#iroh to the rescue

[the-badger-mole]

The Other Woman: Part 2

Zuko was stunned. In the span of one evening, he'd gone from happily- ecstatically- engaged to the woman of his dreams, to standing alone in his apartment trying to sort out the wreckage of his relationship.

Katara was gone when he finished his talk with his mother. He asked his stepfather and sisters where she'd gone, but Ikem hadn't even noticed she had left. Azula had just rolled her eyes and announced she was about to leave herself. Kiyi, his youngest sister, was the only helpful one there. She had tugged his sleeve and pulled him aside, with her eyes wide in concern.

"Katara left so quickly," she told her brother. "I tried to ask what was wrong, but I don't think she heard me." Zuko frowned at that. His mother's house was away from any major roads, and he had driven them both there. She couldn't have gone far, he thought.

His phone chimed a few moments later. Zuko hurried to unlock his screen to see if Katara had texted him an explanation for her sudden disappearance. It wasn't her texting him, but the ride-share app alerted him that she had just gotten a ride back to the city.

"How rude that woman is," Ursa huffed when she saw Katara was gone. "She could have at least said good night. Zuko, my love, are you sure about her?" Zuko frowned at his phone again. This wasn't like Katara.

He left very shortly after that. Hoping to catch Katara at home when she got out of the car. Ursa had been against it. Giving into Katara's tantrums would set a bad precedence for their marriage, and Ursa hadn't even gotten to serve the dessert she'd spent all day slaving over. But some nameless panic had settled over Zuko. If he didn't go after Katara now, he might not get another chance. Ursa tried to change his mind, pointing out that he'd been drinking (he'd had half a cup of wine) and he should stay the night instead of rushing off after that woman.

He didn't catch Katara as she got home. Zuko got the notification that her ride had reached her destination while he was still ten minutes away from her apartment. Perhaps that should have been a sign to leave her alone, but Zuko couldn't. He double parked his car outside of Katara's apartment building and slipped inside behind a man carrying an armload of grocery bags. The idea of sharing the tiny elevator with the man and possibly being forced to engage in small talk had Zuko walking to the stairs instead. Katara only lived on the fifth floor.

When he reached her door, slightly panting and sweaty, he paused. What was he doing here? He knew Katara well enough to know that she wouldn't appreciate his intrusion right now. She was angry, and he didn't know why, but he knew that when she was angry it was best to give her space. He hesitated. Lifted his hand. He deserved to know why.

It didn't take Katara long to answer the door. It was suspiciously as if she'd been waiting. Her eyes and nose were red, and Zuko realized with a start that she had been crying. His own frustration slipped momentarily and he stepped forward instinctively to comfort, but Katara moved out of reach.

"Why did you leave?" Zuko asked. Katara's eyes flashed angrily.

"I got tired," she spat out.

"Tired?" Zuko blinked in surprise and confusion. "Are you sick?"

"That, too," Katara scoffed. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. She leaned against the door and Zuko thought she was about to close it on him, but instead she turned her gaze up towards him, and he was struck by the anguish he saw there. "Why do you let her treat me that way?"

Zuko's first thought was to ask what she meant. To deny he had any idea what she was talking about. To pretend he hadn't noticed Ursa being any colder than usual. He was walking a thin line. One false move and any chance of him working this out with Katara was gone. And he did want to work this out. He knew he would never find someone he loved as much as he loved her.

"She doesn't mean anything by it," Zuko said, weakly. It was the wrong thing to say. Katara's entire body seemed to shut off towards him. Her face went stony, and her tearful blue eyes turned cold and icy.

"Doesn't she?" Katara scoffed. "She doesn't really think I'm not good enough for you? That you should be with a woman who wants to be a housewife? That I'm coming between your relationship with her?"

"Katara, you have to understand," Zuko pleaded. "After the divorce...after everything with my father...she just wants to make up for what she missed."

"How long do you expect me to put up with that?" Katara demanded. She straightened up and glared at Zuko. "When she tries to disrupt our wedding day, should I just ignore her? When she insults the way I raise our kids, I should just let it slide? When she insults my weight? My family? My culture?"

Zuko was speechless. His mind scrambled, trying to find a defense for his mother, but all he could do was gape at Katara's expectant face. Finally, she broke the silence. Her face crumpled and fresh tears sprang to her eyes.

"I love you, Zuko," she said, slipping the engagement ring off of her finger. "But I can't compete with your mother for the rest of my life. And I won't stay quiet while she insults me." She pressed the ring into his palm and closed his fingers around it. Then impulsively, she leaned up and kissed his cheek. Before Zuko could gather himself and plead his case, Katara shut the door. A moment later he heard the lock click into place.

He could still enter, if he wanted. He had a key to her apartment, after all. Instead, he turned away numbly, and shuffled to the elevator. He didn't remember driving home, or pulling into his parking spot, or anything of his journey home until he found himself leaning against his door. He couldn't even recall how long he'd been standing there. Finally, Zuko came out of his fog enough to pull the ring out of his pocket and stare at it. She'd actually given it back to him. She'd actually ended things.

Pain sat like a weight in Zuko's chest. He wanted desperately to cry, but all that would come out were sharp, ragged gasps. He didn't want to be alone just then, but he didn't know who to call. His best friend, Sokka, was Katara's brother. If he knew about the break up, then the chances were high that he'd be heading towards his sister's place before he came to see Zuko. For the briefest moment, he considered calling his mother, but the thought of Ursa being happy about the breakup stopped him. That left one more person.

"Jasmine Dragon Tea Shop," Iroh answered cheerfully. "How can I help you?" Zuko froze, breathing heavily into the phone. Iroh spoke again, his voice a mix of confusion and annoyance, "Hello?"

"...Uncle," Zuko managed to get out before the first sob escaped him.

"I'm on my way."

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

[psalm40speakstome]

Avatar The Last Airbender(Netflix). Episode Four.

