#fire nation politics

[loveamongdragons]

Don't you find it interesting that Yon Rha, a former commander of the Southern Raiders, presumably a relatively high position in the navy, was living a relatively poor life after he had retired? Now, it could be that his position wasn't as high as I imagine, but it also makes me think that the common people of the Fire nation don't see much of their country's supposed wealth and glory. That military service is not only a consequence of indoctrination and brain-washing, but also a way to escape poverty and experience socioeconomic security, at least for a while.

Which has interesting implications on internal Fire nation politics, the general perception of the regime, and the level of acceptance towards future reforms.

[blluespirit]

Zuko's official defection post-DOBS

I made a post about this here, but I NEED to talk about Zuko defecting more, so here's a deeper dive into Zuko's desertion post-the Day of Black Sun and the crazy impact it could have had on the narrative if only we'd had more time:

In the series before the day of black sun, Zuko had been labeled a traitor, even if he'd not fully committed to the cause yet, but the reason that this is so different and should have had far reaching consequences is because of two things:

Zuko returned home. He was a great propaganda story for Ozai to use in his continued campaign. Despite years banished, ordered to do the impossible, Zuko actually did it. He 'killed' the Avatar and returned home to take his rightful place at his father's side. It's a version of a 'rags to riches' story (except riches to rags to riches and all of it is a lie lol).

The uhhhh... incredibly suspicious circumstances of Zuko leaving. To the outside it looks like this: Zuko 'kills' the Avatar and returns home a hero. Then, when his nation is at it's weakest, the Avatar reveals himself to be alive and leads an invasion right into the capital. Zuko escapes at the same time the Avatar and his companions do. So... Zuko obviously didn't kill the Avatar, and mysteriously disappeared before any consequences could befall him. So, there are several burning questions that people would be desperate to know: What did Zuko do to convince Azula of all people that he really did kill the Avatar? How much did Azula know? Did Aang and Zuko plan for this so they'd have an inside party during the invasion? Did Zuko come home always intending to defect? Regardless of it being true or false would quickly become redundant. The point is that people will talk and react according to what they hear if they see him; most likely it won't be a positive reception with few exceptions.

With all of that, the Gaang must navigate the Fire Nation: the place that hates Zuko the most right now... which says a lot, considering he's the son of the man trying to destroy the world.

Building on what I said in point 1; the smear campaign against would have been dialled up to a thousand. The literal Crown Prince of the Fire Nation defected. You cannot get a more high-profile defector than that. Jeong Jeong's leaving was a big deal, now lets take that and make it so much worse. Ozai would understand that such an event is undoubtably going to stir conversation and thought; and he wants that conversation to be directed in a very particular way. He and his council/generals would know they need to squash any potential rebellion before it can breathe and use Zuko's actions as a reason to become even more patriotic. They'd be doing everything they can to stir up anger, to make them out as the victim - Zuko was corrupted by the Earth Kingdom people since he spent time living among them, eating their roof, wearing their clothes, sleeping in their beds. He can no longer be seen as Fire. Truth would become redundant. Zuko has committed the ultimate betrayal. (I think to Zuko and Mai's interaction at the Boiling Rock prison;

MAI: The warden's my uncle, you idiot. [Zuko facepalms and sighs; Mai shows him a letter.] The truth is, I guess I don't know you. All I get is a letter? You could have at least looked me in the eye when you ripped out my heart. ZUKO: I didn't mean to - MAI: You didn't mean to? [Reading the letter.] "Dear Mai, I'm sorry that you have to find out this way, but I'm leaving." ZUKO: Stop! This isn't about you. This is about the Fire Nation! MAI: [Sarcastically.] Thanks Zuko, that makes me feel all better. [Throws the letter at him.] ZUKO: [Stands up.] Mai, I never wanted to hurt you. But I have to do this to save my country. MAI: Save it? You're betraying your country! ZUKO: That's not how I see it.

Mai's complicated and misguided feelings are all tied up in Zuko, because she's right. She doesn't know him. She thinks he's betraying them all; Zuko is trying to save them all. She fundamentally does not know who he is. When they last knew each other, they were just little children. They're older now, and there's an abyss of experience between them; one of them staying in comfortable familiarity of the Fire Nation, the other falling further and further out of that sphere until eventually he realises the truth. Mai doesn't really love Zuko - she can't, because she doesn't know he is (and vice versa).

Rant aside, I think this energy can be placed to many civilians in the Fire Nation. Although only gone for three years, he was so young when he left, it's unlikely anyone had much of a conceptualisation of him. Now, all people know is this: Zuko was banished for disrespect, he's lack of honour. He 'killed' the Avatar and returned home, only to disappear soon after the Avatar appeared, leading an invasion. That's not much to base an opinion on, and when your surrounded by propaganda, it might be impossible to see through the lies.

We can also some healthy inferencing here to how the Fire Nation would feel about Zuko's action as well by remembering what Iroh and Zuko's first wanted poster read: “Permission is granted to kill them on sight" and that was in Book 1, when Zuko's in-denial treason was pretty tame compared to this. I'd wager the bounty on Zuko's head would be... large. Whether he'd be worth more alive or dead is up to you. I can see the lines falling either way (he's committed an egregious act against his nation: there's either np other option but to kill him, or they want him alive as a big power-play).

Regardless, a bounty on his head makes him a target and not just any target, he's the target. What is he wanted for? Treason of the highest order, that is consistent. The details? Well that depends who you talk to and what poster you read. The point is that each detail creates fear and loathing until only two things are certain, capturing/killing the traitor prince will reward you with a lot of money; helping the traitor will cost you your life.

Lastly; Zuko was the crown prince. Now, he's the traitorous ex-prince allying with the Avatar to overthrow his own country. He's dangerous in a whole new way. Even though Ozai would remove him from the line of succession, it would be clear what the Avatar's ploy here is. Zuko is not just his Firebending teacher, but who he intends to sit on the thrown after he disposes of Ozai

All of this to say, navigating the Fire Nation should have been harder and navigating it with a newly traitorous Zuko should have been terrifying.

[ghanjrho]

A:TLA; how it should have ended.

Recently, I've been on a deep dive into the A:tLA fandom, specifically the Zutara sphere. And that means I've found a lot of long-form meta on the show, it's ending, LoK, script final drafts, you name it. That's all gone in the brain blender, and here's what came out the other side.

Sozin's Comet honestly doesn't change that much; only two real differences.

The magic rock is gone. Instead, we get a flashback to Guru Pathik, and Aang realizes that he has to let go of his attachment to Katara.

The Maiko/Kataang victory laps in the last 5 minutes are gone. Mai and Zuko get a scene where they wish each other well, but acknowledge that they're over. Katara and Aang have a nice moment where they choose friendship. There's love there, but it's Philia, not Eros.

@burst-of-iridescent has a delightful essay series on Zutara, and the part that sticks in my head is that in the run-up to the finale, Aang and Katara are at their least unified. To wit:

In "The Southern Raiders" Aang is preachy, condescending, and more than a little hypocritical about Katara's plan to take vengeance for her mother. The episode ends with Katara explicitly rejecting Aang's belief that Yon Rha was forgiven.

In "The Ember Island Players" Aang is distraught at the idea that EIP!Katara's statements, namely that Aang is like her brother and she's attracted to Zuko, are true. When he questions Real!Katara about this, he responds to her statement that she's confused about her feelings by kissing her. The kiss is not returned. Again, no resolution is had.

Finally, in "Sozin's Comet Part 1" Katara is part of the chorus condemning Aang for refusing to even consider killing Ozai, no matter how many people are at stake. He runs off from the group, and from there disappears into the Spirit World to get Lion-Turtled. Yet again, no resolution, and the two don't reunite until the tea shop.

Now speaking of the Lion Turtles, I'm actually not opposed to them. Yes, they come out of nowhere to deliver an 11th Hour Superpower that handily spares Aang from having to actually make a choice he disagrees with, but at the end of the day it is a kid's show. Nickelodeon was never going to approve a script where Aang killed Ozai. Throw in a little bit of foreshadowing, and I'm good. It's worth noting here that the story of Avatar Wan was supposed to be covered in A:tLA, which would handily cover that requirement.

Now, for the post-canon. We'll start with Fire.

Zuko is NOT left alone in the Fire Nation. Similarly, Iroh does NOT fuck off back to Ba Sing Se.

Toph and Suki stick around. Suki in her canon role as commander of Zuko's Kyoshi Warrior bodyguard, while Toph and Mai use Toph's lie-detection and Mai's insider knowledge to purge threats to the new peace.

Toph eventually goes back to the Earth Kingdom to start a metalbending academy, but first she needs to make sure that her Sparky lives to be the grumpy old man he was born to be.

