#avatar the last air bender imagine

[tellhulla]

It's an admittedly minor thing but something that bothers me a lot about the atla comics (and LoK) is the air acolytes

Why are they all new characters?

Where is Theo, the guy Aang himself said carries the spirit of the air nomads? Where are the hippie nomads from season 2 who were already living a very similar lifestyle to Aang's people?

Are the acolytes even nomads? They seem to just live in the temples by the time of LoK, How is that passing on the air nomad's legacy? How is it keeping the culture alive when they aren't practicing half of the culture?

Why didn't Aang ask the mechanic to make gliders like Theo's for the acolytes so they could fly too? If they have re-domesticated the ski bisons by the time of Korra why don't the acolytes seem to have any? It's not like you need to be an air bender to fly on them so why it's only Tenzin who has one and not the acolytes or even Aang's other children?

It's such a poorly written mess

[enden-agolor]

i was inspired okay so imagine that scene from avatar the last air bender with sokka in the tent and zuko walks in but it’s jesse and petra (its portal arc)

[kindaasrikal]

Technically all the ninja have the capabilities to explode. Theoretically speaking.

Kai can literally just light his insides on fire and boom. Kai-boom. He could technically drink gasoline too. Wyldfyre is a mini Kai except she seems much more capable of lighting her entire body on fire without question. Also, fat tissue is apparently flammable.

Nya could theoretically make her blood cells explode. Or she could drink a lot of water. And since our bodies are like 60% or so water already…

Zane was a bomb once and exploded, no explanation needed there. He just has to charge up his heart with enough elemental energy and boom. The custom Zane-bomb. Ready to sacrifice from 9-5 on all working days. Except Fridays. That’s when he has to cook dinner.

Pixal may not be a ninja, but she is a samurai, so she’s included in this. Pixal is Pixal. She probably has a “if bomb is needed, flip this switch” option just in case. Her dad can fix her up again.

Lloyd is Lloyd, no explanation needed there either. He just has to make a really big elemental energy ball thing like he did in the early seasons, surround himself with it, and fling himself at someone.

Jay is a bomb in every sense of the word. Electrical pulses are sent to the brain using the nervous system, so like he could make his head explode too.

Cole is the only exception except if he can make himself a rock suit, who’s to say he can’t make one with dangerous materials that come straight from the ground? Also, he might need Kai and Nya’s help. Something about rocks with moisture being explodable and heat being needed to make them go boom.

Sora has also made a bomb, and she could slowly make herself more robot limbs if the need is ever there and kaboom her way to sacrifice. She could make a bomb suit, except it doesn’t protect her from the bomb, it makes her the bomb.

Euphrasia and Morro could technically fill their lungs with so much air/wind until they explode. Oxygen is also has a small percentage of Air/Wind, and our blood or smth carries a small amount of it too…so can’t they pull a Nya and make their blood explode as well?

Didn’t they also say something is Dragons Rising about the ninja feeling their elements in specific areas? Who’s to say they can’t just charge those areas up and go boom. Like Zane.

Edit: just to clarify, no i am not mentally ill nor unstable it was 4am and i was thinking about avatar the last air bender and how it’s logic can be used in Ninjago. Please guys this post is funny haha not “are you ok????” I imagine them exploding like balloons with a bunch of confetti.

[prickly-paprikash]

Since the discourse has reared its ugly head once more, the simple answer is no.

Aang was not a deadbeat, unsupportive, absentee father.

He loved all three of his children and was supportive of them. When Kya came out in the comics, she mentioned straight up that Aang was nothing but supportive of her and who she was. Aang made mistakes in parenting, but he was also stuck in one of the worst situations possible for him.

For one thing, it's been stated that Airbending culture has different views when it comes to family dynamics. Never once does Aang mention his parents, and it's clear that Air Nomads did not put emphasis on the standard nuclear family organization that other nations did. From context clues alone, and many have inferred in the past that Air Nomads were communal, so it stands to reason that their parenting was communal. Monks, Nuns, Masters—all of them were most likely parents to every single child. The responsibility of raising and educating a child was shared amongst the nomads, and that there was no real difference between biological and adoptive parents. Airbenders shared nearly everything, and that meant family as well.

Imagine you're Aang, spending twelve years of life being raised by every adult in the temple. Sure, he was exposed to nuclear family dynamics when visiting other nations and befriending Bumi and Kuzon, but his exposure to their culture was most likely limited. Now, not only is he a father to three beautiful children, but he must raise them in a way foreign to him. There are no other Monks to raise his children—it's just him and Katara. I've no doubt that Sokka and Toph chipped in whenever they could to ease the burden of parenthood, but they were leaders and figures of great importance as well. Not to mention that Toph had her own daughters to take care of.

Aang is also the Avatar, the central spiritual figure amongst the four nations. His presence would always be demanded in other nations. Peace Summits. Negotiations. Ceremony. Dealing with splintered Fire Nation cells and loyalists. Aang had to lead the people of all four nations back into balance, and he was in the unique and unenviable position to heal the scars of a 100 year war due to the absence of the Avatar.

Finally, the dude is also the Very Last Airbender. Of course he'd show favoritism to Tenzin. Bumi was a non-bender and Kya was a waterbender already taking after her mother. Aang was a war hero, a political figure, a man out of time and history, the Avatar, and the Only Living Airbender. The weight of his culture and people all rested on his shoulders, and so he passed on that responsibility and hope to the only other living Airbender at the time. Aang needed to spend time with Tenzin because only through Tenzin could the practices of the Air Nomads survive.

Aang was basically having to transition from a communal family mindset to a nuclear family's; he had to balance romance, fatherhood, and being the Avatar in a Wartorn World; and he had an obligation to every Airbender in history—millions of souls and their memories, passed on from one very flawed father to his newborn son. Every part of Aang's life as a father was met with trials and tribulations, and his family still came out loving him, albeit with some resentment underneath.

No parent is perfect, and Aang could have done so much better when it came to communicating with his children.

But none of his mistakes ever meant he was an abusive, cold, distant father.

He was overworked, acclimating to a style of family not his own, and desperately reviving a century-long dead culture all by himself. The fact that every single one of his kids still loved him and cherished him only solidified the fact that Aang was a father who did his very best.

Being the child of the Avatar would always mean living in his shadow. That resentment, of Aang being needed by the world while his children sought him out, would always be there. Doubly so for Tenzin, who grew up with the Avatar as his father and continued his life-long work of breathing life back into the Air Nomads. Say what you will, but at least Bumi and Kya had the freedom to choose who they wanted to be. Tenzin, no matter what, would always grow up to be the Airbending Master because no one else could.

