#zuko: ..yeah fair.

[discordiansamba]

"prince zu-"

zuko clamps a hand over the avatar's mouth. thankfully, no one else seems to have noticed.

"don't," he says, "-say that name here."

here being the middle of an earth kingdom base, where they were currently surrounded by earth kingdom soldiers. earth kingdom soldiers who thought he was one of them. which he kind of was. he'd trained and fought alongside these men- and he'd just stuck his neck out as the blue spirit to rescue a captured battalion.

...which was how he found out his commanders had known about his blue spirit activities for awhile now. which was a thing. but what they didn't need to find out was that cadet akiyoshi, who came from the small village of si jun, was actually prince zuko of the fire nation.

he slowly lets go of the avatar's mouth. he asks what he's doing here. which is a fair question. he'd gotten drafted.

the avatar just stares at him incredulously. which again. fair. zuko quickly explains about grandpa kenzo and how he'd mistaken him for his grandson. and how he'd just kind of... started living that life after awhile. it just seemed easier to go along with being drafted than risk sticking out by deserting.

he finds out his uncle's looking for him.

that takes zuko by surprise. it sounds like uncle wants to find him because he's worried about him, and not. you know. because he wants to kill him like the rest of his family. maybe he shouldn't be so surprised- his father had declared uncle a traitor recently. something about helping to thwart a fire nation invasion of the north pole?

the avatar asks zuko to come with him. he's eager to reunite them, but zuko just glances over his shoulder at his fellow soldiers. it doesn't feel right to abandon them in the middle of a war. he turns the avatar down. you can tell my uncle i'm alive, but don't tell him where i am. i'll... find him after the war is over. i promise.

the avatar makes a face, but he accepts.

he starts to regret his choice when he hears his sister killed the avatar in ba sing se- and captured his uncle. the once unconquerable city falls to fire nation control, and all of a sudden, the tide of the war has shifted entirely in the fire nation's favor. but if there's one thing he's learned while living in the earth kingdom, it's that its people are stubborn.

(he is too. he's an earthbender, like them.)

zuko's commander assigns them a new mission. they're going to help a small ragtag team invade the caldera on the day of the black sun. it's a crazy plan- and one that zuko finds himself wanting to take part in. he's seen firsthand the damage his family and the fire nation have done to the earth kingdom. he's lived off their kindness for three years- he has to pay them back somehow.

he knows the risks.

(when the avatar sees him step off that ship, he does a double take. zuko glares him into submission. not a word, avatar.

...also, is that toph? huh. guess he'd better go greet his old master.)

earthbender zuko would just be shun zuko getting mistaken by a blind potter for his dead grandson and then just. never leaving. he can't break this old man's heart. he ends up learning not only his craft but also a lot of other earthbending tips and tricks from the old man whom he genuinely starts to think of as his grandpa at some point.

(spoiler alert: the old man knows full well zuko isn't his grandson. in fact he doesn't even have a grandson. but the scrawny, clearly starving and definitely abused refugee kid will definitely stick around if he pretends to think otherwise.)

...and then he gets drafted into the earth king's army. well. isn't this ironic.

[navajja]

They go in a camping trip vacation💕

(to be continued? Maybe)

Something about blue fire.

[puppppppppy]

Atla live action 😐

[kawaiichibiart]

I was going to talk about them together, but I want to develop more stuff for Sun!Spirit Yue before I talked about her, so I'll just talk about Moon!Spirit Zuko for now (:

While Agni is seen as the Fire Nation's main/biggest spirit, they hold Tui and La to a high standard. They're also important to them. Because it's a Nation made up of islands, of course they'll take spirits that would affect them seriously, they're not all morons like Zhao.

When Zuko was born, Ozai noticed he lacked the spark in his eyes that firebenders had. He was ready to toss him over the wall until Ursa and some sages talked him out of it. He gave his newborn son until the next morning to gain the spark. If he didn't, they would get rid of him.

Once he left, the sages told Ursa that being born when he was, the chances of Zuko being a bender were slim to none. They also noted how his breath felt irregular, as if he was struggling to breath. And ultimately told her that she should say her goodbyes because that baby was not going to make it through the night.

And so, Ursa began to pray. She prayed for the spirits to answer her. To save her son. Give him a chance at life. And she did this for hours until exhaustion caught up with her and she fell asleep. Certain that when she would wake up, her baby boy would feel cold in her arms. And if he was still alive, he'd lack that spark and she'd still lose him.

So imagine everyone's surprised when they wake up to Ursa's cry and rush to her room. And they see her and her son. Ursa has yet to notice them, but they're all looking at Zuko. Alive and hair turned a silvery gray.

One of the sages announces that Zuko had been blessed by Tui. The moon had blessed him. And Ozai is less than pleased. He demanda Zuko be thrown out anyways, as he had said Zuko had to have the spark in the morning. But Azulon was able to override his decision. This had to be a sign. A sign that the tides would turn in their favor. That they would have bountiful feasts. They had the sun AND the moon on their side now. Why else would the moon bless Zuko?

Because of this, Ozai doesn't treat Zuko like his son. He pretends he's a bastard, and that Ursa had slept with a Watertribe Savage behind his back. When Azula is born and shows signs of being a firebender, he dotes on her and claims she's his only child. Which leads to a rather conflicting environment for her to grow up in. She's constantly told Zuko is and isn't her brother. That he's a Savage's bastard child and that he is his father's son. She's a prodigy and he was blessed by a spirit upon his first night of being born. She started bending at a really young age and he had to further prove how much of a bastard he was when he began to waterbend.

So Azula and Zuko have a weird relationship. One parent acknowledges both as their children and the other only acknowledges one. One of them was prodigious firebender and the other was a blessed waterbender. Ursa tries to get them to spend time together and Ozai keep trying to keep them apart.

And then comes the day Ozai decides to present Azula to his father and ask him to be his heir (and the next Firelord). He doesn't bother to present Zuko, and later on, admits he saw no need to present the boy. Why would the Fire Nation ever accept a waterbender as their FIRELord? Azulon is enraged by his son's disregard for the moon's blessing and tells him to leave. He'd inform him of his punishment in the morning.

While they aren't sure where they stand in terms of being related, Azuka still tells Zuko what she overheard. And asks if he had any idea what the punishment could be. The best they could come up with is Ozai taking Iroh's place and continuing the siege of Ba Sing Se. However, they never got to find out, because Ozai had lied to Ursa and told her Azulon ordered him to kill Zuko. She didn't believe him, knowing he didn't care for him. And he knew that, which is why he then told her he would have Zuko killed if she didn't help him kill Azulon and leave. Leave and give up her children. He wished he didn't have to keep Zuko, but too many people would notice the blessed prince if he was absent. And so, Ursa killed Azulon and fled into the night after saying what she believed would be her final goodbyes to her children.

Ozai immediately named Azula his heir and continued to ignore Zuko. He had him moved into the servants area. He claimed what he always did, that he was a bastard. A child born out of wedlock. That Zuko isn't his real son. And everyone knows this isn't true, but none of them dare say anything. They stay quiet and do their best to keep Zuko away from Ozai.

When Iroh returns from his journey in the Spirit World, it's to his father being dead, Ursa missing, Ozai as the Firelord with Azula as his heir, and Zuko basically disowned and living in the servants quarters. He watches as his nephew fades into the background, as he learns his new place in the palace. He tries to pick up where Ursa left off in terms of helping Zuko and Azula connect as siblings, but Ozai sends her away to a prestigious all girls school and immediately takes over her lessons when she returns, thus making it impossible for the two to bond, and further sinking in the idea that Zuko is, in fact, a Savage's bastard child.

And then comes the day of the war meeting. Iroh enters and sees his nephew serving tea to the men there. Another servant is there as well, hands empty watching as Zuko likely does his first job. They begin to discuss things and how to further advance in the war. And the plan involving the 41st is brought up.

And just like in canon, Zuko speaks up against the plan. Only this time, because he isn't a firebender, because Ozai doesn't acknowledge him as his son, because he's not worthy of it, Ozai doesn't make Zuko fight in an Agni Kai. Why would he forsake a firebending duel so a waterbender could fight in it? Why bother giving him a chance to show his loyalty to the Fire Nation when he clearly doesn't have any. And before everyone in the room, he burns Zuko's face. He warns everyone not to say a word. That no one was to know of Zuko's permanent banishment. If anyone asked, he was simply sent away for protection.

He left, and just as he did, he told Iroh to inform Zuko that he would have until sundown to pack and leave. And Iroh is furious. He doesn't bother acknowledging his brother's words. He just carries Zuko out of the room and packs their bags while some of the servants do what they can to help the young boy.

