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dont-blame-it-on-the-kids · 7 months

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”Where Blood Meets Metal”

”Where Blood Meets Metal” - Title suggestion by @linnorabeifong

I will only ever have ONE Lin got pregnant and had a kid au and that’s this one.

where Lin ends up being the mother of the Avatar.

I can detail the plot but do I have any of this written???

no.

The Avatar is an oc named Lao.

Aang had been sick for a while, his body just unable to keep going after the stress of living 160 plus years.

They all saw it coming. It was weeks of him on bed rest. Days he hadn’t eaten anything.

It was around that time that Pema started stepping in between Tenzin and Lin.

Wedging them apart slightly day after day.

Tenzin ended up breaking things off with Lin the day before Aang died

So Lin recently broken up with and grieving her uncle Aang (the closest she ever had to a father figure even with his frequent traveling) that night she goes out to get hammered.

Drown her sorrows and forget what was happening around her.

At the bar is where she meets a handsome water tribe man and they end up hooking up

(lmao would be so funny if it is still Tonraq and he was just in the city on business and gets caught up in Lin’s drunken bender night but he still fathers the avatar)

((in another version of this Au this is Amon but before he was the leader of the Equalists))

Lin wakes the next day half dressed in the hotel room with a major hangover and the stranger nowhere to be seen

And she ends up pregnant.

She keeps the kid half convinced it was Tenzins although she knows better. And she and Tenzin get back together under the assumption the baby is his while the little boy grows up.

It becomes painfully obvious Tenzin is not the father. Lin’s features and the strong watertribe features blend perfectly for a handsome baby boy.

First Lao developed water bending. Lin was a touch upset that she couldn't share her element with her son but she knows a few really good water benders and healers and is excited to see if he develops the ability to heal.

Then Lin noticed he was earthbending as well when he was five. And she realizes who she's dealing with now. She cries that night because she knows Aang was reincarnated into her son now and that he was still with her even if in a different way.

She tries to keep it a secret having heard about the white lotus trying to track down the avatar to hide them away in a camp somewhere in the south and the red lotus trying to find the avatar for their own nefarious reasons.

she succeeded in hiding him for a few years but with Tenzin living with them he ends up finding out and reports to the White Lotus that he knows where the avatar is, Lao is about 7 years old Lin should be 40 if I understand the timeline right.

(120ag, she would be 33 when Aang died in 153 ag, lao born at the end of that year makes him 7, now its 160 ag Tenzin would be 41 now and Pema would be 25 now. Yeah i think i’m on track)

Lin is pissed he would betray them and Tenzin feels he’s right because the red lotus is a real threat and they’re lucky they haven't found them yet, lin and Tenzin trying to fight them on their own would be bad news.

The WL show up and there’s a fight because Lin doesn’t want them to take her boy but she loses and they take Lao to be trained and Lin and Tenzin break up for good this time and she hates him so much.

(This would be a year Jinora is born)

Lin tries but is Absolutely Not allowed to see or talk to Lao

They don’t trust she wouldn’t try to take him back and they need to protect him from the red lotus who’s been an issue for a while (they’re right she would have probably tried to hide him in Zaofu if she got lao back and Suyin agreed to it but them not letting her see him is still bullshit)

Tenzin is tasked with keeping watch on Lin both to make sure she doesn’t do something drastic or try to find Lao.

Lin falls into drinking and buries herself with work

Katara tries to help by smuggling letters between Lao and Lin but as the years pass Laos letters start reading more like homework and not actually wanting to write to her. So they slowly stop sending any

Then we get to the start of the series.

Lao is 17, so its 170 ag

since he was kidnapped and held in captivity he kinda has the same spirit and air problems as korra but not as a personality fault (though he does have lin’s stubbornness) but because that connection was basically severed when he lost his mom and was whisked away at a young age

Lao escapes Korra style (his animal companion is a shirshu tho, Akna)

And makes it to the big city.

He actually sees Korra, setting off to find her own in the big city and he helps her out of a tight spot with the triads. (Naga and Akna get along very well)

They both end up arrested and Lin realizes who he is but he has no idea who she is

And she’s not going to push her luck in case the white lotus was still keeping tabs on her contact with him. So Tenzin gets Lao out of trouble and Lao is able to weasel Korra out with him.

Lin goes and breaks down into sobs in a bathroom because that was her boy and he was almost all grown up and she missed everything with him.

Tenzin refuses to tell Lao who his mother is because he needs to focus on his air bending training

Lao keeps sneaking off trying to find any clues as to who his parents are.

