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roriaa · 10 months ago

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When Sun and Moon meet - S1

Zuko x Fem!WaterBender!Reader Enemies to Lovers

As one of the Princesses of the Northern Water tribe, you were blessed with a gift by the moon. However you were permitted to be allowed to use the gift at all costs. From many hidden waterbending usages, the aftermath of the avatar visiting the Northern Tribe had led to your beginning journey, hiding yourself as a water bender as a princess from the Northern water tribe

Warnings: Fighting (again)

Masterlist

҉ * ‧͙ ⋆ ⁺ ༓ ☾ Chapter 3 - Dangerous Gale

I felt the calming breeze flow through my hair gently on the floor of flowers. The sweet scent of flowers went through my brain, a peaceful aura surrounded me. It felt like the home I dreamed of, sighing in relief. Wait…where am I? I quickly gather myself to walk around the flowers, trying not to destroy them. My breathing is growing unstable. “Hello?” I yelled out waving my hand against the breeze. I saw a figure in the distance. “Hellooo!? Do you know what this place is?” I called out to the unknown figure. Suddenly a wish of snow hit and a cold breeze struck. I shivered violently, this is nothing like I experienced before. I attempted to run towards the unknown person until I fell on top of the snow. I turned my body around to see the person, who was known above me. It was mom.

“Y/N don't give up” She whispers, her voice echoing around me

“What…? Mom?” I couldn't get up and saw my mom left slowly “Wait! Hold on! Mom!” I cried out trying to get her attention, but it never came…I closed my eyes for a second then woke back up.

There was a heavy blizzard outside, all I saw was the snow falling on my chin, my hood from my jacket covering most of my face. The wind was extreme and the smell of the heavy weather was icy. “Y/N?” Yue and Katara were over my unconscious body. “She’s awake!” Katara yelled at her brother and Yue hugged me. While I returned the hug “Where am I? And how long was I out?” I asked drowsily. “You were out for not too long but we’re looking for Aang at this moment” Yue informed as I groaned trying to get up. “I'm sorry” I mumbled. “It's okay Y/N you did your best” Katara’s brother said “plus I feel like we’re almost there”. I sigh in relief and lean back against…a saddle. “Who…What are we flying on?” I asked cautiously. “This is Appa, Appa this is Y/N” Katara’s brother introduced rather quickly. “What's your name?” I asked worriedly. “How do you not know my name?!” “Well Saur-re!” I said sarcastically “I have a bad memory!” “It's Sokka,” Katara introduced as he huffed in annoyance. Yue laughed sweetly which made me smile.

Time passed on and still nothing, just tons of snow which wasn't any different than before. “Don't worry, Prince Zuko cant be getting too far in this weather” Yue reassured Sokka and Katara. Zuko…so that's his name? Wait, he is a prince?? “I'm not worried they’ll get away in the blizzard, I'm worried that they won't” Katara explains disappointingly that they haven't found Aang any sooner. “They’re not gonna die in this blizzard! If we know anything, it is that Zuko doesn't give up” Sokka said. That sounded somewhat familiar. “They’ll survive, and we’ll find them” He continued. “I agree, plus he is the avatar, I'm confident he will survive.” I spoke up. A few minutes later a bright blue beam flew by us landing in a specific area. “Look! That's gotta be Aang” Katara yelled as we pointed towards the beam. Immediately Appa flew down to the area we were pointed at. We saw Aang, wiggling his way in the snow with Prince Zuko behind, grabbing him. Once we landed he let go of Aang.

“Ready for a re-match?” Zuko announced.

“Katara let me handle this.” I got down in the blizzard, using the snow around me to catch his fireball and throwing the ice cold water towards him, circling him. Finally knocking him down with an ice block letting him fall in the cold padded snow. “Easy” I muttered under my breath, Katara helping me up to get on Appa. “Wait, we can't leave him here,” Aang said sympathetically. “Why not?” Sokka retorted as I deeply sighed. “That's on him for trying to fight a water bender in a snowstorm, hear me? A snow-storm” I enunciated. “But if we leave him here, he will die.” I internally face palmed, wasn't that the whole entire plan? Aang carried Zuko on top of Appa, tying him to prevent him from dying and we set off again. ҉ ☾ “The moon spirit” I gasped at the change of atmosphere from a calming blue sky to a striking red environment. Once I had ingested the new area a pounding headache seeped through all parts of my head, Katara immediately came to my side. “Are you okay?” Sokka asked Yue as she also felt the pounding headache “I feel faint” She responded. “I feel it too” Aang held his head against his hand “The moon spirit is in trouble”

“I owe the moon spirit my life” I looked up at Yue and she corrected herself “We owe the moon spirit our lives” “What do you mean?” Sokka questioned “When we were born we were both unhealthy” Yue continued “Most babies cry when they are born but when I was born, as if I was asleep.” She sighed “Frankly, the total opposite happened to Y/N. When she was born she couldn't stop crying. Our healers did the best they could but there was no cure for both of us, we were bound to die. But that night our father pleaded with the moon spirit, underneath the full moon he brought us to the oasis and placed us in the pond. Our hair went from dark brown to white, that's when we were able to live.” Yue explained the situation we both went through. Both pitiful looks came from Katara and Sokka. “Sivoy was the only one who was born healthy and didn't need the moon's blessing, however our father decided to pray for his luck in the future as well.” I said. “That's how we three have white hair, it wasn't genetic.” I laughed breathily trying to keep it light hearted. “I assumed that you would have gotten it from your mom,” Katara said but we both shook our heads.

“Speaking of which, I had a dream in which my mom was in it” I told Yue, who was immediately intrigued following Katara and Sokka. “But…nothing happened, she just told me to not give up and left.” I said sadly. Katara patted my back. “Our mom died as well, she died protecting me” Katara said sorrowfully, holding her betrothal necklace while Sokka kept his head down. I felt nothing but sadness for them. “Hey, at least they’re both in a better place now”. I reassuringly patted both Katara and Sokka's backs as they both exhaled, leaving a cold breath. I turn my body towards the bloody moon, anxiety filling my senses.

<- Back - Next ->

a/n: Sorry if this chapter is shorter than the others I just couldnt mash it up with chapter 4. Additionally chapter 4 is going to be the last episode of season 1 (the masterlist gave hints). ALSO I keep adding stuff to the layout so if my reblogs look different dont worry. I constantly keep making additional changes LMAO. Also who knew that chosing names for chapters were really difficult 😭 I spent a good 10 minutes chosing a name for each chapter. However I think it turned out great!! I think season 2 might be my favorite season of this series CAUSE YOU SEE ZUKO WORKING AT THE TEA SHOP. I think a lot of the bickering will start from there definitely HOWEVER I shouldnt get ahead of myself since chapter 4 isnt released yet. Thank you guys for reading! The 2 chapters already got 100 likes WHICH IS LIKE?? WHAT?? I wasnt expecting that at all. But thank you :) Have a nice day and take care of yourself!! Also if you want to be added to the taglist comment or share to my inbox! Or just share anything to my Inbox I really dont mind!!

-- Taglist: @luvkvni @katovano @karmaswitch @someonesmember @velvet-spider @sh3sa1dwhat @nerdisthenewcool @meiraloves2dmen @fqnfics101 @iluvme547 @leaderwon @yukihatesreoyo @heart4hees @4l3x1s @kkissaku

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quillthrillswriting · 9 months ago

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my (quillthills) ao3 ATLA fanfiction masterlist:

"if happiness were a tangible thing, it would be you":

Katara is tired of the iron grip that Emperor Ozai has over the kingdom of Rosas, tired of watching him spread his influence across the mainland. When Sokka comes home from the palace with the knowledge of an impending tragedy, Katara is left to wish on the stars in hope that they will offer salvation. They do, in the form of the Avatar, a boy transformed into a wishing star almost a century earlier. Her wish for hope is fulfilled, in the form of a boy known to be the embodiment of hope. Will that same hope be enough to stand against a man powered by the dreams and wishes of an entire kingdom? OR: ever since pixina put the idea in my head of a kataang wish AU, i haven't been able to stop thinking about it. this fic is the result<3 if you haven't seen wish (2023) yet, don't worry! you don't really need to to understand this fic:)

"so i will go to secret gardens in my mind":

after he and katara's escape to the palace gardens the night prior, avatar aang, the king of all four elements, cannot stop thinking of the beautiful dark-haired water princess. misunderstandings and deliberate deception constructed by regent ozai makes the reconciliation of these star-crossed lovers more complicated than necessary. OR: the second of many kataang regency-era works ♔

"you’re in the wind, i’m in the water":

aang has only just been crowned as the avatar, the king of all four elements, and already, he struggles to find his footing in a society without any of his people. a dance with princess katara of the water tribe, and a subsequent escape to the palace gardens, helps him find that footing. OR: the first of many kataang regency-era works ♔

"there's a star-man, waiting in the sky":

a flash-fiction atla modern AU in which yue passes away from cancer early in life, and sokka becomes an astronaut so that he can go to space and be close to the moon she always loved so much ☾

"the teenager in the iceberg"- multichap

i feel like a lot of people have wondered how different atla as a whole would be if aang had been older, so in this au, aang was frozen at age 16! naturally, i just had to flip aang being after katara from day one to katara now having a crush on aang from the very beginning. essentially, to recap. ATLA aang aged up AU fic. kataang. where she falls first, and he falls harder. also, cmon. i just had to write a new version of the scene where zuko and aang meet.

