d like to see what it is,” Iroh teased. “That might be true but I know he doesn’t think I’m the most beautiful girl in the palace” she said stubbornly. Iroh chuckled, “How are you so sure?” he says challenging her stubbornness as usual. “He told me he likes Mai and that Ozai thought it was a good idea”

Iroh sighed, realizing how quickly these kids were growing up now that Ozai was preparing a wife to marry off to his son when he turns 18. He knew Ursa would have none of it. But now Iroh was confused, Zuko really did tell him that he thought she was the most beautiful girl in the palace. “I’m not lying to you Dahlia, I’m not sure why he would change his mind” but they both knew why. Even if he chose Dahlia the nation believes she’s a simple peasant with no bending abilities who just got lucky. But Iroh knew one day the secret would come out.

“Ladybug, how things are now are not how they will always be. Your destiny is your own not Ozai or Azula can change it. Now, would you like some jasmine tea?” He says getting up to grab the pot. “Yes please! Can you mix the camomile in?” she says excitedly. “Zuko will be out of training soon. I told him to stop by” Iroh said and Dahlia just let out a loud huff, too tired to argue any further.

ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

"Zuko! You're in luck..the tea just finished..How was training?” Iroh said getting the cups ready for them “Fine I guess. It’s weird not having Azula there though,” 

Dahlia almost questioned why Azula wasn’t there but then she saw that Zuko was hiding something behind his back. A blush rose to her cheeks. ‘He really did bring me something’ she thought. Iroh nodded at Zuko and said, “Oh I must have forgotten my cup. Excuse me for a moment.”

Dahlia wanted to crawl in a hole. She knew Iroh did that on purpose.

“So how are you feeling?” Zuko said walking closer to the hospital bed. “Fine I guess. I can’t walk yet.” she said sadly which made Zuko feel a pain in his heart. “I’m sorry I didn’t do better. I failed at protecting you. But I hope these fire lilies make you feel better” he said sweetly. Dahlia’s jaw dropped, the only place you can get pink fire lilies near the palace was to hike the the Eagle’s Volcano. Her lack of response made Zuko falter, “Do you hate them? I-I’m sorry it was stupid-“ “No no! I love them! They’re perfect..” she trails off admiring their rare color.

Zuko was feeling pretty used to rejection. All the gifts he got for Mai she hated. He was tired of trying to impress her for his father even if he had a tiny crush on her because he had a bigger, deeper crush on Dahlia that’s been lingering in his heart for as long as he could remember. She was the most beautiful, fun girl he knew and now that he was alone with her he was going to do something about it.

“You know where they would look perfect?” he said touching the soft petals “Where?” she replied looking into his honey filled eyes as he pulled a flower out of the bouquet. “In your hair,” he said as he pushed her hair behind her ear and placed the flower in her long brown hair. Just as she relaxed into Zuko’s touch, the door opened. “I brought an extra guest for tea, I hope you don’t mind” Iroh announces as Ursa follows in behind him.

The smiles on their faces were priceless, they knew exactly what was going on. “Well don’t you look just like a beautiful doll,” Ursa gushed and pressed a kiss to both the children’s heads. Both of them blushing like mad.

I hope you guys liked this chapter!! idk how I feel about it yet! Requests are open! I wanted to let everybody know that any suggestions are welcome!! Totally helps out when I get overwhelmed with ideas!!

Taglist: @darkskin-buttercup @marvels-gurl @haylaansmi

[aceavatar]

Just Like Me (Part 1)

Zuko x oc, Pearl

Recently, I’ve been struggling with my worsening Tourette’s, and writing a character and a story with it is very cathartic and relieving in many ways, as well as getting some of my problems and struggles with it out there. So, without further ado, here is the first part of my story! I hope y’all enjoy! ❤️ -Marie

Warnings: tics

Word count: 1473

When speech is written in italics, it’s a tic. It’s this way so I don’t have to explain vocal ones. :)

Rules are made to be broken, but not this one. It was far too dangerous. Well, she was far too dangerous.

“Why can’t I go down there, father?” Young Azula asked her father, Ozai.

“It’s dangerous.” Was all he said. Was all he would ever say about that subject.

“Mother, what’s so dangerous about the cellar?” Zuko asked his mother.

“It’s not a what, darling. It’s a who.” She said.

“Well, who is it?” A child Zuko asked eagerly.

“Well you’re going to have to find out one day.” She said, tapping the child on the nose.

Zuko crinkled his nose and ran off to find Mai and Azula and Ty Lee.

Ursa, though, got up and calmly walked to the forbidden cellar.

“Hello dear,” she said, creaking the door open.

“Hi, Miss.” a small girl said quietly. Out of everyone the girl knew, Ursa was the only one who was truly kind and cared about her wellbeing.

“How are you feeling today?” She asked.

“Not great. My wrists hurt.” The child said, glancing at the heavy chains around her fragile arms.

Ursa frowned. “I’ll ask them to get lighter ones. Don’t want you to break.” She said jokingly, leaving the chamber.

The kid sat on her makeshift bed, kicking her legs. She was calm. She was always calm until people showed up, making her anxieties skyrocket.

She spent her days reading books Ursa would bring her about earthbending and culture, and by simply walking around the room as far as her chains would allow her to.

Ursa came back in, making the girl jump. “The guards are going to switch out your chains for lighter ones.” Ursa says kindly.

“Thank you.”

“Of course. You’re only human.”

“Do you think I’ll ever get out of here?” the girl asked, shaking her head involuntarily.

“Pearl, honey, I don’t know. I wish I did, but the answer just doesn’t exist yet.” Ursa said sadly yet comfortingly.

“Yeah,” Pearl nodded, “I don’t want to accidentally hurt anyone like I used to.”

“I know, dear.” Ursa said, hugging her.

“Fire, fire, fire,” Pearl muttered. Ursa chuckled, making the child laugh a little too. “I’m sorry, miss. I couldn’t help it.”

“I know, honey. You don’t have to apologize.

Pearl nodded, thinking how she still would. She felt bad about what she did. She didn’t really understand why she did or said things. It’s like there was a mischievous spirit living inside her, making her do, say, and think random things.

“I think there’s a spirit inside me.” Pearl said, breaking the little moment of silence they were having.

“Oh? Care to explain?”

“Well, the thing is, I read in one of the books you brought me about the spirits, and how they can live inside of people sometimes. Like Raava and the Avatar. I think there’s one inside of me, causing me to do things that get me in trouble.” The child explained.

Ursa nodded, thinking about how that actually made a lot of sense. “That’s a good thought.”

“Thank you!” Pearl smiled at the compliment. “Now, can you tell me about your children?”

Pearl had a fascination with what went on above her cell every day. She heard stories from Ursa about her daughter Azula, her husband Ozai, firelord Azulon, Iroh, Lu Ten, and Zuko. She was dying to meet Zuko; Ursa loved him so much, and talked about him all the time.

“Well, I fed the turtle ducks, went on a walk, picked some flowers, and also, Zuko wanted to know what was down in this room today.” Ursa said.

“Really?”

“Really. The two of you would be great friends.”

“Do you think we’ll ever meet?”

“I hope so.” She smiled, patting the girl on the shoulder.

To Ursa, Pearl was the daughter she wanted. Not the sociopathic little girl she gave birth to, but a sweet, caring, educated, and interested daughter. She loved Azula though, every mother loves their child. She just recognized that something was off about her.

“I’ve got to leave now, darling.” Ursa said, standing up and heading for the door. “I’ll visit again soon.”

“Bye, miss.” Pearl said with a smile and a wave.

The door shut, and the room was darker.

The spirit inside of her seemed to calm down when Ursa came. Ursa made her feel calm and happy, and the spirit must approve of her.

{}{}{}{}{}

“Good morning, Pearl.” a guard said, opening the door and bringing in some eggs and a biscuit.

“Good morning sir.” Pearl said with a smile. Despite being banished from the life above, her heart was set on making her life nice.

“Fire fire fire fire fire,” She chanted as he walked in and lit the torches on the wall, making him laugh.

“Yep, it’s fire.”

“Can’t help it, fire fire,”

“I know, I’m messing with ya.” He grins.

She smiled back.

“Thanks for the light and the food.”

“Of course.” He smiled and walked.

Pearl grabbed a book and ate breakfast while reading. She studied earthbending stances, and ways to bend. She wished she could be more connected to her element the way the firebenders around her could be. Maybe someday.

{}{}{}{}{}

It had been a while since the last time Pearl saw Ursa. She had gone on vacation with her family, leaving Pearl alone.

When they got back after about a month, Ursa finally visited.

“Pearl, it’s good to see you!” She said, walking in, tanner than she was before.

“Ursa!” Pearl grinned.

The woman gave her a gentle hug, making the child’s head shake.

“Oops, I’m sorry.” Ursa said gently.

“Don’t be.” Pearl smiled.

“Mom?” A voice said from outside the door.

Ursa’s head shot up, and she got nervous, making the spirit unhappy. Pearl started gently tapping her fingers, from thumb to pinky, on her left leg, head shaking.

“Give me one moment.” Ursa said, scurrying to the door. “Zuko, hello darling.” Ursa said, opening the door only a crack.

“Mom? Why are you down here so much?” He asked.

That’s Zuko’s voice, Pearl thought. She liked the way he sounded.

“Don’t worry about it sweetie.” She said gently.

“Please mom? Show me what’s down here?”

Pearl crinkled her nose by being called a “what.” I guess he doesn’t know, she thought.

Ursa stepped aside and looked back at the girl who’s her son’s age, nervously sitting and moving about.

“I’m not sure if she’s up for meeting someone right now,” Ursa said, glancing at you.

You nodded. “I think I’m ready.”

Ursa stretched out her hand for Zuko to take, which he did, and they walked in.

“Zuko, this is Pearl.” She said, walking towards her.

“Nice to meet you, Zuko. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Pearl said, reaching out her hand.

Zuko shook it cautiously.

“Why are you here?” He asked bluntly, making Ursa make a face at him.

“I can hurt people. On accident of course.” Pearl said nervously.

“Oh, ok. I think everyone can.” Zuko said, shrugging.

“Fire fire fire,”

“I can bend fire!” Zuko said excitedly.

Pearl blushed, shaking her head forward, clenching her fists.

“Are you okay?” Zuko asked.

“I’m fine, it’s normal.” Pearl muttered, getting through the twitches.

Ursa stood by the door, watching and smiling. She knew the two would get along.

“Do you bend?” Zuko asked.

“Yeah, earth! There’s no earth in here, though. Rocks rocks rocks rocks rocks,”

“Yeah, it’s all wood and metal,” Zuko observes. “And fire.”

“Fire fire fire,” Pearl chanted, shaking her head forwards with each word. making Zuko smile and giggle a little.

“I see what you did there!” Pearl laughed at the boy who wanted her to do it again.

Pearl loved how he didn’t see her as a monster, or that she had something wrong with her. She felt normal with him, despite being in chains.

Zuko, on the other hand, was fascinated by the girl. Why was she so dangerous? Because she was an earthbender? It couldn’t be that. She’s just like me, he thought.

Everyone’s thoughts were interrupted when the door slammed open, and in walked a scary man.

“Why are you two in here mingling with that monster!?” The man’s voice boomed.

Pearl frowned, twitching her head as she hung it low in shame from the nasty name.

“Ozai- let me explain-” Ursa said, standing up to confront the man.

“No! Get out of here.” He growled at her.

Ursa glared at him, but obeyed, grabbing her son’s hand. She looked back at Pearl, who was hitting herself on the chest repeatedly, whispering something.

“Don’t hurt her.” She said to her husband sternly, walking out of the cell, dragging Zuko along.

“Bye Pearl!” Zuko shouted, waving at the cool new girl he just met. There wasn’t time to wait for an answer, but he hoped that she said goodbye too.

[simplisticgardengnome]

Modern Au where the gaang is under the same dance company

A few things before I start writing everything is that I am changing the ages so here they are when the main story happens ig?? Here they are:

Zuko: 16

Mai: 16

Ty Lee: 15

Sokka: 15

Suki: 15

Katara: 14

Aang: 14

Toph: 14

Azula: 14

Anyways, here we go!

•Ozai is killed by Ursa when Zuko is 12 and Azula is ten

•Which sucks of course, and because this man owns a super famous dance company thing, the police have to investigate

•They question Ursa, Iroh, Lu Ten(yeah he’s alive thank you), Zuko and Azula

•They quickly realize that Ozai was super abusive

•Instead of looking for his murder(which they are pretty sure is Ursa or Iroh), they say it was a suicide (normally I would say acab but police can be okay here)

•Ursa takes over the dance company and renames it to Roku Dance or something

•Before it was named after Sozin, and that’s yuck

•Anyways, all of the dancers that Ozai ever chose were Fire Nation dancers

•So Ursa immediately decides to hire an Earth Kingdom group called “The Kyoshi Warriors”

•They are comprised of dancers who are all about 14-18 besides one girl

•Suki!!! Anyways, 11 year old Suki meets 12 Zuko and they are friends really quickly

•It’s really nice for Zuko because he doesn’t have friends :(

•The Kyoshi Warriors see how close Zuko and Suki are and just go:

•Oh Suki you should be doing duets with think boy ;)

•So that’s what goes on with Suki and Zuko

•Also Zuko is blind in his eye where the scar would be, but since Ozai got murdered that DIDNT HAPPEN

•So Zuko is just blind in that eye

•His school decides that he should be friends with a girl name Toph because “!!Zuko!! She’s!!! Blind!!!”

