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overtail · 2 months

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Hey!! Loved your last Zuko smut it was so great! Could you please make another smut where zuko joins gaang but he isn’t fully trusted yet by everyone (except from reader who saw good in him from the beginning) so every night one person keeps an eye on him and when it was reader’s turn thing turned out spicy

I would like female reader who is flirty and teasing because she alert always found him attractive

It’s okay if you don’t want to write this I just saw you asked for requests

Thank you in advance<3

THANK U FOR REQUESTING MUAH MUAH

anyways id love to do that for you hehe :3

sorry if it took a while i was sick when i got the request 😔

got silly while writing this

...

I know you - Zuko x Reader🔞

Summary: She was from the fire nation, he was the heir of it. She grew up thrown to the side, not ever accepting her true powers. When her and the Gaang take in Zuko so he can teach Aang firebending, she trusts him more than the others.

Trigger Warning: NSFW, flirting, arguing, slight bottom Zuko, Semi-public sex, both reader and zuko are awkward turtle ducks

Reader Info: Firebender who can't bend, Female intended, headstrong, flirty

...

"I really don't want to supervise Zuko tonight." Sokka grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Ever since Zuko saved Aang and his friends from 'Combustion Man' or better known as 'Sparky Sparky Boom Man', nobody trusted him to sleep around them without supervision. Well, except (Y/N), but they thought she had some bias since he was fire nation.

Nobody had a single drop of respect for him. Even though he insisted that he, 'was good now', everyone believed he was a spy.

But nobody could blame them.

"I need my beauty sleep." Sokka mimicked a beauty guru as his hands framed his face. "The ladies appreciate a pretty boy."

Katara groaned, rolling her eyes. "It's your turn, Sokka." She crossed her arms, pursing her lips at him. "No one else is gonna-"

"I'll do it!" A voice quickly interrupted. Everyone turned to look at (Y/N), who was standing stiffly. She smiled awkwardly. She pinched at the hem of her pants, stepping forward. "I don't mind doing it.."

Sokka crossed his arms, raising a brow at (Y/N). Everyone was aware of the little 'crush' she had on Zuko. I mean, he was cute, he was angsty, and he was strong. Extremely short, but strong. She always took the chance to tease him.

"I mean, if you insist." Sokka walked away towards his tent, sighing softly in happiness. Rest was one of his most appreciated things in life - behind stuffing his face in food. Maybe it was because he liked the feeling of waking up in the morning, or the interesting dreams he had at night.

No one knew.

"Thanks, Sokka!" She said with a smile waving goodbye to him. "I-I mean, I'll do the job.."

As everyone headed off to their respective sleeping spots, (Y/N) listened to the quiet chirping of the crickets, looking up at the night sky as the stars glimmered. She considered whether or not she should g into Zuko's tent to check up on him (more like poke fun at him.)

While she ended an ear to the sound of the crackling flames coming from. the vampire, she heard the sound of shuffling coming from her left. (Y/N) glanced to the side, seeing Zuko climbing out from the flaps of his tent.

"Oh. Hi." He said awkwardly, holding his hand up in place of a wave. "What are you doing out here?" He questioned, wondering where Sokka was. Zuko was aware of the rotation for their watch party; Aang, Katara, Sokka, and then (Y/N). Toph didn't have the responsibility of watching Zuko since her feet were still injured from when he jumpscared him that night.

"Watching you." (Y/N) tried to play it cool, but a pool of desire filled her heart as she watched Zuko's dark hair fall in front of his amber eyes. He looked so pretty as the firelight shone on his pale skin. She started to grow pink under his gaze.

"Isn't it Sokka's turn?" Zuko stretched, his shirt lifting up to expose his stomach. (Y/N)'s eyes widened at the sight.

"Yeah, but he begged me to take his turn," She lied, rubbing the back of her neck. "he's awfully tired."

Zuko nodded. He began to walk over to the log (Y/N) was sat on. (Y/N) watched as he sat next to her, his pale fingers grazing the hard bark of the seat. It was extremely cold in the area, especially since they were in a semi-cave. After the failed invasion at the palace, they had begun to stay at the western air temple. The infrastructure was odd - upside building lining the roofs of the cave.

"I'm sure you won't mind hangin' out with me." She elbowed him, smirking. "Us being fire nation and all."

Zuko turned to look at her, a brown raised in confusion. "You're from the fire nation?" He asked, tilting his head. It was as if he was inspecting her. "You don't seem like it."

(Y/N) shrugged, glancing up at him. "Yeah. I mean, my family was banished when I was pretty young. But I'm still fire nation." She sighed, resting her chin on her hand, Her elbow dug into the skin of her knee, but she didn't mind. "Do you know Gender Jin?" She asked.

With a nod, Zuko said, "Yeah, why?"

Genera. Jin had been banished from the fire nation twelve years ago, whe Zuko was four. He had committed treason against Azulon, Zuko's grandfather, for having a child with a waterbender. Apparently, he was also accused of planning attacks on the fire nation with the northern water tribe during this time. It was never confirmed, but the speculation was brought up a whole lot.

"That's my Dad." (Y/N) said, sighing softly, Zuko let out a small 'oh', surprised at this.

"Are you-"

"The infamous forbidden child? Yep. Yes-sir-ee." (Y/N) interjected. She already knew what he was going to say. The word was passed around almost the whole world when it happened, since the fire nations grasp infiltrated every nation in some manner. She knew what her name was. She knew what people thought of her.

"The rumors of me being a firebender and a water bender aren't true." Zuko looked at her, surprised that she knew this. "I'm just a plain ole' firebender."

There was an awkward silence between the two. There was not much to say, at least off the top of their heads.

(Y/N) perked up, looking over at Zuko. "Do you think you could teach me some tricks?" She said excitedly. Zuko was caught of guard by this.

"Tricks? What do you mean?" He asked, wanting her to elaborate. He was looking for practice with a firebender lately, so this might be fun.

"Like, could you teach me?" (Y/N) looked away with an embarrassed face. Her father never told her firebending; he wanted her to live a normal life as a kid.

"You mean you don't know anything?" Zuko laughed in disbelief. "Anything at all?"

"Yeah.." (Y/N) grumbled, pursing her lips slightly. "I'm ashamed of it - I can admit it. But I wouldn't mind if you taught me some things." She wiggled her brows, smirking slightly as she glanced at him. Zuko flattened his lips.

"I mean, I don't have much to do." Zuko pushed off of the seat, leaning forward and standing up fully. He glanced down at (Y/N). He reached his hand out, offering it to her. "Come on."

...

They walked into a small clearing, the cold night wind blowing their hair back and forth. They had climbed above the cliff the western air temple hung from, where a large valley rested.

Zuko had removed the robe that hung over his clothes. His arms were exposed, small goosebumps lining his arms.

(Y/N)'s eyes graced his body, her face growing red from both the cold air and his body.

"Already undressing?" She teased, crossing her arms and grinning. "Take me out to dinner first."

Zuko glanced over to her, a frown appearing on his face. "W-what?" He said, shifting uncomfortably.

"I mean, I get that I'm the prettiest girl here - no offense to Katara." (Y/N) walked over, smirking. "but you barely know me Prince Zuko." She poked him on the chest jokingly. (Y/N) leaned on her legs her hip popping out.

Zuko huffed out a fiery breath (no pun intended), looking to the side. "Do you want to learn or not?"

(Y/N)'s eyes widened. She stepped back, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, yeah." She shook her arms nervously, stepping back and getting into a fighting stance.

"Fire bending is all about- what are you doing?" Zuko stopped mid sentence, looking at (Y/N).

"Uhm, getting into a stance?" She said awkwardly, looking to the ground.

"No, no. You're to open." Zuko stepped forward. He grabbed her wrists, pulling them down in front of her chest. "You're leaving your body open to hits." He walked behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

She shivered, the feeling of his fingers gracing her skin. (Y/N) leaned into the touch, his palms touching the lower part of her shoulders. "You opponents have the opportunity to knock you to the ground." Zuko placed his right foot on the inside of her legs. The toe of his shoe pressed against the heel of her foot, pushing it slightly.

"You want to be low.." He whispered into her neck, pushing her shoulders down so she was more level to the ground.

Was he doing this on purpose? (Y/N)'s heartbeat was audible in her ears, but she wasn't the only one who's blood was pumping from this interaction.

As she moved down her backside rubbed against Zuko's crotch lightly. He let out a small gasp, his eye twitching at the feeling.

(Y/N) smirked at the sound, realizing the affect she had on Zuko. What could she do with this? A lonely teenage boy? She was sure he wouldn't mind.

"Ope, sorry Zuko." She said slyly. She bent her knees even more, her ass pushing onto Zuko's growing erection.

Zuko shifted back uncomfortably, their contact breaking.

(Y/N) turned around, standing up fully. "Oh c'mon Zuko, i need you to show me how to do this." She smirked, her foot digging into the grass.

"I know what you're doing." Zuko said, his face growing red under the pale moonlight. His eyes scanned her, and unimpressed looked overcoming him.

"What am I doing?" She teased, a finger pressing onto Zuko's chest. "Tell me."

Zuko's face held a look of frustration. His eyes met hers, his eyebrows furrowing together. There was a hot tension between the two of them, healing the goosebumps on their skin from the cold night air.

The digit placed on his chest soon turned into (Y/N)'s entire hand. She took a step closer to him, causing Zuko to let out a shaky breath.

Even with her confidant pseudo, (Y/N)'s stomach was filled with a nervous sickness. She had no idea what she was doing - letting her desire lead her.

"You're trying to turn me on." Zuko muttered, keeping his voice low.

"It's working though, isn't it?" (Y/N) barked back.

Zuko's face flushed slightly, clearly caught off guard by your boldness. "I assure you, that wasn't my intention. Now if you'll excuse me..."

"No. Zuko, come on.." She said, a shaky breath huffing from my red nose. "Were so alike."

Zuko hesitated for a moment, his gaze flickering between you and the ground. "How so?"

"Were both refugees from a country that thrived on evil." Her arm traveled from his chest to his arm. (Y/N) watched as he flinched slightly. Her eyes made contact with his. "And you know what Sokka says about us behind our backs."

Zuko swallowed hard, his heart racing as he felt your touch. He knew what Sokka thought of them - that they were both damaged goods from a twisted world. Despite the danger and uncertainty, there was something undeniably compelling about this connection.

"I like you Zuko." She said, smiling softly. Her seductive shell cracked, shower her sweetness hidden inside.

Zuko looked into her eyes, feeling a familiar pain in his heart. Here was someone else who knew what it was like to be an outcast, to carry the burden of a nation's sins. "I like you too," he whispered, his voice barely audible.

"I trust you, too." She sighed, squeezing his arm gently. "They didn't trust me either at first."

Zuko's heart skipped a beat at her words. Trust was a rare and precious thing in their world, where betrayal lurked around every corner. But she was offering it to him freely, without judgment or fear. "Thank you," he breathed out softly.

She leaned forward, placing a soft peck on Zuko's lips. A warm feeling flooded through their bodies, the world around them feeling almost unrecognizable as they sat in the moment.

Zuko froze for a moment, shocked by the unexpected kiss. But as he felt her lips on his, he found himself responding, leaning in to deepen the kiss. The warmth spread through him, filling the cold void that had been there for so long.

She grabbed his face, bringing him down to kiss Zuko deeply. (Y/N) let out a huff from her nose, letting her fingers comb through Zuko's dark hair.

Zuko's hands found their way to her waist, pulling (Y/N) closer as he kissed her back with all the pent-up longing and desire that had been building inside him for so long.

As the kiss deepened, Zuko felt a fire ignite within him, burning away the coldness and isolation that had defined his life for so long. He wrapped his arms around (Y/N), pulling her closer still as he explored her mouth with his tongue, tasting her sweetness.

As she broke away from the kiss, their breaths mingled in the air between them. Zuko felt his heart racing, a wild and unfamiliar sensation.

Zuko looked into her eyes, seeing a reflection of his own turmoil and desire. He couldn't believe what was happening, but he didn't want it to stop. His hands roamed down her back, pulling her even closer as he whispered, "I need you."

"Show me." She whispered, leaning up to kiss him again.

Zuko dragged her onto the grass with him, never breaking the kiss.

Zuko pulled her onto his lap, cradling her body against his as he deepened the kiss once more. His hands trailed down (Y/N)'s sides, pushing up her shirt to reveal her soft skin beneath.

Feeling emboldened by her invitation and his own burning need, Zuko slid his hands underneath her shirt, tracing circles on her bare back. His lips moved hungrily against hers as he lost himself in the sensation of her skin against his fingertips.

Zuko's hands continued their exploration, moving lower to grasp her hips as he pulled her even closer. He could feel the heat between her legs, and it fueled his desire even more.

With a groan, Zuko slipped his hand beneath her shorts, feeling the softness of her thighs and the wetness between them. He couldn't believe how much he wanted her, how badly he needed to be inside (Y/N).

"Shit, Zuko.." She said between heated kisses, fingers pulling at his soft hair.

Zuko growled against her lips as he continued to touch her, his other hand sliding up (Y/N)'s leg to knead at her ass cheek. He could feel himself growing hard against her leg and he knew he had to have her soon.

"This isn't how I expected this night to go." She played with Zuko, his lips connecting with the soft skin of her neck.

Zuko chuckled breathlessly, his lips trailing down her neck to nibble at her collarbone. "Neither did I," he admitted, his voice husky with desire.

"Is this how you practice back home?" (Y/N) said, her feet digging in the dirt behind Zuko.

Zuko laughed softly against her skin. "No," he replied, his voice still rough with lust. "But I think I'd like to make it a regular practice here."

(Y/N) moaned slightly when Zuko's hips bucked into hers. "Ill watch over you more often then."

Zuko's eyes darkened with desire as he heard her words, and he couldn't resist bucking his hips against hers a little harder. "I'd like that," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

As she pulled back a little, Zuko took the opportunity to stand up, his hands sliding up her back to grip your shoulders. He looked down at her with an intense gaze, his eyes full of the burning passion that had overtaken him. "Take me to your bed,"

"We can't. We'll wake the others." She smirked, grabbing onto Zuko's wrist.

