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thatbookgirl1118 · 7 months ago

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"just substitute Sokka in Zuko's place and tell me that doesn't feel like we took a right turn into sweet home Alabama" i am SHRIEKING i came for the incredible zutara analysis but i stayed for the absolutely insane commentary😭🤣

the official zutara dissertation (p.3)

Part 1 | Part 2

Now I’ve proven why Zutara is superior, I’ll address the most common anti Zutara arguments (aka, the most ridiculous shit I’ve ever heard in my life).

BOOK 3: DEBUNKING ANTI ZUTARA ARGUMENTS

1. People only like Zutara because they’re dark and intriguing. In actuality, it’s a shallow relationship based purely on physical appearance.

First of all, I find it hilarious that Zutara is the shallow ship when Mai.ko is canon, but we’ll get into Mai.ko later. Second, kindly read the 2k words I wrote here about how Zutara connect with and understand one another on a far deeper level than any romantic relationship in the show, and if it’s “dark and intriguing” for two characters to have parallel character foundations and journeys, to support and comfort each other, and forge a relationship based on mutual respect and trust… sign me up, y’all.

(Also, yeah Zuko and Katara look good together. Sorry you can’t say the same about the mother and son, or the emo goth wannabes).

2. Zutara would be toxic because all they’d do is fight.

Zuko and Katara fought (physically) for much of the series because, shocker, they were on opposing sides of a war. They didn’t have petty fights for no reason (*ahem* Maiko), they were literally enemies, and it was that history that drove the two (2) big emotional fights they had in the whole series.

The first time they “fight”, Katara is yelling at Zuko in the Crystal Catacombs (Book 2: The Crossroads of Destiny) about how evil he is for chasing the Avatar and makes a bunch of generalizations about him. Then Zuko gets pissed and yells back and they blow up into a giant argument – oh wait, what’s that? She opens up to him? He sympathizes with her? She immediately stops being hostile the minute he reaches out?

The second Zuko and Katara see each other as people and not enemy combatants, they instantly connect. Katara apologizes for yelling at him and the interaction that follows is tender, open and vulnerable, with both Zuko and Katara genuinely listening to and bonding with one another. Toxicity? 404 Error: Page Not Found

The next and last time they “fight” is in the Southern Raiders, following Katara’s hostile treatment of Zuko from the moment he joined the Gaang. First of all, Katara’s anger here is entirely justified because Zuko betrayed her personally. The rest of the group hadn’t been vulnerable with Zuko or trusted that Zuko had changed, so none of them were hurt by Zuko’s decision to side with Azula. Katara, however, had genuinely believed in Zuko, offered to help him, and opened up about her deepest hurt to him – and he’d thrown it back in her face.

Zuko accepts Katara’s anger without complaint, knowing that he deserves it, and works to earn Katara’s forgiveness. He teaches Aang firebending, helps Sokka to rescue his father from prison, and fights Azula to let the rest escape. When he confronts Katara in the Southern Raiders, it’s because he genuinely wishes to understand why she still mistrusts him despite everything he’s done to prove his sincerity. He’s frustrated but genuinely trying to make amends and wants to know what Katara needs in order to accomplish that.

Both of these fights stem from legitimate grievances Katara has against Zuko, mistakes he’s made that he does need to atone for. However, what’s more interesting is the way Zuko reacts to Katara’s anger both times. He doesn’t mindlessly yell at her, get defensive, or escalate the situation. In the catacombs, he is sullen and moody until she reveals the true depths of her pain, at which point his own anger bleeds away and he reaches out to her with genuine compassion. In TSR, he is calm and contrite, willing to listen and making the effort to understand where she’s coming from so he can resolve the issue. (So toxic, amirite?)

