#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 🩷

[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?

[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]

hoax viii (my winless fight)

Chief Hakoda is everything Iroh expected him to be. A tall, broad man, he limps toward the snapping shirshu with his spear extended. His men walk behind him, cautiously.

Iroh slides down the side of the beast and hits the ground with a thud. He turns to Jun, instructing her to meet his nearest contact for her pay and slipping a lotus tile into her palm. She isn't thrilled about it, that much is clear, but she leaves this old man to face the Water Tribe.

Iroh bows. He hopes that this means his grandson is with family, but history has taught him to temper his optimism. "Hello, Chief Hakoda," he says.

The Chief narrows his eyes. "How do you know my name?"

Iroh chuckles. "You and your fleet of southern nonbenders are famous in these parts. I am hoping you can help me."

Lowering his spear (but not his guard), the Chief looks him up and down. Iroh knows he passes well for an Earth Kingdom man, much better than Zuko with his unmistakably bright eyes, but Chief Hakoda is a well-traveled man. Just the same, the other man is also a fair one. "What kind of help are you looking for?"

Iroh takes a deep breath, careful to limit the details of his mission as much as possible. "My grandson and his parents went missing from our camp while I was away several weeks ago. The trail led here. I was hoping I might rejoin them."

Although the Chief looks as though he's about to reply, he doesn't have the opportunity. A woman, long, wavy brown hair blown about her face by the wind, has caught sight of him, and then she's running, crying, "Uncle!" And then Iroh has his arms full of Katara, who hugs him so tightly he can't breathe, and he squeezes her back until she gasps for air. "Uncle Mushi," she says, pulling back and giving him a warning look. "I thought we'd never see you again."

Resting his hands on her shoulders, Iroh looks into her eyes. "I am glad to see you are unharmed, Katara. Where are your boys?"

Unexpectedly, Katara's face twists into a snarl. "Lee decided to go home," she says, and Iroh feels like he's taken a punch to the gut. "Kova is napping. He'll be up soon."

He pulls her back and hugs her again, this time more gently. "I am sorry, Katara," he whispers.

"I'm sorry too," she replies, and though her voice is broken, he can feel the slow simmer of fury bubbling underneath.

He feels it in himself, too.

[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.

[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!

[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

[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.

[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!

[kitty-kei]

Fiery Familiarity - Part 2

here’s part 2! it was a lot of play by play from the episode, but i tried to make it more interesting. we’re getting into the meaty bits, hope you guys enjoy!!

words: ~1.9k

prologue | part 1 | part 3 | part 4

“Hello, Zuko here.”

Like the others, you were shocked. The LAST person you expected to see here was Zuko, especially so soon after the Black Sun fiasco.

“Hey, I heard you guys flying around down there, so, I just thought I'd wait for you here.” You watch with a barely contained smile as Appa let out a roar and licked him. “I know you must be surprised to see me here.”

“Not really, since you've followed us all over the world, “ Sokka sneered.

“Right. Well, uh…” You could see the hesitation on his face as he took a breath to prepare himself. “Anyway, what I wanted to tell you about is that I've changed, and I, uh, I'm good now, and well I think I should join your group, oh, and I can teach firebending…” Zuko met Aang eyes, “to you.”

You could see Aang's posture relax slightly, his grip on his staff loosening as Momo chittered softly.

Zuko started, “See, I, uh-”

“You wanna *what* now?” Toph asked incredulously.

“You can’t possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you?” Katara furrowed her brows as she continued, “I mean, how stupid do you think we are?!”

Sokka chimed in, “Yeah, all you’ve ever done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang!”

You piped up, trying to diffuse some of the rising tension. “Everybody, please, just calm down-”

“I've done some good things! I mean, I could have stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free. That's something!” He gestured to Appa before giving an awkward shrug. You watched his eyes widen slightly as Appa licked up his back once more.

“Appa does seem to like him,” Toph said, her tone significantly softer this time around.

“He probably just covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him. I'm not buying it.” Sokka made a show of gesturing along with his obvious disdain for the prince.

Zuko took a breath before beginning again, “I can understand why you wouldn’t trust me, and I know I’ve made some mistakes in the past.” You could tell from the look in his eyes that he meant it. The way he looked to the side, ashamed of his past actions.