While Iroh is correct that for political and diplomatic reasons Zuko needs to be Fire Lord, he also bows to the reality that Zuko is plain and simply not ready to be the Fire Lord.

Zuko went from 4th in line to 1st in line basically overnight, and the 5-ish years he spent as Crown Prince were clearly not spent preparing him to succeed Ozai.

So a teenager with a fairly surface-level understanding of "how to monarch" has to self-Reconstruction the Fire Nation, while paying reparations, without having been militarily conquered.

This is how idealists get assassinated. New Plan!

Zuko is crowned Fire Lord. Iroh is his Prince Regent. It's very clear to all involved that Zuko is the one charting the course forward for the Fire Nation, while Iroh is there to convert intent to action, while teaching Zuko how it's done.

It doesn't hurt that Iroh is one of the Fire Nation's most successful military commanders, so the civil war route is a lot riskier for anyone to attempt.

Next, Sokka

Sokka honestly has a pretty good arc in the post-canon. Nothing I really feel the need to correct.

Eventually, Suki is able to hand off her duties in the Fire Nation to someone else and goes home to Kyoshi Island

It’s still home, but it isn’t the same. Or rather, she isn’t the same.

She never leaves the island behind, but it’s usually a stop on the journey from Wolf Cove to Republic City.

Then, Aang

Aang divides his time between Avatar duties and Last Airbender duties.

Avatar duties involve a lot of sitting in on meetings and reminding people that the ultimate goal is peace.

Last Airbender duties involve a lot of teaching Air Acolytes everything he remembers from his childhood. He gets lucky here, though.

The Airbender Genocide wasn't complete. More than a few Air Nomads escaped the Genocide, and hid themselves away. Some in small villages built in remote mountain valleys, others blended into Earth Kingdom settlements.

Plenty of quarter- or eighth-Air Nomad kids running around with airbending potential they never had the knowledge to develop. Think very early Book 1 Katara here.

The result is that a resurgent Air Nation is being formed, with a culture woven from the threads that survived through relics, the refugees, and Aang himself.

Airbenders are still rare, and it's over a decade before another airbender earns their mastery, but it's not his son and his grandkids when Korra comes around.

Finally, Katara

Katara spends a lot of time traveling. She spends time in the South Pole, helping to rebuild and learning Southern Style Waterbending from the released waterbenders. She also travels the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, doing what she can to solve problems.

There are a lot of problems to solve.

Her travels in the Fire Nation are particularly fruitful; word of the Last Agni Kai has spread, so she is known to be the one that the Fire Lord sacrificed himself for, and who healed his wound.

She and Zuko stay in contact, allowing themselves to have a slow-burn courtship.

After a couple of years she moves to Caldera City and starts getting down to seriously courting Zuko, preparing herself for Fire Ladydom.

The year before Iroh is set to retire as Regent, she and Zuko start thinking about the wedding.

There are a lot of potential traditions to uphold, even just between the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation

This goes double for the daughter of the head chieftain of the Southern Water Tribe, and the Fire Lord himself.

They decide to have fun with it and do everything.

Aang presides over a private ceremony, family/close friends only, that is really just a mutual declaration of love and friendship.

Then come the Southern Water traditions. It's the full gamut, with ice-dodging, sacred hunts and more. In the end, Zuko is an honorary member of the Southern Water Tribe, and he and Katara are wed (again).

There's a diplomatic tour through the Earth Kingdom, stopping at Kyoshi, Gaoling, Omashu, Ba Sing Se, the Foggy Swamp the former Fire Colonies, and ending at the Northern Water Tribe. The language used artfully slides over whether the couple is newly married or about to be married, but overall it works well for the Fire Nation's reputation abroad.

The final act is in the Fire Nation. A full Royal Wedding, a grand affair of state, held at high noon on the day of the summer solstice. When all is said and done, Zuko and Katara now rule alone as Fire Lord and Fire Lady.

Alright, I have more, but I'm tired. Tune in next time for the Fire Nation (extended) Royal Family! featuring Steambabies (Found here)

[rontheweaselqueen]

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

It is in his quietest moments that he recalls his father's words. They echo in his mind, a poison and curse. The words etched into the scar very meant to shame him. To stare back at him as a reminder of his failings.

His speaking out of turn at that war meeting was the opening his father had needed.

Not only had Ozai saw an opportunity to make an example out of his son. His saw another opportunity to punish Ursa.

Ozai had sought to punish his son. To root out the softness in him, to stamp out the kind hearted sweet boy he'd been. He sought to erase his mother's presence from his life. He burned him because he could not look at him and not see her.

So he marked him in an effort to erase the woman who was once his wife. The mother of the son who was his bitterest disappointment. The reason it all fell apart.

This revelation does not shock him. From what he knows of their marriage, it had been tumultuous from the very start. From his shuttered memories he knows there were glimpses of happiness.

But grown and matured as he was, he can not help but think about how much of it was true. And how much of it he had blocked out and supplied. He doubts his memories, how much of it had been true? How much had it been false?

His mother had shielded both her children from Ozai's harhness the best she could. Painted a kinder picture in their young minds that left no doubt that their father however distant, loved his family.

And Zuko had believed it, he thinks his sister had too.

But Zuko now has grown and has seen life, all facets of it. And he knows what it is to love someone. To love so deeply that his heart aches from it (his mind goes to the blue eyed waterbender who rests in the adjacent room and sometimes he cant quite believe she is here and loves him just as much as he does her).

He knows now that it hadn't been quite the case for either his parents.

Complicated doesn't quite encompass all what they had, but it's what he tells himself and others.

It transcends something beyond love and hate and he doesn't think he can understand it. He can't fathom ever hurting someone he loves, he can't understand how Ozai could.

He doesn't have his mother's side of it, and that is a bitter thought. He can never ask her.

He doesn't know if it's a blessing to finally know the truth of what happened or another tragedy he must learn to live with. The curse of that knowledge of how much his mother had done, of what she in her desperation had done and what Ozai had done in the end to them all.

And for what? A bid for power for a crown so soaked in blood and fire.

Ozai would see the world burn, and if it came at the cost of his wife and two children than so be it.

For as long as he lives, Zuko doesn't think he'll ever really get over it.

[witchzoe]

We didn't have any democratic movements in the post-war Fire Nation as far as my knowledge of the post-canon stuff goes.

This feels somewhat strange to me, considering that the post-war Fire Nation feels like a place were this could very easily happen.

We know that the previous Firelords mismanagened and neglected parts of the Fire Nation, so some common folk may have some very understandable misgivings with those Firelords. The current administration under Zuko also says, that the previous Firelords were responsible for a lot of suffering and pain. If you suffered under the Firelords for 100 years, you might begin to question if you need a Firelord at all.

Zuko as a Firelord could also embolden those sentiments. He is working to reform the Fire Nation towards a more equal and open society. He supported the election in the former colonies and he supports the United Republic of Nations, a democracy. But Zuko is still an authoritarian absolute monarch. Which begs the question if Zuko possesses the ruthlessness and brutality for the oppression that is necessary to uphold an authoritarian rule?

Zuko's reforms may calm some republican sentiments. It may also embolden them and cause them to turn on Zuko, when the reforms aren't as radical as they had hoped, feeling betrayed by their supposed ally. There are quite a few reason why people might fear that Zuko's reforms won't be able to meet their expectations. Those might be ideological (Zuko is a member of the royal family and the former crown prince), practical (Zuko is a youg and untrained Firelord), related to the inherent dangers of an authoritarian ruler (Zuko already became more authoritarian once in the Smoke&Shadow comics, he could become so again) or related to the volatility of the political climate (If Zuko gets assassinated/couped, what will happen with the already passed reforms?).

Keeping all this in mind, I think a movemnt to turn the Fire Nation into a democracy could easily form. Even more so if the Equalists or the Red Lotus also get involved.

[goldenavenger02]

what if the way you hold me, is actually what's holy?

But he bit his tongue; he knew better, although he and Sokka had been together for five years, it was still too dangerous for both of them to be themselves in the Fire Nation until he was able to get the law overturned.

Part 1: why does it feel like a vow we'll both uphold somehow?

"We have a new plan, but it will need a big distraction. Be in the courtyard in one hour."

"Wait, UGH, Sokka," Zuko spoke in between whispers, dropping the pillow to grab onto the metal armor covering his wrist "Be careful."

Sokka paused for a minute, blinking in silence, but before either of them could say anything, before Zuko could confess about what had been building up inside of him since they arrived at The Boiling Rock, the door clicked and he found himself bound tightly in a headlock.

As he was ushered away by the guards, dreading just what the Warden had planned for him, the mild strain on his neck where Sokka had grabbed him was mild compared to the lovesick pangs in his chest.