At sundown, he leaves the palace with Zuko, refusing to let his nephew be banished alone. He's glad one of the servants was able to help him get a ship and a crew that was willing to leave the Fire Nation behind.

The first few weeks of Zuko's banishment were agonizing. From fever induced nightmares to Zuko's sudden fear of fire and needing a flask of water he could play with to calm down, it was a hard time. Iroh held his nephew when he told him he was banished from the Fire Nation with no way to return. While not a waterbender himself, he still taught Zuko. He isn't good, but he can do some things now. He helps Zuko get over his fear of fire and first chance he gets, swears to sends a message to Pakku asking him to train Zuko.

But before he can get that message sent, they're caught up in a storm. It's powerful and knocks them off course by several days. In fact, they're closer to the Southern Water Tribe now. And while, the chances are slim, Iroh decides they should see if any waterbenders survived and would be willing to teach Zuko.

They head towards the SWT when a large beam shoots up in the air. They think nothing of it, Iroh waves it off as likely an old flare, having learned that not all the FN ships had returned from prior raids. Since they were old, chances are they had little to nothing left of use and there was no point in finding it. It was likely that someone animal set it off by mistake.

They arrive and are met the remaining members of the SWT. They're weary of them and as soon as they lower the plank of their ship, one of them (Sokka) charged forwards with a spear.

But before he can even step onto the plank, the snow under him moves and makes him fall. He immediately blames Katara for this, because who else would do it? He charges forwards again and gets disarmed and beaten by one of the soldiers. The only one who's not wearing red, but rather white, only his golden eyes visible.

And then comes the question. Do they have any waterbending masters around?

Why would they ask that? Did they think more waterbenders had been born after the death of his and Katara's mom? Did they suspect she lied and just waited until now to get back at them? They deny having any waterbenders and say that even if they did, they would never tell them.

And that's when Aang shows up, knocking the soldier who had beaten Sokka earlier to the ground. And it's just:

Aang: Looking for me?

Zuko, getting up, hood knocked down, masked lowered: You're a waterbending master? You're just a kid!

Aang:...no? I, I thought you were looking for the Avatar!

Aang: and you're just a teenager!!

Katara: YOU'RE THE AVATAR?!

Meanwhile Sokka is having a crisis because oh sweet Tui and La, he's so pretty- (rip him when he arrives at the North Pole and experiencies it again with Yue)

But Aang still wants to know why they need a waterbending master. He also feels foolish for admitting to being the Avatar and wonders if he can play it off as him pretending when he sees the boy he'd knock over play with a ball of water.

Oh...

OHHH!!!

He was looking for master for himself!! Well, he made the offer to Katara, he could make it to this new kid as well. And so he does. The boy, Zuko as they learn from the older looking man who called him that, hesitates before agreeing. He leaves, saying he was going to get Appa, it'd be faster and more fun that way. But before he can, Katara says she's also going with him. To make sure nothing happens of course!! Of course.

He gets Appa and returns, happy to see Zuko and Katara seem to be getting along and talking about finally learning to bend from a master waterbender. The two of them and Sokka (who's reluctantly joining them) get on Appa.

The older man from before introduces himself as Iroh, Zuko's uncle. He thanks Aang for helping his nephew and let's him know that they'll be tailing them from a distance. Zuko has a map where Iroh had marked neutral ports they would dock at if they ever needed anything. Once they reach the NP, Iroh will lead the FN ship towards the Earth Kingdom and head towards Ba Sing Se. He'd appreciate it if he helped his nephew get there once they finished.

And the four head off. It's awkward and tense for a while before Katara asks Aang about being the Avatar and he tells them his story. How he never wanted to be the Avatar. But because he doesn't want to get further into it, he deflects her question to ask Zuko about being a waterbender and if he's from the Fire Nation.

And they learn, that not only was Zuko from the Fire Nation, he was the prince once. He told them how his mother had told him about his blessing, how surprising it was that Tui answered her prayers. How the man who was supposed to be his father claimed to only have one child, his younger sister and how as soon as the old Firelord, his grandfather, died, he immediately removed Zuko from the line of succession and moved him into the servants quarters.

He learned very early on that his father hated him and he hated him more once Zuko began to bend. How he'd tell him he was weak for being afraid of his own element after he almost drowned and frozen the water around him in his panic and managed to climb out. He wasn't allowed to bend so he always did it in secret and only really began to do so when he got banished. They had originally been planning on heading to the Northern Water Tribe so he could finally get proper bending lessons.

It certainly did explain his appearance anyways.

And now for some bullet notes:

Zuko doesn't go through his redemption arc in this AU. Because Ozai's made his stance perfectly clear, Zuko knows there's no point in trying.

For a while, Katara and Sokka think Zuko is the child of a waterbender and a FN soldier.

Ozai knows he can't actually disown Zuko, considering his blessing was made public. But he can send him away for safety, the public doesn't have to know he was injured already and might die from his injuries and will never return.

Katara and Zuko become friends a lot earlier. They bond over not having a master to teach them and having to teach themselves.

Azula's memories of Zuko definitely conflict with what Ozai tells her. She has memories of her mother with a silver haired boy by the turtleduck pond, urging her to join them. She remembers her mom insisting the boy was her brother. But...he looked so different.

Because his hair stands out so much, Zuko tends to hide it. Whether it's a hood, a scarf, so long as it's hidden.

Ozai ordered Zhao to see to it Zuko was actually dead. When news reaches them that the Avatar has returned, he tells him to capture him and bring him back to the FN, so Zhao is the one chasing Team Avatar.

Sokka joining reluctantly is all because of Gran Gran, who told him to go so he could keep an eye on the three. He's basically their babysitter and he's not really happy about it (he gets over it).

Because he spent some years living and learning from the palace servants, Zuko will help Katara do chores, which endears him to her enough to be claimed as her new best friend.

I'm going to leave there for now, next time I update about this AU hopefully I have a lot to say about Sun!Spirit Yue (:

[mostofthingsmostofthetime]

Idk where I heard/read this but I think it sums up Gale's decision in Mockingjay & why he's & Katniss's relationship could never recover after the Capital bombing which is that - Gale never wanted to kill Prim but he was fine with killing someone else's "prim".

Like they were civilians & medics (I don't care where they came from) they didn't desserve to die.

Gale did not kill Prim. He didn’t order the bomb strike and he didn’t drop the bombs. 

He did however create a bomb (with Beetee) that was deigned to pray on human kindness and target medical personal since it was rigged to blow again after help for the first explosion arrived.

At some point, Gale and Beetee left the wilderness behind and focused on more human impulses. Like compassion. A bomb explodes. Time is allowed for people to rush to the aid of the wounded. Then a second, more powerful bomb kills them as well. - Mockingjay page 177

The fact that his bombs killed Prim is very important to the story, but not as a way to resolve the love triangle (bc Katniss would have chosen Peeta, bombs or no bombs but that’s for a different analysis). 

“Beetee and I have been following the same rule book President Snow used when he hijacked Peeta.” says Gale. - Mockingjay page 177

Gale making the bombs that killed Prim is important because it shows the horrors of war. It demonstrates how when you stoop to the level of cruelty and atrocities as your opponent, you hurt everyone around you, especially the people you are trying to protect. 

Gale didn’t mean for his bombs to kill Prim, but that doesn’t matter in the end, because his bombs were designed to target compassion and Prim was the embodiment of compassion. 

Gale didn’t mean for his bombs to murder innocent children but that doesn’t matter because he was willing to do anything to win the war and the includes the mass murder of children. 

It’s important that Gale’s bombs killed Prim because it shows that there are consequences to praying on human kindness. 

It shows that the innocent pay the price of war. Katniss is going to have to live with the knowledge that her best friend created the bombs that killed her sister, and yes he never meant to hurt Prim but that’s war. Gale is going to have to live with the guilt and the knowledge that his need to win the war at all costs lead to the death of the little girl he had promised protect. Gale has to live with the fact that he played a hand in taking away the person Katniss loved the most, and he has to live with the fact that it cost him his best friend forever. 

Gale was just a kid, like Katniss and he chose to create something that would actively target compassion, not really thinking about the consequences it might have because all he wanted was to destroy the Capitol. And in the end, it he’s going to be living with that guilt and those consequences for the rest of his life. 

Katniss doesn’t cut off Gale because she’s not in love with him or whatever. Katniss can’t be around him at the end because she’s unable to ignore or tolerate the things Gale was willing to and justify do to win the war and how that lead to the death of her sister. Katniss and Gale reacted very differently to the war and their different perspectives and approaches were always going to get in-between anything they ever had (friendship or relationship). 