Your breath hitched as Sokka raised his voice. “Like when you attacked our village?”

“Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?”

“Look, I admit I've some awful things.” He buried a hand in his hair as he continued, “I was wrong to try to capture you, and I'm sorry that I attacked the Water Tribe. And I never should have sent that Fire Nation assassin after you.” You could see Toph and Sokka’s posture change as Zuko continued, “I'm going to try and stop-”

Your eyes widened, “that was you?”

Sokka pulled out his boomerang, ready to attack, “Wait, you sent Combustion Man after us?!”

Zuko’s hand fell as he looked up, a look in his eyes you couldn’t quite place. “Well, that's not his name, but-”

“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to insult your friend.” Sokka’s voice was laced with angry sarcasm.

Zuko’s fiery temper set in as he raised his voice angrily, “He’s not my friend!”

Toph pointed accusingly, “That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!”

Zuko closed his eyes as he composed himself before looking at Aang. “Why aren't you saying anything? You once said you thought we could be friends.” You could hear the quiet desperation buried in his words. “You know I have good in me.”

Aang looked to the rest of you, and the hope in your eyes dulled as Sokka shook his head. Aang’s expression turned harsh before he replied. “There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us.”

You couldn’t help but gasp softly as you watched Zuko’s face fall, “Aang-”

“You need to get out of here. Now.”

Zuko’s face contorted as he tried to speak once more, “I’m trying to explain that I'm not that person anymore!” He took a few steps forward, desperate to plead his case.

Sokka positioned his boomerang, “Either you leave or we attack.”

“If you won't accept me as a friend, then maybe you'll take me as a prisoner.” Zuko fell onto his knees, raising his hands in surrender to be cuffed.

Katara shifted, getting ready to bend, “No, we won’t!”

“Katara, no!” You yelped in vain, helpless as she hit him with a blast of water. You took a step, reaching towards him as he grunted in pain.

“Get out of here, and don't come back! And if we ever see you again,” she stomped as Sokka stepped forward threateningly, “well, we'd better not see you again!”

Zuko’s wide-eyed expression changed to one of resignation as he lifted himself up and walked off.

You stood at Toph’s side as the others gathered their things and stalked off, grumbling angrily about the situation.

“Why would he try to fool us like that?” Katara asked.

Sokka piped up, “Obviously he wants to lead us into some kind of trap.”

Katara sighs, “This is just like when we were in prison together at Ba Sing Se. He starts talking about his mother and making it seem like he's an actual human being with feelings.”

You could feel your face fall at the mention of Ursa, “Katara, you don’t know that he was lying about his mother.”

Sokka shot you a glare, “He wants you to trust and feel sorry for him so you let your guard down, then he strikes.” Sokka motioned out a jab.

She knelt as she set her belongings down, “The thing is… It worked. I did feel sorry for him. I felt like he was really confused and hurt.” She paused for a moment, getting up, “but obviously, when the time came, he made his choice, and we paid the price.” She looked down, brow furrowing. “We can't trust him.”

You leaned into Toph, just enough that she gave you a questioning look before Aang caught your attention.

“I kind of have a confession to make. Remember when you two were sick and I got captured by Zhao?”

You listened as Sokka and Katara bickered about frogs and warts, in true sibling fashion. Thankfully, Aang cut them off once more. “Anyway, when Zhao had me chained up, it was Zuko who came in and got me out. He risked his life to save me.”

You could tell the confession only managed to rile Katara up more, crossing her arms as she ranted. “No way. I'm sure he only did it so he could capture you himself!”

Sokka jumped in once more, “Yeah, face it Aang, you're nothing but a big prize to him.”

Aang’s face fell slightly as he sighed, “You're probably right.”

Katara’s arms shifted, fists clenched at her sides, “And what was all that crazy stuff about setting Appa free? What a liar!”

Toph finally spoke up, “Actually, he wasn’t lying.”

You inhaled sharply, watching her with laser focus. You had almost forgotten about her ability to sense lies.

“Oh, hooray! In a lifetime of evil, at least he didn't add animal cruelty to the list.” You almost scoffed at the sarcastic venom in Sokka’s voice.

