#as azula masters firebending zuko masters his swords

[stardust948]

Opposite AU Fire Siblings

[surgepricing]

I think about Azula shooters often and their common refrain of "if Azula hadn't had a mental breakdown, she would've won" and I'm here to tell you that no, she wouldn't have.

There is no universe in which Azula was winning that fight with Zuko (or Katara, for that matter).

Azula spent so much of Book 2 being built up as this deadly terrifying force against whom the heroes are badly outmatched that it can be difficult to catch exactly how quickly Zuko is advancing.

Back up a bit to Book One. For the fearsome exiled crown prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko's not that impressive a firebender. He's not bad by any stretch, and he's able to lay the untrained Sokka and Katara flat pretty easily. Then he gets in the ring with Aang, who is an airbending master, and the difference between a regular bender and a master becomes apparent when Aang literally puts his ass to bed:

People have attributed this to the fact that no one's fought an airbender in 100 years, but I think it's also worth noting that Aang (a 12 year old from a pacifist nation) has probably never fought anyone before. Like, ever. And yet the second Aang thinks "okay, I'll attack back", the fight's over.

Zuko's got the same genetic predisposition for firebending talent that Azula does, yet it never seems to manifest because of his mental blocks. At the beginning of the series, he's already so beat down that all he really has is conviction, pride, and anger, so even with training from Iroh (the firebending master, thank you very much), he struggles. Yet throughout Book 2, when he has no time to train because he's on the run, he actually seems to advance faster. The fact that his bending is literally tied to his character arc (as his morals become tangled and he has to fight off aforementioned mental blocks) is pretty brilliant. Like, by the time of the Crossroads of Destiny, Zuko getting his ass handed to him by Aang is a pretty consistent feature of the show--he just can't match wits with him.

Hell, at the beginning of the series, he and Iroh (again: the actual firebending master) launch a combined power surface-to-air attack...which Aang casually swats away into a nearby ice wall. Come the Crossroads of Destiny, however, and Zuko by himself launches this bigass fireball that blows through Aang's defenses.

Zuko advances so quickly that it's scary. That prodigious talent is in him even if it doesn't come through as cleanly as with Azula. Who, by the way, was busy about to get flattened by Katara some few dozen feet away, until Zuko took over and then effectively stalemated her himself.

All of this in retrospect makes it abundantly clear why Zuko's firebending seemed to skyrocket so much when he learned true firebending from the Sun Warriors: it was really the only thing left. He's hard a hard road learning how to fight waterbenders, earthbenders, and airbenders, and even if unconsciously, he's applying the philosophy Iroh taught him about augmenting his bending style with aspects of other styles (see also, the waterbending-like fire whips he uses in the above gif). Once he actually understands fire and how it works, he's got it mastered. Hence why any gap between him and Azula effectively disappears as soon as their next fight--before her friends have betrayed her and her stability goes out the window. There's no real sense of urgency to their fight at the Boiling Rock prison. True, Sokka's presence with the sword helps, but Zuko doesn't look remotely worried and he counters Azula's every attack perfectly.

All her life, Azula only ever learned fire. She was taught by the best people the fire nation can employ, so she knows all the cool tricks, but she's still poisoned by the corrupted firebending practiced in the modern ATLA timeline. Unlike Zuko, who managed to get the basics if nothing else from Iroh (fire comes from the breath, and can be used to survive as much as to kill), Azula has always used fire as a weapon and a means to hurt others. She has no true knowledge of the craft, meaning she's got the same weaknesses as Zhao, she's just better disciplined to the point she can make up for it.

Zuko's victory was a given considering Azula's complete loss of control by the time of Sozin's comet, but even had she been in a perfect mental state, she'd have lost, because in many ways Zuko is simply the better firebender.

And that's the truth of it.

[discordiansamba]

something something AU in which Zuko is Ikem's son, but everyone in the royal family (including Zuko) knows about it and the ripple effects that has on the story.

in which Ikem gets married to Ursa, but this does not matter to Azulon at all. He is determined to introduce Roku's bloodline into the royal family, so he simply absolves their marriage and has Ursa marry his second son instead. She has no say in the matter. The only wrinkle is that she is already pregnant. Ursa carries Zuko to term anyways.

he has no royal lineage, but he is still of Avatar Roku's bloodline- and Azulon decides that could still be useful to him. Zuko's fate hinges on whether or not he is a firebender- if he isn't, then Azulon will allow the boy to return to his blood father. if he is... then he will remain at the palace and will be raised as a member of the royal family.

unfortunately for Zuko, he is.

Zuko grows up keenly aware he's the odd one out in the royal family. He's not of Sozin's bloodline- it's just an accident that he ended up as part of the royal family. It's clear his step-father resents his existence, especially once he and his mother have a child of their own. he grows up resenting Azula in turn, because she serves as constant reminder of everything Zuko's not.

(Azula resents him because it could not be more obvious why mother likes her half-brother better.)

everyone knows that Zuko's title of 'prince' is a farce. he has no royal blood. he is simply Fire Lady Ursa's child from her previous marriage. he is expected to learn how to carry himself as one, but he has no duties at the palace. the only thing he is truly expected to do is to be a good firebender, and Zuko's not even really that.

(Azulon is indifferent. As long as the boy can marry well, his children may one day be of service to the royal family.)

he's an outsider in his own home. his step-father barely acknowledges his existence. fire lord azulon does, occasionally, but it's rare. his mother loves him, and so does his cousin Lu Ten- who doesn't seem to care that they don't share any blood. But then Lu Ten goes off to war- and dies. Then Azulon dies, and his mother disappears.

Zuko is suddenly very, very alone.

he manages to avoid the fallout for three years. he had just started lessons with master piandao, who manages to convince the new fire lord to allow zuko to come and live with him for awhile in order to truly study the way of the sword. those are probably some of the best years of Zuko's life- he thrives there.

(he also learns things there that his tutors at the Caldera would never tell him.)

but he can't avoid the inevitable. he has to return home at some point. ozai never quite strips him of his title of prince- but he's not his heir. azula is the crown princess. zuko is just an extra. he might be a useful pawn for marriage, like his step-grandfather always said. at the same time, it's obvious that ozai is looking for an excuse to get rid of him.

zuko keeps his head down. tries to not give him one.

ozai finds it anyways. zuko is burned and banished- sent to look for the avatar. he knows the task is impossible. lu ten's father- his step-uncle- is there to keep an eye on him. he wonders if maybe there's a fraction of a chance that his step-father might actually see him as worth something if he manages to do the impossible.

then he does. and the avatar is a twelve year old child.

he can't do it. he knows what his step-father and half-sister are like. when the avatar escapes, he doesn't even try that hard to stop him. he lets zhao temporarily detain him. then in the middle of the night, he packs his bags and leaves.

the avatar needs someone to teach him firebending. maybe it should be him.

[rifari2037]

12. What are your steambaby headcanons?

Fire Lord Zuko and First Lady Katara's steambabies :

Princess Kya (14), the leader - a fire bender, an heir of the Fire Nation. She has golden eyes and light brown skin. She is just, brave, determine, and sometimes mischievous.

Headcanons :

Zuko teaches Kya fire bending in every martial-style bending. She isn't surprised her father teaches her water-styles more than other styles.

Zuko teaches Kya how to redirect lightning in honour to her beloved grand-uncle Iroh.

