#finding all of zuko's insecurities and exploiting them

[discordiansamba]

for years, lan-wei had run the dai li's brainwashing operation.

he did not invent the technique- he inherited it from his predecessor. but he saw in it the potential to do more than just subdue talk of war. the joo dee program had been his idea- to create agents of the city to guide and misdirect their most important guests. long feng had approved it, and lan-wei had eagerly begun work recruiting young woman without family from around the city.

under his guidance, the young woman became carbon copies of each other- carbon copies with different faces. he filled their heads with knowledge of ba sing se until it was the only thing they could remember. the dai li's agenda was their agenda. they need not think about anything else.

but he knew it could be taken further.

the joo dees were imperfect. they were brainwashed as a unit, so they always came off as... unnatural. with time and proper experimentation, he was certain he could make them flawless. but long feng was never interested in his experiments. and thus, lan-wei was never allowed to do as he wished.

until princess azula arrived.

she had called for him, the night after the coup. she had read his reports and was very interested in his work. she asked him, with a smile, if he would like a chance to run a... lengthier experiment. lan-wei smiled at the princess. he would love nothing more. he will only need to acquire a test subject.

"no need," the princess said, "-I have one in mind already."

that was how lan-wei came to be in charge of prince zuko. he was resistant at first- stubborn. the brainwashing refused to take for the longest- but no one could hold out forever. he began with the basics. princess azula wished him to take on the identity he had used in the city- lee the tea server, a simple refugee of common stock. she wanted him to be certain to treat his betters with the utmost respect owed to them.

that is what he delivered.

when lee flawlessly served his once-sister tea, lan-wei knew he had passed the first test. princess azula left ba sing se and returned to the fire nation- and told him to do as he wished with her brother. and so lan-wei did. he would visit lee once every week, shoring up the brainwashing and carefully constructing a new life for him, piece by piece.

taking over the role of his father was a stroke of genius, really.

it was obvious prince zuko craved the affection of his father. lan-wei used that. he became the perfect father. with now unfettered access to the once-prince, he could end each day with a reinforcement session. bit by bit, he transformed prince zuko into lee the tea server, a ba sing se native. a non-bender. a young man whose only true strength lied in domestic tasks. whose only goals in life were to make his father happy, and to do well at his job.

by the time ba sing se once again under the earth king's control, lee was flawless. his masterpiece. lan-wei had created an entirely new person, and that new person began to maintain his own brainwashing, happily throwing himself into his new life and becoming just as much a part of the city as any true ba sing se native. he would not so much as bat an eye when he heard people speak of the missing prince zuko. a missing fire nation prince had nothing to do with him.

but lan-wei knew it could not last forever.

oh, not the brainwashing. even if he left lee completely on his own, he was confident it would not break. he would live the rest of his life as lee, unaware he'd ever been anyone else. rather- he knew it was only a matter of time before someone recognized him. the brainwashing would not break on its own, but with a skilled waterbender's assistance...

lan-wei did not want that to happen. lee was his masterpiece. he wanted to see him grow up and become a fine earth kingdom man. he would start a family, and lan-wei would happily fill the role of grandfather. and once lee was so perfect that not even the most powerful waterbender couldn't return him to his old self, lan-wei would look for his next test subject.

fortunately, he was not alone in that interest.

"lee," lan-wei smiles, "-tell me. do you remember serving tea to princess azula?"

still thinking about the brainwashing au sorry. i truly love putting my guy in situations. sometimes these situations are horrifying.

because. the gaang does have to tell iroh eventually. it goes over as well as you'd expect. at this point they've collectively visited the tea shop several times now, each time gathering more information about 'lee'. they learn he doesn't think he has an uncle, so iroh's likely been erased entirely from his memory too. the gaang naively assumes that lee's 'father' is just someone else who was brainwashed.

iroh goes to ba sing se himself.

alas, he is the fire lord now. he cannot exactly visit a tea shop in the middle ring by himself. it would draw undue attention towards zuko- it is not so impossible that opponents of iroh's might be able to figure out his identity, and use him as a hostage. in his current state, zuko is unlikely to put up much of a fight.