Toph sighed, “I'm just saying that considering his messed-up family and how he was raised, he could have turned out a lot worse.”

“You're right, Toph! Let's go find him and give him a medal. The "not as much of a jerk as you could have been" award!”

Your eyes narrowed as you looked at Katara, “that’s not fair and you know it Katara.”

“All I know is that while he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you're all just letting your hurt feelings keep you from thinking clearly.”

Toph made a good point. However, you couldn’t help but wonder if your own feelings toward him were clouding your judgment as well.

Aang and Sokka turned to face you two as Katara continued, “Easy for you to say! You weren't there when he had us attacked by pirates!”

“Or when he burned down Kyoshi Island!”

“Or when he tried to capture me at the Fire Temple!”

Katara stomps like a petulant child, “Why would you guys even try to defend him?”

Toph stalks forward angrily, “Because Katara, you're all ignoring one crucial fact,” she pokes at Aang’s chest, “Aang needs a firebending teacher! We can't think of a single person in the world to do the job! Now one shows up on a silver platter, and you won't even think about it?” The ground rumbles as Toph stomps out her point.

You walk up and place a hand on her shoulder in a show of support, staring them down with her. “I’m not saying what he’s been through justifies his actions, but Toph is right. Right now, he’s the only chance we’ve got.”

Katara seems to contemplate this, looking down before Aang speaks. “I’m not having Zuko as my teacher.”

“You’re darn right you’re not, buddy.” Sokka glares at the two of you.

Katara crosses her arms again, “Well, I guess that settles that.”

Toph growls, shrugging off your hand as she turns, calling out to them before she stomps off. “I'm beginning to wonder who's really the blind one around here!”

You give one last look to the others before following her.

“So, what’s the plan Toph?”

She glares, “what are you talking about?”

You give a sly grin, “well if I know you, and I do, you’ve got a plan. I want in.”

Toph gives you a smirk before explaining.

When night fell, you and Toph snuck away to the ground above the Air Temple. You knew Zuko had to be camping close, and your suspicions were confirmed when you saw the distant flickering of a campfire. You walked with Toph closer to the camp, slowing when you heard an alarmed Zuko.

“Who's there? Stay back!”

“It’s me!” Toph cried, throwing up an earth shield as Zuko sent out a panicked fire blast. Your eyes widened, trying to reach and push Toph forward before she tipped back. You were a second too late, catching her as she fell.

She yelped in pain, “You burned my feet!”

You watched his eyes widen as he got up, “I’m sorry, It was a mistake!”

You helped Toph as she scrambled away, desperately throwing earth to defend herself. Zuko dodged desperately, “Let me help you! I'm sorry!” He reached forward, grabbing her shoulder.

“Get off me! Get off me!” She managed to elbow him away, throwing up an earth pillar to knock him away.

He tumbled to the ground with a grunt, pushing himself up onto his elbows. His eyes were wide as he cried, “I didn’t know it was you!” He grabbed his side, groaning, “Come back!”

You met his eyes, a mix of worry and pity crossing your face as you helped Toph shuffle away. You could see the desperate look he threw your way, and your heart ached to put a smile on his face. He reached out, but you knew you had to help Toph. You turned away, trying to catch up to her.

“Ugh! Why am I so bad at being good?!”

You felt your heart shatter at the pure frustration and sadness in his voice. You couldn’t help but think that even with all he’d done, he was still just a scared boy trying to figure out his place in the world. You just wished the others could see that too.

You met his eyes, a mix of worry and pity crossing your face as you helped Toph shuffle away. You could see the desperate look he threw your way, and your heart ached to put a smile on his face. He reached out, but you knew you had to help Toph. You turned away, trying to catch up to her.

“Ugh! Why am I so bad at being good?!”

You felt your heart shatter at the pure frustration and sadness in his voice. You couldn’t help but think that even with all he’d done, he was still just a scared boy trying to figure out his place in the world. You just wished the others could see that too.

[zukkaart]

For the ships prompts 5 and 14

Y'all are being Tyzula WHORES today (I love you anyway)

Couple #5: Ty Lee x Azula

Prompt #14: “You’re hurting me!”