Azula (after her redemption arc) is very close to Kya because her niece has talents and badass like her.

Azula teaches Kya how to direct lightning and she learns it quickly. 'I doubt you're your father's daughter, it took him years to do that," is Azula's way to compliment her.

Just like her father, Kya secretly learns fire bender from the source. One day, Zuko and Katara accidentally sees Kya doing the dragon dance with his dragon, Druk, and amazed by that.

Prince Kazan (12), the protector - a non-bender, the youngest master dual swords. He has golden eyes and light brown skin. He is strong, smart, tactical, and eager to learn any weapons. Kazan (火山) means volcano in Japanese.

Headcanons :

Kazan has very similar face and gesture to young Zuko, except his skin is darker.

Kazan feels insecure when found out that his two sisters are benders and he's not. Katara is the one who notices his anxiety first and asks Zuko to cheer him up.

Zuko encourage him that he doesn't need to be a fire or water bender to be a great leader. Zuko also shows Kazan his dual swords skill, tells him that weapon skills are very useful at any time.

Zuko himself who teaches Kazan dual swords techniques until he mastered it at young age. This is in my head how Zuko teaches Kazan :

After Kazan mastering dual swords, he start learns other weapons, especially water tribe weapons from Hakoda and Sokka. Dual swords still his main weapon and he still practising it.

Kazan often reminds Zuko of his childhood, sometimes it brings back to his past trauma. Zuko feels afraid that he will act like his father to his children, especially his non-bender son. Katara always reminds Zuko that he is not the same as his father at all. He is always a good father to them.

Princess Izumi (8), the healer - a water bender, a young peacemaker. She has ocean eyes and pale skin. She is calm and quiet, has a kind heart and motherly.

Headcanons :

Izumi is very close to her mother, Katara. She's almost always by her side.

Izumi has motherly nature combination of her two grandmothers, Ursa and Kya. She's quiet but wise and very intelligent.

Izumi often being a peacemaker when her sister and brother quarrel, most often because Kya playing prank on Kazan.

Katara teaches Izumi how to fight and heal, but Izumi is more interested in healing. She has excellent talents in healing.

Izumi not only a healer, she also has talent as a herbalist like Ursa. She learn herbalist almost herself. She can make poison, but prefers to use her abilities to make cure.

Years later when she turn 18, she become a good fighter and best at healing. She secretly learn blood-bending and use it to heal (only Kya and Kazan know about it).

Nb :

I thought about swapping Kya and Izumi just like in canon-TLOK, but I stick with my first HC in result, because I always imagined badass firebender Kya and calm intelligent water-bender Izumi.

I only wrote down good things about steambabies, I still haven't thought about their weaknesses.

These are my original headcanons. Every Zutara shipper allowed to use it into fanarts, fanfics, or add another headcanons, but please let me know and credit me ❤️💙

[herbluefire]

I love to think that one of Zuko bigger problems with Azula is that she would be a better member of the Gaang.

Sokka is a sword-master (that is trained in Fire Nation-style, not Southern Water Tribe-style, sadly). And while Zuko also uses swords, this isn't Sokka's biggest trait. Nope. Sokka is a master strategist. The "idea guy".

Who's the master strategist? Azula.

Katara is a self-taught waterbender master (again, sadly the Southern Water Tribe-style was lost). And combining different styles of waterbender (and even other bending styles) made her the best waterbender alive. Zuko was being beaten by Katara since the very first episode. Meanwhile, under the ground Azula was able to evaporate a whole wave coming her way.

Same thing with Toph. She is the most powerful earthbender that ever lived. However, Azula can lie to Toph, easily. We don't see Zuko ever being a match to Toph.

Honorable mention to Suki: she is a master in hand-to-hand combat and who defeat her? Azula. How Zuko dealt with Suki? Burning her villagem

Aang kicks everybody ass, but Azula is def a bigger threat than Zuko.

Zuko was never able to MATCH Azula. When he was at his peak and Azula at her lowest, they were then evenly match.

And Zuko just can't deal with this. It's fine he isn't a firebender more powerful than Iroh. But then he isn't the firebender more powerful after him. He isn't in an equal level with the Gaang.

Azula is.

Azula would be a better member of the Gaang. A more powerful ally.

And he cannot deal with it.

true

[hypnoticsphere]

zuko headcanon time!!!!

He always knew that firebending was never going to be his strongest weapon, not with Azula around. His baby sister, a firebending prodigy with blue fire and lightning. So, with the resources he was allowed, he was able to study with Master Piandao. The art of the sword came easy to Zuko. Mostly.

He had trouble with his footwork. Always springing into action too soon; unable to stay patient and wait for an opening attack. Many of the reasons he struggled with his Katas. Zuko was a problem solver, he was able to make up for his mistakes with quick thinking, but Piandao wanted to limit any sort of mistakes at all. So, he proposed that Zuko take ballet once he arrived back home. A dance that required discipline, strength, and patience.

Zuko had vehemently denied it, arguing that it was going to make him look stupid. Azula already had enough to make fun of him, he really didn’t want to fuel the fire of his sisters insults. Piandao wasn’t forcing him to take ballet, only trying to help him better his already remarkable skills. He told Zuko to read up on it, maybe he would even think it was “cool”.

And, well, that’s just what Zuko did. In the palace library, he searched through scrolls about various cultural dances. Ballet came from the Air Nomads, and later enriched (stolen) into the fire nation. Zuko looked through the drawings, captivated by their flexibility, and wincing when he saw that they were standing on their toes.

He ran to his mom, doing everything to avoid running into Azula let alone father. Ursa was outside in the garden, throwing vegetable scraps to the turtle ducks in the pond. Zuko scared them away as he rushed to her side, practically shoving the scroll in his poor mother’s face. Ursa, ever the saint, took the scroll from Zuko’s vibrating hands and arched her brow towards him.

“Ballet?”

“Master Piandao told me It’d make me a better fighter.” Not true, but also not entirely a lie. Zuko was just embarrassed on how much he wanted to take a dance class.

Ursa smiled, rubbing Zuko’s hair affectionately, “Okay, then. I’ll see what we can do about getting you a private instructor.

And that’s how it began. Almost every morning, before his training with his firebending teachers, Zuko met with a strict, rather terrifying, woman named Arami to learn ballet. Despite her rough around the edges personality, Zuko liked her. A lot more than his bending teachers. He listened to her intently and hung off her every word.

It was around the same time Zuko found his interest in the theatre. Arami shared scrolls with him, and taught him how various dance styles were incorporated in his favorite plays. He would take her practices and merge them with his kata’s and again with his swords, those forged by him and Master Piandao. For once, he felt confident in his own ability, enough to discourage Azula’s taunts. It was even okay when his mother left, grandfather died, and Father was crowned firelord.

And then, he was burned and banished, outcasted from the fire nation with an impossible task. His passion and his love was snuffed out in an instant and replaced with anger as he lost sight of who he had built himself to be.

[drunknillawafer]

right down the line: zuko x firebender!reader | part 6

You grew up close to the Royal Family due to your father's position as a General, but you ran away from home after the agni kai against your best friend, Zuko. Now, you've joined the Gaang and plan on doing your part in ending the 100-year war.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 7

hellooo part 6 oo we're in book 2 territory now... also i am changing stuff to fit my character into this world so just be open to those changes plzzz i do not own these characters and they are not mine! i hope you guys are liking the story so far! I'm so excited I'm already thinking about what I'm going to do when book 3 comes around... rmr to like reblog or comment, i truly want to know ur thoughts because this is my first fic so i hope I'm doing a good job. thank you to everyone who has supported it so far!! even if its 17 ppl idc like that's 17 individuals who bother to read what i write so... thank you!! enjoy >.< about 2000 words

⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

It was a day like the others, the year before Ozai’s unfair punishment. I’d go to the Royal Palace after school to play or practice, whichever we felt like.