but iroh does have a trick up his sleeve. it's quite the familiar one. iroh arranges with king kuei to have a certain tea shop provide refreshments for a small gathering he is having with the avatar and his friends. the owner is honored to accept- and naturally, she brings lee. he is the best tea server she has ever had.

lee wears his best clothes, and accompanies the owner and a few other members of the staff to the earth palace. he is nervous all the while. being able to serve tea to the earth king's personal guests is a great honor- even if most of those personal guests seem to have begun using the tea shop as a hangout space.

he passes through the gates, and wonders at the feeling of deja-vu it brings. he quickly puts it from his mind and sets to work. the only thought in his mind is that he has to do the owner proud today. they are introduced to their guests, and zuko bows- low and respectful. the avatar and his friends always tell him that he doesn't need to do that, but he continues to do so anyways.

all the more so because the new fire lord is also here.

lee looks up at the man- and can't help but notice that he is staring at him. lee feels his hand twitch, and is grateful it is hidden underneath the sleeve of his robes. he collects himself and sets to serving tea, determined to be as unobtrusive as possible. a servant like himself should be invisible to those above him.

but the fire lord smiles, and asks him if he will not share a cup of tea with him. he would like to get to know the people of the great city of ba sing se. he does not get many chances to speak to people who are not nobility, you see. and if he is being honest, you remind him a bit of his nephew, young man.

oh. he... supposes he might understand the fire lord's interest, then. everyone knows that prince zuko went missing during the war. many think he's dead- likely killed by his sister. lee gathers himself and sits across from the fire lord- but not before giving him another deep, respectful bow.

"i am honored for this opportunity," he tells him, "-please. let me pour the tea."

he begins before the fire lord can stop him. he is not certain why he is so sure the man will, if given the chance. he pours them both a cup of ginseng- he knows it is the fire lord's favorite. he drinks from it with a considering look, and praises the tea maker responsible for the blend.

the fire lord asks if he likes tea.

lee blinks. there's that question again.

of course, he tells him. he does work in a tea shop, after all. he is especially fond of jasmine tea. it's always been his favorite.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Vicarious (Part 31)

Sorry this one took a while to get out, I totally forgot where I was going with that last chapter and had to come up with something new (that hopefully makes sense & feels connected).

Azula can’t say that she has had many encounters with spirits. 

She can’t say that, that is a bad thing. In her case it is probably a lucky thing—she is or was the type of person that spirits could have a field day with. She had her pride and her arrogance. She had her cold and sometimes cruel tendencies. All of the things that spirits love to toy with and manufacture comeuppance for. She could have given Yōeki a vast collection of things to exploit. 

She is sure that he will find something regardless of her more agreeable nature.

His hand is reaching for her, that paralyzing, ever stirring void coming closer and closer. Close enough to make her head throb, close enough for her vision to flare into a vibrant and blurry burst of color. A chaotic whirlwind of tetrachromacy that eludes her just before she can begin to appreciate all of these new colors that she has never seen before. 

And it the aftershock of so much color and light, there is a darkness so deep that it brings a coldness to her fire chakra. 

It is in this darkness that Yōeki dwells, rummaging his fingers through her mind. Combing them through her insecurities and her fears before promptly disregarding them and moving on. Flipping through memories with disinterest until he finds what he is looking for—everything that happened between the giving of his gift and now. 

And upon retracting his spectral fingers, he dips them into something else. Some small and, while not entirely new, freshly awakened corner of her mind. Or maybe it is her very soul that his phantasmal fingers have managed to brush. This something warmer and kinder than that which he had been exploring. 

For a moment she doesn’t recognize it for what it is, this small little green flame. Perhaps she might not have seen it for what it was were the flame not burning on her heart chakra. 

Love.

Azula falls back when Yōeki’s arm pulls back. 

Her mind is humming, that void still swirls in her vision when she closes her eyes, but the world around her is too vibrant for her to keep them open. 