…

Zuko found himself huddled on the metal floor of the airship, his knees pulled to his chest, despite the ache in his chest from the pressure, as he processed their escape.

They had made it out because of Mai. He had left Mai in one of the worst ways possible and she still saved their lives. She had chosen him over Azula, and yet, he knew that he could never choose her over his newfound friends.

"You okay?"

He looked up to see Sokka's blue eyes full of concern, helmet discarded but still in the Boiling Rock uniform with a blanket draped over his wrist.

Zuko looked down at his crossed arms and shrugged, "Just thinking."

Sokka paused for a minute, and if he hadn't been able to see his boots, Zuko would have thought he had left the room to let him sit in silence before he let out an awkward cough.

"Anyway, I brought you a blanket, figured you're still cold from the freezer and all."

Zuko looked back up at him; in the chaos of the fight, wrapped tightly in the feeling of Sokka's warm arm clasped tightly around his and pulling him into the trolly, he had forgotten about the hours he had spent in the freezer even though it was the explanation behind the chill that had found itself deep inside of his bones.

"Thanks."

He reached for it, only to raise an eyebrow when Sokka took a step backward to evade his fingertips grasping onto it.

"I told Suki about what you said the Warden said about being his "special prisoner", and she told me that if I didn't make sure you weren't injured, she'd kick my ass."

"I'm not-"

"Zuko, please."

The concern in his ocean-blue eyes was enough for him to relent and pull his knees away from his chest before slowly taking off the paper-thin uniform shirt; it was just bruised ribs, but the gasp that Sokka let out sounded as if it was a fatal stab wound.

Every breath he took in between the gasp and the words made him feel sick to his stomach with guilt; he had been able to fight against countless enemies just a year ago and now he was unable to retaliate even though it felt as though the only person it was hurting was Sokka.

"You were telling me to be careful?" He finally spoke around what sounded like tears as he crouched down beside him, the blanket forgotten as his hand extended toward his chest.

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut and turned away, waiting for the pain to hit him as he clenched his hand in a fist against the metal floor, but instead, he heard a shift that had him turning back to Sokka's face of concern.

"Are you okay with me checking?"

"What?"

"I…I think they're just bruised, but I'm not as good at this stuff as…well, as anyone on this airship, so I need to touch your chest, to make sure they aren't broken," Sokka explained as his hand nervously went to the back of his neck, "but if you want someone else to-"

"No," Zuko cut him off, wincing when his voice sounded strangled, "you need to do it."

"Are you sure? I can get Suki or-"

"Sokka. I trust you."

He was met with the same blank stare that he had received in his cell, the same look that made him want to curl onto himself and wonder why he had spoken, unable to admit to what had been building up inside of him.

But Sokka shook it off once again and extended his hand again, gently resting his fingertips on Zuko's chest; but the sting he had been expecting never came.

The only thing he could feel was the heat in his cheeks starting to thaw the deep-seated cold in his bones.

…

Zuko was silent as he packed his things.

He and Katara had to get moving if they had a chance to stop Azula but for a brief moment, he regretted not asking Sokka.

But he knew that between how flustered he had gotten after walking into his tent the month before, how it made it impossible for him to hold extended eye contact even now without thinking about how good he looked with his hair down.

Not to mention that strong bending, the bending he had seen Katara display, was needed for him to stand a chance.

And then there was Suki; she had saved his life even though he burned down her village and the way he was repaying her was tripping over his own two feet every time Sokka got too close.

Plus the whole Fire Lord thing; even if he was successful, there was a long road awaiting him when he took his place on the throne, a hundred years of war that he had to untangle his nation out of.

The war would be ending for the other nations, but it felt like it was only beginning for the Fire Nation.

"Hey, Zuko?"

Zuko turned to see Sokka standing behind him, just inside the tent flap; he still couldn't look him in the eyes, only able to think of shame and loose hair and jealousy of his girlfriend and a defined collarbone that wasn't meant for him to see.

"Katara and I need to get to the Fire Nation."

"I know, but I need to tell you something impor-"

"I'll keep Katara safe, I promise," he insisted as he wrapped the handle of his satchel over his shoulder and started to walk out, only to feel Sokka grab his wrist to stop him, "what?"

"Just…" Zuko so desperately wanted him to say "Suki and I broke up", he longed for him to reciprocate the feelings he had been feeling for months, but Sokka's hesitation only ended with, "Be careful."

"I will be," he lied, knowing he was going to be as reckless as needed to stop his sister, but still added a "same to you" that he knew Sokka would treat like a promise he swore to keep.

Zuko waited for Sokka's fingers to release his wrist and after climbing aboard Appa and saying goodbye to his uncle, he waited for Sokka to leave first, unable to bring himself to flick the reins without having some idea of what way he, along with Suki and Toph, were going.

…

Knowing that he had won, that Katara was safe thanks to the hit he had taken, didn't do much of anything to quell the agonizing pain radiating from the center of his body.

Despite the burning that made his stomach feel sick, he managed to open his eyes only to be greeted with the harsh onslaught of sunlight.

"Zuko?"

He so desperately wanted to fall back into unconsciousness where there was nothing except peace, but the voice wasn't Katara trying to wake him up to try and soothe the pain again.

Despite the relation, he knew that the ocean blue eyes that looked down at him were not those that belonged to Katara, but her older brother who gently grasped his wrist with what sounded like tears interspersed with his relieved laugh.

"I told you to be careful."

Zuko was filled with questions coming to him despite how foggy he felt, things like "Did we win?" and "Is everyone okay?" but he looked at just how Sokka was hovering over him and managed to speak despite his voice coming out strained.

"Are you in my bed?"

He got an actual laugh that time, the kind that had Sokka rubbing a hand over his face before an explanation finally left his soft lips.

"Katara went to get some rest, she asked me to watch over you," Zuko caught the wince that briefly covered Sokka's face as he adjusted on the mattress and found himself moving to sit up, only for a spike to turn his vision white while hands gently pushed him back down, "easy, I'm fine."

"Liar." Zuko managed to spit out despite fighting his hardest not to fall unconscious again.

"It's a broken leg, I just need to be more careful when I move, unlike someone who might as well still be sparking."

Zuko focused on pulling in deep breaths to let the pain eb away as Sokka laced his fingers around his and continued to speak.

"Toph, Suki, and I took down the entire air fleet and picked up Aang on the way back, but you were in really bad shape when we got here."

"I was gonna ask you," Zuko swallowed, trying to use his salvia to soothe his throat to no avail, "to help me stop Azula."

"You were?"

"At first, but I…" Zuko pulled his eyes away, he couldn't do this to Suki, he didn't want to hurt anyone else even if it cost his own happiness, "I made the right call, I think."

"Yeah, despite my combat skills being on point," Sokka joked as he flexed for a brief minute, "when it comes to keeping people alive, Katara's the best bet. That, and helping build the airships meant I knew how to dismantle them too."

"So, what's your plan?" Zuko asked, finally pulling himself together enough to look back into Sokka's eyes only to get a raised eyebrow of confusion in return, "are you gonna go back home?"

"For a little while, yes, but I don't think I'm gonna stay there, at least for now. I have…other priorities."

"Other priorities?"

"Making sure you don't climb walls again before Katara clears you."

"Do you two think I'm that irresponsible?"

"No, but there's this fancy pants rich guy who wants to bring in an "era of peace" with the Avatar and you being alive really helps the cause."

Zuko couldn't help but laugh despite the renewed sting in his chest, but it died on his lips when he had to remind himself that Sokka wasn't his.

All that did was bring back the lovesick pangs that he had started feeling back on the Boiling Rock.

"Is Suki okay with this?" He found himself asking before he could stop himself, wishing he could have taken it back and not be met with that Agni-damned stare that always made Sokka look even cuter than he already was-

"Suki and I aren't dating anymore."

Oh.

OH.

At that moment, Zuko concluded that he was an idiot.

"She and I had different priorities. She has to rebuild her village and run things while the other warriors recover from prison, meanwhile I," Sokka paused and brushed some of Zuko's loose hair from his forehead, "have to talk to fancy pants rich guy and ask him a very, VERY important question."

Zuko was an idiot, but he wasn't that much of an idiot; he knew that he was the so-called "fancy pants rich guy" and turned his head to look Sokka in the eyes, trying not to choke out his raspy response that came in the form of, "I'm listening."

"Can I kiss you?"

Zuko concluded that he was the biggest idiot in all of the Fire Nation.

His heart pounded in his chest while he managed to nod; in response, two soft, gentle fingers found their way under his jaw and tipped his lips against the ones that tasted like sea salt.

…

Zuko felt as though his head was going to explode.