•Zuko hates this at first because he hates being forced to get along with people

•But Toph is cool

•So Zuko, Suki and Toph are a little trio for a while

•About a year later, Zuko is living in a little apartment type thing in the dance studio (sh it’s my AU and I have my reasons) because his mom and step-dad’s house is far away from his school which is very close to the dance studio

•Suki has the same situation just as the Kyoshi warriors do, she has her own little apartment thing

•Mai, Azula and Ty Lee have their little apartment thing too (because I said so)

•One day, Zuko finds this boy Aang, who is 12 and was raised by monks

•He just ran away because...

•Honestly your choice

•Anyways, Zuko is like “Oh bro, you can stay in my apartment for a bit.”

•Aang is super excited because, wow!! People who aren’t monks!!

•Toph and Aang get along right away

•Suki thinks he’s chill

•So Zuko pleads with Ursa to let Aang stay

•And she does!! Because Aang can dance!!!

•Anyways, Aang and Zuko share an apartment and become really good friends

•At some point they adopt a puppy and name him Appa

•They regret adopting him as a puppy because he was a lap dog when he was tiny, but is now giant and almost crushes people

•They also adopt a ferret that they name Momo

•Zuko adopts a lizard and names him Druk

•Aang refers to the three animals as his and Zuko’s children

•Zuko hates this but eventually gives in

•Then!!! When Zuko is 16, Ursa accepts this girl named Katara to be in the dance studio!!

•Katara so excited!! Her fathers(I said Bakoda rights) move her and her older brother Sokka to the place where the dance studio is

•Katara begs Sokka to come with her and he obliges

•They walk in expecting to see a bunch of dancers practicing some really hard music

•Instead they see

•A boy will blue arrow tattoos sitting on the back of a girl doing push-ups (Inspired by a post that I will link at the bottom because Tumblr is being RUDE) the boy is on his phone

•A boy with a very neat bun and gold eyes(Sokka notes that last part in his mind) is sitting on the floor and there is a giant fluffy dog sitting on top of him

•A girl with short hair just laying on the ground

•Katara is just like, “Uh?? Hi???”

•She gets a hi from all of them

•The boy with the tattoos calls out “That’s 69 Toph!”

•The girl, (Apparently Toph is her name)doing the push-ups, just calls back “Nice”

•Sokka is like “Okay Katara, I’m going to go”

•The girl on the floor hoists herself up onto her elbows and is like, “You can stay if you want, it’s not like anyone else is here today”

•Sokka is confused because?? Aren’t people supposed to be there

•Suki explains that this specific dance studio has the Kyoshi Warriors; Whatever Azula, Ty Lee and Mai’s trio is called; Zuko; Aang; and now Katara

•The Kyoshi Warriors (besides Suki, since she accidentally sprained her ankle) are at competition and so are Azula, Ty Lee and Mai

•Katara gives Sokka a pleading look so he complies(though he really shouldn’t)

•And that is how Sokka and Katara meet the rest of the gaang

If I write this (I probably won’t haha) it’ll feature Zukka, Kataang, Toph x Suki(no I don’t know the ship name thank you very much) Tyzula(but Azula won’t be toxic because I just want them to be happy), and Bakoda.

[kawaiichibiart]

I considered it. And fuck it.

Little Mermaid AU. One-sided Yueka and endgame Sukka. The 100 year war ended early, though I'm considering making it a no war AU, in which case, things will be revised to fit.

And no, this isn't based off Disney's The Little Mermaid, Disney's The Little Mermaid can go suck an ass.

The Little Mermaid - Yue

The Prince - Sokka

The Princess - Suki

The sea witch - Zhao

Let's start this off with one thing. Yue will die. If you've read the original story of the Little Mermaid, you know she died.

Yue is the daughter of the Chief of the NWT, a tribe of merfolk who live, well, in the North. Unlike the SWT, where everyone was fully human.

Yue had never once gone to the surface, but on her 18th birthday, she was deemed ready to go. And so, she was prepared.

Going to the surface was a grand occasion for them, as they spent their entire lives underwater.

It was nighttime by the time she was ready. And so, in the dead of the night, she went up to surface. The moon was full and a ship was nearby that she could see it, but not nearby enough that anyone on it could see her.

Yue decides that she wants a closer look and swims over, keeping under the water as to be undetected.

It's then that she sees a young man, not much older than she should be, on the ship. He's smiling and laughing. A young girl pulls him by the arm into a dance of sorts. The two are laughing and enjoying themselves. And Yue yearns for that.

She's an only child.

She doesn't have many friends.

She's...lonely.

And then, the storm hits. And Yue watches as everyone on board runs for the smaller boats attached to the larger ship.

She watches as the younger girl is put into a boat and held back as she screams for the boy.

She watches as he tries to make his way over, only to be thrown over board by a loose pole.

The girl and two men scream the boy's name, Sokka, and the girl holds her hands out.

She's a bender.

But the SWT had no other benders. She didn't have the training. She was trying to use her bending to get the boy out, but she was struggling.

And Yue went under the water, looking around. She could still hear the young girl scream, crying for Tui and La to save the boy, her brother.

And she sees him. His eyes closed and he seems suspended.

She swam over, grabbed him, and pulled him to the surface.

Both tribes enjoyed their travels, and often time, when merfolk were to go to the surface, they would head the island of Kyoshi before returning to the North Pole. Yue heard of the greens of the island, of the legendary Unagi. She heard of the Kyoshi warriors.

And the island was close enough that she could get Sokka there. He would be found and helped and he could send word to his sister that he was okay.

It's nearly dawn by the time she gets to Kyoshi Island. But she gets there and drags Sokka onto the sand and leaves him there. She hides nearby as she sees a young group of girls walking over. One of them spots Sokka and runs over. She's looking over him, and Yue can't hear her, but some of the other girls run off, likely to get help.

And then, he starts to move. Yue watches as the girl helps him up and she and the rest of her group lead him away.

Needless to say, her father isn't happy to hear of this. Even if he was from a Water Tribe. Tui and La must of meant for him to fall overboard.

But Yue can't stop thinking about him. She wanted to know more about Sokka. To have a life on the surface. To see the moon without risking being seen and fearing for her life.

And one day, she meets the Sea Witch, Zhao.

Zhao, who was once an Admiral of the Fire Nation. Dragged into the sea where he was turned into a spirit. He would grant anyone a wish for a price.

She heard that he did it because he was eager to take and to take. That he had tried to kill his own Prince while he was at sea.

She heard that he tried to kill the moon spirit, but someone stopped him. Some say it was the very Prince he tried to kill, some say it was a young airbender. And some say it was La himself.

Either way, Zhao was punished to spend his life underwater, his inner fire struggling.

And knowing the risks, she went to him anyways, and asked him to grant her one wish. To make her human.

And he did, at the price of not just her voice, but her life.

It would be a painful experience, but if she could get Sokka to fall in love with her, she would remain a human. But if he fell for someone else, she would turn into seafoam. In other words, she would die. She had no time limit. Just to make Sokka fall in love with her.

And she accepted his terms.

And she felt it. She felt excruciating pain and swam to the surface. She's struggling to stay up.

And she hears someone call out. She's not sure who, but eventually, a rope is thrown to her. She grabs it and is pulled onto a ship, a blanket thrown over her. Her coughs are silent and she looks up.

He's here.

Sokka is here.

And he's asking if she's okay. She opens her mouth to reply, before remembering and nodding. He seems quick to realize and asks if she can speak, and she shakes her head. He then tells her not to worry, that his sister, Katara, might be able to help. She was a healer after all.

And in the mean time, she could stay with them. They were headed to the Fire Nation. Her surprise must of been obvious, because Sokka laughs and waves it off. Something about a peace treaty being offered by the current leader.

Last Yue heard, Firelord Ozai was a tyrant. Why would he want peace?

But it meant she could spend time with Sokka.

She spends time with both siblings. Katara was unable to help her with her voice, and writing wasn't too common in the NWT, at least, not with ink.

Katara summed it up to some memory loss. Likely a result of whatever lead her to be in the middle of the ocean. And so, she teaches her.

That's how they learn her name.

It's nice to hear them say her name. Both usually filled with joy. She wasn't lonely anymore.

Katara gave her some of her clothes, something Yue was grateful since she didn't have any of her own.

Weeks went by by the time they got to the Fire Nation, where they were welcomed not by Firelord Ozai, but by Firelady Ursa.

Ozai was nowhere in sight.

When asked by the chief, Firelady Ursa said her husband has passed not too long ago, and she decided to take up the throne until her son was old enough. He was technically already crowned Firelord, but he was only 16, and she refused to let him rule a nation while he was still a child.

So, while Ursa lead the men to a meeting room, she asked a servant to take her, Sokka and Katara to the gardens. It was likely there that her son would be. They could keep each other company.

And he was. Katara was the one to speak up first and the Prince stammered as he greeted them. His name was Zuko and Yue found him a bit endearing. He had a scar on his face and he gave her a soft smile when Katara told him she couldn't speak. He admitted he was partially blind and deaf on his scarred side and that he suffered from tremors due to being struck with lightning by his father.

He said it so casually, but it was shocking. How was he alive?

He also warned them about his sister, Azula. He loved her, don't be mistaken, but she got...protective of him after he was struck by lightning. He believed it was due to him constantly being the one to try and protect her, and she wanted to show him that she could protect him and didn't need him to protect her. That she was stronger, and he was weaker, so it was clear who protected who.

Yue stays away from Azula when she's near. She's actually pretty scary.

The Peace Treaty seems to be going well, as members of the Earth Kingdom arrive. And so does an airbender named Aang.

Yue smiled, remembering her first night at the ship. It felt like it here. Men and women talking while children laughed and ran around.

She spotted Azula with two girls.

She saw Aang and Katara dancing together.

She even saw a small girl in green go up to Zuko and punch him. She thought Zuko would get mad, but he laughed and punched her back. She didn't say anything as the two snuck out.

She would later learn her name was Toph Beifong, and she and Zuko were siblings no matter what anyone else said.

Things seemed to go well, she was enjoying herself. And then, Sokka walked over with another girl.

The girl from Kyoshi Island. And he introduced her as the one who saved him.

Her name was Suki.

And she insisted that all she did was find him on the beach and got him medical help. Anyone would of done that.

But he insists that he opened his eyes and saw her, his saviour.

And how he could never forget the girl who not only saved his life, but taught him to respect women and to be a better person.

He loved her. Sokka loved Suki.

And Yue was heartbroken.

Because as much as she said it was nothing, clearly, Suki loved Sokka as well.

The day comes that they have to leave the Fire Nation.

But before they do, Sokka presents Suki with a betrothal necklace. He tells her that it isn't really a tradition in the SWT, but moreso a family tradition. His grandmother started it.

He didn't know it, but Yue heard stories. Of a young mermaid who asked to be human in order to escape. And she was turned into a human.

Only the NWT gave betrothal necklaces.

And she could only hold back her grief as Sokka tied the necklace around Suki's neck.

The two were happy. Congratulations were given to the couple.

That night, while everyone is asleep, Yue stays on deck.

They were headed back to Kyoshi Island, where they would restock before going South.

The moon was bright but brought little comfort to her.

And she heard her name being called. She spotted one of the few friends she had from the NWT.

Her hair was cropped and her arms were burned, but in her hand was a knife.

She had gone to Zhao as well.

She wanted her best friend back.

And in order for that to happen, he had to break their contract. So, he gave her a knife to give to Yue. And Yue was to kill Sokka and have his blood spilt onto her, she would become a mermaid again and no longer have to worry. A wave brings the knife to her. And she looks at it, contemplating.

When she gets to Sokka's and Suki's room, she sees them hugging each other in their sleep.

And she can't do it.

So she runs.

She runs and she runs, ignoring anyone who calls out to her.

She throws the knife into the ocean, where it dissolves, before throwing herself over.

She's sinking, but all she can think of is how she finally felt happy.

She began to turn into foam, when a voice called out to her.

Tui.

Yue had been given a chance to chase happiness, to chase a life not her own, and to give her life, so the one person she loved could be happy.

And so, Tui came with an offer.

For Yue to become the Moon Spirit.

She would have to work for it.

But it meant she wouldn't just become seafoam. She would be able to watch over them. Over him.

And closing her eyes, she accepted it.

If anyone noticed, they didn't say anything, when on the night of Sokka's and Suki's wedding, the moon shone brighter.

.

.

.

.