Why wasn’t Sokka affected the way she was? 

Sokka is holding her, calling her name. She can hear him but her lips don’t want to move. She is on the fringes of fading out. She manages a soft little hum. 

“What did you do to her!?” Zuko demands. His voice is a booming explosion in her ears. A headache. 

“I was just having a look.” Yōeki promises. “Your sister has a rather extraordinary mind. There is just the right amount of chaos and confusion, just the right amount of competence and intelligence to open her up to spirits. She can see things that other people can’t. She’s much more susceptible to spirit tampering.” He pauses. “It was remarkably easy to pluck her spirit and displace it, even from a distance.”

An extraordinary mind…

Right now that mind is cloudy and dizzy. 

She finds herself leaning heavily against Sokka. 

He holds her to him and strokes her hair as she fights to maintain alertness. She closes her eyes and allows the dizziness to pass. When she opens her eyes again the world around her is much clearer. Clearer and duller. 

“You are rather different now, aren’t you?” Yōeki asks.

Azula nods. “I suppose.” She doesn’t feel all that different, doesn’t think that she has changed that much. Perhaps a few perspectives and opinions but she likes to think that she isn’t that much different than who she had been. Sokka’s hand stops stroking her hair and comes to grasp her own. Or maybe she is different, more so than she had thought. Maybe she just can’t see it for herself. 

“You don’t quite see things the same way.” Yōeki confirms more to himself. His attention shifts back onto Sokka. “But you? It’s a bit harder to tell. Do you still think that spirits just deal in illusions and exaggerate?”

Sokka gives a shaky laugh. “N-no.” He rubs the back of his head. “You’re a very powerful spirit with really powerful…powers.”

Azula sighs and Katara groans. Hakoda gives him a thumbs up. Zuko pinches the bridge of his nose, flushing as though he was the one who had said it. But Yōeki seems satisfied enough with the answer. It would seem that he is a spirit of pride.

“Why me?” Azula asks, breaking away from Sokka’s embrace. “What did I have anything to do with any of this? I wasn’t even her I was…” truly and completely miserable at the palace, planning her final exit. 

“It’s simple. I got glimpses of you through his memories.” One of his several hands gestures to Sokka. “You intrigued me and it just so happened that you had a desire that I could work with. I’m a shifter you see.” Yōeki blinks and his purple eyes flash blue and then green and then back to purple but the swirling, shifting remains. “I change things, I rearrange them. It’s a hobby of sorts.” He beckons to a dragon maple tree. “That used to be a coconut tree but I tire of coconut trees, there are so many of them.” 

“So there’s a coconut tree in some maple forest?” Azula clarifies. 

“Unless someone has felled it.” Yōeki confirms.

“Don’t you think that that’s cruel?” Katara asks and Sokka flinches. 

“Cruel?” Yōeki gives a lazy roll. “They trees, they will adapt.”

“But that’s not how it’s supposed to be.” Katara protests, leaving Sokka to grit his teeth and hiss her name. Azula starts to wonder what it will be like to deal with Katara in Zuko’s body and Zuko in Katara’s.  “A dragon maple is a dragon maple, a coconut tree is a coconut tree and Azula and Sokka are Azula and Sokka.” 

“Please don’t bring me back into this.” Sokka half whines, half groans. 

“Oh I’m quite done with the two of you?” Five sets of arms raise into five nonchalant shrugs. “I’ve had my fun.” 

“Fun.” Azula says flatly. 

One of his ten arms takes her by the chin and tilts her head up. “Don’t tell me that you didn’t enjoy having a break from yourself for just a little bit.”

“The charm wore off rather quickly.”

“Are you trying to get cursed again?” Sokka throws his hands up. “I learned my lesson!” 

“Relax, Sokka, we’re just having a discussion. I am quite interested to hear why it’s alright to just take souls and swap them around.”

Yōeki withdraws his hand. “I never said that it was alright, princess. I said that it was entertaining. I am a spirit of chaos and your mind.” He taps her head. “Is quite a delight. The both of you are so confused and so conflicted.” 