For the prompt game!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An untold meeting with the gaang, the Spring before Sozin’s comet

The three young women peered over a rock, the Avatar and his little group were seemingly setting up camp for the night.

“Alright ladies here’s the plan,” Azula side eyed them both as she spoke, “It seems like they each have tasks, we’ll wait for them to split up, then pick them off one by one,” The two women nodded in acknowledgment.

“Mai, take the water bending peasant, Ty Lee, you take the boy. The avatar is mine” With that, they parted ways.

~~~

Ty Lee crept along the tree line- staying silent and patiently waiting for the avatar and girl to leave.

“Okay, I’ll find something for us to eat, Aang do you want to get fire wood?”

“Sure thing Katara!” The Avatar zoomed off in to the woods, seemingly lifted by nothing. Ty Lee had never seen an air bender before- well- almost no one had nowadays. She was mesmerized.

Soon after the bender (Katara?) left as well. Finally.

Planting her signature dazzling smile she all but waltzed in to their camp. No need to be stealthy when her charms worked just as well.

“Hey cutie, long time no see,” She leaned over him where he knelt- laying out his sleeping bag,

“Aaah!” He yelled and turned around, reaching for that weird weapon he kept strapped across his back. She did always wonder what it was, it looked like someone attempted to make a sword, but did it very wrong.

Ty Lee danced around him casually as he tried to pin her down.

“You never told me your name cutie,” She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, he wiped it off but didn’t look entirely appalled. She noted that,

“It’s Sokka, water tribe”

“Well Sokka water tribe. I’m Ty Lee” she cartwheeled a safe distance away from him. “Nice to meet you”

“I wish I could say the same, what are you doing here? I thought you were after that pony tailed freak,”

“Oh we are,” She folded her arms behind her casually, Sokka held his…knife? In a defensive position, “But the avatar is an even better prize”

“We?”

“You think I’m here alone? I’m just the distraction silly!” Realization passed across the dark boys face, he turned on his heel to take off in the direction that the avatar left, but Ty Lee stepped in front of him. “I don’t think so Sokka,”

With a few quick jabs she disabled his dominant leg, he collapsed to one knee.

“Sorry about that gorgeous, I can’t have you interrupting her highness, can’t we just sit and chat?”

“In your dreams circus freak,”

“Yes,” She replied with a giggle, “since we’re here, why don’t you tell me what that is?”

“What what is?” He glanced at the blade still in his hand, “You mean boomerang?” She saw a thought pass across his features, and before she knew it- he threw it towards her. She simply side stepped and it missed her.

“Well that’s not terribly effective, is it? I expected more from the Southern Water Tribe” She taunted. What a ridiculous weapon. “But dont worry, you’ll get your leg back in a few hours. We’ll be long gone by then, but hey, if you’re ever in the Fire Nation look me up,” She winked

“Ty Lee!” Azula’s voice came from the edge of the woods. She ran up to her as smooth as ever. “The Avatar got away, I couldn’t follow him without setting this whole forest on fire, Zuko is too close- we can’t risk tipping him off,”

“Okay Azula!” But just as she turned to leave, the world went black

~~~

Azula watched in horror as that weapon the boy was so fond of came seemingly out of nowhere and slammed right in to Ty Lee’s back. She crumpled, blood quickly beginning to run down her back.

“Ty Lee!” Azula rushed forward and caught her before she could hit the ground, pressing their fronts together, The smaller girls head lolled on to her shoulder.

“Sokka!” The water tribe girl came rushing from the tree line, seemingly to her brother’s aid, but froze in her tracks when she took in the scene before her.

“Sokka, what did you do?” Katara had yet to fully grasp the reality of war, she of course wasn’t dumb enough to think they had never caused any casualties, but she did her best to avoid it when possible, and Sokka always made a point to shield her from the direct kills. So seeing this… she didn’t know how to react in any way other than her nature.

Katara took a hesitant step forward, reaching out a hand. “Azula I can help, please let me,”

“Get away from her!” Azula snarled, tears beginning to flow freely down her face. “Ty Lee, Ty Lee wake up!” She began to shout desperately. She reached for the thing sticking out of her back.