Crying in my bed about Zuko and Uncle Iroh…

[the-genius-az]

Dragon!Azula is my beloved (especially in this AU).

In this AU she joins the Gaang and is NOT pleased by the fellow Fire Nation royals hunting them. Sure, Zuko's never that much of a threat (Azula is way more worried about what Iroh can do), but he keeps her on edge. Even before Azula officially claims the Gaang, they're already hers from the moment they are like "oh, nice dragon, you're our friend now".

It's pretty simple to understand why Ursa leaves Zuko for Azula: dragon lizard brain. In the moment a claimed one is in danger, nothing else matters. Azula is in immediate danger, Zuko is in potential danger, a dragon's brain will always focus on immediate danger.

So Ursa's need to protect Azula overrides everything else.

(I'm writing a oneshot about it, it's taking a while because the series so far is mostly in Katara's POV and I never wrote Ursa's POV.)

- Ash 🔥🍌

Thanks for this, Ash!

Even before Azula officially claims the Gaang, they're already hers from the moment they are like "oh, nice dragon, you're our friend now".

They are so cute! I think it's cool how everyone claims each other as their own.

Azula is in immediate danger, Zuko is in potential danger, a dragon's brain will always focus on immediate danger.

Yeah, that makes sense, although it seems weird to me because she left Zuko.

So Ursa's need to protect Azula overrides everything else.

He should have killed Azulon and Ozai, but desperate situations require desperate decisions.

I'm writing a oneshot about it.

I know! I will read it later if I have time.

[orangepanic]

"I heard you fed Miss Sato garbage and let her sleep on the ground by herself. I'm here to correct the situation."

[minibagelqueen]

So, bear with me here...

What if Zuko got an attack of conscience on the way back to the Fire Nation, after Azula attacked Aang? After breaking Uncle out of the brig, and fleeing in a rowboat a great storm tossed him into the waves. Iroh desperately searched and called for him in the broiling foam and prayed to Agni to save him as he couldn't. Agni answered his prayers and ensured their warrior washed up safely on an island that would sustain him. Later Agni came to Iroh in a dream and told him he needed to find the Avatar. Zuko would be okay. But the Avatar needed a teacher. So Iroh trusted the Gods and the Spirits and set out to find the Avatar.

And what if during Aang's recovery on the stolen Fire Nation ship they were discovered and attacked. In the fray and in saving his Father's life, Sokka was thrown overboard? Aang, weakened from Azula's attack couldn't try and rescue Sokka. Katara dove in but couldn't find him. So Aang asked for Yue's help. She saved Sokka, sending him to an island where he could survive.

If the sun and the moon just happened to plot that this was the same island for both Zuko and Sokka... Well, that's just a coincidence only...

Be prepared for sporadic, inconsistent and random, aged-up, 'Wrecked' pictures. NSFW pictures are due and I just have to find the right platform for that... Perhaps my AO3...🤔 But anyway... Keep a look out! I will link (I am diving deep and never coming up for a breath in my renewed obsession of these two)

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Can you give examples of Aang showing Empathy? Oh wait, you can't.

Actually, I can - because unlike you, I base my opinion of the characters on the actual stuff that happened in the story, not the bad faith takes dumb people on the internet come up with.

Zuko literally only survived past book 1 because Aang was the ONLY person amongst the heroes that gave a single fuck about his well-being. Aang offered to be FRIENDS with him as early as episode 13, even though this dude is trying to kidnap him.

In the first damn episode we see him realize and try to remedy Katara's struggle with no longer being able to act like a kid and have fun. He wants to travel with her so SHE gets to learn waterbending. He willingly lets Zuko take him into his ship because he understood that a conflict could lead to the people of the water tribe getting hurt or killed.

In Warriors of Kyoshi he apologizes to Katara for letting all the praise and admiration go to this head. He makes sure to put out the fires Zuko and his crew started in Suki's village.

He tries to help remedy the Hei-Bai situation, even though he is unsure of himself and even scared, because he knows he is the only one that has any chance of helping - and the thing that allows him to connect with Hei-Bai is the fact that he is ALSO upset about the destruction the Fire Nation has caused AND hopeful that the world would eventually heal.

He thinks Jet is awesome because he wants to help people that are being oppressed by the Fire Nation - and then is horrified when he finds out his intension is to "free" them by killing everyone

He wants to help the two rival groups not only safely cross the Great Divide, but also stop hating each other.

He confesses that he hid the map to Hakoda because Bato, Katara and Sokka are showing how much they appreciate and trust him and he feels unworthy of it after what he did because he knows it'd hurt him if the roles were reversed.

He is so devastated by the fact that he ACCIDENTALLY hurt Katara that he swears to never firebend again. He is also able to recognize the same principle behind his mistake in Zhao's fighting style, allowing him to win the battle against the bastard.

He accepts the fact that the Northern Air Temple is now occupied by people who not only don't belong to his culture but also don't understand it and unknowingly destroyed something sacred to him (and that one of them had been forced to make weapons for the Fire Nation) because these people have nowhere else to go and he doesn't want them to suffer.

He is furious at Pakku for refusing to teach Katara waterbending, because he knows how much it'd mean to her and how unfair it is that she can't learn it just because of her gender.

He is so devastated by the death of the Moon Spirit that the Ocean Spirit latches onto him to avenge it and save the day - and the leve of destruction it causes haunts Aang, even though the violence was against his enemies. And still, he tries to go into the Avatar state again because people are dying and he can't accept that.

After the fall of Omashu, he wants to rescue Bumi, not because he needs a teacher, but because they're friends.

He felt empathy for Toph when she was explaining to her parents how lonely and unappriacted their over-protection made her feel.

He and Katara both feel bad for snapping at Toph during "The Chase" and wanted to apologize for not understanding that being part of a group was a radical change to her, even though she had refused to even try. He also didn't have a problem with fighting alongside Zuko and Iroh against Azula, AND he looked concerned when Iroh was injured.