Azula’s stomach lurches.  

“Your mother was just the same.”

[shortkingzuko]

ATLA Classpect: Azula

Knight of Time

[ID: Three connected images on a light pink background. The first image is Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender. She is hanging from a cliff, wearing military armour, and with her hair down and blowing in the wind. She is smirking at the camera. The second image is a sprite depicting the Knight Class from Homestuck. The blank white spirte is wearing a dark grey cape with a hood, a light grey shirt with a lime green circle on it, and medium grey pants with a lime green stripe down the side. The shows are two-tones red. The final image is a bright red, ten-pronged machine cog on dark crimson background. End of ID]

Brief Overview of Classpects

Class Title: Knight (-)

While the exact placement of Knight on the passive/active spectrum is unknown, however given in-canon descriptions of Knight as being “warriors who exploit their aspects as a weapon”, I’m taking the class to be largely active. One of the most well-known classes, Knights are often important within their player sessions, either working to remedy a failure within a session or helping to create a successful session. 

Canon evidence shows us that the class of Knight may also be connected to insecurity, as all canon Knights have gone to great lengths to try and hide their inner desires and selves. Further, many Knights seem to have a problem with other versions of themselves, either being uncomfortable around other versions, or by arguing directly with past and future selves (Wiki). 

Thus, the links to Azula should already be clear. As a character, Azula is incredibly driven by personal gain. Her attempts at capturing the Gaang, conquering Ba Sing Se, and fighting Zuko come from her desire for acceptance and love from her family, her desire for power, as well from her belief in an imperialist system. While her actions aid her family and the Fire Nation, her primary motivations are interpersonal and individual, matching her alignment with a class that is (speculated to be) active. Further, Azula is a great fighter who uses their power to achieve their goals, as opposed to Aang, a bender who learns from the elements and in turn changes his perspective on the world and his goals. 

Azula also conceals her inner self, hiding behind the fantasy of being a regal, powerful princess who doesn’t need friends, family, or acceptance. She hides her trauma from growing up in an abusive and neglectful home behind an air of grace and apathy, once again aligning her with the knight class. 

Aspect: Time

[A bright red, ten-pronged machine cog on a dark crimson background]

“Those bound to the aspect of Time are fighters, full stop. Their lives are often marked by struggle, not so much because fate has it in for them, but because they are fundamentally incapable of just accepting things as they come. They value action over passive acceptance, even if that may not be the wisest or safest choice. Don't try to tell a Time-bound to sit still and look pretty. They are very goal-focused, and tend to value the destination over the journey, and you won't find them making that journey in any traditional sort of way. To quote cheesy posters found on many a guidance counselor's wall-"impossible is just a word". If you need a miracle, they are who you call. At their best, the Time-bound are empathetic and relentless problem-solvers. At their worst they are ruthless, defensive, and impulsive.” - The Extended Zodiac 

Time is one of the most important aspects within Homestuck. As mentioned above, time-bound players are capable fighters who would rather go down swinging than go down quietly. When the odds are stacked against them, they won’t just lie down to die. Think of Azula’s final battle, how even when chained she tried to fight. 

More important is that ‘at their best’ versus ‘at their worst’. Azula is a problem solver, she’s quick to think on her feet, and she doesn’t stop until she gets her way. She’s as likely to use skill and cunning to win as she is to just participate in a war of attrition - so sure that she’ll last longer than her opponents. In her own way, she also did try to be empathetic towards her friends. She tried to reconnect with Zuko, tried to connect with other kids her own age, but her own goals and trauma prevented her from forming new bonds with others. 

As well, the “at their worst” should speak for itself. Azula is ruthless in a battle, ruthless towards those she deems to be beneath her, and ruthless when she feels she has been betrayed. She got impulsive when she felt like she couldn’t trust anyone too, firing her servants and advisors at random, entering fights without backup and without planning ahead, and biting off more than she could chew in taking care of herself. 