Aang loved his children. Aang loved his wife. And they in turn loved him. But just like every family, complications rose up and planted the seeds of bitterness and resentment. The only thing that stopped these from blossoming into actual dislike of their family was that Aang's love and respect for his children was always genuine, and that Katara stood firm in making sure their children knew they were beloved.

Aang and Katara's family would never have been ideal in the first place, but they did their best.

And their best was certainly enough.

[firelordsfirelady]

V. Ocean and Moon

Author: @firelordsfirelady

Imagine: When Y/N—a princess of one of the Water Tribes—is told she’s leaving her tribe, she never expects that she’s to be betrothed to the Fire Lord’s son, nor was she prepared to be exiled the very day she arrived at the Fire Nation. With her life in the hands of her new fiancée, how will life change for the princess? 

Pairing: Zuko x F!Reader

Trigger warnings: arranged marriage, feelings of fear, banishment, mentions of burns/abuse, frustration, violence, betrayal

Word Count: 921

Destined to be Yin and Yang

I own no rights to any of the Avatar Last Air Bender characters. 

Author’s Notes

The characters as all aged up so Zuko’s banishment happens when he’s 16 

Keep in mind I am bringing a unique world with inspiration from ATLA in their characters, some of the events that happen, bending, etc. Not many things may align or occur with what happened in the show. It’s intended that way, so I hope you enjoy it regardless.

See Y/N’s inspiration here. 

Destined to be Yin and Yang Soundtrack (YouTube)

For two days, I did not leave my room nor did I open my door to anyone. Several times someone knocked at the door to bring me food or ask if I needed anything, but I assured everyone that I needed nothing. By noon of the third day, I was starting to feel better, but I still did not want to deal with Zuko and his attitude. I was busy working on my third drawing since I had sequestered away to my room when three harsh knocks sounded on my door.

“Gentle now.” Iroh’s muffled voice came from the other side of the door that was followed by three softer knocks on my door.

“Unless you have jasmine tea, go away.” I smiled to myself as I continued my sketch, knowing damn good and well that Zuko did not have any jasmine tea with him.

“I told you this was pointless.” Zuko grumbled before I heard footsteps walk away from the door. A few minutes later, however, a set of gentle knocks sounded on my door.

“I have jasmine tea this time.” Zuko grumbled from the other side of the door.

“Tell her you have cookies too.” Iroh’s softer voice said, and Zuko sighed heavily. 

“And cookies.” He said. “I brought jasmine tea and cookies.” Sighing heavily, I set my pencil down and walked to the door.

“I hope the cookies and tea are better than you have been to me.” I said as I opened the door to find Zuko standing there with a tea tray and a small plate of cookies with Iroh standing off to the side behind him. “The tea certainly smells divine.” Stepping to the side, I motioned for Zuko to enter. Iroh gave Zuko a small push forward before he turned and walked away. “You can place the tray on the desk. I won’t ask you to do anything more than that.”

Moving to stand by the bed, I watched Zuko set the tray down before he paused at the sight of the paper laying on the desk. Curiosity was evident on his face as he gently picked up the drawing I was working on. I felt my face heat up as I watched the prince look over my art before I took a seat on my bed.

“Go ahead and say that it is so improper of a princess to have such a hobby.” A humorless chuckle left my lips as I played with a strand of hair.

“I wasn’t going to say such a thing.” Zuko said quietly, which caused me to look at him through my lashes. I had drawn two koi fish—one black and one white—to represent the moon and the ocean spirits, and Zuko was studying the picture with curiosity. “What is the story behind the drawing?”

“I’ll tell you on one condition.” Zuko looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Make me a cup of that jasmine tea?” Zuko set the drawing on the table before he set to work pouring a cup of jasmine tea. I smiled at him as he handed me a warm cup of tea. “Thank you.” 

Inhaling the vapor from the tea, I sighed with contentment before I took a sip and let the warm liquid wash over my insides.

“The two koi represent the two most important spirits to the waterbenders—the moon spirit and the ocean spirit.” I motioned to the picture. “The black one with the white dot is the ocean because we believe the ocean gives us life. The white koi with the black dot represents the spirit of the moon, and our ancestors learned to waterbend by watching the moon’s pull on the ocean.” Zuko took a seat on the chair by the desk as I continued my story.

“The spirits come to our plane once a year to be mortals for a night. Though I have never seen them in person, I’ve had visions of these two koi fish since I was a young child.” I motioned to the picture. “I’m not sure what form the spirits take when they come to visit us, but I cannot help but think that koi fish is fitting for them.” Zuko looked at the picture for a moment before he shifted his gaze back to me. There was a slight upward curve to his lips as he looked at the picture again.

“You can have it.” I said as he looked at the picture, which made him turn to look at me. “You can have the picture. I’ve drawn them more times than I can count. Plus, I have other pictures to keep.” I smiled at the firebender. “If you don’t want it, that’s fine too. My feelings won’t be hurt if you don’t.” I shrugged before I sipped my tea. “Thank you for the tea and cookies. I appreciate it.”

Zuko slowly stood up and gave me a nod. He looked at the picture for another second before he stood up and delicately grabbed the art off of the desk.

“…Thank you for sharing your story…and for the art.” He awkwardly said before he bowed and turned to leave the room. He paused as he reached the threshold of the door. “I am sorry about what I said to you the other day.” With that, he left the room and closed the door behind him. 

I stared at the closed door Zuko left through, and my cheeks felt warm.

Perhaps there was still some kindness left in the Prince after all.

Tag List @chevysstuffs @puttyly @ginger24880 @night-fall-moon @junieshohoho @0kauy @coolgirl458 @hypnoticbeing @angelruinz

[kataraslove]

as someone who has recently read the reckoning of roku, it’s really not the anti fire nation propaganda that a certain subsection of fandom is making it out to be. yes, gyatso says those words to roku, but he’s angry - at both the world and at himself for the death of his sister. he later apologizes to roku. the book does not paint gyatso out to be in the right, and neither does it paint all fire nation citizens to be in the wrong. the narrative even makes a distinction between the good fire nation citizens (ta min and roku) and prejudicial fire nation citizens (sozin, primarily), and some morally ambiguous ones like dalisay, but they’re more or less abolished from any accountability for partnering with sozin.

avatar the last airbender does not do a good job at displaying much of the context associated with the crimes of the fire nation, aka the climate and perspectives that justified sozin eradicating the air nomads and many of the benders in the southern water tribe. we know from avatar that sozin wanted to conquer the rest of the world for fire nation domination and expansion, but we’re not given much insight into the causal factors that allowed him to conduct genocide and colonialism, beyond “he was able to do it all in one day with the power of the comet,” and “he was a very bad man.”