"you with the dark curls, you with the watercolor eyes"- multichap

Avatar Aang had been told time and time again that to venture across the surface of the sea when the moon had risen and claimed what rightfully belonged to it was to sign your own death certificate. And yet, he found himself here, at the water’s edge, skipping stones, lost in thought. To be the Avatar had once meant something, years before. Before the four tribes had separated, scattered to the ends of the earth. Those who formed fire itself chased the other tribes from the surface lands, those who could move rock and metal burrowed underground, those who flowed with the air sent ships with great sails across the sea until they reached towering mountain spires. Those who bent water, who bent blood… they retreated to the depths of the sea, and with time, they became a part of it. Legend told of the way in which the Water tribes had adapted, two legs smoothed into razor sharp scales and voices twisted into something dark and luring. Now, they were the monsters known as sirens. OR: a KATAANG AU where tui and la have split the earth into the sea and the sky. aang is a winged avian, while katara is a siren<3

"well, my (not-yet) boyfriend's in a band":

in which the gaang are in a band, and when it comes time for them to write an original song to submit to the republic city music festival, aang is...suspiciously good at writing love song lyrics OR kataang, if they were in an indie band and aang didn't know how to communicate his feelings except through writing love songs

"i’m no longer a kid, and everything has changed":

after aang falls to azula's lightning strike in the caves of the earth kingdom, toph, sokka, and katara are left to pick up the pieces. katara's healing abilities are put to the test in the weeks that follow, but she finds herself seeing aang in a different light as she realizes how much he's endured since emerging from the iceberg only months before. OR: the weeks-long gap between the end of season two and the beginning of season three of ATLA is finally at least partially expanded upon. ALSO OR: a bit of aangst, or kataangst, if you will

"can you see me using everything to hold back?":

Katara's life after saving the world was filled with a whirlwind romance with Fire Lord Zuko that became a loveless, controlling marriage she is no longer happy in. After finding out the extent to which her husband has betrayed her trust, she escapes to find home in the person she has missed most during her time in the Fire Nation. OR: The common Zutara trope of "Zuko helps Katara escape an unhealthy relationship with Aang" is flipped entirely and completely on its head.

"my heart is yours, it’s you that i hold on to":

The war has been ended, Ozai has been rendered helpless, and Zuko has reclaimed the Fire Nation with the promise of peace. Everything that Aang has been working towards since the moment Katara freed him from the iceberg has been done. He's saved the world. Now, all that's left is to confess to his forever girl. OR Aang wakes up the morning after him and his friends saved the entire world, and the first (and only) thing he can think about is Katara. When they get a chance to talk, the two take a walk down memory lane.

"shining down on me":

sokka can't stop thinking about yue. she comes to him in his dreams, and try as he might, he just can't move on. inspired by the song "my love, mine all mine" by mitski

"the avatar's adventures in parenting":

aang being a bad parent is CHARACTER ASSASSINATION and i won't stand for it. i just know that him and katara wouldn't be focused on just passing on bending, but the *teachings* and ideals of both of their tribes to all their children, regardless of bending status. OR, aang and katara become parents and aang finds out that parenting is his proudest achievement, more so than stopping a hundred year war or holding the position of avatar

"i'm trying to tell you something, something that i already said":

katara speaks to each member of the gaang individually and finds out that aang has been head over heels with her for years and no one ever bothered telling her. this takes place after the fire lord is defeated, but in my version, they never kissed in the finale:oo katara is basically dumb in terms of love and so is aang and they are peak miscommunication trope and theres too much zutara content and not enough kataang OR katara interrogates each of her friends (toph, sokka, and zuko) and comes to the conclusion that she has lived for years without the kind of love most people wish for their entire lives

if any of these speak to you, they can all be found on my ao3 account:)<3 happy reading!!!

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geothewriter · 1 year ago

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Zutara Week 2023 - Day 3: Union

Attending Sokka and Suki’s wedding on Kyoshi island was meant to be a joyous excursion from Zuko’s duties as Fire Lord. Indeed, he indulged himself in the fine wines unique to the island, and spoke at great length with his friends. A massive storm extended the five day excursion to seven, as the harbor was battered by wild waves and typhoon winds. Not even the Avatar’s efforts could quell the raging storm, and after fighting with nature for hours on the fifth day, he retired to a well protected home inland, along with the rest of the group who were visiting for the wedding.

Luckily for them, the storm held out until after Sokka and Suki’s vows and subsequent reception on the fourth day. Witnessing the pair’s union added a cherry on top of the idea that Zuko had made the right choices in the war, and in life. If only he hadn’t felt so alone, he wouldn’t be in the predicament he currently found himself.

Before the fledgling Fire Lord sat a young woman with beautiful flowing brown locks of hair. He sat behind her, attempting to braid the mane into a traditional Fire Nation style unsuccessfully for fifteen minutes. Distraction continually weaved its way into his mind, with thoughts of how nice the hair felt running through his fingers, or how it felt wrong to see the exposed nape of her neck when he pulled the hair into a different style.

The thoughts weren’t necessarily new to him, but being trapped with her by a raging typhoon in a tiny home in a foreign land wasn’t helping. He needed to leave before he said something stupid. He wasn’t ready for his mind to speak words he may regret later, and besides, this was an event to honor Suki and Sokka’s union, not just any old get-together.

The pair shared the one room house and talked, laughed, and played games of pai sho. They spoke of their adventures during the war, and the years following. Katara had expressed interest in becoming an ambassador to one of the other nations at one point, and Zuko jokingly offered a spot in the Fire Nation. She never responded to his offer, instead she chose to ponder it quietly for some time.

Zuko gave brief notes of how frustrating it had become to deal with his advisors, council, and just about everyone else at the palace. He missed having just their old group around to solve problems. He mentioned that he even missed the stressful final days of the war, with how close everyone had grown.

The sixth night, at the height of the storm, the pair found themselves huddled up as lightning crashed and thunder echoed outside. The winds howled as they attempted to find sleep. At some point in the long night, Zuko heard her voice near to him, seeming to be practicing some set of lines. He feigned sleep, not trusting his tongue to keep quiet.

"I’d love to be an ambassador to the Fire Nation. Would you really have me? No. Sure, Zuko being ambassador there sounds like fun. No.. If I became ambassador, would we be able to be together? I’ll wait for you, but it’s so hard to see you struggle by yourself when I can help. We could get through it all together."

A chill shot down his spine as he realized she felt the same as he had for only the spirits know how long. He’d officially ask her in the morning. To be his or to be the ambassador, he wasn’t sure; probably both. Either way, it would be a grand union between their two nations, a union of nations grown out of a union between friends.

If you like my writing, check out my other works over on AO3!

@zutaraweek

#zutara #zutara week 2023 #zutaraweek2023 #zuko #katara #geotheraider writes #atla #zuko x katara #zutaraweek #zkweek2023 #zkweek

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litsnobconfessions · 21 days ago

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A Year of Animation Day 2: ATLA S1E5-8

Date: January 2, 2025

Day: 2

Content Watched: Avatar: The Last Air Bender, Book 1, Episodes 5-8

Year: 2005-2008

Rating: TV-Y7-FV

Run Time: 92 minutes

Before I get into the review, I think now would be a good time to talk about controversies. Simply put, you'll probably not agree with everything I pick. In the case of ATLA, it's gotten a lot of attention for its "Asian and Indigeous representation," which basically wasn't seen in similar media. But even though it's gotten a lot of positive feedback regarding representation, there are plenty of people who feel that it's appropriative, rather than appreciative. Others say they liked seeing characters who looked more like themselves, but simultaneously find elements of the show probelmatic. And it doesn't help that the number of Asian and Indigenous artists working on the show was relatively small.