When Zuko and I opened the door that led to the duck pond, his little sister, Azula, was already there with her friends, Ty Lee and Mai.

Azula’s already proven to be ruthless for a 10-year-old. She’s constantly reminding Zuko of his ‘failure’ to live up to the responsibility of Fire Lord just because he’s not as vicious as her. In this home, they favored brutality over honor, and if you know Zuko, he’s all honor. Even at twelve years old, you can tell he won’t grow to be like his father before him and it’s a problem.

She’s only gotten worse since their mother disappeared 2 years ago. No one knows the specifics, but Azula says their grandfather ordered the Fire Lord to kill Zuko and she never lets him forget it.

As we walk toward our usual spot, the little girl comes up to us.

“Zuzu, come play with us!” she says with a hint of mischief in her voice.

“No! I’m busy.” Zuko replies, brushing her off. We continue walking to reach the other side of the pasture, far away from his sister and her friends.

“Fine.” With Azula, fine isn’t just fine. It’s code for I’ll get you somehow.

But I try to keep my thoughts about her to myself. She is younger than us and I’m not scared of her. It’s Zuko she doesn’t see as a threat. As for me, she’s known not to push it. Since we all have the same fire-bending master, she’s well aware I’m better than the both of them.

When we reach our spot, we sit to take our swords from their sheaths. Today it’s blades, yesterday it was bending. We almost forget Azula’s in our vicinity when Mai comes crashing down onto Zuko, making her blush.

Mai is a year younger than us, and she’s always had this crush on him. Everyone knows. I know.

But unlike Azula, I don’t humiliate her with the fact. Even if the thought of Zuko returning the feelings makes me uncomfortable.

Mai quickly gets up and apologizes for stumbling on top of him and Zuko, in all his emotional glory, yells at his sister. “Stop it! It’s not funny.”

She grins with her arms folded. “Oh, but it is, dumb-dumb. I told you to play with me!”

“That’s not how you get people to play with you!” I stand up for him, knowing it’s a losing battle if he’s all alone in his defense.

“Whatever.” She replies and focuses her attention on Ty Lee’s handstand. Probably thinking of a way to ruin that too.

It’s clear we won’t be left alone to spar in peace.

“Want to go to my room?” He asks. Familiar amber eyes gazing into mine.

Butterflies appear in my stomach. I’ve been to his room thousands of times, millions if it was possible. It wasn’t abnormal. But lately, I can’t stop these stupid bugs.

My feelings for my best friend are changing, I just hope his are too.

“Sure.”

A few weeks have passed since the failed ambush of the Northern Water Tribe by the Fire Nation. Admiral Zhao is presumed dead, and the empire retreated. They were long gone, and this loss was too shameful to ever attempt something like it again.

Though, the adrenaline from the win would be nothing compared to the loss felt by the masses. We lost some people, rebuilding was commencing, and the tribe had lost their princess. The Chief had lost his daughter.

While it pained Sokka and I to inform him of the news, what he said in return brought peace to all of us. He said he had a vision of a beautiful young woman sacrificing her life for her people and it wasn’t until that fateful day that he knew it was his daughter. Warmth embraced us all after he spoke. What better way to show your love for your people than to become the moon itself? It was bittersweet. To know she couldn’t walk with us but be with us wherever we go on planet Earth.

If only I knew how I felt about encountering Zuko for the first time in three years.

I honestly didn’t know what to think, act, or be. It all happened so fast.

Having to save Aang in the middle of our encounter distracted me long enough. Letting down the Chief and Yue becoming the moon spirit distracted me long enough. Hell, seeing Iroh for the first time in a while distracted me long enough. But eventually, the dust settles and there’s nothing but his face in my thoughts.

His hair is different, and he looks… sharper around the edges. He’s stronger and his bending is different than before, more determined and intentional. He seems tired.

I replay our interaction in my head multiple times a day, sometimes in my dreams. Each time, I think about what I could have said instead. Other times he doesn’t strike me in the ribs. But then I wake up or come back to reality and the scar of his burn on my side reminds me: he’s no longer my Zuko.

I mourn the gentle boy I once knew.

All our good moments flash through my mind like an orchestrated play. Growing up together. Elementary memories of playing and later, practicing our sparring and bending together. Silent moments where we both sat and stared as the sun painted orange across the sky, once we were done for the day. Being the first person we looked for at a royal party and feeling relief when our eyes locked together, assuring that we won’t spend the night bored out of our minds. Silly things I didn’t think I’d miss so much.

But it was hard to feel bad for him when he was someone else entirely.

I shouldn’t have, but I took it easy on him. I thought there was some sort of silent agreement that we would never hurt each other, like when we were sparring. But at some point in time, practice became fighting, and nobody told me.

I spent three years thinking about this exact moment and I never once thought we’d be on two different sides of this war.

It was different for him, I suppose. He stopped practicing the moment Ozai told him to get up and fight.

The swirl of feelings dizzied me, going from I hate him to I missed him. From where is he? to I think I could find him if I tried.  

But I don’t know how that would land on Aang, Katara, and Sokka.

Zuko’s been terrorizing them since Aang came out of the ice, before they crossed paths with Jet and me. I’m not even sure how they feel about my past with their first enemy. I’ll make a note to ask later.

I’ve been in my head the entire time we went through the cave of two lovers. I think some badger moles got us out and the nomads went their own way once we made it through.

Apparently, we’re heading to Omashu so Aang can learn earth-bending from his old friend, King Bumi.

Sokka’s catching me up to speed, but his voice sounds like it could be a thousand miles away from my mind. “It’s pretty cool, I didn’t really like being trapped and thinking I was going to die but that’s not the point- Hey, are you okay?” He grabs my elbow and stops us in our tracks. His eyes look into mine, looking for me.

He shares a glance with Katara that prompts her to say, “Let's take a break from walking, guys. Aang, c'mon I think I see some water. I want to see what you know before you become an earth-bender.”

“Okay!” The young Avatar replies, eager for alone time with his favorite person. They smile at me before leaving, and I feel left out of a certain loop.

Once they’re far away enough, I reply to Sokka’s question. “I’m okay, why?”

“You’ve just been off… since the invasion.” He scratches the back of his neck as he confesses his concerns.

“It was a lot, I mean. Yue—”

“I know, but you’ve pulled away from all of us.” Almost shyly, he continues, “From me.”

“Oh.”

“But we all want to know if you’re okay.” He hurries to add.

“I’ve been thinking about some stuff is all.” I let out a sigh, a poor attempt at trying to let go of what’s bothering me. “I just hadn’t seen him in a long time. And when I do, he’s fighting me.” I look down at my boots, begging for the dry dirt to become quicksand. My cheeks are getting hot and the familiar knot in my throat is forming. This is why I didn’t want to talk about it.

“Yeah, he does that.” Sokka scoffs. “He’s a jerk. He can be mean to us, I get it! The Avatar and everything. But being mean to you was unnecessary.”

