#aang crying to Sokka later like ‘and katara doesn’t want me and ZUKO doesn’t want me-‘ and Sokka’s sarcasticly like ‘aw that’s too bad aang. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zvtara-was-never-canon · 7 months

Note

A popular move in zutara fics: to bring Katara (with or without Zuko, it doesn’t matter) to the South Pole at some point to show that she doesn’t feel at home there anymore.

I know the fanfics’ authors just want to convince the readers that Katara will not suffer missing her home while living constantly in the FN, but for me… it just feels more sad. Like the authors themselves took Katara’s home away from her and then turn to us smiling: “Don’t worry, she’s be fine, it’s not a big deal, actually!”.

IMAGINE constantly saying shit like "Zutara fans are the only ones who are genuine Katara fans" and "Aang doesn't respect/understand Katara's culture and would demand her to leave it behind for his sake, something Zuko would never do" and then pulling something like this. Self-awareness whomst? And let me guess, some of these also use "The water tribe is sexist" as a way to justify why Katara no longer feels at home there?

Katara's connection to her culture remained strong through literally THE ENTIRE SHOW - and that elements of her culture that were "lost" to her were a direct result OF THE WAR ZUKO'S FAMILY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR!

In the first episode, we see that she wants to properly learn waterbending - something she can't do in her own tribe, because, again, Azulon, Zuko's grand-father, had every waterbender captured (and eventually started just killing them - leading to the death of Kya). Those raids also made her dad end up leaving to fight against the Fire Nation, something Katara understands, but will later be revealed to be deeply hurt by because she wants her family to stay together, and she couldn't help but resent her father a little/lot for leaving their home.

Still, with that much having been taken away from her, when Aang is banished and she says that if he leaves, she's leaving too, the very second Sokka asks if she's really gonna choose someone over her own tribe and family, Katara is visibly shaken and it's clear she wants to take back what she just said (but she doesn't have to, because Aang does it for her, because surprise surprise, Aang never expects her to make such a huge sacrifice for him). Only when his identity as the Avatar is revealed and Katara would be allowed to leave with him for a while, and come back home later, does she look 100% ready for this mission - mission that is to teach them BOTH waterbending, as Aang explicitly says "We can learn it together!"

During her talk with Haru, he mentions how earthbending makes him feel close to his father again - and it's pretty clear the same goes for Katara. And what's the point of that entire episode? Katara helping people be able to use their bending again and come back home after being captured by the Fire Nation.

When Aang is a better waterbender then her (at first), Katara is visibly jealous. When she meets Jet, she relates to him because of how the Fire Nation took his family from him, and in the end of the episode she's deeply ashamed of herself because she trusted this stranger more than Sokka, her own sibling and part of her tribe. She is about to cry when she thinks Jet might have hurt or killed him.

When the Gaang runs into Bato, it's clear that Sokka and Katara are thrilled to be around someone they knew their whole lives. Aang however feels left out, as that is not his culture, he doesn't have a connection to it, and now he fears that his friends, the only family has left, will give up on their mission. So, he hides the map to their father - only to then feel like shit because the others find a way to include him in what is very much a water tribe thing, and so admits what he did. And both Sokka AND KATARA are heartbroken and furious, and decide to leave Aang because they don't accept anyone or anything preventing them from being with their family.

They then get captured by Zuko - who is taunting Katara with Kya's necklace, the last thing she has of her mom, in the hopes that this will make her reveal where Aang is. Naturally, Katara doesn't like that one bit. Aang then, of course, shows up, the trio defeats Zuko yet again, and once they are all on good terms as they believe Aang learned his lesson, he gives Katara the necklace back, without expecting anything in exchange.

Sometime after that, they finally get to the North Pole, where Katara shows she's absolutely ready to throw hands with Pakku for trying to say she can only be a healer, not a fighter. We then find out Gran-Gran moved to the Southern Water Tribe because it was NOT sexist like the North, Pakku stops being a dick, and when he decides to go help the South Pole recover from all the damage the Fire Nation did, Katara is unbelievably happy.

Another moment that makes her very happy is in season 3, when she meets Hama and says it would be an honor to learn about her culture from someone who lived in the South Pole before the Fire Nation destroyed it. There's also her reuinion with her dad after Sokka rescues him from the Boiling Rock, and then in the finale when he says Kya would be proud of her.

There's also "little things" like, you know, her ditching the Fire Nation clothes the zutara fandom loves to see her in, and going back to her blue clothes and having hair-loopies in her hair, because whenever she doesn't have to be undercover anymore, she makes damn sure anyone who sees her know which culture she belongs to.

She has been through a ton of trauma, was at odds with her dad for a while, spent months away from the South Pole, has literally crossed the entire world, and met people with very different cultures, and she STILL thinks of the SWT as her home and wants nothing more than to be allowed to be with her family again.

Plus, let's mention the obvious since Zutarians love ignoring it: In "The Swamp", she has a vision of her mother and is overjoyed when she thinks that, against all odds, Kya is still alive - and is heartbroken as she's reminded of what she lost. And who does she say took Kya away from her during her talk with Zuko in Ba Sing Se? Oh yeah, the Fire Nation. She echoes that sentiment again, in The Southern Raiders, when Azula attacks the group, who then decides to split because the writers didn't know what to do with that many characters, as Katara straight up says to her dad that THE FIRE NATION CAN'T SEPARATE THEIR FAMILY AGAIN!

Back to Ba Sing Se for a moment. During that talk with Zuko, she also says that, for the longest time, when she thought of "the enemy", she pictured HIS face. Fitting considering he attacked her tribe, threatened to burn people if he didn't get the Avatar, and was constantly hunting her, Sokka and Aang (who she considers family) down. He then proves she was right to think of him that way, as he helps the Fire Nation basically win the war AND allows Azula to kill Aang.

All of that makes her hate Zuko's guts, hence her very clearly threatening to kill him in book 3 if he ever stepped out of line again, and being very antagonistic to him in some scenes, and telling him that if he wants her forgiveness he should find a way to bring her mother back - not because she's unfairly "projecting her anger at her mom's murderer onto him" like Zuko said - but because she sees him, his family and his nation as the cause of everything that went wrong in her life AND SHE'S RIGHT! Then becoming genuine friends later doesn't change that.

But SOMEHOW Zutarians see ALL OF THAT and conclude that Katara would no longer feel a connection to her tribe once the war was over, and would instead want to move to the FIRE NATION and would actually feel at home there?

If THEY are the real Katara fans, I don't even wanna know what a Katara hater would look like.

#anti zutara #katara doesn't want to be fire lady #katara would never leave her tribe

44 notes · View notes

solarmorrigan · 3 years

Text

Okay, so I see your touch-starved!Zuko headcanons, and they’re great and valid, and we’ll get to that in a minute, but first. Hear me out a sec. Touch-starved Ambassador Sokka

He grew up in the Southern Water Tribe, a small enough group that everyone mostly knew everyone, and touch was free and easy. Closeness was not only common, but sometimes a necessity. Then, when he left, he traveled with his sister (also Water Tribe, and Comforting Hugs Incarnate), Aang (who both valued and needed the physical contact as much as Sokka and Katara did), and later Toph (who wouldn’t know personal boundaries if they were made out of solid rock) and Suki (who was dating Sokka at the time). And Zuko - but like I said, we’ll get to him

So coming to the Fire Nation in an official, politics-like capacity is a bit of a culture shock for Sokka. It’s not that he didn’t notice how they’re more reserved with physical touch the last few times he was there, it was just that he had a buffer of close friends who were always there with hugs and sleep piles when he needed them. Now, he’s largely surrounded by strangers who Do Not Touch

Sure, there’s the odd handshake, a pat on the shoulder for a particularly good idea, even sparring matches when the palace guards start to loosen up around him (challenging nobles other than Zuko to spar seems unwise, politically speaking, and other members of the palace staff certainly won’t engage, but the guards will let Sokka train with them sometimes, so that’s cool), but it’s really not the same. It’s no substitute for Katara’s hugs (not that he’ll tell her so), or the way Aang will sometimes just cuddle up to friends, or Toph’s casual invasion of space, or the way they could all just shove their bedrolls together and sleep in a pile of limbs - and it’s definitely no comparison to the way things had been back home

Sokka feels almost sick with it sometimes, like his skin is crawling and aching and, counter-intuitively, like the only thing that will make it stop is if someone just maybe lies down on top of him. Or something. He finds himself lingering over brief touches from the few people at the palace he’s become friendly with, and realizes he probably needs to do something about this soon before he just asks one of the palace staff for a hug or something equally depressing and likely to get the staff to lodge a complaint about him

Thus, Sokka hunts down Zuko (oh, how the tables have turned). Not that Zuko’s been avoiding him, they’re both just busy. They haven’t seen each other as much as either of them would like, so really Sokka’s taking out two birds with one stone here. Have bro hangout time, get a hug. Totally not weird

He probably makes it a little weird by saying, as soon as Zuko has let Sokka into his chambers and they probably can’t be heard by the guards, “So not to be weird, but can I have a hug?”

He did, in his defense, say that he wasn’t trying to be weird. The look Zuko gives him tells Sokka that he has probably not succeeded in not being weird about it

“Uh,” Zuko says, which is as far as he gets before Sokka interrupts to attempt damage control and probably makes it worse

“Okay, no, that definitely sounded weird, didn’t it? Sorry, I’m not trying to be like- not that I wouldn’t! Or that I would! I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, is what I mean, but I’m also super uncomfortable because I don’t think I’ve been able to just be close to someone for more than a few seconds at a time since I got here and it’s like I just- I just need- but, I mean, not if you-” Sokka cuts off when Zuko grabs him by the front of his shirt and yanks him in for a hug

“You’re overthinking again,” Zuko tells him, and holds on, and lets him be close

Sokka doesn’t even have a comeback because spirits, this is nice. This is so nice. This is exactly what he was missing and it feels so good to have another person wrapped around him that he might actually cry. He buries his face in Zuko’s neck and tries not to do that, so as not to make it weirder, but Zuko probably wouldn’t notice if Sokka did shed a few tears because he’s too busy being overwhelmed himself

Because spirits, this is nice. Zuko hasn’t had anyone to hold like this since he and Mai broke up and she went to seek out Ty Lee, hasn’t had anyone who wanted to hold him since he last visited Uncle in Ba Sing Se, and he hadn’t even realized how much he was missing it until he realizes he’s shaking against Sokka, and Sokka-

Sokka definitely notices. And holds Zuko tighter, and presses his face a little closer, and they stand there like that until their legs get stiff and tired, and then they just go to the little sofa by the fireplace and practically settle on top of one another and fall asleep that way

After that, Sokka declares it’s just mutually beneficial for them to go on being Cuddle Buddies. (Zuko makes a face at the name, but Sokka is unwilling to budge; he is great at naming things, thank you very much.) They try to make time for each other at least once a week, which turns into pretty much any day one of them isn’t in a late meeting, and they spend evenings curled together doing paperwork or reading or (hopefully) catching some sleep

Kissing isn’t really necessary, but after the first one, Sokka suggests they graduate to being Smooch Buddies, because that is far superior

(”Boyfriends,” Zuko says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Let’s just be boyfriends.”

“Yeah,” Sokka replies, hoping desperately he sounds cooler about this than he feels. “That’s good, too.”)

#sokka #zuko #zukka #sokkazuko #avatar the last airbender #long post #solar wrote

995 notes · View notes

boomer-aangs · 3 years

Text

I wanted to address this but I’m not going to @ the person,

This was posted by a Z*tara shipper, and it honestly exhausted me.

Let’s start at the beginning. The image shows two different images from the show. In the first one, it is Aang marveling at Katara and being flustered over how pretty she looked. But apparently, being flustered when your crush looks cute is “idealizing them.” The second picture is Katara looking exhausted while on the way to find her mother’s killer. Zuko is literally just looking at her. There’s no romantic indication or anything. He literally just is looking at her because he is talking to her. You can interpret this scene how you wish, but don’t use your own personal interpretation as fuel to hate on Aang.

They then say “Aang idealizes Katara. He only sees the surface, and if Katara shows her true self (such as in the ep The Southern Raiders) he tries to make her repress her other emotions because he would like her to be perfect and flawless.”

Several things. One of the things about TSR is that really wasn’t Katara at her true self. She was largely motivated by anger and desire for revenge, and it caused her to say things she normally wouldn’t to the others (namely Sokka). Aang never tries to repress her emotions, however. He just advises her not to choose revenge. This makes sense considering how Aang has seen how she reacted after learning to bloodbend.

Katara is distraught, and Aang and Sokka see her crying over learning bloodbending and go to comfort her. If this was her reaction to learning bloodbending, then what would her reaction to killing a man be, no matter who that man was?

Aang never forces his ideals on Katara. He empathizes with her, due to his own grief and loss, but also tries to tell her that revenge will only hurt her. If he idealized her, he would just agree with every decision she makes.

If Aang was repressing her emotions, he wouldn’t later say to her “I’m not planning on stopping you, you need to take this journey to heal.” and Katara thanks him for understanding. He was a little angry at first, considering Katara and Zuko were just going to steal his companion, but he lets that anger go. But, apparently Aang advising Katara that killing someone won’t solve anything is “repressing her emotions.”

They then continue,

They say this as if Aang doesn’t know how powerful Katara can be. They say this as if he doesn’t respect her as a waterbending master and his teacher. Zuko is having his moment of “Oh whoa” when she is bloodbending a man in her grief in anger (You know, the same ability she was crying over having learned), but Aang also repeatedly recognizes Katara’s abilities.

I think an important thing to note as well is that Zuko was not doing this purely out of selfless wish to help Katara heal. His main motivation was to get on her good side because she was the only one not to forgive him yet. I love Zuko, but I don’t love his actions in this episode. And, Zuko even tells Aang that he was right about what Katara needed.

It is one thing to have interpretations, but it is another to outright ignore canon in order to use interpretations to bash characters and ships. Please learn the difference.

#aang #atla #avatar #avatar aang #katara #avatar the last airbender #kataang #aang defense squad #anti zutara #anti zuko #not really but just to be safe #mine #pro kataang #the southern raiders

457 notes · View notes

beifongsss · 4 years

Text

blush [zuko]

Pairing: Zuko x reader

Summary: Requested by anon “ Zuko x reader where she meets uncle iroh for the first time!!! Zuko has only talked to reader about him but she finally meets him”. Takes place when they find Iroh and the Order of the White Lotus right before Sozin’s Comet.

It had been a few weeks since Zuko had joined your group. And in those weeks, you had found yourself becoming a stuttering, blushing mess whenever he wandered anywhere near you.

You had always thought that the prince was attractive but you kept those thoughts bottled away deep, deep inside your mind. He was the enemy. You shouldn’t have been fawning over his looks. However, now that he had had a change of heart and wanted to teach Aang firebending, a part of you couldn’t help but think that technically, your feelings weren’t forbidden anymore.

Zuko and Aang spent most of their time training in the courtyard, which was a good thing seeing as how you spent most of your time there with either Sokka or Katara. It was quite a sight to see, the avatar being trained by the very person that used to be his sworn enemy. Their movements were strong and fierce, almost hypnotizing. It also didn’t hurt that Zuko had the tendency to lose his shirt halfway through their training sessions.

Surprisingly, it was Sokka who had eventually caught on to your feelings instead of Katara. It hadn’t been hard considering that you were always bright red whenever Zuko was within twenty feet of you. Instead of confronting you and teasing you about it, he went to Zuko instead.

Aang had scrambled off immediately after training, wanting to go for a ride on Appa. Shaking his head as Aang ran off, Zuko bent down to pick up his shirt, pulling it on before turning and coming face-to-face with Sokka.

“Agh!” Zuko exclaimed stumbling backwards at the water tribe boy’s sudden appearance before scowling. “What do you want?”

Sokka smiled widely, leaning on the pillar next to him. “Nothing. Just thought you should know that our very own (Y/N/N) has a crush on you. Although to tell you the truth, I don’t know what she sees in you buddy.”

Zuko’s scowl disappeared as he turned to glance at you. Sokka followed his line of sight, his smile becoming impossibly wider as he noticed Zuko’s puzzled expression. “N-No, there’s no way she likes me.”

“Believe me or don’t,” Sokka said, once again earning a scowl from the scarred prince. “But a girl like that? You’re one lucky guy.”

Sokka and Zuko stood in silence as they watched you talk to Katara, You had said something to her, causing her to bend a stream of water out of the fountain and splash you with it. You threw your head back as you laughed, unaware of the two boys watching you from a distance.

Zuko’s chest tightened uncomfortably as he looked at you, a large smile still on your face as you splashed Katara with your foot. He had always thought that you were pretty, but his main concern had always been capturing the Avatar. Now that Aang’s capture wasn’t his concern, he could start to live his life as normally as he possibly could while in the midst of a giant war. And so, it was in that moment that he figured out that he had feelings for you as well.

And of course, Sokka noticed and decided to take matters into his own hands.