After Katara comments on the fact he called Toph Sifu but not her, he calls her Sifu while bowing, to show that he respects her both as his master and friend.

The hopelessness and downright depression he was feeling after Appa was stolen only starts healing because he saw a couple being happy with their newborn baby - the same couple he decided to help cross the Serpent's Pass, even though he and his friends had just been allowed to take a much safer route to Ba Sing Se.

His understanding and sympathy towards Jet, even after everything the guy did, was so strong that it freed him from literal brainwashing.

He doesn't want to push his love for Katara aside to gain power because he cares about her too much - and then does it anyway because, even though not making her his main focus 24/7 offers the risk of her being hurt, him neglecting his mission guarantees she'll get hurt.

He is devastated to learn that the world thinks he is dead because he knows he was everyone's last hope - and yet in the end he still accepts the burden of failure because he understood that, at that moment, everyone would be safer if no one else knew he was still alive.

He goes to a Fire Nation school and bonds with the kids, wanting to give them a taste of freedom and joy, as well as trying to understand what the war is like from their perspective. The same episode also has him pull Katara for a dance because he noticed she was feeling left out.

The boy felt empathy for, and understood the mistakes of, both Ruko and Sozin. SOZIN. Aang could see the humanity in the monster that is responsible for him losing his entire culture and everyone he loved.

When Zuko spoke about wanting to control his impulses so he wouldn't accidentally hurt anyone, Aang explicitly connected with that struggle and saw them being teacher and student as fate, and Zuko agreed because that's how deep their connection was.

Aang is not happy about Katara wanting to murder a man, but he still lets her take Appa on her mission and is not disapproving when she ultimately spares the guy but does not forgive him and makes it clear she never will.

He feels empathy for freaking Ozai, to the point that refuses to kill the guy - even as he has the balls to say that Aang's family, his people, deserved to die. He spared that guy - but only after he had a way to do that without it meaning the death of more innocents. Aang, the pacifist, was going to turn his back on everything he believed in just to avoid more human suffering.

So yeah, miss me with your bullshit and don't come back until your brain is developed enough to understand a cartoon aimed at kindergarterners.

[prying-pandora666]

“Zuko Never Wanted To Kill Anyone”

Zuko tried to kill Suki. He fired a shot that would’ve fried her to a crisp when she was down on the ground. The only reason she lived was because Sokka deflected it.

Zuko drove his ship into the ice in the SWT, nearly running over several children. One child almost fell between the cracked ice and had to be rescued. That would’ve been a death sentence. Zuko didn’t care.

Zuko repeatedly burns down or causes serious damage to villages with people living inside them. Including children.

He tells his own crew members that their lives done matter, only his goals, and forces them to steer into a dangerous storm that could’ve gotten them all killed.

He violently robs civilians when he is on the streets. And not only out of desperation, but also for luxury items he feels entitled to.

Even as a small child, he laughed at his uncle’s joke about burning the largest civilian city in the world to the ground. While he’s actively seizing it and no one can get out.

Zuko betrays his own uncle to his nation, knowing he has been branded a traitor and may well be executed if not imprisoned for life in horrible conditions that will surely lead to premature death. In one of the comics Zuko is told that Iroh may not even survive the trip home. He still goes through with it.

He hired an assassin, behind everyone’s backs so it wasn’t even being done in service as a soldier for his nation, to murder Aang just to protect his own social status and his father’s approval.

He goaded Aang on to kill his father and mocked Aang for wanting a non-homicidal solution.

He crashed his sister’s coronation—not aware that she has banished everyone, mind you, so he could be walking into a highly protected fortress and potentially have to kill his way through soldiers and servants—and challenges his sister to an honor duel. He does this precisely because he recognizes she is mentally unwell and that he can exploit this.

He goaded his sister into shooting lightning at him. Lightning which is lethal. While she’s comet boosted. Just so he can risk his life because a small mistake could fry his heart. So he can redirect it… nowhere? Potentially multiple times as she can possibly chain lightning while comet boosted. Why? What possible reason could he have to put himself in such a dangerous and fruitless scenario?

He was trying to kill her. Zuko has never been against killing.

He just changed sides.

And before you say “but he redeemed! He changed!” Yes.

I do know he changed. It’s what makes his arc so powerful. The fact that he was so willing to kill and invested in the war.

But he is still learning and he clearly didn’t realize that trying to kill his sister was wrong until she was chained up and sobbing. Only then did he finally see through Ozai’s manipulation pitting them against each other. She was never a monster. She wasn’t just the embodiment of everything he had failed to do, not just a living obstacle to overcome. She was also dad’s victim.

And in doing so, Zuko finally breaks the cycle of “brother killing brother” in their family that Iroh warned about.

It’s an incredible redemption story.

It only works if we admit Zuko was once a villain who did bad things and had selfish and sometimes cruel intent.

[ladyloveandjustice]

I watched a compilation of clips of live action Zuko scenes (mostly with Iroh) because I think the actor they chose for Zuko is great and I still think he's great, but as someone who recently binged the cartoon, it's really interesting me the way they sanded off the rough edges of Zuko's relationship with Iroh, and the way it sort of damages the characters and the plot...and it makes me think of reoccurring issues in media and how the approach characters (which is exacerbated by the fans who jump the gun and think characters doing unlikeable things or being problematic means the story endorses these thing and that it makes them bad characters)

There's an intense fear of making Zuko too "unlikeable" in the live action, and that really shows in the way they play his relationship with Iroh. In the cartoon, Zuko is honestly downright nasty to Iroh a lot of the time. He's mean! He takes out his anger on Iroh a lot! A good two thirds of their interactions in the first two seasons involve Zuko being frustrated, complaining, or even directly being aggressive towards him.

He has a lot of genuinely cruel moments. You (or maybe just I) can weirdly forgive him more for hunting Aang because he's doing it for a sympathetic, heartwrenching reason even though it is bad and he's wrong. But there's no reason or goal in him being mean to his uncle, it's simply that he's an angry, traumatized, scared teenager and his uncle is someone he can safely take that out on, because Iroh has the patience of a saint and will always forgive him.