A growl rumbled in Zuko's chest at the reminder of their surroundings. But he knew she was right. Reluctantly, he nodded. "Then we'll make do with this," he said, reaching down to scoop (Y/N) up in his arms.

Zuko's heart was racing as he carried you deep into the nearby forest, away from the edge of the cliff. "To a quiet spot," he replied, his voice low and gravelly with desire. "A place where we can be even more alone."

He came to a small clearing where the trees thinned out, revealing a bed of soft moss and leaves. Gently, he lowered (Y/N) down onto it, his hands lingering on her hips for a moment before he joined her, pressing his body against hers.

(Y/N) pulled down her shorts and underwear, the cold hair hitting her exposed sex.

"Just get on with it, Zuko." She groaned, rolling her eyes.

Zuko chuckled softly against your lips before pulling back slightly to give you a teasing grin. "Always so impatient," he teased as he slowly unbuttoned his pants, sliding down his pants along with his boxers. He sprang free, a bead of pre-cum on his tip.

"Spirits.." She whispered at the sight of him, how he was throbbing at the sight of her.

Zuko's gaze locked onto yours as he positioned himself between her legs, his hard length rubbing against her slick entrance. "You ready for me?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You tell me."

With a groan, Zuko pushed forward, slowly entering (Y/N). Her tight heat enveloped him, and he fought the urge to slam all the way inside. Instead, he began to move in and out of her slowly, enjoying the sensation of being joined with her.

(Y/N)'s hands found their way to his chest, and she leaned into him, moaning softly. The feeling of being filled by him was indescribable, and as he picked up speed, driving deeper inside her with each thrust, she felt herself getting closer to the edge.

She could feel Zuko's muscles tensing as he neared his climax, his thrusts becoming more erratic and forceful. His other hand found its way to her clit, massaging it gently as he continued to pound into her. "I'm close."

"Already?" She teased, trying to maintain a sarcastic demeaner as she let out erratic moans.

With a chuckle, Zuko leaned down to kiss her again as he pulled almost all the way out of her before slamming back in. "You like that?" he asked breathlessly.

She screamed, her nails scratching at Zuko's back until white marks appeared - lighter than his skin.

Feeling her nails dig into his skin, Zuko lost control completely. With a primal growl, he pushed her down onto the ground and continued to pound into her, taking what he wanted with no regard for her comfort or pleasure.

He was like a rabid animal, like this was the thing he needed to live.

Her screams of pleasure and pain echoed through the forest as Zuko continued to take her roughly, losing himself in the sensation of being inside her. He could feel his release building, and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

"Zuko!" She clenched around him, being pulled over the edge as she shook. Her orgasm washed over her, (Y/N)'s eyes clenching tightly.

Feeling her walls clenching around him, Zuko let out a guttural moan as he emptied himself inside her. His thrusts became erratic and forceful, his body shaking with the intensity of his orgasm.

Finally, Zuko's movements slowed down, and he collapsed beside her, panting heavily. His heartbeat slowly returned to normal as he nuzzled into her neck, still inside her. "That was... intense," he whispered against her skin.

"Ya think?" Her chest rose up and down as she still huffed. (Y/N) tried to catch her breath, but she was sweating from the intensity.

Zuko chuckled softly, feeling his cock twitch inside her. "I think," he said with a smirk. After a few moments, he pulled out of her and rolled onto his side, still panting heavily. "So... how do you feel?"

(Y/N) faked a deep thought for a moment, looking away from him. "Eh. It was fine." She smirked at him, causing Zuko to roll his eyes.

"So.. you were scratching at my back because you hated it so much?" He played, kissing her neck softly.

"For sure." She sighed, playing with his hair.

The two teens lay there, panting heavily as the moonlight illuminated their skin. Their bodies were tangled but not in a hurry to separate. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, their need for each other overruled everything. They could return in the morning, nobody would notice - right?

...

#avatar the last airbender #fandom #fanfic #smut #zuko x reader #atla zuko #prince zuko #zuko #training

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muffinlance · 2 years

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Sokka is captured aboard Zuko's ship. At some point during Tea & Interrogation with Iroh and Zuko, he lets slip that he's the son of Chief Hakoda.

“Chief Hakoda?” the Prince of the Kill It With Fire Nation repeats, like his brain is as stupid as his face. Or like he just realized he’s taken a high-value hostage, redeemable for one (1) ransom against an enemy leader.

“Did I say Chief Hakoda?” Sokka laughs, nervously. “I meant, ah—”

“Shut up, peasant,” the prince shouts. And then sort of… chokes on his own words, getting redder and redder.

---

“Perhaps a break, Prince Zuko?” says Uncle, like this is… like this is the tea-time social he’s set the table for.

Zuko is in the hallway with the door slammed behind him before he can think. Thinking. Thinking is a thing he needs to do, and Uncle’s proverbs only ever leave his thoughts feeling twisted around, and—

And that is not a peasant that sacrificed himself, to give the Avatar a chance to flee. That’s a fellow prince, or whatever the Water Tribe would call him.

---

“So,” Sokka says, spinning the teacup between his cuffed hands contemplatively. “How much poison would you say is in here? And what kind?”

The old man is sputtering indignantly, but Sokka is very seriously considering taking his first sip. If it’s laced with something to loosen his tongue, well, can’t get much worse there. It’s not like he knows where his dad is. Or anything useful. Certainly not more useful than handing the Fire Nation the son of their fleet’s leader. And if it’s something deadly, well...

He doesn’t know what his dad would do or give to get him back. But it wouldn’t be good, for the war or the world or their tribe.

He figured he’d die, when he’d shouted at Katara to go, take him and go. He hadn’t realized how much worse this could get. Was getting. Because the son and heir of Fire Lord Burn Them All was out in the hallway, thinking.

---

Zuko thinks. About what his own father would do, if he were to receive a ransom letter. The disappointment. The… repercussions.

---

“You’re what?” Sokka asks.

“I am releasing you,” His Shoutiness repeats, through clenched and grinding teeth.

“Huh,” Sokka says, and takes another sip from his cup, because oh, this is hallucinogenic tea. Good stuff. “Care to explain that?”

---

No, Zuko wants to shout. But this is the fellow son of a world leader. Zuko hasn’t had many friends, and he’s not looking to add the Water Prince to that atrophied number, but.

But he could understand.

“You stood and fought when you could not win, for a cause you believed in,” Zuko says, and he doesn’t know why Uncle suddenly looks so pained. “I will not demand trinkets from your father for your return. If he hears of this, it will not be from me. You will be released at the nearest neutral port.”

---

Like an undersized fish, Sokka does not say.

“That is… very honorable of you,” Sokka says, and doesn’t know why the prince looks like he’s been gutted.

#Sokka: why yes my sister is a waterbending prodigy why do you ask #Zuko: projects onto Sokka HARDER #atla #avatar the last airbender

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blakeswritingimagines · 9 days

Text

Pearl Of The Water Tribe

Summary: Being a calm and beautiful water tribe princess has never heated up your life until you catch the eyes of a fire prince and an in-place water chief.

Word Count: 10.k

Warnings: yandere tendencies, manhandling, manipulation, use of Y/N,

A/N: Was not meant to be this long, but also took up most writing time as well as a different post that's coming up.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Avatar the Last Airbender characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used nor do I claim to own them.

You were in your castle in the Water Tribe, preparing for your trip to the Fire Nation. You were nervous but also excited, knowing that this would be your first time leaving your home. Your father's advisors told you that it was a great honor to be chosen for the trip, and a sign that your father was preparing you to become his heir. But you were still anxious about it all. Meanwhile, Zuko had also been preparing for your visit. He knew that he had to make a good impression on the water princess, and he wanted everything to be perfect. As the day of the trip drew closer, both of you began to wonder curiously what the other was like. You had heard stories of Zuko's fearsome temper, and how he could be unpredictable sometimes. But you also heard that he could be very kind and generous. Zuko, meanwhile, had heard rumors of the beauty and kindness of the water princess. He couldn't wait to finally meet you in person, and find out if the rumors were true.

On your first day in the royal mansion, you meet Prince Zuko. It seems like all the rumors have been true. He's tall and handsome, and his temper is as fierce as it's said to be. But... he's kind to you. Zuko watched you enter the room, taking in your beauty and the way your dress flowed around your figure. He could feel the heat rising inside of him at the sight of you, his thoughts swirling with questions about what kind of woman could capture his heart and calm down his usually short-tempered personality. Even though he hadn't been told your name, your presence was enough to send his mind spinning. "Are you from the Water Tribe?" he asked as he approached you, looking down at your sparkling eyes with curiosity. "Yes, I am." You replied softly, unable to hide your nervousness as you looked up at Zuko. His intimidating physique and powerful presence were the opposite of anything you had ever experienced before. You had never felt so small compared to anyone. But in this moment, he didn't seem to be the feared warrior you had heard stories about. He seemed… gentle. Kind. You couldn't help feeling drawn to him, despite your fear. "I've been told we were expected to meet each other." You continued.

Zuko's expression softened as you spoke, his mind racing with possibilities of what this woman could mean for him. He could feel himself becoming attracted to you despite your being from the Water Tribe. He was curious to know more about you, and he was intrigued by the fact that you seemed slightly nervous around him. That was rare. "Yes, I expected to meet a Water Tribe representative," he said, taking a step closer toward you, "what is your name?" You had a quick surge of panic when Zuko took a step closer, your mind telling you to run, but your body refusing to listen. His presence was so intense and he was so close. You suddenly realized just how tall he was, looking up at him with wide eyes and a nervous smile. When he asked for your name, you took a deep breath and finally found your voice. "Y/n…" You responded.

"Y/n," he repeated your name, his voice soft and almost hypnotic. He could tell from your reaction that you were nervous around him, but it only attracted him even more. He found himself wanting to reach out and touch you. His hand hesitated for a moment, and then he brushed a piece of hair away from your face, making sure to be gentle. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He paused for a moment, looking deep into your eyes. You could feel electricity all over your body as Zuko touched your hair. You had never had someone be so gentle with you before, and it felt amazing. You could tell that he wanted to do more. You were aware you should have been more cautious with him, as he was the fire prince and your father's enemy, but you found yourself losing yourself in his presence. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well." You responded, your eyes sparkling as you looked up at him, your hands twitching slightly.

Zuko noticed the little reaction you had when he touched your hair, and it did wonders for his ego. You were clearly drawn to him, and he was finding it difficult not to take advantage of that fact. "How long will you be staying in the palace?" he asked, moving closer to you until he was standing directly in front of you and he was only inches away. The heat from his body was intense, and he could see that it was affecting you. The heat from his body was unbearable as he stood right in front of you, but you could feel your own body heating up as well. Your heart was racing, your breathing getting shallow, and you could barely stand still under his intense gaze. You did your best to ignore the urge to reach out and touch him. "A few days." You replied, your voice shaky. "Long enough to negotiate the war strategy and diplomatic treaty and have them come to a finish." Zuko was amused by how much his presence seemed to affect you. You were clearly attracted to him, but he could also tell that there was a slight hint of fear that was keeping you from totally surrendering to him. But he could fix that.

"Well, then in a few days, we'll have this treaty and war strategy all settled and sealed," he said, moving his hand to the side of your neck and brushing it against your skin. "Then what?" his voice was low, his gaze full of heat as he looked at you. You shivered as Zuko's hand brushed against your neck, "then I'll be leaving." You replied, your voice shaky. "Back to the water kingdom, back home to my family." Zuko's eyes narrowed at your answer. He didn't like the idea of you going back to the Water Tribe, away from him. Your presence made him feel things he'd never felt before, and he didn't want you to leave so soon. In a swift movement, he stepped in front of you and trapped you against the wall, his body only inches away from yours. "And if I were to ask you to stay here with me in the Fire Nation?"

You felt your breath catch when he stepped in front of you and trapped you against the wall. You were aware of just how powerful he was, and how vulnerable you were at that moment. A small part of you wanted to give in and tell him you'd stay, but a bigger part of you was telling you that you'd be a fool to agree to that. "I have a kingdom to watch over and a family to return to," you replied, trying to keep your words as steady as you could. Zuko knew that he shouldn't be doing this, especially considering that you were a Water Tribe representative and princess, but he couldn't resist the urge to bring you closer to him. For a moment, he forgot that you were his enemy, and instead, you were just a beautiful woman standing in front of him, who caused his blood to boil and his heart to race. "But what if you didn't have to have that burden anymore?" he asked, inching his face only inches away from yours. Zuko smiled faintly as he looked into your eyes. He could tell that part of you was tempted by him, and he was going to do everything in his power to make that temptation into reality. He took a step forward, his body pressing close against yours, his head tilted slightly towards you as he spoke. "What if I were to make you a more attractive proposition than the Water Tribe could ever dream of?" his voice was low and sultry, his breath hot as it caressed your neck, "what if I were to declare you my bride?"

You gasped as Zuko's body pressed against yours, feeling overwhelmed by how close he was. He was powerful and handsome, and his proposal caught you off guard. For a moment, it was the only thing you could think about. Your entire body was telling you to say yes to him and you wanted to, it felt so right… but something pulled you back to reality, and you remembered who you were. "I can't," you replied, your voice barely a whisper as you tried to back away, but couldn't because he had you trapped against the wall. "I have responsibilities…" As you tried to back away, Zuko's hold on you only tightened. He was close enough to be able to smell your perfume and feel the soft curves of your body through the material of your dress. This close to you, he had no control over himself. The only thing he wanted was to possess you. "That's just it." His tone was softer than you had ever heard it, but the burning desire behind his voice was undeniable. "I'm offering you something better than responsibilities, I'm offering you freedom."

