#sorry for no zuko...expect him soon...

[nemkero]

artfight attacks be upon ye

[hazashiovo]

Hi! Could I ask for Sokka (if u write him)/Zuko and Tenzin (again, if u write him) falling in love with a tattoo artist badass s/o please?

I loved your badass hcs! 🫶 you’re such an awesome writer!

Thanks in any case and have a lovely day!

I write for Sokka and Zuko, not Tenzin tho ,hope it's ok

The first time Sokka saw you was when he was undercover in fire nation grounds.

It would happen that he passed by your shop,and out of curiosity peeked inside to see what's going on and all.

And then it happens,he sees you in all your glory. Tattoos imprinted on your body making you look like a goddess.

One specific tattoo caught his eye, a dragon image surrounded by red butterflies was drawn on your back.

He could see it because you wore a dark tank top ,low enough for your tattoo to be seen by the world.

When he returned to the camp he couldn't get you out of his mind, especially the arts imprinted on your body. Unfortunately he couldn't take a better look at you without looking like a creep.

But the next couple of days he spent his time thinking of you. Katara noticed and asked what's up with him,but he just shrugged her off and continued his day, mostly thinking about you.

Soon after ,He and Katara found their way to the city,in the area where you worked at. And then again, Sokka saw you.

He tried averting his gaze,if Katara saw him he wouldn't hear the end of it.

Fortunately Katara left to go buy food for the others, allowing Sokka to stare at you.

Then it came,that feeling from a few days ago, you turned around to check if your gut was right,and there he was , looking at you dumb founded.

You shaked your head,yet approached the boy who seemed to rudely stare at you.

"It's inappropriate to stalk and stare at someone,you know?" He remains stuck, trying to gather his words and finally speak. His eyes watching as you put both of your hands on your hips,head tilted expecting an answer.

Woah,your hands are also drawn on,yet he can't really decipher the designs.

"Helooo?" You snap your fingers in front of him,his gaze turning to look at your face.

Lord,were you gorgeous. Just like the designs drawn on your body,your breath taking.

"You're gorgeous." Really Sokka? That's the first thing you speak to her? Oh boy.

Your expression contorts in a confused one, registering the words he just spoke.

"Thanks? Even so ,that doesn't excuse your staring." You furrow your brows, deciding to cross your arms to look more intimidating.

"I'm sorry,it wasn't really my intention,but I just uh, really like those things that you have all over your uh body." He points with his hand at your hands, you chuckle, realizing he was just admiring the art stuck to your skin.

"You mean my tatts?" He watches as you quirk an eyebrow, figuring that's what they're supposed to be,he nods.

"Yeah,they're awesome!"awkwardly he rubs the back of his neck.

"I made those on my hands, I have a shop downtown,but I'm pretty sure you saw me there too." You speak, referring to the time you also felt stared at,only to turn and see a flick of dark hair leaving.

Sokka blushes, he didn't mean to seem creepy,he was just stuck,that's all.

Then he recalls what you just said. "Wait,you did those?!" The boy points at your hands with a pretty shocked expression on his face,mouth almost agape.

"Yes dummy, in my shop,where I tattoo people?" You quirk a brow up, amused by his care free personality.

"No way! That's so cool!" You could see he almost jumps of the ground. Another chuckle leaves your lips.

"I could muster up a pretty cool design for you,if you ever feel like it." You shrug, your eyes darting to your own tattoos.

"Oh uhm,I'm honored but I don't know,I never really thought about something like that." Sokka laughs awkwardly, yet inside he feels so warm,like someone is fire bending in him.

"Have it your way pretty boy." You shrug, turning around ready to leave, after all there's a client you have in an hour.

"I'll see you around !" He shouts after you, attracting the attention of other people in the market.

"Who are you shouting at?" Katara pokes him in the side, making her brother joint up.

"Katara uh, no one! Just my imaginary friends." He'd give her this smile, hoping she would drop it and go on with their day.

Don't worry Sokka,it's not the last time you get to meet your dream girl ;)

Zuko admired what you did. The precision one must have to be able to do what you do...

He already said he could never do something like that.

But he does love your own tattoos.

Especially the one on your tigh, a snake surrounded by white flowers. And he made sure to tell you that.

He hangs around your shop pretty often, especially when he was hiding in ba sing se, sometimes making sure nobody is trying anything with you. It's just how Zuko is.

He even asked you one time if you would do something on him.

"You want me to tattoo on you?" You raise an eyebrow,a small smirk on your mouth.

"I mean yeah, I wouldn't mind." He would shrug ,and explain in detail how exactly he would like his design and how big,it would bring a big grin on your face.

He's a proud boyfriend, and he loves watching what you're doing.

After he becomes fire lord,you're his official court artist.

Zuko claims it's for your safety mostly.

He's just lovestruck by you and can't handle not having you around him.

[unfriedough]

Hi super sorry if your request aren’t open.

I had this thought about Zuko x waterbending reader and maybe they could be related to Hama (like a grandma or something) and r basically it’s difficult to explain but Zuko and reader started dating after the war and he tries really hard to get Hamas approval because he’s from the fire nation and Hama ends up sorta accepting him but is still hella weary about him

‘Dinner’- Zuko x female!reader

An: HIYA! So as to not be annoying I’m leaving my lil disappearance explanation at the bottom, enjoy 🫶

(As usual, thank you for your request and patience it means a lot 💕)

Warnings: fighting/agression but it’s brief dw (this is also a very short piece)

You smiled as a candle flickered in your room, kicking your feet as you read a letter your boyfriend, Zuko, wrote to you. He detailed in it his most recent endeavours as a fire lord, as well as affirmed that he could in fact come for a visit. You had been planning to move to his palace soon, as per his request, but he was afraid your grandmother, Hama, a ruthless fire nation hating blood bender who might just hate Zuko, would not be on board. You decided the easiest way was to have them both over for food, and you’d prepared a huge feast of different delicacies of both nations. Zuko was meant to arrive in about an hour, and Hama was already down stairs washing up. She vaguely knew you were going to introduce her to someone, just not entirely aware of who. You shoved the scroll into another backpack you packed for your move, which was supposed to take place a week from now if all goes well.

You walked over to the window sill and sat on a cushion you placed on the protruding wooden part, sighing. You wandered in an endless maze of thoughts, until a face appeared in front of you. You squeaked, almost falling backwards but you caught yourself. Shaking your head, you unlocked the window and pulled zuko in.

“Dude?” You questioned, pulling him in for a hug.

He smelled like the sea, you noted, originally expecting the smell of a certain beast on him.

“Sorry- I got nervous,” you giggled, pinching his pouty cheeks.

He grinned, dipping you into a passionate kiss that screamed ‘I miss you’ in every language. His hand trailed to your back, and yours his hair. Just as things began to escalate, the door swung open.

“YN!”

Immediately, you pushed him away, and he stumbled backwards. Both your eyes landed on your grandma, who was as pale as a ghost.

“I can explain!”

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

Zuko was frozen, from the long list of things that could've gone wrong, this did not even make the top one hundred list.

“Grandma, this is Zuko,” you calmed down, “My boyfriend,”

He snapped out of his trance and extended an arm to shake with her. She walked out, leaving a small stone to prevent the door from closing again.

“Sorry about her,” you groaned, embarrassed that she left him hanging.

He retreated his arm, shoving it into his pocket, “She already thinks I suck. It’s over.”

“It’s okay she’s easy to win over,” you smiled sweetly, contrasting the lies that currently fled your lips.

Stiff, awkward, weird… all of the above.

You couldn’t relax for this dinner, things were so tense after what just happened. He didn’t even get to say hello before she saw his tongue down your throat and now she probably is a hair away from blood bending him into a ball. And he could tell she hated him- when he asked you to pass him a spoon she threw it at him. She missed…

“So, why don’t you tell her about yourself Zuko,” you broke the silence.

His eyes widened, suddenly being put on the spot, “Well I-uh-um-“ he coughed.

“He helped the avatar end a hundred year war,” you chimed in.

“Yeah so he can start a 200 year war all on his own,” she remarked, glaring at him. “All fire folks are the same,”

“Gram, give him a chance, he’s trying his best,” you held his hand over the table, rubbing your thumb in comforting circles.

Suddenly, a fork came hurling at you, and when you both dodged your hands away, you found it embedded in the table.

“Right…” you breathed out.

She stood up abruptly, folding her arms, “Yn, come outside, now,”

“Yes ma’am,” you replied, looking back at Zuko with a worried expression.

You shut the creaky wooden door behind you and adjusted your garments as you stood by here on the patio.

“A fire nation boy?”

“He’s different… he’s not what you think he is,”

“That’s what they all say Yn, he’s bad news.”

“What about him is bad news?”

“Everything. Especially the fact that he’s a ticking time bomb.”

“He’s a good man.”

“Are you forgetting his past? He attacked the avatar!” Your eyes widened, “That’s right, I did my research… I know every little thing he did and so help me if you dare leave this house with him I will make sure that’s the last time either of you see each other.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Who’s gonna stop me?”

Your eyes brimmed with tears- it was one thing to ban you from seeing him, but a completely other thing to treat you like a child. You were old enough to make these decisions on your own. You huffed, storming back inside and waltzing into your bedroom, slamming the door with a lot of force.