And when Iroh tries to push him to realize that chasing after his father's love is futile, he gets downright vicious, calling him selfish, shallow, lazy, jealous of his brother, he just goes right for the jugular because he's so afraid of what Iroh's telling him, he doesn't want to hear it so much that he'll lash out at him as hard as he can to get him to stop, and also to convince himself that Iroh doesn't know what he's talking about.

Zuko is not a nice person for a good chunk of the series, and that includes his relationship with the one person who unfailingly loves and supports him, who's pretty much given up a comfortable like just to help and look after him, and I think that's important. It means he actually needs a redemption arc. It gives his guilt about how he treated Iroh later on weight. And the fact the series allows Zuko to be truly nasty but we still root for him shows how good the writing is. Because despite all that, we can still see the good inside him, we want him to be a better person.

And in the show, in the beginning, Zuko shows those sparks of good slowly. Which allows the audience to feel real tension in not knowing what he'll do. Take that episode in season 1 where Iroh is captured...the viewer genuinely does not know what Zuko will do from what we've seen so far. When he says he'll leave without Iroh, as a viewer, you wonder if he might do it because he's often so mean to Iroh. But it's clear that Iroh knows Zuko's threats are totally empty and he would never leave without him, he's not worried at all when he misses the deadline, and he also knows that Zuko will be coming to rescue him. But the audience doesn't necessarily know that at this point in the series, so when Zuko not only doesn't leave without him, but goes to rescue him and even gives up his chance to capture the Avatar to do so, it's new information for the audience. We see this kid genuinely loves his uncle, and is even willing to sacrifice a chance at the thing he wants most in the world to save him. I think it's that moment that Zuko officially becomes a sympathetic character (It was hinted at with his refusal to kill Zhao and his clear happiness when Iroh praises him, but it becomes concrete here), since we still don't know his backstory yet.

When it happens in the live action though, it's not new information though, and not just because I've watched the original . It's because they never allowed Zuko to be really unlikeable. He's not that mean to Iroh in this version, it's clear from the beginning he loves and respects him. They even have the moment where Zuko sees Appa happen AFTER he's already risked his life to save Iroh, so there's no suspense, of course he's not going to abandon his injured uncle to chase Aang, we already know he'll put himself on the line to save him. It doesn't have any impact because the audience is never allowed to question whether Zuko cares.

And this hesitation to make Zuko be mean to his uncle has ripple effects on the story the live action is unwilling to deal with- it damages Iroh as the character and makes his actions not make sense. Because if Zuko actually listens to Iroh and consistently respects him, why doesn't Iroh just work harder at trying to get him to stop trying to please his abusive father, to stop hunting the Avatar? it seems like he'd be willing to listen with enough work. Live action Aang even questions this and Iroh just. doesn't answer him. Blows it off. As Big Joel points out in his video, it becomes a baffling moment.

But it's clear to me why he doesn't push Zuko harder in the cartoon. The idea that his father's love is attainable and he just needs to get it back, that he can capture the Avatar and regain the family he lost, that this is the right thing to do...it's pretty much what's keeping Zuko going. If Zuko doesn't have that, he might give up on life entirely. Iroh directly says this. 'the important thing is hunting the Avatar gives Zuko hope'. And Iroh knows if he pushes Zuko too much about this, Zuko won't hear it, he will lash out at him and probably leave him, just as he does in season 2, and then how can he help his nephew heal, give him support, and gently guide Zuko to do better?

This is especially demonstrated in the beginning of season 2 when Azula says Ozai wants him back and Zuko, so desperate to be loved, falls for her trap. Iroh tries to gently tell him that his father is not that kind of person, gently tiptoes towards "your father's love is not attainable" and Zuko immediately lashes out viciously, shuts down the conversation, and is willing to leave without him (though he's clearly ecstatic when Iroh does choose to come with him. ecstatic for him, anyway). So Iroh has to pretend to agree with him. to go along with it, all so he can protect Zuko when it does turn out to be a trap.

It's pretty easy to see the turning points in the show that cause Iroh he steps up and finally really try to push Zuko to stop hunting Aang, be a better person and find his own happiness. There's the end of season one when Zuko would have died trying to capture Aang if Aang hadn't chosen to save him. This is a wake up call for Iroh. It's definitely when Iroh realizes the fact it gives Zuko hope doesn't matter, because Zuko's fixation on hunting the Avatar is very likely going to end with Zuko dead. Zuko is so fixated on this he won't prioritize his own survival. This is directly confirmed by the show because Iroh brings it up later when he finally snaps and yells at Zuko to stop this. And there's also the aforementioned moment, where Zuko's desperation for his father's love leads him into a trap and they both have to become fugitives. I think this is when it sinks in for Iroh there's no happy ending for Zuko where he's welcomed back home, and this hope could lead him straight into danger.

(I don't know if this idea Iroh doesn't truly think hunting Aang is a good thing but won't push Zuko too hard about it because that would only shatter their relationship in the first season was actually what they had in mind while writing season 1, but I do think they made it track pretty well when they decided to make his character shift in season 2. )

So yes, Zuko being more amiable and respectful makes Iroh's dynamic with him not make as much sense, and makes Iroh seem much more baffling and callous, especially since the live action makes it very clear that Iroh believes capturing the Avatar is the wrong thing to do from the beginning.

But they don't care about story consistency, or building believable conflict, or writing coherent character dynamics, or allowing Zuko growth. No, the writers like Zuko, they don't want to risk the audience not liking Zuko, so lets remove a lot of his flaws, make his feelings toward Iroh warmer and more respectful because that's easier to watch and everyone liked how warm and loving he was toward Iroh at the end of season 3, so lets just skip to that. The cartoon trusted us to see the good in Zuko and root for him on his journey even if it was messy and sometimes painful to watch, but the live action doesn't, so it won't put in the work. And so his story becomes less meaningful and satisfying, and so Iroh's behavior stops making as much sense. I could easily believe the Zuko in the cartoon would betray Iroh out of sheer desperation to be accepted by Ozai, even as it wracks him with regret, but I wouldn't be able to believe live action Zuko would make such a decision. He's too nice! He never disdains his uncle!

