#and sometimes toph needs that encouragement that while she is capable of doing what she wants and defying authority

[your-royal-momoness]

Toph: this field trip is boooring

Katara: this is not a field trip, we’re grocery shopping

Toph: then why did you invite me?

Katara: I didn’t. I told you not to come with me and you said “fuck you I do what I want” and followed me here

[reinerispretty]

rotations. bonus! team avatar 2.0 meet y/n

hello!! this was requested a while ago by @purple-cloud18 before rotations was finished and lok was on netflix so now i am so excited to actually write it!!

Hi i love your rotations and I wanted to ask for like a one shot of how korra’s team avatar would react to meeting y/n (like if she was apart of stopping the 100 year war and is alive to meet the new team avatar). And who they (y/n) did/didn’t end up with etc.

Despite her age, (Y/N) still loved to travel more than anything in the world. Whenever Zuko went anywhere, she forced him to let her join. Sometimes he worried, because of the dangers of whatever mission he would be going on, but (Y/N) wasted no time in reminding him that she had proved time and time again that she could take care of herself. 

“I know, love, but we’re not as young as we used to be,” He’d say with a sigh as he would help her get on the back of their dragon, Druk. (Y/N) would furrow her brows and scoff. 

“Maybe you aren’t! I feel as spry as a baby turtle duck.” 

Even after decades of being queen of the Fire Nation, (Y/N) still wasn’t accustomed to the behavior that was shown to her. When she and Zuko landed at the Misty Palms Oasis, Chief Tonraq rushed to help her off of the dragon. Lin Beifong, her beloved goddaughter, bowed as soon as (Y/N’s) feet stepped onto the sand. She opened her mouth to give a retort about how she didn’t need special treatment, but Zuko gave her a playful pinch at her elbow that told her to just accept the kindness. 

(Y/N) smiled wide, walking toward Lin with her arms wide open. The woman cringed when the hug was first initiated, but she eventually relaxed into it. Lin Beifong was one tough cookie, but she had always had a soft spot for (Y/N). When Toph was off giving her daughters their independence, (Y/N) was only a phone call away to provide Lin with any advice she might need. 

Tonraq, Lin, Zuko, and (Y/N) all waited within the pub until Avatar Korra and her friends, Mako, Bolin, and Asami walked through the door. (Y/N) gasped, gripping Zuko’s arm. She had never met the Avatar before this moment and was surprised at how her heart reacted when she walked into the room. It swelled with love, like an old friend had just walked into the room. 

The groups exchanged introductions and Korra bowed in Zuko and (Y/N’s) presence. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Lady (Y/N),” Korra said with a grin. 

“You as well, Korra,” (Y/N) said with a soft smile. “I love reading about your adventures in the paper. Makes me want to go back out and kick some butt myself.” 

“I’m sure you could firebend circles around any of us,” Mako said. He blushed once (Y/N’s) eyes were directed at him. “Ma’am.” 

(Y/N) cracked her knuckles. “We could always find out!” Zuko rolled his eyes, placing his hand on her shoulder. 

“Try not to encourage her. Our grandson has been knocked on his butt too many times to count.” 

“You’ve beaten General Iroh?” Bolin asked, stifling a laugh. 

“Who do you think made him into the firebender he is today?” (Y/N) smirked. 

Tonraq and Lin pulled Korra away, which disappointed (Y/N). She enjoyed talking to the Avatar and her friends. It reminded her of her youth. Many years had passed since the death of some of her most beloved friends and meeting these kids brought up feelings (Y/N) hadn’t felt in years. 

“I read about you and Zuko’s love story when I was a kid,” Bolin said to her, his eyes wide and his hands clasped together. (Y/N) laughed. 

“That interviewer got everything wrong!” 

“So you weren’t really burned trying to save Zuko from the Agni Kai with his father?” 

“Nope!” 

“You and Zuko didn’t take down Azula together?” 

“It was a team effort, but I pulled most of the weight.” 

“And you didn’t give birth to Fire Lord Izumi on Appa’s back?” (Y/N) hummed. 

“That one is actually true, but Zuko thinks it’s embarrassing that he fainted, so I don’t really tell it much.” 

“Your memory’s fuzzy from old age,” Zuko called to her from across the pub. “Sokka fainted, not me!” 

(Y/N) rolled her eyes and shook her head at Bolin. “He fainted.” 

---

After learning of Zaheer’s plans, (Y/N) had to go outside. She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of someone trying to take out her daughter. Izumi was fully capable of protecting herself, but she was not a bender. (Y/N) needed to get back to the Fire Nation immediately. 

Korra walked out of the pub and found her sitting beside the giant block of ice that the spirits cooled themselves on. “Are you feeling alright?” Korra asked. She took a seat beside her. 

