#crown prince iroh

[procrastinatingwriting]

There they go,

Two little fire hazards playing pai sho

Zuko tries to make a bold move

Azula plays and her brother's doomed

"That's not fair, you can't do this"!

Says the dum-dum, but she clearly did

"It's not my fault that you're so bad."

And Zuko stomped, very clearly mad.

When practicing katas Azula's mind is clear

When Zuko tries he can only fear

Their father's voice after his serious gaze

Zuko is scolded, Azula is praised.

Azula is said to have a lot of luck

She doesn't see it, but she does want

She's good at bending and receives some praise

But what Zuko has she can only chase.

Two little fire hazards, playing tag

Zuko is happy but Azula's mad

For what or why she doesn't know

But when she strikes her brother knows.

"What's your problem? That's not the game!"

He yells at her when the ducks she maims

"Well, your game's boring so I made a change.

The one who fires more will win this stage."

Mother soon finds out why her lilies are burnt

Azula gets grounded and Zuko gets scolded

She doesn't understand, and it isn't fair

She burnt so much, but her heart is still mad.

Deep in thought she thinks to herself

[tamras-shieldmaiden]

Watch "Uncle Iroh is not Perfect (Avatar: The Last Airbender)" on YouTube

[discordiansamba]

sokka: so let me get this straight- you're the Avatar, and you're a master swordsman? is there anything you're NOT good at?

zuko: well-

katara: his lackluster social skills?

toph: lying?

aang: controlling his temper?

iroh: his tea brewing could certainly use some work...

zuko: ...uh. that, I guess.

[aprettyweirgirl]

after Lin passes away she leaves a significant part of her money to Mako and Bolin, so they never have to struggle ever again

she decided this after the events of the red lotus

[the-badger-mole]

I've sometimes pondered what would have happened in A:tLA if Ozai had just ... choked on a fire flake or something. Fell down the stairs, slipped and knocked himself out in the bathtub, got struck by dry lightning. I'm sure in most cases Azula would seize the opportunity to get herself crowned, but i feel like there's some interesting potential there. Especially if it happened before Zuko got banished, or after the fall of Ba Sing Se.

I think if Ozai died before Zuko's banishment, Iroh would've taken over. Zuko would be his heir, and Azula would resent the fact that she was no longer the golden child. I think Iroh would do his best not to have a golden child between them, but Azula would be essentially going from the court darling to "Zuko's Little Sister" and she wouldn't stand for that. Iroh would try so hard to stop the toxic sibling cycle, but Azula's ambition is a force to be reckoned with. I think she would have just enough people in her ear telling her she'd be a better successor to the throne than either her uncle or brother to cause trouble.

The implication of the show is that Iroh joins the White Lotus sometime between losing Lu Ten and returning to the Fire Nation when Zuko is 13, so Fire Iroh's assent would likely be the end of the war. ATLA would've been a drama about international political intrigue instead of ending a war, I think.

[evilkitten3]

people on the fanon wiki will just straight up announce that they haven't actually watched the show huh

[un-pearable]

everyone can be an iroh parallel if i’m sad enough about it

[peony-pearl]

"I think it suits you. Our top-knots symbolize our honor, and are very important to our everyday image; from our pride, to our families, to our very core. I think with everything you have done for us, you are as Fire Nation as the rest of this camp."

[britcision]

Zuko really quickly pardoning himself for his crimes before he finishes his next sentence

Ok but Zuko using the knowledge he acquired during his banishment to help him as the Fire Lord. Like making small talk with Earth Kingdom dignitaries about their local foods that he enjoyed and even misses. Like having in-depth conversations with his captains about sea currents and navigation. Like, in the middle of a meeting with several high-ranking naval officials, pointing out flails in security, like how a person can cling to a Fire Nation ship for hours at a time, or climb aboard using hatches on the upper decks, or disguise themselves as a lower ranking guard with easily accessible spare armour….

Though none of his experiences can prepare Zuko for the long, awkward silence that comes after he admits to doing or at least knowing something illegal and/or completely buck wild

[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.

[ravenna-reid]

The Jade Ghost

Blue Spirit Zuko x Bloodbender Reader

This story is completely different to what I usually do, but I've been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender lately and really hope ya'll love Zuko as much as I do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was insufferable. Zuko, the crowned prince of the fire nation, was now a fugitive and stuck in some sort of village begging for spare change on the ground with Uncle Iroh. If that wasn't embarrassing enough, those who decided to mock him and his uncle made it all the more worse, the deep, unsettling anger within him turning into an unhinged rage. So he waited.