He knew that was dramatic, that even if he had been faking the migraine three weeks ago that had gotten him out of talking to the Fire Sages, this one was very real and probably a punishment from some spirit that was angry at him for dismissing the sages.

In the first few years of being Fire Lord, he had Sokka, Suki, and Mai on his side, pushing back against this conversation until he turned twenty-one; but his twenty-first birthday had come and gone, Suki no longer was constantly needed in the Fire Nation to keep his security in check now that Tao had been promoted to the head guard and Mai…

Well, he hadn't seen his ex-girlfriend in years, but he assumed that she was either still with Kei Lo in the Fire Nation or had finally been able to confess her feelings to Ty Lee in the solace of Kyoshi Island.

As for Sokka, he had left once the two of them had been cleared for normal activity, only to come back six months later with the title of "head of trade operations" and no sign of leaving the Fire Nation.

At this moment, while he was being forced to endure the conversation that he always knew was coming to impose on his and Sokka's relationship, he assumed that his boyfriend was in one of three places; a meeting of his own, the kitchen, or in his study.

"Fire Lord, you understand the importance of securing an heir and yet, there is no sign of a Fire Lady."

'If you just let me repeal the law on homosexual relationships, then you'd understand the lack of a Fire Lady.' He thought to himself between the throbs in his head.

But he bit his tongue; he knew better, although he and Sokka had been together for five years, it was still too dangerous for both of them to be themselves in the Fire Nation until he was able to get the law overturned.

At this moment, he'd rather be in the South Pole, where they preferred to keep this stuff to themselves but he wouldn't be risking Sokka's life by holding his hand.

Instead, he had to straighten up and explain himself with a lie, "I refuse to have an arranged marriage, and until I find a partner that I am compatible with, I will continue to be unable to secure an heir."

"What about Mai?"

"Mai and I no longer have feelings for each other."

Zuko didn't have to lie about that.

Though their brief reunion after the war had been only platonic, she had agreed to pretend to be his girlfriend and even have his heir if necessary until he could get the law repealed, resulting in the two of them indulging the other one's fantasies about public lives with Sokka and Ty Lee into the late hours of the night.

And then he had fucked it up; he had slipped with Yu Dao, he had gotten so desperate that he had gone to Ozai for advice, and as a result, he had lost one of his best friends and nearly started another war.

Sokka had forgiven him over and over again, and so had the rest of the group that had taken him in when he had given them no reason to do so, but he knew that there was a very real chance that despite coming back to help him save her brother and his sister, he would never see Mai again.

"Would you like us to make you a list of potential options, Fire Lord?"

'So Sokka and I can look through every single one and laugh at how stupid it is that you still won't let me, the ruler of the Fire Nation, decriminalize our relationship?'

"It will not be an arranged relationship," Zuko insisted, knowing that this was the matter that he would dig his heels in and fight on so he could put off marriage until it was with his boyfriend, "if I deem your options acceptable, then I will personally meet with the women and see if there is any sort of connection."

"Very well."

"You are dismissed." Zuko insisted, waiting until the group of sages had made their way out of the throne room before allowing himself to slouch with the bridge of his nose pinched in between his fingers to try and force the headache away.

Until he heard a voice comment, "I'd thought they'd never quit," that had Zuko sitting straight up, only letting his spine relax when he saw Tao's signature light-hearted smile that reminded him all too much of Lu Ten, "do you have any more meetings that cannot be delayed?"

But Zuko already knew what his head guard was asking and what he was risking every time he offered to help him out, to which he would always be grateful; with arguably the least graceful push onto his feet, he found himself eye to eye with the man as he commanded, "take me to my boyfriend, Tao."

He was met with a familiar grin followed by, "As you wish, Fire Lord", which had become the words that allowed Zuko to follow behind him as they traversed the confines of the palace all while he was seeking out his boyfriend like a lovesick deer dog.

Sure enough, Tao stopped just outside of the kitchen to keep watch, but Zuko's stride never broke as he opened the door to see Sokka with an elbow propped on the counter and his other hand as a vessel to hold onto the apple he was taking large bites out of.

They had been dating for five years, but as Sokka wiped a couple of drops of apple juice away from his mouth with his wrist, oblivious to his presence, Zuko found himself falling back in love all over again.

He didn't stop himself from walking over and wrapping his arms around his chest and pressing his face against his neck, taking in the comforting scent of the ocean that had never fully faded and allowing it to slowly work wonders on the pulsating migraine.

"Meetings with the Fire Sages are the worst," he finally muttered when he felt Sokka's fingertips reach over and start gently massaging his throbbing scalp, "they're worried about a Fire Lady."

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I can rock that Kyoshi Warrior skirt; want me to try on some regalia, see if I can pull it off?"

"They're worried about the lack of an heir."

"Oh," Sokka went silent for one, two and then let out a sigh all while his fingers stayed gently tangled in his black hair, "My ability to do that is, well, non-existent. Sorry, babe."

"It's okay."

Sokka stayed silent for a few beats even though the two of them were painfully aware that it was all but okay.

"Do you want to go to our room? Let off some steam?"

"Yes," Zuko nodded against his shoulder before finally lifting his head, "please."

Sokka spun in response, grabbing his hand as the two of them made their way to the room with Tao following in a strong stride behind them, but that didn't matter to Zuko.

All that mattered to him was his boyfriend's warm hands on his hips as they held each other in their arms while his golden eyes gazed into the ocean-blue ones that belonged to the love of his life.

Part 2: throwing my life to the wolves

"So, what are we gonna do?"

Zuko was dreading the gentle but concerned look he had been expecting ever since he rested his forehead on Sokka's shoulder in the kitchen, but as he lay in his bed and the adrenaline had left him with the last of the stress-caused migraine, it was all he could see.

"I don't know," he admitted as he sat up and used his hand to brush away the strands that were sticky with sweat from his forehead, "the sages have been very clear about me getting married before getting that law repelled since it's "not urgent at this time" and I know, I know that I should be focused on Cranefish Town, and continuing to pull our economy out of our military, but…"

Zuko swallowed the sob that he hadn't realized had been building up inside his chest, but before he could raise his wrist to wipe his face, he felt Sokka's gentle, calloused hands reach up and brush away the tears with his thumb.

"I'm sor-"

"Please don't apologize for wanting something good for yourself, Zuko," Sokka cut him off with a soft plea, "you've done so much for the Fire Nation, you can be selfish this one time."

"I want all of my people to be able to marry who they want," he said after pulling in a shaking breath to slow the few tears that seemed determined to leak from his eyes, stopping his words to gently pull Sokka's right hand from his scarred cheek in order to intertwine their fingers together, "but, I would be lying if I said that it wasn't also for us."

Sokka nodded, keeping his fingers interlaced together for a few minutes before he stiffened, a tell-tale sign that the gears in his mind were working on some genius but also flutter-batshit crazy idea.

"What?"

"What about Mai?"

Zuko couldn't stop himself from letting out a scoff of disbelief, "Good luck finding her and if you do find her, well, I hope your knife-dodging skills have gotten a lot better."

"Ouch."

"Need I remind you how much she hates my guts, and rightfully so?"

"Just for a little while, until they let you overturn the law," Sokka explained himself, his insistent hand movements clearly trying to quell any anger that might bubble over, "but you two had that promise to each other, to use the other one to save face. If this works and it gets the law repelled, then it works out for us and her and Ty Lee."

Even though his words confirmed that his boyfriend was still in some consistent contact with Suki about the happenings on Kyoshi Island, Zuko couldn't help but find himself starting to agree with the idea already in his mind.

'It would get the sages off of my back about the heir thing long enough to finally send that law into the ground where it deserves to be.'

"And you're okay with this? Mai and I pretending to be together?"

"Only if you're okay with it," Sokka insisted, pressing his lips against the side of Zuko's head, "unless you know of someone else who we could convince to do it and who the Fire Nation would approve of since you know, the good press will really help your case."

For a split second, Zuko was reminded of a customer in Ba Sing Se with kind eyes who was still a regular at his uncle's tea shop, if his letters were anything to go by, but he couldn't break her heart again.

"Alright, we'll go after Mai," he finally agreed out loud which earned another very tight hug that left him with his face pressed against Sokka's bare collarbone, "but you should probably send Hawky ahead of us so Suki doesn't beat us up on arrival."

…

Getting the approval to leave the Fire Nation with just Sokka hadn't been that hard to get past his advisors; Zuko would be lying if he said he hadn't used the words "potential match" to do so, but it had worked how he had needed it to.

But as he packed his things, he should have guessed that the knock on his door wasn't coming from Sokka making his way in for the night when he said, "You may enter."