You could feel your heart pounding and you were starting to feel like you were losing the battle. It would be so easy to give in to him and say yes, to give up your duties and to become his bride. You felt so small standing in front of him, you had never felt this way about anyone before. "You're asking me to choose between my family and my kingdom, and you." You replied helplessly, wanting him to understand you couldn't just throw away years of hard work… but knowing that you wouldn't. Zuko knew that he had you. He could see the way your resolve was beginning to crumble, and he used that to his advantage. He stepped even closer to you until his body was touching yours, his hands sliding down your hips before settling on your waist. "I am asking you to choose between a life filled with politics and responsibilities or a life filled with passion and love." His grip on you tightened to emphasize his point. "I'm telling you that you don't have to spend the rest of your life shackled to duties, you don't have to settle for less than you deserve."

Your heart pounded violently as you felt Zuko's hands on your hips. You had never felt anyone else hold you like this, and it felt incredible. "I…Um..." You mumbled, completely flustered. "Who are you to tell me what I deserve? You're the fire prince, the enemy of my kingdom…" The heat from his body was suffocating, but it felt amazing at the same time. You felt so weak like you were a mere plaything for Zuko's amusement. "You really want me to surrender everything and become your bride…" You whispered softly, your eyes staring up at him, "for nothing but you…" The thought of you being his bride thrilled him, and as you stared up at him in a vulnerable state, he could barely keep himself from devouring you. It took every ounce of self-control he had to keep from taking you right there, in that moment. And it would be so easy too, there was nothing stopping him. "I do," Zuko said simply, his eyes full of intensity. "Would you really rather go back to that dull life of politics and war strategies than stay here with me? Where you can be free to be mine and do as you wish?"

Sighing softly as you turned away from Zuko, stepping away from him and making your way to the door. You felt like it was tearing your heart out to leave, but you knew you had to. "I'm sorry, I just can't…" You whispered, your voice shaky and emotional. As you reached for the door handle, you took one last look at him. It hurt you to leave without him, but you knew you had to.

Azula laughed as she saw Zuko walking down the corridor, his face looking distraught. She had been outside of the room, listening to his little chat with you closely, and she knew it wasn't going well the minute she heard your soft voice and Zuko's desperate tone. "Aw, she turned you down, didn't she?" she laughed. "Why does Father allow you to meet with these people anyway? I'm pretty sure she'd never give you a chance due to your temper alone." Zuko ignored his sister's mocking as he walked past her, his rage slowly growing as he thought about what had happened. You had rejected him, and all because you claimed you had responsibilities to fulfill. You didn't even consider the offer he made to you. As if a few responsibilities should be more important than being his bride. Azula continued to taunt Zuko as they walked down the hallway, which just made his anger grow. “She’s just a stupid Water Tribe princess. She didn't know what she was missing.”

Zuko continued to ignore Azula's taunts for the rest of the day, his mind distracted by his thoughts of you. He would stare off into space, his eyes focused on nothing as he ran your encounter through his head over and over again. He blamed himself for the way he reacted to your rejection, and how he lost control. But he couldn't shake the thought of being with you, of being able to offer you the kind of freedom and life you deserved. The next day, the meetings resumed and Zuko was faced with having to see you again. Your mind was filled with a mix of emotions as you saw Zuko again in the meetings. On one hand, you regretted rejecting his proposal, wishing that you hadn't been so stubborn and given him a chance. On the other hand, you knew that you had done the right thing and that you had to keep your head focused on your duties. You couldn't let yourself be distracted, you couldn't let yourself give in to him. You forced yourself not to look at him, but you couldn't resist the urge to glance over every so often at his strong but troubled presence.

Zuko remained bitter after the rejection from the Water Tribe princess. You had the audacity to reject him, an offer that would have freed you from the burden of your duties and gave you power and freedom. He didn't care how handsome he was, how strong and powerful his Fire Nation was. None of it mattered to you, you would rather return to that boring life than be with him. Still, the sight of you in those meetings caused his blood to boil. The way you would glance at him and try to not make eye contact triggered something in him. Despite your attempts to ignore him, you could feel Zuko's intense presence every time you looked over at him. You refused to let yourself look at him too long, but even that brief, occasional glance was enough to trigger something within you. You felt a strange connection to him like you could see part of his inner self and all the pain and struggle he was dealing with. You wanted to say something, to reach out to him, but you were torn between your desires and your duties.

You found yourself glancing at Zuko more and more during the meetings, drawn to the intensity of his presence and you couldn't stand how much it made your heart race. You tried to pay attention to the strategy and diplomatic discussions, but during the final meeting of the day, you realized you couldn't take it anymore. You had to say something before you left. As the final meeting of the day came to an end, Zuko was just about ready to storm out of the meeting until he saw you standing there. His eyes were locked on yours, and even though he tried to stay stoic, something in him was stirring as he stared at you. "Come here," he said in a low voice, his hand waving you over. Your breath caught in your throat as you saw Zuko's hand gesture, knowing that he wanted you to come to him. You couldn't deny how much you wanted to go to him either. But you needed to be strong. You were ready to leave the meeting, expecting that you would go back to your room and avoid any further interactions with him until you left, you took a step toward him and then stopped. "Why?" You asked defiantly, your tone of voice steady even as your heart beat rapidly in your chest.

Zuko's eyes narrowed when you showed this sudden display of rebellion, that you were keeping yourself at a distance because of your duties. But he would make you forget about those worthless duties, he would take over your mind and make you forget everything except him. "Because I'm not finished saying everything I came here to say." His voice was low, and though he held a gentle expression on the outside, there was a hint of danger behind it. "The last thing I need is some woman refusing to do what I tell her," he said again, this time with more impatience in his voice. You didn't flinch, your voice calm as you kept your distance from him. The power in his tone was tempting, pulling you toward him, and you had to fight against that urge. "I have to go back home, to my family, to my people." You replied, "I have duties and responsibilities."

Zuko was seething at the fact that you were defying him again. How dare you be so headstrong, so stubborn. He could see the way you kept your ground as his aura of heat intensified around you, just inches away from touching yours. "And you'll leave me to go back to those responsibilities, to those duties, instead of staying here with me and being mine?" He stepped forward again, and this time, his chest was pressed up against yours. You were struggling to breathe as Zuko pressed up against you. For a moment, you weren't focused on your duties or your family, or anything else. You were focused on him, his body pressed up against yours. You couldn't do it though, you had to get away from him. "You don't understand, I have a kingdom to watch over and a family to return to." You pushed him away when you felt him getting too close, "I can't just leave them."

At that moment, Zuko's patience ran out. A wall of emotions ran through his mind. You had rejected his proposal once more, denying him again. You refused to be his for no good reason. All of the annoyance, rage, and frustration built up in him exploded in an instant when you pushed him away. He grabbed your arm and yanked you close to him, so close that you were practically pressed up against his chest again. And then he put his face right up next to yours, his eyes blazing. "I don't care about your damn responsibilities!" He shouted. In the middle of Zuko screaming at you in the meeting room, suddenly the doors burst open. Zuko and Azula's father Ozai, charged into the room and took one look at the scene. His eye twitched slightly as he saw his son pressed up against you with his grip on your arm. Ozai stepped between you and Zuko, his eyes filled with anger. "What in the name of the gods is going on here?"

Zuko was silent as his father barged into the room, his arms crossed and a serious expression on his face. Ozai's glare was enough to make his own anger dissipate in an instant. His father had a strict rule against showing such emotions in public."Nothing, Father," Zuko said, keeping his tone calm and controlled. "The woman was discussing diplomatic issues and I told her to step aside for a moment." You saw Ozai's gaze immediately shift to you. A moment ago, you had almost given into Zuko's desire to make you his bride, but now you were face to face with the Fire Lord himself. You could feel your heart beating rapidly in your chest as you met his glare. "I must return to the Water Tribe," you replied calmly, your tone more formal than it had been a moment ago in an attempt to show the Fire Lord your respect. "The treaty is set." Ozai was impressed with the way you retained your composure under his stare. He had seen a lot of people break down and show fear in front of him. But not you. You kept a firm and confident demeanor. "A noble idea." Ozai's voice was stoic, but he was also studying you curiously. He turned to Zuko, an eyebrow raised. Ozai remained silent as he turned his gaze back to his son. His eyes narrowed as his thoughts raced through his head. He didn't like that his son had tried to proposition the Water Tribe Princess, even if you were a beautiful woman. He would have had words with his son after the meeting. But that didn't matter now that the meeting had gone nearly off the rails. "You," he said slowly, his voice icy and cold. There was no way Zuko could disguise the anger in his tone. "We'll talk later."

Months had passed since you turned down Zuko's proposal, and things were quieting down back in the Water Tribe. You had managed to shake off the thought of his rejection for a while, but it had been all too easy to get caught up in your regular duties and not think about him. That was until you received a letter from Zuko, who had been exiled from his home and banished from the Fire Nation. You could have easily ignored the letter but you were intrigued by his asking for your help. Zuko knocked softly on your door as he stood outside your home, nervous about what you might say to him. He had been banished from the Fire Nation and was living in exile after his father challenged him to an AgniKai duel for honor and almost losing the treaty with you. As a result, even if it was hard for him to admit it, he needed your help.

As soon as you heard the knock on your door, your heart leaped in your chest. It had been so long since you had spoken to Zuko, and you didn’t know how to react when you saw him again. You cautiously approached the door and opened it to find Zuko standing there, dressed in humble clothes instead of the royal attire you last saw him in. You were shocked by how different he looked, but there was a trace of the same intense fire in his eyes. The moment you opened the door, Zuko felt a wave of emotions wash over him. You looked just as beautiful as he remembered you, and he had to fight the urge not to run to you and embrace you. He had missed you more than words could describe, and now that you were standing in front of him again, he barely managed to keep his composure together. "Hey," he finally said, his voice sounding as nervous as he felt. Your heart skipped a beat as Zuko spoke. You had been thinking about him for months, and now he was here, standing in front of you. "Hey," you said softly, your eyes taking him in and feeling confused by how different he looked. You couldn't help but notice how handsome he still was, even in his more humble attire. "Come inside," you gestured for him to enter your home, "please."

Zuko nodded silently and stepped inside the house, his eyes taking in every detail of your humble home. For a moment, he felt out of place, the son of the Fire Lord in the house of a Water Tribe Princess. But that feeling quickly vanished the moment he focused back on you. "Thank you," he said softly, as he was struck by how much you'd changed since last they spoke. You were wearing a comfortable and light dress and he could see that your hair had also changed. You couldn't help but notice how Zuko seemed out of place in your home. He looked far too grand to fit in with the simplicity of your surroundings, but there was a charm to seeing him there as if he was meant to be there. You closed the door quietly behind him and gestured for him to take a seat at the table, your eyes glued to him. There was an air of uncertainty between you both, as neither of you knew what to say. You could sense that he was nervous, and you felt the same way. As you watched Zuko take in your humble home, you felt a wave of affection wash over you. Despite the drastic differences in your social status now, seeing him in your home made you forget all that. You wanted to ask him everything that had happened since you last spoke, but all you could muster up was a soft, "What are you doing here?"

As you led him into the living room, Zuko caught a whiff of your scent, and it sent a wave of nostalgia over him. He remembered the smell of your skin and hair when he held you in his arms and it made his heart ache for you even more. At your question, his eyes focused on your gaze, and for a moment, he felt guilty for coming to you and asking you for help. But he reminded himself of why he was here, and why he needed your help. "It's a long story," he said quietly. You felt your breath hitch at the way Zuko looked at you, and you quickly shook it off. You walked over to the couch and sat down, feeling the tension in the air. "I have time," you replied, your voice coming out more confident than you expected. Despite the fluttery feeling in your stomach, you managed to muster your strength and continue. "You said you needed my help, why?" Zuko took a deep breath, steeling himself for the difficult conversation that was ahead. He knew he was at a disadvantage since he had asked for your help, which gave you the upper hand in this situation. And he also knew that you might turn him down, which honestly, wouldn't surprise him. "I've been banished from the Fire Nation," his said, with a hint of bitterness in his voice. He paused for a moment, waiting for you to say something, but when you remained quiet, he continued. "And I need your help to get back."

As soon as Zuko spoke the words 'banished from the Fire Nation,' your eyes widened in surprise. You couldn't believe what you were hearing. You had never thought that the crown prince could be exiled from his own nation. You listened intently as Zuko continued to explain the situation, understanding how vulnerable and desperate he must feel. But even with his explanation, you couldn't help but feel a sense of confusion and disbelief. "Why me?" You said softly, your voice laced with emotions. Zuko took a deep breath as he tried to think of a suitable answer to your question. He knew that you probably wondered why he chose you, out of all the people in the world, he decided to come to your home and ask you to help him. But the truth was that he had been thinking about you for months, despite how he had tried to push you out of his mind. "Because I trust you," he said quietly, and he spoke from the heart. He couldn't stand being without you for this long, and now he was desperate.

As soon as Zuko uttered the words 'I trust you', you felt your heart skip a beat. You didn't know what to expect in this moment. But hearing him say that he trusted you, made you feel like your knees were about to buckle. You swallowed nervously, not sure how to react or what to say. You were conflicted. On one hand, you wanted to help him, to be by his side and support him in his time of need. On the other hand, you feared that it was a terrible idea, one that could have serious repercussions. Trust was not something you thought you deserved, especially after rejecting his proposal. You were overwhelmed by the mixture of emotions flowing through your body, but you quickly got a hold of yourself and pushed all those thoughts away. "You trust me?" You asked softly, your eyes full of surprise and anticipation. He saw the flicker of surprise in your eyes at his words, but he could see the hesitation and resistance still there, and it gnawed at him. He knew you had rejected him once before. But there was also a slight change in your demeanor that made him wonder if there was something more going on in your mind. "Yes," he said, a hint of vulnerability lacing his tone as he tried to maintain his composure. "I trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone else."