Characters being allowed to do nasty, mean things even to people who love them and then grow to be better is important for writing believable stories and believable growth, especially when it comes to redemption arcs. But I've seen a reluctance to accept that in some writers and a lot of fans. Katara's moments of cruelty are removed (which fans were always less forgiving of than Zuko's hmmm i wonder why), Zuko's moments of being cruel to someone who loves him are removed, we have make it clear Iroh is good from the beginning and directly excuse Iroh's hypocrisy in sometimes prioritizing Zuko's happiness over like, the safety of the world and ending the war sometimes, rather than simply see him quietly develop to be better on that front. It sucks.

We have to be willing to be uncomfortable with characters actions and words sometimes without dismissing them as bad characters, and I....just want fans to consider that, and writers to consider that.

[muffinlance]

Extreme long shot, but looking for a fic I read years ago, that to my knowledge is NOT on AO3 or FF, just on someone's blog or maybe a small hosting site. It's a three(?)-part series.

Stuff I remember: Zhao kills Iroh pre-north-pole; he dies on a beach due to shrapnel, I think. Zuko wanders off in a daze, stays with a nice Earth Kingdom woman for awhile, then embarks on Messing With Zhao's Shit until Zhao catches him. Gaang rescues him (from Pohuai?) after whump.

Zuko leads them back to the Earth Kingdom woman for a safe place to rest, meanwhile Zuko's crew has found her and given her a letter+their location+tell our stupid prince he's not the only one who wants to Mess The Fire Nation's Shit Up. Zuko and the Gaang go to his ship, whose treason against the Fire Nation is already in progress (and they've gotten their families out of the Fire Nation to avoid reprisal, so Jee's wife is there). Katara bonds with the ship healer, who teaches her non-bending healing and is both salty and instructive. Ends incompletely right as Zuko and the Gaang are about to leave the ship.

Those parts of the series are a good read, but I am dying to re-read the part that's an Iroh POV of the royal family, including Ozai's strategic murdering of all of Iroh's children (he had more than Lu Ten in this AU), and Iroh's extremely chilling "maybe I should do the same to his" thoughts until baby Zuko wins him over. It is PEAK disfunctional Fire Family.

I thought I bookmarked this somewhere, but I can't for the life of me find it. Plz send help.

EDIT: FIC FOUND! See the reblog chain for the link, it's in the second post.

EDIT EDIT: This is. Even better than I remembered. My heart hurts, ow. <3

[therossgarden]

Am I the only one who would love to see a what if- like animated series for ATLA? Like, what if something small was different and everything changed as a result? There’s so many AUs out there that I absolutely love, and they would be sick to watch in 40 minutes long episodes.

Here’s a list of all the AUs I’d love to see.

- what if Zuko was the prodigy, and Azula the banished princess?

- what if Iroh was the evil brother between him and Ozai?

- what if it was the Water Tribe who attacked, instead of the fire nation?

- what if Yue was the Avatar?

- what if Azula was the Avatar?

- what if the water benders were those exterminated by Sozin?

- what if the whole story was genderbent?

- what if Sokka was the last waterbender, and Katara was a nonbender?

- what if Roku killed Sozin?

- what if Toph wasn’t blind?

- what if Azula killed Ozai after he burned Zuko?

- what if Azula was a nonbender, and Mai and Ty Lee were benders?

- what if Zuko never joined the Avatar?

- what if Mai was killed at the boiling rock? And what if she and Ty Lee were rescued by Sokka and Zuko instead?

- what if Katara was the Avatar, but Aang was still the last living airbender?

- what if Aang was an adult when he met Katara and Sokka, but still needed to learn all bendings?

There’s so many what ifs I could keep listing, but these are by far the most intriguing for me.

Let me know if you have headcanons for any of these AUs!

[bestepisode]

The Storm

Sokka accepts a job from a local fisherman to make money and the man accuses Aang of abandoning the world. In the large, ensuing storm, Aang recounts to Katara the events of his dark past. After being told he was the Avatar, Aang was ordered to be separated from his mentor, Monk Gyatso. Upset, Aang ran away from his home where he encountered a deadly storm, causing him to fall into the water, activating the Avatar State, trapping him within an iceberg. Meanwhile, Iroh tells the ship's crew Zuko's story. After speaking out of turn at a war meeting, Zuko was punished by being forced to fight an Agni Kai against his own father. His refusal resulted in him getting his scar and being banished for perceived cowardice. Meanwhile, Aang learns that Sokka and the fisherman are trapped in the storm; he rescues them, earning him the fisherman's respect. Zuko spots them, but lets them go, instead opting to escape the storm.

Zuko Alone

After deciding he would be better off on his own and leaving his uncle, Zuko continues his journey alone and ends up in an Earth Kingdom town, where a young boy named Lee brings him home for dinner and subsequently bonds with the banished prince. Zuko helps defend the family from rogue Earth Kingdom soldiers who terrorize the town and has flashbacks of his youth when his mother was still around. Zuko's identity as the banished Fire Nation Prince is revealed when he firebends, and the boy and his family reject him because of it.

Vote on more episodes here!

[zuko-always-lies]

Question for Azula fans

When you were watching ATLA for first time, at what point and what episode did you really latch onto Azula's character and become a fan of her? When did she become a special character to you?

One of the reasons I ask that is that Zuko started as an antagonist, but the writers from very early on gave him numerous episodes which are designed to make viewers latch onto him: "The Southern Air Temple," with his conflict with Zhao. "Avatar Roku" with his rescue of Iroh. "The Storm" and "The Blue Spirit," back to back. And of course "Zuko Alone." As result, Zuko was essentially being written as a co-protagonist by mid-Book 2. His tremendous popularity largely results from getting so many episodes designed to draw people to him.