It started off small. Sokka would make sure to call you and Zuko last for dinner so you’d end up sitting next to each other, he’d clean the sleeping hall and put your sleeping bags back next to one another, he would ask you to go hunt or get water together. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, just Sokka being Sokka.

Eventually, Aang and Toph caught on and things became more obvious. Their manner of approaching things was more direct, and it usually ended up with you stumbling into Zuko. One time, Aang had sent a gust of wind into a door you had just stepped through, causing it to slam into you and throw you into Zuko, who had been walking past at that particular moment.

Another incident was when Zuko was making his way over to an empty seat and Toph had suddenly caused the ground to become uneven. Zuko had tripped, falling against you and bringing you down to the ground with him. Everyone had gone silent at the scene before them. Zuko was hovering above you, his arms on either side of your head as he tried not to crush you under him. You were staring at him, wide-eyed. Your chests brushed softly with every breath you took and in that moment, as you looked into each other’s eyes, it felt as though it was only the two of you in the Western Air Temple.

Katara was the one to break the silence, clearing her throat and asking if the two of you were alright. Zuko had scrambled up, stumbling over his words as he assured everyone he was fine before extending a hand to you. He had underestimated his strength however, and pulled you up harder than he meant to, sending you crashing against him. Your free hand was pressed against his chest as you regained your balance, cheeks blazing bright red as you made eye contact with him. After a bunch of stuttered assurances that you were both fine, the two of you departed from the courtyard with Zuko heading into the nearby forest to release some of his pent-up emotions and you heading to the sleeping hall to think about what had just happened.

By the end of the night, everyone knew how the two of you felt about each other. Even if the two of you were still unaware.

After the incident Toph had caused, Zuko had begun to approach you more often. Everyone had been surprised, assuming that the incident would’ve just embarrassed Zuko to the point of no return and that he would simply avoid you.

And so, a friendship blossomed between you and the prince.

After seeing the way the two of you interacted, everyone had decided to stop trying to push you together. It was much more interesting to see you blush profusely and Zuko stutter for a ridiculously long time whenever your hands brushed against each other. Not to mention the way Zuko would be rendered speechless whenever your eyes sparkled as you talked about something important to you.

Teasing the two of you became the new normal and you often found yourselves going for walks in the woods to avoid everyone and converse without interruptions. The two of you opened up to each other fairly quickly, talking about everything and nothing. When you learned about how he had gotten his scar, you had hugged him tightly, making sure that he knew it wasn’t his fault and that he didn’t deserve what Ozai had put him through.

It was after this that he began to talk to you about his uncle Iroh and how he had been the only person who had ever truly loved him, other than his mother. He spoke about Iroh with great love and respect and you could feel your heart break at the pain Zuko felt after betraying Iroh.

“He hates me now,” Zuko said roughly, bowing his head as his eyes filled with tears. You approached him slowly, placing your fingers under his chin to lift his gaze towards yours. Your heart ached at the pain that was visible in his striking gold irises.

“He doesn’t hate you,” you whispered, not breaking eye contact. “The way you talk about him, he’s like a father to you.”

“More of a father than Ozai ever was,” Zuko muttered softly, avoiding your gaze.

“He loves you,” you insisted. “He will forgive you. I know it.”

You engulfed Zuko in a hug to which he responded by pulling you close and finally allowing himself to cry. After that, your relationship was only strengthened and when you walked back into the Air Temple, everyone could tell.

A while later, you all found yourselves back in the Earth Kingdom, looking for the woman (June, Zuko had called her) that Zuko had once employed to hunt you all down. After proclaiming that Aang was just gone from the physical world, Zuko had gotten desperate and attempted one last thing to try and gain an advantage over the Fire Lord.

And that is how you found yourself sitting next to a visibly anxious Zuko as Appa followed the shirshu, who was tracking Iroh’s scent. You eventually found yourselves back in Ba Sing Se, June telling you that this was where Iroh was. You all traveled a little further before Zuko came to a stop.

“It’s been a long day,” he stated, pausing slightly. “Let's camp and start our search again at dawn.”

You helped Sokka set up camp, shooting worried glances at Zuko every once in a while.

“So,” Sokka drawled as he nudged your shoulder, a wicked smirk appearing on his face. “How long is it gonna be before you and Prince Pouty over there are smooching?”

You straightened up, blushing at his words. “Sokka! Shut up. There is nothing going on between me and Zuko.”

Sokka scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Sure there isn’t.”

The conversation ended as you walked off to your sleeping bag, curling up in it as you avoided Sokka’s teasing glances. You were beginning to drift off to sleep when you heard a familiar voice.

“Well look who’s here!”

You all shot up out of bed, with Toph shouting in the process. “What’s going on? We’re surrounded by old people!”

You felt Zuko holding onto your wrist, bringing you slightly behind him as you looked around. You felt a smile grow on your face as you recognized the people around you. “Bumi!”

Zuko’s expression changed into one of confusion as you ran forwards, stopping in front of each man to bow to them.

“They aren’t just any old people,” Katara said, talking to Toph. “These are great masters and friends of ours.”

Zuko approached slowly, bowing to Jeong Jeong when Katara introduced him as Aang’s first firebending teacher. Sokka bowed to Piandao before Suki broke the silence. “So wait, how do you all know each other?”

“All old people know each other,” Bumi snorted. “Don’t you know that?”

“We're all part of the same ancient secret society,” Piandao explained, looking at everyone. “A group that transcends the divisions of the four nations.”

“The Order of the White Lotus,” Zuko breathed, realizing that Iroh was much closer than he thought.

“That’s the one,” Bumi confirmed, still chuckling.

“The White Lotus has always been about philosophy and beauty and truth,” Jeong Jeong said. “But about a month ago, a call went out that we were needed for something important.”

“It came from a Grand Lotus,” Pakku continued, turning to face Zuko. “Your uncle, Iroh of the Fire Nation.”

Zuko smiled softly, Toph coming up behind him to speak. “Well that’s who we’re looking for!”

“Then we’ll take you to him,” Piandao stated, a nervous look overtaking Zuko’s face.

“Are you okay?” you asked softly, sitting next to Zuko as the masters led you to their camp.

“Yes,” Zuko spoke sharply before glancing at you, his tone softening. “No. I don’t know. What will I say when I see him?”

“You’ll figure it out Zuko,” you replied. “And he’ll forgive you, because that’s what people who love you do.”

Zuko didn’t reply, instead choosing to reach down and intertwine your hands. You were both glad that it was dark out so that no one would notice the blush dusting your cheeks.

You reached the camp far more quickly than expected. Zuko felt his heart race as you came to a stop in the middle of the camp, facing Piandao when he addressed him.

“Your uncle is in there Prince Zuko,” he said, pointing to a white tent standing across from the spot you were standing in before walking away.

You made a move to walk over to Katara and Sokka when Zuko’s hand tightened around yours, “Please stay with me.”

You hesitated slightly before nodding, following him to the entrance of the tent.

“Are you ready?” you asked softly, squeezing his hand. Zuko nodded before moving forward, his hand squeezing yours desperately.

“Uncle?” Zuko asked quietly, entering the tent. He stopped in his tracks, a soft smile appearing when he saw his uncle snoring softly on a cot. Silently, he sat down, pulling you with him as he curled up on the mat. You took a seat beside him, his head landing on your lap as he laid down. You leaned against a crate that sat next to you, your hands running through Zuko’s hair until his breathing evened out and he fell asleep. It was only then that you closed your eyes as well.

Zuko awoke when he heard a slight chuckle, and sat up to face his uncle. Immediately, Zuko threw himself forward onto his knees, his eyes not meeting Iroh’s as he remembered what you had told him about apologizing. “Uncle, I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me. But I want you to know, I am so, so, sorry, Uncle. I am so sorry and ashamed of what I did. I don't know how I can ever make it up to you. But I'll- “

Zuko’s rambling was cut off as Iroh knelt down in front of him and embraced him. His eyes began watering, tears spilling as he hugged his Uncle. “How can you forgive me so easily? I thought you would be furious with me.”

“I was never angry with you,” Iroh said. “I was sad because I was afraid you lost your way.”

“I did lose my way,” Zuko mumbled.

“But you found it again,” Iroh said, pulling back from the embrace and motioning towards you. “And something tells me she had something to do with it.”

Zuko didn’t reply, his face going bright red as Iroh chuckled. He had nothing to say, knowing that his uncle was right.

“Tell her how you feel soon, Prince Zuko,” Iroh said, smiling softly. “Do not let her get away.”

You emerged from the empty tent a while later to find everyone sitting around a fire. Quickly noticing the man sitting next to Zuko, you proceeded to bow down to him.

“General Iroh!” you said. “It is an honor to be in your presence. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Iroh chuckled before waving you over to the empty seat next to him. “No need for the formalities Miss (Y/N). And it is I who am honored to be here with you. I have heard much about you from my nephew and I must thank you for taking care of him while I was gone.”

You missed the blush on Zuko’s face that appeared at Iroh’s words, too distracted by the cup of tea that the once-general had handed you. You took a sip, your eyes widening in wonder as you looked at Iroh once more.

“This tea is amazing! Ginseng tea is my favorite,” you exclaimed, taking another sip. Iroh smiled at you before sending a teasing glance at Zuko.

“It is my favorite as well,” Iroh chuckled. “I am glad to see that my nephew has such great taste in women.”

A silence followed, only made awkward by Zuko’s stuttering.

“Uncle!” Zuko hissed, glaring at the jolly old man who simply took another sip of tea.

Neither one of you had a chance to reply as the conversation soon turned serious. With Aang gone, you all needed to think of a plan just in case he didn’t return in time. It was then decided that Zuko and Katara would head to the palace to fight Azula while you, Sokka, Suki, and Toph would stop the airship fleet. It wasn’t until you were gathering your tools and weapons that Zuko managed to pull you aside.

“Look (Y/N),” he began, fidgeting nervously. “Just in case something happens-”

“Nothing’s going to happen,” you cut him off, placing your hand over his to stop it from shaking. “We’re all going to be fine.”

“Just in case,” Zuko stressed. “I need you to know...”

“What Zuko?” you questioned, ducking your head to catch his gaze. He stared at you for a few seconds, causing you to shift under his gaze. “What is i-”

You were cut off as Zuko leaned forwards, connecting his lips to yours. You gasped softly before returning the kiss eagerly. You stayed like that for a few seconds before being broken apart by Sokka’s voice.

“Hey!” Sokka cried. “As glad as I am that you and Prince Pouty are finally smooching, we really do have to save the world right now.”

Chuckling softly, Zuko pressed another kiss to your lips before pulling away.

“Stay safe,” you breathed, embracing him one last time.

“Trust me, I will,” Zuko whispered into your ear. “Now I have someone worth fighting for.”

You watched him walk away, only looking away when you felt something hit your head. Turning, you found yourself facing an impatient Sokka, motioning for you to climb onto the eel hound. “Are you done? let’s go.”

Grinning, you grabbed his hand, sliding onto the eel hound behind him. You were ready to fight, knowing that Zuko would be waiting for you when this was all over.

so the sokka fic will be out soon but for now here is this zuko fic. i hope its alright its my first time writing for him. hope you all enjoy :)

4K notes · View notes

leossmoonn · 3 years

Text

mind games [part fourteen]

masterlist | part thirteen | part fifteen

zuko x fem!reader fluff, angst smau (it has the social media elements, but not as much as the last series)

avatar: the last airbender

summary - being zuko’s best friend is the easiest thing in the world. until he gets a girlfriend and you realize you’re in love with him

warnings / includes - (this counts for any/all chapters) - fighting, suggestive, language, crying, alcohol, cheating, talk about injuries, making out, alluding to sex, talks about sex. you are sokka and katara’s older sister. you, mai, and zuko are seniors in college, sokka and suki are juniors, katara, aang, and toph are sophomores

note - this is just a filler chapter for the next enjoy!

————

“hmm,” mai hummed, turning around and wrapping her arms around jet’s middle. she opened her eyes lowly and looked up at him, a smile creeping up her face.

jet sighed and looked down at her, giving her a quizzical look. “why do you look so happy?”

“i just…” mai sighed, “like having you here in the mornings.”

“oh, yeah? why?” jet smirked. “well one, you’re amazing at sex. two, you’re not a cuddle-hog like zuko,” she explained.

jet chuckled, nodding and laying his head back down on the pillow. he looked up at mai’s ceiling, closing his eyes. he breathed in and out, beginning to think about all the things he had to do today. it was the first week of summer and everyone was enjoying themselves before they had to buckle down and get a real job, not just the JD and clothing stores.

he knew he had to go and pick up food for appa and momo, do laundry, pick up your jeans from the dry cleaners.

jet’s eyes flew open once you came into his mind. he took mai’s arm and threw. it off of him, quickly getting up to find his clothes. mai frowned at his hasty behaviour, getting up and wrapping her blanket around her.

“where’re you going?” she asked. “i-i have to go and run some errands,” jet answered, jumping into his jeans.

mai rolled her eyes as she knew that his errands all were pertained to you. “what kind of errands.”

“pick up appa and momo food, pick up y/n’s jeans from the dry cleaners, other. stuff,” he said.

“y/n can pick up her own clothes. she’s an adult for spirit’s sake,” mai spat. she sauntered over to jet, taking his hand in her’s and pulling him close. “c’mon, stay for a while. we never hang out after ten.”

“and there’s a reason for that, mai,” he rolled his eyes. he yanked her hand away from his, putting his shirt back on. “i gotta go. i’ll call you later, yeah?”

mai frowned and followed him out of her room. “she knows you know.”

jet scoffed, “she doesn’t know shit.” “well, she’s gonna. better just milk it until she figures it out. i hate to say it, but she’s smart,” mai said.

“yeah, and what about zuko, huh?” jet shot back.

“he’s going to break up with me soon. him and y/n are in love with each other. better just let the cat out of the bag.”

“no. she’s not going to figure out and i’m not going to “milk it” or whatever because after this, we’re done.”

mai laughed, “yeah, right. that’s what you said the last time.”

jet snapped his head to her, giving her a hard glare. “you and i have partners already. this, us, we are a mistake, and you know it.” he made his way down the stairs, getting his shoes and slipping them on.

“so? you seem to forget that whenever you come over!” mai balled her hands into fists, still standing on the top of the stairs.

“i still love her, okay!” jet yelled back, looking at mai. “i-i still love y/n. she’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. you? you’re the worst.”

“if you really loved her, then you wouldn’t be in my bed every weekend,” mai snapped.

jet looked down at the floor, knowing that she was right. he didn’t say anything, though, instead going out the door and slamming it shut.

while jet drove back to his place, you were at your sibling’s house, hanging out with zuko.

“gonna do it tonight, huh?” you asked. “yep. is it bad if i say that i can’t wait?” zuko asked.

“i don’t think so,” you shook your head. zuko smiled, “ugh, i can’t wait to be a free man!”

“well, hey, now you’re being a little mean,” you said.

“well it’s true,” he shrugged. “cut mai some slack. i know you two fight a lot, but i can tell she cares about you,” you nudged him.

“yeah, sure. well, i don’t care about or love her,” he said.

you smirked and leaned against the counter. zuko furrowed his brows, “what?”

“i know you say that, but let’s be honest, you love her more than you think,” you explained.

zuko’s face fell and he looked down. honestly, he never really loved mai. sure, he’d said it to her, and he told his friends how great she was. he just didn’t love her like she should. his heart belonged to someone else, anyways.

you frowned and put a hand on his bicep, your heart fluttering as you felt over the muscle. you pushed away your budding feelings and focused on the task at hand.

“did i say something wrong?” you asked tentatively.

zuko shook his head, holding his head up. you were met with his shining, amber eyes. the ones you could get lost in if you let yourself.

“no, i just... i love her but, i don’t love her.”

you nodded, “yeah, that makes sense.”

zuko looked into your eyes, speaking before thinking. “do you love jet?”

your eyes widened at the question and your hand fell from his bicep. you were going to pull away, but zuko’s hand found yours and he intertwined your fingers with his. he never took his eyes off of you for a second.

“do you love jet?” he asked again. more for himself than for general curiosity.

“i-i do,” you nodded. as you spoke, your eyes couldn’t help but trail down to his lips. “i do,” you said more confidently, still looking at his lips.

zuko’s eyes also stared at your lips, both of your hearts pounding against your chests. you felt yourself scoot closer to where you could feel his breath on your lips.

“but do you love him, y/n?” he asked, putting more emphasis on the word. his arm snaked around your waist, his hand gently cradling the small of your back.

you started to breath heavily, your head spinning at the questions and how close you were to zuko. your eyes flickered up to his eyes, seeing his pupils blown wide. you were sure yours were the same. you went back to looking at his lips, leaning in to press your forehead against his.

“i... i think...” you trailed off. your mind was behind clouded with the idea of kissing him. how good it’d finally feel after all these years, how well your lips would fit together with his. you were sure zuko would kiss you better than jet. zuko was a passionate and sensitive guy, while jet was a passionate, but also tough guy. he kissed you rough, but you wanted a slow, fervent kiss. one you knew only zuko could only provide.

but as you were comparing how the two boys kissed, you got turned off on the idea. you closed your eyes and sighed, pulling away from his embrace.