Your mind was flooded with contradicting thoughts, your emotions swirling within you like a storm. Despite everything, you couldn't help feeling a sense of appreciation for Zuko's trust. His words resonated within you, causing a strange sensation in your heart. "Why?" You managed to ask again, your voice tinged with surprise and confusion. You didn't understand why he would trust you, especially considering the last time you saw each other and your decision to reject him. As you asked the question again, Zuko felt a sense of frustration well up inside of him. Wasn't it obvious to you why he trusted you? Didn't you feel how much he had been thinking about you? But he reminded himself to control his emotions. He couldn't let his anger get the best of him now. "Because you have a good heart," he said quietly. "And you're loyal. You're smart, and you always try to do the right thing." He couldn't help but admire your qualities and your fierce loyalty.

Your mind was spinning with conflicting emotions. You understood that Zuko's trust in you was sincere, but you didn't know whether to feel proud or guilty about it. After all, you had rejected him, and now he was coming to you of all people for help. You took a deep breath and tried to clear your mind, wanting to focus on the task at hand. "What exactly do you need me to do?" You asked, your voice betraying a hint of nervousness. The moment the question left your lips, Zuko felt a rush of relief. He had been unsure whether you would agree to help him or not, and now that you had, he felt like he could finally breathe easy for the first time in a long time. "I need you to help me come up with a plan to take back the throne," he replied. His eyes were filled with determination, as he was ready for whatever it took to return to the Fire Nation and restore his honor.

Feeling as if your heart leapt in your chest as you heard Zuko's request. You couldn't believe that he was asking you for help with such an ambitious plan, but there was a flicker of excitement in your eyes. You took a moment to consider the plan, your mind racing with possibilities. But then your face fell as you realized the reality of the situation. "Zuko… It sounds impossible," you said softly, your eyes filled with a mixture of sympathy and worry. "You've been exiled, and the Fire Lord holds all the power." Zuko flinched at your words, and a flicker of frustration crossed over his features. He knew everything you were saying was true, which only made his exile that much more painful. Still, he was determined to take back what was his, and he refused to give up so easily. "I know it won't be easy," he said, his voice low and intense. "But I will do whatever it takes to restore my honor and return to the Fire Nation." He stared deeply into your eyes, a fierce determination burning in his gaze as he spoke. "Will you help me…or not?"

The intensity in Zuko's eyes made your breath catch in your throat. You could feel his determination and passion, and it made you realize how much this meant to him. You knew the risks and the challenges that lay ahead, but you couldn't resist the pull of Zuko's magnetic personality. His determination was contagious, and you found yourself nodding. "Of course, I will," you said with a soft smile, your eyes full of determination.

"I'll help you every step of the way."

As time slowly passed by, you helped Zuko adjust to being on his own and within an important Water Tribe who didn't seem keen on taking to him. Helping him learn to be more calmer and relaxed if he wanted his plan to work, even as he grew more protective and annoyed when you were around or working with others before attempting to pull you away. As Sokka arrived in the Water Tribe with his sister, Katara, and her friend, Aang, he couldn't help but feel a shiver of excitement. He had heard rumors about the beauty and grace of the princess in the Water Tribe, and he had been quietly yearning to see for himself. As he surveyed his surroundings, his eyes suddenly widened as he spotted you across the square. He couldn't help but stare at your figure. "Who's that?" he whispered to his sister, his eyes fixated on you.

You were making your way through the market in the middle of the square with Zuko beside you, your movements graceful and delicate as you picked out fresh fish for your family. You didn't notice Sokka's gaze following you, but Katara glanced over and saw his intense stares. She rolled her eyes and nudged her brother with her elbow. "That's Y/N. She's the daughter of the chief….you know the princess." The moment Sokka laid eyes on you, he felt a rush of awe and admiration. Your beauty had captivated him in an instant, and he could barely tear his gaze away from you. As he discreetly asked his sister about you, he tried to hide his excitement, although he was barely succeeding. "The princess?" Sokka's eyes widened even more, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of admiration for your title as well. While he was intrigued by your beauty, the fact that you were a princess made you even more captivating in his eyes. Still, he tried to maintain his composure, knowing that he had to first interact with you. He casually leaned down to whisper to Katara, "Do you think she's single?"

Katara rolled her eyes at Sokka's comment, not surprised by it. He was always flirting and trying to find a romantic connection with any woman he met. "Sokka, she's a princess. And she doesn't look single." She whispered back, still looking around the North as if in awe even as she glanced at the Water Tribe Princess. Sokka's hopes deflated slightly at his sister's response, and he couldn't help but feel a small pang of disappointment. Despite it, there was a strange feeling of determination and desire stirring within him. He couldn't deny the pull you were having on his heart, and he was determined to find out more. "I'm gonna talk to her," he declared quietly, his voice tinged with a hint of excitement and anticipation. Before his sister could protest, he was already making a beeline toward you.

As you strolled through the market with Zuko, a small smile tugged at the corners of your lips. The atmosphere was alive with chatter, and the scent of the sea and fresh produce filled the air. You picked out some fish and glanced back at Zuko, who seemed to be lost in thought. You were just about to call out to him when your attention was suddenly diverted by a new, unknown face in the crowd. Your eyes widened slightly as you noticed Sokka approaching, his gaze fixed on you. Sokka's heart pounded in his chest as he took in your appearance. The way your gaze met his made his stomach do flips. Despite his anxiety, a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Hey," the word slipped out. It was a simple word, but it spoke volumes of his nervousness and desire to connect with you. He couldn't help but be drawn to you, even though he couldn't quite understand why. It was a strange and new feeling, and he wondered if it was just some silly crush.

As Sokka's greeting caught your attention, you turned to face him with a small smile. Despite the flutter in your chest, you managed to keep your composure, acknowledging his presence with a soft nod of your head and a friendly tone. "Hello," you replied politely, observing the tall Water Tribe boy in front of you. His nervousness was palpable, and you couldn't help but wonder what he wanted or why his gaze was so intensely fixed on you. Zuko's reverie was suddenly interrupted by your sudden attention shift, and he followed your gaze to see a young Water Tribe man approaching you. He couldn't help but feel a tinge of wariness as he noticed the way the man was looking at you, but he tried to suppress his jealousy. Sokka swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. His heartbeat pounded loudly in his ears, almost drowning out the noises of the busy market. He had a million things he wanted to say, but suddenly, all the words vanished from his mind. His usually quick tongue felt like it was tied in knots. He took a deep breath, gathering his nerves as he searched for the right words. "So, uhm… nice weather we're having," Sokka blurted out, wincing slightly at his cliché attempt at conversation.

You raised an eyebrow at Sokka's attempt at conversation, trying to hide the small smile forming on your lips. His nervousness was endearing, and you couldn't help but feel a flicker of sympathy for him. "Yes," you responded, your voice holding a hint of amusement. "The weather is quite nice today." You waited for him to continue, your eyes watching him expectantly, curious to see where this conversation would lead. Sokka felt a small bead of sweat drip down the side of his face as he struggled to think of something else to say. He was usually so charismatic and confident, but suddenly he felt like a bumbling mess. Despite the nerves, Sokka couldn't help but notice how breathtakingly beautiful you were. It made his stomach do cartwheels and made his mind go completely blank. "Right, right," he stumbled, his brain grasping for any thought he could turn into a conversation. After a brief pause, he met your gaze once more, his voice wavering slightly. "Do you… uhm.. come here often?" Sokka asked, wincing realizing how corny that must've sounded since you lived here.

A soft laugh escaped your lips, your eyes twinkling with amusement. Hearing Sokka's corny question made your heart flutter with a mixture of amusement and surprise. "Yes," you responded, still smiling. "I do come here often… since this is home and all." Despite the cliché and awkward situation, you found it endearing that Sokka was trying to strike up a conversation. You waited for him to continue, your eyes on him expectantly. Zuko gritted his teeth as he listened to Sokka's compliment towards you, his irritation flaring up again. He couldn't help but feel a sense of possessiveness and jealousy towards you, especially when he noticed the way Sokka was looking at you. He could feel his heart rate quicken, and the urge to intervene and protect you surged through him, but he managed to keep his composure. Instead, he watched intently as you and Sokka continued to chat.

Sokka felt a mix of relief and disappointment. He was glad that he didn't seem to have made a complete fool of himself, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was coming off as awkward and inexperienced in the art of flirting. He cleared his throat, trying to come up with a witty response. But unfortunately, all he managed to say was a simple "Oh, right, of course." His mind blanked once more, leaving him feeling tongue-tied and lost for words. As Sokka's mind went blank once more, You couldn't suppress a chuckle that escaped your lips. His attempts at conversation were endearing, but it was clear that he was struggling. Seeing the look of desperation on his face, you finally took pity on him and decided to save him from any further embarrassment. You gently placed a hand on Sokka's arm, gently interrupting his awkward pause. "So, what brings you here?" You asked, your voice gentle as you tried to ease the nerves between you two. "Are you visiting or passing through?"

Sokka's eyes widened slightly as you touched his arm. Your soft touch sent a jolt of electricity through his body, making his heart race. It took a moment for him to compose himself, the warmth of your hand still lingering on his skin. He managed to gather his thoughts and cleared his throat once more. "I'm here with my friends,” he said, a small hint of a smile playing on his lips. “We’re accompanying the Avatar on his journey. So, kind of visiting.”

Your smile widened as you listened to Sokka's explanation. You had heard about the Avatar's journey, but actually meeting someone who was a part of it felt surreal. "You're accompanying the Avatar?" You repeated, your voice filled with surprise and wonder. Your eyes widened slightly, and you couldn't believe your luck. Not only was this Water Tribe boy charming in his awkwardness, but he was also on a noble mission. Sokka felt another rush of adrenaline as your smile widened. He nodded, his confidence returning slightly at your evident interest. "Yeah, it's been quite the adventure," he said, a hint of excitement in his voice. "We've been traveling for months, going to different nations and facing all kinds of challenges. It's been a crazy ride but right now he's here to learn water-bending." He paused for a moment, a cheeky smile playing on his lips. "But I must admit, I never expected that meeting someone like you would be the greatest adventure of them all," he said with a touch of flirtation.

As Sokka's words washed over you, your heart fluttered in your chest. The warmth of his smile and the gentle touch of his hand on yours sent butterflies fluttering in your stomach. You couldn't help but laugh softly at his cheesy words, charmed by his attempts at flirtation. "You're quite the charmer, aren't you?" You responded, your voice laced with laughter and amusement. "I might be able to help with the water-bending problem."

As the Gaang settled into the Water Tribe, Sokka's eyes immediately drifted toward your striking figure. He couldn't help but feel a jolt of admiration and attraction as he watched you in action. He found himself stealing glances whenever you were nearby, observing your every move with a newfound fascination. He appreciated your strength, your grace, and your loyalty to your tribe. Sokka's typical banter and teasing were replaced by a newfound shyness around you. You were unaware of Sokka's observations of you. His shy glances and flustered demeanor went unnoticed by you as you went about your daily routine. However, you couldn't help but notice that your interactions with Sokka have felt different lately. He seemed more awkward and less confident around you, stumbling over his words and unable to maintain his usual charm. You had a feeling he was nervous around you, but his uncharacteristic behavior intrigued you. You couldn't pinpoint why he was acting this way, but you found yourself wanting to learn more about what was going on in his head.

As you go about your daily tasks, you can't help but notice a strange feeling of warmth in your chest as you watch Sokka from afar. His shy glances and nervous behavior around you left you feeling both amused and flattered. Despite his usual confident demeanor, there was something endearing about seeing him become awkward around you. When your eyes occasionally met, you found yourself smiling softly, feeling flustered by the unexpected connection. You found yourself drawn to his nervous energy, amused by his clumsy attempts to strike up a conversation, and interested in getting to know him better. Despite his shyness, Sokka's genuine interest in you made your heartbeat flutter. As Sokka approached you with a newfound confidence, his heart pounding in his chest. He had been observing your skill on the battlefield and found himself captivated by your grace, power, and loyalty. Despite his earlier attempts at witty banter, Sokka's nerves had returned, making his usual confidence falter. He found himself tongue-tied when he finally stood before you, feeling as if he were a naive boy all over again. "Hi," he said, his voice filled with a mixture of nerves and admiration. "You're an amazing bender."

Your lips twitched upwards into a small smile as Sokka approached you, his earlier nerves making him seem endearingly earnest. "Thanks," you replied, your eyes twinkling slightly with amusement. You watched as Sokko stood before you, his confident demeanor having slipped away, replaced by a nervous energy that was both charming and endearing. "You're not so bad yourself," you added, your tone light and playful, sensing the nervous tension between you both. "I've seen you in action. You're pretty skilled with that boomerang of yours." Sokka's heart leapt in his chest as he heard your praise. Your words sent a wave of warmth through him, making his cheeks flush slightly. Despite his nervousness, he couldn't help but smile at the compliment. "Thanks," he replied, his voice a bit softer than usual. "I've had some practice. And yeah, I'm pretty good with my boomerang. I'm pretty sure I could take down an army with it if I wanted to." His confidence was returning, his usual self-assurance taking over, but his heart still fluttered whenever his gaze met yours.

You couldn't help but chuckle softly at Sokka's boastful comment, your eyes dancing with amused affection. You could tell he was trying to play it cool, but you could see the nervousness lingering beneath his bravado. "Is that so?" You teased, raising an eyebrow in challenge. "An army, you say? I'd pay good money to see that." Sokka let out a hearty laugh, realizing that his attempt to sound impressive had fallen flat. However, there was a flicker of determination in his eyes as he looked at you. "You doubt my skills, I'll have you know, I've taken down more enemies than I can count with my trusty boomerang," he said, his voice regaining its usual bravado. "I'll prove it to you. Next training session, I'll go all out and show you what I'm capable of."

