#nobody in the gaang knows what he did and none of them ever find out

[aangarchy]

The funniest thing about the boiling rock episodes is zuko telling sokka at the start how this prison houses the most dangerous and notorious criminals of the fire nation as well as war prisoners, and then at the end they just let one of them tag along without ever asking him what he was in for. Could have brought a serial killer to meet the fucking avatar and they'd be none the wiser

[radishaur]

Ways to Say I Love You (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: None

Genre: Fluff

Part: 1/1

Summary: “Omg could you write something with the Zuko dialogue prompts 2 and 58? Tysmm.” Prompt #2 is “It reminded me of you” and prompt #58 is “You don’t have to say anything”.

•••

Zuko was a complicated person. He somehow managed to be angry and hotheaded while also being shy and awkward. It was confusing for you at first, but the more time you spent around him the easier it was to get used to.

He also had a hard time expressing himself. He either stumbled over himself too many times to count or he just blurted out the first thing he thought of. Or sometimes both. That was pretty much how he confessed his feelings to you. He was a stuttering mess until he finally just came clean. You had been shocked at first, but had admitted to liking him back.

You guys had been dating for a while before he betrayed you and went home with Azula. You were heartbroken, but you were relieved beyond words when he came back to join your group. The sparks you two had were easily ignited again after some apologizing and you had been dating ever since.

Now, you guys were at the White Lotus campsite, looking for any signs of Aang. Zuko used his Uncle’s sandal to help us track down his Uncle and we began planning for the battle immediately.

“Hey, Y/N can I talk to you for a second?” Zuko asked, shuffling nervously in place.

“Sure, what’s up?” I asked, turning to face him.

“Uh.... maybe can we talk alone?” he suggested, looking over to where the rest of the Gaang was hanging out not far from us.

We made our way out of the camp just far enough away that nobody could hear us. I was thankful that we had finally found Zuko’s Uncle because the camp set up here was much better than ours ever was. But I was still nervous about the upcoming battle. I was going with Sokka and Toph to keep the Fire Nation’s soldiers at bay. It was nerve wracking to know that anything could happen to Katara and Zuko when they went to face Azula. And equally as terrifying to think that something could happen to me and I would never see any of them again.

“Y/N?” Zuko called out, snapping me out of my thoughts, “Are you ok?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I was just....thinking about the battle,” I admitted, crossing my arms over my chest as I looked back at the camp.

I could see Katara and Sokka embracing and Toph making faces with Uncle Iroh. They all looked so happy. I wanted to live in this moment forever.

“Yea. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it either,” he sighed, his arms dropping down to his sides.

We stood next to each other in silence as both of our thoughts swirled around to the endless possibilities. How many different ways the outcome could be. It was overwhelming.

“I see your talk with your Uncle went well,” I said, breaking the silence and smiling at him.

“Surprisingly, yes. He wasn’t even angry with me,” he replied, a genuine smile crossing his features.

“I’m not surprised. You made the right choice and you’re happy. That’s all he really wants for you,” I assured him.

“That uh....actually reminds me why I brought you out here. My Uncle....well he gave me some advice....,” he stammered, clearly trying to say too many things at once.

I simply nodded and waited for him to talk. He’s get there eventually and I was fine with waiting. Interrupting just seemed rude this time.

“I have something for you first. It reminded me of you,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small red bracelet. It had a charm on it of a beautiful flower.

“Zuko, this is beautiful! Where did you even find this?” I asked, completely shocked at the gift.

“It was my mothers. I found it in her stuff at the Ember Island house and I was finding the right time to give it to you,” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“It’s gorgeous. Thank you,” I replied, carefully slipping the bracelet on and admiring it.

“Of course. So, what I wanted to tell you is.... Well my Uncle told me that I shouldn’t go into battle holding things back. That I should come clean now just in case,” he finally said, looking at me with a nervous expression.

“Zuko, you don’t have to say anything. Nothing is going to happen to you. You’re gonna be fine,” I said, refusing the think about the fact that maybe he wouldn’t be fine.

“I just....just in case....I want to- well I think you should know that I.....well,” he sighed and punched the bridge of his nose before looking back up at me and saying, “I’m in love with you and I have been for a really long time now.”

As soon as the words left his mouth he immediately blushed and began trying to explain. I simply giggled and pulled him into a tight hug. He was shocked at first but then reciprocated.

“I know silly. I didn’t need you to tell me that. But, since we are saying it, Zuko I love you too. A lot,” I admitted, only pulling away once I had finished talking.

“Y-you do? This isn’t like some huge joke?” he questioned.

“What? No! That wouldn’t even be funny, Zuko!” I exclaimed, laughing slightly at his nervousness.

I brought my hands up to his face and planted a soft kiss against his lips before letting my hands fall down to my sides.

“I love you too. Not as a joke,” I said, giving him a reassuring smile.

I couldn’t stop the butterflies in my chest from going crazy when he smiled back at me. I was even more surprised when he pulled me in for another kiss. He wrapped his hands around my waist and I happily kissed him back.

[attackfish]

Headcannons on what if azula was never born/was stillborn, either due to the fact that Ursa had a weaker constitution or things accelerated quiker than in canon?

WOULD YOU BELIEVE: I have one of these AUs too? My literal hundreds of AUs strikes again! In this AU, Ursa dies in childbed with Zuko: [Link]

1. For the entirety of what amounts to Book One, Zhao is the only one chasing Aang and his companions. This leaves them woefully unprepared when the Firelord sends his son after them. So what does Zuko’s Earth Kingdom adventures look like? Well, first of all, he gets Azula’s big beautiful barge. Second of all, he goes alone. With only one child to alternately dote on and castigate, Ozai bitterly resents any presence his brother has in Zuko’s life, so he is not allowed to go Avatar hunting.

2. “In Find What You’re Looking For (Standing Right Beside You)” [Link], I mentioned that Azula, aside from being naturally gifted in manipulation and strategy, also clearly got a political and military education that Ozai never bothered to give Zuko. He raised Azula for the throne and equipped her with the skills she needed and did not do the same for her brother. In this universe, without Azula, Zuko gets that education. He isn’t as ruthless or as naturally talented in manipulation. He still struggles to think things through outside of a hypothetical setting, but Zuko at least knows the basics of how this stuff is supposed to work. This will make a huge difference in how he approaches problems.

3. The first time the Gaang encounters the Firelord’s son, he’s on a mostly innocent visit with a friend and old crush of his, and events transpire to make it look like they kidnapped her little brother. For a long time after this, Zuko is left with the impression that the Avatar and his companions are menaces who need to be stopped, and yes he wants to please his father, but that’s an added incentive. Mai decides to travel with Zuko. She’s the one who convinces him to invite Ty Lee, who gladly accepts. Both Mai and Ty Lee are different in this universe, with no Azula around to enforce the most extreme version of their coping mechanisms. Ty Lee is still bubbly, and Mai is still more understated in her emotional expression, but they are much more natural and open, and Zuko is glad to be among friends again.

4. Mai, Zuko, and Ty Lee chase the soldiers out of Lee’s village, but because they ensure it’s replaced with a Fire Nation garrison, absolutely nobody is grateful.

5. The three sneak into Ba Sing Se as refugees, but they do not have plans as Azula did to conquer the city while they are there. They are focused purely on capturing Aang. Aftet the Gaang overthrow the Dai Li and Aang has his talk with the guru, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee are able to ambush Katara and use her to lure Aang to them. The plan was for Ty Lee to use her chi blocking to disable him, but when Aang goes into the Avatar state, something none of them have ever seen before, Zuko is able to manifest lightning for the first time in his life, to strike him down.