Some side notes:

1. As much as I like Iroh taking the throne, I wanted Ursa to be the one to take charge of the Fire Nation. She has a better relationship with her kids, and under her disguise of Noriko during her banishment, she wrote to her children.

It's when Azula writes to her telling that Ozai hurt Zuko, that she returns.

She returns to her second eldest hiding in her room. She returns to find her only son locked away, like a criminal. She returns to a man who refuses to let his son heal.

A man who tells his son he was lucky he was just in prison and not dead or banished.

And she is furious. So, she kills him and takes over.

2. I guess, in a way, Azula has a redemption arc? She cares about Zuko, but she honestly does get really protective of him. Especially after what Ozai did to him.

3. Toph Beifong and Zuko are siblings. Nothing else need be said.

4. In the original Little Mermaid story, the mermaid wishes to be a human to get a soul in order to go to heaven. I had it so Yue would gain true happiness. However, due to the nature of her contract with Zhao, she was putting her happiness against Sokka's.

5. The original story has Catholic tones to it, what with God and Heaven and souls going to Heaven and all that jazz. Because this is meant to be an AU for ATLA, I did my best to change things, but chances are I forgot something or will forget something. Rather than have no soul, I thought Yue becoming seafoam would be more of a, she would be never be at peace sort of thing. She would never be reunited with her family or friends when she died.

6. Yue was not born with the moon's blessing. She earned that when she decided Sokka's happiness meant more to her, than her own. She chose to die if it meant he was alive and happy.

[jaxsteamblog]

Enemies

Click here to read the full fic on AO3

The palace was as grand as she thought. Architecture wasn’t anything she ever showed any interest in, but there were certain buildings that she just knew were designed well. The ice palace of the North Pole was a fortress but still kept all the swirling, arching beauty of ocean swells. The Earth Kingdoms had strong bases with any number of geometric patterns stacked in a mighty display.

The Fire Nation had some of the oldest, man made buildings in the world.

On the palace grounds, Katara was amazed by the dark wooden floors, the massive pillars, and the ornate scrollwork all along the beams. With the palace at the top of the mountain, and the land below being mostly prairie, she wondered at the perseverance to drag all that timber up this high.

“It’s pretty, right?” Sokka asked as they got out of the car.

“Incredibly so.” Katara replied.

“You know this is a dormant volcano?” He questioned. Katara jumped and Sokka laughed.

“There’s magma way down in the earth. Nothing to worry about.” Zuko said as he approached. Katara didn’t relax and scowled at him as he walked up.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure I’m going to enjoy every minute of this now.” Katara said and rolled her eyes. Zuko hugged her and kissed the top of her head.

Sokka blanched loudly.

“I cannot believe you two are dating, dating now.” He lamented.

“We can’t officially. There’d be a scandal.” Katara replied with mock admonishment.

“I can only hope that day never comes.” Sokka muttered and started off toward the palace.

“You and Suki are affectionate all the time!” Katara shouted after him.

“Come on, let me show you to your room.” Zuko said.

They walked inside and Katara gasped at the interior. There was so much wood, it felt like she was a doll being kept in an ornate chest. The electric lights and air vents seemed anachronistic against the lacquer and ancient wooden beams, but it was still a sight to behold.

“We haven’t had so many guests all at once in a long time, so hopefully everything is ready.” Zuko said as they walked. “I didn’t get a chance to check.”

Housekeepers were still in Katara’s room as they came to it, startling them.

“Oh, your highness. I’m sorry, we’re not quite done.” A woman said, bowing while in the doorway.

“It’s fine. Is it possible to at least put her things away?” Zuko asked. The woman looked nervous but stood aside.

As Zuko and Katara entered the room, she wondered where the woman’s dread originated.

The room was done up like a movie set. Piles of furs were laid on the bed while torches were being shoved into ancient holders. It smelled like grease oil and pellet fire. Rough, woven blankets were partially tacked up in the doorways and there was, impossibly, a pair of snowshoes and hunting spear propped up against the wall.

“What is the meaning of this?” Zuko demanded as Katara looked around with her mouth open.

“Sir, we haven’t been able to find everything that was requested.” A man on a ladder said as he awkwardly held up a blanket.

“That’s not-” Zuko pressed his fingers to his forehead.

“I only wanted to make our guest feel more at home.” Another woman’s voice, high and lilting, came from the hall. Both Zuko and Katara turned to see Azula leaning in the doorframe.

“Azula, this is at best a horrible caricature and I know there was nothing good about your intentions here.” Zuko seethed.

Azula’s mouth went down as her eyebrows went up, pulling her face into smooth incomprehension.  She stood and raised her hands.

“Zuzu, you wound me. You know I’d never think to have someone feel unwelcome in our home.” She replied.

“Azula-” Zuko stopped as Katara held his hand. Looking down at her, Zuko was confused by her smile.

“Did you guys just have this stuff lying around?” She asked and then faced Azula. “Or did you really go to all this trouble to try and make me upset?”

Katara then turned and walked purposefully to the snowshoes. “Because these are genuine South Pole snowshoes and I don’t think I’ve seen a pair outside of a museum.”

Zuko sighed and turned to the housekeepers.

“It’ll be too warm for the furs. Please pack all of this up and have the room set like normal.” He said.

“Yes your highness!” They all said in unison, bowing deeply.

Katara and Zuko walked out of the room, pushing past Azula as they went.

“You’ll have to try harder than that, princess.” Katara whispered sharply. Azula narrowed her eyes and watched them go silently.

Azula did certainly try. Katara was given a sour imitation of seaprune stew for lunch. Speaking politely, Katara requested a regular plate and offered to give Azula an authentic recipe. Later, her clothes here found out in a pond, but Katara could easily remedy that. Finally, when Katara’s toiletry bag went missing, she finally had enough.

For most of the day, it had only been the younger members of the group. Thuy, Toph, and Rohan had gotten delayed by the same storm but from further away and only arrived in the evening. The heads of states - Ozai, Hakoda, Arnook, Tenzin, and Kuei - were in meetings pertaining to the festival that would take place that night.

So it wasn’t until dinner that they were all together.

Katara sighed as the server placed a whole fish down in front of her.

“Is the food not to your liking?” Azula asked immediately.

“No, Azula, it’s not.” Katara replied. “If you’re going to serve fish, you should at least make sure a fish fork is out.”

Then, turning to the server - who looked incredibly fearful - Katara smiled. “May I please have the regular plate?”

“Of course, my apologies.” He said and bowed, taking her plate as he backed away.

“What is your problem Azula?” Zuko questioned and the rest of the table went quiet. The Fire Lord, sitting at the head of the table, steepled his fingers and watched his children. Tenzin, being the oldest person at the table, leaned back in his seat and rubbed his eyes.

“We have guests, Zuko. Do you really think this is the time for your petty squabbling?” Ozai asked.

“I think, father, that we should be addressing Azula’s petty behavior toward our guests.” Zuko answered evenly.

“Is there something we should know?” Arnook questioned and ice filled Katara’s heart. Literally every major leader sat at the Fire Lord’s dining table. This had never happened, and now there was the chance of something terrible happening.

“Azula must be held accountable for her disrespect.” Zuko stated and Katara took in a hissing breath.

“You have caused your sister to lose face in front of our esteemed guests. That is the utmost disrespect.” Ozai growled.

“Sounds like a stupid fight to me.” Thuy interjected. Everyone turned to the Avatar, who shrugged.

“I have a bratty little sister too.” She added. Azula spluttered while Zuko laughed.

“I believe the Avatar is reminding us that we are all human.” King Kuei said and Katara relaxed a bit.

“I don’t see why you have such a problem with Katara anyway.” Thuy said and smiled over at Katara. “I think she’s really nice.”

“You would, since you’re both cut from the same cloth.” Azula remarked snidely and jumped when Ozai slammed his hand on the table.

“You will not speak to the Avatar in such a manner.” He said.

“I’m to be her teacher, am I not? She should be showing me more respect.” Azula retorted.

“I think as I’m the Avatar, you should be the one showing some respect. Plus,” Thuy sat up straighter in her seat, glaring at Azula. “You shouldn’t treat a Queen so poorly.”

“And who is a Que-” Azula started cocky but stopped abruptly. Turning in her seat, she stared at Katara. “You?”

Katara nodded with a grin. “Me.”

Azula then whirled about, staring at Zuko. “You’re dating the Queen of the Water Tribes?”

“WHAT?” Came multiple voices, all at once.

Thuy laughed to herself, clapping her hands. “Yay! I had hoped so.”

---

Katara sat on a couch, her head in her hands.

“You cannot be romantically involved with the crown prince of the Fire Nation.” Arnook said.

Lifting her head, Katara flattened her hands in supplication. “Why not?”

“There’s inheritance to think of. If Zuko gives up his throne-” Hakoda said but Katara interrupted him.

“Why would Zuko give up his throne?” She asked.

“If you marry-” Arnook began.

“We just started dating!” Katara interjected.

“You can’t think in the short term Katara!” Hakoda bellowed. “This is serious!”

Katara stood up, her hand at her throat, gripping her mother’s necklace.

“Do you know what I’ve gone through for you?” She screamed. Hakoda took a step back and Sokka, previously standing in the corner, walked forward.

“Do you know how many people I killed before I turned eighteen? Do you know what it was like to fight, alone? Do you have any idea how it felt to hold mom’s body and being able to do nothing about it?” Katara yelled.

Sokka pushed past Hakoda and went to Katara. She shoved him away, turning her back on the others in the room.

“I am soul bound to the ocean, I saved the North Pole from destruction, I drowned the Fire Nation fleet.” Katara said, her voice rising as she spoke. She whirled around then, ice shards forming around her from the moisture in the air.

“I will be Queen, not because I want to be, but because it was ordered of me. And so, with all the rage and power of the ocean, I will do as I please with it.” She said. Her breath curled in the cold air, causing even more slivers of ice to glint in the light. In her fury, she sparkled.

“Katara-” Hakoda reached out and Katara pulled a wall of ice in front of her.

“I did all of this for you.” She said, tears rising and falling from her eyes. She touched her mother’s necklace again, lightly this time. “But I will love as I want, for mom.”

Sokka touched the ice wall and it parted for him; fractals shifting to let him through. He hugged Katara and she sniffled, burying her face into his shoulder.

“Come on.” He said softly and Katara nodded. He turned her and they walked out of the room.

“Are you okay?” Sokka asked once they started down the hall.

“When was the last time I was okay?” She responded. Sokka chuckled and held her hand.

Hearing running footsteps, they paused and looked around. Coming toward them was Zuko.

“Katara!” He shouted. Sokka released her hand and stepped aside. When Zuko ran up to them, he embraced Katara, picking her up and swinging her around.

“Are you okay?” Zuko asked as he set her down.

“I’ll be fine.” Katara said with a breathy laugh.

“Wonderful. I was worried because a pipe burst in the main hallway.” He said.

“What?” Sokka burst out laughing and Katara felt her face flush.

“I just got a little angry!” She said.

“Then I certainly don’t want to see you very angry.” Zuko replied.

“Hey Katara!” Thuy shouted from the end of the hall. “Did you break the pipes?”

Katara covered her face and groaned.

“Don’t worry, Sifu’s got it!” Thuy yelled.

“Get over here Wet Wipe and help with the water!” Toph bellowed.

“Yes, Sifu!”

Still groaning, Katara turned into Zuko’s arms, pressing her face against his chest.

They still had to get through the festival.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

[vanxcks]

the jasmine dragon, mark ii

“After I reconquer Ba Sing Se,” Uncle Iroh says, smiling, “I’m going to reconquer my tea shop, and I’m going to play Pai Sho every day.”

Zuko nods and tries to imagine the world of tomorrow. Will Uncle get his shop? Will Ba Sing Se be saved? Will it be peaceful, happy, everything Zuko has never known? Or will they be corpses, ashes still smoking somewhere in his father’s fire nation?

--

It’s a week later. And, miraculously, everything is new.

OR, It's the re-opening day of the Jasmine Dragon.

Words: 3408

AO3 link in notes

“So if I’m going to be Firelord after the war is over, what are you going to do?” Zuko asks. He’s sitting on Appa, hands gripping the reins, and the fur under his legs is a stark contrast to the cold metal of his old ship. It’s strange, now, to remember that it’s only been a year. Twelve months ago, Zuko’s only goal was to catch the Avatar. A life under his father in the Fire Nation was all he thought he wanted. That searing, long-simmering rage was a constant for him.

Now he’s on the side of his former enemy, and they’re preparing to ride into a battle he’s not sure he’ll come out of. The world has turned upside down.

Zuko is pretty sure that’s not a bad thing.

“After I reconquer Ba Sing Se,” Uncle Iroh says, smiling, “I’m going to reconquer my tea shop, and I’m going to play Pai Sho every day.”

Zuko nods and tries to imagine the world of tomorrow. Will Uncle get his shop? Will Ba Sing Se be saved? Will it be peaceful, happy, everything Zuko has never known? Or will they be corpses, ashes still smoking somewhere in his father’s fire nation?