The knot in my throat quickly forms into a tone that’s harsher than I mean it. “Was it?” Sokka’s taken aback and instantly, I’m regretful for it. “Sorry… I don’t know what I feel.”

I investigate his icy stare and for the first time, I feel the distance I’ve put between us. Unfortunately, I think it’s there to stay.

He raises his hands in defense, “I get it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you like him?” I finally understand what he’s been saying. Why he wanted to talk. He wanted to talk about us and how Zuko fits into that equation.

“No—I… uh...” the words leave me.

“I see.”

"That's not a confession."

"Then say no."

“Does it matter?” I ask, becoming irritated with his attitude.

“Does it?” Sokka’s stern voice rarely makes an appearance, but when it does, it surprises me. Leave it to Zuko to cause an argument when he’s not even here.

Before I can answer, Katara and Aang return, looking chippier than we do.

“Break’s over?” she asks us, furrowing her brows as she takes in our body language.

“Yeah, it’s over.” Sokka huffs and walks away, leading us to our destination.

☆

With Sokka guiding us, he proudly gestures towards the Earth Kingdom land. “Ladies and gentlemen, the city of Omashu!” When I finally intake what they’ve all been talking about, I know what we see isn’t what they were describing.

“Oh no.” Aang says for all of us.

The fire emblems are too loud to ignore. Omashu’s been occupied.

☆

As the four of us stand in our fight mode, ready to negotiate Bumi for the Mayor’s baby boy, I see three girls in the distance. I see her first.

My heart drops down to my core, the way it did when I first saw Zuko after all these years. Just when I thought the reunions were over, the universe shows me exactly what it is I ran away from. Finally, after all this time, I have to face what I did.

“No.” I mumble.

“What?” Aang asks. They all turn to me. Now that they know who I am, they know I must know whoever is coming to negotiate on the empire’s behalf.

I should have known it would be Mai, but her little brother was not born when I last saw her. When we all went to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls.

I don’t have enough time to warn them, you never do when she’s involved.

“It’s Azula.”

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

tag list <3: @camilleverreault @staygoldsquatchling02

[daylilys137]

Ok... So I have never written fanfic before, but I got this idea during Zutara month. Being a teacher, I thought it might be fun to put one of my favorite ships into a teaching situation. Maybe this is silly, but I would love some feedback just to see what I should change? Or is it worth pursuing? I'm not sure. Also, what do I call it?

Zuko was excited to be back. He might not be a student anymore, but the White Lotus School had been his home for many years, and it held many fond memories. Ursa had enrolled Zuko a year or so after their father had been arrested, with the help of their beloved Uncle. Azula was enrolled a year later. 

His Uncle Iroh had stepped up and helped both him and his sister after his abusive father was taken. His father had incited a riot and was trying to start a revolution to undo integration. The old ways had died nearly a century ago, but his father, grandfather, and great grandfather felt that firebenders and fireblooded families should not be integrated with what they considered “riffraff”. But after he had burned Zuko's face because he had made a new friend that Ozai deemed an “enemy” Ursa had left quickly, and Iroh had taken them in. A few weeks later, Ozai was in jail for inciting violence elsewhere. 

Zuko had been nervous about joining the most prodigious integrated bending school in the country. He was worried he would get judged for his scar and that others would find out about his father and assume terrible things about him. Only 12 years old and completely alone out on the coast of the old Earth Kingdom, he was thrilled when he made a friend with a young water nation boy. Sokka had been a breath of fresh air helping him feel at ease, making him laugh, eating practically nonstop, and even though he wasn't a bender, he desired to be a fierce warrior. 

This was one of the main reasons he was so excited to come back to teach. This school had really blazed the trail on integration. Not only was every student taught about the culture of their ancestors, but about each other's culture, which helped open more doors to friendship. Even non-benders could come and study many different things. Sokka and Zuko had quickly signed up for sword classes with Master Piandao, though they ended up leaning towards different styles eventually, and of course Sokka had practically fallen all over himself to join the multicultural cooking classes all 6 years at school. He had pressured Zuko into joining him the first few years at least. 

As Dean Bumi showed Zuko around to all the different classrooms in the school (though he didn't really need the tour), so many good memories were going through his head. As they passed the culinary room, he remembered all the times he snuck fire flakes or spices into Sokka's food and laughed at his watery eyed reactions. As they passed the training rooms, he remembered many a sparring session with Sokka, then later sparring with other benders of all kinds. The two that came to mind first were Toph, who, during her 3rd year, Zuko's 6th, had absolutely handed him his ass. The other was Katara, whom he had sparred with several times despite her being two years younger. They had been pretty evenly matched. The final tally when he had graduated was Katara 5- Zuko 4.  Toph became a good friend pretty quick, always greeting him with a punch to the shoulder. Katara was a friend from the moment she arrived at school, since she was Sokka's sister, though she tended to hang out with Yue most of the time. 

He hadn't seen Toph or Katara or any of their friend group since him and Sokka had graduated from military boot camp, about 6 months after graduating from White Lotus. It may have been 5 years ago, but he could still remember almost everything about that day. He and Sokka hadn't seen anybody else for three months during that time, and it had been nice to see them all there. Azula had been so proud of him and gave him a rare hug. Despite his father always pitting them against each other as kids, and even Zhao (his awful firebending teacher for his first two years and Azula's 1st) doing the same, they had a good relationship. They had probably been lucky that Dean Bumi had walked in unannounced to a class and heard Zhao's abusive language during Zuko's 2nd year. With short notice, Uncle Iroh was asked and graciously accepted the job. Iroh had only planned on teaching that year, but enjoyed it so much that he decided to stay until Azula graduated. Zuko’s bending grew quickly under his uncle's tutelage, and soon, his sister and him were also fairly evenly matched. 

Toph got to him and Sokka first and punched them both in the shoulder and commented on their military uniforms. Katara had looked so beautiful in her blue dress and boots, but he had quickly quashed that thought. She was his best friend's sister and was dating an earth bender named Haru at the time. Plus Aang, who was Toph’s best friend in her class,  was waiting anxiously for Katara and Haru to break up, much like it had been with Jet. He wasn't sure if it would go Aang's way, but he had come to really like the kid, and besides, who could completely deny the avatar. There was only one every generation, and Aang was funny, capable, talented, and often thoughtful, though immature. 

After the graduation, Aang had insisted that they go have some fun before him and Sokka would be shipped off to their first military posts. They had all met at the beach an hour later to celebrate. Aang and Toph had somehow snuck some old Fire Nation wine to the beach, which Katara and Yue greatly disapproved of, but still enjoyed. Katara and Yue had fun soaking unsuspecting beach bums with their bending, while Toph and Aang had quite the sand bending competition, trying to outdo each other's newest sand sculpture. Sokka and Zuko had both been irritated with Katara's and Yue's water antics, though Zuko had been a bit pleased with how Katara's eyes had scanned his soaked body. Later on in the evenin, Zuko and Azula lit up a massive bonfire and they all sat around and drank from the bottles of wine. When Haru arrived late, Zuko had shoved down the tiny bit of jealousy that reared its head as he watched his arm snake around Katara's waist. He glanced over at Aang and was relieved that he was better than Aang at covering his emotions. Beside, he was an adult now and Katar was still in school, who knew when he would see her again. When his cousin,  Lu Ten, arrived late, he broke up the party and made sure all these silly drunk children got home safely. As he had been driving, Yue had loudly whispered to Katara that his cousin was cute and Katara had agreed. He tried to remember to keep his jealousy in, but 10 seconds later Zuko's heart flipped when Katara agreed with Toph that Zuko and Lu Ten kinda looked alike. He argued with himself that she was just drunk and probably didn't really think that. When they dropped off Sokka and Katara at hom, she gave him a hearty, giggly hug and made him promise to watch out for Sokka while they were out saving the world. He had blushed greatly and stammered out the promise. He and Sokka left the next day. They had gotten lucky enough to stay in the same company for 8 months before Sokka was moved to a different group where he could focus more on his engineering ingenuity. 