Given that the majority of Katara’s anger at Zuko in the series stemmed from either his position as her enemy, or her hurt over his betrayal, I find it very hard to believe that they would ever “fight” on a similar scale in a future where they got together – a future where both of these conflicts no longer exist. Their canonical approach to disagreement sees them both willing to apologize, to work things out, and to try and understand each other, making it likely that any arguments they do have would be resolved in a healthy manner. Moreover, after Zuko and Katara have put their past behind them for good and established their friendship, they never fight again – and, in fact, grow closer.

Their intimacy and connection, the similarities in their personalities and motivations, and the evidence of their canonical response to disagreement, especially Zuko’s (a desire to understand and a clear evaluation of the situation to find a solution) is more than enough proof that this argument against Zutara is, frankly, bullshit.

(And if we want to talk about fighting, guess what Kat.aang and Mai.ko are doing in much of book 3? *looks pointedly at The Beach, The Southern Raiders, The Ember Island Players, Sozin’s Comet and the multiple unresolved arguments dropped in favour of a last-minute kiss, because that definitely solves everything.)

3. Zutara is a colonizer/colonized or oppressor/oppressed ship.

I’ve disproved this (factually untrue) argument in this post but to add on: Zuko turned traitor against his country, at threat to his own safety, and risked his life multiple times to bring the regime to an end because he knew he was on the wrong side of the war. Zuko fought against his own family and nearly died to protect Katara. Zuko and Katara, together, helped to overthrow Fire Nation imperialism and bring about a new era of peace. No true colonizer has ever, or would ever, do that.

Should Zuko and Katara get together, they would do so after the war. As the daughter of a national leader and a war hero, Katara would likely hold just as much power as Zuko, if not more, given that the Fire Nation is now in a position where it must offer reparations and concessions to the other nations. She would be entering the relationship as an equal and would, in fact, gain additional power by becoming Fire Lady, not subjugate herself under a tyrannical regime.

4. Katara hates Zuko/Katara is hostile to Zuko/Katara doesn’t care about Zuko and so she would never fall in love with him.

I see we’re just watching the show with our eyes closed now, lmao.

Even when they were on opposing sides of a war, Katara offered to use her special spirit water to heal Zuko’s scar. Even when she still hadn’t forgiven him, Katara reached out and put herself in danger to save Zuko’s life by pulling him onto Appa’s saddle. (Book 3: The Southern Raiders). Katara and Zuko’s entire relationship arc in Book 3 is based on the fact that they formed a genuine connection in the catacombs.

And once Zuko gains her forgiveness? Katara shows him nothing but unconditional love, trust and acceptance. She throws herself into his arms when she forgives him (Book 3: The Southern Raiders), banters with him, looks worried for him and tries to comfort him (Book 3: Ember Island Players). She fights by his side readily, invites him to join the group hug, and teases him about his baby pictures (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 1). She notices that he’s frightened about facing Iroh, and encourages and supports him with a loving, tender smile on her face (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 2).

She agrees to go with him on what may well be the last day of their lives, reassures him, and trusts his judgement completely when he wishes to fight Azula himself (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 3). She looks absolutely horrorstruck when he sacrifices himself for her, screams his name, and immediately tries to run to him, completely forgetting about the powerful firebender in her path. She cries from pure joy when she’s able to heal him, and then stands by his side in support as they look upon a defeated Azula (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 4).

Whether you see that as platonic or romantic, it is utterly undeniable that Katara loves Zuko very, very much.

5. Katara would never want to be Fire Lady because she hates the Fire Nation.

One of Katara’s major arcs is understanding that the Fire Nation is not all-consuming evil, that it is worth saving and worth helping, and it is solely those in power and their militaristic ideology that is to blame, not the people or the land. Katara never shows an ounce of discomfort in the FN, actually enjoys FN climate, risks her safety and the invasion itself to help its people, and appears excited to wear FN clothes, but I guess that was just a figment of my imagination.

6. Katara would have to give up her culture to become Fire Lady.

Firstly, someone kindly explain to me what exactly it is that Katara would have to sacrifice about her culture. She can’t dress in blue anymore? She can’t eat Water Tribe food? She can’t wear her hair loops? What aspects of her culture, exactly, would Katara have to “give up” in the Fire Nation?