“yeah, i do love him like that,” you mumbled your final answer.

zuko’s heart broke at your words. he knew it was a long shot, but he just wanted you to see that you were with the wrong guy. like he was with the wrong girl.

“um, anyways,” you coughed. “i gotta go and see if jet has picked up my jeans and stuff. i’ll see you later, yeah?”

zuko nodded, looking at you longingly. you gave him a small smile, going up to him and pressing a kiss to his cheek before leaving. once zuko heard the door, he pulled out his phone, giving mai a call.

“hey, babe. everything okay?” mai asked.

“uh, yeah,” zuko nodded. “just um, do you want to come over later? maybe watch a movie?”

mai went silent for a moment, thinking if she should say yes or not.

“mai?” zuko asked. “huh? o-oh yeah. movie sounds great. what time?” mai asked.

“um, 5?”

it gave him enough time to think about how he was going to break up with her.

“sounds good. are we going to be along?” she asked.

“yep,” he answered. “great! see you later!” mai exclaimed before hanging up.

zuko put his phone on the counter, running his hands through his hair in distress. all he wanted was you and he hoped that by dating mai he would be able to get you. how did he manage to screw things up?

————

“heh, babe,” you smiled as you walked through the door.

jet looked up his phone, a smile spreading onto his face. “hey. where have you been?” he got up out of his chair and engulfed you in a hug.

you hugged him tentatively, not leaning in or kissing him like usual. “katara’s. you um, didn’t come home last night,” you chuckled nervously. you moved out of his embrace, going to the kitchen cabinets to get yourself something to eat.

“o-oh, yeah. sorry about that,” jet chuckled.

“you never answered my question,” you said.

“right! well, i was picking up an extra shift at work,” he answered.

you raised your brow while getting out yogurt. “oh, really? why?”

“so i can get some extra money to take you out,” jet explained with a smile.

“you don’t need to take me out. you can come home to me, though. i was lonely,” you frowned.

jet looked at you with regret and guilt. more because he had been sleeping with mai, but you didn’t know that.

“i’m sorry,” he sighed. “tonight i’ll be here. i promise.”

you looked at him, staring for a few seconds before giving in. you weren’t very sure he meant his sorry, or if he was telling the truth, but you had more pressing things to deal with.

“alright. did you pick up my coat?” you asked.

“u-uh, yeah,” jet nodded, confused as to why you still seemed distrusting.

“great, thanks,” you walked by him, not bothering to spare him a look.

jet frowned, going over to you. “hey, did i do something wrong?”

“no,” you stated flatly. “i think i did. is it something i said?” jet asked.

you sighed, “i just... don’t believe you.”

“w-why?” jet stuttered.

you frowned and looked at him as if it were obvious. “you’re not coming home at night anymore, you’re making excuses, y-you smell like perfume.” you voice cracked at the last sentence, thoughts of him cheating on you running through your mind.

jet look the collar of his shirt, taking a whiff only to curse at himself in his head. you watched him with wide, tear-filled eyes as the look of realization came onto his face.

“see? y-you’re hiding something!” you accused.

“i’m not!” jet’s eyes widened. he went to take your hands in his, but they were holding a bowl. so instead he put it hands on your shoulders. “i would never hide or lie to you.”

you glared at him. “you’re lying. just say you’re cheating on me.”

“i’m not!” he scoffed. “bullshit!” you exclaimed.

“why do you think i’m cheating on you?”

“because you’re doing exactly what shan did! what else am i supposed to think?”

“this is just how men act! i’m allowed to stay out at night and hang out with my friends whenever i want!”

“no, that’s how a boy acts. we’re supposed to be communicating, not fighting for each other’s trust!” you scolded.

he looked at you helplessly, knowing you were right. he opened his mouth to say apologize, but you stopped him.

“i’m going back to sokka’s,” you muttered. setting the bowl down harshly and stomping to the garage door.

“b-but you just came back,” jet frowned.

“and i’m leaving. until you can provide me when a better reason, i’m staying there,” you said, grabbing your coat and purse.

“and what if i can’t? what if nothing satisfies you?” jet asks.

you sighed and looked at him, tears rolling down your cheeks. “the truth will satisfy me. if you can’t provide that, then... then...” you trailed off, your mouth going dry. you tried to say the words, but it wouldn’t come out. it didn’t matter anyways, jet already knew what you were going to say.

you gave him one last hurtful look being leaving to your car. jet immediately grabbed the bowl, smashing it to the ground. he put his hands over his face and combed his fingers through his hair violently. tears streamed down his face as he knew he had just potentially lost you for good. how did he manage to screw things up?

————

Like and Reblog!

taglist is open, just lmk if you wanna be on it for this series by messaging me, commenting, and/or send me a message!

@theblueslytherin @thatarthistorynerd @coldlilheart @akiris @serenitytomothings @zukoslosthishonor

#zuko x reader #zuko imagines #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla zuko x reader #atla imagine #zuko x reader smut #zuko imagine #jet x reader #atla jet x reader

225 notes · View notes

azenkii · 4 years

Text

Sokka/Suki/Zuko Brotp Headcanons

These three are a god-tier brotp and i'm here to prove it

100% that one friend group who does the stupidest, most impulsive shit but they’re also super nerdy at the same time?

Like they'll be left alone together and you can guarantee that by morning they'll have broken into several heavily guarded government buildings. But like,,they didn't even steal anything important? they just wanted to see if they could find bosco's birth records and figure out why he's a regular bear

The last time they got drunk together they woke up on the Beifongs' roof in librarian's robes with a fully labelled diagram of a nonbending submarine in front of them

Suki and zuko braid each other's hair and sokka got jealous that he couldn't join in so he grew out his hair until it was long enough to braid

Suki teaches zuko how to fight with kyoshi warrior fans and he's absolute shit at it

In return, he teaches her how to fight with dual broadswords and she is not shit at it, which zuko thinks is unfair

all three of them spar together, all the time

sokka’s the unofficial leader of the group

he’s almost always the one who suggests the dumb/smart ideas

suki and zuko are pretty much on the same wavelength as him when it comes to plans so whenever he suggests something it goes like

sokka: so you guys know the new ozai society? well i was thinking about the pipes under the city-

suki: that’s a great plan. dibs on scouting the eastern block, zuko can you-?

zuko, nodding: the night market? on it

no one else can ever eavesdrop on their conversations because they just don’t make sense

the story of their escape from the boiling rock becomes legendary and they make a game out of retelling it. every time someone asks about it they’ll add something new. eventually the story ends up involving a platypus bear named Mai II, Chit Sang’s identical twin, a rope made out of bedsheets and three separate riots

sokka and zuko thought for a solid year that suki didn’t really like drinking because she always ended up relatively sober whenever they went out. turns out she drinks more than both of them combined and she’s just really, really good at holding her liquor

the amount of decrees they’ve passed while drunk is honestly ridiculous. only half of these decrees were cancelled afterwards because the other half actually made sense

suki once genuinely threatened to throw hands with one of zuko’s ministers. her reasoning was ‘he kept making weird faces whenever sokka suggested anything’

sokka and suki once ganged up against zuko. they called it ‘nonbenders solidarity’

zuko retaliated by creating a super-secret best-buds-only handshake with toph and they did it in front of sokka and suki whenever they could. sokka and suki eventually went ‘okay OKAY we GET IT also can you please...teach us the handshake it looks really cool’ and zuko was like ‘hm. no i dont think i will’

he then proceeded to drive them insane by immediately teaching the handshake to everyone he knew. aang? knew it. katara? knew it. mai and ty lee? knew it. every single one of his ministers knew it. the kyoshi warriors knew it (and wouldn’t tell suki). hakoda knew it. iroh knew it. that random regular visitor to iroh’s tea shop knew it.

sokka and suki gave up on ever learning the handshake. exactly one (1) day later zuko and sokka were playing their own modified version of pai sho with suki watching them and then zuko just casually went ‘so now that you’ve given up do you want to learn the handshake’

sokka and suki went FERAL and suki flipped the board

sokka: HOW DID YOU KNOW WE GAVE UP

also sokka, exactly 0.02 seconds later: also yes please teach us the handshake sifu hotman

the handshake is the stupidest most needlessly-complicated thing in the world but they learn it anyway and they don’t stop using it for approximately a month

and oh did i not mention that they made their own version of pai sho? they call it die sho and it features 16 homemade tiles and a set of rules that only suki understands. one game can last anywhere from 2 minutes to 2 days

they once wrote a book together under the pseudonym Wang Kyo-Lee. The book was a 500-page rant about plant husbandry. it became a bestseller in the earth kingdom.

they also once did a role swap for a day. zuko dressed up as a kyoshi warrior/the fire lord’s elite guard (complete with makeup to hide his scar), sokka was acting fire lord, and suki was his water tribe ambassador. that was how they discovered that they worked together so much that their jobs were literally interchangeable

there are rumours that the three of them are involved in a poly relationship. when asked, none of them will give a definitive answer

sometimes they’ll just go on holiday to some random obscure place without telling anyone and come back four days later with a frog, three new swords, a crate of theatre props and a valuable compilation of historical accounts that’s been lost for over a century

the most memorable thing they ever brought back was druk, aka a literal dragon

out of the three of them, suki makes the best tea. however, she’s also the worst cook

sokka learnt how to knit and promptly made them matching scarves. the scarves were ugly af but suki and zuko wore them anyway

when zuko overworks himself sokka and suki will literally manhandle him away from his desk and into his chambers, all while lecturing him as he nods sleepily and dozes on his feet

when suki overworks herself sokka and zuko will bring her tea and wrap her in blankets until she eventually falls asleep

when sokka overworks himself suki and zuko will drag him out somewhere under the open air and just sit with him until he relaxes and falls asleep on one or both of them

they have a running joke where suki and zuko will, in the middle of a discussion, go ‘GODS you remind me of this one guy i met while i was travelling’ and then proceed to describe sokka until he realises they’re talking about him

they all have a very dark sarcastic sense of humour that can honestly be alarming to anyone who doesn’t know them. mai thinks it’s hilarious

suki knows how to juggle. she tries to teach sokka and zuko and they both fail miserably

sokka takes them ice-dodging. sokka (once again) earns the mark of the wise. suki earns the mark of the brave. zuko earns the mark of the trusted.

(does zuko earning the mark of the trusted make him cry? perhaps)

hakoda takes one look at suki and zuko and immediately goes ‘oh ok youre my children now’

zuko can handle himself pretty well in the cold (breath of fire, remember?) but that doesn’t mean he likes it. sokka and suki constantly tease him about it whenever they visit the south pole

zuko once startled suki while she was sleeping and she accidentally chi blocked him. sokka laughed until he cried

they 100% have heated debates about super niche topics

anyway they’re all bffs who may or may not be dating each other send tweet

#atla #headcanons #sokka #zuko #suki #zukki #platonic zukki #zukka #sukka

3K notes · View notes

alfredolover119 · 3 years

Note

I looooove your zukka rec lists! I recently became Avatar-obsessed, never got a chance to watch it as a kid and only just got through it all! I was wondering if you'd consider doing a specifically angst rec list? I love fluffy zukka everything, but sometimes you just gotta have your heart ripped out of your chest and put back in after being thoroughly blended.

thank you! i relate heavily to “recently became Avatar-obsessed” haha. as for the angst list, i sure can try! warning: all of these have happy endings because im a crybaby who can’t read unhappy endings. also, p much all of the fics in the completed section were featured on my other lists but this is specifically the ANGSTY ones >:^)

angsty zukka wips

first, most obviously, feels like we only go backwards by @oldpotatoe

-currently at 102k with 19/27 chapters posted; rated teen

-the amnesia fic. the amnesia fic. the amnesia fic. you know. i haven’t actually read it yet because, as previously mentioned, i’m a crybaby and am waiting for it to finish up but, from my understanding, this fic will murder you in a dark alleyway with no remorse. if u like zukka angst, you’ve probably already read this, but just in case!

An injury leaves Sokka with amnesia. His last memory is of the failed invasion, of leaving his father behind in enemy territory on the Day of Black Sun. Of hopelessness. Rage. // But then he wakes up, and the war is over. Suddenly, he must come to terms with the fact that years have passed, and that he's somehow the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador to the Fire Nation. He is also supposedly friends with banished-Prince-turned-Fire-Lord Zuko, of all people. Close friends.

Yeah, nah.

and i’ll do anything you say (if you say it with your hands) by @goldrushzukka

-currently 38k with 6/8 chapters posted; rated mature

-holy shit. holy SHIT. modern au based on the “my cat likes my fuckbuddy and i am falling in love” trope(?). maybe it’s just because of how the last chapter ended, but oh my god. this one made me cry. made me want to commit violence. when it’s not angsty as hell, it’s pretty funny, but holy shit. ao3 user nebulastucky please.

It’s supposed to be a one night stand. Pick up some guy at a bar, barely remember his name and never learn anything real about him, send him packing in the morning with a thanks for the ride and a cup of coffee to-go. That’s how it’s supposed to go. // But then it’s the best sex Sokka has ever had, and he thinks he’ll hate himself if he never gets to have it again.

Violet Blossoms and Celestial Objects by @hollypunkers

-currently 15k with 2/? posted. rated teen.

-this is the sequel to blue (an angsty, zukka rewrite of book 2-- go read it if u havent!)! !! this is a book 3 rewrite. only two chapters in and mrs hollypunkers is really abusing the miscommunication tag, as zukka writers seem to enjoy doing. im excited to see how the world and story develops with the changes to the story! you should be too!! its very good! obviously spoilers for blue lmao

Having sided with the Avatar in Ba Sing Se, Zuko not only must navigate his new relationship with Sokka but returning to the Fire Nation as a banished enemy. His own journey of self discovery and personal growth must now coexist alongside the personal struggles of every other member of the Gaang as together they blaze a treacherous path toward an unsure victory against Zuko's own father and nation.

breakable heaven by @fruitysokka

-currently 71k with 9/11 chapters posted. rated teen

-swt ambassador zuko! soon to be chief sokka! fake dating ur best friend to get out of an arranged marriage! what could go wrong!!! i also haven’t read this one ((see: i’m a crybaby who is being hurt by too many zukka wips already)), but it has been hanging out in my marked for later for months. from what i understand, this fic has: angst.

With his twenty-first birthday looming just around the corner, the Southern Water Tribe Elders have decided that Sokka, next in line to be Chief, needs to get married. Sokka does not want that, but he does need to get them off his back until he can figure his way out of it. What better way to do that than to pretend to date his best friend (and newly minted Ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe) Zuko? // Seriously, this is a foolproof plan. Maybe one of Sokka's best. Absolutely nothing can go wrong.

angsty zukka fics (completed!)

(i’ll put these in wc order)

lighthouse beam by @incorrectzukka

-7k, rated g

-a modern college au!! zuko’s inner-monologue is very angsty in this fic. typical zuko. also per usual, theyre both fucking dorks. they sort themselves out in the end, but not before The Angst. zuko is semi-deaf in this fic and also he has a bit of internalized homophobia.

Sokka’s breathtakingly beautiful and he’s smart and makes other people laugh. Zuko has a half-burnt face and a deaf ear. It’s not rocket science. // Or, Zuko falls in love with the boy in his Philosophy class.

This Isn’t My Idea of Fun by @khaleeseas

-9k, explicit

-moon spirit/nwt prince!sokka, no war to be found here! admittedly this isnt THAT angsty but like. the angst IS present. zuko is still the prince. a lovely childhood friends (though they hated each other for a minute haha) to lovers story.

If you asked Zuko, he and Azula saw far too much of Chief Hakoda of the Northern Water Tribe’s children growing up. It wasn’t until they were older, and Azula pointed out that - duh - their families were trying to set them all up, that he realized why. // He was told by his mother to be polite. These people were their friends and allies, and though their nations were as different as they came, harmony between nations was the most important thing. // It wasn’t his fault the Chief’s children were so annoying.

put your lips close to mine (as long as they don’t touch) by @celestialceci

-9k, teen

-modern au! zuko and sokka are college roommates. zuko goes to spend the summer with sokka. again,, not really that angsty but-- its there!! the detail and feeling of Home in this story make me happy. zuko is insecure as hell here too. if ur into that.

Zuko hates his home. He likes college alright, but he likes Sokka even better, his assigned roommate turned best friend. Spending the summer with Sokka will be fun, a welcome change of pace he desperately wants. It probably won't awaken anything in him... right?

the thing about dancing by anodymalion

-9k, teen

-yes. this one right here officer. it makes my heart ache. also trans sokka! which is cool. but the zuko angst in this one. hurts me. not so much relationship angst as it is zuko learning he deserves happiness angst. i’m sure u know The Type.

The first time a attendant spills Zuko’s tea and doesn’t immediately fall to her knees, begging the Fire Lord’s forgiveness, it is not anger but a resounding warmth that fills his chest.

i could (never) give you peace by @zukkababey

-10k, mature

-OUCH. OUCH OUCH OUCH. boys please learn to communicate im begging u. also zuko.. zuko, dude. as the tags of the fic say, hes “really going through it” in this one. YOUCH. post-canon.