And since Lao has a shirshu he tries to track his mom down using scent but they can’t get a clear scent map since the letters are at least five years old and had to go through Katara but because he’s riding a Shirshu around the city he keeps running into Lin and her officers telling him to stop scaring the citizens!

Korra and Lao are fast friends and she joins the fire ferrets and he enjoys watching the matches.

Korra teases him about not “being the leaf” and is always cracking jokes about Tenzin being so serious and is trying to be supportive but also is still Korra.

Mako still gets run over by Asami

The plot kinda progresses the same only with Lao as the avatar with the Krew. He watches the matches because they’re his friends and it gets him away from ATI for a bit.

It’s not until after the pro bending games after Amon attacks and they're all fighting him, when Lin's making sure the kids are alright she cant help but hug him because she almost lost him again and that's when he realizes

but it's only a second and lin pulls back and Tenzin comes up and is asking if everyone is okay

so it's not addressed then.

probably a short scene where he’s talking with the Krew and is all

“How??? How is she my mother??? Woman clearly hates me!?”

But it’s because the WL is like breathing down her neck about not distracting the avatar and is keeping an even closer eye on her incase she tries to take him back again.

The krew kinda agreed that there had to be a mistake or Lao was wrong, but it was weird she hugged him. But Tenzin confirms Lin is his mother.

after that it would be a touch awkward at first. Lao was expecting a mother but found Lin… rough and cold. Literally the iron mother in the monkey experiment lmao

At least to start. Her walls come down some over the course of the show like they would naturally but he learns to pick up on the small signs she gives.

And she learns who her sweet baby boy grew up to be.

Then the plot moves forward and we get to the sacrifice and taking down Amon.

Amon, because he knows more from intercepting the communications in the city, makes Lin's de-bending public. The next day at city hall a big crowd, broadcasted it on the radio, to make sure Lao knows. He got his mother.

Lao is Furious because she was supposed to be with the airbenders!

The krew have to hold him back. And if he could enter the avatar state he would have.

(I have my many hc for what happens to Lin in the four days to a week it takes for Iroh II to show up and help)

Korra still loses her bending, Lao loses the connection to the three elements like in the show.

But Amon escapes, does not try to take his brother, but gets outta there and is rebuilding his Equalists in another city where he established they would all meet up in should the benders oppression prove unmanageable in the city.

they all get to the south. Lao tries to pick a fight with Tenzin for leaving Lin behind and Lin’s just so tired, trying to recover and upset because she failed everyone and lost everything and now her son is suffering because of her.

(Also sprinkle in my hc that the scars left damage to her eye so she can’t see out of that eye and she lost her seismic sense to make up for it. Depth perception is off, she gets startled easily when people come up on that side, and she keeps running her shoulder into door frames and corners on accident. And that since she lost her bending her sense of touch is numbed. Things don’t feel right and she sometimes grabs things with too much pressure to make up for it and has dropped several glasses, also my hc that Zolt gave lin the scars not Suyin /X/X/)

Then he and Korra go off into the snow on their own and he gets to meet with Aang and restores their bending

(I also have my hc that Lin gets to see Aang again when the bending is restored and he thanks her for protecting the air kids and reminds her that he’s so proud of her and loves her so much T-T)

then it kinda fuzzes out because B2 is a bunch of love triangles he’s not involved in and origin story but he never loses connection with the other avatars because that was always a poor choice! Maybe he still needs to save Raava but the previous avatars are a part of her, she promised to preserve them so they come back with her.

and in B3 he’s with the family!

Suyin is PISSED she didn't know

so Lao is getting to know his relatives and finding the new air benders.

she's not happy she can't manipulate him that well. (he's too much like lin)

He learns metal bending rather quickly (i mean look at his mom) and even starts to pick up on the seismic sense that lets people be truth seers.

After the attack he realizes how dangerous this is and doesn’t want his mom in the line of fire again. So he and the krew sneak off.

That Naga jumping at Lin scene But with a Naga AND Akna! 👀

Lin doing everything she can to find them

Lin has to watch him fight the red lotus and get poisoned

Then B4 happens where they don’t know where he is and they’re all worried.

and Toph is upset Lin didn't tell her about Lao but understands and is all like "welcome to the family twinkle toes."

BUT imagine Amon comes back with an even bigger army of Equalists and had stolen or had his spies infiltrate that mech Kuvira made and then he controls it

After the explosion Lao and Amon are in the middle of the city and Lao is stronger now, not That naive “half-baked avatar” he was in B1.

Amon is stronger too and gets hits on Lao’s side to chi-block his bending but Lao falls into the avatar state and bloodbends Amon whos like Shook because It's most definitely not a full moon and he hasn't been bloodbent since he was a boy with his father.