Secondly, since this argument is so concerned about Katara’s culture, let’s look at what happens to her in canon – oh wait, two out of three of Katara’s children show absolutely no connection to their SWT roots? Her oldest son spends his whole life wishing he were an airbender and giving no fucks at all about his waterbending heritage despite the fact that, as the child of a mixed family, he should have valued both cultures equally? Huh, ya don’t say.

Before you say the same would have happened to Zutara, let me point out that Zuko’s arc is about unlearning this exact ideology (that one nation is more important than others) whereas Aang, at the end of the show, still prioritizes Air Nomad ideals over those of the other nations (refusing to kill Ozai because of Air Nomad pacifist values), despite being the Avatar. Yeah I see why Katara’s culture barely got a passing mention in that family.

7. Zutara had no canon romantic build-up, and Katara is just supposed to be Zuko’s surrogate little sister.

Sure, Zuko and Katara expressed no explicit romantic interest in one another in canon, but it is entirely wrong to say there was no romantic build up. Many of Zuko and Katara’s scenes together are full of romantic subtext and framing, which the writers and animators left in for some reason (cough they were supposed to be canon):

Zuko draping a betrothal necklace around Katara’s neck (Book 1: The Waterbending Scroll). The exact same message would’ve been communicated if he’d just dangled it before her, but instead the animators went to the extra trouble of creating a scene where he holds it up to her throat despite knowing full well that it was a betrothal necklace, and the implications that came with that

Katara touching Zuko’s scar (Book 2: The Crossroads of Destiny). Seriously, what the fuck is this romantic ass framing for a non-canon ship lmfao Zuko closing his eyes to lean into Katara’s touch? Katara’s thumb resting on his lips? The soft, swelling emotional music in the background? It was entirely unnecessary for them to even make contact when they could have just ended the scene with Katara saying “I can heal you” and Zuko nodding to give her permission before they get interrupted, but the writers chose to give them the most intimate scene in the whole show and then went ah yes! such platonic besties :)

Zuko covers Katara’s body with his own to protect her from rocks (Book 3: The Southern Raiders) in a perfect example of the Suggestive Collision trope, which is then followed by the Please Get Off Me trope, both of which are used specifically to create romantic tension. Really feeling the sibling vibes here guys

Zuko and Katara exchange the classic “ew wtf there’s no way I would ever fall in love with you” awkward look (Book 3: The Ember Island Players), used in literally every romcom ever to communicate denial of actual romantic feelings

Zuko pushes Aang out of the way to sit next to Katara, and Katara gives him a side glance before tucking her hair behind her ear (Book 3: The Ember Island Players), in a perfect set up for a love triangle. This is then furthered when Aang becomes jealous at the idea of Zutara in the play, even though Zuko and Katara had expressed no explicit romantic interest in each other at this point

Katara is conveniently “confused” right after watching the play (Book 3: The Ember Island Players) where she expressed romantic interest in Zuko and none at all in Aang. If she did love Aang shouldn’t this have been the point where she realized it? Also, this is the first time Aang and Katara talk about their kiss at the invasion despite it being six whole episodes ago? When they literally had a big chunk of time alone while Sokka and Zuko were at the Boiling Rock to have this discussion?

Zuko and Katara being framed almost identically to Sokka and Suki, the established canon couple, throughout the four-part finale

Zuko and Katara blush and fervently deny being romantically involved (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 2) in a classic illustration of the She Is Not My Girlfriend trope (TV Tropes even points out that this is particularly common on shows where kids and preteens are the main target audience… interesting), which is usually meant to imply that there is, in fact, genuine romantic feelings present

THAT. FUCKING. LIGHTNING. SCENE. The sudden slow-motion, the dawning horror on Zuko’s face, the slow, sad violin music in the background, the desperate race to intercept the lightning before it got to Katara, the long, drawn-out, dramatic NOOOOOOO! as he literally jumps in front of her, the zoom in to Katara’s face of utter horror as she realizes what has happened to Zuko? All of it ties into the classic Taking the Bullet trope, making use of every visual storytelling trick to communicate romantic love. Zuko valiantly struggles to get to Katara, and Katara screams his name and runs to him with her hand outstretched like every cheesy romantic movie death you’ve ever seen. There is romantic coding plastered all over this damn scene, and if you don’t believe me, just substitute Sokka in Zuko’s place and tell me that doesn’t feel like we took a right turn into sweet home Alabama.