Tao didn't even bow before he shut the door and demanded, "With all due respect, Zuko, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"That is no way to speak to your Fire Lord."

"Cut the shit, you know how dangerous it is for you to leave the Fire Nation with no guards."

"Sokka and I are perfectly capable-"

"That is not what I am saying and you know that. I am fully aware that two of the people who helped end the hundred-year war are capable of taking a quick trip to Kyoshi Island," Tao cut him off, effectively getting him to stop folding his clothes, "what I am worried about is an ambush."

"Is there reason to believe that there will be an ambush that you failed to inform me of previously?"

"No, but I know you," Tao rubbed a hand over his face, "I know for a damn fact that if a weapon is pointed at anyone, especially Sokka, the person in the most danger is the Fire Lord with self-sacrificial tendencies."

Zuko didn't have a response to that, and maybe it was because he knew that Tao was right; the thought of Sokka, an expert sword fighter in his own right, being on the business end of an enemy weapon, was enough to make him feel sick to his stomach. It wasn't irrational for Tao to think that he would make an impulsive decision and put himself in front of said weapon.

"What point are you trying to make?" Zuko asked after a couple of silent breaths passed between the two of them.

"Take me with you, as an extra layer of protection."

"You're alright with Sokka and I doing what we please?"

"Like I haven't been helping you do that for the last five years, Fire Lord," Tao responded with his signature smirk that brought some levity to the air after their intense back and forth and allowed Zuko to take a breath before Tao left to stand guard outside of the bedroom door.

His packing efforts slowed as the realization hit him that Tao tagging along would take away from the plans that he had made with Sokka in the night with breathless hopes between kisses.

They hadn't been together the last time they had been to Kyoshi Island, they hadn't even been friends, and even though the two of them had made their separate visits in the years since, they still hadn't gotten to experience the journey as a couple.

Although the head of his royal guard had helped them be together without the entirety of his council knowing for five years, that didn't mean that he wanted a third wheel as they traveled.

And when Sokka made it into bed long after Zuko had snuffed out the candles, with his arms wrapped gently around his waist and his nose nestled gently against the left side of his neck, he knew that he was being read like an open book when Sokka asked, "you okay?"

"Tao's coming with us tomorrow," Zuko said, expecting the same disappointment he was currently feeling, "he's worried about an ambush."

"Makes sense. Are you okay with that?"

"I'm trying to be," Zuko sighed, waiting for him to lift his face from his neck before turning to look into his blue eyes, "just wanted it to be me and you."

"So did I," he paused to intertwine their fingers together, "but I also want you to be safe and if taking Tao is the way to do it, I'm on board."

Zuko couldn't help but smile as he reached his free hand up and rested it just under Sokka's ear, his loose hair getting caught around his thumb for a brief moment, "have I mentioned how much I love you?"

"You could always bring it up again, you know. I don't mean to brag, but I have been told many times that I'm a catc-"

He cut his boyfriend's rambles off by pulling him in by the shirt and pressing his lips against his with a fervency that he hadn't been able to feel through the looming stress of the last few days.

Part 3: am i mad, or bad, or wise?

All Zuko wanted was a glass of water.

He awoke, tangled in sheets and Sokka's arms, with a dry throat and sleep in his eyes that wanted to pull him back into the quiet peace he wasn't accustomed to.

But his thirst demanded to be quenched, forcing him to maneuver around his snoring boyfriend's arms and out of the sheets, only stopping to pull his robe around his waist before exiting toward the kitchen.

The persistent exhaustion he had been feeling for days was the blame for being pulled into the hallway with one hand grabbing his arms tightly and the other one putting a blade to his throat before he even had the chance to make a noise.

"I knew knocking out the guards was the right move," the figure chuckled, pressing harder and harder against the base of his throat, "any last words, ashmaker?"

Zuko swallowed hard against the knife, squeezed his eyes shut, and let his palms burst into flames, using the scream of pain to slip out of the perpetrator's hold.

"You'll pay for that, you bastard!"

The knife shone in the moonlight, jabbing towards him with a wild swing toward his gut that he managed to dodge despite the speed at which it moved.

He shot another flame-filled blast, but the hooded figure was just as fast as he was and dodged it with ease despite the burns on their erratic hands.

Zuko dodged another swing, this one towards the base of the throat, unable to stop himself from thinking 'Where is Tao when you need him?' even though he was painfully aware that the answer was unconscious.

The boomerang made contact with the assailant's head one second after the blade ripped through the expensive fabric and into the skin of his left shoulder, forcing Zuko to his knees with the ferocity of the swing.

"Zuko, did- shit, that's a lot of-!"

His hand instinctively went up, only to pull it back with a wince as the red on his fingers made Sokka's face blur above him with hands gripping tightly onto him and a mouth moving but no words could be heard over the ringing that filled his ears.

Sokka was there; despite the black dots building in his vision, Sokka was there. Zuko couldn't help thinking 'thank Agni' before succumbing to the darkness.

…

"I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son."

"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko."

"I won't fight you."

"You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."

Zuko's breath felt a million miles away as he lifted his hand to his face, expecting to only feel fire and be met with the sickening smell of burnt flesh; he ignored the faraway call of his name, his fingers desperately pressing against the scar.

The scar; the rough, reddish patch of skin that was a permanent part of him, but simultaneously assured him that he was no longer burning.

"Zuko, it's okay," a hand on his wrist, gently pulling his left hand away from his face, the movement sending a sharp pain from his shoulder that had him biting the inside of his cheek for a brief moment until it passed, "it's over."

It wasn't until he carefully turned his head and looked into the shiny, concerned eyes that belonged to Sokka, who was now holding his left hand with both of his, that he was reminded of the events that had led him to lying in the infirmary.

"I knew knocking out your guards was the right move."

"S-Sokka, the guards," he managed to choke out, trying to push himself to sit up to no avail with how tightly his hand was being held, "are they-?"

"You got the worst of it," Sokka cut him off, resting his head against Zuko's hand with a long, shaking breath before looking back up with fresh tears starting to pool in his eyes, "if I hadn't grabbed my boomerang when I got up to check on you-"

"I never thought I'd be so thankful for the boomerang that has nearly knocked my teeth out multiple times."

His attempt at a joke stunned Sokka into a confused silence for a few seconds before he pressed his forehead against Zuko's hand again, this time while pulling in a sniffle that sounded like an attempt to stop crying.

"You scared the shit out of me, you know that?"

"I had a guess."

Sokka pressed a kiss to Zuko's hand before letting it rest on the mattress and wiping his face on his arm, "I'll be back in a bit, okay?"

"Where are you going?"

"The guy under Tao, I think his name is Kaito, he wasn't on duty last night so he's taking over till Tao's back to work," Sokka explained, and Zuko could feel his stomach drop at the mention of the injuries attained by the one guard who had the balls to make sure that Zuko was safe even if it meant going against Zuko's own judgment, "he's interrogating the person who did this and asked for my help."

"Are you gonna beat him up for me?" Zuko couldn't help but joke, desperately trying to break through the thick air of tension in the room with a laugh from his boyfriend.

Sokka responded with an eye roll followed by a quick kiss on the lips that tasted too much like tears for Zuko to melt into it, "get some rest, babe."

Zuko struggled to fall asleep with the guilt for making Sokka cry starting to build in his stomach as he lay alone in the quiet infirmary, unable to keep the thought of 'maybe it's better this way' from clawing into his mind.

…

"-and that's when Kaito realized that he was pissed about the colonies and was mad that King Kuei didn't go through with kicking out everyone of Fire Nation descent."

"The assassin was an Earth bender?" Zuko raised an eyebrow of confusion, knowing that a bender trying to assassinate him was more than likely going to use that skill to their advantage, but relaxed when Sokka shook his head.

"Nope. Earth Kingdom descent, but a non-bender," Sokka clarified before slurping up his noodles, "anyway, Kaito thinks that the injuries and the fact he admitted to it means that he isn't getting out of prison."

"It's just one more failed assassin," he couldn't stop himself from voicing his thoughts, watching as Sokka's smile slowly faded with every word, "there's always more, you know. Someone who's mad at me, or mad at my father, or mad at me for not being like my father-"

"Hey," he was cut off by Sokka setting down the nearly empty bowl by his feet and reaching over to gently grasp his right hand, "I, for one, am so, so glad you did not end up like that flaming piece of ostrich-horse shit."

"You were also glad when I cut my hair even though it meant that I was a fugitive of the Fire Nation."

"And I was right about that, you look so much better now," Zuko couldn't help but look down at his hands and the fading marks that almost every young firebender got when they first wielded their flames while Sokka continued to speak, "but my point is that you are doing the right thing and even though it sucks right now, everything is going to be a lot better for everyone because of what you are doing."