“Me? Never better!” (Y/N) smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Are you? You’ve been dealing with villains back to back for months.” 

Korra shrugged. “I can take it. I’m sure you and your friends faced a lot worse than I have.” 

(Y/N’s) mind flashed to a memory of long ago, of Zuko being shot by lightning. She gave Korra another smile. “I don’t think it’s an easy comparison to make. The times are different now.” 

“You’re worried about your daughter,” Korra said quietly. (Y/N) chuckled. 

“That’s the Aang in you. Always knew what was wrong, I never had to tell him. When you get to be my age, there are very few things that are important anymore. It all becomes so trivial, you know? But one of the most important things to me is my family.” She placed her wrinkled hand on Korra’s. “I know we’ve just met, but you are my family. You know that, right?” 

“I feel like I’ve known you forever,” Korra admitted. 

“You definitely have. Say, how’s Katara? It’s been a few months since I’ve seen her.” 

---

Tag List!!

@beifongsss , @aroyaldarknessblr , @musicalkeys , @thefandomimagines , @blondie0458 , @kairiririri , @awesomelupe , @zukosvice , @tomshollandz , @lavendercrystals , @astralsaf , @realimbo , @mycollectionofnuts , @wingeddemonclub ,

[fakeikemen]

The Roku/Sozin ancestry plot twist for Zuko

Like I’m sure this has been said before but the twist about Zuko being a descendant of both Roku and Sozin is actually a disservice to his character and his narrative as well? The way the narrative frames this reveal along with Iroh's dialogue, it backtracks on a lot of the story we are shown in Book 1&2 (and sometimes it even clashes with some dialogues in Book 3).

Iroh: “Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers can help you better understand the battle within yourself. Evil and good are always at war inside you, Zuko. It is your nature, your legacy. But, there is a bright side. What happened generations ago can be resolved now, by you. Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family and the Fire Nation. Born in you, along with all the strife, is the power to restore balance to the world.”

1. This implies that there are equal amounts of good and evil in Zuko and his internal struggle is about choosing one of them.

The core qualities of Zuko as a character are empathy, compassion and kindness. A person who always gets upset when he sees or even thinks about other people in pain, a person who spoke out against powerful people to save lives that were being sacrificed needlessly, a person who shows mercy to people who don’t deserve it, a person who is willing to reach out a hand to save the life of the man who tried to kill him, a person who avoids fights when possible, a person who is willing to fight on behalf of a family he has known for only one night, a person who reaches out to sympathise after being yelled at— a person like this is definitely not struggling with equal parts of good and evil within them.

Zuko does have two selves, but they can be categorised as pre-scar and post-scar.

His pre-scar version is the version who was unabashedly kind and compassionate, who spoke his mind without thinking of consequences. But his post-scar version was a cover up of the pre-scar version. It was a lie that Zuko lived everyday. He convinced himself that this was how he had to be; because this was what Ozai wanted him to be and that there was no other way.

And yet, when the situation is dire and he is depending on his instincts or when he is given a free choice, we see the pre-scar Zuko spring into action. Because that’s who he really is. It’s not a struggle between good and evil within him, it is his supressed self making an appearance when he slips up and fails to maintain his facade.

Perhaps the line that describes his internal struggle the best is this:

Zuko, imitating Iroh: Zuko, you have to look within yourself to save yourself from your other self. Only then will your true self, reveal itself.

And while this dialogue was played for laughs, it is the most accurate description of how Zuko had to reach for his suppressed self, his real self, to save himself from becoming what Ozai wanted him to be.

2. It also implies that Ozai and Ursa had equal influence on Zuko's upbringing and that he struggled to chose between what was taught to him by Ursa (good) and Ozai (evil).

The idea that Zuko has equal amounts of good and evil inside himself goes hand in hand with idea that the good and evil traits in him have been passed onto him by Ursa and Ozai's upbringings respectively which are legacies of Roku and Sozin.

I don’t need to look any further than “Zuko Alone” to know that Ozai's impact on Zuko's upbringing was slim to none. The flashbacks that we see, are dominated by Ursa's presence. Ozai hardly gets any time onscreen. And when he does, he is shown as a silhouette and when he isn’t a silhouette, we only see him smile at Azula's display of skills and frown at Zuko's attempt.

Ozai was Zuko's father alright, but never in the ways that mattered. We know that Ozai abused Zuko. He constantly belittled him and compared him to Azula. Partially because Zuko lacked the natural talent that Azula had and partially because he lacked the ruthlessness and cruelty that Azula displayed even at her age.

Which made Zuko copy Azula's behaviour to get his father’s acceptance. But whenever Ursa noticed this, she immediately corrected Zuko and clearly told him that it was wrong.