If you are going to include this many hints at romance to fool your audience into thinking that a ship will become canon, you cannot then *surprised pikachu face* when people actually think the damn ship should’ve been canon, especially when backed up by emotional intimacy, beautiful symbolism, narrative parallels and character and thematic significance.

#zutara

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thatbookgirl1118 · 7 months ago

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OP WHERE THE HELL IS THE REST OF IT

I CAN'T LIVE NOT KNOWING THE REST OF THIS STORY

WHAT HAPPENED WITH KATARA? DID THEY EVER MEET AGAIN? WHAT DOES ZUKO DO? I HAVE QUESTIONSSSSSSSS😭😭😭😭

ficlet under the cut

The crate tipped with a sudden lurch and broke open on the ground. Zuko spilled unceremoniously with the motion. Inelegant. Graceless. Normally his movements held much more regality, but he'd been kidnapped and stuffed in a scratchy box and out of the water for some indeterminable length of days, so cutting himself some slack here felt appropriate.

It wasn't much brighter outside the stupid box. His scales were dry, his head was killing him, and the floor held a pleasant cool against his mounting fever. He really needed water soon. Every part of his body felt... scratchy. Discomfort would escalate into pain, and then asphyxiation. He would suffocate if he dried out. Idly, he wondered how long it would take. The humans seemed to know. They hadn't acted worried yet.

"Our latest bounty." The voice looming over Zuko was muffled in weird places. "I thought it might spark an interest. You collect fire fish, isn't that right?"

Zuko bit down a hazy groan and fumbled to prop himself up. The loss of the tile's cool against his cheek was one he mourned, but there would be time for relaxing when he found a way out of this mess. He could barely think straight. The humans—the pirates who'd ransomed him from the girl in blue—were standing guard around him now. He could see their boots. They were facing all the same direction, same way the voice was talking towards, and Zuko turned to observe.

The surrounding space was large, a room, and very dimly lit. This wouldn't normally be an issue, being that he was a mer, but his headache made his eyes lazy and bad at adjusting to the dark. If he squinted, he could see the ripple of light along the walls. Blue. Weird. In the direction of the pirates' attention, something like the outline of a table was visible—as large and imposing as the room itself. A single shadowy figure occupied a seat on the far side. He looked weird with the backlight. Zuko's vision was getting spotty.

He didn't get much chance to scan the rest of the surrounding space, because the pirate captain decided to be a jerk and grab his hair. It'd long since escaped its neat topknot, now bunching and sliding strangely in dry heat. The pain and the change in angle made Zuko rapidly lose sight of the shadow man.

"This one's quite a specimen." The pirate tilted Zuko's head back, baring his throat—maybe as a joke; it was always hard to tell if humans knew the significance of such a display—and lifted him enough to catch the light. So their potential buyer could get a better view.

Zuko would like to rip the pirate's skin off and feed it to him, but he was weak with dehydration, and his previous struggles against the man's crew had left him exhausted. All he managed was a low hiss. If humans could understand mer speech, he’d be cursing them as soundly as possible. Someone was standing on his tail. Not that it made much difference. He doubted he could have swung it if it wasn't pinned.

"I've seen a lot of the fire mer in my day, but this one's real pretty. Don't feel bad turning the offer down. We'll keep 'im if you won't." His crew laughed. Bastards. Zuko could hear the leer in the pirate's voice. It made him dizzy with anger.