“Goodbye, General Iroh,” Suki says.

“Goodbye, everyone. Today, destiny is our friend. I know it.” There’s something in his voice, something warm and angry and hopeful.

The wind is gentle, and there’s a blue sky ahead of them. Sun falls over the soldiers as they stand facing the kids. The world is still, hesitant, waiting.

Zuko clenches his fists on the reins, takes a breath, and they set off.

--

It’s a week later. And, miraculously, everything is new.

Ba Sing Se is unrecognizable, a joyful clamor of green. Storefronts have been unshuttered and there are children running about. There’s a stall where Katara and a couple villagers have been handing out food and clothing to those who lost their homes to Ozai. There are volunteers cleaning the streets, sweeping up the crumbled earth. It should be a sad scene, a broken scene, but somehow it’s not. Instead, It’s kind, hopeful. In the ashes of the hundred year war, people are preparing for their new life.

When Zuko steps out of the palace, the palanquin bearers come rushing over, but Zuko holds up a hand. “These people are already going to be distrustful of me. I don’t want to look like my father.”

“But the teashop is a long way—”

“It’s okay,” he says, “I can walk.” He’s relieved when they step back without protesting again.

Zuko doesn’t wear his grand robes today, or even tie his hair back. Instead, he’s wearing a modest outfit, and he lets his hair down, although he pushes it out of his eyes every so often so people can see his face. He won’t hide his scar any longer. When some see him, they smile, rush forward. Thank you, Firelord Zuko. or, We are forever indebted to you. Some of them talk about the family that have come back from war unscathed, some just want to thank him for returning their homes to him. He smiles and bows to them, even giving a stiff hug to a little girl. Some, though, are not so friendly. They cast him sideways glares, whisper to their friends as he passes. They turn their backs and close their windows. Zuko looks away, bows his head. He’s not sure he would trust himself either. But that’s okay. His family has done terrible damage to the world in the last century, but he’s going to try and repair at least some of it.

Separate from the people, Zuko enjoys being able to just walk through the city. A week ago was his coronation, and the days since had so much official business to tend to at the palace that he didn’t once step foot outside. Taking care of refugees, repaying damage, and the like. This is a relief. And it’s nice to see the actual citizens of Ba Sing Se for the first time since the end of the war.

There are pieces of paper stuck up on walls, too, denser the closer he gets to the tea shop. Visit the Jasmine Dragon Today! they say, above a mangled scribble of a drawing and an address. Zuko frowns. It doesn’t seem like Uncle to do something like that. He stares at them for a moment and then keeps going.

He reaches the Jasmine Dragon soon enough. It looks good from the outside—the sign is intact, as is the rest of the entryway, outside of a few stains and cracks. This is good. Zuko walks up the steps and knocks on the door twice, proper. It opens wide and Uncle is on the other side, a grin lighting up his face. He throws his arms around Zuko, holding him tightly. Zuko, in turn, melts into the hug, smiling too.

“Firelord Zuko, at my doorstep?” Uncle Iroh asks, stepping away. “Why, this is an honor.”

“Well, I’d finished with my plans, and I wanted to be here today. I know it’s important.”

“Important for me as well as for the citizens of Ba Sing Se. I had forgotten how bad their tea can be. Bitter and flat. I don’t know how they stand it.” He claps a hand on Zuko’s shoulder and leads him into the shop. “But anyway, we have a lot of work to do if we’re going to open tonight! The people are waiting.”

“I’m sure they’ve missed you.”

“They definitely have. Don’t tell him I told you this, but Jiang’s tea shop next door? The worst of the bunch. Remember the tea you made me in the forest?”

Zuko frowns. “I do.”

“Like that, but much worse. Completely flavorless.”

“Ah. Like leaf juice.”

Uncle Iroh chuckles. “Very much like leaf juice. Now, let’s get to work.”

The tea house is in better shape than they might have expected. While Ozai was in charge of the city, there were strict rules about Earth Nation citizens’s businesses. Most local-owned shops were either taken over by fire nation people and rebuilt according to code, and Zuko had been afraid the same would happen to the Jasmine Dragon. Luckily, the place was well-kept enough that the soldiers merely gave it a new coat of paint, and it sat otherwise nearly untouched from the day of the coup. In the past days, Uncle and some of the kids (Katara and Aang, mostly) helped clean up the surfaces and straighten furniture. The place looks nearly as good as new.

“What can I do?”

“You can start by buying some porcelain tea sets for me. We originally had twenty, but some of them were damaged in the last few months,” Uncle says. “Toph helped to draw the dirt off of the fifteen that were still intact.” He gestures to the pots, lined up on the counter behind him and gleaming like they were a day old.

“She’s good,” Zuko says.

“The best of our time,” Uncle says, and his voice carries the warmth it does whenever he talks about Zuko or his friends. “Now, hurry along. I have to set the tables.”

Zuko takes the money that Uncle holds out, smiling, and turns. He’s several steps out of the shop before he doubles back. “Where can I buy the teapots?”

Uncle Iroh chuckles. “I was beginning to wonder if you would remember to ask. It’s to the left, across the park.”

Zuko nods and leaves again.

The park isn’t far, and he’s halfway there when he hears someone behind him, calling his name.

“Zuko! Zuko, back here!” It’s Aang, in new green robes, shoes too big for his feet and a ridiculous hat. He’s waving both arms above his head while he runs, and trips and only just stops himself from falling. “Hey, Zuko!”

“Hi,” Zuko says. “You bought new clothes.”

“Yeah,” Aang cries, falling into step beside Zuko. “Sokka and I went shopping this morning. He got a new bag, and a belt. We got to try the food, too. Have you ever tried an ma po do fu?”

“Yeah. My family took a lot of trips here when I was little. They made us try all the delicacies.”

“Aren’t they great? I thought after the months we spent here I would have had everything, but there’s still a lot more to go. I love the Earth Nation. Have you tried the unfried dough? Not their best.”

“I haven’t, but it sounds terrible.”

“Did you know I inspired that? An Earth Nation village planned to have me fried in oil, but they decided not to when they realised I was the only one who could save them from the Rough Rhinos. I’m starting to wish I didn’t,” he says, fishing a wet lump out of his bag. He takes a small bite from it and makes a face. “You want some?”

“No, thanks.”

They walk in silence for a moment, before Zuko says, “By the way, I wanted to thank you for helping Uncle clean up the tea shop. I’m sure it made him happy.”

“It was fun! And that reminds me. We’ve been spreading the word about the tea shop’s opening so lots of people will show up!”

Zuko smiles. “Thank you for that too.”

“Yeah! We’ve been putting up posters. See, Sokka made them!” Aang holds up a poster like the one Zuko had seen earlier.

“Yeah...are you sure those aren’t the Appa posters you showed me with different writing?”

Aang frowns and squints at the drawing. “No, it’s definitely a teapot. At least, Sokka said it was supposed to be a teapot.”

“Maybe Sokka shouldn’t be doing the art.”

Aang shrugs. “Well, he was enthusiastic.”

“I guess that counts for something. Is that Katara?” There’s a blue figure across the square, and Zuko can recognize her from behind.

“Yeah, I think so! Let’s go talk to her!”

“You go ahead. I need to buy some stuff for Uncle.”

“Okay, see you later!” Aang says, and dashes off. Smiling, Zuko turns into to the porcelainware shop.

--

The opening is scheduled for five o’clock. When the clock strikes, Zuko looks around. It’s not yet quite the state it was months before—the walls are slightly stained and cracked, and a couple of the teacups he bought had chips in them. But they’ve repainted the outside so that it looks and reads the way it did before, and the egg drop soup that Uncle Iroh has been cooking smells delicious. There’s even a pai sho table in the corner for visitors to play. All in all, they’ve done a decent job. It’s not perfect, but Uncle wanted to open as soon as possible. “We can sort out the details later. As long as the tea is good, people will be happy.”

Zuko stands behind the counter with his hands around a kettle, heating it with a gentle flame. Once it boils, he keeps it the right temperature: hot enough for a slow bubble, but not so hot that it boils over. It took a little bit of practice to get the balance right the first time he’d tried, but now it’s easy. Later, Uncle will keep the water hot, and Zuko will be waiter. After today, of course, he’ll have to be firelord. But today, until Uncle gets paid help, he’s more than willing to pitch in.

Uncle is ready next to him. The tea leaves are loose, kept in tins lined up behind the teapots. He prepares everything on order, so all there really is to do now is wait for people to start pouring in.

The first customer comes soon after five. It’s a little man, a little bewildered-looking, in tiny, thick-lensed spectacles. He sits down at the table closest to the window and pulls out a book, leafing through it and murmuring to himself.

“How can I help you, sir?” Zuko asks.

The man looks up as if he hadn’t realised he was in a restaurant at all. “Could I...well, I guess I’ll have a green tea.”

“And will that be for one person?”

The man cocks his head like he’s trying to understand the question, and then says, “just me, yes.”

“Okay, sir, coming right up,” Zuko says, and rushes back over to Uncle. “Green tea for one, Uncle.”

“A classic,” Uncle Iroh says, spooning the leaves into a pot and filling it with water. When the tea has steeped, he places it on a tray for Zuko, who hurries it over to the customer.

“Your tea.”

“Thank you,” the man says, and then goes back to his reading.

And then fifteen minutes pass, and still the only person in the shop is the spectacled man.

“Do you think he likes it?” Zuko asks, leaning over to Uncle.

“I think so. He smiled when he took his first sip.”

“I think that was a grimace from burning his tongue,” Zuko says, and Iroh casts a dirty look. “I’m sure he liked it.”

Uncle fiddles with the tins of tea leaves, rearranging them by color instead of size. Zuko taps his fingers on the counter.

“Maybe your friends had a hard time spreading the word,” Uncle says.

“Maybe people just don’t feel like tea today,” Zuko says, frowning.

“I know what it is,” Uncle says with a smile, “it still looks like we’re closed. Let me go open the door.”

He does, and then joins Zuko back at the counter. It’s quiet outside, and darkening quickly. Zuko pulls his hair back, considering tying it, and then lets it hang in his face instead. Uncle hums a tune.  

They hear footsteps outside and both brighten up. “Hey, maybe that’s someone,” Zuko says.

But it’s just Aang and Katara. “Hi!” Aang cries, and then wilts a little as he looks around at the near-empty shop. “Oh.”

“What’s going on?” Katara asks, brow furrowed. “I thought people loved your tea.”

Zuko looks down.

“I think we’re just having an off day,” Uncle Iroh says.

Katara nods. “I’m sure something’s wrong. I saw your tea shop before, and it was full. I didn’t have time to try the tea, but it smelled amazing.”

“Hey,” Aang says, “I have an idea. What if I got Sokka and Toph and we tried to spread the word?”

“You did that two hours ago,” Zuko says.

Aang shrugs. “Just an idea. Besides, second time’s the charm, right?”

“That’s...not the saying.”

Iroh speaks up. “We would be grateful for your help, Aang.”

Aang breaks into a face-splitting grin. “Thank you, Uncle Iroh!” He grabs Katara’s hand and runs outside and to the right, already yelling about the Jasmine Dragon.

Zuko grimaces. “Why did you tell him that was a good idea?”

“Because it would make him happy to help. And because we need it. It’s never a bad thing to accept help, Zuko, even when you don’t yet believe that help is right for you.”

Zuko looks out the windows at Aang, now doubling back to the left, and hms. Then, there’s nothing to do but wait.

And shockingly, it works. The second customer comes in just five minutes later, with a little boy in tow. Zuko delivers his order to Uncle, who starts heating up the water again. After that, it never goes cold. Another family—this one three kids and two mothers, comes and sits at the table closest to the counter. They order soup to go with their tea. From there, the customers just keep coming. Couples, families, groups of friends. It’s inexplicable, and Uncle and Zuko can barely keep up.

“How are you liking your tea? Is there anything I can do?” he asks one of the mothers.

“It’s just wonderful,” she says.

“Thank you,” Zuko says, bowing his head.

“We just loved this tea house when you first opened, months ago,” the other woman says. “We were so happy to see that it was reopening. Of course, the address on the posters confused us.”

“What do you mean, the address on the poster?”

“It said it was on Mei Hua street instead of Mei Li street. It must have been a mistake.”

Zuko is speechless for a moment, and then he says, “It was. Thank you for coming in spite of it.”

“Of course!” she says, smiling sweetly.

Zuko hurries up to Uncle. “Uncle, good news about—”

He hears another group coming through the door and turns. He opens his mouth to ask how many seats they’ll need, but it’s just Katara, Toph, Sokka, and Suki.

“Hi, Zuko. Uncle,” Katara says, waving and smiling. “We were wondering if there was anything more we could do to help.”

“We,” Sokka says, arms crossed, “were actually on a date. But we’ve decided to grace you with our presence.”

Katara casts him a sideways glare. “By the way, we figured out why business was so bad. Sokka—”

“Wrote the wrong address,” Zuko interrupts. “We know.”