Ozai is never shown to tell Zuko that whatever Ursa told him was wrong. Ozai personally never taught him anything (except that one time). He appreciated Azula's behaviour and encouraged her to keep it up but he just kept on expressing his disappointment in Zuko.

Ursa: Remember this, Zuko. No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.

Zuko's innate kindness and compassion were protected by Ursa in the formative years when he was at his most pliable. And this is why no matter what happens, he never loses these qualities and is able to retain his real self even after he tried hard to suppress it.

3. It diminishes the extent of psychological damage and trauma caused by the scarring incident.

The one time Ozai did take it upon himself to teach something to Zuko:

Ozai: You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher.

(Notice that here too Ozai's form is silhouetted against the light behind him.)

The scar is so much more than just a scar to Zuko. It is the one lesson that Ozai taught him. The scar exists because of Zuko's innate compassion. It was put on his face in an attempt to burn out his compassion. It was put there to be a constant reminder of what would happen if he dared to do something that went against what Ozai wanted from him. The scar was Ozai’s brand on his face. It took away Zuko's autonomy to make decisions for himself. It was a constant reminder that Zuko’s opinions didn’t matter.

Post-scar Zuko is Zuko's attempt at supressing his real persona to become the person Ozai wanted him to be, because he learned the hard way that he didn’t have the choice to be anyone else.

In fact, the first time Zuko makes a deliberate choice to go against what was expected of him, (letting Appa go) he succumbed to a fever. His emotional turmoil of coming to terms with the fact that he didn’t need to listen to Ozai and abide by him; a notion that he had been force feeding himself, everyday, for the last three years, manifested itself physically in the form of a fever. That was how deep the psychological damage caused by the scar was. (I hate it when people call it an angst coma.)

Saying that Zuko was struggling with equal amounts of good and evil within him, oversimplifies the complex emotional trajectory he had about coming to terms with the abuse he went through and reclaiming his autonomy and his personal opinions and beliefs, into just a choice between two aspects of his personality.

Zuko: I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't. My whole life, I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance, but once I had it, I realized I'd lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was.

4. This implies that Zuko's destiny was pre-determined.

Iroh said in the dialogue that Zuko was born with the power to restore balance in the world and that only he could do it.

Zuko, the character who has always had to struggle to gain what he wanted is suddenly told of an advantage that he had just by the virtue of birth? Kinda defeats the purpose of: "Azula was born lucky; I was lucky to be born", if you ask me.

And even more importantly, he let go of the destiny that Ozai forced on him, only to take on another predetermined destiny; a destiny that was his to fulfil by the virtue of birth, and took steps to fulfil this other destiny, instead of making a destiny of his own and paving his own path to it by making the choices that he had been denied for so long because of Ozai. Which seems weird because all the other times Iroh talks to Zuko about this topic, he always emphasises on how it’s Zuko's choice to make his own destiny:

Lake Laogai:

Zuko: I want my destiny.

Iroh: What that means is up to you.

Lake Laogai:

Zuko: I know my own destiny, Uncle!

Iroh: Is it your own destiny, or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?

Zuko: Stop it, Uncle! I have to do this!

Iroh: I'm begging you, Prince Zuko! It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you, and what do you want?

Crossroads of Destiny:

Iroh: Zuko, I am begging you. Look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want.

Western Air Temple:

Iroh: You know Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind, and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday.

5. It indirectly implies that the good™ in Ursa and Zuko exists because they are a part of the Avatar's legacy.

Making Ursa a daughter of a nobleman (as intended originally)* would’ve served a much better purpose for the message that the episode was trying to get across: “the Fire Nation isn’t inherently evil”.

Katara: You mean, after all Roku and Sozin went through together, even after Roku showed him mercy, Sozin betrayed him like that?

Toph: It's like these people are born bad.

Aang: Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves anyone's capable of great good and great evil. Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance.

Had Ursa not been Roku’s descendant, then there would've been people other than just Roku and his descendants, who were Fire Nation and good™. (Iroh is literally the only exception.)

Moreover, Azula is just as much a part of “Roku’s legacy” as Zuko is, and yet is completely overlooked when it comes to it. She isn’t shown to be struggling with equal amounts of good and evil. She isn’t gifted at birth with the capacity to bring balance back to the world. It appears as if she had inherited only “Sozin's legacy”.

So, not only does this Roku/Sozin twist go against Zuko's fundamental characterisation, but it also partially deconstructs the narrative that had been carefully set up for him over the course of 2 seasons.

*(I have been looking relentlessly for the post where I saw two screen caps of the two different characterisations of Ursa: 1. Ursa as we see her in "Zuko Alone"; 2. Ursa as Roku's descendant. And I can't find it now otherwise I would've linked it.)

[focusas]

AND NOW I ...