Then a low grind echoed softly, and the humans cut their chatter short. Zuko distantly registered the shadow at the table moving. What made that noise? Was it his chair? He stood, rounded the massive table, and drew closer. All Zuko could see was a dark, unfocused blob. Vaguely humanoid.

"Yeah, don't be shy! Come get a closer look!"

The fist in his hair tightened. His scalp burned. The fins all down his back shuttered, and a stinging ache began to form in his gills. He needed water. He needed to get out of here. He shouldn't have wandered so close to the shore, even if that pretty girl in blue seemed so friendly at first glance. She did sell him out to these pirate scum. He should have known way better.

Even standing an arm's length away, the lighting continued to cast shadow on the pirate's potential client. It could be reasoned, then, that Zuko and the humans around him were washed in the room's best luminance. Certainly his scar could be seen clear as day. Maybe his tail was pretty, but there were parts of him imperfect. Maybe the stranger wouldn't want to buy him for that. Maybe Zuko would be stuck with these idiot pirates forever.

A smooth voice came from the stranger. "Release him."

"Sure, sure."

The pressure on Zuko's scalp vanished. He collapsed to the cool tile with no more grace than before, even further disoriented, and with a worse headache. He grit his teeth in frustration. That bastard was still on his tail.

Cool fingers tilted his chin up before he could lift his head on his own again; he hadn't seen the shadow man crouch down. Startled, Zuko yanked back and hissed a second time. He made sure to reveal far more fang and fan far wider with his fins; he just wanted these stupid humans to stop poking and grabbing him however often they pleased. Was that too much to ask? He wasn't an ornament. And he sure as heck had no intention of being a pet.

The stranger's face was close, and shadowy, and out of focus. Zuko's head was killing him. The room spun.

"The shape of the fins—” The stranger’s voice began.

“Really something, isn’t it? Never seen a mer so fancy before.”

There was a beat of silence, then the cool fingers returned to Zuko’s jaw and held him firmly in place. He growled. It didn’t make a difference. He was exhausted and hot and vulnerable, and everyone could tell. There was no way to stop them from doing as they pleased.

“There’s a scar.”

“Wasn’t us, mate. Looks like the beast’s had it for a while. I think it adds to the aesthetic, don’t you agree?”

Zuko glared. It was the sort of one-sided remark he’d only accept from Uncle Iroh, though Azula had made attempts to express similar sentiments in that weird way of hers. He’d always hated the scar. At least the monster who put it there was dead now.

The stranger gave no comment. He reached another hand out and pushed Zuko’s hair aside, away from his eyes. Zuko did his best to meet the unfamiliar gaze as steadily as possible, despite the awkward backlight. He was being stared at. He refused to show how unnerved it made him. His trembling and fever didn’t help much in that regard.

Finally, after a dreadful length of scrutiny, the shadow man spoke. “How much do you want for him?”

Zuko could hear teeth in the pirate’s smile. “How much are you willing to pay?”

“Ten-thousand.”

Zuko didn’t know how humans calculated their currency. He’d assumed mer in general to be expensive, but they called him a stupid something fire fish, and it sounded like exotic. Even so, the pirate captain seemed shocked. He let out a high chuckle.

“Well! Show me the gold and you’ve got yourself a deal!”

The stranger waved an uninterested hand over his shoulder, and another grinding sound reverberated through the floor. Zuko couldn’t see the source of the sound with multiple different shadows clouding his vision. Judging by the pirates’ hushed tithering, their payment had been offered.

“Excellent! Pleasure doing business with you, as always.”

“Zaheera will see you out.”

The group broke formation around Zuko and floated away, whispering excitedly. Though they’d been awful to him, he couldn’t help a flicker of fear at their absence. At least with the pirates, he knew they’d avoid causing permanent damage. He knew they’d want to sell him for the highest price possible. Now, he had no idea what to expect. This stranger could have any number of sinister plans in mind; Zuko had certainly heard the horror stories. All young mer were warned about the brutality of humans, and now he was at the mercy of someone who really wanted him. This was bad.