There is no winning a war without getting blood on your hands and Suzanne Collins showed it perfectly when she had wrote the arc with Gale, Prim and the bombs. 

Gale is not a villain, war isn’t black and white. He was young and trying to win a war but his actions have consequences and one of those consequences was Prim’s death.

Gale didn’t kill Prim and that makes it all the more tragic that he played such a big role in her death. 

[tobiasdrake]

*deep breath* Okay. Here we go.

I don't think the Netflix Avatar show likes women very much. It's a great show for fans of Aang, Sokka, Zuko, and Iroh specifically. All four of those characters get a ton of great material. In fact, it's super great for Sokka stans, because the show takes him ultra-seriously and can't go five minutes without one character or another (usually a woman) praising him.

But the way it handles its female cast is troublesome.

Katara

So, all three of the main trio got some changes made to their stories. They changed Aang's story so that he wasn't running away from his responsibilities; He was just clearing his head and somehow accidentallied himself into a tsunami. Whoopsy-dooodle. Aang did nothing wrong.

They changed Sokka's story so that him being a leader of his people and a great guardian warrior is treated with complete seriousness. Multiple times, characters stop to talk about how brave and noble Sokka is for taking on such an intense responsibility, and tell him to his face what a great warrior and a wonderful leader he is. Also his misogyny is erased.

And they changed Katara's story so that she directly got her mom killed because she sucks at waterbending.

Katara tries to waterbend to attack the Fire Nation soldier but couldn't manage it, provoking the soldier to start actively searching for her and forcing her mom to fake a waterbending attack and draw his fire. They changed Katara's story so that her bad decision making fucking got her mom killed.

This is treated with the same level of severity as "Sokka was bullied by mean kids and also his dad doesn't think he's good enough to be a leader."

"I hoped Sokka would do better but not everyone is meant to have people's lives in their hands," Sokka's dad says of him.

Yeah, you're right, that's totally comparable to watching your mom get barbecued because you tried to waterbend in a situation you shouldn't have and then failed.

In fact, they give Sokka's greatest trauma more weight because it gets examined again with Yue next episode, while Katara actively getting her mom killed isn't brought up again at all. We get traumatized glimpses of it throughout the season leading up to the reveal, but after this scene in episode 5, it never comes up again.

But to be fair, Katara was a child. An event this significant would surely have motivated her, driving her to become the great waterbender she is now, right?

No! Katara sucks at waterbending and needs men who aren't even waterbenders to teach her how to waterbend. She requires instruction from Aang in episode 1 to learn how to waterbend, then from Jet in episode 3 to learn how to waterbend better.

And unlike the show, her relationship with Aang isn't a give-and-take; Katara doesn't teach Aang a single goddamn thing. He never learns to waterbend. She is a strictly a pupil throughout the whole season. Though she at least gets officially labeled a master in episode 8, so there's that.

In any case, the whole traumatic memory thing isn't even the only time she's directly compared with Sokka. Episodes 3 and 4 see Katara and Sokka bicker over whose morally dubious side character is better. Sokka likes the Mechanist and Katara likes Jet.

Ultimately, Katara is forced to eat crow when Jet turns out to be the worst, while Sokka is vindicated when the Mechanist sees the error of his ways and reforms. But not before two separate arguments where Sokka calls Katara childish and accuses her of acting like a little girl.

Arguments ultimately resolved when Katara apologizes to Sokka for not adequately respecting his very serious and ultra important role as village protector and leader. Gives him a whole speech about how great and glorious he is. And Sokka... appreciates Katara learning to respect him properly, I guess, because he never offers any similar sentiments back to her.

The show just... They need you to know how important Sokka is, okay? It's very important that you respect Sokka.

Suki

Suki suffers tremendously from that whole "Sokka's misogyny was removed" thing. Y'know, because they need something else to do with that episode. The show is deeply aware that Suki is Sokka's love interest, so they just do that right off the bat. Suki falls madly in love with him from the moment they meet, and spends the entire episode making goo-goo eyes and trying to get him to Notice Me Senpai.

They still do the "Suki Trains Sokka" stuff. But Sokka is a serious, dignified manly man worthy of the deepest respect now, so of course they don't make him wear the Kyoshi uniform. Instead, the main purpose of his training is to allow them to flirt some more. It's less martial arts training and more an excuse to grope each other and near-kiss.

Suki's just a waifu now. She still fights real good, but all of the stuff that made her relationship with Sokka interesting has been erased.

Yue

Yue, similarly, leaps straight to shipping from the word go. They write out her fiance, Hahn, by having Yue briefly meet Sokka earlier in the season. She spends one minute talking to him in the Spirit World about Spirit World lore; In that time, she falls so desperately, madly, unfathomably in love with him that she breaks off her marriage to Hahn and devotes herself to waiting for him to one day come to her.

"Never have I known such joys as that time you let me explain the spirit bear Hei Bei to you. Truly, we are destined to be together for life."

Like with Suki, they go out of their way to have Yue and Sokka already be a ship from the word 'go' so they don't have to spend time developing any kind of meaningful attraction.

They just. They really want you to know that Sokka is the manliest and most desirable man ever to walk this earth. It is very important that you understand how great he is. Women hurl themselves into his arms with zero effort whatsoever, because he's just so goddamn irresistible.

Fortunately, Hahn is super okay with this turn of events. He's the most chill guy ever, he gets along perfectly well with Sokka, and he completely supports Yue's right to dump him! In the famously misogynistic Northern Water Tribe, no less! What a swell guy. Aren't men swell?

June

June gets hit with that "rewritten as hollow waifu" stick too, but her eyes are set on Iroh. They rewrote June to be super attracted and flirty towards the man who was her unwanted sexual harasser in the source material. So that's fun.

Also, she barely does anything. Zuko hires her to find Aang, she succeeds, and then she fucks right off out of the show - But she manages to find time to express how unbelievably sexy Iroh is twice during that time.

She seriously just dropped into the show to flirt with Iroh and leave. She is unbelievably inconsequential.

Kyoshi

And then there's Kyoshi. They really want you to hate Kyoshi. She's constantly shot from below, as if looking down on Aang and the audience. Her voice takes on a demonic echoing reverb at one point as she's screaming at Aang that "THE AVATAR MUST BE A MERCILESS WARRIOR!!!"

She despises Aang, calling him a coward for running away from his responsibilities - Which, I remind you, is no longer a plot point because they unwrote that flaw from his character. So she's just a complete and utter asshole, shot from the asshole angle, yelling violently at him with asshole sound effects. They want you to despise this woman.

Azula

Awkwardly, they do not seem to want you to despise Azula.

There's a lot to be said for how Ozai treats Azula in the original show. The way the favoritism he shows her is every bit as cruel and manipulative as the unfavoritism that he shows Zuko. Ozai does not love Azula. He loves the reflection of himself he sees in her eyes, and his encouragement urges her to polish herself to ensure his reflection always shines through.

This is not that. The show instead erases the favoritism entirely. Ozai doesn't really care one way or another about either of his kids. He plays them against each other, bragging openly to Azula about how great Zuko is and unpleasably writing Azula off as weak and useless.

They've rewritten the dynamic between abusive father and his two abused kids in order to take Azula's pride away. Reimagining her from a gifted prodigy who excels at imitating the toxic behaviors of a father who doesn't truly care for her, to a put-upon overachiever tearing herself in knots to live up to the standards of her unpleasable father.

This results in a truly wild portrayal of Azula as insecure and jealous of Ozai's seemingly love for Zuko. Here, she is simply a browbeaten child constantly complaining to her friends about how mean her father is and conspiring to get one up over Daddy's Golden Child Zuko.

Which she fails at, because she backs Zhao. Zuko deftly defeats her without even realizing they're in competition.

Conclusion

The season ends well for some of these women. It ends promising that maybe we'll see Katara teaching Aang some day. It ends with Zhao bragging that Ozai just used Zuko to train Azula so maybe we'll see the more confident and misguidedly proud Azula some day. Yue becomes the moon like she's supposed to. June's still out there so maybe she'll get to do something again some day.

Katara gets to fight Pakku and lose, but she looks pretty cool. She gets to fight Zuko and lose, but she looks pretty cool. Azula learns to lightningbend because she's just so mad about Ozai's contempt for her and favoritism for Zuko, which isn't how you lightningbend.

But promises of future content fall flat when the content that exists is so underwhelming. This season made its feelings on these characters pretty evident, and it's unwise to expect better material from creators who've disappointed you with the material they already made.

The women of Netflix Avatar simply do not get to shine, outside of superficial moments like the "Women of Northern Water Tribe demand the right to fight and then fuck off and don't do anything for the entire rest of the episode" bit.