Lao is so angry with him as he sees the chaos and destruction of his city, remembering how sick Lin was and what Amon’s done. He may accidentally tear Amon’s organs apart within his body with the bloodbending.

“How?” Amon would cough up chunks of his heart and lungs before collapsing to the street.

Everyone is like “Do we arrest the Avatar for bloodbending now?”

Korra and Asami still get together

Mako is with Rina(oc) with his twins.

(My hc is that Mako gets with Rina around B2 and has the twins in B3 so with the time skip they’re like 3 almost 4 now? And Mako is PISSED that Wu is keeping him from his family 24/7 and then after the fight he’s injured and can't find his wife and kids, i have more posts with friends under Firecrackers but they have different timelines for it lmao /X/)

I do like the Bolin/Opal ship.

And I don’t have a love interest for Lao rn

But after the series he lives with Lin in her house for a short time before getting an apartment and Lin gets her son back as well as basically adopting Mako Bolin and Asami

UNOFFICIAL ending - He’s devastated when Lin’s killed a few years later in an altercation she shouldn’t have even been a part of but was called to the scene and Lao was a minute too late to get there. (she’s like almost 65ish)

Total Bending Abilities for Lao

Water - Healing, bloodbending

Earth - Metal, seismic sense / truth seeing, (Lin also teaches him how to sculpt lmao)

Fire - Electricity, that cool flame blade

Air - energy bending

Image

Art of Young Lao by @mgthejerkbender

#I want to write this so bad #but its just a LoK rewrite lmao #Avatar Lao Au #hc #LONG POST #If i've talked with you before about this its a lot of the same #with some added plot points #and commentary lmao #tw gore mention #everything subject to change #my mind is too full rn #I've had this AU for years now #lao is my precious baby #i love him so much #B2-4 are a blurr for me #i may update after i've watched them again

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bendingmuses · 2 years

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♬ for multiple characters, whoever you'd like.

♬ : Does your muse sing well? Regardless of whether they sing well or not, do they enjoy singing?

I'm gonna go through all my muses cause I can. At least my canon muses anyway. Since all my OCs are deaf. Singing just doesn't interest any of them.

Zuko:

He absolutely cannot and does not sing. Don't ask. Your ears will bleed lol. He can play some instruments if pushed, but refuses to sing.

Izumi:

She loved singing lullabies to her kids when they were little. She's not the best singer, but her voice did the job at soothing them when it was needed.

Iroh II:

Iroh isn't much of a singer, but he does have the voice of one. He enjoys singing quietly, but he won't if asked. He's got much better talents and skills than singing.

Yua:

Absolutely loves singing. Maybe not in front of people or crowds, but with smaller groups of people and along with a band. Anything with music, Yua is all for. Especially dancing and singing.

Mako:

No. Don't even ask. He'll look at you like you've grown a second head if you try to get him to sing.

Tonraq:

He has one of those voices you would expect to hear when listening to tribal music. Deep and melodic. On that carries his culture and history with ease.

Ghazan:

He doesn't do it often, if at all, but his singing voice is hypnotic. In a sense. You just can't help but to stop and listen intently on the rare chance that Ghazan decides to sing something.

Pema:

She has a sweet, soft singing voice. A voice designed for the songs and culture of the Air Nomads. The singing voice you would expect a mother to have.

Piandao:

He cannot sing. He's more of an instrument player. Much preferring to let the tools speak for him instead of his voice. He's not a good singer even if he was asked.

#headcanon: izumi #headcanon: zuko #headcanon: iroh ii #headcanon: yua #headcanon: mako #headcanon: pema #headcanon: piandao #headcanon: tonraq #headcanon: ghazan

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rainbowgato · 3 years

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Desna: Hewwo.

Sofi: Hihiiiiii!

Eska: Greetings, Humans.

Tonraq : Three kinds of people.

Unalaq: ...

Senna: Four kinds of people.

Korra: WHAT’S UP FUCKERS?

Tonraq : Five kinds of people.

#legend of korra #incorrect quotes #oc insert #eska and desna #tonraq #Korra #unalaq #senna

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amaarok · 3 years

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multimuse is a slippery slope b/c here I am with 12 drafts, 1 missing bio, and dreams of 2 new muses.