The stranger let him go, and the world tilted as Zuko crumpled. He was very dizzy. And angry. And he really wanted to sink his fangs into human flesh.

But when he turned (against his better judgment) to snap at his new captor, a firm hand was already pushing down the back of his neck. The same way one might handle an unruly pup. Zuko was too tired to be insulted by the gesture. He wasn’t a pup anymore, but a move like that with the human’s advantage was enough to subdue even a full-grown mer.

“Watch out with that one!” The pirate’s faint voice called back. “Quite a monster at full strength. He killed two of my men when we—”

“Get out.”

The heavy thud of the door confirmed their absence, though the human didn’t seem to pay any attention to it. He ducked another snap of Zuko’s teeth, and ignored his crackly snarl, and slid his arms beneath scratchy scales. The world tilted again. Zuko would consider puking if he wasn’t so close to blacking out. The human was carrying him. Impressive. Zuko was heavy outside the water. His fins trailed the floor as they moved, but he was very much in the air, solidly in the man’s grip. Almost cradled, even if he was too big for the pup-hold to have effect a second time. The use of such familiar techniques should have rung a bell in his mind. Zuko’s headache and exhaustion wouldn’t let him dwell on it.

After a dizzying stretch, something wonderful happened. Zuko heard water. The noise was still muffled, and it faltered clarity with every stray tilt of his head, but Zuko knew what water sounded like. He’d been fantasizing about it for the past few days.

There was a splash, and with distant elation, he felt his fins trail. He wasn’t lucid enough to hold back the happy trill.

“I know.” The man huffed, and it rumbled through his chest. “I know—those bastards.”

The water rushed up around him, deliciously cool, salty, clean. It took Zuko up to his gills to realize he’d been lowered into a pool of some kind. It was shallow, but not cramped. He drew a deep breath. That felt very nice. The hands were gone.

He didn’t bother confirming he was alone before passing out soundly.

<~><><~>

Zuko was alone when he came to, and his headache had finally retreated to the realm of faint discomfort. Incredible what a good long sleep in water could do for one’s health. The pirates hadn’t put him in a tank. They were mad about what a fuss he caused the first time they brought him aboard, and they’d rightly concluded he’d be easier to handle if he was dehydrated and exhausted and dizzy. They’d doused him with lukewarm buckets every few hours, just to keep him from dying. Zuko was relieved to be back in water now. Even if trepidation about the uncertainty of his new circumstances wouldn’t let him relax.

The pool he’d been placed in was shallow; he couldn’t move without some part of his tail skimming the surface. It was still comfortable in spite of that. The edges spanned a decent length, so he could turn with ease, and the basin interior was cut from smooth, white stone. His fins shone stark against it. The pool itself seemed to be laid into the ground, flush.

Zuko scanned his surroundings while he waited for something to happen. He still seemed to be indoors. The walls here weren’t as high as the one from before—from the sale pitch—and most of them were made of a clear material. It shone with sunlight from outside. The rest of the space was occupied by greenery. The taller ones reaching the ceiling had been planted in beds in the ground, surrounded at the base with bushy, leafy shrubs, and brilliant flowers, and crawling vines. The faint sound of water also trickled through the maze, but Zuko couldn’t see the source of it from where he was. It was peaceful. Uncle would love this place.

But Zuko hadn’t forgotten how he ended up here, and he had no illusions about being treated fairly, even if he’d been left undisturbed in such a pleasant area. He had to keep his guard up. He was being held against his will. He was trapped on land with no way to escape or get home. He didn’t have much experience with humans, but so far they’d only beaten him, used him, or treated him like a pretty ornamental object, and he had no reason to believe this behavior would change soon. He had to be prepared for the worst.

In truth, he really wanted to murder someone. The urge had become so intense during his captivity with the pirates, and he hadn’t had a real outlet, being close to dying of dehydration. Now that he was rested, his jaw nearly ached to bite through bone.