“Azula don’t!” Katara moved closer, something like genuine concern splayed across her face. “If you just rip that out you could hurt her more, even sever her spine. You could kill her,”

“She’s already dead!” Azula screamed, slowly losing grip on her rational thoughts,

“No. She isn’t, but she will be if you don’t let me help you,” Azula could do nothing but hold her friend tighter as Katara hesitantly inched forward. She brought water to her palms. Azula braced for an attack, but she couldn’t bring herself to let go of Ty Lee.

“I’m not going to hurt her,” Katara said, finally kneeling in front of her. The water tribe boy hadn’t moved behind them, she wasn’t unaware of him but she was too distracted to ponder too much why he wasn’t attacking. She took the small mercy from Agni as the water benders hands began to glow.

“What are you doing?!” Azula yanked her away, the water splashed around them,

“I’m healing her, please don’t move. You could make it a lot worse.” Azula was hesitant, but she would take any chance for her friend right now. Katara then grabbed the object in one hand, glowing water in the other. She slowly edged it out as she supposedly “healed” her as she went. Azula did her best to keep her breathing steady, which was surprisingly easy due to her training.

The object was finally removed, and a couple of moment later Katara stood and quickly backed away. “There, she’ll be fine,” Azula didn’t have to be told twice as she scooped the still unconscious Ty Lee in to her arms and sprinted back off in to the woods without even a word.

Once she deemed them a safe distance she fell back on to her knees, tears beginning to wane just slightly. She was still hopelessly worried, but she took solace in the fact that at least there wasn’t a weapon sticking out of her and the bleeding had stopped.

Still, she held Ty Lee in to her chest as tightly as she could, and began rocking back and forth and muttering, “please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead, please-“

“Azula?” Came a broken voice, the princess sucked in a sharp breath.

“Ty Lee? What is it? What do you need?”

“You’re hurting me”

Azula noticed her crushing grip and half-laughed half-sobbed in relief as she loosened her grip.

“For Agni’s sake Ty Lee I thought you were dead!” Once she was sure the little acrobat wasn’t in fact dead- her worry was quickly replaced with anger and frustration.

“What? Why? Were you… crying?” Ty Lee reached up from where she still laid in Azula’s arms to brush her wet cheek with the back of her hand.

“Yes you idiot! I thought I lost you!” Ty Lee should have been startled at Azula’s anger- but she was used to her concern coming out as aggression.

“Hey, I’m okay. I’m right here. I don’t know what happened- but I’m okay,” The next thing she knew- the princesses lips were on hers. She pulled away for a moment, “Now I’m really confused, what is happening right now?”

Azula huffed and rolled her eyes, “Just shut up,” Were Azula’s only words before her lips crashed on to hers once more

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eeek! This one was definitely short and sweet but I kind of love it. I hope you do too!

Xoxo

[stardust948]

A while ago I started a prequel for Into the Night. Here are some snippets.

TW: Domestic and child abuse

“Isn’t this exciting dear?” Rina adjusted her daughter’s silk red robes.

Ursa plastered on a fake smile. “Yes. Very.”

“You’re not fooling me, Ursa.” Rina frown. “I know that look.”

Ursa sighed. “I’m sorry Mom. But how can I be excited to marry someone I hardly know?”

“You’ve met Azulon’s son before and you said he was fine.”

“It was one date. You don’t know a person after one brief date.”

“Well you have the rest of your lives to get to know each other.”

Ursa looked away as anger flared up.

“Darling.” Rina tilted Ursa’s face towards her. “I know this is hard, but we need the money.”

“I know. Still, I feel no less than a prized ostrich-horse going to the highest bidder.”

“That’s enough.” Rina said firmly. “A pampered ostrich-horse is leagues better than one that works in the mines. Be grateful.”

Ursa pursed her lips. “Yes mother.”

Rina finished the last adjustments then walked her to the doors.

“You look beautiful. Big smiles.”

Ursa took a deep breath then smiled brightly.

“Better.”

///

Ursa narrowed her eyes as she caught Ozai creep out of Zuko’s room and quietly closed the door behind him.

“What are you doing?” she asked lowly crossing her arms.

Ozai scoffed. “Do you not trust me even in my own house? Must you pester me at every waking hour?”

“Answer the question.”

“You aren’t the one in position to demand things from me.” Ozai sneered. “Go back to bed.”