Zuko almost said it. He almost said the words I think I’m in love with you, but he choked them back down at the last second. // Zuko would never be able to be what Sokka wanted. They might have needed each other during the summer, when two boys with too much weight on their shoulders found comfort in each other in the only way they knew how. // But now Zuko was Fire Lord, and Sokka was leaving.

this love burns so yellow (becoming orange and in its time, exploding) by @meliebee

-18k, teen, major character death

-i lied. THIS is the one, officer. found family.. good mai and zuko and toph friendships.. . ozai escapes prison and tries to overthrow zuko. OBVIOUSLY angst ensues. poor boy. he Does heal in this but it gets worse before it gets better. angst angst angst angst.

Ten months after Zuko is crowned at seventeen, he faces his first coup.

Anything for You by beersforqueers

-23k, explicit

-istg. this is probably one of my favorite zukka fics. its PAINFUL. modern au where theyre broken up but sokka hasnt told his family yet so zuko goes home with him for kataang wedding. a bit smutty, but the plot oh my god ohgm y fuvk. made me cry the first time i read it. (see: crybaby!me) insert that one picture of the horse with the caption PAIN.

In which Sokka and Zuko have broken up but Sokka hasn't told his family yet. So when Katara and Aang's wedding weekend rolls around and he doesn't want to break Gran-Gran's heart, he asks Zuko to pretend to be his boyfriend for one last weekend. // Things don't go as planned.

Moving Mountains by @thefangirlingdead

-64k, mature

-so. when i read this the first time it was in one sitting. soulmate au set within canon era / the comics, to an extent. soulmates can hear each others thoughts. i will happily say this is slowburn, jesus christ. champagne without the cham.

Soulmates are chosen by the spirits and can hear each other’s thoughts. Sokka thinks it’s cheesy and dumb. Zuko thinks it’s poetic justice that he doesn’t have one because he doesn’t deserve it. Cruel irony is finding out that the prince of the Fire Nation (and the person currently hunting you) is your soulmate.

In the Soft Light by @voidcenturyscholar and @romancedawning

-83k, teen, graphic depictions of violence

-moon spirit!sokka living in the northern water tribe. zuko is sent to the northern water tribe as a cultural liaison. iroh is the fire lord but while he is away taking care of lu ten after his injury ozai steps up. i cannot express how many emotions this fic made me feel. background yuetara. i would almost say found family?? but. anyway. plenty of angst to spare here with a healthy dose of enemies to friends to lovers.

As the newly appointed cultural liaison to Northern Water Tribe, Zuko is the first Fire Nation Citizen to step foot inside the city's walls in nearly a century. He's determined to prove himself—to the Fire Lord and to his father—even if the Water Tribe's spirit-touched prince seems to want nothing to do with him.

That Midnight Sky by @zukkababey

-103k, teen

-now now now. tms... modern college au where sokka agrees to tutor zuko in physics because zuko has to maintain straight a’s and physics is just not doing it for him. so. thats cool but THEN azula moves in, randomly, with zuko. to hide the fact that sokka is tutoring zuko, they fake date! what could go wrong!! the mutual pining in here combined with the angst... wonderful, tasty. everyone read it rn. also SLOWBURN

In Zuko’s strict family, needing a tutor is just about the worst thing you could do. Failing a class, however, is even worse. The only rational solution? Take up Aang on his offer to find him a physics tutor and have Sokka—beautiful, smart, handsome Sokka—tutor him in secret. // When Azula’s arrival threatens to reveal Zuko’s secret, it’s up to Sokka to convince her this definitely isn’t what it looks like. See, he’s actually… Zuko’s… boyfriend? // Hmm. There’s no way this could get complicated, right?

#zukka #zuko #sokka #angst #zukka angst #atla #avatar: the last airbender #fic recs #zukka fic recs

393 notes · View notes

comradekatara · 3 years

Note

the gaang + how well they would do on the infinity train?

this is suuuper hard because there are so many factors to take into consideration. first is obviously the train itself. the train's function in a metanarrative sense is to serve as a vehicle for storytelling, dissecting & deconstructing the process of a narrative and how a character's arc is propelled by their circumstances. the train supposedly functions to improve its passengers, and yet we also know that The Train is a deeply flawed mechanism that can corrupt and further traumatize its passengers just as much as it can "fix" them. when the train invites you in with the single-minded goal of getting your number to zero, assuming you ever disembark, you're probably gonna be left with even more trauma than when you arrived, or at the very least, weirder trauma.

grace wanted to be seen, but instead of learning to value herself for her own intrinsic worth instead of relying on validation from those around her, she was enabled by that validation and literally started a cult. likewise, since jet is basically a less heinous version of simon, i see him taking a similar path to the apex (though he would of course name them the freedom fighters) trying to overthrow the tyrannical one-one and reinstate the True Conductor. he would think his path is righteous. he would think he is protecting those kids from evil. who knows what would happen once he learns the truth.

then there is the matter of what the train wants from you. the train arrives at a pivotal moment in one's life, when they are at an emotional crossroads and need a catalyst for growth. for example, jesse's problem was relatively small (because he is perfect) but hurting his brother caused him emotional turmoil nonetheless, so the train stepped in. this means that to answer this question properly, i would have to answer not only when the train arrives for them, but why, and seeing that every single atla character carries massive amounts of baggage (most of it flavors of trauma that infinity train has not addressed), this proves extremely difficult. i have to identify the most narratively satisfying moment in each character's lives to have the train arrive, and then i have to make assumptions about which cars would propel them which way (emotionally). you're asking me to outline nine different fanfictions.

only jet's character feels similar enough to any of the characters we've seen in infinity train for me to even have an inkling as to what path he would take. while sokka and tulip are quite similar as people (rational, scientific yet creative thinkers who over-rely on logic over feeling, are deeply loyal, and instinctually blame themselves for the problems caused by others), their character arcs themselves have little in common. both aang and hazel experience a tragic loss of pure, childhood innocence (which is why i cry over both of them every day), but in relatively dissimilar ways (at least appa gets to return to aang). min-gi and zuko are both pressured by their upbringings to conform to a standard that makes them miserable to please their parents, only to ultimately embrace their own passion & truth... but not only do those arcs play out completely differently, zuko and min-gi are completely different people, and if anything, zuko's approach to life is far more like ryan's (ie, jumping off a cliff and hoping he lands on his feet).

but what i think you're really asking, at the end of the day, is how emotionally mature, self-aware, and capable of positive growth is each atla character? because how am i supposed to know what the train would do to their psyches, considering each external situation would shape them differently, and unless i'm supposed to meticulously craft fanfiction for each one of them (which i wouldn't be opposed to doing, but only for one character, i simply cannot do all nine – also, i'm surprised infinity train AUs aren't more common, but then again i'm not particularly familiar with fanficition, so maybe it is!), it would only be an approximation, in which i identify their core problem (which again, is not how real people work, or even how atla characters work, but how The Train works) and then analyze how long it would take for each of them to solve said problem.

so, that was a very long-winded preface. without further ado:

aang's main problem is that he keeps running away from his problems, which is to say, distracting himself from the enormity of his grief. personally, i would say his coping mechanism isn't the worst. after all, he experiences so much world-shattering pain in such a short span of time, and he does deserve to preserve his childhood and his innocence for as long as possible. but, for the purposes of the narrative, the train must necessarily disagree. he must confront his grief head-on, without distracting himself from it or flying into a destructive rage that he'd only regret later. it also depends on who his companions are. with katara by his side, he can get through anything (and vice versa), but it's unclear who will be there to guide him through his pain. that said, i know he'd make it through okay. he's aang. he has to.

katara lives in a fairytale. like i said with aang, that's not really a bad thing. she's a great kid with big dreams and a big heart. she wants to save the world, and – guess what! – she does. but living in a storybook strips one's worldview of the nuances of life, not simply the harsh realities of the world, but also the full extent of one's personhood, outside of simply the black and white worldview of heroes and villains. katara's apotheosis is when she confronts yon rha, looks him in the eyes, and sees a human being staring back at her, another human being. she is no longer in a revenge tale. she is out of stories to tell herself. (life doesn't make narrative sense.) ironically, the train is a metaphor for storytelling, so katara coming to realize that she isn't in a story would both be confusingly meta and also fucking brilliant (if i do say so, personally). i don't know how exactly it would play out, but by god i would pay to see it.

in many ways, sokka is remarkably open-minded, and in many ways, sokka is extremely stubborn. i think he'd come to terms with his own emotional growth (which would be rooted in learning his own self-worth) faster than he'd come to terms with the train itself. "okay, fine, yeah, i deserve love regardless of what i can do for other people, but WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS PLACE?!?!?" his journey through the train is actually everyone else's dream experience on the train. passengers and denizens alike keep falling in love with him (or at the very least, admiring him more than they've ever admired anyone they've ever met), but he doesn't even notice because he's too busy being extremely suspicious of everything he comes into contact with. yes, he'll solve your problems and puzzles and help people and make meaningful connections and eventually he might start to realize that he is worth something even when he's alone, even (especially) when he's being unconventional or "weird" or "selfish." but even once he does get his door, does he walk through it? oh no, he takes it apart and tries to figure out how it just created a fucking portal. so while he would technically "do" quite well, he is never leaving that fucking train. rip sokka.

well, toph needs to learn to accept and embrace her own vulnerability. she definitely goes through that same crystal karaoke car tulip did. that, or the train just tortures her by putting her in increasingly more painful situations in which she must ask for help. but that's too awful to even think about, so i'm just gonna say she has to sing karaoke.

zuko needs to learn to trust his instincts and his own internal moral compass instead of the external pressures being forced upon him by his Father (capital F to emphasize that his nation & his father – aka the patriarchy – are one & the same for him, lmao). and he would fail. a lot. but eventually he would realize that his number goes down when he lets himself be himself, and he would leave the train happy. he probably also gets a bunch of cute little talking animal companions to guide him through. he deserves it.

the train appears to suki while she's having a breakdown in solitary confinement at the boiling rock. she finds healthy ways to cope with being put through hell while on the train, and by the time she gets off, she's being let out of solitary. it is a very rewarding experience, and one that she can swear wasn't just some hallucination. she's constantly telling herself yes, of course it was just a hallucination.... but still... it felt so real....

if i had to diagnose azula with one singular problem that plagues her at the core of her very being, it would have to be her fear of rejection. but it's not good enough to just keep having train cars reject azula, she has to accept that rejection, instead of just intimidating people into submission after the fact. she needs to understand why she is being rejected, and be fine with it, and learn from it, instead of letting her lack of universal perfection in every area anyone could ever excel in shake her to her very core. when ty lee proved that she secured the affections of dumb stupid boys better than azula ever could, she did an arson to cope (which of course is still very valid of her uwu). azula needs to learn to come in second place, third place, even last place, and shrug it off, think to herself, "hopefully i'll do better next time, and if not, that's okay also," and once that happens, everything else will fall into place. though maybe she could read bell hooks or smth at some point on the train cuz i think that could help too.

mai needs to stop being so goddamn depressed all the time. has she tried lexapro, or perhaps using a lightbox in winter? her favorite coping mechanism, knives, only helps her feel something some of the time, but most (if not all) of the time she's still being expected to play a part. has she tried, like, being herself? i heard from zuko (you know, the guy? from the train?) that "being yourself" works wonders. so the train gives her that opportunity. and she actually even enjoys herself for once in her miserable fucking life.

omg there must've been some sort of mistake ty lee was totally sent here by accident because she's actually super happy all the time and doesn't have any problems!!!!!!!! jk, can u even imagine? ty lee hates her life too, she just doesn't go around advertising it like mai does with her big dyke boots and depressing eyeliner. but apparently she also needs to learn how to "be herself," whatever that means. as if life isn't a constant performance, you know, like jacques said or whatever. she sees mai on the train. she rolls her big beautiful brown eyes. "oh god, not you too."

#obeetlebeetle #fuck this took me over an hour to write #asks #the gaang and #analysis #AUs #synthesis #mailee infinity train au when.....#sokka is the only one who dies on the train. unfortunate. aunt wu was right once again.#god this question was hard #so many factors to consider #i want the mailee season tho #and i want it NOW!

135 notes · View notes

aangs-surrounding-love · 3 years

Text

My take on Aang’s trauma:

Alrighty everyone this is going to be a long one. I’ll do my best to only include the more important parts of Aang’s actions that I think reflect his trauma. Also, moments that I think reflect his trauma. Actually, I don’t really know if I can directly categorize this post but let’s just say this is very Aang-centric and somewhat of Aang-defense. Aang-protection? Feh-I’ll start.

In season 1 episode 1: The Boy In The Iceberg we see that Aang is briefly told that no one has seen an airbender in 100 years. We can see a tiny bit of shock but what happens next is that the topic is dissed and they move on. Aang doesn’t yet know what happened. But that small little face of shock and confusion always gets me.

Season 1 Episode 2: When Aang finds out he was stuck for 100 years, a war broke out, and his people were very likely killed, he looks on the bright side and looks to Katara saying, “I did get to meet you.”

When they find out he’s the avatar everyone is like, no wayyyy. He still offers himself up to protect the tribe.

Why didn’t he tell them? “Because I never wanted to be” is 100% a valid answer. He was scared. He thought that they’d push him away as his friends did at the temple. Or maybe send him away like the leaders wanted to do to him. (Although Sokka did banish Aang, it wasn’t because of his title and because he put the tribe at risk so it doesn’t exactly count)

Season 1 episode 3: The Southern Airtemple. “We’re home, buddy. We’re home.” Aang says to Appa. Something about this seems like a nostalgic moment. He left on bad terms and now he’s back seeing it 100 years later, hopeful.

He looks for all the old things that made him happy. Air ball, Gyatso’s statue, searching for people. (The little fruit pie flash-back)

He goes to the statue room and looks for answers. He meets Momo. However, when Aang and Sokka start chasing Momo I see Aang tearing up when he’s jumping down the cliffside. My take on this isn’t because he’s falling down at such a velocity that he starts crying, my take is that it’s because it’s his first chance to reveal that there’s hope that some of the Air Nation survived and that Aang isn’t alone.

Aang discovers Gyatso’s skeleton and goes into the Avatar State. His major hopes have been diminished.

He says to Momo, “You, me, and Appa, we’re that’s left of this place now. We have to stick together.” It’s so sad. They’re the only parts of the Air Nation that are alive. They don’t have anything left of the air nation and that’s why they need each other; they need to stay together.

At the closing of the episode, we see Aang and Momo flying away from the temple on Appa. Aang's face is so somber like he’s watching his happy memories diminish. Like the nostalgia being wiped away directly in front of him.

Season 1 Episode 5: The King of Omashu. This one is more of fine detail, but to me, it’s still very important and needs to be mentioned more. At the end of the episode, when Aang figures out it was Bumi, his old friend, you can see little tears welling in his eyelids. My understanding makes me think that Aang was tearing up because he sees someone who isn’t dead. The tears are of relief because to Aang, maybe not everyone is gone. His childhood isn’t over, Aang can still be a kid. Because the reason Gyatso was protecting Aang was that he wanted Aang to have a childhood. Although it was stripped away, this gave Aang another chance to have fun intentionally. Another sign that his childhood isn’t completely over.

Season 1 episodes 7-8: Winter Solstice Part 1: The Spirit World and Winter Solstice Part 2: Avatar Roku. In the first part, we meet a village. Aang tries to help them by saying, “I have to try” my legendary overthinking and analysis makes me believe that Aang truly wants to help these people already, but also that as the Avatar he wants to make up for the lost time he was stuck. He feels the burden he afflicted on the world.

His ability to relate to Hei Bai. Aang felt terrible about the woods and trees that were burnt down. It’s the empathy the made Hei Bai Aang’s friend. The compassion that Aang brings is truly amazing.

Part 2: Avatar Roku. Okay, so he wants to go alone because he doesn’t want Katara or Sokka to get hurt. My take on this is not only are they friends, but he also doesn’t want another one of his actions affecting the casualties of the war.

Season 1 Episode 12: The Storm. This episode is great. We get his backstory. We see why he ran away. We see what causes him to get stuck. And we get to see him upset. We see his guilt. “My people needed me, and I wasn’t there to help.” Followed by, “the WORLD needed me, and I wasn’t there to help.”

“How could they do that to me? They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I’ve ever loved!” This quote digs deep. Not only is Aang angry, but this takes a play on how he reacts to people and how he responds to people. He wanted to be a normal kid. (I’ll bring this back later)

Earlier in this episode, there’s this fisherman who was blaming him, so I’m in the cave Aang says, “the fisherman was right. I DID turn my back on the world.” He knows what he did was wrong and he saw the consequences. He ran away, and now that he faced the consequences, he actively wants to change and become better. He’s learning from his actions.