You smirked at Sokka's defiant response, intrigued by his determination. "Is that a challenge?" You teased, crossing your arms and tilting your head to the side. Your eyes sparkled with a mix of amusement and anticipation as you looked at him, secretly enjoying his attempts to impress you. "I suppose we'll just have to see then, won't we? I can't wait to see this legendary performance." Sokka's heart fluttered as your smirk sparked a playful fire within him. He grinned widely, his confidence returning in full force. He loved a good challenge, especially if it meant he could impress you. "You bet it's a challenge," he declared, his voice filled with determination. "And I never back down from a challenge. Consider yourself lucky to witness the true power of my boomerang." He was determined to prove himself to you, and nothing could extinguish that burning desire. Sokka grinned, his eyes gleaming with excitement. His heart raced, a mix of eagerness and nerves coursing through him. Though he was determined to prove his skills, he couldn't ignore the flutter in his chest at the thought of impressing you.

You chuckled softly, your eyes shining with a mix of amusement and admiration as you watched Sokka's determination. He was definitely putting on a show, and you were secretly charmed by his efforts to impress you. His confidence and bravado were endearing, and you couldn't help but feel a warmth in your chest at the thought of his eagerness to make an impression. "I'll hold you to that," you retorted, your voice light and teasing. "I'm looking forward to seeing this legendary boomerang in action." As Sokka boasted about his boomerang training skills, Zuko's irritation flared up once again. He couldn't believe that this Water Tribe boy had the audacity to claim excellence in something like boomerang technique. His fists clenched and his jaw tightened as he overheard their conversation. But he knew better than to cause a scene, so he quietly observed the scene unfolding before him.

A few days later, you and Zuko were idly chatting as you both walked along the Water Tribe, the conversation lighthearted and easy. Though your hands kept accidentally brushing against each other, neither of you made a conscious effort to pull away, the brief moments of contact fueling an undercurrent of tension between you. However, you were too lost in their conversation to notice the approaching figure until Sokka appeared before you two, his voice tinged with an unusual edge as he interrupted the conversation. As Sokka suddenly appeared in front of them, Zuko and you were wrenched from your conversation. Zuko bristled at the interruption, his irritation flaring up once again at the sight of the Water Tribe boy who had been flirting with you. He couldn't help but feel a wave of jealousy and possessiveness as he noticed the tension in Sokka's voice. "Hey, Y/N," Sokka's voice interjected, his nerves evident in the unusual edge in his tone. He forced a smile, trying to hide the mixture of jealousy and insecurity welling up within him. He had been watching the interaction from afar, unable to shake the feeling of irritation at seeing you talking so comfortably with Zuko. It was irrational, he knew that, but he couldn't help the possessive thoughts that plagued his mind.

You and Zuko turned your attention towards him, and your conversation abruptly halted. You smiled politely at Sokka, a hint of curiosity in your eyes as you noticed the unusual edge in his voice. You didn't seem to notice the subtle tension between the two boys, your focus shifting to Sokka's attempt at a smile. "Oh, hey Sokka," you greeted, your voice cheerful but tinged with a touch of surprise. "Everything alright?" Sokka's smile widened, but it did not quite reach his eyes. He struggled to keep his tone light and carefree, but his mind was racing. He felt a pang of jealousy at the sight of your and Zuko's easy conversation, and he fought to keep it from consuming him. "Yeah, everything's fine," he replied, his voice strained. He couldn't bring himself to meet your eyes fully, instead glancing at the ground as he spoke. "I was just passing by and thought I'd say hi."

You couldn't help but notice the strained undertone in Sokka's voice, his forced cheeriness standing out like a sore thumb. You furrowed your brows in concern, sensing the tension in the air. It was unlike Sokka to be so visibly unnerved around you. Was something bothering him? You took a step forward, your voice gentle as you responded to him while tenderly placing your hand on his arm. "Is there something on your mind? You seem a little… on edge." Sokka's heart quickened at your touch, your gentle concern sending a shiver down his spine. He struggled to maintain his composure, his mind warring between jealousy and the desire to be close to you. "No, it's nothing," he replied, his voice tinged with a mixture of frustration and longing. "Just a lot on my mind, that's all." He couldn't help but glance at your hand on his arm, the touch both comforting and aggravating all at once.

You noted the flicker of frustration in Sokka's eyes, sensing the inner turmoil beneath his surface-level response. You gently tightened your grip on his arm, your eyebrows knitting together in concern as you tried to decipher his mood. "Hey," you said softly, your voice laced with worry, "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? Is there something bothering you?" Your eyes met his, your gaze was earnest and full of compassion. Sokka's breath caught in his chest as he met your eyes, the sincerity and concern in your gaze making his heart skip a beat. Your touch on his arm sent a mix of warmth and longing coursing through him, and he struggled to find the words to express his tangled emotions. "It's just… I don't know," he stammered, his voice laced with a mixture of frustration, vulnerability, and longing. "I guess… I just…" He trailed off, conflicted between his feelings of jealousy and admiration for you.

You continued to hold Sokka's arm, your touch conveying a sense of reassurance and support. You observed him closely, noticing the flicker of vulnerability in his eyes and the conflicted emotions that played across his face. "It's okay," you said soothingly, your voice soft and gentle. "Take your time. I'm listening." You gently squeezed his arm, your touch encouraging him to speak his mind, to share whatever was weighing heavy on his heart. Sokka's eyes fixated on yours, his heart fluttering at your soothing words and gentle touch. Your understanding and patience allowed him to gather his thoughts, and he took a deep breath before finally speaking. Sokka's voice grew more intense as his possessive and protective feelings for you surfaced. His eyes burned with a fierce determination to claim you for himself. "It's just… seeing you with Zuko," he admitted, his voice raw with honesty. "I guess it made me feel a bit jealous. I know it's silly, but I can't help it. I didn't mean to let my emotions get the better of me." he said, his voice low and possessive. "I won't deny that I'm jealous. The thought of anyone else spending time with you and making you laugh the way you did with Zuko… it drives me mad. I want that affection for myself."

You listened intently as Sokka confessed his feelings, your expression filled with surprise mixed with understanding. Although you were surprised by Sokka's sudden intensity, you couldn't help but sense a flicker of admiration growing within you. Despite your surprise, you kept your voice steady as you replied. "I see…" You said softly, your tone gentle and contemplative. "It's not silly, Sokka. Your feelings are valid, and I appreciate you sharing them with me. I assure you, that the relationship I have with Zuko is purely platonic. There's nothing romantic going on between us." Sokka's heart thumped in his chest as you responded to his confession with understanding and reassurance. Your gentle words helped to ease the intensity of his jealousy, but the embers of possessiveness still burned within him. "I believe you," he said, his voice laced with both relief and possessive determination. "But that doesn't stop me from wanting to be the one who makes you laugh and smile like that. No one else should have that privilege but me."

You listened attentively as Sokka explained his feelings, his possessive tendencies mingling with a hint of longing. You noticed the flicker of determination in his eyes and couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed by the intensity of his emotions. However, before you could respond, Zuko chimed in with a harsh yet playful tone, attempting to get under your skin since he also wanted you. "Well, Sokka, I must say, your jealousy is endearing, in a slightly unhinged sort of way. But there's no need for such possessive vibes, buddy." Sokka's eyes snapped towards Zuko as he heard his comment, his jealousy flaring up once again with an intensity that was borderline primal. His fists clenched at his sides, his body tensing as he bristled with resentment. The thought of Zuko trying to undermine him and make light of his feelings fueled the possessive fire burning within him. His eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at Zuko, his voice low and menacing. "I'll show you 'slightly unhinged', pal."

Zuko merely smirked at Sokka's heated declaration, his eyes flickering with a cold and mischievous glint. He knew he had gotten exactly the reaction he wanted from Sokka, and now it was time to stoke the fire. "Oh, really now?" He said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "You're quite the feisty one, aren't you? I think it's adorable. It's almost like you think you're tough enough to handle me." He taunted. Sokka's eyes burned with fiery defiance as he met Zuko's cold gaze. He wouldn't let anyone, especially not Zuko, undermine him like that. "Adorable?" he sneered. "You won't be calling me adorable when I knock you on your arrogant ass." His body was coiled and ready, tensed like a wolf preparing to lunge at its prey.

Your eyes widened in alarm at the growing tension between the two boys. Your heart leaped into your throat as you swiftly stepped between them, your gaze darting between Sokka and Zuko. Without wasting a moment, you firmly grasped Sokka's arm, your touch pleading and urgent. "Stop it," you whispered fiercely, your voice tinged with a mix of fear and concern. "The last thing we need is a fight between the two of you. Sokka, rein it in. Please. And Zuko… ease off." Sokka's defiance flickered momentarily at your pleading tone and firm touch reached him. The sight of you standing between him and Zuko, your hand grasping his arm, quelled the fiery intensity that had consumed him a moment before. However, the embers of his jealousy still smoldered within him, threatening to flare up at a moment's notice. He let out a slow exhale, his body relaxing slightly at your touch. He still glared at Zuko with simmering resentment, but his focus was back on you and your plea for peace.

Sokka's heart pounded in his chest as he implored you to join them on their journey. His gaze bore into yours, filled with sincerity and a hint of vulnerability. His voice tinged with a touch of pleading. "I know there have been some strained moments between us, but I want you to know that I truly care for you. I want to be with you, to see where our potential could lead. And more than anything, I want you to join us on this mission. You have skills that could be invaluable to the Avatar's success." Your heart skipped a beat at Sokka's words. You hadn't expected him to express such vulnerability and sincerity, especially considering the complicated past exchanges. As a mix of surprise and gratitude washed over you, you hesitated for a moment, grappling with the decision that lay before you. "I… I…" You stammered, your voice faltering slightly. "I don't know, Sokka. I appreciate your feelings, but this is a big ask. I need time to consider it."

Sokka's heart pounded with desperation as he softly pleaded with you to join them. His eyes pleaded with yours, his voice tinged with a hint of possessive insistence. "Please," he said, his voice earnest, "I can't bear the thought of leaving without you. I need you by my side, not just for the mission, but because my feelings for you have consumed me completely. You are the one I want to protect, the one I want to be with. Say you'll come with us. Say you'll be mine...please." As Sokka poured out his feelings, his voice filled with both vulnerability and possessive insistence, you felt a flurry of emotions swirling within you. Surprised by his raw admission, you hesitated for a moment, the weight of his words tugging at your heart. Despite your initial reservations, the sincerity in his voice was undeniable, and you found yourself drawn to the depth of his longing. After a few moments of contemplation, you finally nodded, your voice soft yet determined. "Alright," you whispered, your eyes meeting his.

"I'll come with you."

#sokka x reader #atla sokka #sokka avatar the last airbender #sokka #yandere sokka #yandere avatar the last airbender #yandere x reader #yandere #yandere sokka x reader #yandere zuko #prince zuko x reader #zuko x reader #atla zuko #yandere zuko x reader

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hello-nichya-here · 18 days

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Hello, whats your opinion on this as a mai fan

I think this person is either misremembering the show or deliberately mischaracterizing what Mai, because what they're claiming she revealed on The Beach is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what she actually said.

She doesn't say "My parents used me as a pawn in their game to get close to royals" or "My parents never wanted me to learn anything about combat." She tells us that her parents will let her do whatever she likes - as long as she BEHAVES. As long as she's invisible. Out of sight, out of mind. They don't care what she does, as long as it doesn't affect them, as long as she's quiet. And that's what she says in an attempt to DOWNPLAY how bad her relationship with them actually is and how it affected her emotionally.

When Mai is complaining that she doesn't like Omashu because there's nothing for her to do, her mom doesn't try to talk to her about activities that could keep her busy/entertained, or show any concern about how she's adapting to moving to a whole new country, to a city where she doesn't know anyone. Instead, she ignores her daughter's attempts to talk about her feelings by reminding her that this is important for her father. There's no attempt to make this situation benefitial for her as well, it's all about how she needs to be grateful that someone else is happy about it.

Yes, when Tom-Tom is "kidnaped", they won't stop panicking, and are overjoyed when he's brought back safely. But there's not a word on them being concerned over Mai's well-being when she's leaving in a potentially dangerous mission. They don't show up to congratulate her at any point after she helps the Fire Nation conquer Ba Sing Se, even though that is a legendary feat. Favoritism much?

In book 3, literally the only adults we see in her home are servants, and considering one needs an airship to go to the island where the boiling rock is, it's pretty safe to say her uncle can't be dropping by too often. They let their 15-year-old daughter live in a different country, without any adult acting as her guardian - that's how much they don't care about her.

And speaking of her uncle, yes, he is doing a good job of being an attentive family member (is aware of her situation with Zuko, immediately lets her out of prison the second he knows he can get away with it) - but using that to claim "Thefore her family life is fine" is absurd because, again, that's her UNCLE, not her parents. By that logic, Zuko shouldn't be complaining about his family either, after all he has Iroh and somehow that is supposed to cancel out being raised by freaking Ozai, riiiiiiight?

And speaking of Zuko, there's a reason why, in a finale where everyone is being reunited with their family and friends, even when the travel time doesn't make any goddamn sense, Mai's happy ending involves a heartwarming reuining with him, and he's delighted to see her - but there's still nothing about her parents. Their daughter was sent to prison for life, then her boyfriend became Fire Lord giving them THE perfect chance to come rescue her, and they STILL are nowhere to be found.

For fuck's sake, AZULA showed more love for Mai than her parents did. Girl was clearly happy to see her again, and even gave her a "hug" that wasn't that touchy because Mai doesn't like it. In "The Lost Adventures" we find out that she was also the one who pushed for her and Zuko to get together (though that also ties into her knowing that was the only way to make Zuko come home despite his guilt over what he did to Iroh). Even on The Beach, she's the one who first connects the dots and realizes that Mai is always so aloof because she's used to being told to shut up when she says something inconvenient.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying her parents had no political ambitions (the Yang comics leaning into that was one of the few good things about his writting). Obviously they were happy that their daughter was best friends with the princess and dating the heir to the throne, and I'm sure Mai didn't appreciate being treated more as asset than as a daughter.

But her complaint was not about that. It was about how her parents are simply not part of her life at all. She's an outsider looking in. She can stand next to them and do as she's told, or she can leave. What she can't do is actually engage with them, mean anything to them, expect anything from them, rely on them at all.