“I’m not one of your subordinates! What were you doing in my son’s room?!”

Muffled noise came from the closed door.

“Zuko?” Ursa moved to open the door but Ozai grabbed her arm.

“You’ll wake him more.” He said in a quieter tone. “He’ll fall back to sleep in time.”

Ursa yanked her arm away and glared at him.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“It’s late. We will discuss this in the morning.” He kissed her cheek. “Alright?”

“I will hold you to it.”

“I expect nothing less.”

Ozai guided her back to the room. Ursa wearily stole a glance at Zuko’s closed door as her stomach knotted.

Something wasn’t right.

///

Ursa felt sick.

She rushed to the bathroom to empty her stomach as her mind replayed the lude texts from her husband’s phone over and over. She shouldn’t be surprised in the slightest that he cheated on her, yet the evidence overwhelmed her. It was as if Ozai left it out on purpose for her to find.

After fumbling with the doorknob a bit, Ursa stumbled in and flipped on the light. There was a sharp gasp. Ursa froze.

Zuko by the sink shirtless with bandages and drops of blood scattered on the floor. His back was red and blotchy with streams of blood trinkling down. He looked at her like a cat deer caught in headlights. Ursa’s world tilted.

“Mama!”

“What happened?!”

“Um.” Zuko looked down and clutched his balled up night shirt.

“Zuko look at me.” She dropped to her knees and grabbed both of his shoulders. “What happened?! Tell me who did this!”

Zuko began to cry. “I can’t. F-Father said don’t t-tell.”

Ursa couldn’t breathe. 

“W-What?”

Zuko buried his head into the shirt and sobbed. Ursa’s heart shattered.

“Oh baby…” she shakily pulled him into a hug. “My baby. My darling sweet boy.”

“I’m sorry.” He croaked.

“Zuko.” Ursa cupped his face. “This is not your fault.”

“But Father said I’m broken. H-He’s fixing me.” Zuko eyes widened as soon as the words left his mouth. “Please don’t tell him I said that! He made me promise.”

Tears poured out of Ursa’s eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with you baby.”

Zuko bowed his head as more tears came. Ursa stroke his head while fighting the urge to scream and barge into Ozai’s room. Instead, she gently patched Zuko up and led him back to his room.

“How long has Father been doing this?”

“S-Since the party. He… he was really mad tonight.”

Ursa swallowed thickly. “This isn’t right. He’s not supposed to hurt you.”

Zuko gave her a confused look. Ursa slowly inhaled to composed herself.

“Do you want to sleep in my room tonight?”

Zuko nodded.

“Can Dante the Great come too?” he asked hesitantly. “He’s hiding under the bed.”

“Of course darling.”

Ursa fished out the toy and gave it to Zuko. He immediately buried his head in the stuffed turtleduck.

“He doesn’t like it when Father comes.” 

Blinking back more tears, Ursa picked Zuko up while being careful to mind his bandages. “Let’s go get your sister. We’ll have a sleepover.”

“O-Okay.”

[kyra-writes-too-much]

Boiling Rage - Part 2

GUESS WHO FINALLY POSTED PT 2??? Call it a Valentine’s Day gift lol

(i know i’m so late i’m SORRY. school and softball and theater are killing me 😅 we’re supposed to have a play next month but we’re so behind pls forgive me)

ok so part 1 stuck mostly to the canon storyline but this part does not. umm… enjoy

tw: descriptions of injuries (nothing major tho)

— — —

Sokka frowns. “He’s kind of in a cooler right now?”

“He’s where?” 

“The coolers are a sort of… container that firebenders are put in. They’re insulated, and kept too cold to use bending. The warden came after him for some reason, but I don’t know why!”

Your eyes are wide as Sokka explains, and at the end, something clicks. Mai. 

“That little… okay. Okay, let’s get Zuko, we can figure out the escape plan together.”

Sokka shakes his head. “We can’t. He’s under guard. But I did find someone else that you might like to see…”

“Who?” You’re upset, but can’t go bursting into the cooler by yourself. 

“Suki. She was arrested, but she’s here!”

“Suki’s here?! Really?”