By contrast, Azula doesn't really that kind of latch on episode. The closest she comes is "The Beach" and maybe the series finale. Otherwise she is never really depicted in a way that would lead people to connect to her. Yet she still developed a vibrant, if smaller, fanbase.

[late-draft]

Something interesting, I ran into an innocent comment that was something like, "Katara healing Zuko's scar would have been the final element that pushes Zuko to join the Gaang" and I don't think this is true!

Switching sides and joining the Gaang wasn't even on Zuko's mind for most of the show. It did flash briefly through his head as a shocking idea when Aang had asked him if things could have been different, back at the Blue Spirit rescue. But he chased that idea away as quickly as it appeared because the only reason he would have entertained it would have been to have friends. Everything else in the situation is adamantly opposing the idea, from the sides of the war to the very point of goals of each group. Aang was on his way to mess up the plans of the Fire Lord, Zuko's father whom he believed, at that point in the story, he owed complete loyalty to. So there is no dilemma.

Only after rejecting Ozai, letting go of an (understandable) delusion that he could ever receive love and affirmation from him, breaking free of the Fire Nation's propaganda and rejecting the Fire Nation's conquest and cruelty, does Zuko arrive to the question of "what now". Only after this is he able to see that he has a clear option of switching sides. This is satisfying because Zuko isn't switching to the Good Guys side chasing a carrot on a stick, instead it's because he's finally freeing himself of shackles and following his internal moral compass.

Even though he doesn't exactly know what side Iroh is on, he wants to be on it, but he at least knows his uncle is against the Fire Nation. And then he goes and confronts Ozai. (Here's a moment in the narrative of the show that I feel wasn't explored enough - I think there should have been more discussions among characters what Iroh is doing, whose side is he on, what does he support and what does he believe in, especially from Zuko because when the Order of the White Lotus is revealed, it's just glossed over. This plot thread is frayed.)

While it is the writer's job to get Zuko's character to join the Gaang, this has to happen exclusively due to in-world events and character choices, otherwise it would be bad writing.

In a way, the writer's story has to be the consequence of in-world character choices and actions, even if this sounds strange at first!

~

So back to the first statement; what is happening in the scene in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se then? To me it's clear the only thing running through Zuko's head at the moment is "Katara Katara Katara Katara..."

And then she runs and hugs Aang.

And then she leaves.

It's very evident that in-universe, this tension is never released and the event never resolved or talked about. First cut short by Aang's appearance, and then made worse by Azula's ultimatum.

That is, until the famous hug on the pier.

[hypnoticsphere]

just some zukki thoughts

Sokka kissing Suki at the boiling rock, melting into her arms, feeling the way she hugs him so close. She’s alive. Of course she is. Suki is strong.

Zuko is standing behind them, shifting awkwardly when Suki notices him. He hasn’t gotten to talk to her… ever really, but especially not after the whole… burning down Kyoshi island thing. Suki raises her brow at Sokka and he just shrugs. Suki just nods, taking that as the only answer she needed regarding Zuko.

Zuko has never been comfortable with touch or proximity. Lu Ten, Uncle Iroh and Mother were the exceptions, but, they’re gone now. So, he should hate it. He should hate that he’s squished in between Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe and Suki of the Kysohi Warriors, two people that hate him, but. . . he doesn’t. They are currently in one of the coolers, one that Zuko himself was in only a few hours ago.

He doesn’t favor the way Sokka’s elbow juts into his ribs, but he doesn’t mind the closeness. It’s almost nice. Almost.

Hakoda is there too, being the entire reason Sokka and Zuko came in the first place. He eyes him intensely, with a look that Zuko can’t quite decipher. He glances between the three of them, seemingly in thought before nodding to himself. Zuko blinks, clearly not understanding what Hakoda’s thought process could be other than planning to throw him into the boiling lake.

He shrinks down further, avoiding the man entirely, willing himself to disappear.

He doesn’t speak for the entirety of their cruise. He listens as Sokka quietly recounts what happened after they escaped for the first time on Appa. He explains why Zuko is here now, how he will be teaching Aang fire bending. Zuko can only nod, not willing to look Hakoda in the eyes.

“And we’re sure we can trust him?” Hakoda says, not unkindly.

Zuko goes to speak, to ramble about how he’s changed, that he spoke out against his father but Sokka beats him to it.

“Of course. He’s the one that helped me rescue you.”

He says it so matter-of-fact that Zuko wants to scream. He feels the way his cheeks start to burn and prays to Agni that it’s only the steam from the lake.

“Okay.” Hakoda says, trusting his son implicitly. Zuko’s mind blanks, eyes widening, how was this so easy for them. How did this trust without a second thought? A part of him wants to yell that they are weak, gullible and the reason they are in this situation in the first place. The other part of him, however, wishes he had that. Hakoda and Suki trust Sokka, not him.

He doesn’t expect them too, not after what he’s done to them, not after what he did to Katara. She was so willing to help him, to heal his scar, and he was so blinded by the thought of getting his father’s love back, he threw away that chance. That chance of friendship. Of trust.

Katara can’t look at him. He can tell Aang is struggling when looking between the two of them. He wouldn’t blame Aang if he told him to leave and to never come back.

Aang is the Avatar, and he’s focused on making the right choice, thinking in-depth about his options and the risks he’s taking. Zuko admires him, truly. He’s come so far since their first meeting at the South Pole. Zuko winces a bit at the thought, and only hopes that they, and Agni, can forgive him. If not that, trust him not to hurt them anymore.

Although, Zuko doesn’t know if that’s an option anymore after what happened with Toph. He hates it. He hates that he was scared when she came to talk to him. He burnt her. She has forgiven him, but Zuko has not forgiven himself. He has to earn that forgiveness, he knows that.

Sokka is the one person that Zuko can’t quite understand. Sokka should be furious with him, and he was, for a while, but now he’s talking to Zuko, showing him useless things, putting his trust into him.