#;; ooc #;; ( thankfully I have a very busy day and can do nothing about these dreams )#;; ( but imagine a forest based witch OC with a penchant for botany but careful she can and will impale you with pine needles )#;; ( and also a mermaid boy )#;; ( I could tie them all to Iolani and Tonraq but they wouldn’t be part of the Kesuk family )#;; ( hmmm )

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kyoshis-gf · 2 years

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Sample 01 - Welcome to Republic City

Disclaimer: This is NOT a “fix-it” series, much less a “rewrite”. I do not enjoy those, and I very much love Legend of Korra perfectly as it is. This is merely testing my own writing skills by trying to portray small scenes I’d loved to see throughout the show!

This scene takes place after the dinner with Tenzin, but before Korra sneaks out to RC.

EXT. Southern Water Tribe, MARKET - Night

Tenzin, Korra, Jinora, Tonraq and Senna walk around the market. Korra’s parents are more to the back, talking amongst themselves, while Korra, Tenzin and Jinora take the front.

KORRA

C’mon, Tenzin! Can’t you think about it just a liiiitle bit more?

Tenzin carefully shakes the snow off his cape, a weary look to his eyes.

TENZIN

I’ve thought about it plenty, Korra, and I believe we’ve discussed it at length. Your staying here in the South Pole with your family is the best decision in the long run.

Korra runs ahead of him, spreading her arms to point around them, to the people.

KORRA

Best for WHO? Certainly not me! And I can’t believe the rest of the world is super happy about their avatar being locked up--

TENZIN

(Sighing)

You’re not locked up, Korra. You’re… Training. In a safe environment, away from distractions, and--

KORRA

And people, and other cultures, and masters of all forms of sub-bending I probably haven’t even heard of!

TENZIN

You truly believe the world is much more exciting than it actually is.

Korra kicks the snow from under her feet.

KORRA

How would I know? You guys never let me leave and see it for myself. I’m the first avatar who hasn’t gotten to travel to the world.

Tenzin puts a calming hand to her shoulder.

TENZIN

You’re sixteen, Korra, not a hundred and six. There will be plenty of time for you to see the world and live all there is to be lived.

KORRA

(Under her breath)

Yeah, right. As soon as you manage to free up your schedule a little bit, right?

TONRAQ

C’mon now, Korra, don’t be brash. I’m sure Tenzin is doing the best he can. He is just a very busy man.

TENZIN

Believe me, there’s nothing I want more than to preserve my father’s legacy, and that includes passing down his teachings to you. But he left more to this world than his reincarnation, and taking care of Republic City is as dear to me as any other endeavor.

Korra opens her mouth to reply, but, at that very moment, a kid runs past her, bending the snow and making it fall on both Tenzin and Jinora.

KID

Outta the way, lady!

Jinora sneezes. Korra quickly bends the snow off Tenzin’s and Jinora’s robes and then drops to one knee in order to hold a flame near Jinora to warm her up.

KID’S MOTHER (O.S)

Be careful! That’s the Avatar!

KID (O.S)

(Suspiciously)

And what’s that supposed to be?

Korra and Jinora exchange a glance.

KORRA

Yeah, I’m sure the new generation is feeling suuuuuper in tune with their Avatar right about now.

Tenzin stammers. Moves his hands about, not really sure of what to do with them. Then gives up. Senna steps in to mediate the situation.

SENNA

We should go get snacks! Master Tenzin rarely ever comes to the South Pole, and he wouldn’t want to miss our algae-cake, right?

TENZIN

Uh….

SENNA

Great!

Senna pulls Tenzin by the elbow. Tonraq walks up so he can talk more directly with Korra.

TONRAQ

Don’t be so harsh on him.

KORRA

I’m not being harsh. I’m just tired of waiting.

TONRAQ

The world will be a better place with a well-trained Avatar… And…. It kind of sounds like you can’t wait to get rid of your parents.

He nudges her jokingly. Korra blows a raspberry.

KORRA

(Whispering to Jinora)

Whad'ya say? Wanna ditch those booooring old people and go penguin sledding with me and your siblings?

Jinora beams, but she is not entirely sold on the idea yet.

JINORA

Mom says we shouldn’t stray from the course. The market is pretty big…

KORRA

You tell me! You think I’ve seen half of this place? But a little birdie told me Katara used to go on penguin sledding, and…--

JINORA

-- If gran-gran did it…--

KORRA

--So can we!

Korra looks up, expectantly, at her dad. Tonraq seems a little bit doubtful, but yields.

TONRAQ

All right, just don’t go far. And yell if anything happens!

KORRA

Yes!

Korra whistles. Naga finds her, sniffing the air around them until Korra scratches her behind the ears. Korra carefully puts Jinora on Naga’s back.

When she turns back, Tonraq is gone, probably off to find his wife and Tenzin. Korra readies herself to jump on Naga’s back as well, but, before she can do so, she is called:

WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S)

Look over here!