Suki was the leader of the Kyoshi warriors, and your best friend. You haven’t seen her since Axula attacked you all in the forest, when you had been the only one to escape. 

“Yeah! Zuko and I saw her in the yard, right before he was taken away. I went to visit her, and we were trying to come up with an escape plan.”

“Okay, that’s actually good news. But I want to go find Zuko, before…”

“Before what?” Sokka prompts. 

“Before Mai does. If I know her at all, she’ll be here soon… and she’ll be mad. At me, mostly, but also at Zuko.” 

“We have to get rid of the guards first… if you can cause a distraction, I can get him out.”

You grin. “That won’t be a problem.”

— — —

You and Sokka are quiet as you approach the four guards, trying not to attract too much attention. Neither of you have a weapon, but the guards appear unarmed as well. You’ll just have to be wary of fire. 

“Excuse me! The warden sent us. It’s your turn to have dinner,” Sokka lies. 

One of the guards looks both of you up and down. “We were ordered to keep at least four guards on this post at a time. Two of us will remain here with you.”

You had expected a problem like this. “Of course, sir.” Sokka gives you a dubious look, but you have a plan. As soon as two of the guards saunter off, you give the other two guards a smile, then realize that they can’t see it through the helmet. 

“Hi! I don’t think I’ve seen either of you around before,” you say brightly. 

“Oh. I’m usually in the prison yard,” one of them, a younger-sounding guy, says. 

“And I’m new here,” says the other, a middle aged woman.

“Well, it’s good to meet you guys,” Sokka says, going along with what you’re doing. 

“Yeah! Hey, even though you’re new, you’ve tried the fruit tarts in the food court right?” you ask, addressing the woman. 

“Fruit tarts? No… why?”

“They’re incredible! You have to go grab one before they’re gone,” Sokka replies enthusiastically. 

“Fruit tarts? I didn’t know there were fruit tarts here,” the other guard says longingly.

“Really? How? You guys should get them now, they usually run out fast,” you tell them. 

“Yeah, we can watch the cooler for a while,” Sokka assures. 

“You know what? That sounds amazing. We owe you,” the guy says to you and Sokka. He and the woman walk away down the corridor, debating on the best type of fruit tart.

“Enjoy!” you call after them. 

“That was genius,” Sokka tells you when they’re out of sight. 

“I know, right? Ok, how do you open this thing?”

Sokka spins a key ring around his finger. “You’re not the only one with tricks up your sleeve.”

You grin at the Water Tribe boy as he twists the key in the lock and slides the cooler door open. 

“Zuko!” you greet your boyfriend. “Oh, what happened to you?!”

Zuko is huddled on the ground, trying to keep warm. A dark violet bruise has formed around his right eye, and dried blood splatter is visible on his clothes. 

“I got punched in the face. I’m f-fine, Y/N,” he says, but not very convincingly. 

“Okay, I hate to break up the reunion, but we need to get you out of here,” Sokka interrupts. 

Zuko grimaces. “I don’t know if you can,” he sighs, shifting to reveal one of his ankles shackled to the floor. 

“Sokka, give me the keys,” you order. He complies, and you try to open the lock with each of the keys. When none of them work, you panic slightly, going through all of them again. “Why aren’t they working?”

“The warden probably has the key,” Sokka realizes. 

“You know what? You’re right. Both of you stay here. I’ll be as quick as I can,” you tell them. 

“Y/N, are you c-crazy? Don’t risk going after the warden for me. I’ll b-be okay,” Zuko insists. He looks absolutely exhausted, and is shivering. 

“Yeah, sure. Don’t lie to me, Zu. I’ll be back soon, okay?”

“…okay. I’ll see you soon.”

Sokka nods at you. “Good luck. Be careful.”

“Am I not always?” you call over your shoulder. 

“No!” both of them reply as you leave. 

— — — 

You (kind of) know where you’re going, so you make it to the warden’s office without getting too lost. 

Hearing footsteps from around a corner, you take a breath and try to act natural. The warden steps into your line of vision. 

You can see the keys in his pocket, barely sticking out. Your fingers reach out, and you barely catch the key ring with your pinkie. Closing your fingers around the keys, you smile under your helmet, and start your way back. 

— — —

Part three will be the final part!!!