He spent the time waiting for an opportunity by pacing around the pool. The space didn’t allow for much more than tight circles. Still, it was better than sitting around stewing in all his problems.

Mother was probably worried by now. Him being an adult with a life of his own didn’t stop her from worrying that he wasn’t home every day. Azula didn’t feel the same. Azula would kill for him though; she’d done it before.

Eventually, after what seemed like an hour of thinking to himself and going crazy for it, the faintest vibrations thrummed through the water, and Zuko froze. Footsteps. Someone was approaching.

He lifted his head above the surface. The sound drew closer, brushing through the plants with a practiced gait. Zuko coiled his body. There was deliberation in the person’s movement. They knew he was here. They were coming to see him. The likelihood that he’d be attacking an innocent servant or something alike was low, and that brought him a hint of reassurance.

When the human came into view, bathed in green filtered sunlight, stepping out to the pool’s edge, Zuko took an entire second to appraise the figure. Tall. Male. Dark hair, luxurious silk robes in green and pale yellow. When he spoke, it was the same smooth voice from the shadowy stranger that paid for him.

“Hello.”

Zuko didn’t wait any longer. He launched himself at the human with a vicious snarl. His vision was red. His heart was pounding. How dare they treat him with such contempt? He wasn’t some prized bounty. He wasn’t an ornament for some rich knave’s garden. He wouldn’t take this insult and abuse lying down, and if these humans continued to assume so, they were in for a shock.

To some degree of satisfaction, the man did seem shocked to be bowled over. The air left his lungs in a massive wheeze, and his eyes went very wide. He was also—however—quick. He reflexively shoved Zuko’s head away when Zuko tried to bite, and he managed to lurch free enough to dodge an elbow to the face.

“Wait!” The man yelped.

But Zuko had a size advantage, and the man was on his back, and Zuko really wanted him dead. He slammed his shoulders into the grass, pinned his legs with his tail, made another attempt to remove the throat with his teeth. This time, the man brought his arm up in a hasty block. Zuko was too busy biting down to be upset he’d missed his target. Blood and the creak of bone filled his mouth.

There was a shout of pain. “Wait wait—Zuko, stop!”

The words pierced his hazy red anger like ice through fresh snow. Zuko froze. Even being slightly feral at the taste of blood and festered indignation, he rapidly came to his senses and dropped the arm. His mind spun.

How did this man know his name? The pirates didn’t know. The pretty girl in blue didn’t know. And he wouldn’t be able to tell them if he wanted to (which he very much had not). It wasn’t a lucky guess. No one shared his name that he’d ever met. So why—how could a random human—

“Get off!” The human fumbled to shove Zuko’s face away. His sleeve was ruined, and rapidly turning red.

Zuko slowly obliged. The man didn’t seem angry. He only seemed annoyed, even as he bled profusely from an arm that might be broken. There was something unnervingly familiar about the twist of his scowl. He shuffled sideways and sat up.

“Spirits, kid, you’ve got a strong jaw.”

“I’m not—” Zuko cut himself off before he could complete the retort. The human wouldn’t understand him. The human knew he wasn’t a kid. Zuko was very obviously a full grown mer.

“You could have let me explain myself before trying to kill me.” Why did his scowl look so familiar? The man untied a sash of his fancy outfit and wrapped his arm with clinical efficiency. Then he looked up to meet Zuko’s eye, and his scowl faltered. “Are you okay?”

What.

Zuko stared. Was he seriously… asking if Zuko was okay? There was blood in the grass and in his robes and he might have a concussion and his ribs might be bruised and Zuko would at worst have a sore jaw. He shifted back warily. In his experience, crazy men often did cruel things.

When he made no move to respond, the man sighed roughly and looked away. “Guess I should have waited on that tea. Zaheera will be by with some shortly.”

“What?”

What on earth was he talking about? Tea? Of all things? How did he know Zuko’s name and why was he so relaxed about the bite on his arm and why did the slope of his nose look so familiar and why was he talking about tea in the blood and the grass?