Azula’s goals, personalities, and behaviour in canon closely matches that of a Time-bound player, and further supports the fact that she would be a Knight. 

[potent-cactus-juice]

this was inspired by a post i saw about Aang’s anger

I’m thinking of Aang, and a brown air nomad named Nikhil. He’s chasing anything that looks like family, like home, and Nikhil entices him into a trap where his anger is just heightening internally, minute by minute, and his frustration is growing even more endless. And at the same time, he has to help defeat some big established villain (kinda like Ozai, just pure evil). Nikhil’s a superficially evil character at first, (nonbender, just my preference) who’s being driven by a lifelong goal, and he needs Aang to help him achieve it ‘cause he’s a powerful guy.

And then one day, the bough just breaks. Aang’s become too angry, too tired. He goes apesh!t on the established villain that he is supposed to fight and just epically destroys him and surrounding environment in an awesome battle.

And then everybody loves him for destroying evil, established villain, but Aang is left feeling hollow, and conflicted. He destroyed evil guy, yes, but he also destroyed people’s homes and other stuff. Then Nikhil shows up once again, and Aang, in a moment of weakness, goes with him in a desperate attempt to stick to air nomad ways, after diverting from them so drastically. 

Nikhil starts twisting them, but Aang keeps on correcting him because of his “unbendable spirit”. And then we get *tragic backstory* for Nikhil, because of course, he thought he was the only airbender left behind. It also reveals his pride, and insecurity, showing how much he wishes he could do it himself, instead of Aang.

Aang and him start underlyingly rubbing off of each other, Aang getting more ambitious and creative with the ways he could sustain air nomad cuture, and Nikhil regaining his moral compass. 

*insert the gaang and honorary members, Mai, Ty Lee and Azula (post-redemption arc*

 They have been researching on some big spirit thing, which Aang and Nikhil have been doing as well, Nikhil’s doing it for different reasons. Katara has just been made next chief (something she’s really excited about), after Sokka’s struggle with identity comes to a close. Mai has also ended her epic self-appraisal journey, and has joined the Yuyan Archers as an honorary member, (and she’s super excited to hear about Sokka’s new plans). Zuko has finally learnt how to balance his duties as Fire Lord and his identity, and has gotten confident enough to start to shape a Fire Nation he envisions. Ty Lee’s finally comfortable in the place she is in life, but after this she’s going to take a trip. Azula’s going to come with her, but she is still in the doghouse with Ty Lee, and must find her purpose on her own. Suki’s become more confident in her leadership, and is leading a stronger army, Toph has become close friends with Suki, and Suki’s began teaching her about leadership.

So they all join up once again, and when they reveal to Aang what they have to do, Nikhil realises that Aang and him are still not on the same side. He leaves, and Aang is frustrated, cause he thought they had made some ground. Aang finds him and they consult the airbenders together and Aang and Nikhil learn that Nikhil’s been preserving himself and he’s about to die. Nikhil doesn’t care at all, he just wants to brig them back. He manages to sway Aang to join him, but Aang realises that some matters have to be put to rest.

*cue epic battle with the gaang and everyone there*

Aang makes an air shield, him and Nikhil fight it out in an awesome air nomadic way while shouting passionately at each other (imagine a nonbender nomad fighting an airbender? that would be so freaking cool). Nikhil’s mad, because Aang has the power to restore their family, and Aang is mad at himself and Nikhil, at Nikhil, for wanting to exploit spirit magic, and himself for knowing that he would never do that. Aang eventually convinces Nikhil that it’s not worth it, then they help each other do the spirit thing, cause Aang can’t do it by himself. And then Aang says “ They can’t come here. But you can go.” And Nikhil doesn’t want to leave him alone, but eventually he’s swayed and goes to meet his family. Aang is now alone (that would be the title of the episode). And then he cries, terribly, painfully in fact. Because he knows he could have had his family back. But he knows he’ll be fine.

I just wrote an entire season out of pure boredom, and i have an exam on Monday.