Author Xiran Jay Zhao makes the point that Avatar is not representative because the characters in it are not from actual Asian or Indigenous cultures—they are from the Water Tribe and the Fire Nation, etc, and while these cultures are inspired by real world cultures, they are not intended to be equated with them. If you want to know more, they have at least three videos about the cultural inspirations behind Avatar, which offer praise, criticism, and a lot of interesting information that you may not know.

From what I've seen and heard, ATLA depicted Asian and Indigenous-coded characters at a time that many other shows did not. A lot of young people identified with these characters and had positive connections with seeing protgonists that looked like themselves. This is a good thing. But this is not and by no means should be the end-all-be-all of Asian or Indigeous representation. I said yesterday that it's important for girls to see multiple representations of girlhood because we are not all the same. The same is true for ethnic and cultural representaiton. But I also think that a great place for a piece of literature to be a few decades after it's written is to have people saying that they find value in it, but it could be better. I hope, as I do with much of my favorite literature, that creators today will build from the place that ATLA brought us and create new and even better works.

Obviously, I think the story and the animation has enough value to not only watch it, but to start off my year of animation with it. And from here one out, I'm going to focus on these aspects, and I won't talk much more about cultural reprsentation, if at all. This is not because I don't believe the conversation is important, but because I don't think I should be the one leading it. I would much prefer to give shout-outs to actual Asian and Indigenous voices, like Zhao's. So if you know someone (or are someone!) who is part of this discussion, let me know, and I will give that a shout-out as well.

So… pretty much the same things I had to say yesterday. These episodes really feel like they're "shot" the same way you might shoot a live-action show. I think of the part where it cuts to Aang's fake mustache. But more specifically, we see the dust on the gates of Omashu as they open and close, there's a creek flowing in the background of the opening scene of "Imprisoned," Katara and Haru's hair is being blown by an intermittent wind as they speak outside, which all feels very realistic, and all of which could have been left out to save time and money. I do feel that as a whole, these episodes feel more static than the last four, but that's not to say that they wouldn't be that way if this was live-action. My favorite bit of animation in these four episodes is probably where Iroh stands up out of the water, and they block his nudity with Zuko's hand.

And, as I said yesterday, the winter solstice happens here, and seeing as that just passed a couple of weeks ago, this felt like a good show to start with. I think "The Winter Solstice, Part 2" was my favorite episode here because—and I know I'm going to start some fights here—it felt like it had more substance? The other episodes feel more filler-y. They do each have plot relevent details, but they're pretty small, like Katara losing her necklace. But in "Winter Solstice Part 2," the whole episode felt like it was part of the larger storyline. But, overall, I think they're all pretty evenly ranked.

The episode I want to focus on, though, is "Imprisoned," which I actually would have liked to see done differently. I am glad that the gaang was able to help the Earth-benders free themselves from the fire navy ship, but I also think it's important for us to realize that not all forms of resistance are major rebellions. In fact, often they are very small, like a teacher calling a student by their preferred pronouns, even if it's against school policy, or a nurse at a religious school who gives teenagers condoms, or the girl who tries out for the football team, and have you figured out that I'm a teacher yet?

My point is that resistance happens all the time. And if you're thinking that this is different because they're, well, imprisoned, then you should consider Jews in concentration camps who found ways to celebrate Passover and Shabbas and other important holidays. Or enslaved African-Americans who dared to raise families and pass down stories and songs. There are lots of ways to fight back, not just...

So when Katara asks Tyro what their plan is, and he tells her it's to survive, I don't think that should come across as his spirit being beaten down. These are horrible conditions they're living in—poor food, not enough blankets, coughing can have you put in solitary for a week, the fire nation soldiers are constantly berating them, and they refer their culture to "brutish savagery." So what if, when Katara asks about escape, the idea of survival was presented as a form of resistance. What if Tyro told her that the lack of an escape plan was strategic. Maybe they choose not to escape, not because their spirits are broken and they don't think it's possible, but because they are choosing not to risk the lives necessary to carry out a rebellion. But in lieu of this, they are finding other ways to carry on their cultural traditions and to not have their spirits broken. Then when Sokka and Aang arrive, she can present her plan to Tyro, and they together, they can decide if this is a better form of resistance for the moment.

Finally, I do want to bring up The Winter Solstice Part 1 for just a moment because I do love the Iroh-kidnapped poltline, and I like seeing Zuko and Iroh fighting back to back. But the best part of this episode is that Zuko tells Iroh that if he's not back on the ship in half and hour, it will leave without him, but he shows up again, clearly more than half and hour later, looking for Iroh. Because we all know this is an empty threat.

Tomorrow, we're going to take a break from Avatar to meet a villain sidekick that is better dressed than Zuko and Sokka combined.

#Year of Animation #animation #TV review #ATLA

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influenzalake · 1 year ago

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Batfam and Superfam + as ATLA Benders

totally original idea nobody has ever done before

also only going on the original series, we dont talk about Korra

Bruce: Firebender

- Bruce would be a firebender because of the burning within him. Similar to how Zuko only found his power through pure rage, a young Bruce had to train, meditate, and suffer even more to find his strength elsewhere. His rage still plays a part in his power, the more he loses it the stronger he becomes. I see Bruce hiding his bender abilities for a very long time, refusing to expose his power as Bruce Wayne. As Batman however, here are rumors and whispers about the Bat being a Combustion style firebender. Little do they know, their Batman has mastered every sub-group of firebending possible. Bruce would specialize in combustion though. Great for keeping the mystery of the Bat and causing distractions when Bruce is in public and Batman is needed.

Selina: Waterbender

- Water, free , flowing , always changing. Adaptable and versatile. Selina has not mastered any specific sub-group of bending, but has heard about bloodbending and uses healing waterbending for herself. Selina uses the cold, unpredictable weather of Gotham to her advantage. Any rain, any fog, any humidity is a Gotham waterbender's dream. She specializes in freezing the water. She uses frozen water as makeshift keys, spikes as weapons, and ice / smoke walls for her getaway. I think Waterbender Selina would change the color scheme of her Catwoman suit so she could use the water to her advantage. Black against ice and water does not blend well. She would make her own custom suit to blend into the Gotham darkness and to reflect her waterbending skills.

Alfred: Waterbender

- Master Alfred, wise, powerful, and experienced in the world of waterbending. He specializes in Healing waterbending and mastered this ability in his youth. Now sharing his knowledge with Firebender Bruce and guiding his ward the best he can. His healing comes in serious handy when said ward arrives back at the cave barely in one piece. Wayne Manor always has tolerable weather despite what the reports say, as Alfred puts a dome of water for protection. Alfred is a formidable adversary and can incapacitate enemies in an instant. Alfred is also an advanced bloodbender, something even Bruce doesn't know. Alfred discovered his power during his time in the M16, but has sworn off such an act unless absolutely necessary. Alfred prefers to completely freeze his enemies, from near or far.

Dick: Airbender

- "The element of freedom" , Dick is an airbender that can use the power of flight to some degree. His powers came to him naturally, as both of his parents were airbenders and invested a lot of time into their bouncing baby boy. He loves the flowing rush of wind in his hair and the thrill of being high in the sky. As a young boy, he used his airbending abilities with a "now you see now you don't" style. He was energetic, playful, and full of life. As a young man, Dick uses his airbending abilities to keep his enemies off balance and to disorient them. In emotional outbursts, he is capable of huge whirlwinds. He is focused and has centralized his power. Dick either uses his power in a lower intensity to toy with his foes or goes all out there is no in between. He likes to tease younger heroes in a brotherly way, blowing their cape over their heads or uses the wind to mess up their hair. Dick has said the "breaking wind" joke over 100 times.

Starfire: Despite the title, I see her as a Nonbender and despite her name, i don't see her as a firebender either, for the sake of the fic she will be an airbender

- In the crossover in my head, Starfire shares qualities with Ty Lee. Adding to this idea, the theories that state Ty Lee is or is a descendant of an airbender helped figure out what bender Starfire would be. Starfire has a free spirit and shares her joy with the world. Her airbending style is of Tameranean influence not found in any corner of the Earth. For that reason, she has not mastered or successfully attempted any of the airbending sub-groups. Tameranean Airbender Starfire can fly without needing to airbend and her favorite airbending move would be air currents.