Hama sat back down at the table, smiling before she flipped it onto Zuko. He gasped, standing up quickly to avoid being crushed. She stomped around the table and got up in his face, grabbing the collar of his shirt. She was surprisingly strong for her ancient age.

“What do you want from her?”

“To be with her,”

“Why?”

“Because I love her,”

“WHY?”

“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY?”

She pushed him onto the ground, lifting her arm as if about to bloodbend him. He’d heard the tales of what she was capable of from his friends, and he felt his heart drop.

Zuko froze, waiting, shielding himself and closing his eyes.

“Aren’t you gonna firebend?” She asked, a bitter sounding tone.

“No.”

Just then, you exited your room, finally having collected your bearings. There, you found Zuko almost curled up on himself, and Hama glaring at him. He breathed heavily, and she looked as if a blood vessel was about to pop. You immediately rushed to his side, helping him up to his feet and checking him for wounds. He was fine of course.

Your hand brushed against his cheek and he closed his eyes, humming, “I’m fine,”

“What did you do?” You yelled, looking at the old lady.

“I tested him.”

You laughed sarcastically, “And did he pass,”

“With flying colours,” 2 out of 3 pairs of eyebrows flew upwards, you and Zuko exchanged glances. “For now,”

After a bit of cleaning up, you finished the night with Zuko in your bedroom, sitting at your desk.

“Is everything okay?” You asked, leaning against the table.

“If she doesn’t even want me near you, how on Earth are you going to move in with me?”

“That’s… that’s a great question.”

An: OKAY SO idek where to start I basically obv got back to school and I had exams and then even MORE EXAMS coming up (send help) BUUUT I mainly just lost my spark and interest in writing but it feels wrong to continue to ignore my inbox so I’m gonna try my best to clear it soon. If you have requested I’m genuinely so so sorry it’s taken this long I’m sure you’re mad at me but hopefully not too mad don’t hate me okay bye love you 🩷

[ironyscleverer]

Good Omens Book Racism

This essay was originally a reblog of this post, but I’ve decided to make it a post of its own so it’s a little easier to read.

***

Rather than diving straight into examples from the text, I want to take the time to explain my intentions/goals for this little essay. Sorry if it's boring, but I do think it's important.

First, I want to clarify that I'm not just taking the opportunity to dogpile on NG by calling him racist. The people who commented that TP was equally responsible were 100% correct! Rather, I hope that now that we know NG isn't a good guy for other reasons, people will be more receiptive to my critiques of the book without jumping to the authors' defense.

I also want to note that I believe every instance I reference in this essay is not in the show. Someone in production clearly recognized that the book didn't age well, and quietly removed the bad bits without a word or a guilty speech. I think this is part of the reason why the fandom hasn't really addressed these moments; the show cut a lot of the racism, cynicism, and generally icky bits. The overall the tone of the newer content is very different and much sweeter. Personally, I prefer it this way!

Most importantly, though, I think a lot of people reading this might wonder--why talk about racism in a book that's 30 years old and has a modern adaptation that fixes almost every problem? Isn't it normal for old books to be a bit suspect? Why go through the effort of bringing it up?

The answer is that it's less about the book more about the fandom; the fact of the book being racist isn't the problem--I fully understand that it's 30+ years old. But the fandom is alive and well, and the lack of discussion is what feels weird to me. I was disturbed by the book when I first read it, and finding nobody online who felt the same way was a bit isolating. I had to wonder if other fans didn’t notice any racism, didn’t remember, or just didn’t care. By talking about racism, by making it clear that yes, we notice and we remember, i think we can make the fandom a more welcoming and inclusive space.

So really, my only goal for this essay is for it to exist; I want it to be out there so that if someone else, like me, goes looking for online acknowledgment of racism in the book, this will be there for them to find.

I think you get the point. Let's move on to the actual substance.

I’ve selected three specific passages from the book for us to examine, as well as a few other moments that I��ll describe, but won’t directly quote. Let’s start with the most obvious (to me) example of racism, which takes place on the whaling ship:

“The captain drummed his fingers on the console. He was afraid that he might soon be conducting his own research project to find out what happened to a statistically small sample of whaler captains who came back without a factory ship full of research material. He wondered what they did to you. Maybe they locked you in a room with a harpoon gun and expected you to do the honorable thing.”

To be clear, associating Japanese people with honor and ritual suicide is a racist stereotype. Writing a Japanese character this way is racist, full stop. Later, the navigator also refers to the captain as "honorable sir." This is probably in reference to the different levels of politeness that exist in the Japanese language. However, frankly, I'm mixed Japanese, and seeing any white person using the word "honor" in reference to Asian people makes my skin crawl. Even ATLA is on thin fkn ice (although the fact that it's literally just Zuko helps a lot).

This passage is the most clear-cut example I can find of racism in that it fits into the framework of "author makes x joke, which feeds into y racist stereotype." However, there are other moments that may not directly do this, but definitely are sus enough to make you think "why tf would you say that." For example, this is how the narrator describes Aziraphale when he drives Anathama home:

“As soon as the car had stopped he had the back door open and was bowing like an aged retainer welcoming the young massa back to the old plantation.”

I can't even begin to logic my way through whether this is technically racist or not. I'm still back at wondering why on EARTH would anyone choose to write this description. It’s just repulsive. Purely based on how I feel reading it, and how I feel imagining a white man writing it, I'm gonna go with yes, this is racist.

Another example of a similar variety would be this moment, when Crowley is trying to get to Tadfield:

“It's all out of control. Heaven and Hell aren't running things any more, it's like the whole planet is a Third World country that's finally got the Bomb…”

Again. Racist? Maybe? It shows a dismissive attitude toward "the third world," which I suppose isn’t explicitly non-white, but mostly it’s just weird and uncomfortable. It's less about the actual offense and more about the...why did the author write that.

There are more such moments throughout the book that I could mention, such as the half-assed attempts at AAVE and Caribbean dialect (I think Haitian? it's when Azi is searching for a host). There’s also that whole affair with Madam Tracy and her Geronimo character. I assume that one is meant to reflect badly on her, but in the back of my mind there’s still the knowledge that the authors chose to put it there.

After a point, all these individual moments start to blend together, and the possible motivations and excuses become less convincing. Maybe on a case-by-case they can be written off as characterization or irreverent humor, but in the aggregate they’re just unpleasant. Again, my overwhelming thought is just, "Why?"

Ultimately, that question, "why would the author write that" is at the center of my critique of the book. More specifically, the question is "why do these authors, given their identities, feel comfortable writing the things that they do?" In this case, it's clear the authors, as cishet white British men, thought these kinds of racial comments were funny and didn't have the social consciousness to know better. It belies a kind of arrogance, audacity and frankly entitlement that only people with their social standing tend to possess.

Anyway, that’s all I have for now. I hope this was enlightening for some people. I just wanted to provide a little bit of perspective, and maybe reassure some other fans that have recognized these things, but haven't seen them discussed online before. To them I'd say: don't worry, you're not the only one.

[not-aurii]

Rewatching ATLA and I think that one scene when Azula shows up to blow them off the Air Temple they were staying at (forgot which one, sorry), is already a tell that she's losing her mind a bit.

Because, this is right after Mai and Ty Lee betray her. And in The Day of Black Sun episode, when asked if she wanted to follow the gaang, all she says is:

"There's no point. They'll be back soon." And she was right, they would be back soon.

So why did she suddenly decide to get an entire squad of airships, just to blow up her brother and the Avatar?

Even when Zuko asks her, she doesn't give him a proper answer, just saying she's "celebrating becoming an only child".

I think this was her way of trying to feel better about herself with a win. Any win would do.

Because this attack is so weird for Azula, out of character even. An entire fleet of warships? Not just a small group to be inconspicuous? Of course, Mai and Ty Lee are no longer an option, but... why not just take the Dai Li?

Why the need for this sudden show of force, when just her presence alone is more than enough to make anyone cower in fear? Why does she feel the need to remind them that she is That powerful?

Because she's already suffering the consequences of Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal. Because she's already starting to doubt just how much power she actually has over people. Because she's already losing sight of herself, little by little.

This is also why I love the way Azula and Zuko's fight ends:

They're both falling from the sky, seemingly to their deaths with no way out, but the gaang grabs Zuko at the last minute, making sure he's safe. His connection to people, his choices to help and redeem himself, were what saved him in the end.

Azula is all alone.

She saves herself, but barely so. Even Zuko has a split second of "she might actually die" and then goes "Of course she didn't". Like it's expected. Like it's a law of the universe that Azula would be all alone and able to save herself, and that's nothing grand or anything else. It's just how it is. Azula has always been by herself, always been alone, always keeping herself safe the only way she knew how: fear.

And then that fails her too. So what is she supposed to do now?

She's falling. No one is going to grab her, keep her safe. And the only way she knew how to do that by herself, for herself, is gone.

Fear wasn't enough.

But what else is there for her to grab on to?