[jbtbas]

ATLA AU

So there’s a lot of ATLA AUs of course, but the main one that’s bouncing around in my head rn is the one Sokka and Katara are the ‘villians’, and YALL can i just say -Scratch anything I was going to write, while researching to formulate my interpretation of the AU I came across Distorted Reality, and OMG. Haven’t even read a single word but I know it’s amazing, and the author decided to keep writing after a decade hiatus, wowza.-

I came across this BEAUTIFUL piece of work by Axxonu and that’s what made me drop everything to find out more. I probably shouldn’t read the spoilers on their tropes page, but let me write down my interpretation before I jump down the rabbit hole that are these beautiful pieces of fanworks.

----

SO i’m trying to recall all the little ideas I had when I was thinking about this a few days ago but the main points are:

The roles are reversed ofc

The fire nation still attacked the SWT but this time they were able to unite and fight back

We now see a united SWT under chief Hakoda

My babies Katara and Sokka are now royalty

Katara is still the sole waterbender of the SWT because the FN got as far capturing/wiping out in this timeline

But that’s how her family is super OP and part of the reason, besides the great leadership and ingenuity of her Papa and Sokka, why they’re able to hold leadership

The NWT isn’t in the fold YET but they are being brought in through an arranged marriage of you guessed it, Sokka and... Hahn, jp Yue ofc

SO in the start of the series S and K are journeying to the NWT for S’s marriage when they come across the avatar

S and K are still their classic selves, just a bit more manipulative and focused on 

Sokka is more developed but still has that underlying insecurity of not living up to his father which will obviously be exploited later on

Katara is also much more developed but without a proper teacher hasn’t reached her full potential yet

I want to say that A NWT teacher was sent to teach her as a sign of good faith

Both sibs will have their charm and leadership though, bending people to their will with subtly instead of brute force

The SWT has become more combative and focused on raiding so lots of ships

The FN turned to attack the NWT(since the SWT was able to fight them off)

The SWT lifted the FN siege on NWT and that’s how the latter became indebted and decided to ally/lowkey unite with the SWT

Also saw a fanart for exiled Zuko and Azula skipping around the world for refuge since their family was dethroned and fell a little in love with the idea

The FN is now reduced to a very fragile state, with their shorelines constantly harassed by the SWT

Idk who’s the avatar yet because love Aangy of course but with how the timeline is turning out Toph is also a strong contender

SO FN is slowly losing the war, they still have their evil motives

SWT is taking the ‘honorable’ route and getting revenge on the FN for what they’ve done

Thought I hate to perpetuate the Dead Mother trope, Kya is still dead

This time it’s Sokka who shares Kya’s last moments and in that split second he’s given a ‘surprise tool that will help us later’

Hakoda will then irrationally blame Sokka for his mother’s death (Sokka should’ve stayed and protected his mom instead of running to get his dad like he was told)

Sokka will eventually get lost during a storm and become separated from his people for the first time in his life

He’ll find it freeing, but at the same time his ideologies run strong 

Clearly this was very WT-centric but if I keep developing this idea I’ll post more

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Ten Sides (Part 33)

I don’t exactly know how to tag this but a warning on this chapter as I feel like some of the language can be unsettling for mental abuse survivors and, though the chapter doesn’t contain sexual harassment, some of the language might be similar? Maybe the best way to but it would be to say that there’s a CW for objectification. 

Normally tears don’t come easily to her, not when she has to induce them herself. It only takes thinking back to the not so distant past to coax them forward. She hates the feeling of his hand on hers as he leads her down the hall. She worries that she is appearing too lucid so she lets herself stumble. The man sighs deeply as though she is an inconvenience. As though that isn’t exactly what he wants. “This way he mumbles.”

She knows the way, he has forced her to walk it so many times now. She knows the way though she hasn’t been down this hall in ages. She didn’t expect to have such a visceral reaction to trekking it once again. It comes like nausea. Her stomach drops and her throat runs dry. This time when she shakes it isn’t drug induced.

He chuckles, “keep walking, it isn’t that hard, we’re almost there.”