KORRA

Huh?

Korra turns towards the voice. From one of the fish stands, approaches a woman, in her 40s. She looks like one of the market vendors’.

WOMAN

You’re the Avatar, right?

KORRA

Sure am. You need help? Is there something bothering--

WOMAN

No, not at all! I just wanted to see you up close!

KORRA

See me…?

WOMAN

Well, it is quite embarrassing to say this, but… Oh, Korra. You spend so much time locked up in that compound, many of us have forgotten what you actually look like…

At the other side of the Market, Tenzin, Senna and Tonraq eat away at their meal, when one of the vendors catches their attention:

VENDOR

Isn’t the Avatar Girl with you?

At the other side of the Market, Tenzin, Senna and Tonraq eat away at their meal, when one of the vendors catches their attention:

VENDOR

Isn’t the Avatar Girl with you?

Tonraq very slowly puts his bowl down.

TONRAQ

She has a name.

VENDOR

Has she now? With the way the lot of you keep her away from us, you’d think you were trying to make us forget her.

SENNA

That’s not--

VENDOR

But what do I know? Legends and stories and all that rubbish. Maybe our Avatar is a different kind, huh? One that doesn’t like to meddle with people

Back to Korra.

WOMAN

But you’re such a pretty girl! I remember you, when you were just a baby, running behind Senna when she came to pick up the fish! So cute! But you’re all grown up now. It’s a shame you never actually got to know the Tribe. And you’ll be leaving us for that “Big City” soon…

KORRA

(Mumbling)

Maybe not so soon.

WOMAN

What was that?

KORRA

Nothing. I, uh, just talking to myself, I guess.

TONRAQ

Korra is receiving the training she’ll need to protect the world.

VENDOR

Sure. But what about us?

SENNA

… You?

VENDOR

The world isn’t just buildings and your big people's games, y’know? How is she supposed to love the world if she doesn’t even know the people she’s supposed to be protecting?

KORRA

Thank you. For, uh, for talking to me. I really needed that. But now I may have promised a little airbender I’d show her our tribe’s famous penguin sledding…

The woman chuckles.

WOMAN

Of course! Wouldn’t want to stand in the way. But, before you leave:

The woman moves her hands towards Korra, lifting some water up from the snow. She then bends the water into a… weird-looking and definitely asymmetrical but yet still endearing ice-flower, and puts it on Korra’s hair.

WOMAN

Come back to the tribe someday. And we’ll be sure to teach you how to do this and everything else you didn’t get to do.

Korra gets choked up, so she simply nods. She gets on Naga’s back and adjusts herself around Jinora.

TENZIN

I’m sure you have the Avatar’s best interests at heart, sir, but please refrain from insinuating such things. Korra is far from alienated from her people. Her training is simply more important, and her family understands that.

Tonraq and Senna share a look of doubt, quickly hiding it behind tight smiles when Tenzin looks back at them for approval. The vendor scoffs.

JINORA

You all right, Korra?

KORRA

Yeah. Yeah, sure. Just got a lot on my mind.

She keeps Naga walking, but her eyes are off the road. She looks determined, her mind elsewhere.

It’s at this moment she decides she’ll have to go to Republic City, one way or another. And it’s at this moment Senna and Tonraq both agree with her.

The characters found in this story and/or universe do not belong to me, but are the intellectual property of their respective authors. Non-profit story created by and for fans without compromising the original work.

#korra #tlok #book one: air #episode one: welcome to republic city #writing #tenzin #jinora #tonraq #senna #naga #OC

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d-istyx · 5 years

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"In 2020 I should enjoy drawing for myself and my friends more" I whispered as I drew Cato and Acciaio doing their thing.

Full on my Twitter. It's ruruthless_ there!

#dungeons and drawings #dungeons and dragons #DnD #Tiefling #DnD PC #Cato Albus #Ruru OCs #My art #acciaio tonraq

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sakiye · 4 years

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Did anyone ask for study group au hcs? No.

Will I give them anyway? Yes!

Ok. So the people in the study group are Senna, Tonraq, Iroh II, Sakura (Iroh’s older sister), and Malina (an OC)

So, Senna, Iroh, and Sakura are best of friends when they enter college.

Senna is planning to go into medicine.

Iroh is planning to be a history major.

Sakura is planning to major in psych.

Malina is Senna’s roommate and Tonraq is Iroh’s roommate

The roommates become friends pretty quickly, and they quickly join the study group.

Malina studies Political Science, and Tonraq studies ecology.

They like to study in the library near a big window showing some trees.