Zuko was immediately brought out of his reverie as Dean Bumi walked him into the health office. The health clerk was Yue! She looked up to greet the new hire and did a double take, looking up from the paperwork she had been dutifully filling out. 

“Zuko!?” she said, beaming up at him. 

“Hi Yue! I didn't know you were working here now?” Zuko said, stunned. 

“I didn't know you had been discharged! But I guess it has been a bit over 4 years, huh? I thought if Sokka decided to stay in, you might as well.” 

“We haven't been together in the military for a bit now. He's been stationed in the Caldera, working in a company of engineers for the last several years. We've seen each other off and on, but it's been a little different with me outranking him after our first year or so. We still text every so often. He seems pretty happy.” 

“Well good, it's good to see you, and I'm glad to hear you are still friends,” Yue said with a wistful look in her eye. 

“What about Katara, are you still friends too? What's she up to nowadays?” Zuko tried to sound as conversational and casual as possible. Sokka hadn't kept Zuko up to date on his sister really, only mentioning her occasionally. 

“Of course we're still friends. You haven't seen her yet?” Yue asked with a small blush. 

Bumi interrupted before Zuko had a chance to reply, “No, we haven't yet visited Master Katara's classroom. We will after we visit the earth bending class.” 

Zuko was trying to process that she was a teacher now. That she was here! That he was going to see her shortly! The last time he had seen her and Yue, they had still both been kids, and now they were both here, all grown up and teaching/healing the next generation. He wondered how Sokka had never mentioned this or how he had never seen it on Katara's social media? But then again, Katara would post on social media rarely, and it was usually more about the progress that still needed to be made into the integration of all women, regardless of their ancestry. It had been a fight she had been making since coming to the school. 

Master Pakku was still somewhat set in the old ways and often pushed the female waterbending students more towards the healing arts than anything else. She had been surprisingly determined to change things for a little 12 year old girl. She worked hard enough to be one of the very rare female students Master Pakku allowed into his higher bending classes. Once she was in Katara immediately created a club where she taught every other female waterbender who had been pushed elsewhere all the skills she learned in his class. When Master Pakku had tried to get her in trouble for creating an unsanctioned club she had asked for a sparring match between all Master Pakku’s top male benders and her little club of girls. The girls did their best and took out a few of their male contenders, but it was ultimately Katara who took on the last 5. She took them all out with a fancy move she claimed she had learned from watching Zuko firebend. After that Bumi fully sanctioned her club and Master Pakku started integrating at least a few more girls into his upper bending classes. The misogyny of the whole situation was something he had heard many a rant about during their school lunch hour and he had always been relieved it hadn't been something Azula had to deal with. 

After Zuko and Bumi had left Yue's office all Zuko could think about was seeing Katara. Suddenly, instead of living in his memories as he walked through the nostalgic halls of their old school, he was wondering to himself what she looked like now. Was she still dating Haru or had Aang finally gotten a chance? Would he have a chance? Should he even think about taking a chance? She was still his best friend's sister and now his coworker, maybe there are too many lines to cross anyway. 

Zuko was so in his own head, barely listening to Bumi's tour comments, that he was surprised when his arm was punched. 

“Earth to Zuko!” Toph mocked him. “Are you there, Zuko?” 

Zuko just gawked at Toph and then slowly smiled and sarcastically asked, "Do you greet your students this way too?” 

“Of course not, Sparky! That greeting is only ever for my favorite people. You, Twinkletoes….” Toph looked off thoughtfully, “and Snoozles whenever I might see him next?” She looked at Zuko questioningly. 

“I'm not sure when Sokka will have his next leave.” Zuko said knowingly. Perhaps Sokka had been too focused on his crush on Yue during his last 2 school years to notice that Toph had a massive crush on him. Zuko had sometimes wondered if that was the only reason Toph had insisted on being his friend. 

“Well next time you talk to him, tell him his sister and his best friend deserve a visit.” Toph said.

As he and Bumi walked out, he smiled wondering if he, as Sokka's best friend, was who she was really concerned about. He was positive that Toph would still be flirty with Sokka if he ever came back for a visit. 

Being a firebender, Zuko hadn't really been in the earth, air, or water areas of the school a whole lot during his school days. However, as he walked into one of the waterbending classrooms he suddenly understood why the school had been built on the coast instead of in the neighboring city of Ba Sing Se. He had always appreciated being on the coast when his friends would drag him down to different parts of the beach during the weekends, but he had never realized just how close some of the school buildings were to the water. As they walked into the room he could see the French doors at the back of the class were propped fully open to a gorgeous view of the ocean. He couldn't quite see the beach below the small cliffs, but he could see the staircase that would lead students down to the water. Bumi led him out the doors and 30 yards down the stone path to the staircase. As he looked down to the beach, he could see her, working on her waterbending forms. The students who would arrive next week were surely lucky to be learning from such a capable teacher… a beautiful teacher. He swallowed hard as she turned around and caught sight of him and Bumi. Her face broke out into a smile and her blue eyes made all thoughts of what he might say disappear. 

“Hey Zuko! What are you doing back here?” Katara said as she walked towards him barefoot. 

“He's going to be teaching our next generation of sword masters and helping the firebending teacher on occasion,” Dean Bumi answered for him when he couldn't seem to form any words despite him opening his mouth. 

Finally, he stammered out, “Katara, it's good to see you again.” 

[zukosbangtan]

that whole "zuko is a bad firebender" jabbering is honestly so funny to me even if it's turned into "zuko was a bad firebender before he actually found himself yadda yadda" bc like..that's not true?

i mean yeah zuko definitely became a much better firebender after he figured out who he really is and what his actual destiny is. he literally learned about firebending from the original firebenders lol. (which also refutes that "azula would've won the final agni kai if she hadn't turned crazy" argument imo but we move)

but have these people actually seen zuko firebend in B1?? like from his training sessions to him literally winning the agni kai against Zhao, a grown ass man with several years of firebending experience as a literal war admiral and who learned to firebend from a firebend master. zuko had also already mastered martial arts and sword combat at like..16 (which is crazy impressive if u actually think abt it lol). the former which he uses a lot in his firebending as well.

idk i'm just ranting a little rn cause this is a discourse that has always bothered me a lil lol. and that argument seems to stem from the fact that his sister azula is a firebending prodigy but he is not and from the fact that he's a way better firebender at the end of the series (which...duh?) which means he must have been a bad firebender at the beginning of it?

ig what i'm trying to say is even if he hadn't mastered firebending in the earlier seasons yet and even if his firebending used to come from the wrong emotions back then, he was always a good firebender (who then became even better). he always had such a strong raw firebending power to him.

like u don't have to be a prodigy or master at something to be considered "good" so i wonder where that "he used to be such a bad firebender haha" came from lol. but maybe that's just me idk.