Mai's parents are neglectful to a degree that, in the real world, could potentially have them lose custody of her because she consistently has to turn to literally anyone else instead of them whenever she needs anything.

Is it really any wonder she had a soft-spot for Zuko, aka the boy that is always disregarded by his father, to the point of literally being kicked out of his home, and is actually openly pissed off about it and will let everyone know it?

#asks #mai #mai meta #pro mai #mai defense squad

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wileycap · 8 months

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[spoilers for ATLA]

I have this fanfic story idea for Avatar, and I want to write some of it out.

The basic premise is: What if Iroh had gone the other way after his son's death, becoming more warlike instead of more peaceful - but Ozai still executes his power grab, and they essentially end up ruling two opposing kingdoms?

After Lu Ten dies, Iroh subjugates Ba Sing Se in grief. He doesn't go full villain, no massacring the civilians on purpose or anything, but he does lay waste to the city, takes the young King Kuei hostage and, as a treat, kills Long Feng. (I really dislike Long Feng.)

Meanwhile, Ozai goes ahead with his plan. Azulon reacts much the same, but he does the ever-popular fic thing of giving Ozai's heirs to Iroh. "You must know the pain of losing a firstborn son!" And, furthermore, he manages to get a hawk out to Iroh, that both of Ozai's children have been written out of his lineage and into Iroh's.

Ozai conspires to kill Azulon by blackmailing Ursa. For her treason, Ursa is banished, as in canon, and Ozai takes the throne.

But the balance of power has shifted. The Earth Kingdom, bolstered by Iroh's legions, is now a contender for total world domination - and that's not exactly a disagreeable state of affairs for a lot of Earth Kingdom kings and generals, who pledge loyalty to Iroh.

Meanwhile, Ozai's Fire Nation controls the seas, but they are quickly losing ground in the Earth Kingdom. The newly crowned Ozai is facing immense amounts of domestic pressure, and responds by cracking down on the homeland, making the already totalitarian state even more totalitarian. The Fire Nation still holds the advantage in the war, but their edge is shrinking more and more by the moment, as many of their best legions were in the Earth Kingdom and are now loyal to Iroh.

To legitimize his rule, Ozai spreads the story that Ursa had been working with Iroh to murder Azulon, and that rather than being a conqueror and a ruler, Iroh is now a hostage for the Earth Kingdom - a puppet to exert influence over the Fire Nation. And furthermore, as she fled, the traitor Ursa had done the unthinkable - kidnapped a member of the royal family!

Meanwhile, Ursa does make it to the Earth Kingdom and to Iroh. And true to the story being spread in the Fire Nation, she does have one of her children with her...

Azula.

Who, upon seeing the Earth Kingdom subjugated under Iroh, isn't actually very upset about the whole thing. In fact, she's excited: with Zuko stuck in the homeland and her here at the side of the leader whom she now views as the stronger one, with Azulon's letter proving that she is meant to be Iroh's heir... her prospects of becoming the ruler of the entire world, not just the Fire Nation, are beginning to look pretty good. And all she has to do is make sure to kill dear old Dad and Zuzu at some point. And help Iroh win the war. And stay in Iroh's favour, because if Iroh is anything like her father (he isn't, but Azula doesn't know that), he's more than ready to cast her aside if she proves unsatisfactory. So, bring on the tea and Pai Sho: Azula is both patient and an excellent liar.

Iroh, however, is beginning to feel his character development. He would now be content with pushing the Fire Nation back and ruling the Earth Kingdom in the name of his lost son. But Ursa pleads with him: Zuko is still in the Fire Nation. He is in danger. They have to win the war, or at least rescue Zuko.

And what about Zuko? Zuko looks at the situation: his mother and sister disappear, his uncle and father are at war, his dad probably had his grandpa killed, the Fire Nation is slowly going to hell and now his dad is acting suspiciously nice to him. (Well, he is the only heir Ozai has left.) He thinks about it for a while, and decides to get going while the going is good, and just so happens to run into a recently disgraced Lieutenant named Jee, who thinks he might be able to get them a ship and a crew, and hey, the areas near the South Pole are supposed to be pretty far from the war, and what's that huge beam of light on the horizon?

Any thoughts?

#story ideas #atla #avatar the last airbender #iroh #atla ozai #fanfiction #fanfic #plot bunny #zuko #azula #atla ursa

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usernamesuggestionsarefunny · 3 months

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Possibly unpopular opinion (Or perhaps not idk): I love what they have done with Zuko and Ozai's relationship in the live action Netflix Avatar show.

In the cartoon we never get the ~vibes~ that Zuko has a complicated relationship with his father, only that it is abusive and one-sided in the sense only Zuko craves Ozai's approval, while Ozai straight up hates him, wants him dead or has no problem with him dying (Why doesn't he kill him if he has Azula? We don't know, plot has to happen, he sent Zuko to find the avatar in order to get rid of him, probably, or actually canon idk or remember), clearly prefers Azula to him as successor, etc, etc, etc (+ later the comics literally overkilled this trend "she was born lucky while..." omg stfu). Zuko is basically the perfect character to prove the fire nation is not all evil (Oh look, they hate him too, he is inherently their victim too from the very beginning).

So when Zuko switches sides in the cartoon, what I see as an adult rewatching is someone giving up on luxory, physical safety and... that is pretty much it. Sure it is a big deal to give up on those things to do what is right (Few would) and still awesome that he did the right thing in the end, but if you really think about it, he is not giving up that much, he is not giving up anything truly valuable to him. Respect? Honor? Sure he is said to have received it back after Azula "killed" Aang, but we never truly see it. For all intents and purposes his sister has that and wayyy more of it. His father's love and acceptance? Never had it, so he didn't truly "loose it" when he spoke up for those soldiers, got the scar and was banished, it is not really shown to have suddenly popped into existence when he was said to have killed the avatar. He literally had nothing in the fire nation, literally nothing. This could only make "doing the right thing" a lot easier for him, and for the adult audience (At least for me), his arc is just him realizing what is almost irritatingly obvious for us: That no one in the fire nation truly loves and respects him so might as well switch sides (Basically if we weren't also shown that Zuko is compassionate and does care about the horrible things the fire nation is doing, Ember Island Players would have gotten a bit of truth in it).

Now, in the live action, where do I even start? It has been so good so far when it comes to Ozai and Zuko. That man, if he hated Zuko in a cartoonishly evil way almost from birth, he sure doesn't show it. Don't get me wrong, he is just as abusive (Creepily so in many scenes, made me feel so protective of Zuko and Azula), but he is also shown to "care" about Zuko as in having some hope left that he can mold him into another powerful genocidal mini me. Is Azula winning by far? Ofc, she is still the prodigy, I am sure I am going to see flashbacks of favoritism later on. But Ozai doesn't yet seem to favor her in a way that makes Zuko's craving for his approval (Or even Ozai's hope in him as heir) hopeless. It seems, from his scenes with Azula, that Ozai foments the rivalry and competition between the two siblings not only because he personally thinks Azula is the best (Which he also might in this version), but also as a way of control through fear (Especially for prodigy Azula), and to make them (Especially comparatively weaker Zuko) "better", something this version of Ozai appears to think is possible EVEN when he banishes Zuko. Now, he might have done this "to get rid of him" as in the original, but in the live action he seems super open to and genuinely believe the idea that the exile could make Zuko stronger and better, not to mention worthy of the throne if he succeeds. Ozai treats Zuko like the heir despite favoring Azula is all I am saying. Zuko's actions are therefore almost impossible, yes, but not hopeless or even naive. And if this trend of Ozai's respect and "love" (Super on quotes) being achievable continues, Zuko's eventual turn to the good side will be much more powerful. He will have to give up much more after spending a summer with his abusive parent love bombing him for "killing" the avatar. Zuko's choice will be solely based on his findings about the horrors the fire nation has committed and not wanting to be the cause of more suffering even though he could have it all. Even though it was his fate to be his father's "mini me"-> Something terrifyingly likely and not so quickly discarded by the narrative itself as it was in the animated series.

I think the best part about this subtle change in the father-son dynamic (If it was the intention of the writers, I am aware it could have been unintended) is that the scar tm was a direct result of Zuko's compassion for those soldiers and not just the excuse Ozai used to banish him or "final straw" because he preferred Azula sooo much more, as it is pretty much implied later on in the animated series and comics by focusing so much on how much of a perfect victim Zuko was pretty much from birth. The addition of the 41st surviving because of Zuko was also pretty nice, and so is Zuko's relationship with them, he will need fire nation allies when he gets to the throne and this is a good start, something the animated series never touched upon much.

I am on episode 6 btw so my opinion might change. I will edit this post if that is the case. BUT my thoughts on these first scenes doesn't change, they are good imho

EDIT (And spoilers): I just watched Zhao’s revelation where he tells Zuko that Ozai would never let him return and he just wanted to use him to motivate Azula. It does change things and invalidates most of what I said, but taking out just this one scene, as I said, the Ozai-Zuko dynamic is great in this show, and also, Zhao is obviously not the most reliable source, because he was allied to Azula and obviously wanted to hurt Zuko, as he was losing the fight with him. There is also the fact that Azula wasn't watching Ozai and Zuko when Ozai told his son that he was being banished and that it was in part so he could get stronger etc, that was all for Zuko and had little way of serving as motivation for Azula (Unlike the scenes where Ozai praises Zuko in front of her, those could have totally been him bullshitting his daughter to motivate her to work even harder). So all in all this scene doesn't ruin the overall impression I had of the Ozai-Zuko father-son dynamic in the life action show. In fact, it could be taken to confirm one of my impressions which was that Ozai likes pitying his children against each other to push them harder.

EDIT 2: Ozai's reaction to Zuko's possible death is further proof imo that his “test” was very much real (even if almost impossible) and everything I said earlier still stands. He wouldn't mind that much if he died, it would just prove his “weakness”, and he is very pleased with Azula, but he didn't look happy or even indifferent when he learned the news.

#zuko #ozai #atla #atlab #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender netflix #natla #natla spoilers #netflix avatar

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azulas-daddy-kink · 4 months

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Ozai headcanon dump!

Ilah died in childbirth with Ozai, and Azulon and Iroh irrationally blamed him for it - she had told the doctors to save her baby at all costs, and he was cut out of her.

Ozai actually really looked up to Iroh when he was little but started to become disillusioned when he found out he had "killed" the last two dragons. He'd wanted to see a dragon more than anything. Even as an adult, he secretly hopes to find one.

So no, Ozai didn't love Ursa (like some of you Urzai shippers think) but regardless, he wanted her to love him. In the beginning, he really did try to make her fall in love with him. He became angry, spiteful, and abusive once he realized it was never going to happen.

When Ozai was a young teen, he was molested by an older woman at court. (He doesn't see it that way though ofc).

Ozai named Azula himself, and he was the first one to hold her after she was swaddled.

Ozai is fully convinced that at some point, Iroh slept with his wife... in reality, that never happened.

Shortly after finding out they were pregnant, Ursa tried to abort Azula. Luckily Ozai was there in time to stop their baby from being harmed. He then had Ursa confined to their chambers for the duration of her pregnancy, under guard 24/7. This also ties into my headcanon that Azula was conceived as the result of several particularly brutal rapes.

In the back of his mind, Ozai always saw Zuko as a threat, a rival for power.

Ozai has several bastard children. He never legitimized any of them though, and none were added to the line of succession. He didn't want to threaten the position of his "true born" heirs.

As a child, Ozai himself was quiet and studious, and didn't have any friends.

Ozai's whole ego thing is a cope. He is actually deeply insecure and feels unlovable.

A big reason Ozai hated baby Zuko pretty much right away was that he was expecting a daughter. Like Iroh, he had a prophetic vision - his daughter burning cities in a blaze of blue.

Ozai truly believes that he is a good father. Everything he's ever done was for Zuko or Azula's own good. To make them strong, to make them better future leaders.

#atla #ozai #headcanons #fire lord ozai #fire family #fire nation royal family

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comradekatara · 1 year

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ozai keels over and dies due to tea going down the wrong pipe one morning before canon starts. what changes, and why does it end up with momo as fire lord?