They send sticky notes to each other, whether they keep it on the other’s textbooks or assignments, they just do.

More HCs are coming!

#lok study group au #lok #senna #tonraq #iroh ii #sruthi's ocs

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josy1986 · 4 years

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Slavery: New Chapter

As the title suggests, there’s a new chapter out! Its been over 4 years since updating this story, truthfully, I’m sorry for the wait, I just hope it was worth it in the end. Consider this my Christmas present to all of those who have been with me since day 1 and ofcourse all my new readers. I love each and every one of you :)

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11147468/31/Slavery

https://archiveofourown.org/works/3902050/chapters/69376134

#Korrasami #Korra #Asami Sato #OC Axis #Tonraq #Spirits #Korra and Asami #LoK fanfiction #LoK #my art

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ragdollrory · 5 years

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The Jasmine Snapdragon

The sky was still a pastel mix of orange and pink when Azula’s name was called by the barista, and she picked her latte up at the counter. The shuffle in her phone switched to a calm tune, and she walked the two blocks that separated the coffee shop from her uncle’s shop, a hand searching through her bag for the heap of keys the man had given her the previous night.

A couple of minutes and several light switches later, soft music filling the room, she was comfortably sitting behind the counter. Paper cup in a hand, and a book on flowers and their meanings in the other.

It was only a couple of weeks until Iroh returned from his trip, but Azula figured if she’d been tasked with taking care of the place, then she might as well do her research. Plus, Zuko had assured her time and time again he could do with some weeks of her being absent at the company, and promptly taken her workload from her hands. So it was not like she had a lot more to do, as she waited for clients to show up. Once she tackled this, she’d start a novel, or another econ book, whichever caught her fancy first.

The place was nice enough to be in, once you got past the array of colors and aromas. Neat and varied, with some really exotic numbers as well. Or bright, happy, and completely adorable, in the words of Ty Lee, who often visited to have tea with her uncle. That was a friendship Azula could understand, but would rather stay the hell away from, lest she got her aura read, and cleaned with the weird blends the chubby man and hyperactive friend were so fond of.

Once the coffee was done, nose still in the book, Azula went onto checking the water in the vases, removing the withered flowers, and finally flipping the sign on the door over to Open. It was just a couple of weeks, she could do it, she’d lived through worse after all. The vultures at the company’s legal department, university, the institution, her family… This would be a piece of cake.

And really, as days trickled by, running the shop turned out to be effortless. Between her good memory, and knack for reading people, Azula found bouquet making to be an easy enough activity. She’d spotted several types- or stereotypes even- of customers so far.

First on her list, and last in her esteem, were cheaters. Those she could smell the second they walked through the door. Anxious as they looked through the store's varied options, toying with their wedding band when they were married, and checking the mobile an excessive amount of times while at it. They were easy to spot, and easy to sell to, and since Azula couldn't really skin them, at least she made sure her uncle's shop made a profit out of their disgusting habit.

"You don't really want to pick those." Came her usual opening line, with a discreet roll of her eyes, as they automatically went for the red roses. "Those are nice, sure, but it's a bit obvious, don't you think?”

She made her way around the counter, to point out some other options, not trying too hard to hide the disenchantment in her voice. “I’d say some chrysanthemum could be nice. Red means love, of course. White is for loyalty, and devoted love.” She let a second tick by before continuing. “Then yellow is sorrow, neglected love… perhaps an array of them would be good.

“Unless it’s not for the wife, but the lover. In that case I’d go with the red roses after all.”

It was most amusing how they just itched to buy and get it all done with, no matter what she decided was best to sell them. Always paying in cash, and oftentimes buying for both the spouse and lover. Sometimes Azula wondered if whoever received them understood the message behind the pretty arrangements. If they stayed together afterwards as well. Sometimes the client would return, and she’d known they’d not read between the lines of the flowers. Sad, really.

Probably one of her favourite type of client was the opposite of the first one, the long-run partners. They usually went in with a clearer idea in their mind, having gifted flowers throughout their marriage, or having read certain species was best for the current anniversary they were on. And their smile as they talked about their loved one was contagious.

Those, Azula helped with genuine interest, taking her time to put together a bouquet that would bring out the same joy in the receiving end as it did to the buyer.

“Perhaps it’s not the most common flower to gift, but Honeysuckles carry meanings of devoted love, and lasting bonds.” She explained to a man in his mid-sixties, who was looking for a gift for his wife of over forty years.

They’d gone over several options already, before he asked for the trumpet-shaped flower, and Azula couldn’t help but to monologue a little about the things she’d read on the plant. She even went as far as to mention the properties attributed to it when using it in a tea blend. The whole flower shop vibe was clearly getting to her, although she’d rather believe it was the man’s willingness to listen to her.