Season 1 episode 13: The Blue Spirt. Admiral Zhao says to Aang, “tell me, how does it feel to be the only airbender left? Do you miss your people?” Not only is this said in such a vile, evil way, we see Aang’s face which changes from being angry and upset with Adm. Zhao, we see that it changes to ashamed and guilt ridden. Actually, it kinda looks like Aang wanted to talk back to him, but he needed a moment. He needed that moment to take in what Zhao said.

Aang finds out that the Blue Spirit (the person wearing the mask) is Zuko. Aang was going to leave him there, to get caught by Admiral Zhao, but Aang instead takes him to safety. And may I mention that Aang made him a little leaf bed? Anyway, he stays with Zuko until he wakes up. Aang was talking about they could be friends and that one of his best friends was from the Fire Nation. I think not leaving Zuko behind shows both how Aang does his best to no longer leave people behind and to try to bring the best out of Zuko.

Season 1 episode 15: Bato of the Water Tribe. Aang takes the map to guide them to Hakoda for himself out of fear that Sokka and Katara would leave him. Though it was a bad decision, the thing is he didn’t think he could handle being alone. He was alone enough as it is. His people were gone and his friends (excluding Bumi) were gone or dead as well. So having to trek to the NWT alone would be a continuous reflection of his actions and would likely send him down on a more hateful path.

Season 1 Episode 16: The Deserter. Aang wants to learn the elements as fast as possible, even if it means doing it irregularly. He also is unsure whether he’ll ever get the chance to learn firebending again after he learns the other elements. So he starts to learn firebending from Jeong Jeong. He wants to make up for lost time which is another reason for this decision.

He hurts Katara and becomes afraid of handling fire and vows to be more careful with it in the future. (I will bring this up again later)

Season 1 Episode 17: The Northern Air temple. Aang sees that the northern Air temple became inhabited by people and they built pipes and other things that ruined the temple. They destroyed the temple and there wasn’t anything left that remained the same. When he saw the wrecking ball machine, he rightfully knocked it away for “destroying something sacred”. It was the last place that remained unaffected by modernization and industrialization then it was knocked over, right in front of him. So my take on this is a question within itself: if you loved something that was deeply close to you like a relic, something important, something that’s the only thing left of your family, got destroyed right in front of you, how would you feel? The answer would probably be pretty freaking upset.

Season 1 episode 19: The Siege of the North: part 1. Starting with part 1, the fire nation comes to the northern water tribe and the fight begins. Before the fight begins, Aang says, “I wasn’t there when the Fire Nation attacked my people. I’m going to make a difference this time.” He wants what’s best for the world, he’s going to stay. He isn’t going to run this time, he’s going to fight of the sake for the world, for the sake of the future. Still, the look on his face when he says that, it’s guilt plastered all over. The guilt is also shown with a determination to make his difference.

Aang flies out on Appa to try to prevent further damage by taking out a few ships. He returns around sunset, exhausted and somewhat defeated. He says, “I’m just one kid” then buries his face in between his legs. He’s right, he is one kid. The avatar, yes, a kid, yes. I have a feeling he’d be thinking about how massively overwhelmed his people were when the Fire Nation attacked. With the power of 500 suns, it would be disastrous. And with this, there are hundreds of ships in that fleet with hundreds more men, ready to fight.

Season 1 episode 20: The Siege of the North: Part 2. Aang returns to the spirit oasis and enters the avatar state saying, “No... It’s not over” he won’t give up on the tribe. He won’t let the Fire Nation win. Still, he isn’t running away, he chose to return to the Spirit Oasis to try to save the spirits.

Season 2 episode 1: The Avatar State. Aang’s told by General Fung that he could defeat the Fire Nation using the Avatar State. Gen. Fung manipulates Aang using Aang’s own guilt and faults to get him to try to train to turn the Avatar State on. Gen. Fung shows Aang the wounded to get him to join.

Initially, Aang doesn’t join. But he changes his mind upon further debate. During the training (well after a day of training) Katara and Aang have a long conversation about it. First, Katara tries to convince him to stop training to turn the Avatar State on but Aang refuses. Katara says, “I don’t understand.” Aang replied, “No, you don’t. Every day, more and more people die. I’m already 100 years late.” Aang’s own guilt is driving him to pursue helping everyone. Even though it wasn’t the right decision, he realizes that he needs to try everything he can to save the world.

Season 2 Episode 3: Return to Omashu. I already did my take away on Aang’s trauma for “The King of Omashu” but this will make my point stronger. Anyway, to the point. Aang goes to Bumi to learn earthbending. His old friend, the mad genius. When he arrives at Omashu, Katara, Sokka, and Aang see that Omashu was conquered by the Fire Nation. Despite Sokka trying to convince Aang to turn around, saying that there are other teachers, Aang shuts both of them down. He wants to rescue Bumi. Not only because he’s his best friend, but I think it’s the added reasons of impending guilt that he receives from leaving the Air Nation to fight on their own, and always wanting to protect his friends.

Season 2 episode 10: The Library. By goodness. Beginning of the episode. Aang is “making an orchestra”. My little headcanon is that all airbenders play an instrument and Aang chose the flute. Anyway, in this headcanon, the air nomads had a band that Aang loved to participate in. Just a little reminder he can’t be in a band surrounded by his people and wanted to make an orchestra on his own to feel happy like he would if he was around the Air Nomads.

Professor Zei calling Aang a relic. Just... terrible. That’s what he, his people, his culture surmounted to. Only a relic. An episode in time.

“We had no choice. Please. We’re desperate to protect the people we love.” This is what Aang says to Wan Shi Tong after the spirit’s anger about using the library to win a war. Aang is trying to protect the world and whoever he has left in the world. His people died. His friends before the war excluding Bumi are dead. Now all he has are his current friends, Appa, and Momo. That’s all he has left and he’s going to do anything to protect them.

Appa gets taken away. That’s it. They exit the sinking library. “Where’s Appa?” Aang asks Toph in confusion. As Toph shakes her head, humming, “mmm-mmm” Aang’s face looks so scared, so hurt. This is his best friend, his life partner to the death. His closest friend, even before the war. They have an inseparable bond and then Appa’s taken away from Aang. Aang doesn’t know if he’s alright, one of the three surviving members of the Air Nomads.

Season 2 Episode 11: The Desert. Aang is so hurt that he lashes out at Toph. His best friend and life partner were stripped from him. I could feel the pain and anger in his voice.

“I’m going to find Appa.” Aang flies away to search on his glider. Again, one of the last surviving members of the Air Nomads is gone. I will elaborate in others.

“APPA!” He calls out. He begins to tear up but sucks it down. “No... No!!!” He creates the gush of air at the ground, making the sand rise up. The complete anger is apparent.

“I’m sorry, OK? it’s a desert cloud. I did all I could.” Aang is left angry and lashes out at everyone. Aang blames Toph at first but it goes deeper than that. If Aang hadn’t gone inside, Appa could’ve been with him. Everyone could’ve gotten out of the desert.

Momo gets carried by a Buzzard-wasp. “I’m not losing anyone else out here.” If Momo was taken away that makes Aang the only one left. He’d be completely alone. And he would only have himself to blame. If he hadn’t run away... if he hadn’t gone inside the library... if he hadn’t chased and knocked the buzzard wasp down. But luckily, Aang gets Momo back.

Aang finds out that the sand benders he encountered were the ones who stole Appa. He acts appropriately and questions them. He wrecks a sand sailer. He wants his bison back. He needs Appa back.

“You muzzled Appa?!” He enters the avatar state in rage. Appa was much more than a pet. Appa is Aang’s best friend. His life partner. His link to his people. Hearing that Appa was treated like an uncontrollable, rabid animal isn’t alright with him. His people were already killed. So hearing that Appa could be in the same situation or worse hurts.

“I traded him with some merchants.” Trading him. Like property. Appa is living, breathing, he isn’t property. Then Appa was set to be sold. Sold.

Season 2, Episode 12: The Serpents Pass. Aang is trying to remain emotionless after Appa was taken away. He doesn’t want to grieve. He doesn’t want to feel. He wants the war to end and be done. He wants Appa back of course, but I think Aang feels that his emotions are going to prevent progress. So when Suki mentions how Appa wasn’t there, Aang was the first to look away. It hurts him immensely.

“Are you doing okay?” Suki asks Aang. At first, Aang looks to Suki and then to Katara, Sokka, and Toph. The view switches back to Aang where he says harshly, “I’m doing fine. Would everybody stop worrying about me?” Aang doesn’t want to be reminded further that -in his mind- that he failed.

“And now it’s like you don’t care about him at all,” Katara states. Katara continues about how worried she is for Aang and offers him a hug. He steadily rejects, “thanks for your concern, Katara.” He walks away. He is so hurt that he doesn’t want to feel. He doesn’t want to be human.

“But you’ve made me feel hopeful again.” It doesn’t mean he’ll stop himself from blaming himself, but it means Aang will return to being hopeful and optimistic.

Season 2 episode 13: The Drill. It’s towards the end where Aang gives the final blow, it’s not really about the moment but the music. Aang is determined to save the world. Even though he’s going through in an incredibly tough time, he’s not going to give up and he’s going to save Ba Sing Se. The music displays this perfectly also while the French Horns add Aang’s musical theme in the background.

Season two, episode 15. The tales of Ba Sing Se. Aang creates a Zoo after seeing all the caged up animals. I think that Aang did this because it reminded Aang what predicament Appa could be in. All chained up. Of course, above anything else, Aang goes to the Zoo in the first place to look for Appa. But I think Aang wanted to release the animals into a better space because Aang wanted to help them, knowing at least Appa would want a sense of freedom. Also because Aang could see that the animals were unhappy.

Season 2 episode 16: Appa’s Lost Days. Sorry but Aang sleeps with the bison whistle right next to him. Meaning, the first thing he wakes up to is the whistle. So right away, Aang is reminded that he needs to get Appa back no matter what.

Season 2 Episode 17: Lake Logoai. Weakly, Jet says, “I’m sorry, Aang.” Aang replies, “Don’t be.” Aang is already worried. But after it's inferred that Aang was going to die by Toph’s, “He’s lying,” is another reminder to Aang that having relations to other people puts them in danger. And that Aang might think that he is another cause for Jet’s death. It’s a big rolel, accounting for every death and injury at Aang’s stake.

Reuniting was Appa, finally. The tears, the relief. Appa will forever be his best friend. To death. A weight was definitely released from his chest.

Season 2 episode 18: The Earth King. Aang wants to tell the Earth King the truth. With Appa back, it’s hoped that things could turn out well for Aang. And a chance the war could end sooner. For the fatalities to stop.

Season 2 episode 19: The guru. “What do you blame yourself for?” Aang responds, “I ran away. I hurt all those people.” He holds himself accountable that he wasn’t there. That he was the cause of injury. Even though he forgave himself doesn’t mean he thinks about it. That’s the thing about guilt. It reoccurs no matter if you try to bury it. Or even forgive yourself, it still shows up.

“Lay all your grief out in front of you.” Aang pictures the whole Air Nation with Gyatso in the front. He’s trying to save the word to not leave their names, their culture in vain. He lost everyone.

Season 2 episode 20: the Crossroads of Destiny. He had to let her go. There were too many people against him. He had no other choice than to let go and enter the avatar state. He had to give up another part of himself to be what the world needed. He needed to save Katara, not letting any others fall to his fault.

Season 3 Episode 1: The Awakening. “Everyone thinks you’re dead. Isn’t that great?!” To Aang, it isn’t. In fact, that’s probably the worst thing Sokka could’ve said. To Aang, the world thinks he failed... again. At first, he vanished for 100 years, thought dead. Then he returned to become dead again. Now, the Fire Nation has practically won because he wasn’t able to keep Ba Sing Se afloat.

Aang wants to intervene even though he’s barely able to walk. He wants to handle it himself. He’s holding himself accountable. Maybe even thinking, it’s the least I can do if I’ve already failed to the world twice. He keeps trying to help, having Sokka hold him back.

“I don’t want you or anyone else risking your lives for my mistakes.” This means Aang really blames himself for everyone. Holding everything on his shoulders. Thinking, “it’s all my fault.”

Aang does the thing he knows how to, he flies away on his glider. Hurt and bombarded with a storm. When he’s found by his friends, he finds his glider which we knew was very important to him. Air Nomads weren’t very material, but to a person with a smidge of their culture left, it would’ve meant much more. So, seeing it in shambles and them actively choosing to burn it is heartbreaking.

Season 3 episode 2: The Headband. The fact that the children of the Fire Nation and everyone who was taught after the war started thought the Air Nomads had a military, forcing the Fire Nation to attack them. It’s screwy. It was wrong, but knowing that his culture was thought of as evil and bloodthirsty had to have been off-putting. I mean, the Air Nomads were pacifist!

Aang was stripped of his childhood, so going to a school gave him a new chance without the burden of being the avatar. For example, earlier I mentioned Aang was excluded from playing with the air-scooter, but in the Fire Nation school, Aang as Kuzon was invited to play Hide and Explode. A chance to have fun without his responsibility to defeat the Fire Lord. A chance to be a normal kid.

“You taught them to be free” Aang did his best to help the kids. It wasn’t defeating the Fire Lord but it gave them control. A mind. They were brainwashed by the school and their country! So achieving a sense of freedom by self expression is something more than I can display in words.

Season 3 Episode 9: Nightmares and Daydreams. Although it’s a fun episode, Aang is in his last moments to train before the invasion. He has to be ready. He’s afraid that he’ll let the world down a third time. So, he creates false scenarios and plays them out to prepare. In this process, he gets really sleep deprived because of his stress. He’s rightfully worried. The state of the world continues to burden him.

Season 3 episode 10: The Day Of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion. Aang comes to Sokka’s side when Sokka begins to worry about his moment of truth. Aang says, “I already failed to world once at Ba Sing Se. I won’t let myself fail again.” Again, it’s all up to him. He needs to save the world, he needs to redeem himself.

Season 3 episode 11: The Day Of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse. Aang finds that it was all a trap. He failed again. On Appa as the youngest of the group loads on Appa, Aang is crying. He told himself that he wouldn’t fail. That he needed to win. He needed this victory to find out that his plan was ruined.

Season 3 Episode 12: The Western Air Temple. Aang accepts Zuko into the group. He does this not only because he needs a teacher but realizes that in his past attempt to learn Firebending, he hurt Katara. And that Jeong Jeong wasn’t the right master, but knowing that Zuko changed made Aang accept Zuko into the group and teach him.

Season 3 Episode 13: The Firebending Masters. Earlier, I mentioned that Aang vowed to be more careful with Fire after burning Katara. Showing why his flame was timid and weak. He was afraid for it to become out of control and hurt someone.

Season 3, episode 16: The Southern Raiders. “You’re feeling unbelievable pain and rage.” He’s empathizing with Katara. We can’t forget that Aang is a survivor of genocide. He’s been through so much and wants to help Katara make the right decision. Not making it for her, but guiding her through the decision that would make her satisfied with herself and Yon Rha’s outcome. One she could live with. He’s using his own experience to help her.

Season 3, Episode 18, Sozin’s Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King. Aang wants to find an alternate solution rather than kill Firelord Ozai. He wants to stick to his principles. The ones that have been with him since forever. It’s not an easy decision. Maybe not only because of honoring the monks and their teaching but because the war had already created enough bloodshed.

Everyone is quick to assume Aang ran away. Although Aang is called to the Lion Turtles back. I think it was mostly unknowingly because he was like half asleep.

Season 3, Episode 19, Sozin’s Comet, Part 2: Old Masters. Aang looks to the past Avatars for their guidance. They’re the ones who might give him an alternate solution. In my opinion, they were all like, make whatever choice is right for you and the world. Don’t forget the world. Ultimately, to Aang, there were no other options, leaving him with the only option but to take Ozai’s life.

He meets the great look turtle. Aang respectfully asks him for an answer or an option. Once again, Aang was given the knowledge that he could take away whatever he received from the wisdom.

Season 3, Episode 20: Sozin’s Comet: Part 3: Into The Inferno. Ozai degrades Aang. Says, “you’re weak. Just like the rest of your people. They did not deserve to exist in this world, in my world! Prepare to join them.” So Aang has been told he’s weak and he is in no way weak. I will elaborate later.

Season 3, Episode 21: Sozin’s Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang. Aang unblocks the avatar state and pins Ozai down. Just as Aang was going to kill him, he stops. He stops himself from going against his principles. Ozai continues to degrade him. “You are still weak.” Aang directs Ozai’s fire blast away using the Lion Turtle’s wisdom, Aang pins Ozai down and energy bends. With this, Aang discovers this non-fatal solution by giving Ozai justice and taking his bending away. Ozai can no longer intimidate and oppress anyone anymore.

“Please the real hero is the avatar.” That’s it. Aang is the hero. Of course, he had his friends to help him, but every single one of Aang’s mistakes and choices led to this. Led to the world being saved. So, for the first time in a while, Aang can come out of hiding, proud to be in this Air Nomad robes without concealing his identity.

I think I’m exaggerating about the tiniest details, but then again, I’m putting myself in Aang’s shoes, and that’s how I’d feel and how I interpret Aang’s actions/reactions. Also, I know I missed a few points, but I tried.