Zuko isn’t sure why the thought of breaking Sokka’s trust makes him so sick to his stomach. Suki too, for that matter.

[thegaangneedstherapy]

Hiya!!!

Do you happen to know this fic?

Ozai kept Zuko imprisoned (I think underground/in a hole?), and eventually Zuko killed him and escaped. He became the Fire Lord, but was obviously not "normal" and everyone was kind of afraid of him. Ambassador Sokka is the one to befriend him and eventually they fall in love.

I cannot for the life of me find it again!

could it be ? Averno series OR Ambassador Sokka and His Very Bad (Turned Very Good) Idea

violence has changed me - Averno series Sokka's heard a lot about Fire Lord Zuko. / Zuko keeps staring at his hands in his lap. After a long time he says, “My cell was under the palace.” “Baby,” Sokka says. “Your cell is the palace.” Zuko leans forward, knees on his thighs, covering his face with his hands. “Yeah,” he says. “I know that.”

Ambassador Sokka and His Very Bad (Turned Very Good) Idea The war is officially over. With Fire Lord Ozai and his daughter dead, Fire Lord Zuko now takes the throne. He takes the throne, and sets to fixing the destruction left over from the war, starting with his own people and ending with everyone else's. That was how Sokka found himself, the next chief of the Southern Water Tribe, negotiating new treaties in the heart of the Fire Nation with the new Fire Lord. Who, if he must say, is really good looking for a guy who spent the last few years in the cells beneath the palace.

if not here is a few other fics with similar plot points.

1. There Is No Fire Lord After committing treason, Zuko spends months in prison, and even after both his father and Azula go missing, the guards can't coax him out of his cell. And then the Avatar shows up. How's the Gaang supposed to talk to a Fire Lord who doesn't even believe he's the Fire Lord? this one looks the second closet to what you described.

2. half in the shadows, half burned in flames “They say you tried to kill the Firelord,” Hakoda says. "Why?" Zuko doesn’t know how to answer. Because I hate him. Because I love him. Because he wants to see the world burn. Because he knotted one hand in my hair and cupped flames against my face with the other. Because my mother is dead. Because my uncle is dead. Instead, he shrugs tiredly and says: “Someone has to.”

3. Of Dead Fire and Dragon Dreams Ozai said he'd killed Iroh. So when he shot lightning at Zuko- the lightning came back. Azula's fire broke when she saw Ozai dead- Zuko promised to fix things. Everyone is confused about where the Fire Nation troopes are going. Zuko is Fire Lord. Everyone is kind of confused about that too.

4. The Spirit Stone Hidden in the deepest darkest corner of the Palace, the imprisoned Prince Zuko serves out his punishment and waits - and waits to be pardoned and released by his father. Not knowing that Fire Lord Ozai has already declared to the world that his son has died. Until a strange group of kids invade the Royal Palace, and accidentally rescue the formerly dead Prince Zuko...

Hopefully I found the one you were looking for! if it's not one of these tell me and I can find a few more. Thank you for using the question box!! I've been waiting for the day someone asks me a question

[oneatlatime]

Lake Laogai

This Lake had better have Appa in it. With little water wings on.

Skipping the commentary as usual.

The Previously On section suggests that a whole lot of plot threads are about to crash into each other. Strap in folks.

Lefty Sokka!

Beat up Sokka quota fulfilled by his sister's critique of his art skills. It's not like he had paper to practice with at the South Pole.

Sometimes I forget that Aang is 12, then he does something like attempt to rescue his pet from a nefarious city-wide conspiracy of silence with lost cat posters.

"Good tea is its own reward." That means no, he isn't paid enough.

Remember what I said in my last post about Iroh bringing too much attention to himself?

"senior executive assistant manager" someone on the writing team has worked retail I see. Nothing like meaningless promotions with no raise attached! It's right up there with employee pizza party.

I have to pause here and point something out. This whole scene with Iroh? This is an adult fantasy. I don't mean dirty, I mean this whole scene was put in specifically to appeal to the adults who got roped in to watching this kids' show by their children. A rich man walks through the door of your shitty retail job, immediately spots your natural greatness, and offers you a much better paying job with unlimited creative freedom and a better house to go with it? Find me a burnt out retail worker who hasn't conjured up this fantasy five times a shift.

And so the plots come crashing back together. This won't end badly.

"patience really pays off" I checked. He waited literally three seconds.

Shout out to Toph in the background playing catch with a ball she can't see. Casual flex of epic proportions.

Remind me never to go to Lake Laogai. Sounds like it's lousy with Ju Dees.

So the Ju Dees don't know about each other? Because she seems honestly confused. Does Ju Dee think she's the only Ju Dee? What happens if two Ju Dees run into each other in the street?

Posters are illegal but I haven't heard a peep about recarving a bunch of fields into a zoo.

This is maybe the second time Aang's blown up over Appa. Frankly he deserves more blow ups about the whole situation.

I don't think knocking down walls will help find Appa, but I applaud Toph's spirit.

They took out a whole wall and then exit by the door anyways. That's funny.

I really hate this guy, but I have to admit that he may be the first truly competent villain of the series.

'The Jasmine Dragon' also lets anyone with half a brain know that you're Fire Nation. Try the Jasmine Badgermole instead.

Zuko really can't catch a break, huh? He wasn't happy being a tea server, but at least he was resting. But every time he gets five minutes to himself, the main plot reappears to drag him back into the action, whether he wants to or not. Although he hasn't figured out that he doesn't want to be dragged back yet.

Every line of dialogue in this scene is a good point. Zuko's right, Iroh's right. The Zuko's right again, then Iroh's right again.

YES YES YES GET HIS ASS

That was satisfying!

I'm not understanding why Sokka is the voice of reason here. Is he incapable of holding a grudge? He's the one that had all the animosity with Jet to begin with. Shouldn't it be Aang who wants to hear him out?