“Actually,” Sokka says, “I asked Toph for the address. Which is where we ran into a bit of an issue.” He glares at Toph.

“I don’t see what the big deal is!” Toph cries, throwing her hands up. “I can’t read signs, remember? I just heard someone say it. It’s not my fault Sokka always forgets I’m blind.”

Sokka pouts. “That’s why you don’t ask the blind girl for help.”

“Yes!” Toph yells.

“People are here now, and that’s what matters,” Uncle Iroh says. “Thank you for the help.”

Katara steps forward. “Aang is outside spreading the word and fixing the posters. Is there anything else you need?”

“You, Toph, and Suki could help me wait tables,” Zuko says. “And Sokka could help make tea.” Uncle Iroh elbows him, and Zuko corrects himself. “Sokka could help heat water. Uncle can make the tea.”

Sokka gasps. “I’m great at making tea!” They ignore him.

They all go to their jobs, and things start to smooth out. The tea house is the warm, bustling hub it was months ago, and Zuko feels ridiculously happy. Aang and Toph come in to help, and Suki and Katara are doing well, and the flow of customers doesn’t ebb.

When he can, Zuko finds a moment to go talk to Uncle Iroh, but before he says what he was planning to say, he notices something and his brow furrows. “What’s Katara doing?” She’s been standing at a table at the other end of the room for several minutes.

“She’s entertaining the children. She’s been doing it for some time now. See?”

Now that he’s paying attention, Zuko does see. She’s bending the tea from the cups and making it spin, dance in front of the childrens’ eyes. They laugh and grab at it, delighted.

Zuko glances around the room. Aang is talking earnestly to an old woman by the window. Toph repairs a dropped teacup for a customer, and Sokka and Suki are in the corner flirting. Sokka tries to tuck Suki’s hair behind her face, but she moves and he hits her eye instead. She laughs and says something, then kisses him quickly. They glance around to make sure no one saw, and Zuko looks away.

He thinks, for a moment, back to his time in the fire nation. His tense hours with Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula. The snide comments, the backhanded compliments. At one point Azula had mentioned his banishment, called him weak, and he’d bitten the inside of his cheek so hard he drew blood. She said she was joking, but he knew she wasn’t. Nothing Azula said was a joke.

“It’s so easy,” Zuko says, almost to himself.

“What do you mean?” Uncle asks, although Zuko gets the feeling that Uncle knows.

“Never mind.” Zuko shakes his head. Then, “Congratulations, Uncle.”

“Thank you,” Uncle Iroh says, looking up at Zuko as he spoons tea leaves into a pot. “When we were ambushed in the palace, I thought my dream of spending my life serving tea was lost. I’m only thankful that we managed to win it back, and I’m more thankful that we won it back together.”

“I’m happy I got to be here today.”

“So am I..”

Uncle Iroh stills his hands, and they look at the scene together, for a moment.

“You have good taste in friends, Firelord Zuko” Uncle says.

Zuko nods, and he lets himself smile before he goes back out to join them.

[shitty-reviews-by-me]

“Avatar: The Last Airbender” is one of the best shows I’ve seen

This is your spoiler warning.

Note: I started writing this forever ago when I actually finished the show, but my procrastination is deadly, so I only got through the paragraph on Zuko before waiting like a month to pick it up again. 

Note 2.0: I know that there are comics that continue the series where it left off, but I haven’t read any of them. All of this will be based soley off of atla.

I started watching “Avatar: The Last Airbender” for two reasons. One, I remember seeing parts of episodes here and there as a small child, and I found what I saw intriguing; and two, my boyfriend just really, really loves it. When it showed up in the Netflix Spotlight I knew I was going to watch it, but it ended up taking longer for me to get to it than I originally expected. I procrastinate doing things I want to do just as much as things I don’t, but that’s another story.

I’m going to keep the actual review short. The show has been finished since 2008 and there is probably not much that I can say that hasn’t already been said. Besides that, I mostly just want to talk about my opinions because I have a lot of them.

“Avatar: The Last Airbender” is great on all accounts. All of the characters were interesting and complex. The plot was extremely complex, but easy to understand by anyone, no matter their age. In fact, when I made my grandma watch the first episode, it seemed like she kind of enjoyed it. Of course it is also possible she said that to be nice and was really thinking “what the fuck” the entire time. I haven’t found a single person say they don’t like “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” but maybe I’m not looking hard enough. Honestly I don’t know what else to say, I’m sorry, I just really want to talk about my opinions.

Let’s Talk About Zuko (because I love him)

I mean just look at him. How could he not be your favorite. Zuko is probably the best developed character in atla, and I’ll be honest, I never saw him as a “bad guy.” I mean, he was certainly a villian, but he wasn’t a bad person. In the first few episodes, Zuko is already painted as a sympathetic villian. We learn that as a young teenager his father banished him, sending him into a search for the Avatar. A search that was seemingly destined to fail. It is important to remember that Zuko was a CHILD. His family turned on him and all he wanted was join them again. Zuko’s actions were overall understandable.

Now Let’s Talk About Azula (she deserves better)

Azula doesn’t get as much sympathy as Zuko for obvious reasons. When the show ends her fate isn’t as clear as all the other characters. We get to see Ozai rotting in a cell, but Azula’s last scene is her having a complete mental breakdown after Katara managed to best her in combat. I’m sure the comics cover what happens next for her, but again I haven’t read them.

I’ve seen tons of people calling Azula a psycho, and an irredeemable monster, but I wholeheartedly disagree. Like Zuko she is just a child. She is only fourteen years old when the events of atla take place, and is the product of manipulation and abuse from both of her parents. She deserves a redemtion arc. There are videos and posts that will explain Azula’s psyche better than I ever will be able to, but I’m gonna try anyway.

I would like to make it clear that I do not believe Ozai deserves redemption. He was a grown ass adult who abused and manipulated everyone around him. While Azula also abused and manipulated the people around her, she did so as a child, following her father’s example. In addition to that, we know that Ursa’s belief that Azula was a monster hurt her. Ursa never showed that she believed Azula could be a better person, and therefore why would Azula be choose to be kind and good when her father rewarded the abusive tendencies she developed? One of the big differences between Zuko and Azula’s upbringing is that their mother believed in Zuko. She believed he could do good in the world but failed to show Azula the kindness she showed Zuko.

The cycle of abuse is very real. Pretending that Azula is just some psycho, and not a child following the pattern of behavior she saw growing up is immature. There is no question that she regularly did horrible things, and I don’t even think that her friends, Ty Lee and Mai, or Zuko should forgive her if they don’t want to, but she does deserve a fresh start. Let’s be real, Azula would need a lot of therapy to even get to a place where she could potentially be redeemed or forgiven.

In summary, people need to stop writing Azula off as an irredeemable psycho.

Kataang: Thanks I Hate It (just hear me out, okay)

Kataang vs. Zutara is such a huge debate, and trust me, I’ll get into Zutara, but right now I want to talk about why I don’t like Kataang in a list format.

Their Age Difference-- I think sometimes adults writing teen/preteen characters completely forget what it’s like to actually be those ages. Aang is twelve (I get that he’s technically one hundred and twelve) and Katara is fourteen. While two years really isn’t a big age difference, especially as people get older, it is a little weird when the the people are twelve and fourteen. When I’ve brought up this age difference to people I’ve always heard the argument that Aang is mature for his age and that’s why it works. That is a faulty for a number of reasons. First of all, the claim that someone is mature for their age is used to justify inappropriate relationships by pedophiles all the time. Secondly, it could be argued that Katara is mature for her age as well, so there is no way their maturity is equal. My final point, there’s a good chance Aang hasn’t even gone through puberty yet while Katara is definitely well on her way on that front. Maybe that sounds weird, but males start puberty between the Ages of nine and fourteen, which means there Aang is at a pretty average age to START puberty. Females start puberty between the ages of eight and thirteen which means she’s well on her way. Like I said, puberty sounds like a weird thing to bring up, but a lot of maturity come from going throught puberty.

They Made Such Good Friends-- Aang and Katara had such a good friendship throughout the show. It could have been a great example of a platonic friendship between a straight cis guy and a straight cis girl. Instead we got the male and female lead end up together, just like they do in everything else.

No Evidence of Reciprocated Feeling-- While obviously Katara must like Aang because otherwise she wouldn’t have kissed him, I don’t think there was very much evidence leading up to that moment that Katara had any sort of romantic feelings towards Aang. Throughout the series she says she only sees him as a good friend, almost as a brother. I will admit, there were hints here and there. In the episode The Fortuneteller, Katara is told she’ll marry a powerful bender, and in the end of the episode she realizes that Aang is an extremely powerful bender. In the secret tunnel her and Aang kiss/almost kiss (I can’t remember exactly), and in that moment it seems like maybe she could have feelings for him. Other than various small moments there isn’t a lot of evidence that she liked him. I think the evolution of Katara’s feelings should have gotten more attention because the kiss at the end felt a bit like it was out of nowhere.

It’s A Missed Opportunity-- There are so many cases in real life of cis men thinking their entitled to a romantic relationship with a woman because they’re friends, or she was kind to him once. Because of the young intended audience for the show, it could have been great to show little kids that it’s okay if romantic feelings towards someone aren’t reciprocated, and that it doesn’t have to ruin a friendship. Also that no body is really at fault when that kind of thing happens. It would have been a good lesson but obviously it didn’t go that way.

I haven’s seen it, but I know that in Legend of Korra you find out that Aang and Katara ended up getting married and having children. I think that still could have happened if they ended atla as friends. It could have been them developing feelings for eachother as young adults.

This ship has potential but I wish they did it differently in canon.

Zutara Isn’t Ideal Either

Honestly my biggest problem with this ship is the fact that many of the people who ship it don’t take into accout the fact that they both (particularly Katara) have trauma because of the other person. Zuko spent months hunting down and intimidating the gaang. Like I said he’s redeemed himself but that shouldn’t just brush the terrible things he did under the rug. Katara threatens Zuko’s life when he first joins the gaang, and I can’t blame her for that. She doesn’t know whether or not he’s really changed.

Like Kataang this ship has potential, but it shouldn’t be romantasized beyond the limits of what is possible.

In Summary

(wish i could give credit to whoever drew this but i don’t know who it was)

I could write a book on all of the opinion I have about this spectacular series. However, I’m exhaused and want to go to sleep. I will not be proofreading this, sorry.

Legend of Korra was just put on netflix and I’m sure that once I watch it I’ll have a million more things to say.

I don’t know how to end this, so uh... Peace?

[philosopherking1887]

Something Past and Whole (an A:TLA ficlet)

1587 words; also on AO3.

What should win our gratitude.— It was artists, and especially those of the theater, who first gave people eyes and ears to see and hear with pleasure what each one himself is, experiences, and wants; they first taught us to esteem the hero that is concealed in everyday characters; they first taught us the art of viewing ourselves as heroes—from a distance and, as it were, simplified and transfigured—the art of staging and watching ourselves. Only in this way can we come to terms with some base details in ourselves. Without this art we would be nothing but foreground and live entirely in the spell of that perspective which makes what is closest at hand and most vulgar appear as if it were vast, and reality itself.

Perhaps one should concede a similar merit to the religion that made man see the sinfulness of every single individual through a magnifying glass, turning the sinner into a great, immortal criminal. By surrounding him with eternal perspectives, it taught man to see himself from a distance and as something past and whole.

—Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science section 78 (trans. W. Kaufmann)

Zuko was accumulating epithets, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

His friends, naturally, all found it hilarious. They already delighted in poking fun at the titles of his office, calling him ‘Your Fieriness’ or ‘Your Fire Lordship’ or even, when Aang was feeling particularly obnoxious, ‘Flamey-o, (Sifu) Hotlord!’ The new epithets were just more titles for them to play around with and give him grief about.

Zuko did not find them amusing. Not, as his friends all claimed (with varying degrees of tact), because he took himself too seriously and didn’t know how to laugh at himself! Well, maybe there was some truth to that charge… but the problem with the epithets was that he found them morbid—as if the world was trying to write his epitaph before he’d even died. Trying to pin him down, to flatten him into a single static image, like a dried flower or a butterfly to be pressed into a book, catalogued alongside history’s other specimens of world rulers: Warlord Toz the Terrible, Earth King Wei the Fat, Earth Queen Jian the Just, General Chin the Conqueror, Fire Lord Sozin the Bloody, Princess Yue the Brave. Rival historians were already fighting over his father’s legacy: detractors (hoping to ingratiate themselves to the new Fire Lord) called him ‘The Phoenix King of Ashes’ or ‘The Phoenix Who Did Not Rise’; loyalists (who did not fear retaliation from a Fire Lord they thought too weak) called him ‘The Last Dragon’ and prayed for the return of the deposed Fire Lord Azula as ‘The Blue Phoenix.’