RANT OVER! (for now at least. stay tuned!)

[were-wolverine]

zuko’s banishment but iroh takes him to piandao (zuko already knows him from sword training & iroh knows him from the white lotus) instead of the Wani

they fake his death, and zuko is raised by piandao. he becomes a master swordsman at a young age (obviously). nobody is looking for him, so he is able to live relatively peacefully working with piandao- until they hear the Avatar is back. zuko, as the blue spirit, goes after him and the gaang to make sure they don’t die and aren’t caught by the fire nation military (breaking him out of pohui, freeing appa, etc.)

they finally actually meet when the gaang gets close to piandao’s and zuko decides to return home, only for sokka to show up asking to be trained (and getting distracted by the cute boy watching him across the yard as he cleans his blades).

at pohui aang took off zuko’s mask bc he was injured, so when the rest of the gaang goes to piandao’s aang is like “wait i know you!” and zuko’s like “oh shit”

sokka of course has already been crushing on the blue spirit and freaks when he finds out that he’s actually really attractive and cool and nice???

from there zuko reluctantly joins the gaang and teaches aang firebending. the rest pretty much goes the same, but iroh becomes firelord after ozai and redemption arc!azula becomes heir to the throne. also zukka

(btw zhao was the one chasing the gaang instead of zuko, but that doesn’t really change much since he was already following aang anyway)

tl;dr - zuko’s death is faked post-agni kai and he is raised by piandao as a master sword fighter

[magic-stuff-and-books]

Probably one of my favourite head canons for A:TLA is that Zuko is a highly skilled master firebender and he just - doesn’t believe that.

Like everyone else is in awe of him. He can make fire daggers for close combat that we never see another fire bender do. He can fire bend with swords. No other fire bender bother to learn a weapon. He learned a long lost fire bending technique directly from Dragons. Not that the general population knows that.

He may not be able to bend lightning. But (at this point) he’s one of only two people in the world that can redirect it. The other being the guy who invented the technique.

And despite all this he just thinks he’s mediocre at best. Because his whole life that’s what he was told while being compared to Azula, the prodigy.

I also love the idea of the Gaang finding this out. Cuz besides soldiers they fought their only reference for fire bending is Zuko and Azula. And Azula was crazy and crazy strong. And Zuko has always said he was never as good as her. But then they talk to some of the normal fire benders in the palace and they are all like. Yeah no the Fire Lord is insanely talented. He took longer to get there than his sister. But we can’t do half the stuff he can.

And they all thank the spirits that Zuko wasn’t as brutal as Azula or they would have been screwed

[lonewolfel]

Fictober 2023 Day 4

Read on AO3 Fandom: Avatar: the Last Airbender Prompt: 29 - "That's all? Easy." Rating: Gen Characters: Zuko, Azula, Ozai, Ursa, (Iroh and Lu Ten mentioned) Ship: N/A Warnings: implied child abuse, mentions of a child character committing murders Notes: AU where Zuko is trained to be a spy and assassin for Ozai.

Many within the Fire Nation would say Zuko and Azula were like night and day; which was very much the truth. 

Azula was well known to be the golden child, the light of the Fire Nation. She was a firebending protegee who became the youngest person to create blue flames at the age of 10. She was also considered to be a tactical genius. 

Zuko on the other hand was seen as Ozai's disappointment heir. He was not a strong firebender and to the point, the young prince will never be seen firebending in public. He was considered too emotional to be good at strategy or war. Zuko was often considered to be hidden in the shadows of his younger sister; little did they know that that was how he liked it. 

It all started when the boy was 10.

Zuko was sitting by the turtleduck pond while he read a theater scroll.

"What are you doing, dum-dum?" Azula asked. 

Zuko startled at the voice and dropped his theater scroll.

"Leave me alone," Zuko snapped. He leaned down to pick up the scroll. 

"Are you reading one of those stupid scrolls that Mom gets you?" Azula asked knowing full well the answer. 

Zuko blushed and protectively pulled the scroll into his chest. He knew that his younger sister was more than willing to burn it if she got her hands on it. 

"None of your business, Azula," Zuko snapped.

Azula let out a sigh that only an 8-year-old who thought they knew everything could.

"Maybe if you spent as much time as you do reading theator scrolls you would actually be good at something," Azula said.

"I'm good at stuff," Zuko protested. 

"Really like what?" Azula asked.

Zuko froze. He was good with the sword according to Master Piando but he couldn't say that. If he told Azula then it would make its way to their father and Father would be so mad.

"Sneaking around," Zuko finally shot back. 

It was true as growing up with Azula and Father had ensured that he knew how to not be seen or heard. 

"I bet you can't sneak into Dad's office," Azula said.

Zuko knew exactly what his sister was doing. She was setting him up so that he would get in big trouble with their father. None of them were allowed in that room. However, the 10-year-old's pride didn't allow him to back down.

"That's all? Easy," Zuko said. 

A wide smile of a predator appeared on Azula's face. He knew at that instance that he had played into her hand, but Zuko wouldn't take back the words. 

"Great then go do it," Azula said. 

"I will," Zuko shot back. The boy stormed off to go do it with his heart in his stomach.

~~~

Ozai did a quick scan of his office before he sat down at his desk. He could never be too careful as he planned how to usurp his brother while he was at Ba Sing Se.

Ozai then began to work on his plans and the actual work the Fire Lord had assigned him. 

It was towards sunset close to the time that they would eat dinner when he heard the noise. 

It sounded like a bang and a whimper. 

Ozai walked over to the cabinet (that he swore he looked at when he first arrived in his office) with a flame in his hand ready to burn whatever decided to sneak into his office. When he opened it he was met with a surprise.

Instead of some animal or small assassin, his oldest child looked at him with gold eyes wide in horror at being caught with his hand frozen on his elbow likely rubbing where he bumped it. 

Anger rose in Ozai. He had told his children that they weren't allowed to be in his office. Of course, his failure of a son wouldn't listen to direct orders. 

"How long have you been in here?" Ozai demanded. He hadn't heard the boy enter the room but he also couldn't have been in here before him.

Zuko flinched back as far as he could go.

"I don't know before you came in here," Zuko said.

"Liar," Ozai snarled. There was no way that the boy could have hidden from his search.

Zuko shrunk back.

"Honest, there is a small gap between the cabinets and the ceiling. After you sat down I hid in the cabinet in case you looked up," Zuko pleaded.

Ozai looked up at the mentioned gap and saw it. Ozai had dismissed it as a security threat as it was too small for an assassin to hide in and too high for a hole to be cut into to listen to him or see what he was doing. Clearly, he underestimated it like his son.

His son remained hidden for hours and likely hours more if he wasn't so clumsy. 

Zuko was an awful firebender. He wasn't in any way smart. He was brash, impulsive, and far too sensitive to really be worth anything, but perhaps his talents could lie elsewhere.

If Zuko was so silent and sneaky he would make a good assassin. It would be shameful if word got out but the boy could be just the tool he would need against Iroh. After all his brother and his nephew adored the boy and they likely wouldn't think twice about telling their secrets to him which would get back to Ozai.

Yes, this boy will actually be of use to him.

"Follow me," Ozai said.

Zuko shot his father a confused look. Ozai paid it no mind. He walked through the halls with his son following behind. 

Ozai then barged into the room that his wife was in. She seemed to be reading some scroll. She looked up in confusion and concern.

"Ozai..." Ursa began.

"You will teach him everything you know about poison," Ozai said. He left no room for arguments He left his wife and son staring after him in confusion.