“If you plant this,” Making a quick trip to the back, where her uncle had the greenhouse, Azula plucked a little sprout of the plant in vivid coral color, to hand to the man alongside the bouquet, “then hummingbirds and butterflies are bound to come to your garden.”

He’d returned twice since then, once with his wife, who had brought her homemade cookies, and showed her pictures of the little plant in its new pot. It had been a nice day.

Other clients in her list were teenagers, and those were most amusing to tend to. Never sure of what they were looking for, blushing every couple of seconds, or everytime Azula asked them a question about the person receiving the flowers.

They usually came with limited money also, wrinkled in their pockets where they nervously pushed their hands, or in their backpacks under a pile of trash they often had to take out over the counter to be able to find the bills.

“Okay, listen to me, take lilies.” Azula’s patience was running thin with this one, but she’ll try her best not to throttle the girl, because it reminded her a little of Mai. And well, because it would not look good on the store. “They stand for refined beauty, and orange ones are passion. She won’t just like it, she’ll love it.

“Trust me, I know what I’m talking about.” Whatever it was that made the girl believe her, she was thankful for it, and she left with a stuttered thank you, and a nice arrangement of four lilies, while Azula was left methodically straightening the rumpled bills against the counter’s edge.

No, tending to the store was easy, fun even. And somehow- and Azula wasn’t pointing at people, but it had been Ty Lee- her uncle found out just how well she’d been doing her job, and decided to extend his trip a couple more weeks. It wasn’t the most awful thing to happen, but she’d been itching to go back to the company already. Still, Iroh hardly ever left the city, and two more weeks could harm no-one.

Azula had just sold a large basket of pink tulips for a baby welcoming gift, and was at the back fixing the vase, when the door chimes announced a new buyer. She called she’d be there in a minute through the parted door, getting a ‘take your time’ in return.

“Oh, you really don’t want to pick those.” Came her already trademark phrase, as she walked back into the shop, and caught the look of the newest customer.

Tall, big- so freaking big, probably a gym fanatic by the looks of it. He was tanned, with messy waves of ombré hair to his shoulders, and black ink tattoos spiralling down his arms from under his t-shirt sleeves. So, a surfer maybe? He had the aura of it, and Azula was positive the tattoos were Hawaiian.

“I’m sorry?” He turned to her from his inspection of some peonies, curiosity very vivid in his expression, a raised eyebrow towards her. Half his face was hidden by a heavy beard, but Azula had to blink a couple of times under the deep blue of his eyes. A smile tugged at his lips, and she shook her head to clear it.

“Peonies, you probably won’t want to pick those.” She took the tulips back to their fridge, taking a moment too long under the cool air, before turning back to the man. “They are linked to romance, and marriage, often times used to propose.”

“Okay.” He agreed without fuss, and Azula thought she was closer to her goal of guessing correctly. “Should I worry that you’re a mind reader, or-” His smile widened with a breathy chuckle, and she found herself smiling back at him.

“Not at all. I wouldn’t be in a flower shop if I were.” Rolling her eyes playfully, Azula moved onto what she figured were the flowers he was looking for. “So maybe roses, those are always popular, or irises-”

“Where would you be?” He cut through her speech.

“What?” She really wasn’t used to getting questions that were not flower related, not by first time buyers at least.

“I think this is a nice place to be, a happy one. But if you weren't here, where would you be?” The man commented, hands pushed into the back pockets of his worn-out jeans. She tried to ignore how he towered over her, giving a perfect view of the shirt hugging his chest as he did so.

"I, um. I'm a lawyer actually. I work at my family's company." Azula wasn't sure why she was hesitating over that, almost as if she regretted her position there. Or the fact that her name was on the very building she worked at. "I'm just covering for my uncle here. The shop is his."

"Hmm" The man gave her an appraising look, as if he were trying to picture her in a suit, maybe. Or maybe she was thinking too much into it. "Well, you seem to know quite a bit of flowers for being covering for him, then."

"Yes, well- I read a lot." Her answer was probably a bit off, but this whole conversation was. He was here to buy flowers for someone, some Barbie girl he met at the beach probably, and she had a book to go back to. Azula moved back to the flowers. "So, lilacs are good too, a magenta one is passion, so you could combine it with a-"

"Passion? No, no." He interrupted again, and this time she huffed, and turned to him with a hand on her hip. "I think you got the mind reading wrong here, who do you think I'm buying for?"