Of course, Zuko had already acquired a couple of epithets before his ascension to the throne: ‘The Banished Prince,’ or ‘The Disgraced Prince.’ Accurate enough, but too simple, too straightforward for the full truth of the matter. So too were the epithets he had gained since becoming Fire Lord, starting with the ones that Fire Sage Shyu had given him on the day of his coronation: ‘Zuko the Peacemaker’ and ‘Zuko the Restorer’—not only of his own honor, but of the honor of the whole Fire Nation, of its place in the community of nations, of balance among the nations.

Those were the official, government-approved descriptors; but Zuko heard himself being written into history in different ways, too, in reports from the network of spies that now answered to Ty Lee, or while stealing around the Capital in the guise of the Blue Spirit to listen at the windows of bars and gambling dens, lurking in the alleys near the late-night food stalls where carousers gathered and (importantly) talked. Some of these epithets were pedestrian and perfectly predictable: ‘Zuko the Burned’ or ‘The Burned Fire Lord’ were among the most common, and Zuko resigned himself to being remembered, like poor Wei the Fat, for his most noticeable physical characteristic.

Others, however, were more significant and telling of how his people viewed him. Some called him ‘The Avatar’s Fire Lord,’ ‘The Avatar’s Puppet,’ ‘The Avatar’s Pet.’ For surrendering the Fire Nation’s cause in the war without a fight, they called him ‘The Toothless Dragon’ or (in mocking reference to the temporary loss of his firebending) ‘The Dragon Without Fire.’ They jeered him as ‘Earth Lord,’ ‘Water Lord,’ or ‘Air Lord Zuko,’ depending on which nation he had just made some shameful concession to: evacuating the newer Earth Kingdom colonies; paying reparations to the Water Tribes; taking formal responsibility on behalf of his ancestor and his nation for the Air Nomad Genocide, denouncing as shameful slander the propaganda used to justify the slaughter, publicly abasing himself—on his knees with his forehead to the earth (as he had not lowered himself since he had apologized to his father for his disrespect and begged for his mercy)—and apologizing to Avatar Aang as the last survivor of his people. At their most blunt, Zuko’s own people called him ‘Zuko the Traitor’ and ‘Betrayer of his Nation.’

But not all of the epithets Zuko heard by spying on his subjects were so damning. Some sincerely used the titles Shyu had given him, Peacemaker and Restorer—spoke them with respect, gratitude, even reverence. There was a name he had first heard among Fire Nation migrants to Republic City, which had made its way back to the Fire Nation Capital to be spoken softly among his younger subjects (who barely remembered the years of the war, and had grown up with his account of things rather than Ozai’s or Azulon’s): not just ‘the Restorer,’ but ‘the Redeemer.’ Zuko hated that one even more than ‘Traitor’ or ‘Avatar’s Pet.’ He didn’t deserve it and could never live up to it; he knew he could only disappoint those who expected it of him. Better that they should call him ‘the Redeemed,’ but he could scarcely say he deserved that, either.

In the years since Zuko had raised Druk, he began hearing a few epithets he didn’t mind. ‘Zuko Dragon-tamer’ he considered inaccurate and insulting to his companion—did they think a dragon was a platypus-bear that one trained to do tricks?—but ‘Dragonrider’ was truthful enough and, he thought, had a nice ring to it. He preferred ‘Dragon-friend,’ in recognition of the honor and favor bestowed upon him by the Masters Ran and Shaw; but that one, unfortunately, had failed to catch on. His very favorite—the one he dared to hope might be the way history remembered him—he heard only three times over the space of a year, some thirty years after the war’s end… the year that Uncle Iroh died suddenly of no ailment anyone could identify. He could not tell just from hearing it whether it was ‘The Dragons’ Son’ or ‘The Dragon’s Son,’ but he liked to think it was somehow both.

Aang was teasing him about ‘Dragon-tamer’—“You should run off to join the circus like Ty Lee; I bet you’d look smashing in a ringmaster’s uniform!”—when Zuko finally managed to put words to what troubled him, instead of inarticulately spluttering his indignation. “I hate that they all want to make me into only one thing, wholly and completely, and ignore—or maybe deny—all the times I haven’t been that thing, and all the other things I am, and have been, and might still be.”

Aang considered this. “Maybe you should think of them as like roles in a play—like theater masks that you can put on and take off.”

“Yes, because when we’ve been made into dramatis personae in the past, it’s always been so flattering,” Zuko said, his voice dry and sharp as desert wind.

Aang laughed. “I’ve learned that sometimes it’s easier to just play ‘Savior of the World’ or ‘Wise Ancient World Spirit’ than to try to explain all you really are. And sometimes it’s fun to pretend that’s all you are, that everything is simpler than it is. Of course you have to take off the mask eventually… but you know how fun it can be to wear it for a little while, and for a little while just be the Dragon Emperor or the Dark Water Spirit. Or is it the Blue Spirit?” he asked slyly.

“Easy enough for you to say, when you’re always cast as the hero. What if it’s the villain’s mask they want you to wear?” Half-consciously Zuko put his fingers over his scar where it covered most of his cheek, then ran them up to the corner of the eye that was permanently narrowed, mask-like, into a threatening glare.

“I haven’t always been the hero,” Aang said quietly. “And I’ve also learned that sometimes it’s easier to accept your role as the villain than to tie yourself in knots, and most likely break your back, trying to convince everyone to love you.”

“You’re one to talk,” Zuko retorted. “You can’t even stand to let Katara stay mad at you for an hour.”

Aang chucked ruefully at that. “Becoming a parent has changed my perspective somewhat.”

“And what is ruling a nation other than parenting an enormous family of unruly children…?”

“I didn’t say that, Your Fatherliness. I mean…”

“Very funny.”

“Aw, c’mon, Peacemaker. You know you can’t stay mad at me.”

“How could I, when I’m your faithful pet?”

“Who’s a good dragon…? Ouch, those were definitely teeth!”

“Don’t believe everything you hear about me… or read in history books.”

[hermitknut]

A:TLA watch, part 17 - SERIES FINALE

All of my posts on this are here.  I’ll be putting up a masterlist sometime soon.

*deep breaths*

Okay, it’s time. Time to finish this series. I’m both desperate to find out how it ends and also desperate to stay in the middle of it. It’s been a hell of a ride… here we go!

Sozin’s Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King

Zuko teaching aang is so great, even when he’s getting touchy about it.

BEACH PARTY lol sokka, never change

Appa sand sculpture!!

Nooooooooo zuko I know you have to teach but NOT THE SAND SCULPTURES

Oooo aang wants to wait??

Ohhhh call back to that one war meeting!

Oh shiiiiiiit wiping out the earth nation. Big task. LOVE the shot of him walking over the map and casting his shadow before him.

Omg dragging zuko into the group hug XD

HOW TO REDIRECT LIGHTNING ZUKOOOOOOOO uncle tea would be SO PROUD

“yeah, I’ll just do that” :( aaaaaang.

I am really curious as to how they’re going to handle this (aang potentially killing the firelord)

Omg look at the precious children training I love them so much

God aang :( I love how much weight they’re giving this.

The music as he walks into the night!

Wait. Where did the island aang was heading towards go????

“what? Everyone else went on a life-changing field trip with zuko, now it’s my turn” Toph, I sincerely love you

“get out of the bison’s mouth, sokka” XD

“if anyone’s got experience hunting the avatar, it’s you” GOOD POINT

Fire Lord is leaving? Where is he going?

Damn the dynamic between Azula and her father…

“mole? Her skin is flawless” jesus this show XD. Also, yet AGAIN, a logical, perfect call back to an earlier character. The way this show winds this stuff back in really makes the world feel real and solid.

“where are we?” AANG

Sozin’s Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters

My dvd player is skipping a bit :/ hope this doesn’t keep happening. Maybe it’s because I keep pausing so much to type stuff. Hmm. I’m gonna try overlapping windows and see if that helps. [edit: it did, though I had to stop the whole thing and give it a rest between episodes. It’s old and cranky.]

“he doesn’t exist” hell of a disappearing act there, aang

ZUKO WANTS TO FIND UNCLE TEA HELL YES

I have been WAITING for the return of Iroh!!!

Oo maybe talking to zuko will help

THE ORDER OF THE WHITE LOTUS RIGHT??? And aang’s friend is one of them!!!!

“new grandfather” XD XD XD holy shit sokka’s so enthusiastic

“all old people know each other” LOL

I genuinely love aang working through previous avatars, trying to get an answer.

“did you do anything interesting on the day of the eclipse” “no, not really” LOL

SURFING AVATAR

Ohhh how nervous zuko is!

Ooo an air nomad avatar…

“I have to kill the firelord” is it me or is that the first time aang’s used the word “kill”

ZUKO’S CRYING. IROH’S CRYING. I’M CRYING. OH GOD.

“it wasn’t that hard uncle. You have a pretty strong scent.” God XD

THE ISLAND IS A SEA CREATURE I AM UNNERVED BUT DELIGHTED

“the fatherlord” XD

“it has to be you” oh BLESS

“my destiny is to take it BACK” ohhhhhhhhhh

Omg katara and zuko vs azula? I am VERY EXCITED

Here we go, splitting up the forces and starting the plan

Also sokka looks so little in that helmet, I can’t deal with this

Duuuuude the island beast thing!!

Oh boy here comes the comet oh godddddddd that closing shot of aang…

  Sozin’s Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno

God everyone’s worried about aang… so am I…

Azula jesus

Nice SHOT Toph

God this show is so STUNNING the way it pans from the ship they’re on to the lead ship with Ozai on it…

Azula… jesus no one needs to take down azula, she’s going to do it herself XD

TOPH KNOCKING ON THE DOOR AND THEN USING IT AS A METAL SUIT MY MOUTH IS JUST OPEN IN DELIGHT

“I can’t believe the captain remembered my birthday” BAHAHA AMAZING

God azula is just dissolving isn’t she?

Ohhhhh you know it occurred to me that Zuko could use the comet’s power but I hadn’t thought about Iroh, holy SHIT

MOTHER IN THE MIRROR fuck this show is intense

AANG

No glider no momo no appa oh AANG PLEASE BE CAREFUL I LOVE YOU

Airship slice!! Oh gosh folks oh gosh

I’m actually genuinely frightened for everybody

“you’re not going to become firelord today – I am” COME ON ZUKO HELL YES

Ooooo full on formal duel I am HERE FOR THIS

Aang :( I SAID BE CAREFUL

HE CHANNELLED LIGHTNING BUT ONLY JUST

NO AANG AANG AANG YOU’RE FALLING NOOOO

Oh GOD I love the way he caught himself with the waterbending!

I am very concerned by the sad music playing through the zuko and azula fight..

NO SHE’S GOING TO AIM AT KATARA NO  NO NO NO NO NO NO ZUKO NO

AANG HIDING IN THE EGG

QUICK I NEED THE NEXT EPISODE QUICK QUICK QUICK

  Sozin’s Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang

YES YES EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN THE FIRE NATION ATTACKED WE KNOW WE KNOW HURRY UP I NEED ANSWERS

“PREVIOUSLY ON AVATAR” I KNOW I KNOW GET GOING

“you could stand to mention it more” TOPH

JESUS SOKKA YOU’RE SUCH A BADASS

NO NO DON’T DROP TOPH NO

ANOTHER SHIP HIT THEM OKAY

Aang hiding in the egg still, oh boy

Oh god the way it melts away around him

And it HIT THE SCAR

“little boy” oh you are SO FUCKED

AVATAR STAAAAAAAAAAAAATE

HE’S USING ALL OF THE ELEMENTS AT ONCE HOLY SHIT AANG

PLEASE BE OKAY AFTER THIS

Irohhhhhh setting fire to the fire nation flag!! This is great :D

Jesus this entire series has been building to Aang having full control and HOLY SHIT is it worth it!!

Uh oh we’re back to azula and katara and zuko

COME ON KATARA COME ON ZUKO

Katara has an idea!!

WAIT DID SHE FREEZE BOTH OF THEM HOLY

Oh KATARA you GENIUS

I’m worried about zuko but also able to appreciate the symbolism of him having a scar that matches aang’s

Oh god azula shooting lightning with her mouth and losing it entirely :(

Holy shit the BENDING that aang’s doing is BLOWING MY MIND

Was that a gasp of fear from ozai??

“the ultimate price” AANG STOPPED THOUGH

God the slow motion bit where he captures ozai holy SHIT

Is he gonna take the bending away from ozai???

THE LIGHT COMING FROM THEIR FACES FRIGHTENS ME

To bend another’s energy??? I CAN’T HEAR THE TURTLE THING CLEARLY ENOUGH DID HE JUST TAKE OZAI’S BENDING AWAY???

“I took away your firebending” phew I was right

God aang just. summoning the avatar state briefly with a breath and raising the water

i n c r e d i b l e

SOKKA you’re hilarious

“who taught you that” “a giant lion-turtle”

I love that they’re all just taking the piss of ozai like. Valid. You are all incredibly valid.