"In the midst of battle, we demand that you stop being sexist and give us permission to fight! This is a way better idea than convincing you to teach us to fight before the battle begins."

The characters of this show feel as if they've been reimagined to glorify the boys at the expense of the girls. The boys are treated with a great amount of care. They're dignified and made important movers of the plot, with their rough edges sanded off. While the girls are molded around them.

[suzukiblu]

excerpt from in-progress "timebending with Zuko" fic

Zuko wakes up and everything hurts.

Most specifically, his scar hurts.

That . . . doesn’t make sense, he thinks, and reaches for it automatically. A strong hand catches his wrist before he can touch it, which seems–fair, yes. Probably a good idea, anyway, because spirits does it hurt. Just . . . so much.

“Uncle?” he asks reflexively, attempting to open his eyes. It’s surprisingly difficult. And Uncle is in Ba Sing Se, of course, but he’s on his back on a futon or bedroll or something similar and someone’s sitting beside him and his head is swimming and he’s injured, clearly, so options for who said “someone” might be are limited, really.

So it’s not Uncle, obviously, but . . .

“Nephew,” Uncle says, very quietly, and Zuko . . . blinks.

At least, half-blinks. The one eye’s in too much pain to open.

The ceiling is metal, he notes absentmindedly. That’s . . . odd. He was in the palace, wasn't he?

“What happened?” he asks, vaguely bemused. Uncle pauses in a very concerning way, and Zuko has about three heart attacks about just how badly he doesn’t want to know what he’s about to say before–

“The Agni Kai,” Uncle says, very carefully. “Do you remember it?”

Zuko frowns–just with the one side of his face, because again, his scar hurts right now. To the point that his whole body feels wrong, does his scar hurt right now.

“Um–which one?” he asks, because there’s been about a dozen this month alone, and frankly he’s getting really sick of fighting them at this point but if the old guard of nobles are just going to keep dragging everything out like this–

“With your father, Nephew,” Uncle says, very carefully.

Zuko . . . blinks.

“Oh,” he says, vaguely perplexed. Uncle never talks to him about that. “Yeah, I remember that. What about it?”

“Do you remember what happened?” Uncle says.

“The part where I disgraced myself or the part where he burned my face?” Zuko says, because it’s so fucked up and awful and horrible that he can’t even get upset about it anymore, except when he’s really upset about it. But if Uncle’s bringing it up, presumably he has a good reason to be, so . . . “Or the whole ‘go find the Avatar who no one even believes exists anymore or you can never come home again’ part?”

“. . . all of that, yes,” Uncle says, still sounding very careful. Zuko frowns a little–again with just the one side of his face–and then looks over at him. His body still feels weird and wrong, but . . .

But . . .

They’re on a ship, he realizes. A Fire Nation one.

Well, explains the metal ceiling.

It doesn’t explain why Uncle is wearing red armor and a topknot like he hasn't in years, though, or why he looks so unspeakably sad.

“Um,” Zuko says, and attempts to sit up. His head immediately starts swimming even worse, and Uncle catches his shoulders and keeps him pinned against the . . . futon? Looks like a futon, yeah. “Where are we, exactly?”

“We are aboard a ship,” Uncle says. “I . . . may have slightly commandeered it.”

“. . . you paid for it, right?” Zuko asks, a little skeptical at that idea.

“Yes, Nephew, I did,” Uncle says, giving him a very tired, pained smile. Zuko doesn’t feel much better, seeing it.

“Is someone dead?” he asks, because he can’t think of anything else that would make Uncle look that way.

“Ah–no, no one has died,” Uncle says.

“Then what’s wrong?” Zuko asks warily.

“. . . you are injured, Nephew,” Uncle says, slowly. Zuko frowns, bemused. “And your father . . . I did not know he was going to do this. I am so sorry.”

Zuko . . . pauses. Looks around the room again, and then realizes: he knows this room, doesn’t he. He knows this ship.

This is the same ship he woke up on after the Agni Kai.

“Hold that thought, Uncle,” he says, then lifts his hands and looks at them. They . . . well, they are his hands, obviously.

But they’re not his hands, obviously.

“Huh,” he says, frowning in bemusement at them; turning them around like he half-expects them to stop being a thirteen year-old’s or something equally ridiculous. They don’t. They are very definitely a thirteen year-old’s hands.

Specifically, his thirteen year-old hands.

Huh.

“You don’t have to be sorry,” he says after a moment, putting his hands back down and glancing back to Uncle, who’s obviously the more important concern. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“I took you into that meeting,” Uncle says, his voice tight. “And I watched the Agni Kai. And I did nothing to stop any of it.”

“I know,” Zuko says. “But it wasn’t your fault.”

“It was,” Uncle says, his smile a sad and terrible thing. “You were there because of my actions. My mistakes.”

“You’re not the one who wanted to sacrifice all those soldiers,” Zuko says. “Or the one who decided to throw fire at my face.”

“You were there because of me,” Uncle repeats, his voice tight and his smile no less terrible. It occurs to Zuko, briefly, that Uncle must be thinking of Lu Ten.

He only ever looks like that when he’s thinking about Lu Ten, so . . .

“Uncle,” he says. “Really. It’s not your fault.”

“Nephew,” Uncle says, and his voice is somehow even tighter. Zuko tries to get up again, and his head swims again, and Uncle moves to stop him again. This time he grabs onto Uncle’s wrists and uses them to pull himself up, and then . . .

Well, then he’s sitting up, at least.

So that’s something.

He tilts his head and his hair slips into his eyes. It’s loose, and long. Not shaved on the sides yet, like he wore it the last time he was thirteen. He supposes he should cut it, but then again, why should he? He's not changing anything, after all.

Except for this conversation, he supposes, because that went very differently last time.

. . . hm.

"Uncle," he says one more time, and reaches out for him. Uncle doesn’t seem to understand what he’s trying to do, so he has to reach out a little farther, and then Uncle makes the connection and leans in and lets him wrap his arms around him and alright, yes: that’s better, Zuko thinks, and clings to him.

Just a little, perhaps, but . . .

Yes. He clings to him.

Uncle wraps his arms around him in turn, very carefully, and makes an awful sound.

“My boy,” he chokes. “I’m so–I’m so–”

“I forgive you,” Zuko lies, because of course there’s nothing to forgive.

But of course Uncle doesn’t understand that, does he.

[lokigodofmyheart]

NIGHTMARES

MASTERLIST

Pairing: Zuko x Female Reader.

Words: 2.224

Summary: Y/N and Zuko had been friends since they were kids, back at the Fire Nation. Her father was a great General and friend with Fire Lord Ozai. Y/N had been there for Zuko when he got the scar, but couldn’t accompany him in his exile. After almost two years, they found each other again and this time, she joins him in his hunt for the Avatar. There is just a small problem: Y/N had a crush on Zuko since they were 7.

Warning/Content: smut, nightmares, friends to lovers.

A/N: Zuko and reader are both 18.

Y/N was looking out for Zuko when she found him sitting next to a fireplace in his room, as he stares at the fire with an angry and tired expression. She entered his room, walking close to him “Are you okay?” 

Zuko’s eyes widen slightly as he turns his head to look at her, before he got back to his angry expression “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” 

Y/N sighs and sits by his side “Because I know you. Do you want to talk about it?” 

A muscle tenses in his jaw, hinting at the struggle he’s having to keep his anger in check “No, I don’t want to talk about it!” His voices booms, causing the flames to flare up in response “Leave me alone!” 

“Okay...” Y/N says softly, but didn’t make any move to go away. 

Zuko turns his head away, staring fixedly at the fire again. He takes a deep breath to calm himself down before speaking in a slightly more controlled tone “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair of me. It’s just...” 

She looks at his scar and sighs “That nightmare again?” 

He nods, his jaw clenching as he relives the memory “Yes. It seems to be getting worse instead of better. I thought I had put behind me...” 

“It’s okay, Zuko.” Her hand tries to reach his face and his scar, but he flinches slight before she could touch him, his eyes darting towards her hand before looking away “Don’t...please.” 

She drops her hand back to her lap “I’m sorry.” 

He takes a deep breath and forces himself to relax “It’s not...I just...don’t like being touched, especially there.” 

Y/N nods at him “I know...But you used to let me hug you all the time when we were kids.”  

A small smile tugs at the corner of Zuko’s lips as he remembers those times. He turns to face her, his eyes softening slightly “Yes, I did. Things were different then.” 

“Yeah, it was.” She smiles before looking at the fire. Zuko did the same.  