Which is all the more reason to come to a standstill but she lets him drag her into the room regardless. He leads her to the surgical table, she can smell the vines, their musky, freshwater odor. It leaves her stomach heaving. Agni, she hates the smell of sea plants...

“Get yourself comfortable.”

He knows well that the chill of the table’s metals offer no comfort at all.

“Since you’ve been a good girl, we won’t use the straps today.”

She waits for him to turn before letting out her sigh of relief. She lays herself back upon the table, staring at the ceiling. The same ceiling she’d been forced to stare at before. She shudders, feeling entirely queasy. For a moment she wonders why she is doing this to herself. For a moment she forgets that this is the only thing that will drive the nightmares from her mind once and for all.

Control. She will let old scenarios play themselves out. They will end the way that she wants them too.

They will if she can stave off the panic that comes with such familiar discomforts. A tear slips from her eye. She hadn’t meant for it to do so.

“You’re pretty when you cry.” He purrs as he fixes the first vine to her forehead. “Do you know that?”

And he will be pretty when he is a smear of blood on the floor.

“You’re better off this way. Trust me, you are. You’re more likable when you’re mindless.” He drums his fingers upon the side of her head. “When I’m done with you I’ll let you go back to your friends. I’m sure that they’ll appreciate my work; they’ll find you much more agreeable.”

It shouldn’t, but somehow it still stings. She realizes then, that she has made a mistake. She has made progress, sure. She has begun to rebuild old friendships and make new ones. But, Agni, she is still riddled with her own innate insecurities and the man has seen enough of her mind to exploit those.

If only she could reassure herself that he is wrong beyond a simple awareness that, even if he isn’t, that she’d rather be resented for her stubborn and unlovable personality than to have it wiped clean to make room for an uncannily sugary one. At least if she is unlikable, she knows that she is still Azula through and through.

“Don’t look so forlorn.” Sangyul chuckles. “You aren’t complete yet. But don’t worry, you will be. I’ll fix you.”  

Her breath hitches in her throat. She needs someone to fix her but, spirits, not him. She needs to fix herself. She will fix herself.

“Now I’ve watched the Avatar do this many times and I think that I’ve found a way to use electricity to activate the vines without the Avatar’s help.” He declares. “We’re going to test that on you. I anticipate this hurting.”

She goes tense.

“If you don’t squirm too much, we won’t need the restraints.” He pushes her back onto the table.

She wonders if she should put a stop to this now. But no. No, that wouldn’t be good enough to drive off the nightmares… She can’t keep her breathing level not when lightning sizzles on his fingertips. She hadn’t realized that he was a lightning bender. She hadn’t realized that he could bend at all. Thank Agni, he doesn’t know that she can also bend again.

The lightning surges through the vines, it tickles her head in the most bitingly unpleasant way. She gives an involuntary whimper and his lips curl into a wicked grin. She closes her eyes and works the current away from her head. She hasn’t exactly mastered redirection yet--it still stings terribly. And the vines on her head glow. He sends a few more bolts before withdrawing a long thin metal stick with a clay handle.

“See, this is going to help me guide the electricity. In theory, the lightning will do for me what the Avatar could do with spirit energy…” He mumbles.  He presses the stick to her forehead and drags the current along. The sensation is tingling, agonizingly so. She can feel tiny fingers of lightning touching the strings of her mind.

She closes her eyes. Eyes that water reflexively. The charge dancing in her mind is much more chaotic than Aang’s touch. When he had entered her mind he had entered with clarity, purpose, the ability to gauge how the colors of her aura were reacting to him. The electrical charge has no such ability. It is erratic, touching the fearful muted blue strands of her aura and dying them an even duller grey a sad grey--the result is anxiety inducing. It bounces back and strikes a different strand green. Guilt and self loathing trickles in.