ZUKO’S GIRLFRIEND IS BACK blesssssss

“but don’t Ever Break Up With Me Again” HA

Oh god it’s ahappily ever after I can’t handle this I CAN’T AHHHHHHH

I am CRYING

Acrobat girl joined the warriors!! Hahahahaha

AANG IN THE YELLOW ROBES

AANG AND ZUKO HUGGING

I CAN’T BREATHE

LOOK AT THE LINES OF PEOPLE AND EVERYONE CHEERING

LOOK AT LITTLE AANG

They better let aang chill for a bit now, jesus, the kid is still twelve XD he needs a HOLIDAY

*screams through fingers* that little beckoning to aang

Zuko talking to his father – OH SHIT HIS MOTHER

LOL AT SOKKA’S DRAWING

Katara – KATARA AND AANG HUGGING awwwwwww

KISS THEY KISSED AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

HOLY SHIT

(sidenote: we get different end music randomly on the last episode that’s REALLY PRETTY but also kind of strange lol. I love it)

~

SO WE DON’T HAVE TIME TO UNPACK ALL THAT

BUT I LOVE IT

I LOVE ALL OF IT

HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS

*steadying breaths*

This series is absolutely INCREDIBLE and I am SO GLAD I watched it. I can’t wait to rewatch it in the summer (I’m planning it with a friend) – and next month I’m going to get hold of Legend of Korra to keep me going in the meantime.

Thank you so much to everyone who’s been following along, it’s been really lovely to share this with you!! I am one hundred percent here for anyone who wants to talk (read: let me yell with them) about the whole series now, provided there are no Korra spoilers.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to ramble to myself about how amazing this was until it’s fully sunk in XD

H

[klainelynch]

Iroh supposed it was lucky that he had stopped at a port in the colonies before returning to Caldera City. When the captain brought him the news about his father (and his brother, and his sister-in-law, would it ever end?), he was able to shut himself in his room for the rest of the evening, and return to the ship's deck the next morning with renewed conviction for his promise he had made to the spirits.

He wasn't thinking about what it meant that the new Fire Lord hadn't sent any word to him about these changes. Really.

“We’re due to land by evening, General Iroh,” the captain said, and he didn’t hesitate in using that title even as its recipient wasn’t sure if it applied any more.

...

At the height of the siege, Iroh imagined his triumphant return to the capital. Images of parades, cheering women, and celebratory feasts sustained him. His father had already been proud of him, but he would be even more so now. No one had ever conquered Ba Sing Se; Iroh supposed that no one ever would. His childhood vision had told him that he would be the one to do it, but the vision had been wrong.

There were no parades.

The only people who greeted Iroh and his crew were the servants who grabbed the luggage and supplies without saying a word to him. He didn't recognize a single one of them.

...

Continue reading under the cut or at AO3

The palace was quiet. He was used to people rushing around, seemingly eager to serve their fire lord. Iroh tried to meet the eyes of the servants, of anyone, but no one gave him the opportunity. They moved like being noticed would ensure a death sentence. The servant carrying two of Iroh’s personal bags stayed five feet behind him at all times, and the distance smothered him more than if she had been five inches away.

"Uncle!"

Iroh barely had time to turn around before Zuko was barreling into him from around the corner. He returned the hug with almost as enthusiasm as his young nephew, who seemed to have grown half a foot since he'd last seen him.

“Zuko, it’s so good to see you,” Iroh said, and it felt nice to see his own smile mirrored in his nephew’s face. No one knew how to act around him since Lu Ten, so they just acted solemn. Iroh hadn’t seen someone smile in weeks, and he hadn’t realized how much that hurt until this very moment.

“You too, Uncle. The palace isn’t the same without you,” he said. “Come on! I want to show you the latest firebending form I’ve been working on. You won’t believe how much better I’ve gotten since you’ve been gone!”

Iroh smiled. “Yes, I would love to see it. I’ll just drop my things off in my room, and then we can make our way to the courtyard.”

"Let me show you to your room, Your Highness. It's just down this hallway," the servant said.

Iroh looked at her quizzically. “I’ve been gone for awhile, but I still remember the layout of this place.” He started walking towards his room, but stopped when he realized that the woman hadn’t moved.

She bowed her head low, but Iroh saw the fear before she did so. “Apologies, but Fire Lord Ozai insisted that those rooms are reserved for the Crown Prince, and that is now Prince Zuko.”

Iroh glanced at Zuko, who looked incredibly uncomfortable. His hands were shoved under his arms, and he also wouldn't meet Iroh's eyes.

"I didn't want your rooms," he said. "But Father said it wouldn't be fitting for my station to sleep in the same bed anymore. I'm sorry."

Taking a deep breath, Iroh forced a smile on his face. "It is alright, Prince Zuko. There is nothing to apologize for— your father is right, after all. I am no longer the Crown Prince, so I do not need such luxuries."

"Oh, okay," Zuko said, and he sounded surprised, as if he expected Iroh to be upset with him. Iroh tucked that thought away. He would deal with it later.

Iroh turned to the servant and asked, "What is your name?"

"Anzu, Your Highness," she said, lifting her eyes from the floor to somewhere around his knees.

"Well, Anzu, please show me to my new rooms so that I may get settled in, and then set up a Pai Sho board for tonight so I can see whether or not I can still kick my nephew's butt." Her mouth dropped a little at the informality of that last request, but Zuko grinned wildly, so it was worth it.

...

His new rooms were almost identical to his old. It was to be expected— every bedroom in this place had the same basic layout, either to confuse assassins or because the original architects lacked imagination and personality. Anzu set his few bags in the closet, and then left to fetch the board. 

As soon as she was gone, Iroh wished he wasn't alone. This room wasn't the same— it only looked that way. The bed was made, but Iroh would have to replace the sheets with the thread count that he preferred. The dressers were bare; he would have to set out his portraits and other knick knacks himself. The bookcase was simply that, and did not hide a secret passage that could be used in case of emergencies. Iroh didn’t need such precautions when two children were now ahead of him in the line of succession.

The room could have belonged to anyone. It didn’t belong to Iroh. It served as a reminder of everything he had lost, and Iroh knew that Ozai had meant it as such.

Don't think about these things. Remember what the spirits told you. This is an opportunity for growth, a chance to do good in this world. Don't forget.

If only it were that easy. Iroh didn't want to care so much about something as trivial as a bedroom, but he was learning to be honest with himself these days. 

It mattered.

It mattered for the same reason as the hesitation in Zuko's voice, as the fear in the servant's eyes, as the lack of any sort of notice before Iroh arrived at the palace. He would have walked in the front doors, expecting to be Fire Lord, if he hadn't heard otherwise. Ozai had stolen that from him, and he wasn’t losing any time in making his own mark on this palace and their nation. It mattered because Iroh was no longer the man he once was.

Iroh was a failure.

He had never been one of those before.

Losing the right to rule was the least of his losses from these last few weeks, but it was still a loss.

On his way back from the Spirit World, before he found the crew to take him home, he had worked out a plan for his reign. He would finish this war quickly, and then he would work to make things right with the other nations. The Fire Nation had much to offer them, but they had gone about it all wrong.

But none of that mattered now. Fire Lord Ozai was never supposed to exist, but he was here now.

Iroh wasn't sure what his place was now. His brother had probably been disappointed that Iroh hadn't died alongside his son to make a clean end to his line; Iroh was okay being a disappointment there.

A quiet knock on his door pulled Iroh from his thoughts. Zuko held the Pai Sho board in his hands.

"I passed by that servant in the hallway, and thought I'd just bring it myself," he said. "I can show you my katas later. Do you want to play Pai Sho right now?"

So many things had changed, but Zuko’s sweet nature had not. "Yes, Prince Zuko, I would love that."

They played for some time without much conversation between them. Iroh was tired from his journey, and Zuko seemed more shy than when Iroh had left him. But the silence was not uncomfortable, and Iroh was thankful for the company.

It was after Iroh beat him for the second time and Zuko agreed to a third game that he said, "I'm sorry about Lu Ten, Uncle."

Iroh closed his eyes just in time to stop the burning from going any further. It hadn't gotten any easier, and he didn't think it would for a long time. He heard the chair scoot, and opened his eyes again to see Zuko halfway across the room.

"I didn't mean to upset you, I can go, I'm sorry," he said quickly.

Shaking his head, Iroh motioned Zuko to sit back down. "Thank you for your kind words, nephew. I'm still very sad about it, but your presence here helps me out. That, and beating you twice!" His joke wasn’t filled with the same kind of warmth that it might have once contained, but it was enough to make Zuko smile, and today, that would have to be enough.

[cluebottles]

Consuming Avatar: The Last Airbender for the First Time...

... at 23 years old. 

**Some Major Spoilers Ahead for Plot Lines and the Ending -- If you haven’t seen Avatar: The Last Air Bender I highly suggest you watch it before you read

[Before I begin: I live in America. Currently and since the “founding” of our country, minorities have not been treated as equal -- Black people in our country have been treated as less than human and have been brutally murdered at the hands of the police and the hands of our governing system of racist oppression since the beginning. It’s still happening. It will continue to happen if we ignore this, if we give up, if we push forward without enacting change. Be safe when you are protesting. Educate people who might not understand. Use your platform to speak out, to share information and resources. Donate if you can. Here’s some resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ ] Alright, so the spoiler alert is out there in the open and I’ve addressed our current situation, I guess we should jump in with a little back story of my history with Avatar. As a kid, I never watched it. I still pretended to water bend in the pool -- Avatar transcended more than just television. The idea of controlling the elements around you was magnificent enough to bleed into that weird group of kids who never watched it growing up. I also had one Avatar video game that I barely played...because I didn’t watch the show...so I didn’t know what was going on. Trying to watch something and be caught up as a kid without streaming services was just impossible, so I’m lucky to not only have the complete box sets now, but we’re all lucky Netflix has graced us with the story to binge-watch.

I want to first start off and say that overall I highly enjoyed this show. Everyone I knew has praised it as being an important character building experience that made them the person they are today -- and while I can understand that, and some of that is not only important and moving, I’m also here to criticize that, just a little bit. 

Let’s start off with the characters and story-- both of which mostly fantastic. I mean, Uncle Iroh is a phenomenon I’d only heard of and honestly had to think he was overrated until I fell in love with him on screen.   

I think Uncle Iroh is also a very important character because he shows an important and believable character growth -- he was a war criminal. He was pushing forward, killing innocent people as he attempted to conquer the great Earth Nation city Ba Sing Se. His son was killed in the war he was raging, and he gave up and went home and over years has worked on himself to have the wisdom he is known for and astounding character growth. “But didn’t he save the last two dragons?” ...you can do a good thing while also doing other bad things. Lmfao. He is constantly trying to steer his nephew, Zuko, in a more positive direction, while also providing scattered support to the Aang Gang more than once throughout the entirety of the series. (RIP to Uncle Iroh’s original voice actor, Mako Iwamatsu, and I praise the beautiful story dedicated to him in Uncle Iroh’s tale, an episode that made me cry once I realized it was a dedication to him.)

Let’s contrast this to these two -- both having the least believable character growth(s? ses? ???) I’ve ever seen.  

Everyone says “that ZUKO CHARACTER GROWTH ARC THO” and I just... I don’t have the same energy for it. Maybe it’s my most unpopular opinion on this show? But ... it’s just so rushed. I do think this series ended too soon, and I know it goes beyond just this show in comics, but as a consumer of just this show, it was flat to me. “I MUST HAVE THE AVATAR” to “I MUST HELP THE AVATAR SAVE THE WORLD” but a majority of him in this series has been the former while the last season, really, has been the latter. We stan reassessment and learning and bettering the world, but some of the first times he’s helped the Avatar has been for his own personal gain because he wants the glory so he can go home to his abusive family. I wish he would have been given more time to have a more realistic turnaround, because the beginning and the end are there -- it’s just a weird muddled middle that doesn’t make sense to me. The same with the hatred of his father. We’re not given much between “I NEED TO RESTORE MY HONOR AND COME HOME TO MY FATHER” and “I WILL HELP THE AVATAR KILL YOU” and I think that’s a shame. 

Mai... I just... I can’t even.. like I don’t know where to begin on how underwhelming her betrayal of Azula is. Like yes, it has shock value, but besides the shock value, to me, it’s unbelievable. Yes, she has had a crush on Zuko since they were kids, but she’d been closer to Azula than him for most of her life. Even in the EPISODE where she does this betrayal she has very little time alone with Zuko. He tricks her and traps her in his cell, and just moments before this she’s accusing him of going against her and their entire nation. In scenes we see them together before this she’s broken up with him and shouted at him, they’ve gotten into fights, a lot, and she’s seen talking about the perks of dating a prince, relishing in the fact that she gets them too. To me her betrayal is unbelievable. I don’t hate her at all though! I honestly just think she needed more screen time so that we could be shown her doubts about the Fire Nation and how strong her relationship to Zuko actually is. 