His thoughts drifting back to his past “We were so carefree back then, weren’t we?” 

She chuckles “Yes.” They were silent for a few minutes, before she spoke again “I had nightmares about that day too.” 

Zuko’s eyes widen slightly at that “...what?” 

“It wasn’t easy for me to see that happen to you and not being able to help you.” She replied. His expression softening slightly. She looks at him with a small smile “Do you remember when we were kids and you had nightmares and you went to my room to sleep with me?” 

He nods with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips “Yes, I do.” 

“Would it help you? If we sleep together like back then?” Y/N asked him. 

Zuko hesitates for a moment “We’re not kids anymore.” 

“I know, I just thought it could help you...” Y/N looked at the fire again. 

He takes a deep breath “The crew will talk about it...” 

“I know.” she sighs “Just forget I suggest it.” 

Zuko looks back at her again before he sighs. She didn’t know this, but he had a crush on her when they were kids and sleeping by her side, was risky. “Fine. But just for tonight.” 

She looks at him confused “But you just said...” 

“It’s just for tonight.” He cut her. 

“Okay.” She stands up, and so does he. 

Zuko made sure his door was closed and locked, before moving over to his bed. He sits down on the edge of it, patting the spot next to him “Come on, get comfortable.” Y/N just smiles, before she untied her hair. He can’t help but stare at her for a moment. He always sees her with her hair tied, and she was even more beautiful now. “It looks good untied.” 

“Thanks.” She smiled again and lay by his side on the bed. 

He leans back against the headboard, his eyes locked on her face. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just take in the sight of her lying next to him “It’s strange...having you here like this.” 

“Why? We slept on the same bed all the time when we were kids.” She replied. 

Zuko chuckles softly “Yeah, I know. It’s just different now.” he says as his eyes roams down her body. 

Y/N chuckles too “I know, but we’re still the same us, right?” 

He smiled at her, then slowly reaches out to brush a lock of her hair behind her ear “I don’t know...I don’t think I’m the same person anymore...” 

“Well, I guess I’m not either.” She looks down and she sighs. 

Zuko watches her for a moment, wondering what’s wrong. He hesitates for a moment before gently brushing his fingers against her cheek, tilting her head up so she was looking at him “What’s wrong, Y/N/N?” 

“I just realized how much we both changed theses two years apart.” 

He nods, understanding the sentiment. He leans closer to her “We both had our reasons...but look at us now. We found each other again. 

She smiles “We did.” 

He smiled back before leaning in just a little “I missed you.” 

Y/N/Nre leaned in too “I missed you too.” 

Zuko just leans in a little more, without touching her lips. She just smiles, but doesn’t move, wondering who would do the first move. Finally, Zuko couldn’t take it anymore. He closed the distance between them, pressing his lips softly against hers. His hand moved up to the back of her head, holding her close as he deepened the kiss. Y/N kiss him back with all the passion she hides all those years. Zuko’s hand moved down her back, pulling her closer to him. He groaned against her lips as their tongues danced together, their desire for one another growing with each moment. Her hand went to his face, as she breaks the kiss for air.  

“What are we doing, Zuko?” She asked breathless. 

He looked deeply into her eyes, his heart racing with passion. He knows what they’re doing, but he’s not sure if he wants do admit it “I don’t know, Y/N. What are we doing?” 

“We’re friends...” She answered. 

Zuko smirks sligtly, his voice low and husky “Friends who share a bed, friends who kiss passionately...are you sure that’s all we are?” 

Y/N looks at him for a few seconds thinking, before she kisses him again. He groans, lost in the feeling of her lips against his. He deepens the kiss, his hand moves from her back to her thigh, squeezing gently as he explores her mouth with his tongue. She turns them so she can lay on top of him. 

Feeling her weight, his heart races with anticipation, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as their hips grind together. “God, Y/N...I want you so much.” She moans in the kiss, feeling how hard he is in his pants. 

Zuko groans, unable to control himself. He lifts his hips off the bed, grinding his erection agains her “Y/N...” 

She starts kissing his jaw and his neck, as her hands lifts his shirt. Shivering at her touch on his skin. Soon the get rid of the piece of clothing and removes her’s too. Zuko watches as she does that, revealing her breast to him. His mouth goes dry, and he can’t tear his eyes away from her. 

“You can touch me, Zuko” Y/N whisper in his ears. 

He hesitates for a moment, his hands shaking as she reaches to touch her. His fingers graze over her nipples, causing them to harden “I’m afraid I might hurt you...” 

“Hurt me...? Zuko, you’ve done this before, right?” She asks him with a small smile. He looks away from her, feeling embarrassed. “Hey.” She says softly, as she turns his face back to her. “Did you?” 

Zuko takes a deep breath “Yes...I’ve done this before. It’s not my first time. But with you...” 

Y/N silences him with a kiss while her hands open his pants. He gasps softly, his hands finding the way to her hair, tangling themselves in the soft strands, while he presses his hard length against her hand. Y/N quickly gets rid of his pants and underwear, making Zuko letting out a soft moan as he is completely naked underneath her. She also takes off the rest of her clothes, before she sits on top of him, her wetness brushing agains his throbbing member. 

His eyes widen when he feel it, groaning deeply, unable to control his desire for her any longer. His hands find their way to her back, pulling her closer while his hips buck up towards her. “God...” 

Y/N smiles seeing how desperate he’s becoming. She kisses his neck again, trailing down to his chest and going down, stopping when she’s closes to his groin, making Zuko’s breath hitches. When she stops, he begs for more “Please, Y/N...” 

“Tell me what you want.” She whispers as her hands was dangerous close to his cock. 

Zuko’s voice is ragged as he answers her, his hips jerk up towards her hand, seeking release “I want you to touch me...” 

Y/N smiles and her hand found him, stroking his member slowly. His back arches off the bed, a moan escaping his lips as she does that. His cock twitches in her hand, leaking pre-cum “Oh gods...Y/N... you’re killing me.” 

“Am I?” She chuckles as she kept her pace slow. 

His hips bucking up towards her hand, his cock throbbing, aching for release “Yes...you are...´please...” 

Y/N chuckles again, she then licks his member, from base to tip, making Zuko’s eyes rolls back in his head. “Oh fuck...” She then decided to stop torture him, as she put all of him in her mouth. Zuko’s hand tangles in her hair as he thrust his hips forward, meeting the rhythm of her head. When she notices he’s getting closer, she stops and go back on top of him. 

Zuko pants heavily, his eyes locked on her as his cock twitches “Y/N...I need to be inside of you.” She only nods and Zuko takes advantage to flip them, so now he was on top of her. He positions himself at her entrance, their eyes locked as he slowly pushes inside of her, making both moan as he feels her tight heat around his cock. He starts to trust slowly, feeling every inch of her “Oh fuck...you’re so tight.” With each thrust, Zuko drives deeper, her nails dig into his shoulders, leaving marks. “Y/N, I...” 

“I know.” She says between her moans “I’m close too.” 

Feeling her body tensing beneath him, Zuko picks up the pace. His hips slam against her in a primal rhythm as he drives himself deeper inside of her. Their combined moans fill the air “Come for me...I want to feel you cum around my cock.” 

A few seconds later, Y/N couldn’t hold back anymore. She came around his cock, her walls clenching as she moans his name. The pleasure of this is almost too much to bear “Y/N...I’m gonna cum.” 

She feels Zuko trying to pull away, but she wraps her legs around him, holding him in place. Fighting against the urge to let go, Zuko grits his teeth as he feels his release building. “Y/N...I can’t hold back.” 

“Then don’t.” She whispers, keeping her hold on him. With one last trust, Zuko cum inside of her. Their bodies shudder as he releases his seed deep inside her. His face is contorted in pleasure and exhaustion as he leans down to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. When they break apart, he gazes into her eyes “You’re unbelievable” 

Y/N chuckles as she looks at him “You’re amazing. 

Zuko also chuckles, running his fingers through her hair. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to kiss you...” 

“You have no idea how long I wanted you.” She smiles. 

He pulls her closer, kissing her neck softly “I think I have an idea...” 

“Oh really?” she smirks “Then tell me, since when?” 

“Since I’ve been banished?” Y/N chuckles and shakes her head ‘no’. Zuko raises an eyebrow “Then when, exactly?” 

“Since the time we fall on the fountain.” She laughs, remembering that. They were 7 at the time. 

“What?” Zuko was confused “But that was more then 10 years ago.” 

“I know.” 

He kissed her lips softly “So, I’ve been wanted by you for 10 years?” 

“Yeah.” She smiles “I just thought that you didn’t saw me like that.” 

Zuko groans “I was such an idiot...” 