This Ask Was Meant To Be A Joke But Oops I Wrote A Bajillion Words

otherwise known as my take on an "Ursa kills Ozai" AU

ursa poisons ozai at some point before the siege of ba sing se. she’s gotten fed up with him, and says “fuck it.” the only person who suspects foul play is azula, but she’s like 5 so no one takes her accusations seriously, just assuming she’s mourning her father and is fabricating explanations as a coping mechanism. eventually azula begins to believe this herself, but she never stops subconsciously resenting her mother. zuko feels guilty for feeling relieved, but ursa is there by his side to help him work through his feelings in a healthy(ish) way.

the siege of ba sing se fails when iroh’s son dies. he retreats into his grief, journeying through the spirit world and coming to terms with the great suffering he has inflicted on others. he returns to his father a changed man, tells azulon that he can no longer be crown prince, and instead retreats to a smaller village in the fire nation to set up a tea shop and live in isolated comfort and relative peace. he never finds redemption, but he is content in the knowledge that he is no longer actively causing harm either.

since ozai, iroh, and lu ten are all out of the picture, zuko becomes crown prince. azulon only has a few more good years left in him, so zuko’s education in matters of state is turboboosted. azula worries that her soft, sensitive brother who prefers theater to warfare (but is also far too stubborn to be puppeteered by someone competent, like her) isn’t equipped for the position, and voices this (deeply sincere!) concern to ursa, who assumes the worst and scolds azula for speaking ill of her brother.

azula tells zuko that she’s overheard people having doubts over his ability as the next firelord, and at first he’s defensive, accusing her of lying to him and trying to provoke him like she always does. but eventually he relents and admits that he has doubts too. he wants to be a good firelord for his people, but every time he tries to argue with the generals in war meetings over their plans to sacrifice their own troops for grander victories, azulon pulls him aside and gives him an earful about how he is disrespecting the court and isn’t worthy of the throne. azula rolls her eyes and says “you’re not supposed to argue with the generals, dum dum. you’re lucky father is no longer with us, or he would’ve done much worse over hearing you spout your little treasonous inclinations like that.” zuko’s cheeks turn red and he storms off with his hands balled into fists.

eventually azulon comes out with it, summoning azula for a private meeting to discuss her future. he tells her that she is the superior firebender, the superior tactician, and his perfect heir. zuko’s defects concern him, and he wants to make her firelord instead. only he’s afraid that what with zuko’s temper, naming her his successor might infuriate him to the point of rebellion, and they can’t risk that. so they devise a plan to send zuko to search for the avatar, claiming that since both azulon and sozin did so in the past, it is a rite of honor for a firelord, and only a true firelord is up to the mission.

zuko, who is desperate to prove himself, vows that he will not return to the fire nation until he has done what his forefathers could not, proving once and for all his true worth, that it is his destiny to rule. he is given a grand ship, the finest fleet the nation has to offer. since he is only still a boy, ursa decides to accompany him, leaving azula in the care of her grandfather and the many servants of the palace. azula pretends to be fine with this, since, after all, it was her idea in the first place. zuko’s full head of hair and unblemished skin signify that he has more to gain than to lose. but still, he cannot afford to fail.

that said, he is in great spirits, fully believing in himself, with his beloved mother there by his side to provide tireless support for which he is greatly appreciative. he is constantly gracious towards his crew, full of great scholars who tutor him in matters of state, history, and culture during his search, as well as revered generals honored to serve the future firelord. he is eager to have a goal. he gets to see the world. he’s happy.

and wouldn’t you know it—two years into his search, he actually does it. he finds the avatar, the one who neither sozin nor azulon could find despite their lifelong efforts. he's hiding out in a tiny water tribe village in the south pole, disguised as a child. clever. since zuko is decidedly not operating on WWOD (what would ozai do?) he and ursa decide that it would be best if they arrived as a peaceful delegation to this village of mostly elderly women and children, and used their resources to negotiate a trade.

sokka sees the fire nation ship coming from a mile away; after all, it's huge. he dons his warpaint. he's been waiting for this day. waiting to die defending his people. but the ship does not park itself on their shores; instead, a trio consisting of a boy his age, a middle aged woman, and an old man (one of zuko's tutors, an anthropologist who wants to see this water tribe village up close) approach their village wall and wait for an audience with whoever's in charge. they look harmless, unarmed, peaceful even. katara is curious, even eager to meet them. so many strange new visitors in one day! but sokka reminds her that they're still fire nation, and they must be seen as a threat.

despite their politeness, their request to trade the avatar for their resources is indeed quite suspect. for one thing, the avatar hasn't been seen in over a century, so why the hell would they think that they have him, and for another, if they did have the avatar, they obviously wouldn't hand him over to the fucking fire nation. sokka tells them that they're mistaken, they will find no avatar here, and to be on their way before things get ugly (this is an obvious bluff, since he's already outnumbered, but they don't have to know that).

meanwhile, aang sees commotion in katara and sokka's village. while he understands their reasoning for banishing him after he accidentally set off that flare and put them in danger, he didn't realize that it would happen so immediately. it's his fault, so it's his responsibility to fix it. after all, he's tired of running. it's what got him into this mess in the first place. he penguin sleds his way right into the heart of the village, in between zuko and sokka, and announces that he is the avatar, and if he goes with them, they must promise to leave the village alone. zuko's just like "of course, yeah. i mean i was willing to trade stuff, so this is a great outcome for me." he escorts aang back onto his ship, while katara watches with tears in her eyes, and sokka devises a plan.

aang still hasn't really processed the whole "fire nation is bad" thing yet. he believes katara that the ship they explored attacked their people, of course, but so far, everyone he's met from the fire nation has been super nice to him. this is the future firelord and his kind-eyed mother promising to bring him to the fire palace safely and smoothly, and offering him any accommodations he may need on their journey, nothing like the monstrous soldiers of katara's story. just to make sure, aang asks zuko what they plan on doing with him once they reach the fire nation. zuko pauses, tilting his head. "i.... don't actually know," he admits. "once we reach home, i'll hand you over to my grandfather azulon, and he'll see fit what to do with the avatar, since he's the current firelord." aang concludes that this sounds reasonable.

aang is sitting on deck, drinking a refreshing (yet slightly spicy) beverage when he is approached by one of zuko's tutors. "it is an honor to meet the avatar," he says in a reverent tone. ("thanks!" aang grins brightly. he doesn't really want to be the avatar, but he won't say no to being complimented.) "please heed my warning," says the scholar. "being in the firelord's custody will bring you and the world nothing but pain. i don't believe prince zuko knows what he is doing by bringing you to our shores, but you must escape while you still can." aang looks confused, so he hands him his glider, and a pai sho tile. "consider me a friend."

a large shadow falls over them. aang takes his glider and makes a run for it, landing on appa's back and flying away as zuko rushes on deck to see his guest of honor escaping. "how could this happen?" zuko asks. "weren't you watching him? how did he get his glider? why did he break his promise?" his tutor shrugs, explaining that airbenders are masters of evasion. and this one has managed to evade the world for the past century. "you're right," agrees zuko. "next time i find him, i will be far more vigilant."

zuko knows that other gloryseekers in the fire nation will attempt to capture that which is rightfully his, so he tries not to advertise it, but soon enough word gets out of the avatar's return, making the slippery little airbender that much more elusive. he refuses to go home without the avatar in hand. (if the spies aboard zuko's ship, either for azulon or for the white lotus, have a hand in dispersing this information, zuko does not question it.)

after an... educational visit to the southern air temple, aang decides to visit kyoshi island to ride the elephant koi. they end up staying longer than they intended to, what with aang's excitement over having an entourage, and sokka's excitement at actually meeting a girl his age for the first time in his life. it doesn't take long for the news to spread to zuko, who makes a beeline to the island. he manages to avoid the unagi as he makes it onto their shores, accompanied by some actual soldiers this time. "hand over the avatar, and no one will get hurt," he declares.

unfortunately, the villagers do not comply, instead sending their warriors to fight him. they're pretty evenly matched until aang shows up, using a pair of fans to knock zuko to the ground and run off on appa while the prince is distracted. since zuko has no further qualms with this village, he retreats to his ship, leaving suki and her village to pick up the pieces from their battle. thankfully the damage was minimal, and no one was seriously hurt, but it does inspire her to make a choice.

zuko is too late by the time he makes it to the prison rig, but he does find something useful: a necklace that could only belong to the water tribe girl helping the avatar. "that's a pretty bracelet you've got there," ursa remarks. zuko flushes. "i'm just tying it around my wrist for safekeeping," he scoffs. he can use it as leverage, he knows. he just hasn't figured out how yet.

zuko tells zhao that he isn’t allowed to try to capture the avatar, since this was his mission, as tasked by the firelord. zhao smugly replies that zuko had his chance, and now it’s anyone’s game. the man who brings the avatar back to the fire nation is sure to be handsomely rewarded, and so zhao will stop at nothing to make sure that man is him. so when he successfully kidnaps aang, zuko has no choice but to don his mother’s theater mask, strap his swords to his back, and break aang out of pohuai stronghold.

zuko wakes up to the avatar talking about life 100 years ago. since by now he’s pretty sure the avatar is literally a child, he wonders whether the kid is referring to his past life, or if he’s actually just demented. aang asks zuko if they could’ve been friends if not for the war. zuko firmly says, “no. i’m not friends with liars who break their promises.” (he’s also not friends with anyone besides his mother, but that’s neither here nor there.) he’s obviously referring to the fact that aang broke his word by escaping his ship, but that’s not where aang’s mind goes. he looks down, feeling guilty, ashamed. “okay,” he says quietly. “guess I’ll get going, then.” by the time zuko has actually considered capturing him for himself, aang has disappeared into the trees.

stowing away inside a giant fire nation ship with countless people was a smart move, but june's shirshu is smarter. zuko is outraged that she would dare to damage a ship belonging to the firelord himself to catch a simple petty thief, but he claims that if she can help him find someone, he'll consider them even. june decides that gaining the trust of the future firelord is surely a good investment, so she helps him track down his little girlfriend.

by the time zuko has located the water tribe teens, the avatar is no longer with them. he offers to trade the necklace for the boy, but katara firmly refuses, calling him a monster. zuko realizes that maybe one necklace isn’t actually worth a person, so he offers them money as well. (“well hang on a second, how much are we talking?” sokka says—as a joke, god—and katara smacks him.) june doesn’t have time to deal with futile negotiations, so she speeds up the process by paralyzing them and tracking down her bounty.

the nuns’ perfumes disorient nyla, so june peaces out asap. katara gets her necklace back, and wonders how zuko even stole it in the first place. zuko laments yet another loss. his tutors remind him that it is simply not the way of the world for ordinary people to win in fights against the avatar. but zuko isn’t an ordinary person. he’s the future firelord. so why isn’t he better than this?

zhao steps aboard zuko’s ship without his permission (he doesn’t need it; he has azulon’s). he informs zuko that he will be taking every eligible soldier for his mission, as per azulon’s command. zuko learns that he is leading an attack against the northern water tribe. but why? zuko wonders. has the northern water tribe actually attacked the fire nation? they’re famously isolationist, so it wouldn’t make sense to attack them without provocation. even the knowledge that the avatar will be there to master waterbending does little to mitigate zuko’s confusion. why bother harming countless civilians just to extract one person?

ursa warns zuko against voicing these treasonous thoughts to anyone else. treasonous? is it treasonous to question why the fire nation would attack a self-sufficient, isolated society that causes no harm to anyone else? of course the fire nation had to defend themselves against the air nomad army, and then the earth kingdom and southern water tribe, but he thought the northern water tribe had never been a part of the war. is it really just because the avatar will be there? he knows that zhao is a power-hungry monster, and admittedly, he does find his grandfather quite terrifying, but this seems needlessly cruel even for them...right? ursa sighs. maybe azula had a point. he really is hopelessly naive.

zuko decides that the only way to prevent this damage is by capturing the avatar himself. so he takes a jetski to the northern water tribe, alone, and waits for them to let him into the city. he is brought before the chief, who demands an explanation. zuko explains that the fire nation is planning an attack against them, which he personally does not endorse, but if they handed over the avatar, then the fire nation would no longer see their people as a threat, and have no reason to harm them.

everyone immediately objects, assuming that this is simply a trick to secure the avatar before they just attack them anyway. but aang vouches for zuko. “he wouldn’t lie,” he promises. he decides that he has no choice but to follow zuko’s lead if it means saving the entire northern water tribe. katara protests, but yue just looks on sympathetically. “it’s his duty,” she tells her, her voice heavy.

zuko brings the avatar before zhao, telling him that if he hands aang over, then zhao can call off the siege before any bloodshed is necessary. zhao says, “we have a deal,” and locks aang in a heavily fortified cell. then he knocks zuko out while he isn’t looking, and locks him in a cell of his own. “foolish boy. you really think i’d call off my invasion just for the avatar? i’m about to create a legacy. too bad you won’t be around to see it.”

katara runs to sokka, who’s off preparing for a secret mission, and explains to him what’s happened. sokka slaps his forehead. “if prince ponytail thinks that zhao would call off his invasion just for aang then he’s even dumber than i thought.” katara’s all like “that’s what i said!” but of course aang and yue and zuko were all too honorable to listen. “so what’s your plan?” katara asks. “it’s simple,” says sokka. “first, we go to zhao’s ship.” (“yes, absolutely, agrees katara.) “free aang.” (“uh huh, duh.”) “and then we kill zhao.” (“uhm...............”)

sokka assures katara that he’ll do all the killing and murdering and katara and aang don’t have to get their hands dirty. katara frowns but doesn’t protest. they take appa (underwater, thanks to katara’s recent waterbending upgrade) to zhao’s ship, easy to identify as it’s the nearest, biggest one.

they sneak on without issue. any guards who do notice them are immediately knocked out by katara before they can even protest. aang and zuko are being held in cells on opposite sides of the same room. they’re both chained so as to restrict their bending, but between katara’s bending and sokka’s arsenal of weapons, they’re able to break aang free. and then aang says something ridiculous. “i think we should free zuko too.”

sokka’s just like “absolutely not. we’re here to rescue you and ........incapacitate zhao, zuko is our enemy.” but then aang does his puppy dog eyes and before sokka can even protest further he’s broken zuko out anyway and katara, the traitor, is helping him. sokka sighs, knowing that this is going to complicate his plan significantly.

aang’s all like, “well why would zhao even lock zuko up in the first place if zuko didn’t have good inside him?? huh????” and sokka’s like “I don’t know maybe because zhao is an evil power-hungry monster and he doesn’t want zuko to get in his way????” and none of them can argue with that, because that’s exactly what happened.

they make a deal with zuko that they will return him to his ship if he promises to stop hunting them, and zuko is like, “what if i stop hunting you for like.... a week?” and sokka is like, “what if i murder you right now?” and zuko’s like, “okay FINE. two weeks.”

sokka decides he can murder zuko later and goes off to find zhao, telling aang and zuko to go find appa while katara follows him for backup. sokka has no idea why he trusted aang and zuko to listen to him, because of course they follow them secretly.

and sokka is SO CLOSE to slitting zhao’s throat with the edge of his blade while he was sleeping, it would’ve been SO EASY, when zuko lets out an extremely loud, involuntary gasp from the corner of the room where he and aang are hiding. technically it’s not actually zuko’s fault that zhao wakes up, because at the same time, aang cried out “NO!” which is definitely what actually awoke zhao, but sokka has decided to blame it on zuko anyway.

zhao’s eyes snap open and he firebends around the room, only managing not to scorch them all to a crisp because aang, katara, and zuko all immediately respond by using their bending to put out the fire. a fight breaks out, aang and katara trying to incapacitate zhao, sokka still hoping to kill him, zhao trying to kill all of them, and zuko frantically trying to deescalate the situation. he keeps blocking zhao by just. putting out his firebending. and he keeps blocking sokka by just pushing him out of the way every time he’s about to land a blow. which is quite possibly the most irritating thing that has ever happened to sokka in a fight.