Jason: Firebender

- Due to his early life, Jason would have discovered his firebending at a young age. This early discovery and practice makes him a very strong very dangerous firebender before he even hits double digits. Bruce would notice his potential to be a force for either good or evil, and relate a lot to the rage inside of young Jason. Unlike Bruce, Jason never felt the need to control his anger and tame his fire. Jason feels that trying to calm him is restricting and his emotions are his most important quality. Any chance of him subduing his feelings and finding his firebending from his diaphragm instead of his rage went out the door after he died. He now cherishes his anger and feels it is more important than ever. He feels another layer of betrayal from Bruce, being a fellow firebender and daring to try and change him. The Red Hood would now have a tertiary meaning, with him as a firebender. He would retain everything from every trainer and experience he has ever had though, keeping his true power a secret. Jason can lightningbend and redirect with extreme effort.

Roy: Earthbender

- Earthbender Roy would never be truly comfortable with his bending. Earth is solid and steady, something that was never granted to Roy in any way. Roy has tried to bend the earthbending subgroups, but failed. It didn't help that his mentor was Airbender Ollie that struggled to relate with and properly teach his earthbending sidekick. Roy could not connect with the earth, the source of his power, and found his bending abilities to be a useless burden. Roy's earthbending breakthrough didn't happen until later in his life. He eventually got his grip through his isolation and by practicing alone. Roy developed his own bending methods and has unique moves. He now loves the smell and feeling of dirt. Roy can do minor metalbending.

Tim: Waterbender

- Tim is a prodigy waterbender. Able to move small bodies of water as soon as he got to stand on his own two feet. Tim would fill the room with glittering snowflakes when he was alone as a boy. He has some experience with healing, but even less experience with spirit and blood bending. Those subgroups required test subjects, and young Tim did not want to get in trouble. He feels it in his bones that he is capable of such feats. He instead turns his attention to refining his waterbending. By the time he becomes Robin, his waterbending has advanced so far Bruce is impressed and Alfred is so proud. Alfred is secretly ecstatic to have another waterbender in the manor and shares whatever tips he can with the prodigy. With Tim as the newest member of the Batfam, Dick jokes that all Bruce needs now is an earthbender Robin and he would be the Avatar.

Conner: Earthbender

- Conner is strong, rigid, and very heavy. Earth is strong, rigid, and very heavy. (lol jk) Conner had some trouble with his bending abilities in his early stages. He could barely earthbend steadily, much less start on a subgroup and people would joke that he should have been a firebender. Jokes like that only made Conner fight more with his bending side. Conner would compare himself to other benders who took so quickly to their affinity. Con felt spited, as he had questions but never got the answers. He wanted nothing more to be like Clark, one with the earth. Conner had no mentor in his beginning. Conner's fighting and bending style came from surges of emotion, which made his bending unpredictable and unreliable. Over the years, Conner spends more time with himself. He works to accept his creation and who he is. With this self reflection, Conner finds peace. He finds that the world is not against him and he is not a mistake. Conner, as an earthbender, feels like he can finally breathe. He feels stronger than ever, that strength coming from his personal security.

Damian: Firebender

- Born of two strong firebenders, Damian had no doubt in his mind that he would be the best in the nation. Damian's first introduction to firebending was that it was a force for dominance and destruction. Damian internalized that perspective upon himself, only thinking himself capable of doing harm with his bending, never learning it could be more- or used for anything different. Due to the pressure of his LOA upbringing, Damian mastered firebending, every subgroup, and bends blue fire. He has studied endlessly about other elements and has a superiority bias against nonbenders. He thinks himself as higher than the Firelord, and believes that when the LOA's plans are complete he will be.

Jon: Airbender

- When Jon was born, his parents would always guess what kind of bender he would be. They looked at all of his behaviors as an infant and toddler, waiting for their precious child to start showing signs. There were bets from all of their friends and family. To everybody's surprise, he was caught floating to the top of his nursery by his parents. The news was out! Jonathan Samuel Kent was an airbender. This fact would have drawn some questioning stares, if Jon wasn't the spitting image of Clark. Turns out Lois had some airbender from her mother's side. His parents are shocked but overjoyed nonetheless. Clark is determined to learn everything about airbender culture and power to give his only son the future he deserves. Jon grows up to be a spoiled, friendly, and gifted airbender.

Clark: Earthbender

- Clark is an earthbender alien to nonbenders Martha and Jonathan Kent. Even being from another planet, Clark feels the earth as an extension of himself. Mastery of the art came easily to him. He spent a lot of time in nature as a young boy and he taught himself how to feel the earth. His heightened senses were a blessing and a burden. Clark was aware of every rumble coming from below and had to learn how to concentrate. In his young teens, Clark learned how to use both his Kryptonian and Earthbending powers safely and reliably. As an adult living in Metropolis, he spends less time in nature, but can still remember his roots and feel the movement of the world all around him. Clark says he is not the power, but the earth is. As Superman he doesn't use earthbending in his fighting very often. If he does use it, it is in desperate moments and pretends it was not him. Everybody thinks Clark Kent is a nonbender.

Lois: Waterbender

- Lois has a complicated relationship with her bending. She never felt the need to use her bending nor did she feel any interconnection with water and what it represented. Lois knows some bending moves, but never spent too much time worrying about her bending. Her father wanted a firebender or at least an earthbender, but above all wanted a son. Lois grew up feeling that bending was not important.

Jimmy: Either an airbender, earthbender, waterbender, or a nonbender. For fic's sake, Jimmy will be an airbender.

- He's never had any formal training, so his bending isn't that strong. Jimmy likes using his bending for fun, he can make himself float, saving items before they drop, and it helps him go faster when he's running around for work. He likes being a casual bender.

Bizarro: (being the opposite of Clark) Airbender

- Bizarro's bending is very random. He doesn't control it very well. When he does airbend, it is pure strength. Powerful, but it is messy bending. He kicks up dirt and other debris, also bringing into his attacks. Bizarro can fly without the help of his bending. He hasn't tried to practice any airbending subgroups. Bizarro idolizes the avatar, he fanboying is very cute.

Diana: Earthbender

- Diana is an incredible earthbender. Diana has trained alongside ancient masters and studied their techniques back on Themyscira. She masters earthbending and all their subgroups. Her favorite subgroup is lavabending. Part of her training included rumination, focusing on becoming one with the Earth. It was said to bring an earthbender closer to the source of their power. Diana has never revealed this to anyone, but after leaving the pristine island, Diana felt like her power was weakened. The Earth was truly suffering and she felt the ground beneath her as sloppy. As Wonder Woman, Diana uses earthbending sparingly. She knows her raw fighting power is strong enough. Diana doesn't want to aggravate the Earth any more than it already is.

Barry: Airbender

- Barry was not a natural born airbender. Funnily enough, it came after his superspeed powers. Due to this, his power is limited. His hypothesis is that the access to the speed force also made this possible. Acquired bending is a very rare phenomenon, but then again, the man was struck by lightning and became a superpowered being. When running, Barry feels the air around him dissolve and he goes FAST. After some time as the Flash, he learned the difference between the speed force and airbending. He tries to airbend but the mix of his speed powers only allow him to create sharp blasts of wind. Barry has tried all of the airbending subgroups, but physically cannot. He finds that his greatest airbending strikes come from his legs, not his hands.

Arthur was already a waterbender lol

#atla #avatar the last airbender #dc #superfam #superman #batfam #batman #scenarios #headcanons #long post

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dawnsnail · 2 years ago

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ID: [A digital art piece picturing Zuko and Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender. They are in a fenced backyard on a bright, sunny day with clouds drifting in the light blue sky, washing a fluffy white dog in a teal plastic kiddie pool. The dog is shaking off water. Zuko kneels on the left, wearing a red bathing suit, grinning as he raises his hands to protect his face from the splashed water. Katara stands to the right of him, wearing a white bikini, her hair flowing in the wind. She also has a hand raised to protect her face, while her other hand holds a hose that is pouring directly into the pool. She is looking at Zuko and laughing.]

I worked so long and hard on this piece, which is the second part of my contribution to this year's @zkbigbang! I think I sketched and re-sketched and re-did and re-referenced this image about ten times, as I really wanted to get the composition and anatomy right :') But I'm SO happy with how it came out! This piece is for Pawprints, a gorgeously written emotional rollercoaster of a fic with really fun interpretations of Zutara in modern day, with the addition of cute dogs to fawn over! This piece captured my heart right away and I'm so proud to have been a part of it <3

Please also check out my fellow artist on this piece, @soopersara, who made a gorgeous companion piece of digital art to depict the end of the fic! It's been a delight to work with you through this project!