“Why?” Y/N asked him. 

“Because...from the first moment I saw you, I wanted you. And then when we fell in the fountain, I knew. My heart has always been yours, Y/N, but I was too scared to admit.” 

“It would have saved us a lot of time.” She laughs softly.  

Zuko decides to pull out of her, making her hiss. “I’m sorry.” He kisses her forehead. 

“It’s okay, I’m just too sensitive after that.” She smiles reassuring him. 

The night goes on, until they finally decide to sleep. The next morning, they decide to have breakfast with everyone. His uncle looked tired. “You’re okay, Iroh?” She asked him. 

Iroh nods “Just couldn’t sleep. Too much noise in this ship.” 

Y/N looked at Zuko, they both blushing. “Oh god.”  

“We’re sorry, uncle.” Zuko says, his face red. 

[evilkitten3]

i think it would be really funny for them to slowly realize that a lot of what zuko thinks was Unforgivable Monster Behavior was like. the most normal shit imaginable

zuko: and then... i fell into the fountain.

sokka: ...and?

zuko: and it was... really embarrassing?

sokka: zuko katara once held me under the water for a full minute. in the SOUTH. POLE.

katara: you said my hair looked stupid! and i was six!

sokka: i was seven! and it did!

katara: hey zuko where's this fountain i need to drown sokka

Underdone idea: Katara and Sokka gradually learning more and more about the Azula-Zuko sibling relationship and getting more and more concerned about how screwed up it is(and particularly about how screwed up Zuko’s sibling behavior is).

[zukosdualdao]

“this isn’t fair! everyone else seems to trust me now. what is it with you?”

i hate how this line gets treated by zuko/zutara antis as evidence of zuko acting entitled to her forgiveness and him being in the wrong for the whole epiosde.

for one thing: zuko doesn’t even ask for her forgiveness here, let alone demand it. he sees the issue as being one of trust, and he is genuinely trying to figure out why she, specifically, doesn’t seem to trust him when he’s that’s the biggest reason he imagines for her reacting the way she is, and the rest of the gaang does. it’s only when she brings up ba sing se that he realizes how badly he hurt her on an emotional level, how she wanted to trust him then.

do i think he wants her forgiveness? well, yeah! he cares about what she thinks of him, he literally says it. but he doesn’t demand it of her; he is genuinely trying to figure out how to resolve this conflict.

and hey, i’m willing to own up to the fact that “this isn’t fair” isn’t a great opening line on that front, and that there’s a level of immaturity to it. katara’s behavior toward him was extremely understandable. but people act like zuko spends the entire episode acting that way when, upon katara’s response, he grows visibly remorseful, asks what he can do to make it up to her, and spends the rest of the episode trying to help her.

i’m also just a little defensive of zuko’s right to be immature, i guess. i feel like an unfair expectation gets put on him, by his detractors, that if he shows he’s still at all flawed in some way or another, that nullifies his redemption. and that’s just not how it works? he’s still a teenager, and a traumatized one, at that. he’s still learning, still working through a lot, and he’s certainly not always going to know the right thing to say or do. it does matter that he’s trying, even if he doesn’t always get it exactly right.

[clydesavage-thefox147]

I don't think enough fanders are aware of this little piece of evidence, so I'm going to post about it. (Also pardon my nearly 2 months long hiatus, been mentally shitty)

Ever wondered why Janus has that pink blemish around his eye?

So, according to Joan in a past Livestream in late 2019, they confirmed that the pink was actually a scar. Yep. A scar. It makes sense since snakes and no other reptiles have that marking naturally. Apparently, it was added to make it more menacing and scary which honestly it did work at the time of his introduction, if you remember how scared people were of him then.

Initially, they weren't going to explain why he has the scar, since it would have been "too intense" to do so. To be fair, at the time it would have been, but now, do we really care how intense it could've happened? Also, I feel it's a bit messed up to make people with scars out to be intimidating, especially since that scar must've been a traumatic experience. I do think that they should go back on their statement and confirm that scar canonically in an understandable, less insulting way.

Now like I said in a previous post, I know Joan isn't much apart of the team anymore however, some of Joan's influence has still carried on in recent canon. Not to mention that Joan literally created Janus as a character. Another thing Joan did mention in their statement was that the scar..has a connection to the next side which is Orange. Which got me thinking-

Does that mean that Orange will be scarred too? Or..did Orange do it to him? Honestly, it does make sense. If you look at the pink hue enough, it does resemble that of a burn scar. Orange has been associated with that of fire.🔥

A character Janus has been connected to is Harvey Dent or Two Face due to Virgil's retort in Embarrassing Phases. According to the comics, Two Face is an ex lawyer who uses his studies in criminology and Law to commit his villainous crimes. He was chemically burned at a court trial, however some alternate versions suggest a more gruesome torture. And, it also happens to be on the same side of his body as Janus' scales and scar. This reference was made the episode right before SvS, where Janus was a lawyer. Definitely foreshadowing.

Another connection is to that of Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender. We know Thomas loves this series and the character is notable here for having a very similar burn scar on the same eye. Coincidence? I think not!

Now, if it is answered, was it truly Orange who did it? What if it was Remus? And was it on purpose or accident? With Remus, it's more likely to be an accident but Orange we have yet to know but it's more likely purposeful. Unless, Virgil caused it and that could be something he's guilty of but who knows. I just feel bad for Janus in the sense that his snake vision must already suck and then he was nearly blinded a second time? Damn man.

But yeah..that pink is a scar..from some injury..from someone...for some reason or motive. What do you think about this?

[c4ttheart]

zuko x fem!reader, angst, 1.6k wc (whoopsi)

supposed to be a gn reader but i put that they went to the royal fire academy for girls ; also timeline makes no sense LMFAO sorry ab that

summary : he says he loves you. that’s not fair, that’s not something best friends should say to each other. but his favourite colour is blue, and so is yours.

"zuko" you breathe out, "you’re back."

he furrows his brows when he hears you approach. he notices the hint of surprise in your voice, and somehow, he doesn’t know if it’s a good thing.

a mumbled "yeah" in response leaves his lips, and you smile. you quirk your lips upward as if he had never left. as if the last time he saw you wasn’t three years ago.

you want to ask him more, hold his hand and drag him through the gardens or sneak out into the city buying things you would never even need. but he turns away, leaving you to stand there in the middle of a palace that isn’t yours. zuko did not return with the avatar. zuko returned with blood on his hands, the price to pay for the victory of your kingdom. but that doesn’t feel right. that is not the zuko you know. then again, they really aren’t that different, three year gap or not, as they soak in the glory of what they have done.

why does he think it’s an honourable thing to have caused the demise of a city ? all that for what, the privilege of bathing in warm water and gold again ?

he ignores you throughout the month that he is here. you thought you were best friends, but apparently his stay at sea made him forget. one could say you’re not on the same footing anymore, since he is promised to the throne.

and it’s fine, you are fine, you can deal with whatever temper tantrum he is having, or the fact that he doesn’t have time for you. you don’t know what he went through, so you try to be fair. but then mai comes into the picture, and all of a sudden you’re fourteen crying on the floor of your dorm at the royal fire academy for girls because word is out that prince zuko has lost his agni kai. and you didn’t even have the time to say goodbye.

it’s not like you were dating. but he can’t just do whatever he’s doing. you waited for him to come back. every day. you still referred to him as your best friend and fed the turtle ducks in his absence. and he just waltzs back into your life and breaks your heart again.

mai is a sweet girl. she’s only a year younger than you. you know she’s a good student. but she doesn’t deserve to replace you. she doesn’t know his favourite colour and why it’s his favourite. she doesn’t know half of the things about him that complete your personality.

maybe that’s how you find yourself thumping on zuko’s door. it’s probably three in the morning, and you’re tired with red rims under yours eyes. he opens the door after some time, with messy hair and his room lit with candlelight. when was the last time you saw him ? he looks so real, so close and you are so, so grateful that he is here and that he is him, that you break down. what was once fury is replaced with desolation as he looks at you funny in front of the door that leads to his quarters.

"i uhm, thought you were at the academy." he mumbles awkwardly. the opening is only wide enough for you to see his face. why is he hiding ? what is this conversation topic ? when have you become such a stranger ? his favourite colour is blue. so is yours.

you sniffle. "it’s the middle of summer."

"oh."

he nods and moves to shut you off again. your tears run thicker against your cheeks.

"you can’t close the door zuko. you told me you loved me. you can’t keep on turning your back on the problems that require something else than military attention."

you don’t even know how you manage to speak the words correctly, considering the hiccups and the sniffles and the ugly crocodile tears. you don’t know how you manage to speak so correctly considering the state of your heart.

he scoffs. "you’re the one that left me."