[discordiansamba]

thinking about the bad end variation of the lee from the tea shop au again. thinking about how iroh has long since resigned himself to the fact that his nephew is likely dead. he held out hope for as long as he could, but he is certain that if his nephew were alive, someone would have found him by now. azula likely knows what happened to him, but she refuses to talk.

then he receives a letter from sokka, telling him to come to ba sing se.

iroh makes the trek. he does not know what to expect when he gets there. what he gets is a grim-faced sokka, holding a pair of logbooks. he tells him he's found a lead on zuko, and that he needs to read this. he warns him that it's not going to be an easy read- and that he's sorry.

he's right. they are not an easy read.

iroh is an old man now. he was old when he took the throne, but he is older still now. but reading the logbook still stokes a fire in the old man's heart- a simmering rage that makes him want to return to his old ways as a general and burn this wretched city to the ground.

he does not do that, of course.

"the person who did this is dead," sokka says, "-if that's any comfort."

it is not. iroh would have liked to do it himself.

"...i know where to find him," sokka also tells him, "-if you... if you want to meet lee."

iroh does. very much so. sokka directs him to a tea shop called the lotus blossom, in the middle ring. lee runs it. iroh removes his crown headpiece and dons humble robes of earth kingdom brown, styling his hair in earth kingdom fashion. it is enough to disguise him. the tea shop is a modest one- not as fancy as the jasmine dragon had been, but certainly an improvement over pao's.

he is greeted by a young woman with braided hair and a sleeping infant swaddled on her back and is guided to a seat. he asks for the owner's favorite blend- and one of these scrumptious looking fruit tarts, if you do not mind. she returns with them, and iroh drinks deep the scent of jasmine tea.

he always hoped zuko would drink more of it.

there are two young girls sitting at an empty table near him. the eldest is reading a book. the younger is kicking her feet impatiently. iroh can see the fire nation in them, plain as day- as well as in the sleeping infant. he asks the young woman if he might have a chance to speak to the owner. the tea is delicious. he would like to pay his compliments.

she smiles, and tells him she'll fetch her husband right away.

iroh tries very hard not to stare when his nephew emerges from the kitchen. he wears his hair long and braided, concealing his scar with his bangs. he wears the green robes of an earth kingdom man of modest income, and a starched white apron over that. he is taller than he remembers, and carries himself in a different manner entirely.

"dad!" the youngest of the two girls rushes him. "i'm bored. can I go play with my friends?"

his nephew laughs and ruffles her hair. he tells her she can, and asks the eldest- izumi- if she doesn't mind walking her to her friend's place. izumi sighs, but she soon leaves with her younger sister, holding her hand. iroh would place them at around ten and six, if he had to guess.

his nephew greets him with a smile. there is no recognition in his eyes. iroh had anticipated it, but it still hits him like a hard blow. he shows none of this on his face, instead complimenting him on his tea. his nephew thanks him, but is soon pulled away by another customer. iroh watches him out of the corner of his eye.

...it's true. his nephew is a different person now.

but he is alive. he is alive, and he is happy. he has his own family. a successful tea shop. given how long he has resigned himself to zuko being dead, this seems a kinder outcome. iroh lingers in the lotus blossom until closing, simply watching his nephew. he contemplates his next step. sokka has told z- lee the truth, so he could reveal himself.

he could also leave without saying anything.

his nephew has a happy life here. does he really have the right to complicate it even further? and yet... iroh cannot help himself. he has mourned zuko many times over these past two decades. he must speak with lee, or he does not think he can ever let zuko rest.

he lingers past closing time. he knows it is rude behavior, but lee is patient in a way zuko never was. once he is the last person left in the store, iroh stands up and asks lee if he might speak with him again. he removes the five-pronged crown from where he has hidden it, and slides it into his top knot.

"i am told," iroh says, "-that this is where I might find the man who was once my nephew."

[bisexuallsokka]

jo. bestie. hi. i’m holding your hands and asking u to please if u want deal us all permanent psychic damage with “you’re just as beautiful as the day i lost you” (the httyd divorced zukka agenda has to continue and nobody can do it as well as u <3)

Sokka had spent the entire journey to the Fire Nation imagining himself being so overwhelmed with emotion at the sight of Zuko that, decorum be damned, he would run into his arms as soon as they made eye contact.

The sting of disappointment he felt when he realized that Zuko wasn't even there to greet him and Katara was enough to extinguish most of the excitement he had felt and make him second-guess everything about this trip. It was odd enough that after over a decade of being broken up they had rekindled their relationship over letters, what would it be like when they saw each other in person for the first time in years? Did they only know how to be in love again in theory? Was Zuko truly ready to leave the throne and his home in a few months and start a life with Sokka?

He's hiding out on some balcony that the two of them frequented in his Ambassador days, and he jumps when he hears the door open behind him. It's probably Katara telling him to stop moping, and he's about to tell her that he just needs a minute when he sees Zuko there, giving him a tentative smile.

"Hey," he says.

"Hi," Sokka says, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement.

"Sorry about," Zuko gestures, and Sokka knows what he means.

"I get it. You're a busy guy," Sokka says.

That makes Zuko frown, and he walks over and takes a seat on the bench next to him. "Not too busy for you," he says. Which, historically, is kind of a lie, but Sokka appreciates the sentiment all the same. Especially since soon, they won't have to worry about the Fire Lord nonsense ever again.

Zuko seems to be thinking the same thing. "For what it's worth, it wasn't 'official business' keeping me away again," he clarifies. "Izumi was getting a little overwhelmed with everything going on to get ready for the party, and I spent longer in the garden with her than I realized. She's with Uncle, now."

Sokka softens at that, his doubts slowly starting to fade away. "That's understandable."

"Thanks for coming all the way here," Zuko says quickly. "It means a lot and it...it's really good to see you."

The sincerity in his tone is a little overwhelming. "Wouldn't miss it for the world," Sokka says, despite having missed the last ten or so of Zuko's birthday celebrations.

It makes Zuko smile, though, which Sokka relaxes at the sight of.

"You look good," Sokka says, smiling back.

"You look..." Zuko trails off, a strange expression on his face as he just keeps staring at Sokka.

"What?" Sokka asks suspiciously. "Is there something on my face?"

"You're just as beautiful as the day I lost you," Zuko says, so softly Sokka might have missed it had he not been hanging onto every word from those lips.

"I..." Sokka says, feeling speechless for once as heat rises in his cheeks. "That's...great, thank you."

As soon as the words leave his mouth he groans, putting his head in his hands as Zuko laughs loudly at him.

"You can't just say things like that," Sokka complains, even if he can't stop smiling.

"I can and I will, especially if that is the kind of reaction I can expect," Zuko teases. Sokka looks over at him and feels his cheeks flushing again at the soft look on Zuko's face.

Sokka takes a shaky breath, calling upon every ounce of bravery he's ever possessed to help him reach for Zuko's hand. "Twelve years?" he asks, giving it a squeeze.

"Twelve years," Zuko confirms, squeezing back. “It’s not that I haven’t seen you that whole time. I just…never let myself really look.”

Sokka nods. “You’re sure this is what you want?”

Zuko raises his eyebrow. "I've started packing."

Sokka rolls his eyes and shoves Zuko's shoulder with his own. "Oh, so romantic, run away with me just because you're already packing."

Zuko laughs again, and Sokka feels lightheaded. He's not going to get used to constantly hearing that sound anytime soon.

“I've had all this time to think about it, and my answer is still the same," Zuko tells him seriously. "This is best for the Fire Nation, best for us. Are you sure, though? Six year olds are pretty crazy.”

“Raising a kid with you?" Sokka asks. "That's all I've ever wanted. Craziness and all."

The way Zuko looks at Sokka erases any of the doubts, the questions, the worries Sokka had about this. About them. After the years of heartbreak and separation, Sokka knows that's behind them, and the future looks much brighter.

[zkbigbang]

ZKBB 2024 Sneak Peek

A Broken Mask

But footsteps patter after him, and the girl appears by his elbow almost as soon as his feet meet sand. “My name is Katara, by the way. What’s yours?”

He ignores her, not allowing his pace to slacken. He’s not helping her. He’s not. Surely if he just keeps walking, she’ll get the message sooner or later.

Just as he expects, there is a slight pause before she speaks again. “Oh. I get it now.” Then, when he’s nearly halfway across the beach, she jogs after him. “You can’t speak, can you? I’m sorry. I didn’t realize before.” She matches her pace to his. “I just—I haven’t seen a friendly face in a while. Or a friendly mask. Not that your mask looks very friendly, but—”

Zuko stops and turns to stare at her. She has to have something better to do than follow him, right? Someplace better to go?

Oh. Wait.

His breath whistles through his mask again. What is he doing?

“But I need to find my friends,” she resumes, quieter. She hugs her scroll to her chest as though the coil of sealskin might whisper answers into her ear if only she holds on tight enough. “I just don’t know where they are. Or where I am.”

It feels as though invisible hands are plucking strings inside his chest, playing his heart like some sort of musical instrument. It’s probably fortunate that she can’t see his face. His expression is probably lodged somewhere in the space between pity and indecision. She doesn’t need to know that.

Interested in seeing the full piece? Posting begins on August 29th, and the writers’ identities will be revealed on September 15th!