And when the sun would set and the darkness came to help hide Zuko's doings, he adorned his blue mask. The oxtail sabers in each hand felt good, like he'd gained some sort of control over his situation. Then he'd prowl through the night as though he was a ghost. The Blue Spirit. Taking change and food from those that looked like they had enough, or taking revenge on those that had mocked him or his uncle. He'd swiftly managed to throw one of the men that spat at Iroh into a wooden barrel. Splinters decorated the floor as well as the change the man had taken from them earlier in the day. Zuko grabbed the gold pieces and slipped them into his pocket. As he turned down the street, an opulent looking home being his next target, a blurred figure metres before him quickly caught his attention.

Zuko ducked his head to the side, just missing a dagger as it found its home in the wooden beam beside his head. Zuko turned on his heel to see three hooded men coming his way, armed and ferocious. He was able to swiftly disarm the first thug, throwing him into the wall of a nearby home. The other two put up a better fight. Zuko was focused on pinning the second ones arms, given he happened to be an Earthbender, but focusing his attention on the man almost made him forget the third thug. As Zuko turned and expected the blow to his head, something glinted in the air. Flashed as quick as a light. A swoosh sound came after it and the third man hit the ground hard.

Zuko dealt a devastating strike to the Earthbender before training his attention onto another person. Someone new. Adorned in an emerald green robe, her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, a single gold chop stick running through it. Her face, however, was concealed. An immaculate mask that looked as though it was carved from jade sat on her face, a mask almost similar to Zuko's. Steady eyes watched the third man through the jade mask as she spun a long, gold staff between her fingers. Her eyes flickered up to Zuko though, and he barely caught what she said. "Behind you."

The Earthbender was on his feet and tore two large boulders from the pavement either side of him. Zuko slipped past each boulder as they were thrown at him. After that, Zuko's next movements were a blur as he, the two thugs, and the Jade Ghost all fought relentlessly. She seemed to be helping, so he let her help...for now.

The Earthbender managed to get his first hit of the night and knocked both Zuko and the Jade Ghost to the ground. Zuko was on his feet, ready to attack yet again, but then something happened. Something odd. Something Zuko couldn't explain.

The Earthbender's arms twitched before they tangled together. Then, with an agonising cry he dropped to the ground. Zuko's eyes cut over to the girl that laid beside him. Focus was evident in her eyes as she manoeuvred her hands in a fascinating way. Hand flat, resting in the centre of her face before she lowered her arm and moved it in a wave like formation. Zuko clutched onto his sabers. Felt his hot, laboured breath against his mask. The Earthbender suddenly fell unconscious...and then Zuko realised.

Bloodbending.

The Jade Ghost panted as she got to her feet and picked up her staff. Turning to run, she was met with the ocean blue dragon mask. He was tall, dressed in black, ready for a confrontation as he gripped onto his sabers. The Jade Ghost just stopped herself before bumping into him.

"Who are you?" He asked, tone severe.

"Hey, I'm not asking you questions. Am I?"

"I suggest you answer." He threatened.

"Listening, I've been watching you. You're not bad...you've helped a lot of my people whilst wearing your little mask. Like me. So how about this..."

She slipped down an alleyway and with the shake of his head, Zuko quickly followed. She didn't want a confrontation, not when the sun was soon to rise and she didn't see the man in the mask as a threat.

As she sprinted and took the chance to look over her shoulder, relief spread through her chest. The Blue Spirit wasn't there. But suddenly, he was jumping down from a nearby roof. He grabbed onto her as he dropped down, and the pair tumbled over the ground before coming to a stop. The Jade Ghost tried her staff before it was knocked from her hands. Then, she resorted to using hand-to-hand combat. The strikes were fast and precise, but Zuko was just as fast and precise as her. She slipped his arm behind his back and put him in a hold before he broke out and pinned her against the wall.

Masks centimetres from each other, he leant in to ask another question.

"That was bloodbending, wasn't it?"

"Wanna find out?" She hissed.

His determination faltered. They stood and watched each other, and Zuko felt something he couldn't ignore. What was it? Was he impressed? Was he admiring her? He almost wanted to hit his head against the wall.

Suddenly, a light, green dust was thrown into his face. An irritable itch began in his eyes as he quickly let go of her. And just like that, she slipped away into the night. Just like a ghost. As he tried to search for her, Zuko quickly became annoyed. Dumbfounded. Curious.