The doctors decided that for Azula’s mental condition to get better she needs to socialize more with with people and here was the problem: the people didn’t want to socialize with her mostly because everyone was afraid of her and tried to think of any reason to avoid it. Azula being ok with that was another problem. At first Zuko asked Mai and Ty lee to spend some time with her, but they both refused and avoided her at all cost, sometimes it would mean they would get late to their needed places. So he asked, well its more like plead, his friends to spend some time with her and teach her how to be regular person. It also was a good chance to get entire group once again to stay at palace for several days several times a week. That’s how regular friends gathering started.

It was regular day and regular meting was taking place inside Fire nation palace. Sokka, Katara, Toph, Aang,Suki, and Azula were playing a game of truth or dare and everyone were having a blast. Well... that everyone only included Azula and Toph since they were the ones that mostly comanded everyone to do their bidding. But the thing were about to change because it was now Azula’s time to be on the receiving end of that game and wickedly grinning Toph was not looking at her side while thinking of something nasty that Azula should do since Azula choosed ‘dare‘. Azula didn’t want to talk about thing and wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty if the thing would come to worse. After all what could possibly go wrong?

“Ok... I dare you to propose to Sokka! Do it believably as if you really love him.“ Toph stated while smirking at Azula and every one become extremely silent. At same time a servant came and brought some freshly brewed tea. Azula stood up and walked toward Sokka and later kneed before him.

“Will you marry me, Sokka? Here! I said it! I swear i will make your life into living hell if you reject me! It will be the end of you. So choose wisely! Marry me!“ Azula looked at Sokka who couldn’t believe what was happening. Sokka stood like petrified and then looked at Toph and and idea born in his head: It was just another of her pranks. So Sokka decided to move with it and see what would happen if he accepts it. For there could be no other way.

“I accept!“ Sokka replied with huge smile on his face. That was followed by several AH, UH, OH and other sounds escaping his friends moths. Then to add more shock Azula rouse up and kissed Sokka.

“That’s enough!“ Suki screamed and wanted to stand up, but the earth shifted before her feets and she stumbled and fall down. All this happened while Toph was grinning like a maniac. This was such prime drama that she couldn’t contain her joy.

Then the servant that was serving tea, put down tea cup and moved toward Sokka and Azula and then took their hands.

“Dearly beloved we gather this fine day to celebrate marriage of this young couple.... Lets go with the short version.

“Do you Sokka take Azula as your wife and promise to love her until death parts you away?“ Sokka stared at the man before him and then glanced at everyone nearby. His sight fell upon Toph who still had shit eating grin on her face and was showing two thumbs up as if encouraging him to move with the show.

This must have been the biggest park Toph was trying to pull and it couldn’t be any other way. Sokka thought while looking at blind earthbender and decided to see what would happen next.

“I do!“ Sokka exclaimed and it was the instant followed by lots of AH,OH, and several UH with most of those words comming from Katara and Suki who couldn’t believe what was happening here. Azula was surprised by such turn of events too, but tried to hide her shock and surprise.

“Do you Azula take Sokka as your wife.... sorry.. i mean husband... and promise to love him until death parts you away?“ Azula looked at everyone's faces while her mind was running miles. This was obviously prank that Toph set her up for there could be no other way and that water tribe savage was going with it. A simple peasant couldn’t simple marry her to someone. That’s not how it worked. So Azula decided to move with it too even if this was a fake wedding. After all it wouldn’t look good if she rejected it now after she was the one that propose to Sokka just a few minutes ago. At same time Azula enjoyed the looks of horror on Katara’s and Suki’s faces while waiting for her decision.

“I do!“ Azula exclaimed while looking at Sokka.

“Then i proclaim you husband and wife! You can kiss now!“ It was at this time that Toph fall on the ground and started to roll while laughing loudly.

“What just happened?“ Aang asked everyone, unsure of what to do and because he was the only one still capable of processing thing.

“Ha ha! That was a good one, Toph! You staged fake wedding!“ Katara started to laugh after several seconds.

“I don’t see why you would think this was a fake wedding. I as fire sage have right to marry people. Granted it wasn’t as grand and ceremonial as normally would be, but it was still marriage ceremony. It could be no other way when i heard that these two loved each other, but couldn’t marry the traditional way. It was a great honor to marry the princess Azula to prince Sokka with the avatar being out witness! A truly marvelous day. At first i had some doubt about it but after princess proposed to this boy i had none and did as i was asked to do. Have a good day!“

A servant run toward Sokka and his group while shouting:

“La Fa! Fire sage La Fa! We were looking for you everywhere. We were looking for you everywhere. You had an appointment with fire lord that you are late at.“  Then Suki and Katara’s bodies it the floor when they understood the gravity of situation and that same gravity become too much to bear. Sokka and Azula stood like petrified while gazing at leaving fire sage while Toph was still rolling on the floor laughing out loud. It was a trully strange day!