[reticenceofladyeva]

i am ash from your fire (hoax xiii)

The house is on fire. Again.

Katara throws her blanket off and jumps up, searching for water. Zuko grabs her arm. "Shh," he says, finger to his lips. "Don't put it out."

"What are you doing?" She hisses. The smoke is coming in under her bedroom door, a thick cloud that makes her eyes water and her throat burn.

"Getting out of this city," he says, letting go of her and bending back down to whatever it was he had been doing before she woke. "Get your things. We're going."

There isn't much; Uncle has purchased her a few trinkets and some pretty clothes in the time she's been living with them above the tea shop, but she's been trying to keep her belongings spare. It's been hard enough slipping past the Dai Li; she doesn't need to weigh herself down. Not that she's actually successfully slipped past the Dai Li yet. She'd sensed that Zuko was starting to pity her.

He'd confirmed it when he told her she was pathetic. She'd ignored his crabby muttering about helping her, then, and she'd ignored Uncle's sidelong suggestion that the two of them could teach the Avatar (like that would ever happen). She hadn't expected them to follow through.

He's standing beside her again.

"Here," he says. "You'll need this to get on the ferry."

She looks down at the document. It shows her to be a citizen of the Upper Ring, and the seal, though slightly crooked, is official. "Where did you get this?"

"That doesn't matter, " Zuko says, a little impatiently. "Your name is Hua Mei. We've been married a month. We're taking Uncle on vacation to…"

Uncle opens the bedroom door as Zuko trails off, letting in a cloud of smoke that makes Katara choke. A sturdy pack is strapped to his back, and he begins helping Katara bundle her things together. "To the Misty Palms Oasis, my nephew," Uncle supplies.

Katara raises her brow as she slings her bag over her shoulder. "That oasis is not all it's cracked up to be."

Uncle shrugs. "No one in Ba Sing Se knows that. Come, we must go."

They slip out of the house, darting through dark alleys not lit by the roaring flames, sometimes running, sometimes pulling themselves up on the roofs of houses and sometimes ducking into sewer tunnels until they've made it out of the Lower Ring. Full Moon Bay is ahead of them, and no Dai Li are behind them. There are no firebenders in Ba Sing Se. There are certainly no firebenders who would set their own tea shop aflame in Ba Sing Se.

The ticket woman scrutinizes them, and their documents, but she does allow them through, and when they have stepped off the ferry, free again and unfettered by the city of walls and secrets, Katara lets out a loud whoop for the joy of it all and throws her arms around Zuko.

Unprepared, Zuko staggers before adjusting to her weight around his neck. "Thank you, Zuko," she says.

Awkwardly, Zuko pats her back. Uncle looks at them with more than a little amusement. "You're welcome," he mumbles, trying to wiggle away from her.

"So," she says, letting him go. "Married for a month, huh?"

Zuko goes as red as a Fire Nation banner. "Well I couldn't say you were my sister! We look nothing alike!"

"A good plan, Nephew," Uncle says. "But did you have to burn down my tea shop?"

"I'm sorry Uncle," Zuko says. "I know you loved the tea shop."

Uncle mimes crying into his hands, and Katara grins. "So, Husband, where do we start our search for the Avatar?"

Zuko groans. "I hate you."

"Tsk." Katara looks over at Uncle, who is grinning at her conspiratorially. "So soon after our honeymoon."

They start at the mouth of Chameleon Bay, hoping to find the Water Tribe fleet, at least, but the bay is empty. Their travels take them across the continent and back again, systematically camping from coast to coast. With no rumors to follow, all they have is turning over every stone, walking through every town they can find, as the summer turns to fall turns to winter turns to spring and around again.

Uncle Mushi searches the pai sho parlors and tea shops. Lee, tea shop waiter by trade and travelling blacksmith by necessity, searches towns and farms. Hua Mei, a nonbending healer, checks the hospitals and clinics and even the birthing rooms, but there is nothing. No whisper of Aang, no hair of Sokka, and no rumble of Toph.

They camp outside the towns, for safety, and Katara spends the evenings that Uncle is with them testing out new waterbending forms against Zuko's firebending. On the evenings that Uncle is not with them, for his wanderings take him farther from camp than theirs, Hua Mei speaks of her home of ice and snow and wanting to change the world. She learns that all Lee has ever wanted is to go home, that he misses the cherry blossoms and the tropical heat and the volcanic sand of the beaches. He'd give anything to see home one last time.

That's all a pipe dream now, though, he knows. He should have known from the start.

Hua Mei teaches Lee to braid her hair and to clean fish. Lee teaches Hua Mei how to wield a knife and brings her fresh mangoes from the market whenever he has a spare copper. She tells him old legends she heard from her mother and he tells her the aphorisms he learned from his. She puzzles out the story of the scar on his face and tells him about the scars that never settled on her hands, her hands with fine fingers that trail sparks along his jaw. He teaches her to play Pai Sho, a game he hates but thinks she'll enjoy, and then he maybe enjoys it just a little when they begin playing for stakes.

He'll teach the Avatar firebending when they find him, Lee promises, his arm draped over her shoulder as she rests her head on his chest. The fire sparks merrily in front of them, and Hua Mei pulls away just long enough to kiss his cheek.

The comet is three years away.

[waterfire1848]

An au where, instead of an asylum, Azula has to work at the Jasmine Dragon?

Hello, anon!!!

1. Azula really believes that Zuko is going to order her dead. As she’s sitting in her room with guards all around her (basically home arrest for child soldiers) she almost knows that she’s going to be killed. She waits and waits and waits until two new guards arrive and bring her to the throne room. She expects there to be an audience there with Team Avatar ready to watch her die. When she's brought to the throne room though, no one is around except Zuko. (Azula: Wanted to watch my execution alone, brother? Zuko: Execution? Azula: Yes. I'm not an idiot. I know you want to kill me and dragging it out like this is just cruel. Zuko: I'm not going to execute you. Azula: And if you think for one second that I'm just going to take this lying down you-wait, what? Zuko: I'm not going to execute you. I want to give you the same chance I had at finding some kind of peace. Azula: Why do I get the feeling I'm going to wish you had just killed me?) Turns out, Zuko arranged with Iroh to have Azula sent to Ba Sing Se and work in the Jasmine Dragon as a waitress. She's sent over, given a uniform, told that the Dai Li constantly have eyes on her and sent to work.

2. She hates it. She hates it so much. Everything about being a waitress is hell to Azula. She hates the outfit because she feels like she can hardly move in robes and it makes her feel vulnerable to attack. She hates the green color all around her and on her uniform because it's the color of the enemy. She hates her uncle for constantly being upbeat and cheerful and kind. She hates the customer because a good number of them treat her like trash (Azula has had met a few karens in her first couple weeks). And, most of all, she hates that she's here instead of in the palace. (Iroh, writing a letter to Zuko: I think Azula is doing very well here. She is really learning about the simple life and connecting with people. I- Azula, outside in the restaurant: WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?! Customer: Your tea is cold! Azula: That doesn't mean you get to spit it all over me!!! Iroh: I may have spoken too soon).

3. One day, while everyone is working, Iroh sees a mom come in with a baby on her back and a toddler in her arms. The mom is trying to get the toddler to order but he's too shy. Azula, who's at the front, much to Iroh's shock, doesn't get angry or order the mother along. (Mother: I'm so sorry. Li, we practiced this. Tell the nice lady what you want. Li: I...I don't know. Azula: Do you want to point to it on the menu? Li: *Nods* Azula: Here *Hands him a children's menu* point to the picture you want.) After the family leaves, Iroh goes up to the front and asks Azula about the interaction. Azula makes it a point to say that she didn't act any differently with the family then she has before but it's incredibly obvious that that interaction was something else. However, when Iroh tries to ask again, Azula brushes him off and leaves for her break. (Iroh: Niece, there's nothing wrong with- Azula: I don't want to hear it, uncle. Iroh: I'm just curious. You showed great kindess to that family and I don't really know- Azula: I know what it's like to have adults yell at you when you don't know any better. I might be a monster, but I'm not horrible enough to yell at a child when he's trying his best.) That's the day Iroh really does start to realize the best way to help Azula.

4. From that day on, Iroh starts to see a different side to Azula. Rather than just noticing her snapping at some of the rude customers or rolling her eyes at him or glaring at the Dai Li, he starts to notice that she’s kind to the kids that come into the restaurant, she’s more awkward around kids her own age (unless they get rude), and she tends to be more hesitant when she sees happy families come in. It doesn’t take long for Iroh to connect the dots. Iroh pulls Azula aside after she’s officially been there for almost a year and tells her about a celebration that’s happening in town, giving her the night off to go since he’ll be closing early anyways. Iroh honestly doesn’t know what she’ll do but he’s not totally surprised when she comes along with him for the festival. It starts off slow and cold (not that Iroh expected Azula to be jumping up and down with joy), but as the night continues Azula starts to get more and more comfortable. (Azula: Uncle! You have to try this. Iroh: What is it? Azula: They say it’s Mooncake. It’s delicious.) She even gets into a few conversations with some other teenagers in the city and spends the night hanging out with them. Iroh remains awake until Azula comes up, looking exhausted. (Iroh: Are you okay, Azula? Azula:…. Iroh: Azula? Do you need a healer? Are you okay? Azula: Of course I’m okay! I’ve never had that much fun in my life! We got so much food-father would have killed me if he saw me with so much but they were happy! They told me to keep eating! OH! And we ran across rooftops! And it wasn’t even for training! Iroh: 😊).