#zutara #zutara big bang #zutara big bang 2022 #zuko x katara #katara x zuko #katara #zuko #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar fanart #atla fanart #zutara with dog #hot zutara summer #zutara art #zutara fanart

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zutarabender · 3 years ago

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@zutaramonth day 18: What If AU: What if Yon Rha hadn’t retired? Tw: Mentions of bloodbending and murder.

---

Perched on Appa's head, Katara was still going over the night's events.

They'd found Yon Rha steering his ship; she'd recognized him right away. The captain had admitted to the crime. The Southern Raiders’ commander had begged, and pleaded, and offered the life of all of his crew in exchange of his own. He’d even told him where his mother lived. Katara blessed the full moon that let her force his heart to a standstill without much effort. It was a quick and efficient murder. The worst of Katara's instincts screamed at her to prolong it, to savor the fear in his eyes, but the man had been so pathetic that it would have just made her pity him further.

Next to her, Zuko steered Appa quietly through the night sky. They'd been silent for what felt like hours. Only when the night started turning into dawn did Zuko break the silence, soft and tentative.

"Katara," he said, "are you okay? Do you need to talk about what just happened?"

That did it. All Zuko had to do was reach out. Suddenly, Katara found herself sobbing and shaking uncontrollably against his shoulder. Those tears that she'd pushed back and hidden from the world for years were flowing freely down her cheeks and onto Zuko's shirt. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, calm and gentle, filling her with the sort of relief that made it all the more difficult to hold herself back. It was like coming home to a warm fire after spending hours in the freezing cold.

"I'm afraid he will haunt me in my nightmares."

It seemed silly, but it was the only truth. He'd done so before, when he took her mother's life. Now, all Katara could see in her mind were his terrified eyes as she forced his blood to stop flowing.

"Do you regret it, Katara?"

She thought about it for a moment. Yon Rha hadn't been an honorable man living an honorable life. He'd been a state-sponsored, cold-blooded killer. Had she left him alive, there was no telling how many more innocent lives he could take, how many hard-earned livelihoods he could ruin.

"No, I don't think I do." She wiped her eyes, pulling away from Zuko's embrace. "I just... I don't know if it will stay this way. I don't know how I'm going to face everyone."

"I'll be with you," Zuko reminded her, his face inscrutable. "Whatever you say to them, I'll back you up."

Katara could only stare at him in awe. Zuko was showing blind faith in her judgment when she was at her lowest, at her most despicable. It was a vain thought, but she hated how ugly she felt, inside and out, with her bloated red eyes and her hands tainted with blood. And yet, Zuko was looking at her as if there was no one or nothing more worthy of his devotion. It was puzzling.

"Zuko, you don't have to... I mean. I think... I think I forgave you long ago. You don't—"

"Do you really think I went with you just to clear my conscience?" Zuko narrowed his eyes, leaning toward her ever-so-slightly. The wind blew his hair around his face and Katara would never forget how he looked just then. "I care about you, Katara."

That impassionate assertion was enough to make her eyes fill with tears again. Truth was, she could no longer fool herself. She'd long seen the heart behind the burning anger and she'd always wanted to believe Zuko could be his better self. And there he was—for her.

"I care about you too," Katara admitted quietly. "That's why it all hurt so much."

"I really am sorry, Katara."

"I know," she said. And to her own surprise, a hint of a smile wanted to creep up her face. This was the most solace she'd felt in years. "Thank you, Zuko. For everything."

#zutaramonth #zutara month #zutaramonth2022 #zutara month 2022 #zutara #zuko #katara #my stuff

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nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice · 4 years ago

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avatar + textpost 54/?

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19/ 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33 / 34 / 35 / 36 / 37 / 38 / 39 / 40 / 41 / 42 / 43 / 44 / 45 / 46 / 47 / 48 / 49 / 50 / 51 / 52 / 53 / 54

image description below

{Id: Mai stands close to Zuko on the boat back to the Fire Nation at the beginning of season three. Zuko has a contemplative expression and Mai is smiling at him. She tilts his face towards her. The caption reads “*me flirting* hey, wanna suffer together?”}

{Id: Zuko and Mai gaze into each others eyes as they sit in front of the sunset. The caption reads “literally nothing feels better than being loved by someone who hates everyone}

{Id: Zuko looks over the rails of a boat as his hair flows in the wind. Mai sits in the background, sitting with her arms crossed and looking over at him. The caption reads “we are edgelords first, depressed goths second, and people third”}

{Id: Zuko holds an umbrella for him and Mai at the beach. They are both glaring in opposite directions. The caption reads “relationship goals: judging people together.”}

{Id: Mai stands next to Zuko and has one hand on Zuko’s chest as they both glare at Azula (off camera). The caption reads “yeah I understand women. They all want daggers and swords. It’s quite simple really.}

#for ro #maiko #mai #zuko #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar + textpost #the beach #the awakening #the headband

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boredhungrytired · 3 years ago

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Day 1 - Melting/Rain

For Maiko Week 2022 organized by @idonthatemaiko

Raindrops pattered on the dry cliffside pathway, water streaming down the way like a makeshift waterfall. The pair made no move to leave.

“We just had to come up here, didn’t we?”

Zuko cringed inwardly at his poor judgement. Gray clouds had hung over the blue horizon as he and his girlfriend ascended the slopes of the caldera.

The cliffs, their regular haunt, had become a place of solace. Far from the Royal Guard ordered to shadow Zuko. Away from the curious citizens more than eager to catch a glimpse of the returned prince. No rules, no rigidity, no Azula.

But plenty of rain today. Oops.

“I really thought it would bypass us, I’m sorry,” he murmured into her hair.

Zuko sat up from the blanket they lounged on and shed his outermost robe. Calloused hands passed the garment to Mai.

Mai deadpanned up at him from her seated position, “What am I supposed to do with this?”

A Deadpan Mai, Zuko learned, could quickly lead to a Cranky Mai. Not to be confused with Hangry Mai. Deadpan Mai wielded sarcasm as expertly as she did her knives. Cranky Mai turned to insults that went straight for the jugular. Worst of all, Hangry Mai turned into…a monster. Best to avoid all of them, if possible.

He shrugged, the fabric flowing in the salty storm breeze. “Hold it over your head, maybe? To stop the rain from ruining your makeup…”

The knife-thrower ran a pale finger over her cheeks, the tip coming up black from kohl and mascara that now streamed down her face. Her mauve lipstick was in the beginning stages of running as well.

She sighed, “It’s too late for that now. Come to my place to dry?”

Zuko perked up as he reached a better solution. He searched his mussed-up robe for a corner, attempting to dab the ruined makeup from his girlfriend’s face. Mai resigned under his ministrations, hoping she could at the very least stride through the capitol without bearing the resemblance of a circus clown.

One look at Zuko’s furrowed eyebrow let her hope down. The black streaks had turned into obsidian globs on her alabaster skin. She batted his hands away before standing up huffily.

“Just take me home.” Mai averted her gaze and began walking, discomfited with her appearance.

“Home, yeah. Going.” The prince scrambled to fold their blanket and grab their shared canteen of water.

Mai had walked far enough ahead that Zuko had to jog to catch up. Fat raindrops flew diagonally from the thundering clouds above. Wind blustered and ruffled their robes. Zuko reached out his hand to hold hers. A tube-shaped object in her sleeve pocket bumped against his thumb. Quickly he recognized it to be her lipstick vial.

His fingers snatched the cool metal from its confines.

“I don’t want more of that right now.” Mai walked on, leaving Zuko in the middle of a low-traffic street.

Hastily, Zuko unscrewed the tube and did not think twice before smearing the mauve cream all over his good eye. Uncle had frank discussions with Zuko during their time away. Women are tricky and tend to take more stock into appearances than men. In a way not entirely comical, the lipstick shade bore an uncanny resemblance to his scar tissue.

Mai stopped in her tracks when Zuko caught up to her once more. He slipped her lipstick tube back in its pocket.

“Are you stupid?” Her tone was genuine.

“Now they’ll stare at both of us, not just you.”

She laughed despite herself. “Let’s hurry.”

Drenched to the bone, they hurried to Mai’s vacant home. Thankfully, the streets weren’t as busy with the downpour. Still some passersby gasped and gaped at the melty-faced duo.

Mai didn’t hate the rain so much after that day.

#maiko week 2022 #maiko #mai #zuko #drabble #avatar #maiko fanfiction

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peak-zuko-tournament · 2 years ago

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Round Two

#zuko saving his crewmate #zuko with his hair flowing in the wind #round two #peak zuko tournament #zuko #atla zuko #avatar the last airbender #tournament #tournament poll #prince zuko #zuko sweep #zuko tournament #poll

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muertawrites · 5 years ago

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The Dark of the Moon (Zuko x Reader)

Summary: Late night insomnia turns into a conversation about love, and Zuko makes an interesting discovery about his feelings for you.