the reckoning of roku provides the context for all of that, the factors that contributed to sozin’s blood-thirst. which means seeing sentiment from sozin that view the air nomads - and their pacifist ways of life - as inferior and below human. the novel doesn’t particularly attempt to humanize sozin, not in the way that other medias do when exploring the backstory of their villain. at the end, the takeaway from the novel is that sozin is on the road to becoming the ultimate fascist we all know him for, but this time we’re provided more context into how he became that fascist, and why roku hesitated to kill him.

is it more critical of the fire nation than most of the franchise? yes, i would say so, and having a filipino author be the one to offer that commentary is an excellent decision by avatar studios. but the extent of the critique is still more or less along the lines of “this one guy was truly the operations behind it,” which is still consistent with what we’ve seen in atla. there’s nothing too radical introduced in terms of colonial theory, unlike what parts of the fandom are saying.

which leads me to my final point: if this is how badly a subsection of fandom (aka fire nation worshippers and zutara shippers [not mutually exclusive]) are reacting to the simple notion exploring how sozin committed genocide, then they’ve hit further rock bottom than i can imagine. not only that, but this type of reactionary behaviour risks alienating other parts of the fandom; for instance, fans of the avatar novels who otherwise would have given the ship and the shippers grace.

in other words, many of these hardcore shippers “criticizing” the roku novel have no one to blame but themselves if their behaviour leads to the alienation of regular fans. this loud subsection of fandom is so caught up in their one-sided, imaginary fantasy where everything in the franchise somehow revolves around aang/kataang vs zuko/zutara, that the Evil Bryke are always targeting them, to the point that they’ll fail to realize that the fire nation and fire nation characters are often absolved from accountability across the IP, and the fire nation is explored much more than the other nations are.

[azus-reyan]

Confidence out of achievement.

In Avatar: The Last Air Bender, there’s an episode where Aang struggles with learning earth-bending. Toph chucks rocks at him, and he dodges out of the way, airbender style, instead of facing them head-on. 

Toph calls him a coward for not standing his ground and eating a falling boulder, but she misses an important point. The reason why Aang couldn’t face the boulder, or couldn’t master earth bending, was because he lacked confidence. 

When I first began writing, putting out even the simplest thing was supremely difficult. This task, which seemed so cross and opposite to my nature, suddenly became something I had to do. I didn’t have Toph giving me tough love, so I struggled much harder than Aang.

Just as I was about to throw in the towel, I did something unexpected that changed everything. I’ve achieved something. 

I remember my first post on Tumblr; unsure of where it would go. For a while, it went nowhere. No one saw it, and no one cared. But then I received my first heart, my first reblog, and then my first follower. The feeling was…well, it was indescribable. 

It was euphoric. I remember thinking, 'maybe I could write more, put out more, publish and post more. This force, this confidence born out of a sense of achievement, helped me publish my first story. 

It was like the boulder that Aang faced. But I grew my confidence because I felt accomplished, like Aang did later on. It was the lack of confidence that made me think, ‘This is never gonna go anywhere, so why bother.’ And the sense of achievement that turned it into, ‘Maybe I can try that as well.’

I took small steps and built upon that momentum. A momentum that helped me hit more than seven hundred words daily. A momentum that got my small blog going, helped me self-publish, and, more recently, reboot my newsletter. 

Big or small, each step builds the confidence you need to take on the next one. Those little wins can add up to something greater than you ever imagined.

Until next time, adieu.

[xxcuti3zs]

hello charlotte character voice claim hcs ^_^

Charlotte Wiltshire - Suki from "Avatar: the Last Air bender"

Reasoning for voice claim?

I've always imagined Charlotte with a more "calmer" and "deceiving" voice. Like how some characters have super calm, heart spoken voices but are actually little bags of trauma and misery? That's like Charlie! (˶ˆᗜˆ˵) Or, maybe the way Charlotte looks in my head just has that voice,,, aha,,

Henrietta "Anri" Warhol - Hiyori Iki from "Noragami"

Reasoning for voice claim?

If I'm being honest, the way Anri's hair looks made me decide on it. From my experiences, hair matches voice a lot of the time. Anri's hair is flow-y and dark. Hiyori's voice fits dark flow-y hair (plus, her hair is almost the same!)

Felix Honikker - Netzach from "Limbus Company"

(ahhh sorry for the glicthing)

Reasoning for voice claim?

Do I think Felix is Korean? No. Was I too lazy to scroll through every single Cookie Run character's voice lines until I found one that felt good enough? Yes. Absolutely. Similar to Charlotte, I feel like Felix has a "calmer" voice. But when he is pissed off (hence the irritation levels drawings) like a lot, he will absolute raise his voice and I feel like it would get slightly scratchy/raspy. I also imagine his voice to be slightly more higher-pitched than Netzach's because, well, Felix is canonically really short. Shorter people have smaller vocal cords which is why their voices can be more higher pitched and "childlike"! Short king <3

(dohhhh look at him ^_^)

Bennett - ENA (Yellow) from "ENA"

Reasoning for voice claim?

Chaos!!! Also both are yellow...? (lol jokes) I feel like the "deeper"/drunken voice is Bennett before soap >_< /hj I was mostly trying to find a very chaotic, semi-masc voice that kind of screamed, "I'm the most cheerful character but wait 'til you hear me lore drops!!!" I feel like that's very Bennett. Or hey, maybe that's just me. Cheese and rice, Bennett ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!

Welp, this is it for now and I will make another one with more characters! Can't wait for Vincent's, mainly because he inspired my preferred name a LOT! ^_^

[i-heart-hxh]

Do you think Kurapika will die by the end of the series? I’ve seen lots of people saying he will, and that togashi said he will, but i don’t think i’m sold.

largely i just think it would be a poor ending to his character. i don’t think him dying and the Kurta being lost forever would be a very satisfying ending. (although, i trust togashi to make any direction he ends up going in very good.)

i especially don’t think it will happen any time soon at the current point in the story. there’s just far too many loose ends that haven’t been tied up. i sincerely doubt he would die while the troupe is still active or the eyes are still out there.

I think what’s most likely to happen is that we get a technical death, similar to what happened to gon, where he “dies” but is brought back to life due to some dark continent fuckery and possibly some of leorio’s medical knowledge. bonus points if we get a classic scene of dead love ones encouraging him to keep living, lol

as a follow up to my last anon (about kurapika): i think it would be unnecessarily sad to make kurapika die permanently. maybe it would make sense, character wise, as he is totally driving himself into the ground at the moment. but i have a hard time envisioning a way that end could be a satisfying one. it would mark the absolute decimation of the kurta. permanently lost to time, with absolutely no hope of any kind of revival. kurapika is currently the only person with a deep knowledge of the kurta culture and traditions, and the only person who could pass that knowledge on. or even pass on the scarlet eyes. it kind of reminds me of the air nomads from avatar. but it would be like, if aang died in the process of fighting ozai and no other air benders were born after that

Hi anon! It's funny you sent this, I actually was just thinking about making another post about my guesses on Kurapika's fate about an hour before I received this. Good timing! I actually did a poll on this topic a while back and then added some of my thoughts after it finished. However, my thoughts and guesses have solidified quite a bit since then.