5. The original proposal was that Azula would remain in Ba Sing Se with Iroh for a year and a half and then Iroh would report back about if Azula needed to stay longer. The evening Iroh sat down to write the letter to Zuko, spoke with Azula about her thoughts. (Azula: I’m not ready. I need to stay here longer. Iroh: Are you sure, niece? You could return back to the palace and- Azula: Nope! I’m not mentally prepared enough to go back. Iroh: If you’re sure.) Azula does have some reservations about what she tells Iroh after he sends the letter because what if Ba Sing Se isn’t that great. What if she was just so desperate to go home that she was missing how awful the city is? What if the next day, or week or month everything turned awful? (Teenager: Zula! We’re heading out! You coming? Azula: I ummm…Iroh: Go ahead, niece. Just be back an hour after sunset. Azula: You’re sure? Iroh: You deserve a normal life for a while. I think you really want one. Azula: Thanks, Uncle).

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

so this post is inspired by a person who sent an ask to @my-nitpicking-self (i hope you don't mind me tagging you), who mentioned the confrontation between katara and zuko in atla, in reference to glimmer's and catra's relationship in spop. i thought it was an interesting comparison, so i'm going to expand on it.

so two very similar scenes in atla and spop: katara and zuko being stuck together in crystal catacombs and glimmer and catra being stuck together in horde prime's ship. two things to note here - zuko was beginning to heal at this point and had almost completely given up his mission of capturing aang, while catra has just finished conquering salineas and was neck-deep in villainy.

as soon as katara sees zuko, she becomes outraged. keep in mind, zuko did not kill katara's mother. but she still had a valid reason to be mad at him. she holds him accountable for everything he has done.

K: Why did they throw you in here? Oh, wait, let me guess. It's a trap. So that when Aang shows up to help me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches!

K: You're a terrible person! You know that? Always following us! Hunting the Avatar! Trying to capture the world's last hope for peace! But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood!

Z: You don't know what you're talking about.

K: I don't? How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me personally! The Fire Nation took my mother away from me.

here, zuko doesn't try to argue with katara until she implies that violence and aggression is an inherited thing, because he's from the fire nation. zuko accepts his mistakes but he is also aware that being a fire nation citizen or even royalty alone doesn't make you a bad person. even then, he doesn't raise his voice or lash out at her, he just calmly disagrees.

after katara mentions her mother, he apologizes and sympathizes with her.

Z: I'm sorry. That's something we have in common.

K: I'm sorry I yelled at you before.

Z: It doesn't matter.

K: It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face.

katara also apologizes but zuko understands that it was completely in her right to blame him. and then we get to the crux of the issue. katara's mother was killed years ago but she still hasn't been able to move on from the grief.

now, of course, zuko again turns back to villainy but this was an important confrontation. and it wasn't the only one. as you all know, after zuko's official redemption, the gaang still doesn't trust him and katara is the last person to forgive him. she is still upset and disappointed by the way he betrayed her after they had begun to bond in the catacombs. and zuko has to prove his loyalty before katara could forgive him.

now let's come to glimmer and catra. catra DIRECTLY caused the death of glimmer's mother. and it was recent. glimmer had been grappling with her grief in the last season, to the point where she spirals into a small corruption arc. s4 of spop does NOT forget angella's death.

so obviously, you would expect there to be a confrontation between glimmer and catra in s5, especially since they were alone together in a confined space. but let's see what happened.

Glimmer: You again. Why do you keep coming back here?

Catra: Just...bored, I guess.

Glimmer: No, I mean, Horde Prime told you not to talk to me. He's gonna catch you eventually. Why risk it? ...You're lonely, aren't you?

so far, no confrontation, no apology.

Catra: What do you know? You're the prisoner here. I can go where I want. So, stay here by yourself for all I care.

Glimmer: Okay, okay, you're right. It...helps having someone to talk to. Even if you're the last person I'd ever want to be stuck here with.

Catra: Trust me, Sparkles, the feeling is mutual.

and just like that, they're on better terms now. glimmer doesn't bring up angella's death, she doesn't bring up the way catra treated adora, how she and bow were kidnapped by catra, nothing. they seem more like casual rivals than enemies here. catra doesn't seem guilty in the slightest, she just has to threaten to leave and glimmer immediately makes her stay.

and not just that, they joke about adora's paranoia that was rooted in her trauma, as if it's just a fun quirk. at this point, it's clear that the writers are not even trying to make it seem like they don't favor catra over all the characters.

and the one time glimmer somewhat confronts catra—

G: Please, Catra. Do one good thing in your life!

C: Don't talk to me like you know me! You don't know anything about me!

of course, catra shuts her down immediately. and afterwards, even when catra saves glimmer, she makes it clear that she's only doing it for adora. while on the surface, this might still come off as a good deed, it's clear from her later behaviour that catra's goal wasn't to help either adora or glimmer. my best guess is that she was practically awaiting death at that point and didn't expect to face the consequences of her actions, so she wanted to go out with one good deed, much like shadow weaver.

it's crazy how zuko, who was just an antagonist and has done very little to directly hurt the gaang, faced the consequences of his actions and got a drawn out and detailed redemption; while catra, who spent the entire series hurting the protagonists out of her own interest, gets off scot-free.

any time her past actions are brought up, they are mentioned in the vaguest terms possible i.e. “she made some mistakes” or “shs hurt people”. it's so clear that the writers were hoping that if the other characters forgot everything that catra did, the audience would do the same. and the worst part is that they're right. 90% of the fandom were willing to accept catra's redemption because no one in the show ever holds her accountable or confronts her properly.

[the-badger-mole]

The Other Woman: Part 5

In the end, Zuko decided that a letter was the least intrusive way to contact Katara. He'd handwritten at least ten drafts of varying lengths- one reaching eight pages before he'd decided that was excessive. In the end he had the envelope messengered over to Katara's apartment by a third party service both to keep her from feeling like he was involving one of their friends on his behalf and to maintain the distance she'd implicitly requested from him. His final draft was written on cream-colored card stock and delivered with a bouquet of panda lilies. He'd distilled his plea into two short lines.

I'm sorry. Can we talk?

He hadn't expected to hear anything the day he sent the letter. On the second day, his nerves began to get the better of him as he checked his phone every five or so minutes for a missed call or message. On the third day, he berated himself for not saying more in his letter. On the fourth day, he resigned himself to Katara's silence. On the fifth day, despair settled around him like a rain-soaked coat. On the sixth day, his phone lit up with a message.

Can we meet this week?

The diner Katara chose was one they'd stumbled into before late one night after celebrating the birthday of one of their friends a bit too hard. They'd split a custard tart while waiting for a cab. They'd talked about coming back a few times, but they never got around to it. It was a neutral enough spot for them to meet this day.

After the waiter had seated them in a far corner booth at Katara's request, and brought them their coffee and tea respectively, they sat in awkward silence. Katara held her hands clasped around her mug, not meeting Zuko's eye as she waited for him to say something. Zuko took a sip of his tea (some awful bagged stuff that hit his tongue with an acrid, murky taste that lingered), and took a deep breath.

"I owe you an apology," Zuko said. Katara looked up expectantly, her face giving away nothing. "I...I should have stood up for you to my mother. I have no excuse to give you except that I hadn't been paying attention to how unhealthy my relationship with her had gotten."

Katara pulled her lip in between her teeth and her brow furrowed. Zuko could almost hear her thoughts, but it didn't seem like she was ready to speak them.

"I-I spoke to my mom," he told her. "I let her know that I need space from her." Zuko took a deep breath. "I know this doesn't make up for how I've let her treat you, but...I just wanted you to know that I get it. I get why you broke up with me. I would love another chance to prove that I'll have your back against anyone, her included. But I get if that ship has sailed. I guess I just thought you deserved to know that something...I don't know....productive? came from this."

"Why did it take me leaving?" Katara's voice cracked slightly. It startled Zuko, who was beginning to think she would say nothing at all.

"I...I," he stammered. "I was afraid she'd leave again. I was never afraid of you leaving. I knew how much you cared for me, and I took that for granted. I know it's an awful explanation, and I should have listened when you told me before how you felt. I should have told you what I felt. We were supposed to be on the same team, and I let you feel like an outsider." Katara blinked rapidly against the tears that sprang up in her eyes.

"What did she say?" Katara asked. Zuko felt the heat rush to his cheeks again. It would be easier, he thought, if his face would just remain red in shame forever. It would make his scar less prominent, anyway.

"Well..." he said, cringing, "she thought you were pregnant and told me to get a paternity test." Katara snorted derisively and Zuko bowed his head apologetically. "I told her that I needed space, and then I left. She's reached out since, but I haven't responded yet. I've got her text messages in archive. I know I have to speak to her again, and soon, but I needed to take some time to sort out my thoughts." Katara cleared her throat and leaned forward slightly, her elbows resting on the table. Her face gave little away and Zuko wasn't sure how to read what little did come through.