Big takeaways:

When Aang is told his people have been wiped out AND that he’s been gone for 100 years, for him, it has only been a few days for him. He left and a day later he wakes up and it’s been 100 years. That’s incredibly off-putting and scary. One day and his whole world shifted.

Aang was given very VERY little time to grieve as he had to save the world and learn the elements right away. When we do see it, his grief, he tries to let it all out at once rather than have it seep out little by little.

Aang is 12! He is a child and he saved the world. He has real emotions and was confused from time to time. He was a little immature at first but developed immensely.

Aang makes mistakes. But most importantly is that he learns from them and uses them to decide what's best for him and how to help others.

He looked for the light in dark situations.

Aang is the beacon of hope but even he was unhopeful and detached. He went to nightmares and back despite the worst.

Despite Ozai’s bashing and false claims, Aang is not weak and never has been. Aang went through the worst. He lost his family, his friends, and at one point, his best friend. He died. He was given an almost impossible task. Yet, he completed this task. He saved the world. Yes, he made mistakes but those mistakes shaped Aang into who he became. And how he was able to save the world. And Ozai was incredibly wrong. Aang defeated him and found his alternative. It wasn’t weak. It was strength. As Katara said in The Southern Raiders, “I don’t know if I was too weak to do it or if it’s because I’m strong enough not to.” In Aang’s case, he found his alternative that honored his teachings, his principles, his beliefs all while doing what was best for the world. That isn’t weak. It’s strong. Adding on, to come back from death isn’t weak. To return to action after running away isn’t weak. To face danger? To help others? To fight on the losing side for what is right? No, it’s not weak at all.

The music is fantastic and I think it reflects Aang amazingly. This doesn’t really fit into what I was talking about but the music fits the show.

Aang deserves so much love. I'll say it again, he's been through so much. Much more than what I could handle or almost anyone else. He is a traumatized child but even through the rough patches became an inspiration. To me, I think he’s sometimes overlooked and pushed aside so this is just some of my headcanons and takeaways.

Another thing, I’m not blaming Aang for anything. When I mention “it was his fault” I mean by he was blaming himself. The Air Nation’s genocide is not his fault. I mean that he blames himself for not helping or staying, for running away.

Lastly, I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of their characters. They belong to their rightful creators and writers. Also, this is my analysis and a few of my takes on Aang’s trauma. I'm not trying to project my feelings on anyone. I'm just saying what I think.

If you made it this far thanks for reading my post!

#aang #aanglove #avatar aang #avatar verse #avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar: tla #personal note that no one cares for but i’m saying it anyway #personal #my thoughts #aang is a sweetie and i will not stand for anything else #aang defense #aang defense squad #alta aang #aang is best boy #aang stan #aang protection #melon's analysis

102 notes · View notes

badgerfrogs · 3 years

Text

i don’t have many followers on this blog to answer but if i wrote a zukka au featuring the following, how interested would people be?

- autistic zuko/adhd sokka (i’m on the spectrum and i’d have to do some more research about writing adhd characters but i think there should be more fics with neurodivergent zukka)

- trans zuko (i’m not trans but i’d be sure to research & read about trans experiences & write about zuko being trans respectfully)

- zuko abolishes the fire nation monarchy and moves to the south pole as an ambassador and to be with his friends and with sokka, who’s working as an engineer and co-chief-in-training in the southern water tribe

- !!!!chief-in-training katara!!!! she and sokka split the role so that sokka can do his engineering work & train in the arts and katara can dedicate some of her time to traveling with aang (this co-chief thing also results in plenty of sibling snipery and banter)

- homoerotic sparring practice

- nerd4nerd zukka

- sokka with chronic pain from his leg injury

- plenty of southern water tribe worldbuilding

- it would contain very little conflict/no actually dangerous stakes for characters & relationships because i like writing fluff, if anything it’d be low-stakes drama

- it would probably be mostly one-shots too but in a series, i’m not much one for longfics since im a writing major which takes most of my creative energy and i write fics mostly for fun

- zukka pranks and fun

- white lotus member and cultural liaison to the southern water tribe sokka

- plenty of vacations and the gaang healing from cptsd/the effects of growing up in war

- writer/poet zuko

- katara and zuko sleepovers (they’re like “me and the bestie<3” but they actually are just besties)

- katara loving zuko and sokka but kind of hating zukka at first because she doesn’t want to think about her brother and her best friend kissing (among other things)

- perhaps some love letters?

- reparations and decolonization from the fire nation with the help of zuko

- zuko righting his nation’s wrongs while also not shouldering the burden all alone and getting to heal as well

- zukka sneaking around like teenagers in love

- bakoda (ft. trans bato), mailee, and possibly pianjeong and maybe yueki (i’d have to figure out how to fit it into the canon universe) would certainly make appearances as well, along with the rest of the gaang

- sokka and katara’s family loving zuko and considering him family too

- disgustingly in love zukka

- zuko’s complete and utter inability to lie

- sokka and aang’s brotherhood

- sailing trips and campfires and life in the southern water tribe

- zuko’s little sister kiyi visiting!!

- sokka’s grandpa energy and pai sho mastery

- druk... but in the southern water tribe

- hawky

- jin’s return ft. song

- human heat pack zuko

- southern water tribe kids and communal family!

- sokka’s eternal battle against the spirits

- zuko crying out of happiness when the fire nation trade ships come and he can eat fire flakes again

- zuko and aang competing to be the best sons-in-law

- zuko and sokka’s debilitatingly intense baby fever

- baby izumi in the southern water tribe later on!!! baby izumi & southern water tribe culture!!!

- healthy, supportive relationships and friendships filled with compassion and kindness

- and more!

184 notes · View notes

vee-is-a-writter-now · 4 years

Text

FOOLS pt.4

[[Zuko x Reader]]

<- previous next ->

Summary: Zuko and Y/N had liked eachother for a while even though neither of them knew it. Y/N tries to get over her crush for him, failing miserably. So just when she decides to let go and embrace her feelings, the new Fire lord finds himself feeling jealous and decides to take matters into his own hands.

A/N: This took way longer to write than I expected it cause I found myself getting stuck a bunch of times. I also had so many wonderful people sending me asks and replying to the previous parts, I really didn’t want to disappoint them so I was super perfectionist with this one. It got a little long and VERY angsty (again, sorry) but I think it’s pretty good, next part might be the last one, and I’ll try to write it ASAP to not leave y’all hanging lol.

Side note: this part is dedicated to the nicest person ever @eternally-infinitely who sent me the cutest ask and actually inspired me a lot to finish this. Thank you so much for reading and for being so kind, lots and lots of love to you <3

Warning: Angst, but it’ll end well i promise, language

-IF YOU HAVE ANY REQUESTS DONT HESITATE TO ASK-

“Leave me here to die, Katara. I’m hopeless” you whined into your pillow. The curtains in your room were still closed, barely any light getting in.

“Y/N, you’re not dying, you’re not hopeless and I’m not letting you spend the entire day stuck in here alone. Zuko doesn’t deserve all this suffering, ok? You’re better than this. Now stand up, get ready and let’s go have our massages.” She said finally opening the curtains and pulling the blankets away from you.

“But-“

“Not a question.” Katara said walking out of your room.

You groaned loud enough for her to hear it from outside. Your eyes felt heavy, puffy and stiff from the tears that you’d let fall and dry the night before. Your head ached and for some reason you couldn’t get enough oxygen into your lungs. You felt the worst you’d felt in a while.

But wanting to avoid mom Katara’s reproaches, you put all that aside and made an outworldly effort to get out of bed and make yourself look as decent as you could.

Around twenty minutes later you were out of your room, heading to Katara and Suki’s. They both flashed a faint smile when they saw you.

“I look that bad, huh?” You said letting out a deep sigh

“Oh, no, no, no Y/N. You just look... tired. Did you get any sleep last night?” Suki asked.

“I’d be lying if I said I did” the worried look in your friend’s faces made you reconsider your words. “I’m fine you guys, I’m just being very dramatic. I’ll feel better after I get my massage, ok?”

Toph didn’t take much longer to arrive, rushing all of you to hurry up alredy. You had been ready for a while by then, but internally wished Katara and Suki would take all day so you wouldn’t have to leave that room.

They didn’t, of course, and moments later you and your friends were walking out the door. The fear of running into Zuko made your heart rush, the feeling of air not getting to your lungs intensified and you could tell your body wasn’t strong enough to deal with all that at the moment.

It was when you walked past the conference room, which had the doors open, when you met his eyes. Aang and Sokka where the only two other people there, they’d said something about having a quick meeting with the council that day, taking advantage of Aang’s presence and Sokka deciding to join in as well. Zuko looked as restless as you, but you were sure he had different reasons for it. You couldn’t hold your stare for longer than two seconds, the memories of the night before where starting to come back and it hurt too much for you to handle.

In a very out of character moment, Toph held your hand and pressed it softly. You figured she’d felt your heart beat, your breathing or whatever else that could’ve given you away. It did made you feel better, knowing that at least you had her there made it all better.

—————————-

You’d never been in a spa before, that time Toph and Katara went to one in Ba Sing Se you hadn’t been able to join them, but hearing Toph say how great it was surprised you, seeing as she wasn’t the type of girl to typically like that stuff.

Feeling someone touching you and massaging you was weird at first, you felt like dough for the first few minutes, but after you started to relax and give into the sensation it gave you, your entire body started to release the tension your muscles had been holding without you noticing. Next step in the spa day were facials, you decided to get one called ‘ocean tranquility’ for the mere reason that it sounded nice, Toph of course went for the mud bath and seemed to enjoy it very much. Finally, you decided to finish your session in the warm jacuzzi.

The experience was very enjoyable to say the least, you and the girls had a lot of fun and best of all the Zuko situation hadn’t even crossed your mind the entire morning. Forgetting about him was gonna be hard, but with the way he had been acting lately, he was the one making the job each time easier for you.

When you got back to the palace it was already time for lunch. A pit in your stomach formed at the though of having to sit across the Fire lord, having to talk to him or merely be in his presence. But you weren’t gonna give him the satisfaction of running away. The four of you arrived to the table first, taking your usual sits, Aang and Sokka came next talking about something that had happened in the meeting and the last one to get there was Zuko. His body was stiff, the restless look in his eyes you had seen that morning hadn’t left his face, and for a split second you wanted to walk over to where he was sitting and hug him. But you couldn’t, and that hurt.

The two of you ate silently, leaving the conversation to everyone else. You didn’t look up once after your plate was set in front of you, terrified of bursting into tears if you did, but Zuko on the other hand glanced your way more than a few times.

“So Zuko, what time should we be ready for the gala tonight?” Katara asked, you could tell she was making an effort to not act weird around him too, which you appreciated. You didn’t want your feelings for him to not only ruin your friendship but everyone else’s as well.

“We have to be there to receive all the guests, so even though it technically starts at around eight, we all should be ready half an hour prior.” Even his voice sounded weird, a tone you hadn’t heard him use ever since the days leading up to the comet.

When all of you were done eating, you went to your chambers to get ready. A couple of maids were called to help you out with the dress and with your hair, which took around an hour and a half. You chose an elegant up-do with very thin and delicate braids on the sides, letting the back and front of the dress showcase fully. You left the makeup to Suki, she decided to make your eyes smokey and your lips a wine tone, very much like your dress.

The version of yourself you saw in the mirror was one you hadn’t seen before, you looked confident and beautiful, and it seemed like the other girls felt the same way.

“I couldn’t have imagined us like this a year ago, back when we had to bathe in rivers and were constantly covered in dirt.” Katara said walking up behind you pulling Toph and Suki with her. “We’ve come so far.”

“Katara, if you make us cry and ruin our makeup I’m never going to forgive you.” Suki joked pulling all of you into a hug.

“I love you all... so much” you said back, you knew after surviving a war that every moment of peace with your friends was invaluable.

——————————————

You and the girls walked to the ballroom where the gala would take place. Aang Sokka and Zuko were already there waiting at the entrance.

Before the four of you even got half way to where they stood Toph grabbed your hand and said “You really look stunning, Y/N”

You chuckled lightly looking over at her. “Thanks Toph, but you can’t see me”

“Oh, I don’t have to. All I need to know is that Sparky over there nearly went into cardiac arrest when he saw you, so you must look incredible.”

You turned your attention to Zuko who was already looking at you. He looked heavenly, his suit was mostly black with some red details, traditional of the Fire nation, and it seemed to match your dress perfectly. His hair was up held by the royal head piece, leaving in full sight his handsome face. Your own heartbeat acelerated, and even though you tried to stop it you knew your cheeks were blushing just like his already were.

And for that split moment you felt everything fade away, what he had done, how you had felt, all of it. You wanted to let it all go, and you were ready to drop everything you had for a single word of his. Almost as if you were in a trance, you walked up to him while your friends all greeted eachother. His amber eyes locked with yours, you could tell he was trying to look for something to say but was having a hard time, so you decided to make it easier for him. “You look great”

He smiled softly before replying “You look perfect.” He said in a low raspy voice.

Before either of you could say anything else a moving figure caught your eye behind Zuko. It was Mai, wearing a tight black dress with embroidered golden details, and as always she was beautiful. The trance broke at the sight, you wanted to keep talking to Zuko, see where things would go, but you couldn’t, not with everything that was going on.

So you took one step back first, and then another until you were able to walk away from him and over to were everyone else was talking. Zuko’s eyes were covered in a confused look, until he looked behind him, where Mai was already close enough to greet him with a hug. He hugged her back but reluctantly, as if he had wanted the same thing you did a couple seconds before.

Not long after that, Iroh asked all of you to stand in a line to receive the guests, the would come in and individually shake each of your hands following Fire nation traditions. Mai stayed behind and you were the first out of your friends to walk up to Iroh, which meant you would be right next to the Fire lord the whole time. The universe seemed to want things to be hard for you that night.

So, as planned, the guests started to arrive. They weren’t only from the Fire nation, but people from all nations, you saw green gowns from the earth nation, and also blue ones from the water tribes. The first people to approach you were high commanders, you knew them from some of the meetings they had with Zuko, then there were a lot of people with political positions and finally came the people who were just normal citizens. They were the ones who greeted you with the most warmth, thanking you over and over again for ending the war, for saving them and their families, for being the heroes of all nations.

There were still a good amount of people waiting to talk to you and your friends but a familiar face stood out to you in the middle of the crowd. “Excuse me for a second, it was wonderful to see you.” You said to the woman who stood in front of you while discretely walking away from the group and into the crowd.

Doko’s back was facing you when you put your hand on his shoulder. He was wearing a blue suit with white details and his hair was slicked back. When he turned around to see you it took him exactly half a second to pick you up from the floor and spin you around, you were glad the ballroom was filled with the sounds of people chattering because otherwise your loud laugh would’ve been heard across the entire palace.

“Woah there, stranger. You’re gonna mess up my dress.” You said trying to get him to put you back down.

“Sorry, sorry, I forgot you’re royalty now, guess you’ve gone soft on me, Y/L/N.” He said bringing you down.

“I told you I’m not royalty and I’ll show you how soft I’ve gone” you said shoving your hands to his sides knowing he had always been very ticklish.

“Don’t you dare.” He said holding your wrists and moving away from you as he accidentally bumped into someone behind him. “I’m sorry, sir”

“Idiot” you whispered laughing.

“Yeah, yeah you’re very funny.” He said back while finally letting go of you. “But jokes aside, you do look stunning.”

“Thank you, so do you. Never thought of you as the suit kind of guy.”

“What one does for old friends. You’re owe me though, I feel like a penguin.” His hands went up to his collar which he still seemed to be getting used to.

“I want you to meet my friends, come on.” You dragged him back to the line where the group stood, noticing Zuko was missing. The thought creeped in the back of your mind but you pushed it away.

“Guys, come here.” You called, glad they were done welcoming people. “I want you to meet someone. This is Doko, we were best friends when we were little back in the Northern water tribe. Doko this are Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph and Suki”

Your friend held out his hand to each of them individually as he said “It’s nice to meet you all. You’re saints for putting up with this one for this long” you punched him in the arm as a response.

“Oh, believe me, it hasn’t been an easy task.” Toph interviened immediately after, taking the opportunity to tease you.

“You know what, not going to that fight you have next week is starting to sound pretty good”

Doko and your friends seemed to get along pretty well to your relief. It warmed your heart to see the one good friend you’d had back home together with the best friends you met along the way. All of you took a sit in a table that was reserved for you. You talked about your adventures with the gaang, how you’d met them and how all of you found yourselves putting an end to the hundred year war.

“What about you, Doko? How come we didn’t meet you when we visited the Northern water tribe?” Aang asked.

“Well, I used to live there when Y/N and I were little kids. My father was a high rank bender, he was in charge of the protection of the tribe, but in one of the earlier attempts of invasion he died. That’s when my mom decided to take me and my sister to Ba Sing Se, you know, somewhere she knew we would be safe.” He bumped your side with his elbow before saying “I only found out you guys had been there days after you left, thanks for paying us a visit Y/N”

“I didn’t know you were there, none of us knew where you and your family went to after you left.” You explained. “Besides, we were kinda busy trying not to get killed, you know, usual touristy things”

As the night went on, you found yourself drowning in more laughter, the sound of upbeat music, funny anecdotes and an ethereal feeling you wanted to cling to for as long as you could. Zuko still hadn’t approached your table, which caused you to feel both relieved and heavy hearted.