I agree with you--I actually think Kurapika is likely to pull through, albeit potentially after a death and then revival or some other drastic near-death situation similar to what happened to Gon. I agree that it's hard to imagine a fulfilling ending where Kurapika doesn't survive (though I have faith in whatever Togashi may have planned, even if it goes completely against my guesses). I have some thoughts to add on why this is my guess as well.

First off, the way Leorio's character is set up. Putting him in the same place as Kurapika while he's training as a doctor, knowing that his largest character motivation is not to lose any more friends... It would be awfully cruel for Togashi to have Leorio go through Kurapika's death in light of that. His role as a doctor needs to be tested and come to fruition, and his character arc needs to come full circle as someone who deeply wants to prevent his friends from dying.

Secondly, the themes of the series. I've talked about this a lot in discussions of Gon and Killua's relationship, but some primary themes of the series are second chances and the transformative power of love and human connection. When thinking about the series through that lens, having Kurapika not pull through after all (and having Leorio lose him), does not feel like it's in line with those themes. Kurapika needs a second chance to connect with the world of the living and find meaning in those around him.

I also suspect that Kurapika's storyline is going to come down to a choice between two things: Life and death, but not just his own. Here's why:

Kurapika, obsessed with getting revenge for the Kurta clan and gathering the body parts of his murdered family and friends, is currently guarding a baby. I think he will be put in a situation where he has to make a choice between Woble's life, and getting his revenge and gathering the body parts of his loved ones. He already had to make a similar choice once, in Yorknew. He had Chrollo in his grasp, he could have killed him, but ultimately he had to choose between doing this and Gon and Killua's lives--and he chose Gon and Killua's lives. He isolated himself from his friends as a result of this, trying to force himself to stay on his path of revenge without letting anyone get in his way (including, perhaps most importantly, himself), but now he's in a position again where it seems likely his plans will go off track when he has to choose between a living child and his people, who are already long dead.

(I also suspect he might find out the Phantom Troupe wasn't responsible--or at least wasn't entirely responsible--for the Kurta massacre and his ultimate antagonist will be Tserriednich, but that's a bit of a digression that I can talk about in more depth another time.)

I think ultimately this is how his character is set up: Will he choose to focus only on what he's lost and those who are already dead and on causing more death (including ultimately his own), or will he decide to protect and focus on those around him who are still living and on finding reasons to live himself (likely in Leorio, Gon, and Killua, among others)? It's true that, if he continues to live, he can bring the memories of the Kurta into the future with him, to honor those he lost, rather than living only for revenge that I'm sure his loved ones wouldn't even want him to burn down his life for. It's a bleak ending for him if he doesn't survive, and the Kurta would simply fade into history forever with him, like you were saying.

So, it's possible he will "die" or very nearly die in a fight against Tserriednich, in order to protect Woble, and then Leorio will have to find some way to get him to pull through--possibly using his training, possibly using something in the Dark Continent, maybe both. It would satisfy both of their character arcs to a certain degree and make sense with the trajectories they're on.

As usual, however, Togashi is unpredictable and he could have something entirely different up his sleeve, or even be misdirecting the audience on what he's trying to do. Only time will tell! But in the meantime, I agree with you that Kurapika's probably going to make it, even with the dire circumstances he's currently in.

[natlacentral]

For ‘Avatar’s’ Dallas Liu and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Zuko and Iroh’s relationship ‘was the most important thing’

One of the most emotional callbacks in Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is in the music.

The fourth episode of the series, “Into the Dark,” features a flashback to a funeral. As young Prince Zuko offers his condolences to his Uncle Iroh on the death of his son Lu Ten, the score transitions into an orchestral version of the familiar melody, “Leaves From the Vine.” The song, first heard in the animated “Avatar” series, has long been associated with the Fire Nation general’s grief.

“That wrecked me,” said Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who portrays Iroh in the new live-action adaptation, now streaming.

“I only just heard the [new] song in December,” added Dallas Liu, who plays Zuko. “I started imagining our scene and [it] killed me.”

The live-action “Avatar” co-stars were in high spirits as they discussed the show and their characters’ relationship over coffee at a West Hollywood hotel earlier this month. (This reporter borrowed a page from Iroh’s book on the joys of spending time with fascinating strangers and opted for tea.) 

Both actors say they are big fans of the animated series, which originally aired from 2005 to 2008 on Nickelodeon. More than once they mentioned the high bar set by the original show and the responsibility they felt to honor its spirit (a previous attempt was not well received), especially because everybody else on set loved the show, too.

“Not even just me and Paul,” Liu said. “Our cast members, our writers, even our transportation and craft [services] team.”

“Avatar” is set in a world inspired by Asian and Indigenous cultures, where certain people have the power to manipulate elements through a martial arts-infused ability known as bending. The original series was the rare children’s cartoon that touched on weighty topics such as war, genocide and imperialism within a fantasy coming-of-age story of a young hero destined to save the world.

“Zuko is a character that I’ve always loved since my childhood,” said Liu of the exiled Fire Nation prince. He is desperately searching for the Avatar — a special bender reincarnated into every generation tasked with maintaining harmony in the world — in order to win his father’s approval and a way back home.

Accompanying Zuko on his mission is Iroh, a renowned general and former heir to the crown who’d spent years at the front lines of the Fire Nation’s ongoing war to conquer the other nations.

Iroh “seems very jovial, but you know there is way more to him than that,” Lee said. “He carries a profound sense of sadness and loss.”

Working within a franchise with a passionate fanbase is nothing new for Lee, who has appeared as New Republic pilot Captain Carson Tevain several recent “Star Wars” series including “Ahsoka” and “The Mandalorian.” But getting cast as Iroh has offered the “Kim’s Convenience” actor a chance to take on the challenge of portraying a character that is already well-loved.

For Lee, Zuko and Iroh’s relationship “was the most important thing to get right.”

“It’s such a backbone to [Zuko’s] story arc,” Lee said. “To his pursuit and where he starts and where he ends.”

Because while “Avatar” is a story that follows Aang (Gordon Cormier), the world’s last airbender, as he figures out how to embrace his destiny and become the hero he is meant to be, it’s also a story about the teens in Aang’s orbit carving out their own paths.