"And what are your thoughts?" she asked.

"I think... I think I screwed up," Zuko confessed. "Not just with you. When I found my mom again, I was twenty. I didn't know what I was doing with my life, and I hadn't spoken to my father in years. Uncle was great, but when I found my mom again, I guess I regressed. I made so many decisions based around her. I turned down a great job because I would be too far from her. And it's not that I regret my life here- I wouldn't have met you if I'd taken that other job- but I gave up too much to be around my mom. I tried to force something instead of letting our relationship grow naturally. I know a lot of it had to do with her insisting she needed me here, and having a panic attack anytime I mentioned doing anything that would take me away from her, but at the end of the day, I'm a grown man, and I need to take responsibility for my own actions. Or...inactions." Katara nodded, taking in a few shallow breaths as she bit down on the inside of her lips.

"I thought you agreed with her about me," Katara said, wiping a couple of stray tears from her cheeks. "I thought that was why you didn't stop her, even after all the arguments we'd had about it. That night...I heard you and her talking in the kitchen-"

"I know," Zuko said, wincing.

"I heard what she said about me," Katara continued. "And I heard you say nothing to her. Nothing. I thought, there's no way this man can love me the way he says he does and not speak up when someone says something like that to his face."

"I'm so sorry," Zuko murmured. He ran his hands over is face. "I am so, so sorry."

"I understand why you clung to her," Katara sighed. "I do. If I had another chance to have my mom... I don't know. I never wanted to come between you and her, but you were supposed to talk to her about it. You were supposed to get her to stop treating me that way. I'm just so tired of arguing with you about her."

Silence hung across the table, and the tension was so heavy that the waiter paused in his journey to get their orders and went back behind the counter.

"You deserve more," Zuko said. "I'm sorry I lost sight of that. And thank you for coming to speak with me today. I-I know you didn't owe me closure."

"How do you know you won't slip back?" Katara's question caught Zuko off guard. He stared at her blankly for a moment before he gathered himself.

"I...guess I don't, really," he admitted. "I have a meeting with a therapist set up to help me work through this thing with Mom. I wanted to have a session before I talk to her again. If she doesn't respect the boundaries I'm trying to set, I'll go low contact with her. Uncle's already volunteered to buffer. Kiyi's going off to college soon, so I won't have to worry about Mom using her for leverage. I see the problem now, and all I can do is work on it. She's my mom, and I love her. I still want her in my life, but I don't ever want to get to this point again.

"You're not doing this just to get me back?" Katara's eyes were sharp. She almost looked angry, but Zuko recognized the signs that she was guarding herself.

"No," he replied firmly. "I still love you, and if there's any hope of you giving me a second chance, I'll take it. In a heartbeat. But I need to do this for me. Because even if this is the last time I see you, I want to be better for myself." Katara swallowed hard and nodded her head.

"It could be a while," she said. "It could take years for you to sort out your issues with your mom. There is a lot to unpack. A lot."

"I know," Zuko's mouth thinned grimly. "But I need to do it. And who knows, maybe my mom will follow my lead and finally get therapy herself. Ikem's told me he's been encouraging her to go for years." Katara let out a mirthless chuckle. Then she sighed and sank back into her seat.

"I still love you," she admitted. "I'm pissed at you, and I don't know if I want to marry you, but I do love you." Zuko wanted to run with that. He wanted to beg her to give him another chance and to take his ring back. Still, he held his tongue, determined not to pressure her. After a moment, Katara rewarded his patience.

"I don't think we should be engaged," she told him. Zuko flinched. "Not right now. I think we both need space to figure things out. But...maybe someday...like in a few months, after you're settled with therapy and have a chance to start working through things. Maybe we could try again? Just dating for a while. We can...we can see if we still work together?"

"And to see if I make good on standing up to my mom?" Zuko added with a weak laugh.

"Is that okay with you?" Katara asked. Zuko hesitated, just for a moment, before he reached out and took Katara's hand.

"That's more than I dared to hope."

"Are you folks ready to order?" The pair turned to find their waiter standing awkwardly at the end of the table. Katara met Zuko's eyes and smiled slightly.

"How about a custard tart?" she suggested. "To share."

The End

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

[ekwolfwriter-blog]

WIP Zutara Month Challenge: Accidental Kisses

This one, I have a cute idea as well. And I have a snippet for this one.

So this one I have been slow working on because I had the idea then lost it but now I can make it slowly but the idea is as following:

After The Southern Raiders, Zuko has been able to help Katara around more but noticing she looks more tired than usual. He finds her and she confesses, after nearly collapsing on to the ground. He caught her and after some time of talking, she tells him that she has been trouble sleeping and was only able to sleep when they were close in the Cave (Shocker I know)

But Zuko then offers to make a little blanket cave for them to help feel a bit more relaxing for her. Especially with the feeling of cuddling with someone.

The following snippet is of Katara thinking of thanking Zuko - while a little sleep deprived but also feeling a bit honest with her heart:

Katara bit her lips as she looked at Zuko as he was pointing out to the stars from their little blanket cave that looked up at the sky. She could see the sincerity in his eyes and he seemed eager to tell her the story but all she wanted was to show her how much she appreciated his efforts. And more so, she could not deny that he was looking rather handsome in the softer moon light.

'I... i want to give him a kiss,' she thought. 'But just on the cheek. Yeah, that is safe. And I am sure he will understand. I mean it is not too much, hopefully he understands.'

Katara moved closer as she took a breath and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

But Zuko turned to her as he said something "Anyway, hope I didn't bore -"

His sentence was cut short as his lips were met with Katara's lips as she had her eyes closed. Zuko stilled as he looked at her softly, waiting for her to make a move as he did not want to embarrass her. But a traitorous part of his heart and mind wanted to give in and kiss her back. Her lips states like sea salt and a bit chapped but he liked how soft the the kiss was on his lips.

Soon Katara opened her eyes as she looked and realized what she had did. She pulled away and blushed hard. "Oh Spirits! So so so so so sorry Zuko. I was just trying to give you a kiss on the cheek. I was not trying to kiss you creepily. I promise I am not like that," She tried to explain but pulled the sheets over her head.

Zuko only watched, confused but also feeling his heart gushing over Katara being flustered for some reason. He blames his traitorous heart still doing back flips from the kiss. But he realized he took too long to say something as he cleared his throat. "It's okay, I know you are not like that. I am sorry as well," he said.

Katara looked at him from under the sheets. "What are you sorry for? I was the one that kissed you without permission."

"Yes, but I did not pull away or answer your kiss back," he said softly as he sat up a little to rub the back of his neck, his face was turning red. "A gentleman is always taught to respect the lady, but also that kisses are important, especially with how important a kiss is. And I figured you were trying to just say thanks but I did not pull away either and accepted the kiss."

Katara looks up at him. "Does kissing mean something different for your people?"

"Not any more different than what it might be for others, but that just... a kiss on the lips feels more personal. And intimate than what a man like me should expect."

"A man like you?" She was curious as she sat up with him.

"A man that is... well digraced in more than just his looks," he said as he shied way away from his face as Zuko's scared side was on the other side.

Katara looked at him softly as she sees now what he meant. She reached up and turned his face to her as her hand touched his scar; caressing his face in her touch as she smiled softly at him. "From what I can see, you are more than honorable than anyone I have met, and certainly more gentleman like. Nothing can change or should make you feel ashamed of it."

Zuko was stunned as blushed then somehow seemed to lean into her hand more to feel it. He smiled brightly at her. "Thanks," he said.

Katara smiled more as she sighed before saying something, but she could feel her exhaustion hitting. Probably a good time to avoid talking about the kiss more. "Well, I should sleep. I should let you go as well."

Zuko raised his eyebrow at her as he smirked. "Weren't you the one that said that you wanted me to cuddle with you to help you sleep again?"

"That was then and this is now, and I just don't want you to feel weird with me," she tried to say, feeling her cheeks heat again.

But Zuko chuckled as he leaned back. "Who said I didn't like the kiss?"

Katara turned to him as she was the one stunned this time. She looked at him with more hopeful eyes as he undid his best to feel a little more comfortable, but looked ready to sleep with her. Katara slowly leaned down into his chest as she sighed and looked happier.

"So... you did not mind the kiss?" Katara asked.

"Not at all, it was... rather sweet, just like you," he said softly as he pulled her into him.

That is all I have for now, subject to change and tweak but hope you like it!

[thegaangneedstherapy]

Zukka fic list part 2

On ice we fall (in love)

Zuko and Sokka rivals to friends to lovers slowburn competitive figure skating AU.

Foolsong

Zuko is an idiot trying to get over a breakup, Sokka is a hockey boy, and online dating isn't really that awful.

Blue

Iroh insists they create a new life and identity in Ba Sing Se. Zuko wants nothing more than to bide his time until his next opportunity to return home, until he realizes ‘Lee’ can get away with things Zuko never could.