"But what about you?" Sokka stilled against Zuko's hand, forcing him to meet bright blue eyes as he elaborated, "Sokka, my presence is putting you in danger; our relationship aside, your association with me could have gotten you killed-"

"The only reason you aren't dead is because I was here," Sokka cut him off with a snappiness in his tone that stunned him into silence, "if I hadn't gotten up when I did, you would be dead and…" a shudder filled his tone, "Zuko, I cannot lose you too. Okay? If you don't love me anymore, that's different, but I cannot lose you. I cannot lose you like I lost Yue."

"Shit," Zuko swallowed, wiping his own tears on his hand before reaching for Sokka's angry, sorrow-filled tears to brush them from his cheeks, "That's not what I meant. Sokka, I love you so much to the point where I was willing to pretend to date my ex so we could get married one day, and considering Mai is more likely to threaten to slit my throat the next time she sees me, that's saying something."

"Too soon." Sokka shuddered, bringing his attention to the sting against the base of his neck for a brief moment.

"I just don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"I know, and I love that you care so much," Sokka sniffled back the last of his tears as he interlocked their fingers, "but with all due respect, fancy-pants rich guy, unless you have an actual reason to break up with me instead of just trying to push me away because you're scared of other people, you are stuck with me."

"I know."

"No, I'm serious. Boyfriend or not, I'm still your head of trade operations."

Zuko couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief that his effort to push Sokka away had failed before quickly scanning the room for people who would give away his secrets at the first sign of trouble; and when the only witness was the royal healer who had previously told Zuko that her one concern was that he didn't rip any stitches and prolong his recovery, he didn't hesitate to lean forward and press his lips to Sokka's.

And when Sokka gently pressed on the back of his head to bring him closer, he had no choice but to surrender to his will.

Part 4: this cage was once just fine

"Zuko?"

Zuko turned his head to look at Sokka, not wanting to turn onto his still sore shoulder; it had been a few days since he first woke up in the infirmary but despite the around the clock doses of pain relief and now being in his own room again, the stitches in his shoulder and his neck were still sore and wouldn't be coming out for another week.

"Yes?"

"As much as I have enjoyed blowing off my own job to be with you…" he trailed off, gently wrapping an arm around him and letting his hand rest just below the star-shaped scar that was embedded in his chest, "I really do need to get some work done today."

"Last I heard, the Fire Lord isn't up for firing his head of trade operations."

"Yeah, but I need to see if Hawky brought a response from Kyoshi Island about our rescheduling, and I need to get back to my dad about a fur trading thing. It should only be a couple of hours but-"

"Go do your job, Sokka," Zuko cut off his rambling with a quick kiss that made him wince from the angle of his neck, "almost all of the royal guards are patrolling the hall, I'm staying right here."

"Okay," Sokka agreed and rolled out of bed to put on his shirt, "good thing you put me in charge of overseeing emergency meetings, right?"

Zuko swallowed the sudden guilt of the lie he had Kaito tell the guards of why Sokka needed to be in his room emerging; even if it was for his and Sokka's safety, it still made his stomach twist with shame.

"I'll see you in a couple of hours, babe," Sokka insisted, leaning over to press a long kiss to the side of his head before tugging on his shoes and striding out of the room.

Regardless of the circumstances, Zuko couldn't help but smile at the confidence Sokka wielded in his newfound, temporary power; even if he was a little worried about an odd law he may propose, however, he knew deep down that if there was one person he trusted to run the Fire Nation how it deserved to be ran, it was Sokka.

With that in mind, Zuko chose not to focus too hard on it and utilize the rare time where he had zero expectations upon him to slowly pull himself to his feet, pull his robe around himself and carefully bring himself over to the bookcase filled with the scrolls and books that had belonged to his mother in order to pass the time till Sokka returned.

The hours he spent immersed in the fictional world passed quickly, but despite his enjoyment, he was instantly snapped out of it by the sound of the door opening without a knock.

Zuko immediately dropped the book and reached back, grabbing for swords that weren't there and only pulling roughly at the stitches but he kept his eyes open as the intruder strode in; the intruder wasn't an intruder at all, it was Sokka who rushed forward at the sound of pain escaping his lips with a hiss between his teeth.

"You okay?" He asked, guiding his arm to lead him to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he waved him away as he tried to blink the few tears away from his vision, "you didn't knock."

"Yeah, that's on me," Sokka apologized, a look of guilt quickly passing through his ocean-blue eyes before he cleared his throat, "are you up for a visitor?"

"I thought you were handling all of my emergencies."

"I am, but she was very insistent on having a private conversation with the Fire Lord only."

"I'm not sure private is a good idea," Zuko protested with a gesture to the bandage covering the neat row of stitches against his shoulder and near his neck, "or did you forget what happened the last time I was alone?"

"I know, but I trust her," Sokka insisted before turning toward the door, "you can come in."

Zuko wasn't sure who he was expecting to see emerge from the shadows of the hallway, but he knew that he hadn't been expecting the last person who he expected to set foot in the Fire Nation again to approach him with her signature neutral expression settled in her face.

"Hello, Fire Lord."

"Mai." His mouth was dry in an instant as he couldn't stop but wonder how he hadn't seen her in four years and how different the two of them had become but she still looked nearly the same as when she walked out of his life for the last time.

"I'll leave you two to talk." Sokka broke through the tense silence, only stopping to press a quick kiss to the side of Zuko's hair before striding out of the room with that same air of confidence he had been carrying for the last couple of days.

It was only when Sokka shut the door behind him that Mai said the four words that Zuko had been expecting since his boyfriend had mentioned the idea of going to Kyoshi Island.

"What the fuck, Zuko?"

"Mai, I can explain-"

"I am forever indebted to you for helping save Tom-Tom, but with all due respect, the last week has been incredibly odd," she stopped to run a hand over her face, "I walked out of the Fire Nation four years ago. I really didn't want to see you or Kei Lo ever again after everything that happened with Yu Dao and with Azula."

Zuko couldn't even blame her for her grudge, not when he had done the one thing she asked him not to do and shut her out; it didn't matter how much time had passed and how much they had grown, he had betrayed her trust.

"So I followed Ty Lee to Kyoshi Island. I figured that I could at least give the warriors some pointers on how to hide and use more weapons, but it was so freeing to be in a place where it was okay to say that I liked girls and when I finally gathered the courage to tell Ty Lee…"

The flush covering her pale cheeks confirmed it for Zuko, he had seen the same pale flush when they were fifteen and sixteen during his brief return to the Fire Nation and he knew fully well that it meant that Mai had feelings that she was unable to hide no matter how hard she tried.

"And then Suki got a letter announcing that you and Sokka would be arriving to Kyoshi Island for "business matters"," her air quotes made him cringe, her tone instantly replaced the light flush that faded just as quickly as it came on, "my father was a politician, Zuko. I know that "business matters" means that you can't talk about it on paper and with you and Sokka coming together, I highly doubt that the "business matters" had to do with money laundering."

"Mai-" he tried again, hoping that he could get her to listen, but when she cut him off again, her voice was thick with poorly concealed sobs, the same ones he had heard from Sokka just a couple of days before when Zuko awoke in the infirmary.

"And then we got a second letter that said "due to unforeseen circumstances, the Fire Lord will be rescheduling his visit". I also know that "unforeseen circumstances" means that something really bad has happened, so I came here to talk to Sokka," she stopped, letting out a long shudder, "it doesn't matter how mad I am at you, I do not want you dead."

Zuko kept his lips shut as she approached and sat down on the end of his bed, letting her rest her face in her hands for as long as she needed and letting the endless guilt claw in his stomach.

He hadn't seen Mai cry in years, not since she had snuck into the infirmary after his Agni Kai; even though his brief glimpses afterwards were shadowed by pain and fever, he would never be able to forget the look on her face as she tightly grasped his limp hand.

When she finally lifted her head and stood up, her tears had dried but her eyes stayed rimmed with red.

"I know why you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend and I admire the lengths that you are willing to go to for your people to have the freedom that I have on Kyoshi Island, but I can't do that to Ty Lee."

"I understand," Zuko nodded, knowing that this was an outcome he had been expecting ever since Sokka had suggested it, "but thank you, for taking the time to tell me in person."

"Thank you for understanding," Mai nodded as she took a few steps toward the door, only stopping when she wrapped her palm around the handle, "Zuko? The next time you meet with the Fire Sages, exercise a little bit of that power that you have been given. After all, the latest survey on homosexual relationships showed that sixty five percent of Fire Nation citizens were for its legalization."

And just as quickly as Mai had reentered his life, she was gone again.

But unlike the last time, he was not woven tightly in the harsh braid of despair; for the first time in a long time, he was already coming up with a plan that was nearly impossible not to execute perfectly.