Knowing this, Liu appreciated that their “Avatar” explores Zuko and Iroh’s past a earlier than it was revealed in the animated show. While there are some hints, it’s not until the second season that the animation digs into the Fire Nation royal family’s (dysfunctional) backstory. And some flashback scenes, like Lu Ten’s funeral, are original to the adaptation.

“I was excited because there was no expectation for it already,” Liu said. “I think there are scenes and dialogue [from the animated show] that people are going to look for with a certain level of expectation. But for everything that is new for Zuko on our show, it allowed me to be an artist and be creative.”

These moments were blank canvases Liu relished. He explained that to prepare for the younger version of Zuko in these flashbacks, he took hints from what he learned from his time on “PEN15” watching creators Maya Erskine and Anna Conkle portray middle-school versions of themselves.

“I think I got to tap into that younger side of my own self because I do see similarities between myself and Zuko,” said Liu. “Especially 14-year-old Zuko because there’s no ounce of evil in him.”

Iroh is despondent at Lu Ten’s funeral, as a procession of guests stop by to express their sympathies for the death of his only child. When it’s his turn, Zuko only offers the sentiments that are expected of him at first. But then he shares more heartfelt words as he tries to console his uncle. It’s one of the show’s earliest looks at Zuko’s humanity and capacity for love.

“Dallas does some really, really beautiful work at that funeral scene,” Lee said. “That speech that he delivers is just so heartbreakingly beautiful and comforting. He does all the heavy lifting. I just needed to react to what he was giving me.”

Not for the first time, Liu is quick to respond to the compliment by expressing his own appreciation for everything he learned from Paul during their time together on set. 

“Especially that scene, and in a lot of our other emotional scenes, I can’t stress how much I actually relied on Paul,” Liu said. “He was always there every day to support me with honestly all of our scenes.”

Equally charming was when Liu tried to credit Iroh’s influence as the reason why Zuko is able to open up, for one brief moment, with Aang during another episode. Lee is quick to point out that Zuko’s compassion was something already within him from when he was younger, as seen in the flashback scenes. 

Lee is aware that “Avatar” fans have wondered whether he would sing “Leaves From the Vine” on the series. It was first featured in Season 2 of the animated “Avatar” in an episode that shows Iroh singing the song through tears after he sets up a small memorial for Lu Ten on his birthday. (That segment was dedicated to Mako, Iroh’s original voice actor, who had died before the episode aired.)

“I didn’t want to spoil anything … but I knew that one scene was coming up,” Lee said. It’s one of the reveals that leads to “everybody look[ing] at Zuko differently. I love that. This adaptation, it really is about subtext, past experiences, traumas, success, failures, all of that stuff.”

Both Liu and Lee hope that their Zuko and Iroh will get to continue on their journey.

“What I love about their relationship is, Iroh is there to give advice, but he never tells [Zuko] what to do,” Lee said. Zuko’s “got to find his own way, and he supports him. … I really do wish [we get] to do more [seasons], because I want to see that relationship flourish even more.”

[roseride01-blog]

Brothers

The war is over. Sokka has a realization.

Aang and Zuko were his brothers in all but blood, Sokka realized one day. 

It kind of came out of nowhere, one minute he was sharpening his boomerang, then the next, he was staring at the Avatar and the new Fire Lord, practicing fire bending together in the courtyard of the Fire Nation palace.

The look of joy on Aang’s face whenever he fire bent, or bent any element for that matter, the look of quiet pride on Zuko’s face when he watched, student and teacher, both in some sort of spirit harmony or something Aang or Iroh would say. 

But it was the feeling Sokka got when watching them that made him realize this. He felt himself sharing the the pride and joy. Joy at watching two people he loved doing something together, happy and alive (Sokka still had a hard time looking at the scar on Aang’s back, and the bandages hadn’t come off over Zuko’s abdomen. Sokka feel his throat constrict with gratitude because it’s because of Zuko’s sacrifice that Katara is alive to tell him he can get out of bed, but absolutely no training, he was only allowed to coach Aang from the sidelines). 

Aang had become a little brother to him, an incredibly powerful and wise little brother, but still hung on to his childish innocence. Aang was a bright spot in Sokka’s life, someone he didn’t have to keep up a protective pretense around, because Aang could take care of himself. 

He never would never have imagined Crown Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation would become like an older brother to him, but there are so many things that the whole group had accomplished in the last few weeks that would never have been possible without him, his skills, courage or loyalty. So many people close to Sokka would be dead, maybe even himself. He found that as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he had become reliant on Zuko, and the newly crowned monarch had yet to let him down. 

It was only a moment later that another realization hit Sokka, one that made him stop short in his sharpening motions. Something he had never really thought about before. 

In the Water Tribe, family was everything. Family was everything because family was the equivalent of safety. Sokka, while keeping Katara safe, knew she would do the same for him, as would his dad, Bato, and even Gran-Gran. They had each other’s backs, and that was an undeniable fact. 

Aang never even knew his parents. He had told him such, but it never seemed to bother the young air bender. He seemed content with regarding the monks who raised him as his family, wether they were bonded by blood or not. This concept had not changed 100 years later as he unabashedly considered his bending masters, and Sokka, as his family. Aang’s definition of “family,” was not bound by blood, but by action and by love. 

Sokka knew this to be true for Zuko as well, but for an entirely different, and devastating reason.Home, to Sokka, was the one place he knew he would always be safe. His father loved and cared for him, and the love was unconditional. 

Not only was Ozai’s love conditional, those conditions were also almost impossible to meet. Even Azula, a fire  bending prodigy, never really had his love, only his acceptance. 

The one person who was supposed to love Zuko unconditionally, his father, is the one who had hurt him the most. 

Sokka understands Toph a little bit better now, too, through Zuko— to them, family isn’t bound by lineage. Family is where you are understood and accepted, and where you are loved. 

For Zuko, home, family, never meant safety. 

So that moment, the courtyard lit with the late afternoon sun, Sokka came to his third realization, a resolution. 

As Toph said some comment about how Aang’s heartbeat sped up when Katara and Iroh walked out with cold drinks, Katara scoffing at Toph’s comment while Aang turned crimson, and Zuko chastised Toph for distracting him, and Suki laughed, Sokka realized that this was family; himself and Katara, actual siblings, and everyone else who had his protection— because Sokka knew he would do anything to protect the people he cares about. 

“Sokka?” Aang’s voice pulled Sokka back to reality, “Sokka, are you alright?!?”

“Huh?” Sokka hadn’t noticed it before, but as he registered the wetness on his cheeks, he realized he had been crying. 