~~~ Book 2: Earth Kingdom

Zuko knelt down in front of his father. 

"You wished to see me," Zuko said.

"Your uncle is a traitor," Fire Lord Ozai said.

Perhaps that should have surprised Zuko but it doesn't. He knew that his uncle didn't like the war anymore nor did he care for Ozai. Iroh had always attempted to get close to the siblings after he returned 1 year after the failed siege. Azula had never given the man the time of day. Zuko had once wanted to but between the amount of classes he was taking and the inability to talk about them, Zuko ended up pushing his uncle away. Then two years later Iroh agreed to search for the Avatar like his father before him and that was the last he had seen of the old man. 

"I want you to kill him and make it seem like it was the Earth Kingdom," Ozai continued.

Perhaps the order should have filled him with horror and pain, but it didn't. Zuko just felt numb. His uncle was like any other life he had taken just related to him and considering how little they knew about each other it might as well just be a stranger.

"It will be done, My Lord," Zuko said. 

Ozai waved his hand to dismiss his assassin son.

[hello-nichya-here]

How talented do you think Zuko is as a firebender compared to Ozai and Iroh? He only looks bad compared to Azula but is great otherwise. Do you think he can eventually surpass them?

I think comparing him to Ozai and Iroh is even more unfair than comparing him to Azula. Sure, Azula is a prodigy, works really hard, and is super smart, but she is still around the same age as Zuko.

His dad and uncle are both adults who had been perfecting their bending for longer than Zuko has been alive. Ozai is, by narrative necessity, the strongest firebender EVER, and can generate lightning, which is already rare and difficult in itself, in the blink of an eye. Iroh was a freaking general and learned "true firebending" from the dragons, something Zuko only had the opportunity to do near the end of the show.

I feel like that last one actually reveals the real problem with Zuko's firebending: he was too impusive and got in his own way (mainly by relying too much on his emotions, especially his anger).

Look at how he acts when he is not Zuko, but the blue spirit. He is calm, precise, and fast. Considering he was freaking ninja sneaking into places he was not supposed to be at, it's also clear he knows how to be stealthy. The sword-fighting also shows physical strength, as well as great motor-skill and, once again, precision.

All of these are SUPER impressive skills - and yet they don't really carry on to his firebending for most of the show, except in three circumstances:

1 - His Agni Kai with Zhao, in which he was at the risk of being disfigured again so OBVIOUSLY he was using literally everything he had to avoid relieving that particular trauma. Bonus points for Zuzu since Zhao was an adult.

2 - The time he created a fire shield to save himself in the explosion meant to kill him. That one was all reflex, so all of his traumas, insecurities and hang-ups didn't affect him because they didn't have the time to. It was quite literally do or die.

3 - The later half of book 3, after he was taught by the dragons.

Emotional turmoil is the main reason Zuko used to screw up so much. He was pit against Azula, a prodigy he once compared to the Avatar himself, his whole life, by their unfair, abusive father.

It didn't matter that, with proper training for two weeks, he could do something amazing. Azula, his younger sister, could do it in a week, so Ozai wanted him to do the same, and Zuko internalized that so much he decided "I need to do it NOW" - so skipped important parts of the process, failed at the task, and was then humiliated for it, which made him angry and MORE impatient, so the cycle kept repeating itself.

Hell, he would have never been in the meeting that would go horribly wrong and lead to his Agni Kai with Ozai if he had not begged Iroh to let him in. And in the very first episode of the show we see him demanding to be taught the advanced set, while Iroh rightfully insists he needs to master the basics first before moving on to that.

His focus was always on trying to go above and beyond to impress, to be seen, to be appreciated.

We see in the episode "The Avatar State" that Zuko stops, in the middle of a fight with his sister that was there to capture and imprison him, looking completely devastated and struggling to even breathe. Why? Because Azula is saying some harsh, horrible truths: their dad thinks he is a failure, to the point that just keeping him away isn't enough, he needs to be locked away, hidden from the world, forever.

HOWEVER, we do get two more fight scenes between them. In "The Southern Raiders" when Azula attacks the Gaang, and then in the finale, during their Agni Kai.

In the first one we see that they are basically equals now - though Azula still saved herself from certain death in an insane way AND was firebending using her whole fist instead of just two fingers like she usually does, which would have been more precise than fighting like Zuko. Still shows Zuko improved A LOT. And in the Agni Kai, he is the one taunting her for a change, saving his energy while she is going beserk due to her breakdown. It seems he not only stopped making his old mistakes, he actually learned how to use Azula's tactics to bait people into accidentally putting themselves in a more vulnerable position.

Considering all that growth, I say that, once he is their age, Zuko will probably either be on Ozai and Iroh's level, or full on surpass them (same goes for Azula once she recovers, and I think they'd be a pretty close match).

[ask-fire-princess-ursa]

How do you feel about your children? Just out of curiosity.

Wait actually better question what was your life like in the palace and how did your children factor into that?

1: How do I feel about my children?

What an odd question to ask me!

I adore both my children. Yes,  me and Azula have a troubled relationship, but she is so smart and powerful. I could hardly keep up with all that. I miss when she was younger and happy enough to play with me.

Zuko, on the other hand, has needed me more since his premature birth. He always needed me more.

Yet as the fire princess, I have to guide my children to be a vision of what our citizens should pride themselves to be; their lives will be as difficult as my own. Always on show, always acting as others expect, but it is what the nation needs.

2:

Life in the palace is complicated; my life is dedicated to my duties to the nation, to my husband, and to my children.

I am spoiled and pampered daily by not only the palace staff but also my husband, who has his ways to spoil me when he feels graceful enough to do so.

Raising children in the palace is the most comfortable life the children could have.

Although I was rather a hands-on mother compared to those before me, which baffled everyone around me.

The children were provided with the finest tutors in education and firebending; sometimes Ozai was involved in the firebending techniques our children were taught.

Of course, the children had education outside the palace in our capital's finest schools, as I thought they deserved some normal interactions outside the controlled walls.

Azula made friends at the finest all-girls school our capital has, while Zuko was eagerly awaiting entry into the military school, which all men in the royal family eventually attended. Of course, Zuko was also lucky enough to be taught by the famous sword master Piandao, which will prepare him for his future.

[babypandawrites]

hello! can i request a sokka x reader fic? maybe an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers continuation of the team avatar one you just posted, and they get together shortly after the sokkas master episode? thank you!

I Care!

Pairing: Sokka x GN Reader Warnings: Slight Angst? Word Count: 1,392 Summary: You could have jumped for joy when Sokka finally came around to not hating you- How much he worries on the other hand, is going to take some getting used to.

Note: The Request: A continuation of the Team Avatar fic you just posted The Team Avatar fic: 6+ Months old I am… so sorry it took this long- But thank you for the request! I really do love me a good enemies to friends to lovers moment with Sokka. I also realize I'm very bad at establishing relationships, and endings, so it's kind of ambiguous sfgnj

-Navigation- | -Part One- | -Atla Masterlist-

Sokka did not like you.

Really, he’d go as far to say that he hated you and your Fire Nation guts.

Words couldn’t explain how much it bothered him that you got along so well with Toph, that Aang forgave you so easily, that you worked so well with Katara. They were off fraternizing with the enemy and he just could not understand why.