Zuko dons the mantle of the Blue Spirit again only to los e his focus when the Avatar comes to the city. This time, however, his attention is drawn to the annoying Southern Tribe warrior.

winter solstice: an addendum

Zuko gets imprisoned with Sokka and Katara during the winter solstice, and some very unfortunate things come to light. Alternatively: the gaang kidnaps adopts Zuko in book one after discovering just how awful his father is.

I'll Come Back Someday (For You)

“We’ll be together someday. I won’t stop looking until I find you again.”

Those words, Sokka thought, were a blessing.

After living through several lives without Zuko, they now feel like a curse.

They were the last words Sokka muttered to the Fire Lord on his death bed after saving Avatar Korra from an attempted kidnapping, and while he meant them, he didn't know that they would come true.

Yet, he tried, tried, tried again, and after cycling into his fourth life, he's starting to give up hope.

All until he walks into the Jasmine Dragon right next to Republic City University's campus.

(i'm sorry but) i'm just thinking of the right words to say

Zuko is the last person Sokka expects to end up as his roommate when he starts college. Sokka is the last person Zuko expects to befriend when he starts his whole life over. And no one who knows a thing about their shared past expects them to end up together. Except, maybe, Toph.

There's Bound To Be A Ghost At The Back Of Your Closet

Zuko needs a new dad, and Hakoda volunteers. A story spanning Zuko's old life, new life, and beyond

running right back to you

the air conditioning stops working at the Jasmine Dragon, and it's miserable until a cute stranger makes it a bit more bearable

Sorry, I Have to Move to Alaska!

Following a lengthy legal battle with Ozai, Iroh has full custody of his niece and nephew. Desperate to get Zuko and Azula away from Ozai (just in case) Iroh buys a tea shop in Anchorage, Alaska.

Sokka has been living in Anchorage since birth and nothing interesting ever happens in this city. Except less than a month into this school year, the mysterious new kid with a facial scar beats up a well-known student in first period.

purrfect for each other

because sometimes, it takes going to a cat café four times to realize you're in love with your best friend

The World We Dream About

A HS Theatre Kid AU where the gaang is in Hadestown, featuring all our favorite high school nostalgia moments and way too many tropes

when i'm set alight

“I’m going to go practice some firebending forms,” Zuko says stiffly, running a hand through the tangles in his hair. “Tell Aang to join me if he wants to once he wakes up.” Gold eyes dart up to where Aang had strung up a makeshift hammock and was still sleeping soundly, snoring like a buffalo yak.

“Alright,” Sokka says, watching as he walks out without another word, evidently having reverted back into his usual brooding self. “Have fun!” He calls after Zuko loudly, which he means to be sarcastic, but comes out painfully, embarrassingly sincere. His face burns, and as soon as Zuko passes out of sight into the the temple, Katara turns to him, leveling him with a Look.

“You like him.” She says, and it’s not a question.

Born Lucky

Zuko knew this would happen one day.

He really should've prepared better.

Of course, he'd imagined something like this many times. He'd see him-- or anyone from high school, really-- and he wouldn't even be recognized. They'd be immediately enamored with him and wouldn't even pause to think he looked like that one girl from high school.

Instead, he has a 24-year-old Sokka cradling a swollen wrist and smiling awkwardly up at Zuko.

like we're made of starlight

When former High Imperial Prince and Sith Acolyte Zuko defects to the rebellion Commander Sokka is tasked to keep an eye on him and bring him into the fold.

[ssreeder]

Hi! I have read a lot of LIAB and I loved it but it was honestly getting a bit too much for me and I had to stop reading cuz I was way too lost in the depressive feels. Your writing is so brilliant though!

I was just wondering how you think Azula would feel if she saw Zuko’s scars? I’m not even sure if you’ve already written this as the story continued or if you plan to soon and so won’t be able to answer, but the thought intrigues me!

haha yeah I have had NUMEROUS people say they started LIAB & couldn’t finish because it got to be too much, which is totally fine!! That’s why I love fanfic because there’s so many options for what different people wanna read. When I started liab I wanted to write a really dramatic emotionally dark and tragic love story - which I know some people aren’t into haha especially with how it’s written. (It was my first time writing ive learned a lot haha)

Seriously though! Thank you so much for complimenting my writing!!<3

ok that’s so crazy you asked this because we’re just at the part in the story where azula will be in the same city as zuko. But in ANY liab situation, I do think her initial reaction would depend on if she was prepared to see zuko or not and how much she knows about where he’s been.

Azula doesn’t enjoy not having control over people and situations- and we all know that when azulas not having a good time no one else is either. So if zuko pops up alive and she’s not expecting it I’m sure she’s going to be annoyed

But no matter what, I do think seeing his scars would surprise her, whether she expected them or not the sheer destruction that was done to zukos body would shock anyone. That’s also her brother, like she knows him he’s not just some extra in the background. she grow up with him and watched him throw tantrums and whine about his mommy and they played in the garden sometimes - & yeah she was prepared to see the SCAR but not all the Scars.

Since she’s rarely caught off guard I think her initial response would be to say something mean and clever to try and overcompensate for the shake in her voice and tremble in her hands. I’m sure she’d have a physical reaction - elevated heartbeat wandering eyes increased breathing but she wouldn’t wanna give zuko the satisfaction of catching her off guard (especially not if she thinks he’s working with his uncle to overthrow her)

she’d play it off but I think it’d haunt her, even if she had zuko in her clutches as a prisoner or ally his scars would stick with her. she’d see them in her dreams and when she closed her eyes, they’d burrow into her consciousness and if she starts to mentally unravel in liab like she did in canon and I’m sure zukos scars would be a significant part of pushing her into that insanity. Especially if she doesn’t know what the fuck happened to her brother lol. sorry I started rambling! I hope I answered the question lol! Thanks for the ask!!

[animation-cartoon-fan-writings]

A Secret Darkness 3

Part 1 Part 2

As soon as Azula was sure Emi was fast asleep in her room, the fire princess went to the only person that she knew could help her with this particular dilemma.

Heading over to the Fire Lord and Lady’s Suite, she is met with the two usual men guarding the french doors to the room. She approaches them with a serious expression, making it clear to them without saying a word that she needed to be allowed inside pronto. “Princess Azula, I’m sorry, but Lady Katara is not allowing any unexpected visitors at the moment,” the older guard tries to explain. Undeterred, the Fire Princess tells them, “this is a family emergency that requires the immediate attention of my sister-in-law”. The guards looked at each other with wide, surprised eyes before quickly turning their heads back to Azula. “Alright. Just let us inform her of your presence,” the younger guard says before opening the door slightly to allow his head to poke inside.

“Fire Lady Katara, Princess Azula is here to see you. She says it’s a family emergency that requires your immediate attention. Should we send her away for now?,” the guard informs. Azula rolls her eyes at the incompetentence of this rookie guard. Thankfully, in response, Katara’s voice is heard from the inside, “No, please send her in”. “As you wish,” the younger guard replies before turning his attention back to Azula, who had a noticeable annoyed frown on her face.

Without another word, the two guards part like the red sea and the older guard opens one of the doors for her, allowing Azula access to the room. She then walks inside before hearing the doors close behind her.

Inside the Fire Lord and Lady’s suite, Azula can see the mess and state of disarray it had become over the past few months. However, the fire princess didn’t flinch. To her, it was normal for the suite to be like this for the first couple of years after a child was born.

When Katara was pregnant with Emi, Zuko had their suite expanded to have the nursery there instead of in another wing of the palace where it would’ve been located before. For weeks, Zuko worked tirelessly with palace contractors and interior decorators to make the new nursery perfect for his and Katara’s first child. Sokka was even brought in from the Southern Water Tribe earlier than expected to help out with the final preparations needed for the nursery. This was a perfect arrangement, given Katara was breastfeeding her children and Zuko was such a hands-on protective father that often struggled to let his little ones out of his sight for even a second.

Since then, it has become tradition that both the Fire Lord and Lady take a leave of absence from their duties during the final two months of pregnancy, plus the first three-to-four months after labor. It also became customary that the baby would sleep in the nursery in the Lord and Lady’s suite until they were around two or three years old, at which they would be moved to their own room in the family wing of the palace.

Currently, only Emi and Kya, respectively, had their own bedrooms. Their youngest, Kallik, was still in the nursery at this time.

So, it wasn’t a surprise for Azula to see Fire Lady Katara sitting on the floor with her son, who was lying down on a blanket wiggling about. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold.

As soon as the fire princess entered the room, Katara looked up with a bright smile at her sister-in-law. “Hi, Azula. Why don’t you come sit?,” the waterbender offers, which Azula takes, walking over to sit on the floor next to Katara.

As she sits down, Kallik starts whining a little. Miraculously, Katara is able to immediately calm him down by just caressing his head and reassuring him that he’s doing “such a good job” and he will get to have his milk soon enough. Azula looks at her sister-in-law sooth her infant son with a mix of awe and confusion as to what was going on. Without her needing to ask, Katara explains, “Sue Long recommended we have Kallik on his stomach for about an hour a day. It’s supposed to help their muscles and develop their motor skills properly”. Azula nods in understanding as Katara holds up a little rattle and shakes it, encouraging her son to reach up and grab it.