At one point while Suki was laughing at something Sokka had said, she accidentally pushed his glass off the table and onto him, spilling its contents directly to his shirt.

“Oh, Sokka I’m so sorry.” She said trying to dry him up with a cloth napkin.

“Its ok, babe. You can’t even tell”

Katara looked at him disapprovingly before interviening. “Yes, you can Sokka. We still have to go up there in front of everybody for when Zuko gives his speech. You’re gonna have to change.”

“Well... there’s a problem with that.”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t bring another shirt.” Katara let out a big sigh.

“How could I know I was gonna need another one?” Sokka explained.

You were trying to think of ideas to fix the problem when one popped into your head. “Wait... Zuko always has one spare in his office in case he needs it. I think it’s black, if I’m not wrong. I’ll bring it for you, I’m sure it’ll fit perfectly.”

“You’re always saving the day, Y/N. That’s why you’re my favorite.” Sokka joked gaining a punch from Toph.

“Hey! I thought I was your favorite.”

——————————

The closer you got to Zuko’s office, the quieter it got. The palace was only dimly lit by some torches and occupied by a few guards here and there.

Once you opened the door making sure there was no one inside, you looked around the place trying to remember where Zuko had told you he kept his spare shirt. A big piece of furniture made out of a dark wood that matched everything else in the room called your attention, you opened the little doors it had only to find, amongst other things like papers and supplies, a black shirt held by a hanger. You grabbed it carefully, trying not to move anything else. When you had the shirt in hand you were about to leave the office, but a folded piece of paper caught your eye. It was the only thing on top of Zuko’s desk, which you assumed meant it was the speech he had prepared, only he must have forgotten to take it with him. You opened it just to make sure it was actually the speech and you weren’t grabbing a random piece of paper. The first lines that were written there confirmed it was. He thanked everybody for attending the gala, he talked about this new found peace all nations were enjoying now and he reassured everyone of his endless compromise to keep working towards a brighter future.

It was all the usual stuff someone would say in a speech, until your eyes were drawn further down the page. The words you read there confused you, it made no sense, all the things he’d written there made no sense to you. Before you could read any further, the sound of the door closing behind you made you jump.

“What are you doing here?” Zuko asked dryly.

You couldn’t make yourself turn around to face him, you could almost feel the tears pooling in your eyes and clouding your vision. So you stayed right where you were and simply read out loud what you had in front of you.

“I want to thank the one person who has been by my side this entire time, the only one who’s picked me up every time I’ve been close to falling, every time I’ve felt like I wasn’t fit for the job or I wasn’t good enough to lead a nation. The one who has given me unconditional advice when I’ve needed it the most, and who has been my rock throughout this entire year. Mai, I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Y/N...”

“You know what, Zuko? I realize now I wasn’t mad at you for any of the things that have happened lately, I was mad at myself, I couldn’t even look at you but not because I was angry, it was because I was ashamed. I felt like an idiot for catching feelings for someone I knew could never feel the same way about me, but that’s not your fault, you don’t owe me feelings. But this is going a little too far don’t you think? Saying that the one thing that’s kept you going all this time is a girl I haven’t even seen since last year? Who wasn’t there when you had your outbursts of rage and wanted to burn the whole place down, who you didn’t go to before every meeting to ask for advice on how to deal with people, who wasn’t there for the nights when you couldn’t sleep because of the nightmares, Spirits! Who didn’t take the entire day to take care of you when you were sick. But I guess all that meant nothing to you. Why am I not surprised?”

You finally turned around, your cheeks already damp and your heart already beating as fast as ever. He looked speechless, like a child that had been yelled at for breaking something. You’d never seen a look like that in his eyes and it almost made you want to run into his arms, but your heart was already broken enough.

He took in a deep breath before braking the silence. “You’re being unfair, Y/N.”

“Oh, I’m being unfair? You’re unbelievable”

“Don’t you have a date waiting for you outside?” He spat a little more secure this time. His words weren’t being fully processed by your brain, it was like whatever he said was covered in a layer of fog and you couldn’t make sense of it.

“You’re right, I have friends who are waiting for me out there, and I’m not wasting any more of the little time I’ve got with them for you.” You made an attempt to walk past him but he grabbed you by the wrist and held you back.

“So this is how you deal with shit? You just run away from it?” He said, his voice breaking a little bit and his breathing fast paced and uneven.

You wanted to bark something back at him, to keep fighting and let everything you’d been holding back these past few days out, scream and yell and hit him and just make him hurt as much as you were hurting, but you didn’t have the strength. “This probably wasn’t a good idea, the whole moving into a palace with basically a stranger who I’d known for a few months before hand and thinking things would just work out, and seeing as I apparently haven’t contributed at all, I don’t see the point of staying any longer. So don’t worry, you’ll have the whole place for you and your ‘rock’ as soon as possible.” You escaped his grasp and walked out the door, trying your best to pull yourself back together before re-entering the ball room.

—————————-

No one asked questions once you were back at the table, but you were less talkative the rest of the night. Before you had to walk up to join Zuko while he was giving his speech, Doko grabbed your hand and intertwined his fingers with yours, the two of you used to do it whenever you were scared or nervous about something when you were little, and it gave you the strength to get up there and listen to the words Zuko had prepared.

He said basically the same thing you’d read in the paper back at his office, excluding everything about Mai, which was a relief cause you really weren’t feeling like crying in front of a whole crowd that night.

Finally, when the gala was over and people were starting to leave, you hugged Doko one more time, promising him you’d stay in touch and see eachother way more from now on. He seemed to want to say something before leaving but decided not to.

You didn’t even say good night to the rest of your friends, discreetly walking out of the ballroom and to your room. If your dress hadn’t been so tight and uncomfortable to lay down with you probably would’ve fallen asleep in it, but after a few minutes of struggling, you finally wiggled out of it and dropped it on a chair that stood next to your bed. You picked the first night gown you could find and put it on before burying yourself under the covers. Tears didn’t take long to fall once again. That horrible feeling of not being able to fill your lungs was back and a dark heaviness covered your body.

You wanted to sleep and get rid of everything, but you couldn’t get yourself to drift off. Several hours must’ve gone by because the sound of people waking and talking outside couldn’t be heard anymore. Silence made everything sink in, what you’d read, what you’d said to Zuko, what he said back. All of it. And right when you were about to let your swollen eyes close the door opened, no previous warning. It closed right back a couple seconds later, softly and carefully. You didn’t know who it was, but you certainly had no intention of talking with anyone, so you didn’t make an attempt to move.

“I know you’re awake.” It was Zuko’s voice. You were so shocked by that you started to think it might be your mind playing games with you, but when he spoke again, you realized it wasn’t. “We need to talk, Y/N”

Tag list: @darthsokaaa @royahllty @godoftheabyss @ilovespideyyy @literally-anythin @daddystevee @annie-are-u-ok @whalerus @galacticamidala @mangoberry43 @eridanuswave @katherinethedork @littleninjablake @taeeemin @cloudyloli @itsme5362

#prince zuko #zuko #zuko x reader #zuko fanfic #zuko x you #fire lord zuko #avatar zuko #atla zuko #zuko x y/n #zuko imagine #zuko fic #atla smau #atla au #atla fandom #atla fanfic #fanfiction #zuko angst

326 notes · View notes

themoonandhersun · 4 years

Text

if jun didn’t come on zuko’s ship on accident, zuko would have had katara’s necklace for longer in book one. i would even go as far as to say that zuko would have it all the way to end of book two.

why?

because jun is the reason zuko found them.

if jun didn’t come on the ship, zuko and iroh wouldn’t have ended up at the village where they get paralyzed by nyla, jun’s animal. if jun didn’t come on the ship, and didn’t lead zuko and iroh to that village, then aang would not have had the chance to get katara’s necklace back. i believe that, even without jun & nyla, zuko would have found the gaang, but it wold have taken him longer, and he wouldn’t have found them in the village where bato was. (i googled it just to be sure—katara got her necklace back in bato of the water tribe.) (it’s also where we get this funny gem —> zuko: “just how stupid do you think i am?” sokka: “pretty stupid. run!”)

so—in short, zuko ends up having the necklace for longer. and he gets used to being around his wrist, because we, as humans, gets used to things wrapped around our wrists if its there for long enough. (he knows he’ll have to hide it sometimes, though. especially when zhao comes around and suspects him being the blue spirit. also, it’s worth saying that the blue spirit is in fact... a water tribe spirit. hm. interesting.)

and he wonders, from to time, “why am i keeping this thing?” because in this hypothetical scenario, he doesn’t know jun or encounter her, so he doesn’t know he can track the gaang with the necklace. he knows that he can’t keep it forever, though, because if he captures the avatar, then he’s sure that his water tribe girl friend will want nothing to do with him, even if it means that she doesn’t getting the necklace back. but he understands how painful it would be to lose something of his mother’s, so he keeps it anyway.

zuko figures, he’ll encounter the gaang, so he could probably give it back at some point. (since trying to get information out of katara with the necklace didn’t work. and katara might think it’s just a trick of his to get information on the avatar, so... even then—would she accept it? would she want it back?)

in book two, when he’s in the earth kingdom, separated from his uncle and starving, he might consider/think about selling the necklace around his wrist for some cash so he can feed himself. but zuko reminds himself of how he would hate to find out that an enemy sold a possession of his mother’s for money—so he doesn’t do it. even if he’s noticeably thinner and has lost muscle mass, he doesn’t do it. he’s stubborn—he can find another way to find food. (imo, it would be similar to when he almost robbed that couple, but how he stopped when he realized the woman was pregnant. there are things even book two, before-redemption zuko is not willing to do.)

also, while he’s in the earth kingdom by himself, he probably gets questions about the necklace. i mean, it’s a water tribe bethoral necklace. people in the earth kingdom most likely don’t see water tribe things a lot, so they ask questions. “is that your wife’s necklace? are you traveling to see her so you can propose? did something happen to her?”...etc etc. or maybe i’m just overthinking and they wouldn’t ask about it. but they would probably think it’s strange to see a scarred, grumpy young man traveling with a water tribe bethoral necklace around his wrist.

(zuko would not give it back to her during the chase or at any other time when they’re fighting during book two...or book one, for that matter. the necklace could get damaged that way, and it’s not he can just stop their fight just to give something back to her. nobody does that.)

then, times passes by, and... low and behold, in the crystal catacombs. he and katara make a connection and he realizes: her necklace! he can finally give it back to her now! but then he pauses, and thinks: wait, how will he give it back to her? he can’t just be like, “hey remember your mom’s necklace? here ya go!”

so when they reach a commons ground, about losing their mothers to the fire nation, that’s when he unties the necklace from around his wrist and walks over awkwardly to give it to her.

i think katara would be really shocked and she would ask, “you kept it for this long? why?” she would examine the necklace and see how it’s not damanged or anything. and this is katara we’re talking about—she might cry when she gets the necklace back. because she never thought she was gonna see it again. she thought she had lost a part of her mother forever.

and who knows? maybe she’ll give zuko a hug for returning it back to her in such good condition.

then, when zuko betrays her later on, it just adds another layer of hurt. because this boy kept her mother’s necklace for so long, and he kept it in good condition, and he gave it back to her... yet he still betrayed her. it just makes things so much more complicated in a way i don’t know how to explain.

but... when she hugs/forgives zuko at the end of the southern raiders, it adds another layer of intimacy and trust. because at that point, not only did zuko give her her mother’s necklace back, but he helped give her closure about her mother, too. he gave her back a piece of her mother and he helped her feel peace about her mother’s death, as well. i would definitely feel a strong connection to a cute boy who did both of these things for me, by the way.

of course, though, this is all hypothetical. who knows what would happen if jun didn’t end up on the ship? we will never know, but it’s fun to think about. :D

#zuko #katara #zutara #atla #i love: them #woo #the crossroads of destiny #the crystal catacombs #it’s also nice to think that maybe zuko wouldn’t betray her after giving her the necklace back #maybe #idk though #he probably would still betray her #maybe??? idk

185 notes · View notes

chitsangenthusiast · 3 years

Text

good afternoon i bring with me a (slightly rough) wip of zuko getting to see his daughter for the first time after she's born <3

(featuring some zuko teasing bc the gaang can't help it even at his daughter's birth, and sokka also getting to hold her!!)

—

She’s born in the middle of a scorching summer, under the gaze of a shining moon and on a bed covered in caribou-hare pelts.

Zuko knows when she’s arrived; he’s already crossed the length of the reception room by the time the clamor behind the separating screen abruptly cuts into a breathless silence, and his heart beats in expectation when Suki pokes her head out. She’s exhausted, she’s excited, and she’s dragging him in before he can even fathom any kind of thought.

He comes in just as the midwife finishes in clearing her nose and mouth, to reveal a tiny face and the full sound of his daughter’s fair wail.

Daughter.

Zuko stumbles.

A bubble of absolute glee spills from his mouth as he’s pushed into a chair next to the bed because, from here, he has an even better view. Poking out above her little arm is a head covered in a wet smattering of dark hair and already full eyebrows, with impossibly round cheeks showing off pouting lips and red gums while she cries. She’s loud, she’s announcing her presence, she’s so small.

Zuko chokes on an exhilarated gasp. That’s his daughter.

He reaches out, then falters. As he watches her settle into the soothing warmth of bare skin, all he wants is to fall forward to her, to tuck her into him and rest his hand on her small back to feel how she lifts the entirety of her body as he cries and breathesin her first moments. But he’s not sure who he can touch or even what he can touch on the bed, and he instead throws an absentmindedly desperate hand out to stop himself from grabbing at the furs as he works to remember how to properly take in air.

Someone grabs it—Sokka, he can tell by the calluses on his fingers—and directs it down. Instantly, instinctively, Zuko splays his fingers to cradle her head and strokes his thumb over his daughter’s ear.

His hand curls perfectly around her, and he chokes on another exhilarated sob.

“Katara—”

“She’s beautiful,” Katara immediately returns. Her eyes flit up to Zuko’s, just for a moment, before sliding back down to the baby resting on her stomach. She’s holding a tiny fist in her own hand, running tired fingers up and down a forearm, and she can’t look away either. She’s crying, Zuko realizes, tears just like his own, and she shakes out little relieved sniffles when he and Sokka quickly clasp her heaving shoulders. Katara’s head falls back to the pillows—from the exhaustion, from the relief of their touch, from those strong, healthy cries—and her hand joins Zuko’s on his daughter’s head as she lets out a breathless laugh. “Oh wow, she’s really perfect, Zuko.”

“Thank you,” he gasps out, and then no other words come. His face is a reservoir of open gratitude even when he can’t get anything else out, he knows Katara understands him when she lightly runs a thumb against his hand in response to his spasming grip on her shoulder.

Thank you.

Aang is let in shortly after, buzzing out of his body as he rushes to Katara’s side, with Azula jumping at the chance to barrel inside too. He’s been through this before with Bumi, but his hands still shake slightly as he cups her face and leans down to kiss her forehead with a long, deep inhale. Katara reaches out a free hand to hold onto him, and just smiles at the comfort of his happiness.

Her other hand is still in Zuko’s grasp. He hasn’t been able to bring himself to let go just yet, even after moving to the other side of the bed so that his good ear could better pick up her murmuring, or after her careful transfer of his daughter into his his bare arms, and now together they hold onto an exposed arm left out of the blanket.

Snatches of conversation happen around him, slight jostling occurs as everyone works on the after care, but Zuko is captivated only by the bundle in his arms. Their eyes are locked—she looks up at Zuko, and he stares right back. When Katara has to let go, he takes over to admire his daughter with his thumb, tracing it across her plump jawline, smoothing down the soft hair on her head and over her eyebrows.

Toward the end of the pregnancy, when Aang and Katara came to stay at the palace to prepare, Zuko used to sometimes stare at her. It was hard, trying to imagine what a child between them would look like, and a niggling thought that circled in the back of his mind—quietly, in a determined attempt to not let it fester too much—had him wishing, hoping that his daughter would have more of Katara in her than him. Beyond possibly gold-tinted eyes, what worth did his ancestry have to offer in the face of so much goodness from Katara’s?

(He got scolded for ruminating over this, then given an extremely long hug, and then scolded again for his incessant doting over a Katara who did not need to be doted over, much to Aang’s cackling amusement and Zuko’s embarrassed chagrin.)

But his daughter looks so much like him, and in such a breathtakingly sweet way that leaves him stunned. He can see the small flicks of her eyes moving as they roam over his face; they’re so light in color, tawny almost like how Azula’s were when she was born, and he wonders if they’ll be bright like his or darken into a strong amber like Uncle’s. She also has his nose, a wide little thing that he can’t help but bop a finger against, and her cheeks may be big but Zuko thinks she has his chin.