Toph is a living lie detector now? I can't think of an example off the top of my head, but I'm sure that could have come in handy previously. Any other incredibly useful skills we should know about?

Jet is oddly defensive for someone who claims to know he did wrong.

Ever get so excited that your spine malfunctions?

Sokka just has a metre long map in his pocket. Good friend to have in a pinch.

Avatar first! Katara is rude to an old person!

I'm going to have fun with Toph's new ability.

Toph, you have never been more right. It is the worst city ever. You are really shining this episode.

I know this is a serious scene, but I need to point out that Jet's guyliner is on point.

This shot is jarringly out of place. I think it's because it both black and white, and live action. Those have to be real clouds.

So the Blue Spirit can talk after all. Careful, your Zuko is showing.

Wow Zuko is good at sewing. And fast too.

Sokka is having far too much fun with this whole 'prompt Jet's memory' thing. Maybe he does have a bit of a grudge after all.

Katara can reverse brainwashing now too? Everyone's levelling up this episode.

This scene with the planks is a very cool and disorienting visual.

Didn't have 'the gaang breaks into a brainwashing facility' on my ATLA bingo card.

Pretty.

OMIGOD IT'S AP- did Zuko just break the fourth wall?

Everyone always forgets to look up.

So this fight is going to be Toph v. all of the Dai Li while everyone else tries not to get in Toph's way.

That's a boat.

Toph could probably take all these guys out faster if she wasn't having to constantly break off to save everyone else from them.

The Dai Li prancing up walls is a really cool visual. It's very Ty Lee of them.

I love watching her work.

Why don't you let Long Feng escape? He's no longer threatening you, and you're down there to rescue Appa. Just let him go.

The security on Lake Laogai is a joke.

Big words from someone who also had no plan whatsoever at the North Pole.

Zuko knows that Iroh's right. He knows, and that's important. I don't think Iroh is saying anything that Zuko hasn't thought and then hurriedly pretended to have never thought about before. It's why he says 'stop it' rather than being completely confused as to what Iroh is referring to.

Poor Appa's like 'can you have a crisis of self after you free me please?'

'You've chosen your own demise." No. You chose it for him. That's some top tier deflection/victim blaming right there.

Longshot can talk!

That's one hell of a set up and pay off re: Toph's lie detecting abilities.

Poor Jet. A double tragedy: to be likeable only when you're brainwashed, and to dedicate your life to wiping out the Fire Nation yet being killed by the Earth Kingdom.

Hi Appa. It's about time buddy.

Shockingly in character for Appa's first actions to be to single handedly save the Gaang from a threat.

You skip that bastard like a stone.

Everyone go and listen to the sound Appa makes when he spits out Long Feng's shoe. It's delightful.

I am framing this.

And this too.

I can tell there's some shmymbolism here, but it's gone right over my head.

Final Thoughts

Appa is back. The Gaang has Appa back. I have Appa back. Ok. I can relax now. With any luck, this means we can leave Ba Sing Se.

This episode felt like City of Walls and Secrets, Part 2. I think it was a good decision to have a couple of episodes between the two, but I think there would be some tonal whiplash if you binged this section of season 2. Which wouldn't have been a problem for a show designed to air once a week, so it's a moot point.

So Zuko freed Appa from his chains, and presumably pointed him in the direction of a door or something. Or maybe not; Appa has a ridiculously hard head, he could have busted his way out. Either way, Zuko broke the chains. Thanks Zuko!

In season 1, Zuko finds the Avatar the world had lost. In season 2, Zuko finds the Sky Bison the Avatar had lost. So in season 3, Zuko will find something Appa has lost. I wonder what that will be?

Jet being killed by the Earth Kingdom is so deliciously ironic, and tragic, yet very in character for the Earth Kingdom's approach to this war. It's also literally this:

Smellerbee and Longshot have really gotten the short end of the stick over and over this season. They were the only ones to decide to stick with Jet. Presumably they were the only ones who believed that he had had a legitimate change of heart. And they were kind of wrong. They get to Ba Sing Se only for Jet to immediately backslide way past even where he was at his worst in Season 1. He completely discounts and dismisses their legitimate concerns for his methods and his overall health. Then Jet gets arrested and disappears for two (?) weeks. So what do they do now? Get jobs? Steal so they don't starve? Then suddenly Jet's back but he doesn't even remember them. Then suddenly Jet's dead. The whole point of coming to Ba Sing Se just died, in a way that shows very clearly that their desire to help with the war is not welcome at all in the city. So what now? Do they leave and try to fight in the war from outside the walls? Do they settle down and try to forget about the war? Things did spiral completely out of Jet's control once the Dai Li got involved, but you have to admit that he's left his only remaining friends up a creek.

Sokka had some good jokes but was oddly ok with this episode's events. Toph had some great lines and got to shine with a new skill that any writer with half a brain will bring back in future episodes. She felt like the audience substitute this episode, which is usually Sokka's role. Toph was episode MVP for sure. Poor Aang took a bit of a back seat this episode. Zuko finally hit the crisis point, and may well have made his first indisputably correct decision of the series. But, as previous episodes have gone out of their way to show me that Zuko being good always goes badly for Zuko, I'm sure freeing Appa will somehow come back to bite him.

Iroh's question of "who are you? And what do you want?" was Zuko's entire character arc this season. He took a shot at answering the "who are you?" portion in Zuko Alone, and sort of halfway got there before messing up at the end of the episode. As for the "what do you want?" Zuko will tell you (often and repeatedly) that he wants his honour back. But I think he just wants to go home. The thing is, I strongly suspect that the home Zuko wants to return to hasn't existed since his mother left, if it ever existed at all. Which means that while "who are you?" has an answer Zuko can work towards, "what do you want?" has an answer that is kind of impossible. So Zuko is going to have to learn to want something new.

RIP Jet. Your life was fucked to Hell long before you were old enough to try and salvage it. You'll probably be missed by more people than you strictly deserve. War sucks, amirite?