Kallik looks up and sees his toy and starts aggressively reaching his chubby hands out to take it. It wasn’t that far away from his reach, but the infant still struggled with pressing his body up. After the fourth attempt, he plopped back down hard onto his belly and began crying.

“Alright, Kallik. That’s enough tummy time for now,” Katara finally relents as she puts the rattle down and picks her crying son up, placing him in her lap to start soothing him.

Katara then turns her head to Azula as she simultaneously starts feeding Kallik his bottle, quieting him down. “So, what’s the ‘family emergency’?,” the fire lady asks. Azula frowns, remembering why she sought out her sister-in-law. “It’s Emi…,” the fire princess starts to explain, to which Katara’s smile drops. “What happened to her? Is she hurt?,” the self-described mama bear implores.

“Not physically, no. But… the thing is… she saw and heard some things and she’s really upset about it”

“Azula, what exactly happened?”

“Alright. I had left Emi and Kya in my suite for about ten minutes to get them some snacks. When I left them, they were fast asleep for their nap, so I didn’t think anything would happen. But, when I came back, Emi was gone. Thankfully, I found her in her room, so she’s safe and sound… but when I went inside to check on her, she was really upset. More so than usual. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that she was an abomination…”

Katara’s eyes widened and her stomach fell.

“Emi called herself that? How is that possible? Did she overhear one of Zuko’s councilmen say that?”

“I wish it was that. No, she went exploring and ended up in the dungeon… that’s where Emi found Ozai”

Katara thought she was going to scream. She could not believe what she was hearing. Her little girl, her precious sunshine, came face to face with that monster.

“What did he say to her?”

“Emi told me that he apparently thought she was me. He started ranting and telling her stuff as if she was me. It’s complicated, but he told her that a half-water tribe child as heir to the fire nation throne was an abomination. He told her some other things, possibly about the war and the Agni Kai years ago. All I know is what she told me happened. She was only able to figure out that Ozai was her grandfather because he referred to me as his child…”

The waterbender gave her sister-in-law a confused look as she adjusted her hold on her son to begin burping him. Suddenly, the fire princess felt all the emotions from her past come up all at once like a roaring volcano.

“Katara, I don’t know what to do. I thought I had finally put my past and what he did behind me. But, now… I know she’s going to be asking more questions about what Ozai told her and the lies he filled her head with and I want to help, but I don’t know…”

Katara took a deep breath and she tries to comfort Azula. She always knew that, sooner or later, her kids would start asking questions about the war. That they couldn’t keep sheltering them from the truth forever. They all needed to be honest with themselves and the kids about the darkness of the world. While the time to do so came earlier than she might have expected, it was a conversation they all needed to have as a family.

“Azula… we all knew this was going to come up someday. These kids deserve to know the truth.”

The fire princess looks up at the fire lady, her eyes glistening with fresh tears.

With a gentle hand on her shoulder, Katara assures her, “We’ll get through this. I promise”.

Azula nods as a small, sad smile appears across her face. She trusted Katara’s intuition and judgement.

“Thank you, Katara,” she whispers, her voice unable to speak any louder. “But, umm… what do we do now?”

The Fire Lady thinks about it for a second before answering, “Well, first, I think we should tell Zuko what happened”

Azula’s eyes widen.

“What? My brother is going to flip when he finds out about this”

“I do not doubt he will be upset. Trust me, I know. But he deserves to know what happened.” In response, Azula lets out a big sigh, resting her cheek against the palm of her hand.

“Ehh… ehh,”Kallik makes his little baby sounds as he reaches his arm out, sensing his Aunt was upset and wanting to make her feel better. Katara obliges her son and passes him on to her sister-in-law. The fire princess accepts the infant into her embrace with ease.

Katara looks on at Azula holding her son with such pride. The young Fire Princess had undoubtedly come a long way since that final Agni Kai years ago. Her, Zuko, and Azula now see that event as the night that changed the trajectory of their lives for the better.

For Zuko, the final Agni Kai was the first time he felt truly confident in himself. But, more importantly, it was the night he finally came to terms with his true feelings for Katara. That he was willing to risk it all, including his own life, for her. That no crown was worth it if Katara got hurt. Even though it took another three years and a failed betrothal with Mai for him to gather up enough courage to even attempt to ask her out on a proper date, that final Agni Kai on the night of Sozin’s Comet marked the very moment Zuko realized he was in love with Katara.

For Katara, Sozin’s Comet marked an important moment in her life. To her, it was the night she finally understood why her mother did what she did, why her mother would lie, claiming to that Fire Nation soldier that she was the last waterbender, a lie that ended up costing her her own life. It was love. It was the love for her family that prompted her to make that decision.

Not only that, but it was also the night she came to peace with her bloodbending abilities. After restraining Azula, she had quickly attempted to heal Zuko from that lightening strike, only to find out that he had been shot directly in the heart. The damage was beyond repair for just her normal healing abilities and even the extra vial of spirit water Pakku had given her before she and Zuko left the White Lotus camp wasn’t enough to bring him back. Zuko’s heart was literally minutes away from giving out when Katara decided to try and bloodbend him as a last resort. While it did take more energy out of her than she was used to, it worked. Zuko’s heart was put back together and his breathing returned to normal within just a few minutes.

Though she initially felt ashamed she had done so, Zuko kept assuring her the rest of that night- and the few weeks that followed it- that knowing how to bloodbend did not inherently make her a bad person and that she was allowed to not be perfect all the time. Those few weeks with him as she continued to further heal him back to full-health, it had been the first time she felt safe, free to just let her guard down and be herself. She doesn’t know exactly when it began, but she knew it was sometime during those few weeks that she finally felt a connection with Zuko that she had not felt with anyone else. While she did not yet have to exact words for it, she would later realize that it was love.

For Azula, as she looked back on the final Agni Kai, she couldn’t help but think that it was both her rock bottom and her saving grace.

At the time, she believed her life was over, that if Ozai didn’t kill her for her failure, that her brother would definitely have her either executed or incarcerated. Much to her surprise, Zuko and Katara insisted on staying in that arena with her until the comet exited the Earth’s orbit. The whole time, they tried talking to her, doing what they could to calm her down. Unfortunately, she was inconsolable at that moment. So, when all else failed, the two instead prepared for her to receive medical help.

By the time Sozin’s Comet came to an end, Azula- while still heavily restrained and her bending abilities blocked- was sent to Caldera’s local psychiatric hospital. That would be where the fire princess would stay for the next several years. During that time, she was put on multiple medications to help her, including one that weakened her bending and made it impossible for her to do so.

For a while, she began to believe she would be in that hospital forever. She was severely depressed, felt like she no longer had a purpose. Even when Zuko- and sometimes Katara- visited her regularly, keeping her up to date on important developments and milestones- such as finding their mother alive with a whole new family of her own- Azula could not find any reason to keep going forward.

She believed that Zuko would eventually give up on her, disown her and move on like she never existed. Zuko tried to help calm those fears by convincing Ursa and her daughter, Kiyi, to come with him to visit her in the hospital. Unfortunately, that whole visit just wound up making things worse. While Kiyi was nice enough, Ursa looked at her oldest daughter with such coldness. It was like she really did not want to be there.

Ursa would only come back to see Azula twice more in five years, and always at Zuko’s insistence. She never came on her own volition, which in hindsight, made the fire princess’s mental health even worse than it already was. Once it was clear Ursa’s presence was causing more harm than good, Zuko stopped bringing her to the hospital.

Around that time, Azula found herself starting to gradually get better. She started seeing her therapist regularly and was on medications that truly helped her. She could tell Zuko was proud of her progress, too. And it wouldn’t be long until she and Katara finally started to get along.

Soon enough, Azula was ready to return to living at the palace. It was a transition and there were a few bumps. What didn’t help was the fact that Katara was in her third trimester with Emi and emotions were already running high. But, Zuko made sure his sister knew it was ok to be imperfect and always made an effort to make her feel included, appreciated, and accepted.

Presently, after going through all that, as the fire princess sits on the floor holding her infant nephew, talking with her sister-in-law about how they were going to tell Zuko about Emi’s encounter with Ozai, Azula felt as if this was where she was meant to be. That everything in her life, both good and bad, has led her to this. And, knowing what she knows now, she wouldn’t trade it all for all the jewels and glory in the universe.

On the other hand, Azula was scared to let her brother know the truth. Terrified that Zuko would be upset with her for possibly allowing this to occur. After all, she was the one left to watch his daughters in his absence and she left them alone, even if it was for a short period of time. The Fire Princess could not help herself but feel so much guilt over it.

However, she knew helping Emi through this was more important than her own fears.

“You’re right. My brother deserves to know what happened,” Azula murmurs. “Aren’t I always?,” Katara smirks as the two women get back to their feet, Azula hanging on to the baby before handing him back to his mother.

Azula lets out a kind hearted laugh, “Thanks, Katara. It… really means a lot”.

“Of course. You know you can talk to me about anything. Wanna help me get Kallik down for his nap?”

“Sure”

Azula and Katara proceed to spend the next several minutes coaxing the infant prince into taking his nap. The Fire Princess allows this to distract her from the omnipresent anxiety over how Zuko will react to the news of what had happened to his eldest child.

Hope you guys liked this!

Please comment if you want to see part 4!