He met Aang’s eyes, the gray overflowing with concern, and then met Zuko’s, standing next to Aang, gold radiating quiet worry, and abruptly stood up. He crossed the limited space between himself and the other two boys in record speed, before crashing into the two. arms wrapping around Aang’s shoulders and Zuko’s waist. 

It was silent as Sokka just held them to him, his family, his brothers. 

[deathsmallcaps]

Guys I literally have no time for this but I am having Ideas about the new upcoming avatar (elemental not Disney).

So I’m imagining that in this ‘new’ world, a cataclysm happened - but it’s not political/spiritual/the fault of the humans.

I think it could’ve been a mega meteor that came from the sky.

Maybe earthbenders were curious about spirit metal and called to the heavens. Maybe it was just a random rock. But in any case, a meteor falls from the sky and destroys the world as we know it.

It won’t be as devastating as the dinosaur one, because THAT would be TOO hard on the population. But it’s still nasty.

Of course, despite the large expanse of the oceans, it lands on the earth kingdom. Specifically, Ba Sing Se, for irony purposes.

This wiped out most of the city, and sent off earthquakes and tsunamis around the continent, if not the world. At least a few of the volcanoes in the Fire Nation blow, and a couple near the poles go off too. A few new islands arise from the sea, while others crumble. Due to the high mountains in all four of the Air temples’

There are other ways to communicate without going through or the continent, but it’s hard, especially amongst all these natural disasters. Contact between the Water Poles goes sparse. The Air Nomads still travel around, thanks to their air capabilities, but they have a lot of internal damages, and so must save themselves. (Though like abbeys of old, many parents would travel there AND to other abbeys in the hopes that they could ‘dedicate their children to its service’ and have at least some of their children survive). The Fire Nation could handle some volcano damage but not this much - they still function but are heavily damaged.

(This leaves 4 ‘Havens’ so far - SWT, NWT, Air Nomads, Fire Nation).

Republic City is far enough away from Ba Sing Se that they didn’t get the worst of the effects, but it wasn’t easy either. I think it would all be very tense, but survivable.

I think the coast along foggy swamp, Kyoshi island and the large islands off the southern coast would be okay. Maybe Zaofu too. Of course, they would be subject to raids from the last ‘haven’.

The Pirate ‘fifth nation’ would rise again. Notably, due to lumber issues from the earthquakes and forest fires and the loss of lumber and metal mining infrastructure, many new boats (as opposed to ones that survived the cataclysm) would be umiak style and/or constructed from concrete, as limestone and water are still easy to find without too much trade.

Yes, I’m basing this more off pre-spirit portal opening geography, but just bear with me. (SUB-THEORY: people return to living on lion turtles!)

Let’s get to the people of this matter

I think Korra would’ve died somewhat Roku style. I bet she sensed the meteor coming and did her damndest to soften the blow, but the strain of it killed her. She definitely saved a lot of people by slowing its fall, but even the avatar can only do so much.

Which means that Mea (mysterious earth avatar) and her twin Lat (lost avatar twin) were born in the wake of the New World. Their mom was a sand bender who was visiting the Foggy Swamp nation at the time of the meteorite. As people are wont to do in panic, she and a swampbender got together and had the twins.

Unfortunately, they realize they aren’t meant to be by the time the kids are a few months old, and additionally, rumors are spinning across the land that any new avatar that would arise would be hunted and killed by any new leaders of the havens. Avatars are meant to be uniters - many who have risen to power feel that avatars would DESTROY their regime (I’m trying to fit in as many beats of the original instagram post as possible).

People are already looking amongst populations with even a bit of Earthbending ancestry using the directional geomancy. (See below)

Earth Avatars were traditionally identified by directional geomancy, a series of rituals designed to winnow through the largest and most populous of the four nations as efficiently as possible. A special set of bone trigrams was cast and interpreted by the earthbending masters, ruling out half the Earth Kingdom as the location of the newborn Avatar. This ritual was repeated in the remaining territory, with the possible locations shrinking by halves each time until the searchers were brought to the doorstep of the Earth Avatar child.

- https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Avatar Earth Kingdom section

And unfortunately, Mea is showing the ability to bend both earth and fire, the next element on the cycle.

Panicking, they run to a local powerful spirit and ask it to to bind her powers - get her stuck on just firebending until she can at least defend herself and people get disillusioned and think that maybe the earth avatar died in infancy and start looking for a fire avatar.

The spirit, who is a bit overzealous to be messing with Raava, accidentally blocks her other abilities until she can only waterbend. And then promptly disappears when it realizes that it fucked up.

The parents, still panicking, decide to split up Parent Trap style (though I didn’t think they’ll get back together). Swampbender dad takes Mea and heads to the SWT, because he figures once she’s a little older and hardier they can go to the spirit portal there and find someone to fix this. And Sandbender mom takes Lat and returns to the desert, where her family has unearthed an underground library tower with a dead owl spirit inside …

Mea is raised as a water bender for a while, and finds out the truth when she’s 14. She and her dad travel to the portal that year, and her dad has to stay in the spirit world as payment for her bending being fixed (thus getting the adults out of the way). She is told to go to her mother.

Which is how we get an earth avatar who sucks at earthbending (my headcanon) and a mysterious twin, Lat.

And since I think Mea is a transgirl and Lat is a transboy, and both know they’re twins but have not heard the news, neither thinks the other is their twin until at least an episode after they meet once again.

[amethystfairy1]

I keep forgetting to say, but I kinda imagine at least some of the architecture of the undercity to be similar to the western air temple from avatar the last air bender. Just my own lil hc for some of the buildings closer to bedrock-

I LOVE THAT!!!

That's such a cool idea! That would be so pretty especially to make the best use of the space under bedrock!

[wolfstarr-the-sequel]

X-Men Power HC: Ororo Munroe

This is going to be me going on a tangent on how I think it would feel/ the physical sensations of using the powers of these characters.

Storm has a lot of aspects to her powers because weather has a lot of aspects to it so I'm going to try and break it down the best I can. First by listing all the things she can do with her powers.

Modify the temperature of the environment

Control all forms of precipitation

Make lightning 

Has control over atmospheric pressure

"She can incite all forms of meteorological tempests, such as tornadoes, thunderstorms, blizzards, and hurricanes, as well as mist."

"She has demonstrated the ability to separate water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen via electrolysis, allowing her to breathe underwater."

Can create earthquakes and lava bursts

In short, Storm is a god. If not a god, she is The Avatar because a lot of the things she can do has to do with the different elements. On top of that she can control all weather and not just earth.