"i did not leave you, zuko. i chose to stay." you laugh and croak out.

"that’s the same fucking thing." he whispers under his breath, his eyes rolling every time you blink water from your eyes.

it’s okay. you know he still loves you, somewhere inside. deep deep down, you know he does. it’s not wishful thinking, because his favourite colour is blue, and so is yours. blue like the waves back in ember island, blue like the water the turtle ducks swim in, blue like the sky in which he wishes he could soar. blue like the flames he never got.

"you can leave now, y’know ? " he speaks again, every single drop of formality run dry on his lips when he sees you. is that a good thing ?

and yellow used to be your favourite colour. not his, yours. yellow like the sun, yellow like the small buttercups, yellow like the jewellery your mother would wear. yellow like his eyes. and then all of a sudden, zuko came along, and yellow morphed into blue. what he liked, you liked. what he did, you did. what he said, you said. somewhere along the way you forgot yourself in the name of love. and all that for what ?

"i-i don’t understand, zuko." you hiccup. you try to remember the warmth of the yellow sun but all you can focus on is the harsh yellow in his eyes. it looks much less appealing than blue.

"god, what more is there to understand ? people move on, (name). maybe it’s time you do the same. grow up a bit, and maybe you’ll get a real personality."

you gasp.

"oh and, it’s prince zuko to you."

this horrible feeling settles in your stomach. like needles, piercing over and over again. or a dam being broken by a tidal wave. you do not feel good. and he is dressed in red, like his curtains, like his door, like the walls and floors and windows and carpets and when you finally reach the gardens you have never felt so nauseous watching the fountain blue.

when you glance up, you realise the sky is red too.

your tears are all dried up now. you should go home, probably. but the sun is rising and the last thing you want to do is let your parents know you snuck out, that you’re not at all at the friend’s house you were supposed to be at. you’re seventeen, yet you are still so reliant on your parents. you should take control of your life, you think, but you still have a favourite colour and you still like the same guy than when you were a child. maybe zuko is right, you should grow up.

best friends should never be able to love each other. it ruins lives, love. you think it would have been best if zuko had never loved you at all. but his favourite colour is blue, and so is yours, because your personality is completely attached to his. maybe you loved him too before you even knew it.

you watch people get up and about from the tower you’re in. you don’t know which one it is, just that it is high off ground. when a bird squeaks, you bang your head against the wall. messenger hawks scare you.

something falls besides you, and it sounds light. a key, sitting still and yellow on the middle of the paved floor. it’s an ordinary key, yet it looks too unused to be one leading to the bird cages. you nervously look around, with puffy eyes and dried cheeks, because you should not be doing this but god, do you need something to get your mind off zuko.

fuck him and his little girlfriend. fuck him and his petty ways, fuck him and his fancy baths, fuck him and his golden eyes. he should have told you if he hated you. if he didn’t wish to be best friends anymore. you would have taken it easier than now. but he just vanished, and when he came back, he wasn’t himself anymore. maybe he lost himself like the people of ba sing se lost their lives because of him.

you spot some sort of square locker imbedded in the wall. it looks quite private but the key fits when you insert it, and when you turn it the door silently opens. then something falls on your face. it’s small and not very heavy. looks like a messy envelope when you pick it up. you open it subconsciously, like it was meant to find you somehow. maybe it was, because your heart drops when you read who it is addressed to. you skip the contents only for what you thought were your dry eyes pour again.

inside the box, is a year worth of letters. they’re all from zuko. and they’re all sealed with blue wax.

you don’t speak with zuko the following week, but rumours spread fast and all of a sudden the whole country knows he’s gone. it’s alright. you didn’t get to say goodbye the first time, so why would you now ? when you go back to your dorm at the academy the next day, pretty petunia flowers sit on your bed, sealed with a blue ribbon. you clench your jaw.

it is quite a feeble gift, but it is better than nothing at all. you keep them in a vase on the windowsill, even when you learn they mean resentment, because his favourite colour is blue, and so is yours.

it always will be.

i like read iver this once to make sure some sentences made sense that is it

this was supposed to b fluff but uh,,,,,

[specialagentlokitty]

Zuko x reader - one more time

Hey can I get a Zuko x reader where the it’s Legend of Korra era but what it is is that Korra or Bolin just anyone in the main group ask about his past s/o who was the reader and he talks about them in a sad old man way taking about his deceased lover 😭 thank you - Anon 💜

Korra had been trying to figure everything out, and she realised the only connection she had to Aang, the one that knew him when he was going through the same thing was Zuko.

So she visited him, and spent as much time as she could asking questions, asking for advice and help.

“I’m sorry Korra, but this is not something I’m so good at, (Y/N) was better at giving advice than I ever could have hoped to be.”

“(Y/N)? You’re partner?” Korra asked.

Zuko nodded his head and gestured for her to follow him.

He led her through a lavish garden, nearly cared for, and when they reached the middle he showed her a large statue and Korra stared at it.

You were absolutely stunning, you looked young, beautiful, elegant, yet powerful and a fair ruler.

“Wait.. I think.. I think I spoke to them. In the spirit realm.”

“You did?”

They both sat down in the bench opposite the statue of you.

“Yeah, they were the one that told me to come speak to you, that you would know what to do.” She said.

Zuko smiled and chuckled softly as he stared up at the statue in fondness.

“They always said I knew what to do, even if I didn’t realise it straight away.”

Korra looked at the former fire Lord, and she looked up at the statue of you.

“What were they like?” She asked softly.

Zuko smiled softly, turning his head to the floor before he looked back up at the statue.

“They were… they were strong, stubborn, like Katara, but peaceful and loving like Aang. They saw the beauty in everything around, but they were one of the bravest people I had ever met.”

Korra listened carefully as Zuko told her all about you.

He told her stories from when you two first met, how you had left the nation to fight with Aang, and you would always mock him for not being able to defeat you.

Then how he fell in love with you, on the day of the war ended, while he was fighting with his sister you risked your life for not only Katara, but for him too.

He loved your stubbornness, and your smiled that could light up a room on the darkest night.

“They were more then anything I could’ve ever asked for, they gave me the love and the forgiveness I never have asked for from anyone else…”

Zuko sighed, running his finger alone the lone wedding band on his finger.

“They were the love of my life and more…”

Korra reached out, placing her hand on his arm, making him look at her.

“You’ve done them proud, they told me how proud they were of you, and how much they miss you.” She said.

He smiled softly and looked at her.

“Really?”

“Yeah, of course.”

He nodded his head and looked at your statue before turning to the young avatar.

“Do you think you can talk to them again?”

“I.. don’t know. Maybe.”

“If you do please give them this. I was going to give it to them on the our anniversary before they passed, I’ve carried it ever since.”

He handed over an old letter, and she took it, slipping it into her pocket.

“Of course, will you tell me more about them?”

Zuko smiled and carried on talking, and Korra just sat there listened to his stories.

She knew he was lonely, she heard from Katara how you were never without one another.

To loose your lover so early and have to go on through life without them? She couldn’t imagine how lonely and how painful it must be.

She heard the way he talked, the sadness in his voice, the tears brimming his eyes as all he could do was stare at the statue.

Korra looked at the statue and she saw something behind it, and all she could do was stare at the spirit.

She didn’t need to compare the looks to know immediately who it was.

She watched as you walked over and sat in front of your statue, resting your elbow on your knee, and you rested your chin on your palm as you smiled at Zuko.

“Ask him to tell you about the time he proposed to me.” You whispered softly.

“Can you tell me about the time your proposed to (Y/N)?”

“You really want to hear about that?”

Katara flicked her eyes to your spirit, and you gently nodded your head.

“I.. (Y/N) wants to hear it.”

“They’re here?”

Zuko knew the avatar could see spirits, talk with them, and he knew since the spirit realm was opened more and more were pouring through.

He never thought that you would come through though.

“They’re here…” she smiled.

Zuko looked around and Korra pointed to where you were sat, and all she could do was smile as he smiled to himself.

“It was supposed to be elegant, I had a large ball planned, everyone was invited, everyone was waiting for me. (Y/N) wore the most beautiful clothes you had ever seen, made out the finest silk you could ever see. I was walking down the stairs, and I tripped, falling the rest of the way and I knocked (Y/N) over along the way.” He laughed.

You laughed as well and nodded your head.

“I was so embarrassed I quickly left and (Y/N) followed me, out to this very garden and we stood in very spot. They kissed me, and told me that it was okay, and I asked them there and then if they would marry me.”

He twisted the wedding band on his finger.