Zuko made it back to the sorry place him and his uncle were calling 'home' for a while, hiding his mask and sabers inside of a deep crevice in the house they were staying in.

"Where did you go?" Iroh asked, sipping his fourth cup of tea as he watched his nephew angrily enter the room. The sun was filtering into the room, it's beams warm and welcoming.

"I had to clear my head. Tell me uncle, do you know anything about the Jade Ghost?"

"The Jade Ghost? Hmm," His uncle stroked his beard as he sifted through his memories. "Nope, never heard of him."

"Her." Zuko corrected as he stared out the window and wondered where she went. Who she was. How she learnt to bloodbend.

"Until next time Jade Ghost."

[sanareads]

Is there a fanfic where…Katara feels some kinda way about Zuko putting on her mother’s betrothal necklace on her and doesn’t realize that she considers Zuko her betrothed until Aang tries to pull moves on her and then she offhandedly mentions to Iroh what Zuko did and he tells her that she and Zuko are considered betrothed based on old customs and then they both end up being weird with each other and anyone that shows any romantic interest in them except for each other but are both too dumb to realize they like each other so when Zuko is crowned prince and they want him to get married he says he is already betrothed to get out of having to marry for obligation and so they go through a whole thing where they pretend to be betrothed but then actually get betrothed and fall madly in love and the end?

[dickpuncher420]

nsfw zukka fic recs

@zukkathirst weekend may be over now, but there's still a bunch of smutty fics out there for you to enjoy! if you want to increase your odds of winning the comment contest, why not try showing a bit of love to some older works?

this is only a list of some of my personal favourites—don't be afraid to go digging around for other fics! many of these authors have multiple E-rated fics, so if you enjoyed their work, make sure to check out their profile for more (and leave some more comments! i promise they will love it)

fruity beverages by crosspin, zukkababey | 15k

Against his better judgment, Zuko covers a shift at The Prince and the Fool. Sokka makes it worth his while.

Nip It in the Bud by ranilla_bean | 15k

Zuko gets his nipples pierced for ritual purposes. Sokka needs to get his mouth on them.

hands, knees, please, tangerine by leopardfringe | 7k

Sokka has work to do. Zuko decides that he's going to help out. But as his hands start working on his pant laces, Sokka has a feeling that it's not him that Zuko is trying to help.

nosebleed by nights | 5k

Zuko's worked up after weeks of bickering with his husband, and it takes an entire assassination attempt to break the tension.

Provide by foil | 1.5k

Zuko, recovering from an assault, navigates his sexual relationship with Sokka.

blaze it by architecture_in_f1ll0ry | 9k

Zuko is stressed and overworked and Sokka knows just the solution. Unrelated, Toph keeps getting herself banned from local establishments.

Courtesan by backwheniwrotefic | 2k

“I think,” Sokka says, when it’s late and his face is pressed against Zuko’s bare chest so hard that his cheek squishes up and muffles his voice just a little. “Everyone thinks I’m your courtesan.”

Light in the Dark by Lady_of_the_Flowers | 8k

At least there were still the stars, he thought, gritting his teeth and resuming his slow walk, feet crunching unevenly in the stiff snow. At least there were still the Southern Lights to mark the way home during the black days of deepest winter. It turned out you could get used to anything, even the absence of the moon, with time.

In the Crease by beersforqueers | 3k

Sokka is an NHL goalie and Zuko is the new forward for his team.

An Improbability by HisMomoness | 8k

Sokka must have already said all this on the ride, and he’s repeating it for Zuko’s benefit. It doesn’t have the air of a rehearsed speech, though. Sokka sounds genuinely impressed.  Zuko is foolishly, recklessly, a little bit in love. 

it's too cold for you here by badgerfrog | 5k

Their shitty apartment may be cold, but Sokka and Zuko are well-versed in ways to keep warm.

heat lightning by spqr | 9k

Zuko gets drunk and sexts his roommate, and things escalate from there.

Spare Me the Glow by chronicpainzuko | 70k

Ten years after Fire Lord Iroh takes the throne and ends the war, Crown Prince Zuko travels to Republic City to have his wedding portrait painted by Sokka, a gifted artist struggling to confront his past.

[kyoshi-lesbians]

[ID: A series of GIFs showing the parallels between Azula introducing herself to King Keui in Kyoshi Warrior disguise and Ozai asking Fire Lord Azulon to make him the crown prince over Iroh. The last GIF shows Azula and Zuko peeking through curtains watching Ozai speak to Azulon.]

“I am your humble servant, here to serve you and our nation. Use me.” // "We are the Earth King's humble servants."