“It’s crazy how alert she already is,” Aang says, smiling as he peeks down at her across the bed. “I hope her cries get louder though, she needs those firebender lungs so she can shout like you can, Zuko.”

“Don’t do that to me,” Azula instantly scoffs, taking her place next to her brother, then smirks at his lukewarm glare. “I can only handle one loudmouth at a time, and Zuzu is plenty already.”

“Hey—”

Sokka snorts, and responds faster than Zuko can continue. “Well, when she’s right, she’s right.”

Suki overtakes their snickering with a bright burst of laughter, and his daughter’s head rolls toward the noise. “I thought blessings for babies by airbenders were supposed to be good-natured?”

“Oh, sure,” Aang laughs as he takes a cool cloth from her to wipe at Katara’s neck. “She will have a loving heart, an inquisitive mind, and a steadfast head on her shoulders that will push her through anything she sets herself to achieve. But I also hope she gets a set of good strong lungs, just so Zuko can see what we’ve put up with over the years.”

“Can you all be nice to me for five seconds,” Zuko grumps lightly. “I’m literally holding my child right now.”

“I think Aang’s gonna be right too,” Sokka happily jumps back in, dropping a heavy hand on Zuko’s shoulder as he leans over him to coo into her space. “She’s already got his frown.”

“Sokka!” Katara chides, but her laughter is still the loudest above everyone else’s at the falsely disgruntled scowl they receive—which is indeed replicated perfectly on that little face. “You know you can’t say things like that, or she’s going to end up looking like you!”

Sokka just chuckles, and the happy sound thrums through Zuko’s nerves. He’s pulled back already, giving him room to curl around his daughter like she’ll be able to protect him from the teasing—and Zuko forcibly swallows down the heavy desire to pull him back in.

“If that happens, it’ll only be because we look like, Katara.”

“Alright, move over punks!” Toph is as gleefully brash as ever when she steps into room with Lin on her hip and Iroh following close behind her, but Zuko can see the excitement lighting up her face as she beelines over. “Stop hogging the kid!”

Suki makes quick work to take Lin from her while Aang moves to pull Bumi from Iroh’s arms, and the four of them maneuver themselves onto the bed around Katara. She grouses lightly, but still looks incredibly contented to now have her son within arm’s reach. Iroh moves to take up residence on Zuko’s free side next to Sokka, and rests his hand on Zuko’s other shoulder.

“Oh, nephew,” he breathes out in deep admiration, and Zuko can feel his elation all the way down to his bones. “What a remarkable little beauty you have there.”

“Do you want to hold her?” he asks, after Iroh has showered Katara with a slew of his own sincere appreciation. Katara shies a little at the praise, but her smile remains firm even as her eyes droop slightly, and Zuko has a feeling Aang may soon kick them all out into another room to let her sleep.

Iroh’s steady joy though is infectious, and the room alights with an even more blanketing warmth from it. He reaches out eagerly to gingerly take her into his arms, and his eyes shine as he coos down at his granddaughter.

“Welcome to the world, little one,” Iroh hums, “There are great things in store for you here, just you wait and see.”

Azula gets to hold her next. Not for as long as their uncle, too nervous to hold something so tiny yet also noticeably too unwilling to give her up, and Zuko feels his eyes start to prick as sheer happiness crashes over him at the sight.

Sokka is the third one, composure fully cracked and delighted tears flowing as he wetly hiccups between stunned laughter.

“What an awesome little kid,” he says, his watery grin is as wide as his eyes. He then carefully cradles one of her hands into his palm, and welcomes her with a gentle handshake.

“Hello, Izumi,” he murmurs, and Zuko’s heart sings. “It’s so good to finally see you.”

Zuko doesn’t have anything to say in response, burstingly overwhelmed.

Instead, he quietly marvels at how well Izumi fits into his arms as he brushes a finger over one of her eyebrows. He glances up, to commit to memory the full picture of them together—their eyes catch, and his breath hitches at the deep adoration he spies in those blue eyes.

Sokka shakes himself a beat later, and looks back down at Izumi with a blazing grin.

“Man, you really do look just like your dad, don’t you, little princess?”

She does, but she undeniably has pieces of Katara in her too. Her complexion is slightly darker, and there’s already a slight wave to her hair that Zuko idly traces in amazement. He’s somewhat certain she has Katara’s lips too, and she hasn’t smiled yet but the thought that she could also end up with that same spirited smile makes his chest ache in private joy. It’s thrilling, the notion that even when his friend isn’t around, Zuko will still be able to see her signature grin light up the Fire Nation.

Zuko glances back up while Sokka continues to look down at his daughter.

He allows himself a moment to stare.

And carefully, very carefully, he thinks about how Katara and Sokka have the same smile.

#dadka #this is a planned scene of a twoshot that i'm hoping to get up soon bc i just want it done lol #(that i've......been workin on since octobor riprippp)#((also sorry for completely dropping the ball on everything else i had promised for today! i uhhhhh did not get them done lmao rip))#did i disappear so i could crunch this out before i go antiquing? yes lmao #did i queue a bunch of dad zukka and izumi art for today? also yes lol #welcome to my birthday we're celebrating dad zukka and izumi in this house today!!!!#wipwed #wip wednesday #own post #my writing #long #long post

42 notes · View notes

reinerispretty · 4 years

Text

rotations. (zuko x f!reader) pt20

HELLO and thank you for reading!!! i appreciate you very very much :D

pt1

pt19

pt21

It was exhausting to put on a beaming smile and cheerful attitude to interact with others, but (Y/N) had learned at a very young age that first impressions were everything. If the leaders of other nations liked her, their chances of working together with the Fire Nation to rebuild the world were doubled.

(Y/N) was having a miserable time. The night that was supposed to be the biggest celebration in over a century was now soiled. She had spent so hard working on it and making sure that everything was absolutely perfect, and now she wasn’t even enjoying herself.

She sat at the large rectangular table before the crowd. Zuko was to her left, Katara to her right. On Zuko’s other side sat Mai. The two were engaged in casual conversation that (Y/N) was trying her best to drown out. It was hard to maintain a pleasant expression on her face when her heart had been broken just hours ago, but she was managing. The purpose of this night was more than a celebration after all, it was a political step forward in the right direction and (Y/N) wouldn’t let her sour mood get in the way of that.

Still, Katara’s constant worried looks weren’t helping her mood either. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Katara whispered. (Y/N) nodded and gave her a tight smile.

“Just great,” She said, picking at her food with her chopsticks. She had lost all appetite for the night. She couldn’t wait until she could go to her room and break down in tears, or set something on fire, or both. But she had a long night ahead of her.

After everyone ate, she made her way through the crowd, exchanging pleasantries with everyone she passed. It was exhausting to put on a beaming smile and cheerful attitude to interact with others, but (Y/N) had learned at a very young age that first impressions were everything. If the leaders of other nations liked her, their chances of working together with the Fire Nation to rebuild the world were doubled.

The moon was high by the time the crowd dispersed, leaving only (Y/N), her friends, Zuko, and Mai. Zuko walked up to (Y/N) with Mai in tow. She put on her best smile, but it faltered as she saw their hands intertwined. “I’m going to go to Mai’s house for a little while.”

She nodded, crossing her arms. “Don’t forget you have a reparations meeting in the morning.” Zuko smiled.

“I know, I know.” He said goodbye to his friends and the couple walked out of the palace gates.

(Y/N) turned around to find her friends solemnly staring at her. “I can show you guys to your rooms,” She said softly, before leading them into the palace. Their rooms were on the same hall as hers, and she let them know this and said that if they needed anything, to just knock on her door.

Sokka paused with his hand on the doorknob to his room. His blue eyes met (Y/N’s) and he gave her a small smile. “You did a really great job today, (Y/N).” He hugged her tightly and (Y/N) tried her hardest to suppress the tears that were forming in her eyes.

“Thanks, Sokka,” she said as they parted. Hurriedly, so no one would see her cry, she walked to her room and slammed the door shut behind her. Wringing her hands together, she shook them out and lifted her head up to the ceiling, furiously blinking them so the tears wouldn’t fall out. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t cry over Zuko anymore and while she felt her resolve slowly breaking, she was trying to let this moment pass.

(Y/N) changed out of her clothes and into a silk pajama set. She brushed out her hair and scrubbed her nails clean to distract herself. She almost felt fine again until she heard a knock on her door.

“Come in,” She called, and Katara walked in quietly. The Water Tribe girl didn’t even have to say anything, but (Y/N) saw the sympathy in her eyes. She turned her head away quickly so Katara wouldn’t see the tears that flowed freely down her cheeks.

“Oh, (Y/N),” Katara sighed, sitting next to her friend. She wrapped her arms around (Y/N) and held her close.

“I don’t even know why I’m crying,” (Y/N) said, wiping furiously at her eyes. “It’s not like he owes me anything. I should’ve known that just because we were betrothed as kids doesn’t mean anything now.” She sniffled loudly. “I shouldn’t be crying. I should be happy because we’re friends again.”

“Whatever you’re feeling is how you should be feeling,” Katara said. “You’re crying because you’re hurt, (Y/N), and that’s okay. Don’t try to minimize your emotions.”

“I just feel so stupid and ridiculous, Katara. And it makes me mad that I’m crying over him again.”

“(Y/N), you have the biggest heart out of everyone I’ve met. You might make yourself seem rough on the outside, but on the inside you’re just as soft as unfried dough. You care a lot about Zuko, but that doesn’t make you stupid or ridiculous. The fact you held it together for as long as you did just shows how strong you are. And, for the record, we were all surprised when they came out together.”

“Really?” Katara nodded.

“Yeah! Anyone with a brain can see how good you guys are together. If Zuko doesn’t see that, it’s his loss.” (Y/N) smiled softly at her friend. Her words didn’t completely convince her, but they did make her feel a lot better about the situation. She wrapped her arms around Katara’s middle and hugged her.

“Thank you, Katara. I don’t know what I would do without you.” Katara squeezed her tightly.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, either.” They pulled away from the hug, both wearing a smile on their faces. “Want me to stay with you tonight?”

“Yes, please,” (Y/N) sighed. “I’m going to need someone to listen to me analyze every interaction between Zuko and I.” Katara laughed, which in turn made (Y/N) laugh too.

---

(Y/N) woke up late the next morning. The night’s events had completely exhausted her, so she figured she deserved a day to sleep in. She didn’t wake up until the sun was high in the sky, and didn’t leave her room until much later than that. She searched all over the palace for her friends and eventually found them all sitting under the big tree beside the turtle duck pond.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Toph said. The small girl lay in the grass, her eyes closed as she pointed her face toward the sun.

“Really, it’s good afternoon,” Aang grinned. (Y/N) chuckled.

“A long day of planning wiped me out.”

“You did an amazing job, (Y/N),” Zuko said. He was propped up against the big tree. His eyes looked up at her as if he was expecting her to sit beside him, but instead she chose to sit next to Katara and Sokka.

“Everything alright?” Sokka asked. “Your eyes are kind of puffy.” Katara elbowed him in the ribs. “What? What’d I say?”

“I’m just tired, Sokka.” To emphasize this, she let out a yawn.

“I can ask the servants to get you tea,” Zuko said. “Maybe some green tea to help you wake up?”

“That won’t be necessary,” (Y/N) said. Zuko was taken aback at how she refused to look at him when she spoke.

An awkward silence fell over the group, but it was quickly broken by Katara. “I can’t believe you both grew up here. It’s so lavish!”

“Sometimes I forget about it too,” (Y/N) admitted. “Things were a lot different the last time I was here. You won’t believe how many portraits of Ozai we had to take down. The man only got more vain as the years went on.”

The group giggled before diving into a conversation about their upcoming plans for the future of the world. Zuko and (Y/N) planned on removing the Fire Nation colonies from the Earth Kingdom, to keep the nations separate like they were before. It was named the Harmony Restoration Movement and had been something that Zuko and other government officials had the task of coming up with.

Zuko and (Y/N) also had the tough job of handling those in the government who remained loyal to Ozai. Having a government that sided with hate and imperialism would not do well with the plans they had for the future.

Their talks ended as the sun began to set, which signaled the departure of their friends. They all walked together to Appa and said their goodbyes. (Y/N) hugged each of her friends tightly and leapt onto Appa and hugged Momo before they departed. She and Zuko watched sadly as their friends flew away.

“I really like all of them,” Zuko said. “But it’s also nice when it’s just you and me.” (Y/N) gave a grunt in response and walked back into the palace.

“I’ll be taking dinner in my room tonight, please,” She told one of the servants.

---

Few months had passed since Zuko’s coronation and much had changed. The Harmony Restoration Movement was an effort to remove the Fire Nation colonials from the Earth Kingdom that was heavily supported by the Earth King and his men, but not so much from Fire Nation officials. (Y/N) and Zuko had to take their time figuring out which of Zuko’s cabinet members were still loyalists to Ozai’s cause and relieve them of their duties. It resulted in many threats of harmful action, but after surviving war, (Y/N) found that there was little she feared now.

After a particularly long meeting between her and Zuko, (Y/N) walked down the lantern-lit halls of the palace. Ever since he had started dating Mai again, (Y/N) had chosen to distance herself from him. While she was happy that he was happy, she found it far too painful to watch the two be together, and she did not want to intrude on their relationship by any means. So, she decided to take a break from Zuko. Their friendship had suffered because of it, but (Y/N) figured that it was best for right now. She still remained his closest confidant and his trusted advisor. It hurt to be so close to Zuko yet feel so far away, but she was no stranger to pain.

She rounded the corner to the hallway that led to her room and hummed an old Fire Nation lullaby as she approached her door. Entering her room, she readied herself for bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the soft, fluffy pillows.

When (Y/N) awoke, it was not to the rising sun shining through her windows, but rather the sound of glass breaking. Confusedly, she blinked the sleep from her eyes and peered around the room. It was hard for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. “Zuko?” She called out.

She leaned over in her bed to light the lantern on the nightstand and immediately felt a strong hand twist itself into her hair. She shouted in pain, contorting herself to kick at whoever was grabbing her. Her feet found purchase on the person’s chest and kicked them back into the wall. (Y/N) freed herself and quickly lit all of the lanterns in her room with firebending.

There, on the other side of her bed, stood a masked assailant wearing all black. In each of their hands was a sharp dagger that glinted in the firelight. (Y/N’s) eyes widened in fear. “Who are you?” She demanded.

“I was sent here to punish you for your crimes against the Fire Nation,” The assassin said. (Y/N) furrowed her brows.

“Crimes? What crimes?” One of the daggers was flung at her head. She had just enough time to dodge it before it sank into the wall beside her. She felt the anger rise in her. “Guards!” She shouted before blasting fireballs at the person. They dodged them with ease, flipping out of the way of her attacks.

The assassin darted to the window to escape, but (Y/N) was just as quick. She ran across the room and launched herself at them, tackling them to the ground. The two rolled around the floor, kicking and punching at each other. (Y/N) hissed as her arm was cut by the sharp dagger. Eventually, the assassin over powered her and sat on top of her. (Y/N) used every bit of strength she had in her to hold onto their arms and prevent the dagger from piercing through her chest. Just as she was about to lose her grip, a blast of fire knocked the assailant off of her.

(Y/N) turned to see Zuko standing in the door. A few seconds later, guards flooded in after him and apprehended the person who had tried to assassinate her. Zuko ran to her side as she stood. “Are you okay?” He asked urgently. She shook her head and removed her hand from the cut on her arm. It bled heavily, droplets of blood dotting the hardwood floors of her bedroom.

Zuko took off his shirt and ripped it down the middle to use as a makeshift bandage. He tied it tightly around her wound and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Come on, I’ll take you the the physician.” He turned to the guards.��“Throw them into prison. I don’t want them to ever see the light of day again.”

---

Tag List!

@afxndommess , @xapham , @thanosismybitxh , @outerxorbit , @thenerdiverse , @himawarichild , @welovediaaxx , @justahockeylover , @loganrwebb , @awesomelupe , @cirtruss , @eridanuswave , @aroyaldarknessblr , @theinfernalmemes , @akariblue , @julietvsanchez05 , @harryisthesunshine , @prospekt-42 , @kindxrjcy , @lunariasilver , @lovepsychicbitch , @mcallmestiles , @simply-stanning , @helbreajs , @shephard17895 , @astroninaaa , @leiaofthestars , @miskwaadesiwag , @art-flirt , @musicalkeys , @aangsty-sokkasm , @we-lucky-few , @vgirl-10123 , @ella-solei , @davnwillcome , @valiantprincessthea , @errrrca , @hahaimstoopid , @kamahriii , @michelletc , @unseasoned-emo-bitch , @maybe-a-fangurl , @niramoon , @hyluas , @jvghead-jones-iii , @youneedmemanidonotneedyou , @luleck , @toasted-crispy-emo27 ,

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #zuko x reader #sokka x reader #aang x reader #katara #toph #sokka #zuko #suki #aang #iroh #azula #momo #appa #the last airbender #writing #fanfiction

744 notes · View notes