Now first things first she can sense the world around her "She has once sensed a diseased and dying tree on the X-Mansion grounds, detected objects within various atmospheric mediums—including water, and sensed the incorrect motion of a hurricane in the Northern Hemisphere and the gravitational stress on the tides by the Moon and Sun as well as the distortion of a planet's magnetosphere"

So how would being able to use these powers feel? And for this I'm going to be dinning into research about the different bending styles and apply them here. Yes, I'm talking about Avatar The Last Airbender because that series has gone more in depth about these sorts of things.

Airbending

Now when she uses this aspect of her powers I'd imagine there is a feeling of lightness or weightlessness. Even if she doesn't fly while using these powers, I'd imagine that feeling is still there. I thought of this because Aang is noted to be light on his feet with his fighting styles to where Toph had a hard time detecting him with her earthbending.

Waterbending

For this one I can imagine that there's a feeling of constant motion even if she isn't moving. Like standing in the ocean as the waves sway back in forth as you just stand there. Water has no form unless given one so unless Storm is actively manipulating the water around her, she can feel it moving constantly. Not in a big overwhelming way but like faintly. If that makes sense

Earthbending

Heavy. Very heavy. Storm may an all powerful goddess but it would still take a lot of strength to manipulate something big and heavy as the Earth. Unlike the other elements, Earth is very dense and can't just easily pulled from the atmosphere around her. I'd Imagine there's a lot of muscle strain and a feeling of soreness after earthbending like things.

Firebending

More specifically lightning bending. I know lava is hot but that is just a hot rock and fall beneath the Earthbending Catagory.

"Generating lightning usually involves a circular motion with the arms. Mentally, it involves a complete absence of emotion and peace of mind, and physically, it requires separating the energies of yin and yang, also interpreted as positive and negative electric potential respectively. When the yin and yang collide together to become whole again, lightning is created, with the bender only guiding, rather than controlling, the lightning's direction." - Atla Fandom Wiki

Now if we're going from a more scientific view of lightning, lightning is a form of plasma. Plasma is the 4th state of matter that is the result of heating up gas. So when Storm summons lightning, she is heating up the gas molecules in the air and focusing it onto one point to smite someone or something.

So of course this will result in a lot of body heat and maybe even some sweating. But sweat isn't a problem for someone who can manipulate it off her body.

This was a very long one and I hope you all enjoyed my tangent.

Masterlist

[scentremini]

me me me! ✧

✎ i'm fifteen ✎ i'm nigerian & cameroonian ✎ my birthday is october 20th ✎ i also go by nic !

❔ what do you love. . ? ・❥・english literature, romione, authenticity, mangoes, golden trio, anything coconut-scented, analysis, arachkids, political education & analysis, dystopian fiction, chocolate granola bars, being unapologetically embarrassing, video essays, sci-fi movies; wall-e. harry potter film series. soul. spiderverse film series. mulan. guardians of the galaxy trilogy. coraline. the mitchells vs the machines. driving lessons. raya & the last dragon. nimona. spiderman: homecoming. turning red. beauty & the beast. inside out 2. big hero 6. matilda + matilda the musical. the willoughbys. guillermo del toro's pinocchio. a wrinkle in time. klaus. the karate kid. lilo & stitch. next gen. high school musical film series. a cinderella story. shows; arcane. wednesday. loki. gravity falls. avatar: the last air-bender. sofia the first. hilda. steven universe. carmen sandiego. 3 body problem. bodies. books; harry potter book series. miss peregrine's home for peculiar children. the lunar chronicles. the giver. the perks of a wallflower. games; life is strange. detroit become human. god of war: ragnarok. minecraft story mode. little misfortune. undertale. little nightmares. deltarune. the sims 4. artists; pinkpantheress. clairo. men i trust. tyler the creator. kendrick lamar. magdalena bay. kali uchis. new jeans. bikini kill. tame impala. fiona apple. dexy’s midnight runners. hikaru utada albums; let's start here. to pimp a butterfly. right place, wrong person. charm. cherry bomb. mercurial world. untourable album. mr morale & the big steppers. imaginal disk. i megaphone. when the pawn. sling. sawayama. chromakopia. distance.

however, my book wishlist, and list of albums & artists to explore combined is longer than the history of humans... (¬_¬")

kinnies; luna lovegood. kamala khan. meilin lee. ron weasley. mabel pines. riley andersen. warren graham. hermione granger.

always updating ! (mostly bc i can't remember my interests 4 shit) latest; feb 2.

[firelordsfirelady]

VIII. Rooftop Heartbreak

Author: @firelordsfirelady

Imagine: When Y/N—a princess of one of the Water Tribes—is told she’s leaving her tribe, she never expects that she’s to be betrothed to the Fire Lord’s son, nor was she prepared to be exiled the very day she arrived at the Fire Nation. With her life in the hands of her new fiancée, how will life change for the princess? 

Pairing: Zuko x F!Reader

Trigger warnings: arranged marriage, feelings of fear, banishment, mentions of burns/abuse, frustration, violence, betrayal

Word Count: 1770

Destined to be Yin and Yang

I own no rights to any of the Avatar Last Air Bender characters. 

Author’s Notes

The characters as all aged up so Zuko’s banishment happens when he’s 16 

Keep in mind I am bringing a unique world with inspiration from ATLA in their characters, some of the events that happen, bending, etc. Not many things may align or occur with what happened in the show. It’s intended that way, so I hope you enjoy it regardless.

See Y/N’s inspiration here. 

Destined to be Yin and Yang Soundtrack (YouTube)

“Y/N?” Iroh’s voice accompanied the knocks on my door. “Are you awake?” I groaned as I opened my eyes. The dull light in the room told me that the sun was high in the sky outside.

“I was concerned because it's roughly noon and no one has seen or heard from you.” The genuine concern in his voice put a small frown on my lips. I assume that Iroh must’ve heard my scream last night, and he is trying to shake the idea of his nephew having something to do with it.

“I am fine. I did not sleep well last night.” I sheepishly replied as I rolled onto my back. Rubbing my hands down my face, I stared blankly at the ceiling as an unsettling feeling slowly overwhelmed my body. “I will come out later.” I told Iroh, who I assumed bowed and walked away from the door.

The teenager from my dream last night kept haunting me, so I decided to get up and put down on paper what I had seen. Letting the spirits guide my hand, I effortlessly drew line after line until the image on the paper in front of me was the same vision I saw last night.

The Avatar. Zuko’s words from my dream last night echoed in my head as a deep chill went through my body and caused goosebumps to rise on my forearms.

“Y/N?” The sound of my name coming from the other side of the door accompanied by three short knocks at my door took my attention away from the picture. The voice on the other side of the door belonged to Zuko, so I moved to cover the Airbender with other sheets of sketches before I moved to answer the door. Zuko stood on the other side of the door and looked at me as I opened the door. “Are you alright?”