I guess it’s time for another unpopular opinion -- I can’t stand Sokka and Yue. They don’t have chemistry. Yue is literally engaged to a dickbag and instead of doing what was best for her, she was going to just go through with it. Also, Yue and Sokka don’t know each other that well nor have they known each other for that long, whereas Suki met Sokka first. Suki and Sokka have a natural chemistry. Sokka takes Suki for granted, a lot, but they’re fantastic. 

Cluebottles’ Top Ten Favorite Character List

Uncle Iroh

Sokka 

Toph

Suki

Avatar Roku

Appa & Momo

Avatar Kiyoshi

Katara

Aang

Zuko

Now, we know Uncle Iroh preaches humility, growth, peace and harmony. And while a lot of the time I would agree, there are some times where I don’t. Here is my biggest criticism of the show: love doesn’t conquer all, and Avatar: The Last Airbender sloppily tries to enforce that it does ‘til the awkward end of the series.

I understand that this is a children’s show. However, the fact that it’s about war and multiple people have died during the show (even if it wasn’t always outright shown), I don’t think killing the Fire Lord would have been unwarranted. If anything, it’s another show that pushes “no matter what be the bigger person”, “no matter what, love is the only way”, “you can’t fight hatred with hatred”, which ultimately does not work, and furthers the bullying of people or the oppression of people. 

Aang is supposed to save the world, and when it comes down to it, he can’t kill the Fire Nation’s Leader, Lord Ozai, who is the third in straight succession to lead the assault on conquering the other nations. A war of 100 years ends “peacefully” -- except for all of the people who lost their lives fighting for their family and freedom against the Fire Nation. 

Aang seeks council from his previous Avatar incarnations -- and each of them tell him to take out the Fire Lord for the good of the world. That’s Aang’s only job as the Avatar -- to keep the balance and work for the good of the world. 

Instead of him bringing down the swift hand of justice, Aang learns how to bend energy (wtf?) at the literal last minute from a giant lion turtle so that he can bend the energy (again, wtf?) out of Ozai and take his bending power away. Even when the kid gets the snot knocked out of him and the Avatar state takes over, Aang stops it. And then he bends the energy (wtf x3) out of Ozai successfully even though the turtle tells him it can corrupt him entirely if he does it wrong, that it’s extremely hard to do, and even though he’s never practiced doing it.

Iroh was a war criminal. He reformed himself and helped the community he hurt when he really never had to. Zuko has his own “character development arc” where he goes from being bad to goodish to bad again to okay to bad to finally  good. He’s a kid, he’s still learning, and has changed drastically for the better.  Azula...Azula had been struggling with some form of mental illness/psychosis since she was a small child even into adulthood. She’s hateful and dangerous, but not only is she still a kid -- she should be (and is) locked up so she can’t ever hurt anyone again. 

Fire Lord Ozai is an adult, fully aware of his actions, has killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people in his wake trying to take over territories and kill other benders, enslave them, and imprison them. Even when confronted by the Avatar, resistance, and his own son peacefully, not only does he start the violence in retaliation, but he doesn’t learn from being shown compassion. He is literally already a war criminal, there should be no compassion left for anyone to show him. My point being that there’s a stark difference between him and others who may have been like him. 

So in the end, the big message that this sends to me is that you should always show love and compassion. Never resort to violence. Be the “bigger person”, like I mentioned above, and like I said this doesn’t translate to real life. I think a huge reason why I feel I need to criticize this and other children’s shows that push this message is that we are being fed this narrative at a young age while we’re being bullied, while we’re facing hatred from others whether it’s because of the color of our skin, our gender, our sexuality -- we are expected to always be the “better person”. Our problems will somehow amicably be fixed by love. We shouldn’t actively be trying to dismantle a system taking advantage of and killing minorities, all I have to do is be nice. As we grow that feeds into our naive outlook on protesting and rioting, our outlooks on lawmaking and leadership. “Well they just made their whole movement look bad” “You should never resort to violence” -- meanwhile the police have been murdering black people for years and years, and people have been “peacefully protesting” that. Rioting was what got freedoms for several different movements, whether it’s worker’s rights, lgbt+ rights, the "civil rights act”, rioting is what literally got the USA the “freedom” to begin with. 

In the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang is gifted at the last moment with the ability to take away Lord Ozai’s power and ultimately, have a peace restored without violence. In the real world, you cannot take away the power of war criminals and oppressors because they have the power in a system stacked against you. So trying to answer such a huge life question, trying to end a war in the real world, trying to take down oppressors -- showing them love and trying to fumble it on your own sense of humility does nothing. 

I watched this show unfold and finish moments before I watched people take to the streets to protest yet another black life lost by the hands of police brutality and systemic racsim. Watching George Floyd die just for being black in America, knowing all of the black lives lost every day just because they are black in America to then look at a show that tries to push a message like “love conquers all”, “violence is unnecessary”, just makes me angry because we live in a world where these sentiments, though nice, don’t exist.

That being said, I’m glad this show meant a lot to people, because it did mean a lot to me too. For some reason, it gives me a strange sense of hope. This is probably my favorite show and I’m watching it again after just finishing it. If you haven’t watched it, there are a lot of lessons that can be learned to positively affect you and make you take a step back and re-evaluate, and maybe implement some of Uncle Iroh’s wisdom into your life.  

[wickedwitch1997]

Katara, of the Fire Nation- Chapter 2

Here’s Chapter 1, in case you missed it. 

Zuko stands awkwardly in front of the water bender.

“Um,” he starts, “My name is Zuko.”

“Katara,” the girl responds.

The two children stand together awkwardly.

“I like your… hair,” Zuko says, trying to be polite.

“Thank you,” Katara says, looking Zuko up and down, trying to find something to compliment him on, “I like your… palace.”

“Yeah?” he says, a sparkle comes to his eye, “It has one hundred rooms! I’ll show you.”

“Ok!” Katara says, the boy takes her hand and leads her out of the room.

Zuko shows Katara around the palace, pointing out important paintings of his ancestors and labelling all the rooms.

“Did you want to see the gardens?” Zuko asks.

“What’s a gardens?” Katara asks, her eyes round with wonder.

“Come on!” he beams, squeezing her hand and encouraging her to run with him.

Zuko takes Katara outside, and Katara’s little mouth hangs open in shock. There is so much colour in the gardens; she marvels at the flowers and trees.

“Don’t you have gardens where you’re from?” Zuko asks, Katara shakes her head, “Here!” the young prince leads Katara to a fire lily patch and picks a red flower, “It’s called a fire lily!”

Zuko hands the flower to Katara. Katara’s eyes widen as she touches the petal softly.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathes.

A strange noise catches her attention and Katara looks over to a large tree in the middle of the garden.

“What was that?” she asks.

“I’ll show you,” Zuko says, taking Katara’s hand again and leading her to the tree. Katara is surprised to find a pond in front of the tree. Swimming on the pond is a strange creature.

“It’s a turtleduck,” Zuko explains. He sits down at the edge of the water and pats the grass next to him.

Katara sits down and watches as the turtleducks swim around the pond, diving under the water every so often.

“ZUKO!” the Fire Lord shouts, storming into the gardens, “Get away from her!”

Katara and Zuko bolt to their feet, when Katara sees the look on the Fire Lord’s face, she drops back down to her knees and bows with her forehead on the grass.

“She is our prisoner,” Lord Ozai says, grabbing his son by his arm and pulling Zuko closer to him, “She is not some play thing to be your friend, do you understand me?”

“Yes…yes father,” Zuko stammers.

“Guard,” Ozai snaps, “Take the prisoner back to her room.”

Katara flinches as a guard grabs her and pulls her away, Katara steals one last look at Zuko as she is escorted back to her room.

Katara is thrown inside her room and she hears the door being locked by the guard. Katara sniffles and wipes tears from her eyes.

Iroh doesn’t come back to her room, Katara is left alone, she’s never been alone before, she always had someone with her, especially within the small tribe, and, even on the ship there was always someone close by, but now, she is truly alone.

Katara looks around, she goes to her bed and tries to go to sleep, but it’s too quiet and she is too scared.

At midnight, Katara’s door is unlocked and it slowly opens, creaking softly.

Katara dives under her covers as her little heart begins to race.

“Psst,” comes a voice, “Katara?”

Katara sits up and peaks out to see Zuko standing in her room with a small fire lit in his palm.

“Hi!” he beams, closing the door behind him as he sees Katara.

“What are you doing here?” Katara asks, getting out from under the covers.

“Shh,” Zuko whispers with a smile, “I wanted to see you again.”

“But your dad,” Katara whispers, watching the Fire Prince light a candle before extinguishing the flame in his hands, “I’m a prisoner.”

“I don’t think you are,” Zuko says, walking over to Katara and sitting on her bed, “Prisoners don’t get rooms, and they’re big and mean. Besides, uncle wouldn’t have left me with you if you were a prisoner.”

Katara stares at the boy as he smiles at her, he has his uncle’s kind smile.

“Tell me more about where you’re from,” Zuko says, “What kind of place has no gardens?”

“It’s too cold for gardens,” Katara explains, “It’s always snow.”

“Woah,” Zuko says, his eyes wide.

“And we don’t have turtle ducks,” Katara says, “We have penguins.”

“I’ve read about them!” Zuko says, proudly.

“My mum used to take me penguin sledding,” Katara continues, “We’d ride them down the snow slopes.”

Katara goes silent as she thinks of her mother and her family, Katara doesn’t remember what happened to her mother, she can’t remember what happened to her village.

“I’m sorry you were taken from your mother,” Zuko says, speaking softly, “My mum’s gone too.”

Katara looks to Zuko as he stares at the floor, kicking his legs over the edge of the bed.

Katara and Zuko spend the night together, talking about their homes and their families, eventually falling asleep in each other’s arms.

Iroh finds Zuko and Katara in the early morning, they’re sleeping next to each other; their legs are tangled together, and their hands hold onto each other.

“Zuko,” Iroh whispers, waking the young prince, Zuko groans as his eye’s slowly open.

“Uncle?” Zuko says, groggily rubbing his eye and detangling from the water bender.

“Come on.” Iroh picks Zuko up out of bed and carries him back to his own room without being seen.

“She smells nice,” Zuko says, stifling a yawn as he sits up in his own bed, “Can she be my friend?”

Iroh’s heart breaks for the young prince, he doesn’t know it yet, but he is falling for the water girl.

“Go back to sleep,” Iroh says, tucking Zuko in.

Iroh leaves his nephew and goes back to Katara’s room.

“Where’s Zuko?” the little water bender asks as soon as Iroh steps into the room.

“He’s back in his own bed,” Iroh explains.

“Is his dad going to be mad?” Katara asks, her face pales at the thought.

“No,” Iroh says with a smile, “It will be our secret.”

That day Iroh introduces Katara to her first set of water bending scrolls, scrolls he dug up from the archives of stolen treasures.

Iroh volunteered to train Katara, knowing his teachings would be kinder than that of anyone else, he helps Katara read the scrolls, fixing her punctuation on the words she doesn’t know.

Iroh then fills the bathtub with water and lets Katara stand in the shallow water. Unfortunately Iroh isn’t a water bender, but he reads through the scrolls and tries to help Katara as best he can.

Katara is a quick learner, by the end of the day, she is drenched in water, but she knows how to create small waves in the tub, the water follows the push and pull of her chi. She also knows how to pull water out of the tub and levitate for a few moments.

Katara and Iroh eat their dinner together in Katara’s room, he leaves as the sun sets and feels sorry for the girl, she doesn’t even have a window to watch the sun set.

But she does have Zuko, who again, sneaks into her room once everyone is asleep.

“Look what I can do,” Katara says, getting out of bed when Zuko creeps in.

Katara shows Zuko her new tricks. Zuko is mesmerised by the water, just as he is mesmerised by the one who bends it.

The days roll by, Katara learns with Iroh during the day, working hard and taking breaks to eat and play with Iroh.

Then at night, Zuko sneaks into her room and they show each other their ‘tricks’ before tiring out and ending curled up together, only to be separated by Iroh, who collects Zuko in the mornings; just like clockwork.

Except as the days go by, Iroh can see Katara slowly start to slip, she’s sick of being locked up all day, Zuko’s visits at night help, but Katara needs to see the sun, she needs to be outside in fresh air. Being a water bender, Iroh assumes it would probably help for her to be outside, under the moon once in a while.

Iroh fears for the girl’s sanity, so he confronts his brother, the Fire Lord.  

@squishysuho @pepewntz @the-weird-fob-fangirl @thegaang6

The Painted Lady fic: 1.It’s the Painted Lady 2.The Blue Spirit 3.The Painted Spirit 4.The Blue Lady 5. The Water Bender 6. The Fire Lord’s Heart pt 1 7. The Fire Lord’s Heart pt 2 8. The Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit 9. The Fire Lady 10.The Blood Bender 11. The Family Reunion 12. The Water Bender’s Baby 13. The Avatar 14. The Lie 15. The Ice Heart 16. The Uncle 17. The Water Bender’s Heart pt 1 18. The Water Bender’s Heart pt 2 19. The Son of Aang