Word Count: 2,100

Author’s Note: You can thank Avatar being on Netflix and rekindling my childhood obsession for this one. I wrote this mostly as a dialogue / pacing exercise, but it’s also a bit therapeutic since I can actually relate to Zuko more than I realized or could have ever foreseen watching this show as a ten year old. Enjoy a little emotional romantic fantasy on behalf of a preteen crush and all the toxic friends I’ve ever had. ✌

~ Muerta

Zuko usually slept with you. It started one late night during a mutual bout of insomnia, in which you ran into him as you both wandered the halls of the Western Air Temple. You hardly knew him, but he sat with you and talked about everything that night - anything that wasn’t related to the war or either of your pasts that had been torn apart by it. He surprised you with his dry, even-toned sense of humor, as well as with his intelligence in not only combat but literature and philosophy as well; being a healer and a fortune teller by trade, you found a lot to talk about with him.

As the nights awake became more common, you and Zuko spent more of them together; sometimes you’d wait until you happened upon him in the halls, others one of you would designate a place to meet. Eventually, one of you would go directly to the other’s room and you’d sit, sharing whatever light or heavy thoughts happened to plague your minds. You learned a lot about him in those nights, and grew to feel proud of how far he’d come in such a short time - you often helped others, those much older than yourselves, over months to scale the internal struggles he had, and he’d managed to do so on his own. The more you gave to him, the more he gave back, and it soon became commonplace to fall asleep to the sound of his breathing as he lay in his sleeping bag on the other end of your room.

And that’s exactly what woke you up - the strange, still energy of your bedroom that indicated his resting place was empty. You rolled over, unable to spy his silhouette under the moonlit windowsill, and you rose, your feet carrying you to where you were certain he would be.

It was a gorgeous night, with a gentle breeze ruffling the crisp air. You found Zuko in the courtyard, gazing out over the fog veiled landscape under the swell of the full moon. Without a word, you sat beside him, watching the clouds roll by like ships on a silent ocean. His chest churned in turmoil, so intensely you could feel it in your own.

“Apparently, I can’t sleep without you anymore,” you said. “How selfish of you to have problems that keep you up at night.”

Zuko huffed out a soft chuckle, though the weight in his chest didn’t lift. He leaned back onto his palms, craning his neck backward and allowing the wind to tousle his ash-black hair.

“You didn’t need to come out here,” he told you gently. “It’s not your job to help me fix myself.”

“It never has been,” you replied. “I’ve never fixed anyone. All I ever do is listen and recite a few proverbs; everyone comes to their own conclusions in the end.”

“That’s not true,” Zuko retorted. “I’ve seen you heal. You can do things not even Katara can do, just with whatever happens to be growing nearby. It’s incredible.”

You smiled, your heart fluttering in your chest.

“Physical healing and emotional healing are two super different things,” you told him. “Emotional wounds can only really be healed by the people who have them. I mean, unless you want me to crack open your chest and poke around at your heart for a little while.”

Zuko chuckled again, the tenseness of his muscles easing up just slightly. He opened his palm and spawned a softly glowing flame, both of you watching it flicker in the cool night air.

“I wish I’d been born a water bender,” he mused. “Something that would do good for others. All fire does is destroy.”

You were silent for a moment, watching the thoughts swirl, tormented, behind his eyes. You thought of all the times you’d seen him smile, how his happiness made his handsome features all the more radiant and caused your stomach to bubble with joy. The memory shot a spike through your chest.

“... You know, we only ever see one part of the moon,” you commented, breaking the quiet. “Everything behind that - the dark side - we don’t really consider, even though it’s always there and is as much a part of the moon as the side that’s in front of us.”

Zuko smirked at you, distinguishing the flame in his hand.

“Reciting a proverb at me?” he teased.

You grinned.

“This one’s more like a metaphor,” you admitted cheekily. “That tea I make, the one that tastes awful but makes pain completely disappear?”

Zuko nodded.

“I need fire to make it,” you continued. “I have to roast the ingredients over an open flame before boiling them. Without fire, I couldn’t do most of my healing; it would be too painful without the tea to help.”

Zuko said nothing, but you could sense your words sinking into the cracks in his troubled thinking.

“Fire is heat and light,” you added. “It’s just as important to life as water or earth or air. Every element is capable of destruction or creation - there isn’t a single one that’s inherently good or bad. The person that controls them is the only one who determines that.”

There was another long pause, in which you busied yourself noting the different wild plants growing between the stones that paved the courtyard. You listed the different medicines you could make with each, the process calming you.

“I’ve done some pretty shitty things to people I care about in order to embrace my goodness,” Zuko finally spat. The bitterness in his tone stung you. You turned to him, and for a split second you caught a familiar, rageful glimmer in his eye; the sight made your own temper flare.

“Zuko, don’t do that to yourself,” you said. “It wasn’t just your father who hurt you and you know that.”

“I know,” he snapped, cutting off the end of your words. “I still care about her, though. I don’t even know if she really ever cared about me, but I still… I still miss her.”

Your ribs seemed to cave in, crushing your heart and lungs. He’d told you about Mai many times, and all you ever saw was that the darkness in her drew out the darkness in him; it even hung over you, clouding out the comfort you felt with Zuko and replacing it with unease and doubt. You feared there was no place in his heart for you - not while Mai still remained in it, no matter how badly her memory made him bleed.

“It’s hard,” you choked out. “I still miss some of the people who hurt me, too.”

That was all you could manage to say. You pulled your knees to your chest, half-burying your face in the fabric of your night dress as you forced the tears welling in the corners of your eyes not to flow.

This is what you get, you scolded yourself. This is what you get for feeling things for people you know could never feel the same about you.

A sensation of warmth curling around your shoulders made you jolt. Instinctively, you inched away, glancing in Zuko’s direction as he retracted the arm that had draped around you. You expected him to look away, but he didn’t - his pale amber eyes instead locked with yours.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “You hold your head so high… I forget sometimes that you’re trying to heal, too.”

His words caused your tears to spill, though you didn’t cry; your face remained stony, and no sobs shook you. Your tears fell as easily as water from a cliff’s edge, impeded by nothing but the will of gravity.

“... The cards you lent me,” Zuko said after a pause, almost blurting the words. “I’ve been reading them, to help me let go of everything I left behind. I don’t think I’m doing it right.”

A few weeks ago, you’d given him a deck of cards you used for fortune telling. Each card depicted a different object, element, or scene, and were laid out in combinations that gave insight into a person’s spiritual path. You liked them more than other forms of fortune telling, as it encouraged its readers to make their own assumptions and drive their own fates instead of having it simply told to them. You gave your deck to Zuko so he could reflect on something finite, instead of getting consumed by his own thoughts. It was exactly what you used them for, and you knew they would help.

“Why?” you asked softly.

“I drew a card that didn’t make sense,” he told you. “I laid down the Tides, then the Crossed Blades, and then… I pulled the Badger Mole. The other two I understand - one is for movement and change, the other is for strength in allies, but I… can’t figure out what the Badger Mole is supposed to mean.”

“Badger moles are strong, powerful,” you explained, speaking dispassionately from memory, “but they’re gentle. The card represents the duality of both. They mate for life, too, so it also represents love and companionship.”

As you spoke, you felt a meteor crash between you and Zuko. His face fell, dumbfounded, as he looked at you, his eyes darting minutely back and forth as you watched the pieces mend together in his head.

“What do you feel?” you whispered, part of you terrified of his answer.

“... I feel like I’m fighting the tide,” Zuko replied, his tone awestruck. “It’s pushing me to shore, but I keep trying to swim back out to sea.”

The corners of your lips curled upwards slightly, your cheeks still sticky with tears.

“It’s really scary, huh?” you said. “Loving another person.”

“Yeah... especially when you’ve never known what it feels like before,” Zuko added softly.

You reached out, tentatively resting your palm against his cheek. His hand rose to close over yours, the sensation trembling you to your core.

“How many times have you pulled the Badger Mole?” you asked.

“Every time,” Zuko breathed. “I’m so stupid for not realizing. You make me feel wild and calm all at once. I get this crushing feeling in my chest when I see you or even think of you, and I thought it was just fear or sadness. But… you don’t make me want to lash out like I used to, with my father and Azula and Mai… just the thought of you makes me want to be the best person I can be. Even though I know you already accept me for not being that person.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, somewhat defeatedly, your knees falling away from your chest and crossing in front of you. Your body was heavy, but your head felt light.