Should I tell him about my dream? I smoothed the hairs on my head down before I replied to Zuko.

“Do I look that bad?” I tried to keep my tone jovial to avoid any discussion about last night. Zuko averted his gaze from me as I walked away from the desk. “What time are we training this evening?” I asked, changing the subject. Zuko stepped to the side as I joined him in the hallway, closing the door behind me.

“Same time as yesterday.” He said as he turned on his heels. “Don’t be late.” Zuko didn’t turn back to look at me before he walked away. As he left out the door, I felt like an elephant climbed on my shoulders and got comfortable as I felt my heart race. I shook my shoulders, but I couldn’t help the unsettling feeling that loomed like a thick cloud over my head.

I trained with Zuko that night, and soon I began to have training sessions with Zuko every day. After our training sessions, he would accompany the walk to our rooms and end the night with a bow. Every time, after closing the door behind me, I would lean heavily against the frame for a moment before looking at the picture I drew of the Avatar.

Should I tell him about my dream? This became the new daily routine for a few moon cycles.

Zuko’s change in behavior had butterflies hatching in my stomach, but I hadn’t been able to shake the dream about the airbender. Tonight, I stared at the sketch that now included the rough details of Zuko’s desk in his room. 

Tonight, the air felt thick in the room, and I couldn’t take another moment of looking at the picture. I covered the image before I quickly threw a thick coat over my shoulders and made my way to the deck. Snow lightly fell from the sky as ice floated by as large chunks in the darken water around the boat. Zuko had mentioned earlier that we were in the waters near the Southern Water Tribe. I climbed the ice-cold steel ladder to the roof over the rooms. I gingerly made my way to the backside of the roof and laid down.

Placing my hands behind my head, I turned my attention to the stars burning brightly in the night sky. The crisp air entering my lungs was reminiscent of the winter air back home, and I felt an overwhelming sense of being homesick wash over me. A lump formed in my throat as tears blurred the edges of my vision as I missed the days were my biggest worry was the score on my waterbending skills demonstration. Blinking my eyes, I welcomed the tears as they slowly slid down the sides of my face and into my hair sprawled on the roof beneath my head. 

I miss home. A heavy sigh left my lips as I closed my eyes. Flashbacks of being under the water caused me to gasp before I placed a hand over the racing organ in my chest. The air in front of me turned ghostly white as whisps of smoke matched with my expirations. I keep telling myself that the dream was just that--a dream. 

“Had to get out too?” A soft voice asked. I looked towards the sound to find a sheepish looking Zuko standing a few feet away from me.

“Sometimes I feel trapped inside those four walls.” I admitted as I extended a hand to pat the ground beside me. “Plus, the sky is so pretty tonight.”

The moon was still casting a dim light on the slightly opaque layer of snow. Stars glistened in the sky around the moon like fireflies in a dark forest.

“I get that.” Zuko said, and I gave Zuko a smile as he laid down on the rooftop near me. Turning my attention back to the stars in the sky, Zuko and I laid in comfortable silence. As I looked up at the stars, I felt my heart start to race as Zuko spoke again. “Aren’t you cold out here?”

“I wouldn’t turn down a blanket.” I said with a lighthearted laugh. “I don’t mind it though. Honestly…” I bit my lip before I dropped my voice to a whisper. “it reminds me of the winters back home.” My heart squeezed in my chest at the feeling of being homesick.

“Do you miss your home?” Zuko’s question made my heart pick up its pace in my chest.

“I do.” The words were honest, but out of curiosity I asked, “Do you?”

Silence greeted my question, and I felt as though my body was pins and needles as the silence seemed to stretch on between us.

“I do.” Zuko’s earnest words made me turn my head to look at him. He laid there with his hands under his head as he stared up at the stars above us. His eyes looked up at the sky, but I could tell he was miles away by the look in his amber eyes. I let his words rest in the air between us for a few moments, but he broke the silence. “I miss the comforts of home.”

Are you opening up to me? The organ in my chest was hopeful while the logical part of my head was full of doubt. 

“Zuko…” His name escaped my lips into the quiet air between us. My heart threatened to burst out of my chest at my audacity. “If anyone can find the Avatar--it’s you.” Silence hung in air between us just long enough for the pins and needles to turn into ants crawling under my skin.

Should I show him the drawing? Tell him about the dream? Zuko scoffed and I turned to look at him. His face openly showed how much the mission has taken its toll on him, and I felt my heart ache for him. I rolled to lay with my head propped on my right hand and gave Zuko a soft smile as he slowly turned his head to look at me. Disbelief shown in the amber eyes as they searched my face for something.

“When I return home with the Avatar, I will be announced as the heir to the throne.” Zuko’s voice was low and level as he spoke. “Father may decide to change his mind about the marriage.” My stomach fell to my feet as his words hung heavily in the silence between us. “He might be inclined to suggest one of the General’s daughters.” I felt the slow cracking of my heart as it realized the gravity of what Zuko said. “There’s a chance I would have to accept the new arrangement.”

Did I miss understand what was going on? Clearing my throat, I broke eye contact with Zuko as I slowly made the transition to sit up. Tears of embarrassment threatened to fall from my eyes as my hair fell and blocked Zuko’s gaze.

“It’s getting a bit to cold out for me.” Standing up, I wrapped my arms around me to keep me warm for effect. “Good night, Prince Zuko.” 

The sound of my heart breaking overwhelmed my ears as I left without for him to respond. Tears slowly slipped down my face as I reached my door. I didn’t hear the door open as Zuko walked into the hallway as I disappeared into my room. Not wanting Zuko to know that I was crying, I held my breath and I closed my eyes. Footsteps approached my door then faded as its owner walked across the hall. I crumbled to my knees as I heard Zuko’s door close shortly after the footsteps stopped.

I don’t know why the thought hadn’t occurred to me until now that there was a chance that someone back in the Fire Nation would be awaiting his potential return home. I should’ve known he would have someone back home waiting for him.

Then why did this hurt so much?

I collected myself off of the floor and moved to sit in the chair at my desk. I lit the candle sitting on the desk and looked at the young boy taunting me from the paper he was penciled on. Taking the page in my hand, I held one corner of the paper over the flame and watched as the fire slowly consumed the picture until nothing but ashes remained. The ashes scattered across the surface of my desk as I blew the candle out then changed and laid down in the bed. Tears rejuvenated their mission to roll down my cheeks as closed my eyes.

Tonight I was sure of something else--I was catching feelings for the unavailable Prince.

Tag List @chevysstuffs @puttyly @ginger24880 @night-fall-moon @junieshohoho @0kauy @coolgirl458 @hypnoticbeing @angelruinz @preeyansha @playboygeniusphilanthropist @ssonni @chi-ara