He also couldn’t understand why one night he actually felt bad when he saw you sitting by yourself, away from the warmth of the fire. He realized he felt bad because he was the reason you were sitting over there, cold, alone and without dinner. Everyone else already worked out their problems with you, and he was just too stubborn too despite the fact you proved yourself time and time again.

He kept a careful eye on you since you joined them after the fall of Ba Sing Se, and he noticed how hard you tried to prove that you weren’t against them anymore. Seeing you fight with them rather than against them, he realized you were always pulling your punches when fighting against them. He noticed you were the first person to agree to his plans, even the ones that were kind of ridiculous and he noticed how self sacrificial you were.

Well, he noticed that before you joined them.

You’d taken his boomerang to the head so many times so Zuko or Azula didn’t, he was sure you had brain damage at this point. There were so many times you took bone breaking hits from Toph, got blown to the other side of the battle ground by Aang, got waterlogged by Katara, just so those stupid royals wouldn’t.

Now you were doing it for them- Though these days that mostly consist of getting burned or almost blown up. None of them had fought against anything but firebenders since they got to the Fire Nation- obviously so.

Deciding to suck up his pride and shove aside his stubbornness, he got up to approach you, offering a hand to help you off the ground. It was the start of a uh… Well Sokka wouldn’t exactly call it a friendship, but it was the start of something. You were obviously more comfortable in the group now, and Katara stopped bothering him about it, a win-win situation!

He learned that you weren’t even that bad, either. Just set on the wrong path for a while. You were also a pretty good sword fighting teacher, taking over to continue his training after they left the town that Piandao resided in.

Well, you were really good at kicking his butt at least.

-

For probably the twentieth time that day, you’d de-armed Sokka and knocked him to the ground, your sword and his own mere inches away from puncturing him like a kebab. Heaving out a sigh, he collapsed onto his back and sprawled his arms out across the ground. Aang snickered from where he stood on the other side of the field, before getting aggressively shoved by a rock Toph sent at him.

“You deserved that!” Sokka shouted to him, getting up once he was no longer at risk for a kebabing. He held his hand out, silently asking for his sword back- But you hesitated.

“Maybe we should take a break.”

“What? But you haven’t even taught me anything yet- All you’ve done is beat me up!”

You shook your head softly, sheathing your sword and handing his back. “I can’t teach you any more than you’ve already learned. You know the skills, you just have to apply them.”

Sokka grumbled to himself, but sheathed his sword as well.

“You aren’t going to become a Master after only a few weeks, Sokka. I know it’s frustrating to not see immediate results but trust me you are getting better.”

He wasn’t convinced, eyebrows furrowing together. “I’m still nowhere near beating you, though.”

“Well, yeah. I’ve been training for years to get where I am though, and you only picked up a sword for the first time last week. But fighting against people who are stronger than you-” Moving quickly, you pulled your sword back out, swiping it at him. Just before the blade could cut into his neck, he managed to pull out his own sword and sloppily block. “-makes you better faster.” You smiled, satisfied, before putting away your sword once again. “See?”

Dumbfounded, he blinked a few slow times. “Huh?”

“Don’t you remember? That was the first thing I did to you once we started training together- That was barely a week ago and then you hadn’t even comprehended what was going on until my sword was pressed against your neck. This time, you were able to stop it. I mean your blocking could use some work but you're faster. Being fast like that can make the difference between life and death.”

“Oh.” He stood silent for a moment, before offering a grin. “Hey! You’re right. Okay-” He raised his sword, taking a fighting stance. “I’m ready to go again.”

-

Despite how well he’d been getting along with you, there was still one thing about Sokka that he just couldn’t stand.

It was after a very close call with Sparky Sparky Boom-man that he decided to bring it up, waiting until Katara finished healing you before approaching you with his arms crossed over his chest and his lips pressed into a thin line. “You’ve got to stop doing that.”

You froze while in the middle of rolling your shoulder back, raising an eyebrow at him. “Uh… doing what, exactly?”

“Being so stupid and reckless! You’re going to get yourself killed- Or worse!”

Offering a lopsided grin, you tipped your head to the side. “What could be worse than getting killed?”

“Oh I don’t know, getting caught by the Fire Nation?! Spirits, do you ever think before you act?”

“No, not really.”

He heaved a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You are infuriating.”

“No need to get so annoyed Sokka.” You gently nudged him with your elbow. “I’m just messing with you. Of course I think before I act.”

“Yeah? Then what were you thinking when you got yourself blown off a cliff earlier?! If not for Aang, you would be dead!”

You shrugged, baffling him at how unbothered you were at a near death experience. “I was thinking ‘better me than you’? I wasn’t expecting you to thank me for that but wow I really didn’t expect you to lecture me over it.”

“You-” He let out another sigh, before grabbing you by the shoulders. “Look, you’ve just got to stop with the whole self sacrificial thing. You're part of our team, not some kind of bodyguard, you don’t need to keep pulling this.”

“I really don’t see the problem here. I’m still alive, and thanks to Katara I’m fine. Even if I wasn’t then you would still be alive so… who cares?”

His grip on your shoulders tightened. “Me! I care!” He paused for a moment, to clear his throat. “And I know everyone else does too.”

Shocked, your eyes widened. “You do…?” Your voice was soft, filled with disbelief.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

Your moment of vulnerability was short lived, as you offered a grin and gently punched him in the chest. “Because it feels like it was just yesterday you hated me and my Fire Nation guts. D’aw, you’ve grown so much since then!”

Eyebrows furrowing together, he spoke with a soft tone. “You… do realize we all care about you, right?”

“Yeah, yeah… of course I do.” You waved him off, though he didn’t seem convinced, your grin faltering for a moment. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because Azula and Zuko obviously aren’t the most caring people.”

Grin turning bittersweet, you averted your gaze, the ground suddenly being a very interesting thing to look at. “Actually Zuko wasn’t that bad-”

“Y/n.” Sokka cut you off, the assertiveness of his tone catching you off guard. “We all care about you, okay? I care about you. So stop recklessly throwing yourself in front of danger, we’d all be upset if something happened to you.” He paused, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I would be really upset if something happened to you.”

You kept your gaze locked onto the ground, offering a slight nod. “I’ll try.”

[ultranos]

So I can tell s&a Azula would easily beat canon Azula, how about Iroh or Zuko? Would the s&a version win or the canon version?

In straight-up fights with their canon versions at the same time? s&a Iroh would most likely end up beating canon Iroh, since s&a Iroh has been in more-or-less active combat zones for 3 years and is much more in-shape because he's not about to laze around and indulge his vices while his niece has a growing bounty on her head.

As for Zuko...depends on what kind of fight. In firebending, canon Zuko would win, but in a swordfight, s&a Zuko is honestly his superior. Meaning in an anything-goes fight, it's a bit of a toss-up. Canon Zuko isn't a pushover in firebending, and could be a master if he worked at it. s&a Zuko is honestly behind him by a lot in firebending. But s&a Zuko has far more discipline than the canon version as he bent his drive towards mastering the sword with the goal of defeating Iroh. s&a Zuko is specifically training to go against firebenders, and so in an anything-goes, no-holds-barred fight, it'd quite likely be s&a Zuko.

(It would certainly be s&a Zuko if he heard canon Zuko drew a fire knife on his sister. s&a Zuko would be out for blood.

Boy's...in an interesting mental state.)