“You were always more civil with it around.”

Okay, now Zuko was thoroughly weirded out. He wished he had an exit. An escape route. He was stuck on land in an unfamiliar house and the closest thing he had to sanctuary was a fake pool of water barely deep enough to sleep in. This was freaking him out just the slightest.

“You’re nuts.” He said. Just to say it. The man wouldn’t understand the words or the insult in them, but Zuko was sick of just sitting around not saying anything, waiting for stupid humans to come to the right conclusions.

For his effort, he was rewarded with the faintest thaw of the man’s grumpy expression. It looked amused somehow. “And why is that?” He asked.

What.

A trace of alarm made Zuko flinch. “...Because you’re… talking to me.” He probed. Just to see. Humans weren’t supposed to understand.

“Why would that make me crazy? You’re real, aren’t you?” He glanced at his sleeve, now mostly red. “I’m pretty sure you are.”

Zuko blanched. He considered backing away, back into the pool. The safety it offered was purely psychological, but it would be something at least. It’d be better than lying vulnerable on the ground next to a crazy person. His fins twitched.

“What—but—you understand me?”

“Of course.”

“But humans aren’t supposed to understand.” From what he’d heard, humans interpreted mer speech as primitive and animalistic: nothing more than a series of harsh vocalizations strung together. Zuko had demanded an explanation for the phenomenon when he was younger. After all, mer understood human speech just fine. No one was able to give him a satisfactory answer.

“Well, I’m not human.” The human said. “Technically.”

“Then what are you?” Possibly a witch? Zuko had heard of their strange abilities. Or maybe he was a spirit. In which case Zuko was screwed. He probably couldn’t get away with attempted murder on a spirit; he’d totally be cursed or something. It could also be a shapeshifter of sorts, from the myths.

But the man quickly dispelled any outlandish theories. For the first time that Zuko had seen, a flicker of hurt crossed his features. It made him look older than he likely was. Haunted.

“Wow Zuzu, you don’t remember your favorite cousin?”

No.

No, he definitely didn’t mean that. Zuko didn’t have any cousins. Not for eleven years. And there’d only been—one. Just one. Now there weren’t any.

But looking closer, Zuko could see why the scowl looked so familiar. He saw the same face in the mirror. And this man wasn’t human, clearly, even if he had legs in place of a red streaming tail. In place of the gold ribbon fins their family shared—that he must have recognized when he first saw Zuko.

He knew Zuko’s name. Zuzu. Azula tried to call him that—maybe out of nostalgia—but it belonged to them both, and Zuko hated to hear her say it because there was only one person who tried to bring them together like that, and hearing her say it reminded him of… of… a dead man.

Except he couldn’t be dead. He was right here. His blood tasted very real.

“Lu Ten?”

He looked so much like his father when he smiled. “Yeah.”

Zuko gaped. That felt like the only appropriate thing to do. Maybe the dehydration actually got to him, and this whole series of events was an elaborate hallucination. Maybe Azula spiked his tea with a psychedelic for her weird sense of humor, and he was hallucinating. It was too strange. This didn’t make any sense. Zuko’s cousin was dead, and if he wasn’t, wouldn’t Uncle know? Would Uncle have cried so hard so many private times if this was real? It felt so real.

“How did you get that scar?”

“How are you not dead?” Zuko’s head was spinning, though thankfully not from dehydration. He wasn’t sure if this was worse, actually. “Uncle thinks you’re dead.”

The comment earned him a flinch. “There’s actually a good explanation for that.”

“Which is?”

“I’m cursed.” Lu Ten squinted into the middle distance, looking uncomfortably close to being emotional. “To live as a human. And I can’t… go near the sea. I tried. It almost turned me into sea foam.”

Zuko dropped his head into his hands and groaned.

#prince zuko #zutara #mermaid au #avatar: the last airbender #atla #zutara mermaid au #not my fic #i'm feral

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