Part 5: what if i roll the stone away? they're gonna crucify me anyway

Despite how confident he was in his plan as he sat at the head of the meeting room, Zuko still found his gut twisting with worry when met with the prospect of actually speaking the words he had been rehearsing in his head for weeks as he recovered.

But now that he was once again able to act as Fire Lord and the rest of the guards had recovered from the attempt on his life, he decided to take the advice Mai had given him and exercise his power as ruler of the Fire Nation.

It helped that Sokka was there; while it wasn't at his right hand side which was reserved for the spouse of the Fire Lord, he was still present; Zuko cleared his throat to gain the attention of the various nobles and Fire Sages that sat in the meeting room.

"Thank you, everyone, for attending this very important law making session. I, for one, am pleased to see that all of you could make it."

Various greetings and words of adoration became background noise as it hit his ears, all of his attention being pulled towards Sokka as he sat with a small smile that wouldn't be noticed by anyone except for him.

"This has to go well tomorrow." Zuko sighed as he rested his tense forehead against his palms while finally bringing him to sit at the foot of the bed next to Sokka, who instantly wrapped his arm around his ridgid shoulders.

"It will."

"And what if it doesn't?"

"Then we make a new plan and do it that way. Even if this doesn't work, we always figure it out."

"How are you so confident in this plan?" Zuko finally found himself looking up to gaze into the bright blue eyes he had grown accustomed to seeing full of worry now shining with assurance.

"Because I have confidence in you. After all, not every ruler can help end a hundred year war."

"A lot of them didn't want to end the war, they were profiting off of-"

"Last time I checked, I'm not dating any of those losers." Sokka cut him off with a massive grin, resulting in Zuko finally letting some of the tension ebb away as he turned in order to pull Sokka in and revel in the familiar taste of his lips.

"Our first order of business is a new amendment to our national law that I will allow to be put up to a vote," Zuko found his voice despite the anxiety that coated his mouth in a thick layer of dryness, "as the Fire Lord, I hereby decree that the Fire Nation will no longer criminalize homosexual relationships and in fact, we will legalize marriage between same-sex couples. No longer will someone have to live in fear of life in prison or even execution simply because they love someone of the same sex within the Fire Nation. I vowed that with my reign as Fire Lord, I would usher in an era of change, of peace, of kindness and most importantly in today's session, of love."

He knew that the varying levels of outrage from various nobles and Fire Sages were to be expected, but the pure anger and volatile nature of their shouting still forced him to swallow down the mild disappointment before he held up his hand to signal for silence that he did not receive.

"We are taught from a young age that Agni shines down and blesses all kinds of love; that same sentiment is echoed in our marriage ceremonies, so who are we to deny people of that?"

"All kinds of PURE love, young noble. We have also been taught from a young age that homosexuality is a mockery of what the original Fire Sages held sacred!"

"The Fire Sages under Sozin's rule, when he put these laws in place a hundred years ago!"

"I for one, would like to speak to the person who indoctrinated our Fire Lord to suggest this order in the first place-"

"ENOUGH!" Sokka's shout nearly shook the entire room, but it did more than Zuko's silent hand raise could and for a brief moment, he simply relished in the reprieve.

"You should know better than to shout like that in a Fire Nation law making session, peasant, especially as the Fire Lord's guest."

"First of all, I am the son of the head chieftain of the Southern Water tribe as well as the head of the Fire Nation's trade operations," Sokka's tone managed to stay somewhat light despite the bite in his words to a point where Zuko not only impressive, but incredibly attractive, "and secondly, I know that a lot of you in this room view me as lower than you to the level in which you would consider me one of your servants, that I am simply here as a guest of the Fire Lord, but that is where you are wrong."

"Well then, enlighten us on exactly why you believe you have any power in the nation that is your polar opposite."

"Before I was your head of trade operations, I was the ambassador to the Southern Water tribe. No matter how close I am to the Fire Nation or the Fire Lord himself, my loyalties will always lie with them if I am forced to choose which is a fact that the Fire Lord is aware of and yet, when he was almost assassinated, he chose me to stand in for him, a role typically reserved for relatives or the highest of noblemen. The reasoning as to why was plain and simple for him."

Sokka stopped and made direct contact into Zuko's golden eyes as he continued to speak, ignoring the shouts or anger directed at him from the various seats in the room, every word forcing Zuko to keep the flush from running right to his cheeks.

"Because at the end of the day, he and I see eye to eye on policy. He knew that while he was bedridden and the eventual panic of yet another assassination attempt rippled through the Fire Nation, that I would be the best one to keep a level head and keep the most important decrees going through and the most emergent issues would be handled immediately instead of going to the back burner. At the end of the day, no matter your personal opinions on the subject, keeping people from each other just because they are both male or both female is wrong. I am not asking you to change your own personal beliefs because I know that I cannot force change. But before you cast your vote today, I would like to personally ask all of you one simple question."

Sokka stopped and leaned closer to the edge of his seat, tearing away his eye contact from Zuko and locking eyes with the other voting members in the room before licking his lips and addressing every single one of them.

"How does the addition of this law harm you as an individual?"

The room fell into quiet whispers after that, but when the time finally passed and Zuko asked who was all in favor with his hand raised, he watched as Sokka's hand flew into the air with the same amount of urgency as his own.

And when the hands were counted, announcing the majority had agreed with him, he desperately wanted to run to Sokka; to wrap his arms around him and press his lips to his and celebrate that they had done it, they had indeed won yet another long, exhausting battle.

Instead, Zuko just signed off on the law with the smile that adorned his face like the crown in his top knot never faltering; he knew that he would have to announce his relationship soon, in order for the two of them to truly be free.

But for now, he wanted their relationship to belong to the two of them only for a little bit longer.

If you read this entire fic, then that means you are down here! It means that you read this and thought "yeah, gay rights!" but as we speak, rights for the LGBTQ+ community as well as for anyone who is not a white, straight man in the U.S are in danger due to the 2024 U.S election. If you are 18+, a U.S citizen and registered to vote, I am urging you vote any time between now and November 5th, 2024 at 6 p.m when the polls will close. That being said, bring food and water as it is illegal in some states to give or receive food and water in line. STAY IN LINE. If you are still in line before 6 p.m on November 5th, the poll workers have to let you vote. Don't wear anything that could be taken as political, even if it's your Captain America T-Shirt. And voter intimidation/interference is illegal. If there is someone standing near, around or at your polling place and is harassing you or others to try and keep you from voting, let a poll worker know and if you hear someone discussing plans to do something like light a ballot box on fire, call your non-emergency police line. If it's nothing, you won't be in trouble and if it is something, YOU HELPED PROTECT DEMOCRACY.

When we go to the polls, we are fighting for our rights and when we fight, we win.

[junotter]

Part 2 of my modern avatar au, The Gaang (part 1)

[yourhighness6]

It's funny to me when people insist that "ATLA was really feminist" as if there wasn't really only one feminist message which was the very generic "girls can fight too" spiel that every 2000s show had going on whenever they briefly tried to jump on the feminism bandwagon or whatever

[historyforfuture]

Respect and regards to Free people of Norway who have clear minds and fair hearts

[reasonsforhope]

How can I stay positive regarding the wildfires?

It can be really hard in the face of so much destruction. I don't know how much anyone can specifically stay positive in the face of disasters like this -

but I can give you some thoughts about how to let hope live alongside everything else you're feeling about this, and how to avoid spiraling and remember that this is not proof that we're doomed.

Possibly relevant note lol is that I've lived my whole life in California, so suffice to say figuring out how to move forward among the consequences and destruction of massive wildfires is something I'm definitely not new to.

I remember walking to my classroom in elementary school, about 20 years ago now, and it was literally snowing ash around me. This too shall pass.