[zuko-always-lies]

What a lot of "power-hungry Azula after the throne" takes miss is that Azula was already securely the heir before the series started. Not only was she Ozai's favorite child, but Zuko had already lost his birthright by being banished. Although throughout Book 1 there is a small chance that Zuko might regain Ozai's favor and his status as Crown Prince by capturing the Avatar, at the end of Book 1 Ozai declares Zuko a traitor and has him hunted as a fugitive. From that point on, Zuko regaining Ozai's favor is extremely unlikely, at least without Azula putting her thumbs on the scale. Iroh also theoretically has a claim to the throne, but he has persistently failed to press it, so any direct threat from his corner also seems unlikely, and of course Ozai would never recognize Iroh as his heir.

With Zuko completely disgraced and Iroh a non-threat, the biggest potential threat to Azula's "right to the throne" actually comes from another quarter. If Ozai remarried or took a concubine, their children might threaten Azula's position, especially if they were male. Ozai might even desire a male heir and favor one over Azula. Azula would still have 14 years and many accomplishments on them, but this would still be more dangerous than "traitor Zuko" making his return to grace. However, since Ozai seems to have shown little interest in having more children in the many years since Ursa left, this is strictly a hypothetical threat.

Without these hypothetical half siblings of Azula, Ozai is essentially stuck with her as his heir. Aside from the disgraced Zuko, Ozai has no one other to choose, even if he wanted. There might be some distant relatives of the royal family available, but they would have weak claims and Ozai would have to be truly desperate to choose them over his own, prodigious daughter.

Azula's status as the next Firelord is thus essentially secure at the beginning of Book 2. All she needs to do is keep breathing, not screw up in an absolutely horrific way, and not get her only potential competitor back into her father's favor. Even if she wants the throne, she already essentially has it in the bag. It doesn't make sense for her to do anything particularly crazy or desperate to secure it, or even really expend much energy or thought on an already "solved" problem.

Meanwhile, Zuko desperately wants to be crown prince again but is literally a traitor marked for death, so him doing something crazy to try to regain his "rightful place" makes perfect sense.

[late-draft]

On first glance, this is a funny scene about Iroh making funny faces and dancing. But it was exactly this that left an impact on me because of how hard the humour contrasts with the reality of the situation.

It stayed with me just how much this event probably disturbed Zuko: it wasn't just the stress from being in danger. He was probably appalled that Iroh would lower himself so much, that he would ever allow this; going from the position of once being the crown prince to now, submissively performing for a sneering aggressor on a filthy street in enemy territory, allowing himself to be in danger and not fighting back. (quote unquote)

Zuko certainly felt immense shame, insult and shock. Even second-hand, observing his uncle. Iroh implicitly involved him in this social ladder descent as well with his behaviour. I imagine it would continue to bother Zuko for quite some time, like a heavy bundle of stress he wouldn't know how to get rid of.

(Look at these frames. The framing and pacing tells you everything. The camera moves closer and lingers on him, he doesn't have to say anything.)

Of course, Zuko doesn't understand Iroh's position in this. It's so different from what Zuko has been through that it's normal and logical he wouldn't understand. Iroh has long since let go of pride and arrogance and of looking down on other peoples. He understands the gravity of their situation and he doesn't have arrogance preventing him from doing what he believes is necessary to help him and his nephew survive. Even if it means being a beggar and, I would assume, even taking a beating. In a way, this was also a bit of ad hoc demonstration from him to Zuko on how it's possible to not be overburdened by royal pride. It wasn't specifically a lesson on it, but the event had traces of it.

On a meta level, this scene deals with violence against the homeless. It just shows it existing and doesn't comment on it. It's also a very strong scene that continues the demonstration of both Iroh's and Zuko's characterization.

It then leads with Zuko using force to steal, contrasted to Iroh begging and being thankful for what they receive. He's very forgiving - he doesn't chastise Zuko for theft too much. It wasn't the "defeat" at Ba Sing Se that humbled Iroh (Iroh was never defeated, he withdrew). It was losing Lu Ten and thus learning the actual value of human life, the illusion of separation and kindness. But hand-in-hand with this is that Iroh also always was and stays a very resilient and steadfast person, where he doesn't give in (for the most part) to people who are truly evil and selfish. It's why the "I looked away" stays as one of the things he will always regret. He didn't bend to the bully on the street because he was weak by this point or lost his sense of orientation in the social ladder. No; he sang and performed for a gold coin with full understanding.