“I love you, Zuko,” you murmured. “But I’m afraid.”

Zuko wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer. His forehead fell to rest against yours, his eyes closing as he steadied his erratic breathing.

“If you’re scared, I’ll protect you,” he said quietly. “That’s what I think lovers are supposed to do.”

The word made every organ in your body jump to your throat. Lovers. Your limbs felt weak, but your heart felt strong with Zuko holding you.

Without thinking, you took his face in your hands and kissed him. It wasn’t hard and passionate like you expected, but firm, gentle, his lips pressing to yours like two palms grasped in an assuring embrace. He lay one of his large, able hands on the back of your neck, his thumb tenderly stroking your skin.

When you finally broke apart, Zuko gazed at you with a soft, forlorn expression. His fingers reached to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear.

“I’m sorry I talk about her so much,” he said. “It must kill you.”

You shook your head, a soft smile forming on your lips, still red from where Zuko had kissed them.

“Don’t worry about it,” you told him. “I know some people from my past you’d happily drive a knife into.”

Zuko chuckled, the light, airy smile you saw when he was truly happy spreading to each of his cheeks. The spike that drove itself through your heart when you thought of it earlier was gone, replaced by the sweet warmth of a low flame on a cold night. With him, you were safe.

“Let’s get some sleep,” Zuko suggested, taking your arm to help you stand.

His hand slipped easily into yours, your fingers twining together. He leaned forward and kissed you again, his lips only grazing yours, causing your skin to buzz with the sensation.

“... Do you think we’ll have to talk to Aang about this?” you asked as you walked back to your room.

Zuko raised an eyebrow at you, confused.

“He is your great-grandfather,” you elaborated with jest. “I should probably do the chivalrous thing and ask for his blessing or something.”

Zuko laughed, nudging you with his shoulder so that you stumbled over your feet. You shoved him back, to which he took you by the waist and wrapped you tightly in his arms, kissing your cheek.

“He probably won’t care,” he replied. “But my uncle will love you.”

#muerta's works #zuko #zuko x reader #zuko x you #prince zuko #prince zuko x reader #prince zuko x you #zuko fanfic #prince zuko fanfic #atla fanfic #avatar fanfiction #self insert fanfiction #lmao when you don't know how to end a fic

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lightdancer1 · 3 years ago

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I know this is totally far from the case but the scene of Ozai and Ursa finding out what happened to Azula after Azulon went to pick her up when she was born? : Azulon probably gathered a team of servants and left the baby in their care (honestly nothing about him gives off the vibe that he would want to have anything to do with a child's primary care let alone one that he sees as a tool not even a human being in his own right) cont...

Ursa would remember the day as long as she lived. Three months ago she had given birth to her daughter, and the first time she'd held her and seen those brilliant golden eyes looking at her.....She knew her mistake then. She had thought she couldn't love that child and then the nurses stepped out with her.

And then Azula hadn't come back. Zuko was too little to understand why she'd seemingly gained weight, and why she would sit around staring into space, crying. To have held her little girl and then lost her.....

And then one day she was walking through the Fire Nation Palace, her face haunted with memories of golden eyes that she had not forgotten, even if Ozai at least pretended to (she had seen the way he'd reacted when he'd held her, and they had felt the strength of the spark within her, so very different to her winter child). She heard cooing, the sound of a young baby and she froze.

There were no young royals or reasons for babies in the Palace, the only younger royals had Usaki, the grey eminence herself, who was half a decade younger than herself and Ozai and ran so much of the bureaucracy that Azulon had welcomed her role. And the teenager who burned animals for sport and gave every indication of something dark and vicious within her, worse than Ozai's.

So why-

She paused. There was a handmaiden with long flowing dark hair, one of the newer ones hired. Her name was Min-something, Ursa had never really bothered to learn it. She was cooing at a baby who was gurgling and laughing, and as Ursa stopped she saw the baby's head turning as young babies did and then she saw those familiar golden eyes and the world seemed to halt in its orbit.

-------

Ozai too remembered the day vividly. Ursa stepped into his room, shivering, holding herself.

"She's alive, Ozai." He heard a voice that spoke with a spectral sense, like the whisper of the wind through a graveyard. "Our daughter's alive."

Ozai stood up then. "Where is she?"

They both started when the door sounded to a knock that was morbidly familar. One rap, and then the Fire Lord let himself into their room.

"Now that Princess Ursa has found out that truth, I might as well tell you," his father's voice rasped with a malicious joy. And then the smile vanished and a look of raw and ugly hate crossed it, eyes narrowing. "You repeatedly claimed having this child was beneath both of you and named it after me as an insult. You forget, my unworthy son, that I am the Fire Lord and that to taunt me with an insult of this nature in mine own domain is to reap the wind, and to sow the whirlwind."

He shrugged.

"You did not want this child. So I have taken that unwanted burden from you. I will raise it in my image and in my likeness."

His lips peeled back into an ugly smile.

"Oh, I want to tell you, my unworthy son."

Ozai's gaze met his father's and then the words Azulon spoke next turned a day that would stick in their memories into something raw and painful for Ozai and fearful for Ursa, who would sit down heavily and not say much for the rest of the day.

"The infant will be raised as my own child, and is now superior to you in the line of succession. You did not want it, you gave it to me. And I have taken the gift and the insult in precisely the spirit intended. Congratulations, Ozai. You sired your replacement."

With that Azulon slipped away from the room and Ozai found himself, too, standing in his room as he stared into space, pulling at his beard. Part of him idly was surprised he was not angrier at being further excluded from power than he was. Part of him remembered Father's means of training and how he'd been raised, and then the stories Iroh had told him when he'd applied burn salve.

An emotion crawled up his spine like the cold flame and he found himself breathing rapidly in shallow gasps. Others, he would learn later, called this fear.

#atla aus #omashu au

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quillthrillswriting · 3 months ago

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my (quillthills) updated ao3 ATLA masterlist

kataang:

"the teenager in the iceberg"- multichap

all at once, everything is different, now that i see you:

stuck in her tower for all eighteen years of her life, katara had come to peace with her own lonely, repetitive existence, her only company being her mother, hama. at least, she *was* at peace, until a certain airbending thief happened along her tower, caught her eye, and forever shifted the path of her destiny. OR: kataangled. and yes, i came up with that brilliant wordplay all on my own. for day two of kataang week 2024: protectiveness/ bodyguard

and i promise, that one day i'll feel fine:

after an upsetting council meeting in which aang is painfully reminded of how little the other nations understand of air nomad culture, katara is there to remind him that he isn't as alone as he thinks OR: aang & katara friends to lovers post-war 👀 for day two of kataang week 2024: cultural exchange/culture sharing/revival of traditions

if happiness were a tangible thing, it would be you:

you with the dark curls, you with the watercolour eyes:

you're in the wind, i'm in the water:

so i will go to secret gardens in my mind:

well, my (not-yet) boyfriend's in a band:

i'm no longer a kid, and everything has changed:

can you see me using everything to hold back?

my heart is yours, it's you that i hold on to:

the avatar's adventures in parenting:

i'm trying to tell you something, something that i already said:

yukka:

there's a star-man, waiting in the sky:

a flash-fiction atla modern AU in which yue passes away from cancer early in life, and sokka becomes an astronaut so that he can go to space and be close to the moon she always loved so much ☾

shining down on me:

sokka can't stop thinking about yue. she comes to him in his dreams, and try as he might, he just can't move on. inspired by the song "my love, mine all mine" by mitski "moon, tell me if i could send up my heart to you? so, when i die, which i must do, could it shine down here, with you?"

if any of these speak to you, they can all be found on my ao3 account:)<3 happy reading!!!

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headaching · 4 years ago

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titanic au solely because the sheer prospect of that is making me go insane

this au lives in my head rent free. tw attempted suicide

Finally, Zuko reached the upper deck he visited earlier that day. Taken with the never ending sea, his frenetic movements slowed as he unlocked the final gate and descended the stairs. Deliberately, he approached the barrier between the ship and the ocean, his gaze fixed only on the waves.

Looking off the ledge, it might as well have been the edge of the universe. The water resembled a black hole, endless and final. Without breaking his gaze from the water, Zuko pulled himself onto the railing, with each foot on the lowest rung.

The wind was comforting against his back, and for a moment, Zuko closed his eyes to enjoy the breeze. His labored breaths stilled along with the steady stream of tears flowing down his cheeks.

Here, everything seemed so calm; this ship was a mechanism in which all parts worked together. He thought of his body and mind, breakable and disjointed in comparison. The ship felt nothing, and if he toppled over the edge, it would continue chugging along through the sea as if nothing happened.