Take a few deep breaths. I know it's cliche but it's also important

Zoom out in terms of perspective: Wildfires can make the sky look apocalyptic (like I said, I have lots of experience with this!), but they are regional, and they always end. These wildfires are awful but this specific wave of fires is happening in just one country in a huge, huge world. There's far more land that isn't burning

Canada is about to get substantial international aid in fighting the wildfires - there are already 200 additional firefighters headed over from the US and France, and Canada (Quebec specifically) is also already in talks with Costa Rica, Portugal, and Chile about additional firefighters/resources. Help is on the way and these numbers really will make a big difference, and as the disaster continues (unfortunately it is uh...pretty early in fire season), more help will be sent. People are doing what they can to help, because in the face of disaster, that's what we're wired to do

There are actually MUCH better fire management plans than just about anyone is using, esp in North America but that we COULD implement and increasingly WILL going forward. A lot of the wildfire situation these days is because of the West's incredibly wrongheaded derision toward traditional Indigenous land and ecosystem management practices, including cultural prescribed burns that keep massive wildfires from happening. California in particular is already partnering with several First Nations to revive prescribed burns, to significant success. As fires continue to be terrible, more and more places will get on board with this. We can and will implement practices that will truly change our situation

Cultural burns work because, ironically, the reason for the wildfires is that "is that we've been so good at putting out every fire possible that it has led to overly dense forests and a buildup of burnable material like branches and dry vegetation" that makes wildfires much worse in a number of ways. At lower intensity, however, as with cultural burns, forest fires can actually have huge environmental benefits

Finally, every time a natural disaster happens like this, as awful and destructive as they are, it serves as a wake-up call for thousands of people and adds both ever-mounting urgency and ever-mounting evidence to the importance of fighting climate change, which really does translate into action. For a lot of people, "saving the environment" feels super distant - but you know what feels super immediate? Saving their homes from burning down (or getting flooded or otherwise destroyed, etc. etc.) In 2021, the UN ran the world's largest climate survey, across 1.2 million people and 50 nations, and almost TWO-THIRDS SAID THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS A GLOBAL EMERGENCY THAT WE NEED TO WORK HARDER TO ADDRESS. Imagine that 10 years ago! That other third of people aside, this really is real and massive progress

Also, every time there's a big disaster like this, climate change deniers look more and more baldly ridiculous. Think about it: How often did you hear US Republicans bullshitting about climate change denial 10 years ago? And how often do you hear them doing it now? In fact, there's increasing evidence that Republicans really are shifting on climate change (mind you they're managing to do it in an obnoxiously somehow pro-fossil-fuel way, but it's still a major sea change). Some of them are literally calling for a clean energy transition, and Kevin McCarthy himself (guy in charge of the US House right now) created a task force for to a conservative climate change agenda that acknowledges climate change is real. There's now a conservative climate conference that does active lobbying and a House Conservative Climate Caucus, which somehow has SIXTY MEMBERS. Again, something that would've been unimaginable just six or seven years ago.

Every acre that the fires burn this year is an acre that's pretty guaranteed to not burn next year, for what that's worth. (And I do think it's worth mentioning, esp with such a high number of acres)

The battles are going to be hard, but I truly believe that even the ones we lose often bring us closer to winning the war.

Fires burn, but life always grows back.

[fusionfanatic]

Research for an au fic I’m working on: how would Azula act and behave in a modern setting? And I don’t mean re-imagine her character within a modern context and stories. This isn’t Azula, but she’s an overachieving American high schooler with strict and overbearing parents, or Azula, but she’s the soon-to-be CEO of her father’s multinational conglomerate based in Japan or something. No, I mean how would Azula as she is in canon, Fire nation princess and all, act and behave if you simply just took her from her world and plopped her into [insert current year you’re reading this]?

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The wildfire that burned a third of the buildings in Jasper, Alta., to the ground is now under control, Parks Canada officials announced Saturday. "That means that the wildfire has received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further spread outside the defined perimeter of the fire," Landon Shepherd, a Parks Canada incident commander, told reporters.  The wildfire perimeter is an estimated 278 kilometres, while the area is estimated to be at 32,722 hectares. Smoke and flames will still likely be visible inside the fire's perimeter into early winter, Parks Canada says.

Continue Reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @abpoli

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Season 3 needed more episodes! So much FN politics could have been explored!

i wish that there was more time between the day of black sun and sozin's comet bc zuko's official desertion from the fire nation would have the most insane ripple effects (and it would be nice to see the gaang interacting a bit more than we got but hey i'll take what i can get)

zuko's desertion would have been essentially impossible for the fire nation to bury since it was such a big deal that he returned at all. so i imagine the smear campaign against zuko would have been craaazy. i think it would have been interesting for the gaang to try and deal with that when navigating the FN. zuko would be very recognisable i think at this point, and it would have made staying hidden much harder. would they still have chosen ember island? maybe the kids didn't recognise zuko and azula during The Beach , but with the prince of the fire nation committing treason would there be more wanted posters? would there be more talk around the island? would zuko have to remain hidden while the rest go out and get food?

i wonder if zuko deserting and very meaningly committing his loyalty to the avatar influenced other soldiers in the FN to also desert? or would it have had the opposite effect and made people feel more patriotic since zuko was banished, returned under the guise of having killed the avatar, and then left when aang announced his survival to world during the failed invasion?

SPEAKING OF THAT!! the rumours around this would be INSANE. we know what really happened, but the public don't. did zuko and the avatar plan this so that there would be an inside man during the invasion and then zuko used that chaos to escape? what really happened in ba sing se if zuko didn't kill aang, but azula thought that he did? (again: we, the audience know the truth, but the general public don't). if zuko and the avatar where working together... for how long? was iroh involved somehow since he also disappeared the same time that zuko did? did iroh get captured on purpose to be close to zuko to possibly help him if needed? did zuko break iroh out of jail or did one of the guards or was iroh alone? you could spiral on this as just an average person in the avatar world for years like. if youtube existed in atla imagine the video essays breaking down all the conspiracies

its a kids show so obviously Nothing Bad Happened BUT in the Boiling Rock, zuko getting found out as not only an imposter (already, a very bad situation), a traitor (extremely bad), AND the traitorous (ex) prince of the fire nation (devastatingly terrible) would have been... incredibly dangerous for zuko. in zuko and iroh's original wanted poster, the official translation says “Permission is granted to kill them on sight” and this was before zuko has gone right ahead and committed Treason On Purpose. the warden is not going to be nice. when the warden visits zuko in his cell he literally tells him "If these criminals found out who you are, the traitor prince who let his nation down, why they'd tear you to shreds." the boiling rock would be hell trying to survive. it also puts a lot more weight on zuko refusing to leave sokka in their first escape attempt. also ozai obviously knew that he has his son was in prison bc he... broke in to the prison bc azula was there but then zuko manages to escape with sokka (another imposter) and suki and hakoda (POWs) and chit sang (a prisoner) and two of azula's trusted friends end up in prison for treason as well i just. that is literally insane for the average person to hear about. again, THE CONSPIRACIES!!

when zuko eventually does take the throne there's a lot of conjecture around what zuko did while he was banished and moreso, what he did the second time he left, this time voluntarily. i think zuko's loyalty would be questioned a lot; by other world leaders who are understandably wary about the fire nation and its motivations, but also by its own people - some who believe that zuko is a traitor to his country and is trying to sabotage it since he helped end the war.

idk these are all just me rambling but it would been so interesting to explore the implications of zuko leaving the fire nation and how that would have impacted the gaang and how they interacted with others in their travels. there are so many fic where zuko joins the gaang early, but neither myself with the aus that I have written, nor many that ive read have explored this very much or at all.

[lost-carcosa]

[lazyveran]

About the azutara political marriage u have said katara is a jealous person . I want to ask why do u say katara is super jealous and does katara ever fight ty lee or is it just azula who gets the complains. Also Is azula jealous and possessive with Katara too?

so outside jealous katara being canon (my beloved...) i think in the context of the au katara is only really allowed One Person. azula is her State Mandated Partner and it's extremely frustrating when people, cough ty lee cough, undermine that and make her feel insecure about her position within court. wider, katara is very unsure and insecure about her place in fn culture PERIOD, and ty lee's familiarity with azula is something that challenges her pre-conceived notions (or guesswork) about FN marriage and their social customs around that ect, as well as her own cultural norms when it comes to a married couple.

so it's not fun for katara at all. its confusing, azula's attitude is confusing, and ty lee is also really nice? outside of azula? katara is upset and angry and CONFUSED about all of it. so she goes and yells at azula. multiple times. because ultimately azula should be the one telling ty lee no, as SHE is the one thats married, and so the responsibility falls to her. its all a little excrutiating telling azula her relationships are weird.

azula herself is. weird about her possessiveness. she doesnt percieve anyone below her rank as a threat because, well, in azula's eyes they aren't. shes arrogant like that. she's so used to the court flirting-flattery that if katara is on the recieving end of it, its normal. azula only acts on her possessiveness if its to protect katara's honour, curbing toph and her very... generous... comments, or as egotistical power plays to lord over people that katara is hers, thank you very much. she's also subtly possessive on a day to day basis, trying to dress katara in her household symbols and blues, physical tokens of affection, touching her hair in public, that sort of thing. katara doesnt recognise those little acts until way later into their relationship

[zukosbangtan]

help i was just looking some things up and i ended up on zukos wiki page and girl this guy would have the funniest resume ever lmao

like imagine going through someone's resume and seeing tea shop assistant, fire lord and traitor to the fire nation all listed on the same page lmaooo