"I don't know." It was her turn to give him a once over now, and what a mistake it was. His smile was full of mischief, and her stomach had the gall to flip dangerously. "A Tinder date?"

His laugh filled the shop, loud and lively, and his eyes tightened with it, happy lines forming at the sides. Azula frowned, arms crossing at her chest.

“No, God no. Tinder dates, yeah- those aren’t my thing, really.” His voice was breathy when he spoke, shaking his head with a smile. He ran fingers through his hair. When his eyes found hers, there was softness in them. “I need something for my daughter. She has a ballet recital today.”

“Oh.” Oh, indeed. Azula’s arms dropped to her sides, shoulders losing the tension she’d gathered in about ten seconds. A daughter. “Okay, that’s- that’s nice. And easier, I guess.”

She was ashamed to say she was ashamed, and was too proud to apologise for the mistake. And there was also the fact that he seemed completely unfazed by the whole thing, and followed her around the shop in silence for the next couple of minutes as Azula pointed out options for him to pick. She could feel his eyes on her, making warmth climb up her neck, and making her breath catch whenever she turned and caught them on hers.

“I think daisies and sunflowers will do.” He said after some time, and she nodded, picking up one of the vases to take to the counter. He took the other one.

The music around them was the only thing filling the silence as Azula trimmed the stems and prepared the arrangement on a bright colorful paper. Her eyes trailed to the tattoos on his arm every so often, where he leaned on the counter.

“So what about me made you believe I was on a date?” The question definitely made her blush now, and she just focused harder on the flowers, thinking on an appropriate answer. There was none.

“Your looks.” She shrugged, not really wanting to say more, but the rise of his eyebrows encouraged for more. There was a line through his left one, Azula noted, a scar. It made him look better somehow. “I don’t know, okay. I just-”

Her hands motioned over to him, as if that made any sense, as if she made sense anymore.

“You just look like a man who would pick someone up easily, and- have many dates probably. Just, forget about it, okay?” She did not plead, she never pleaded. Azula tied the ribbon on the bouquet, and handed it over. “Here, these are on the house.”

He stood there for a moment, considering her words perhaps, about to laugh at her again maybe. And then his hand brushed over hers as he took the flowers. A shiver ran up her arm. God, please make him go now, before she made more of a fool of herself.

“I insist.” Her voice was just a tad strained, and he stopped in his pulling out of the wallet.

“Okay, then.” Azula dared to look up, and he was sporting a really soft smile that made her chest ache. Damn it, why wasn’t he going away already? “Tikaani will be very happy with them, thank you.”

A sigh she didn’t know she was holding left her lips as he finally reached the door, but he turned once again, and she had to hurry to school her face to something that didn’t say ‘I was checking you out’.

“I didn’t catch your name, if you don’t mind me asking.” There weren’t many times in her life where she’d felt like this, spellbound by a total stranger, but this right here- as he stood by the door with a corner of his lips pulling up on a charming smile- this was one.

“Azula.” And then it was a full grin, and who had given him the right to just look so happy?

“A beautiful name. I’m Tonraq.” Azula thought she managed a nod before he left, but wasn’t even sure about that, and then she dropped herself very unceremoniously on the chair.

She had only managed to take a couple of steadying breaths, when the door chimed again, and she tried to clear her head to take on this new customer.

“Hi, can I- Oh.” Tonraq was there again, plucking two flowers from the vases, amaryllis, and daffodil. She tried very hard not to bring forward the meanings. It didn’t work; joy, new beginnings, and worth beyond beauty. She didn’t dare breathe.

“So I was wondering, since you wouldn’t let me pay for the arrangement, that I could pay for dinner? Friday night? It’s not Tinder, but I did bring flowers.” He smirked, and she had the sudden urge to push a finger to his chest and tell him a few truths, and- and kiss him as well. How unfair that he could do that.

“You think you’re so funny, don’t you?” Azula couldn’t help the smile from reaching her lips, no matter how hard she tried. She plucked the flowers from his hand. “Fine. Only- because you picked them wisely.”

Grabbing a pen and a store card, she wrote down her number, and handed it over. His fingers lingered on hers a little longer this time, her heart hurried behind her ribs.

“I’ll pick you up at six, Princess.” He winked, and turned on his heels.

“I’m not- don’t-” She tried calling back on him, but it was too late, he was hopping into a Jeep already. And she was smiling at the nickname anyways. Azula smelled the flowers as if she wasn’t surrounded by them, her cheeks burning with the promise of the date.

If he thought she were a Princess, he should’ve picked a purple iris.

#azula #atla #azulaweek2019 #azula week 2019 #flower shop au #oc - tonraq #amaarok

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