The crushing anxiety of his present situation with his father clutched at his chest again, and Zuko opened his eyes to look down at the railing. In one steady motion, Zuko climbed over it completely and rested his legs against the front of the barrier. The engine of the ship was louder and admittedly more threatening from this new vantage point. Zuko watched the propellors cycle through the water over and over.

Zuko was entranced by the possibility of disappearing with one deliberate move no one would know was intentional. There would be a search party for him once they realized he had gone missing, which of course would turn up nothing, and the conclusion that Zuko simply fell over the edge on accident would appease them. Azula would be next in line for Fire Lord. Ozai would blame him for being so incompetent.

They would forget about him, and all Zuko had to do was let go.

“Don’t,” a gentle, but demanding voice said not far behind him. Zuko gripped the ledge tighter as he craned his neck to see who the voice belonged to. It was the beautiful man Zuko spotted earlier that day openly staring at him on this very deck. Zuko blinked rapidly as he attempted to make sense of how the stranger could have looked any better up close than he did from far away.

Not him, Zuko thought as he flinched his face away, Not now. Aloud, Zuko asked, “Don’t what?” tearfully, and immediately regretted it.

“Don’t jump,” he replied plainly. Zuko swallowed, though his mouth was dry.

“Maybe I will,” Zuko snarled at the complete stranger. Feeling vindictive, he added, “Don’t tell me what to do.” To his annoyance, the man laughed, a cheery and sarcastic sound.

“Buddy, I hate to break it to you,” he said as he made a couple strides toward Zuko, “but when you’re being talked off a ledge, you don’t get to make the rules.”

“You aren’t talking me off the ledge,” Zuko insisted, trying to focus back on the water. “You’re annoying me.” The mystery man laughed again, and Zuko pursed his lips.

“C’mon. Take my hand,” he instructed with another step toward Zuko and his arm outstretched. Zuko shook his head stubbornly.

“No,” he yelled over the incessant warble of moving water beneath him. The man shook his head and crossed his arms.

The stranger asked in contempt, “You expect me to believe you’re…what? Standing there for the view?”

“I don’t expect you to believe anything; I expect you to mind your business,” Zuko replied through gritted teeth.

“This is my business.” Zuko looked over at him to find the deepest blue eyes he’d ever seen watching his every move. The man shrugged. “I’m involved now.” Zuko groaned and shook his head. He couldn’t even die his own way.

The man began unlacing his boots, to Zuko’s bewilderment. “What are you doing?”

“If you actually do this—”

“I am doing this,” Zuko asserted.

“Then why haven’t you?” In the ensuing silence, the man took off his jacket, never taking his eyes off Zuko. “Seriously, if you really wanted to, why haven’t you jumped?”

“Because you won’t leave me alone,” Zuko answered eventually, though it didn’t sound as confident as he intended. The man shook his head.

“If you do jump, I’m gonna jump in after you,” the stranger replied matter-of-factly.

“What?” Zuko asked in shock. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’d die.”

“I disagree.”

“You…disagree?” Zuko sputtered.

“I’m sure it would hurt like hell,” the stranger shrugged, “but I’m a good swimmer.” Zuko laughed shrilly. “The swimming isn’t what I’d be worried about, though; it’s the cold that really gets you.” Zuko inadvertently shivered with another glance at the water.

“Cold?” Zuko cursed himself for asking, and for the obvious fear in his voice. The man nodded gravely. “How cold, exactly?”

“Cold enough,” he replied solemnly. “I grew up in the Southern Water Tribe, and take it from me, you don’t want to find out exactly how cold it is.”

“The South Pole,” Zuko said, and the man nodded.

“Have you ever been?” Zuko shook his head. “One wrong move on ice too thin, and you’re a goner. I fell in once, and it felt like a thousand swords piercing every part of my body.” The stranger’s tone was grave, his face even more dire.

Zuko exhaled slowly through his nose. He stood a little straighter, held onto the railing a little tighter. The man approached Zuko’s side with his hands on his hips and continued, “That’s why I’m hoping you’ll spare me from having to jump in and save you.” Zuko glared at him.

“I don’t need saving,” Zuko griped. The stranger smiled, and Zuko ignored how perfect it seemed to be by staring back at the water.

The man leaned in and said softly, “With all due respect, sir, you’re hanging off the side of the boat.” Zuko fought the urge to meet the stranger’s eye contact, but failed when the man’s open palm skirted into view. He wiggled his fingers, and when Zuko turned his head, he found urgency in the man’s face.

“Please don’t do this,” the man whispered earnestly. “You jump, I jump.”

Zuko sighed, and with a singular nod, he accepted the man’s offer. His hand was warm, Zuko noted, and he swore he felt an encouraging squeeze. They were close together, with the stranger’s chest pressed against his back.

Slowly, Zuko turned around one foot at a time, until they were face to face. Zuko let out a shaky sigh as he held the man’s other hand, too. The stranger sighed in relief, and with another mystifying smile, he said, “I’m Sokka.”

Sokka.

A blush crept up Zuko’s neck as he internally recognized how beautiful the name was. Sokka eyed him with an odd expression. “Zuko,” he finally replied, and an uneasy warmth engulfed him when Sokka grinned.

“I know,” Sokka said quickly, then a flash of panic overtook his eyes, which glanced away from Zuko. He continued, “I mean, I know because you’re kind of a big deal around here.” For a reason he couldn’t place, Sokka’s sudden sheepishness made Zuko smile. “Not to me, I just heard about you from other people.”

“Sokka,” Zuko said bemusedly, daring to grip Sokka’s hands tighter. Sokka met his eyes, and he smiled too, closed-mouth and lopsided.

“Sorry,” he breathed. “Let’s get you over.”

Zuko nodded in agreement. He lifted a foot to step onto the next rung of the railing, but just as he shifted his weight, his heart dropped with the rest of him. With one blink of an eye, Zuko was dangling off the ship, and the only thing tethering him to safety was Sokka’s hands gripping his wrist. Time crept on at a dangerous pace.

Zuko screamed, “Sokka! Help!” over and over as his legs swung beneath him. His vision blurred, but he could still make out Sokka above him, and the upper half of his body hanging off the side of the ship. His hair fell forward and framed his face, and when Zuko squinted, he saw horror overtaking Sokka’s wide eyes.

“Hold on!” Sokka instructed, his voice full of command. He yanked Zuko up enough so he could grab at the railing with his free hand, but when Zuko tried, he just slipped farther toward his imminent death. Zuko looked down, and the water didn’t seem so comforting.

Zuko gasped and screamed again. It seemed to fill the sky, discordant and loud. His dangling hand reached for the railing again, sweaty fingers searching for a grip, but steel only greeted him. A glance upward revealed Sokka, his body doubled over the barrier, his eyes closed in concentration, holding onto Zuko with all his might.

“Sokka,” Zuko yelled over the crashing water. Piercing blue eyes opened under a furrowed brow and stared straight through him. “I don’t want to die.”

“You’re not gonna die,” Sokka dismissed defiantly. “I’m right here. I won’t let go,” he promised. “You have to pull yourself up.”

The words made sense to Zuko, but his arms felt useless. He peered down again against his better judgment, and only then did he realize he was crying. “You fall, I fall,” Sokka said almost too quietly to hear. An obnoxious thumping sound surrounded him, and numbly, Zuko recognized it as his rapid heartbeat.

Now or never, Zuko told himself. With all his strength, Zuko managed to anchor himself back onto the railing using Sokka’s firm grip. As soon as Zuko had a solid hold on the barrier, Sokka’s hands snaked around his waist, leaving Zuko’s arms to rest around his shoulders.

Finally, Zuko’s back slammed into the deck of the ship. Sokka’s strong arms remained locked around him, and he blushed when he noticed their hips were pressed together. They both breathed heavily, and Zuko’s arms trembled at his sides. Their faces were close, probably too close, Zuko thought, but Sokka stayed still. He brushed a few strands of hair away from Zuko’s face with gentle fingertips.

“Are you okay?” Sokka asked carefully. Zuko opened his mouth to reply, but his throat seized and only allowed whistles of breath to escape. He searched the sky like he might find his answer in the stars.

send me the title of a wip for an excerpt!

#LEX thank you so much for asking this i hope you enjoy it!#i have. a lot more if anyone wants it skdbgkj #zukka #zukka titanic au #zuko #sokka #wip #zukka fic #becks #my work #asks #mutuals #tw attempted suicide #tw suicidal ideation #added a cut because this is long lol

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