She squeezes her eyes tighter. Her breathing becoming increasingly erratic. She needs control. She needs to take it back. The electricity has none of the guilt and compassion that Aang had, had. Aang...he no longer needs to touch the threads to dye them shades of red and pink. She takes several deep breaths. It is hard to relax with currents running through her mind, harder still with an enemy in such close proximity and damn near impossible with her mind left so vulnerable. But her mind is still hers. She lets herself burrow back in her mind, retreat into a familiar place. She can hear the rush of water as it slaps against the side of the boat, can feel the wind tugging at her hair. Mostly she can feel the flame of her chakra lapping at her belly, hear it crackling in her ears… It is hers, her chakra, her fire, her mind...

The lightning dances around in her head, but it doesn’t reach any further. It no longer corrupts. It can’t corrupt. Sangyul withdraws the metal rod and steps back. Her body jerks and convulses. Only twice--maybe it has been jerking this whole time. She isn’t sure.

“Now sit up.” He demands.

Dizzy, pained, she obeys. She tries to shake the daze from her head. Spirits, it hurts so terribly. Sangyul brushes a curtain of her hair out of her face. “Good girl.” He comments again. Her ears are ringing. “Now stand.”

She isn’t ready to stand, she thinks that her legs will buckle if she tries.

“Stand.” He growls.

She forces herself to her feet. It takes everything she has to remain upright. “Now,” Sangyul smiles. “Your hair has gotten quite long again…”

She swallows, her stomach lurches. Her tears are very real now and it only seems to delight him more. She knows what he is going to ask of her next. He presses a blade into her palm, it nips her skin and several dots of blood blossom upon it. But this time when she raises the blade, it won’t be to her own face where her scar is tingling with more fury than ever.

.oOo.

He finds her in the corner of the room, legs drawn up to her chest, cheeks stained with tears. Aang stoops down and touches her cheek, she doesn’t move an inch. Her eyes are hollow, dim. He takes her hand, her bloody hand and squeezes it. He runs his free hand over her locks. Locks that are clumped together with drying blood. It is smeared upon her face, her chest. It soaked through her shirt.

“Azula?”

She looks up, wordlessly. Her lips part.

He knew that this whole thing was a bad idea.

She souches forward and he expects her to begin crying into his shoulder. But she doesn’t, despite the soft tremors of her body, she remains quiet. He rubs her back as he takes the blade from her hand.

“Aang, what’s going on?”  Zuko asks.

“It’s over.” Aang replies as he hoists Azula upright. She holds her own weight but still leans very heavily into him. “Sangyul is…” He gestures to the body. Its throat is carved into a smirk as wide as the one that never had a chance to leave his arrogant face.

“Is Azula okay?”

“Azula is fine.” She grumbles.

Zuko clears his throat, “I guess I should have asked you directly, huh?”

Aang squeezes her tighter. “Are you sure that you’re okay you just...you know…”

“Killed a man.” She elaborates. “He needed to die, Avatar. I just…” She pulls back and seems to study his face.

He is fairly certain that he knows what she is looking for and he won’t let her find it; he is afraid but he fights to keep it out of his eyes. He knows what else she is looking for, “I love you, Azula.” His lips brush against her ear.

She swallows and finally she returns his hug. Holding her feels like holding a dragon; dangerous, unpredictable. Unstable. He wishes that he wasn’t afraid.

She won’t hurt him. He knows that she won’t and so he scoops her into his arms. “Are you ready to go home?”

“I can walk on my own, Avatar.”

He wants to remind her that she just went through some sort of hell. Wants to tell her that it isn’t a good idea. But he can’t, not here. Not in this room. “Is that what you want to do?”

She nods.

It is instinctual to ask her if she is sure. But he remembers what she had requested quite a while ago and he resists. Instead he offers, “if you get tired of walking, let me know.”

She nods again. He has a pretty decent feeling that she will end up letting him carry her at least part of the way to the airships.

“I’ll send the imperial firebenders to make the rest of the arrests and I’ll meet you on the airships.” He glances at Azula. “Take care of her, please.”

“She can take care of herself.” Aang replies. He just hopes that she’ll let him help for a change. Her hand tightening around his is it’s own reassurance.