“They teased me and kept putting off the answer, and I went to walk away thinking it was them rejecting me… I tripped again…”

“But they said yes.” Korra smiled.

“They did. But not before laughing at me first.” He chuckled.

Korra watched as his face turned to sadness.

“It was the best marriage I could’ve ever ask for… but they got sick… they tried to fight, to hold on but they wouldn’t do it anymore. They passed away in their sleep, they never got to watch our children grow up, they never saw the kingdoms grow closer.”

Korra couldn’t handle it anymore, she knew she shouldn’t do this, but she felt like she owed it to Zuko, for everything he’d done.

“Close your eyes.” She said softly.

Zuko did as he was told and she placed a hand on his head, whispering something she stepped away.

“I.. I don’t know how long it’ll last, but I hope this helps.”

She handed him the letter he gave her and stepped a few steps back, watching him open his eyes and he stared directly at you.

He smiled and you stood up, walking over to touch his face.

Maybe she was breaking a lot of rules, but Korra knew he was breaking inside without you, he’d been so alone without you for so long she wanted him to have some time with you, even if it was just a few minutes

[sweetsugarcakes]

Could you write smth for Zuko?:) Reader meets him during his stay in Ba Sing Se? They’re also a refugee, and they deliver supply runs as their job, so reader meets him during a supply run to the tea shop. They keep coming back as a customer, bc they’re lonely, and Zuko seems to be lonely, so they could be lonely together ^^ I don’t really have a specific scene in mind, so you can just run wild with this concept, but could it be romantic? Ba Sing Se Zuko is so underrated, I need more fics of him😖 that’s all, I hope you have a good day :)

hii of course this is so cute🥹

Zuko x gn! reader

You were helping carry out supplies to this new tea place The Jasmine Dragon that just opened up in Ba Sing se. You recognized a boy that was working at the tea shop. You were looking over to see he had a bad scare on his face. For some reason he looked really familiar to you, like you know him. You heard that his uncle was very nice and gentle due to his voice.

Later that night you decided to stop at the tea shop to relax and see that boy again. You did and couldn’t help that he was quite cute. So after that night you kept coming back because what else you had to do. You had nothing interesting to do. You sat down and realized that everyone had someone with them every time you were in there. No one was by themselves. Due to what you do, you really didn’t make friends along the way and you ran away from your parents so you really don’t have anyone. What you didn’t know that Zuko was looking over at you, he remembers you coming in exactly when it’s sunset. He couldn’t help notice how miserable you looked every time you came in like you had a bad day. He sighed as he poured some tea for you and started walking over to you.

You were resting your head on the table. You then heard a voice…

“I see you really like the tea? I see you here everyday” You looked up to see the boy that you found interesting and cute.

“Oh sorry is it a bother?” You asked as you were a bit worried that he was going to kick you out.

“N-no not at all.” He said a bit loud. People looked over at the two of you as you just chuckled.

“It’s just I see you here everyday just wondering if you had anywhere else to go. Somewhere better than here.” He gave you a cup. You bowed your head in gratitude and sipped the tea.

“To be fair I have no where to go. And I have no one to be with so…why not be here where its peaceful right?” You smiled but Zuko could tell it bothered you.

“Hey um sorry do this direct but if you’re not doing anything I would like to get to know you better?” You smiled as Zukos cheek turned a bit red. You saw him look back at his uncle who nods at him letting him go. Zuko looks back at you and nods. You smile and got up. “Well let’s go” You walk out as he took off his apron and followed you.

For a while you guys roamed Ba sing se taking in the night. “It’s quite nice when it’s peaceful” you say as he nodded in agreement. You two got to know each other, knowing names, knowing your pasts and what the feelings you’re going through. Even though Zuko was lying to you, he felt safe around you. He felt like he could tell you everything but part of him is holding back. Eventually you guys went back to the tea shop. “You know I haven’t felt not lonely in a long time. Tonight was fun…I hope we can do it again.” You blush a bit and smile. He noticed as he smiles too. “Yeah I haven’t felt not lonely in while either…”he smiled as he saw you get closer and gave a short but gentle kiss on the lips. He was surprised as he was about to kiss back you pulled away. “Thank you for tonight you’re very kind. Like I said I hope we can keep doing this”

hope you liked it🫶

[eponastory]

That's not really what is going on here, but okay.

What IS going on is that Zuko worked to gain the trust of the others, and now they see him for who he is. He is saying it's not fair because Katara is the only one that hasn't bought into his redemption. This isn't him being a brat, this is him questioning her on what he needs to do to earn back her trust. Again, he did bad things, but he isn't playing the victim either. Otherwise, he wouldn't be asking her what she needs from him. Zuko is also a victim, by the way, which is why he is working so hard to find redemption. That isn't being a brat. That's being accountable. Is it fair that Katara is still unable to trust him after CoD? Yeah, it is fair. What isn't fair is that he came into it thinking that she would fall in line with the others. That's okay because that brings us to this point where he has to question her.

This isn't throwing a tantrum. This is him realizing he was wrong and that he needs to work harder. And he freaking does.

This is also the OP completely ignoring all the character development and what happens after.

[gaybd1]

“So… you’re really breaking up with me?” Zuko asked again.

“I mean, I guess. We don’t need this anymore, don’t you think?”

Zuko was more confused than upset. And wasn’t ‘we don’t need this anymore’ an odd thing to say about ending a relationship?

He looked back at Mai across the sofa they sat on, confusion still showing on his face. He could see a hint of exasperation beginning to make its way into her expression. They’d been having this conversation for a while already.

“I just… aren’t things going well?”

“Zuko,” Mai sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder, “You’re like my best friend.”

“Right, so..?”

“Not. A boyfriend?” She raised an eyebrow, hoping Zuko would be able to fill in the blanks.

Zuko knew his relationship with Mai wasn’t… typical. They didn’t kiss much anymore and had never even thought of doing anything beyond that, but it… worked… He valued their companionship.

“I just… why now?” He thought it was a fair question.

Mai huffed and stood up, turning to face him.

“Honestly, Zuko. I didn’t think this was going to be such a big deal. I just thought maybe we were both ready to move on. The world’s changed since you became Fire Lord, and I thought maybe it would be safe now for us to…”

Zuko blinked at her, still making it quite clear he had no idea what was going on.

“Look,” Mai sighed, sitting down to face Zuko on the sofa opposite his, “We aren’t in love, Zuko. We never have been.”

He sputtered, wanting desperately to protest, but finding he needed a moment to think about it. He did love Mai, definitely. He always would, just like he loved Azula. Being with Mai had always made sense…

“Zuko,” Mai pushed, “We’ve never been in love, right?”

“Maybe not…?” he admitted.

“It’s fine,” she waved her hand. “I don’t take it personally. I know you’re not interested in women.”

Zuko sputtered again. What? Of course he was… why wouldn’t he…?

“What?” he whispered. The truth was he’d never really thought about it.

“Zu. It’s fine. In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m not into guys either. That’s what I thought this whole relationship was about, actually.”

Zuko didn’t say anything. This was a lot to process.

Mai seemed to understand, sitting quietly until he was ready to talk.

“So…” he finally managed, “You’ve always…?”

“Yeah. It took me a while to figure it out, but definitely.”

“So you think if we break up now we could…?”

“No offense Zuko, but I’d much rather be with Ty Lee than stuck in whatever this is with you. I think we’re ready for it now. And you and Sokka—“

“WHAT?”

Mai sighed and put her head into her hands, staying like that for a moment while Zuko tried to figure out what the fuck was going on.

“Agni, Zuko. Sorry. I didn’t think any of this was new information to you,” she sat up and looked directly into Zuko’s eyes, “Yes, dumbass. The whole Nation knows at this point that boy is in love with you. He’s not exactly subtle about it. And everyone besides you seems to have the idea that you love him back.”

“But I’m not even…” Zuko was learning a lot about himself tonight, apparently. Could he be in love with Sokka?

He thought about it.

They were just friends, right?

Thought about the happiness that filled his heart every time he entered a room Sokka was in.

Good friends…

About the natural ease with which they spoke with and spent time together.

Close friends…

How he thought of his friendship with Sokka very similarly to how he thought of his relationship with Mai.

…Best… friends?

The desire that had crossed his mind on more than one occasion, which he’d tryed and failed to lock away completely, to grab, caress, kiss Sokka. But thoughts like that were normal every once in a while, right? Everyone had them. Except… he had them for Sokka more than he ever had with Mai…

“Oh shit…” he whispered, “I’m…”

“An idiot,” Mai finished for him.

That was not was Zuko was going to say, but he let it slide.

“I think we gotta break up,” he said instead.