zuko is so annoyed by this situation that eventually he’s just like, “ALL RIGHT EVERYONE STOP FIGHTING!” and he yells it so loudly and commandingly that they actually do what he says and freeze in place. “no one is killing anyone,” he says. “the avatar will be captured alive. and zhao committed high treason by imprisoning me, the crown prince, which means that he is to be sent to my grandfather so the fire nation can determine what to do with him.”

his air of diplomacy wears off after like five seconds though, and sokka just says, “that’s stupid. you’re not letting me kill him because you think the fire nation should be the ones to execute him? that literally doesn’t make sense unless you’re some persnickety imperialist bootlicker. i should kill you right now just for being so moronic.”

painfully, katara is forced to agree with sokka. she nods her head solemnly, “sokka’s right,” she tells zuko, “and you are a moron.” zhao is begrudgingly impressed. he’s like, “wow if i didn’t want to eradicate your entire race, i’d recruit you as my lieutenant.” sokka’s like, “that’s the most insulting thing anyone has ever said to me but ok.”

this standstill is the perfect opportunity for aang to knock out zhao and katara to knock out zuko, which sokka tries to indicate subtly with his eyes and hand signals, but aang and katara are just like, “what? what are you saying?” and they’re mouthing to each other looking all stupid which is the perfect opportunity for zhao to just. slip out of the room and lock the door behind him, leaving them all trapped. he gathers the most important members of his crew and lets them know to move to another ship as quickly as possible, since there’s no way that door will hold the avatar for long. he lets the rest of his crew know that they’re about to be in for the fight of their lives.

aang tries to use airbending to kick down the door, which only dents the metal slightly. then katara tries to freeze the hinges, but the door only opens from the top, leaving an opening so small even momo couldn’t climb through (and momo is back in agna qel’a safely with yue anyway). then zuko uses his firebending powered kicks to try to pry the door off its hinges, leaving it rattled and slightly more dented. just as aang is about to try again, sokka’s like, “is it my turn yet?” takes out the knife in his boot, and picks the lock. katara smacks him over the head for not just having done that in the first place.

the entirety of zhao’s remaining crew is right outside the door, waiting to kill all of them at their admiral’s orders. it’s a brutal fight. they don’t hold back, no matter how many times zuko insists that he ranks higher than zhao and therefore they should be listening to him! katara knocks out most of them with a water whip, and aang takes out the rest with an airbending move that gives them all the concussion of their lives. they run back to appa as fast as they can, mowing down soldiers along the way. they don’t really have another option, so they let zuko climb onto appa too.

they fly back to the capital, where arnook is waiting for them. they explain the situation as quickly as possible, and that the secret mission to take out zhao was a bust. (sokka will later realize that he could’ve killed zhao before freeing aang, and regret everything.) yue suggests getting help from the spirits, so she takes aang and katara to the oasis so that aang can enter the spirit world and seek the guidance he needs.

meanwhile, sokka and arnook are debating what to do with zuko. on one hand, he did try to protect their tribe, which means he should get diplomatic immunity since he’s technically their ally against this invasion. on the other hand, he’s the crown prince of the fire nation, and if they hold him for ransom then the firelord will probably call off the siege. but also the message won’t be received in time for that, since zhao could be approaching any second, so maybe it would be more helpful to use zuko to fight against this army, which he could probably be convinced to do. meanwhile zuko is sitting in a little prison cell like, “i wonder how mom’s doing...”

pakku gets a message from the white lotus that the crown prince has been missing for a day, along with a jetski, and if he happens to know where he might have gone? with some light snooping, pakku finds out that zuko is being held prisoner, but they're probably going to free him since he doesn't really seem to be a threat. so he assures the white lotus that he's safe in their city, and not to worry. ursa worries.

sokka goes to visit zuko, giving him the option to fight in exchange for his freedom, when he sees a shadow slink into the wall. he pretends not to notice anything. "we've decided to release you provided you help us prepare and fight against zhao's invasion, which seems like something you'd be willing to do considering he just tried to kill you. the blue spirit can help too i guess," he says, gesturing to ursa in the corner of the room, who scoffs behind her mask.

zuko agrees that zhao committing high treason, going back on his word, trying to kill the avatar, and invading an isolationist society are all pretty good grounds for fighting that guy. he's very confused by what sokka means about the blue spirit, though, because he was pretty sure that he's the blue spirit...? ursa takes off her mask and waves. zuko lights up. "MOM!!!!!!!!!" he cries, and rushes to hug her as sokka unlocks the door to his cell. and ohmygod sokka hates this guy so fucking much.

ursa's like, "are you sure you don't want to apturecay the vataray?" sokka rolls his eyes at her assumption that he somehow can't hear and/or understand her. or maybe she just doesn't care. zuko's like, "ugh, i promised them a two weeks truce." ursa doesn't know whether to be proud of or annoyed by her son who refuses to go back on his word, ever.

sokka takes zuko (and ursa) to arnook, who can command them as he best sees fit, and then heads over to the spirit oasis so he can be there for katara, aang, and yue. aang is busy meditating, so katara and yue are just standing there keeping watch and hoping for the best. zhao enters through the door while aang is still in the spirit world. katara defends aang with everything she has, and sokka is torn between providing backup and making sure no one lays a hand on yue. they're sorely outnumbered. especially because while katara and sokka are busy protecting aang (and yue), they leave room open for zhao to pluck a certain koi fish out of a pond.

aang returns to his body a second too late. "why is the moon red?" he asks. then he sees zhao. "oh no." he begs with zhao, pleads him not to do this. destroying the moon wouldn't just hurt the water tribes, but the whole world. just put the fish down, and then they can negotiate. zhao slowly sets tui down. and then he roasts it. the sky goes dark. aang blows a gust of wind at zhao and his soldiers so powerful that it knocks half of them out. zhao knows that there's no winning a fight against the avatar, and runs out of the oasis. he got what he came for anyway.

yue starts crying. "there's no hope now," she says. "it's over." katara can't bend. the sky is black. she feels as sick as she did when she was born. "no," says aang, his voice echoing with his countless lifetimes. "it's not over." he steps into the pond, and emerges bonded with the ocean spirit. so that one solves one problem. the entire fire navy fleet is decimated in a matter of minutes, and the ocean drops aang off on the wall of the city once they're certain their mission is complete.

meanwhile zuko is fighting zhao on another bridge, more furious than zhao has ever seen him. "how could you could this?" he shouts, pummeling zhao with fireballs. even as zhao nearly trips trying to block zuko's attack, he sneers. "i didn't do anything your father wouldn't have done, had he taken his rightful place on the throne." zuko can't believe this. his father died when he was just a child. yes, he was somewhat cold and distant, but zuko has fond memories of him too, like when he would teach him history while sitting on the beach at ember island, or when he would play soldier with him in the garden (or... wait.... was that uncle iroh?). "if only your bitch of a mother didn't kill him."

zuko suddenly remembers something azula said to him, only once. his ears ring. he repeats what he had said (shouted) then. "you're lying!" his fireballs grow even stronger. suddenly, a giant glowing hand emerges from the canal. zuko ducks and rolls out of the way, but the hand wasn't after him anyway. without thinking, zuko reaches out to zhao. "grab my hand!" he tells him, and zhao nearly does it before thinking better of it and pulling away. the last thing zhao sees is the moon shining bright in the sky once more.

zuko wipes his eyes before teartracks can freeze his cheeks, and then goes to find his mom. sokka and katara go to find aang. they all find one another on the bridge, ursa already tending to aang who is slumped on the ground. "what happened to the moon?" zuko asks. sokka doesn't answer, his mouth set in a thin line. "what happened to zhao?" asks katara. zuko doesn't answer, merely looks down. "did you kill him?" asks sokka. since zuko doesn't respond, they take this to mean that he did. "oh man," whines sokka. "i wanted to do that!" he had already been prepared to kill zhao, and then yue... ugh. it's not fair! why does this idiot get everything good??

in the morning, arnook sends zuko back to his ship as a thanks for killing zhao (zuko doesn't bother to correct him). the gaang stays behind for a bit to help clean up the mess, but sokka insists that they have to leave soon to find aang an earthbending teacher (and if he doesn't wanna stay here another second longer for other reasons, he doesn't mention it). they go find a general who wants to help aang access the avatar state, while zuko and what's left of his crew travel to a spa to relax for a while, seeing as he can't attempt to capture the avatar at the moment anyway.

who shows up but azula, who zuko hasn't seen in years. "wow, zuzu, you look terrible," is one of the first things out of her mouth, but he can't even be offended because he knows it's true. he's barely slept since the siege of the north, and the only food he's kept down is plain white rice. ursa was hoping the resort would help improve his health, but he can't hide his declining state from his sister. he's haunted by images of zhao going under, pulling away from his hand in disgust, of his mother doing the same to ozai. he doesn't know who to trust anymore. he thinks he might hate himself. "don't call me that," zuko snaps. he hasn't seen his sister in years. she looks different. colder, sharper.

"hello, azula, it's really good to see you," ursa says calmly. she goes in for a hug, but azula blocks her. "you didn't even write," she says, refusing to look her mother in the eye. ursa frowns. "of course i did," she says. "did you not receive my letters?" she hadn't. azulon had intercepted them. he thought it best if he kept azula all to himself. azula thinks she's being mocked, but she holds back her tears, as she's been learning to do since she was born. "grandfather wants you back in the fire nation," she tells zuko. "his health is declining. you ought to prepare for your coronation."

zuko doesn't really want to return, but he doesn't know how he feels traveling the world with his mom anymore, and it's his duty to take the throne, so it's not like he has a choice. then one of azula's crew lets it slip that zuko is not their honored guest, but their prisoner, and all hell breaks loose. "of course grandfather doesn't want you on the throne!" azula taunts him. "your repeated failure to capture the avatar has been an embarrassment! not to mention, you aided the water tribe during the siege, and literally killed an admiral."

"i didn't kill him, i tried to save him!" zuko protests. "and the avatar is extremely powerful, even you couldn't catch him." (azula takes this as a challenge.) zuko and ursa barely escape with their lives, being given enough of a head start only because ursa pushed azula into the water below. she doesn't even make sure to check if her daughter is okay, she just grabs zuko's hand and runs.

they run and run until they reach a clearing in the woods. zuko throws up in the river. "i didn't kill zhao," he whispers, over and over again. "i didn't kill zhao... i didn't....." ursa hugs him as breaks down. "i know honey, i know." but zuko is shaking in her arms for another reason. "did you kill my father?" he asks. ursa tenses, and zuko backs away from her. "no," she says. "no, of course not. why would you think that?"

"you did.... didn't you....." zuko can barely control his rage. ursa starts crying, pleading with him. "you don't understand, zuko, he would've killed you. killed me. please, you must understand. i had no other choice. it was self-defense." zuko shakes his head. "i get why you did it," he says, because he may be naive, but he's not stupid. "but why did you lie to me? everyone acted like azula was crazy, but she was right all along."

ursa smiles sadly. "i lied to protect you," she says. "i couldn't let anyone else know what i did." zuko sees his mother for the first time. he unsheathes his knife, the pearl dagger uncle iroh gave him just before he disappeared. "cut. your. hair." honor never meant much to ursa, she knew it to be a hollow facade that hid ill-tempered husbands behind delusions of grandeur. but she knows how much it means to zuko. so she takes his knife and cuts her hair to her chin, too short to tie into a topknot.

zuko takes the knife back, and in the spur of the moment, cuts off his ponytail too. he doesn't even fully know why he does it. it's not like he murdered anyone. but he also knows that if it came down to it, he'd do anything for his mother, and maybe that counts all the same. "we have to keep moving," ursa tells him. "azula could be on our trail right now." zuko is about to protest that it's all a misunderstanding, that if he just talked to his grandfather he could clear his name, but another, newer part of him doesn't even believe that anymore. so he takes ursa's hand, and they head to the nearest earth kingdom town in search for provisions and a map that can lead them to ba sing se.

after weeks of traveling from town to town, depending on the kindness of strangers to keep them fed (or well, ursa fed. zuko still doesn't eat much), zuko can't take it anymore. "i'm the crown prince," he complains, "i shouldn't be living like this! i need to go talk to azula and make things right." ursa shakes her head. "what you need is to be patient," she says. "once we reach ba sing se, we'll find a roof over our heads, good jobs, and a steady life. a little hard work won't kill you in the meantime." zuko is about to complain that it most certainly will, but his mom has been doing so much for him lately (and his whole life), so he just sighs and acquiesces.

one night, while they're sleeping in someone's barn, zuko asks his mom how she knows how to do all kinds of manual labor. that's not the kind of thing you learn growing up in a palace. ursa explains that she wasn't actually raised as a noble, although she has noble blood. she grew up in a small village in the southern fire nation, where she likely would have spent her whole life if she hadn't been chosen to be ozai's bride due to her relation to avatar roku. zuko's just like, "uh....... hold up????? you literally never told me any of this?????????"

ursa says she figured it wasn't important. even zuko knows that's a lie. it seems extremely important. "elaborate. now," he demands. so ursa tells him stories of growing up on a small, quiet island, studying theater with her friends, firebending with her mom, and fishing with her dad. she tells him about how she was taken away, given no choice. she tells him stories of what ozai said to her, what he did to her. she doesn't go into detail or anything, but she figures zuko is old enough to know. she tells him more stories the next night, lighter ones this time. the story of where she got her favorite mask. the story of making sweet buns with her brother. stories about zuko and azula when they were babies. the night after that, she tells him the story of roku and sozin.

"i don't understand," says zuko. "sozin let roku die?? why would he do that?? roku was his friend!" ursa can't help it; she laughs. "roku was the only thing stopping sozin from spreading the glory of the fire nation across the world. he cared about roku, but he also cared about his nation." zuko scoffs. "it sounds to me like he cared about no one but himself." ursa would scold him for voicing such a thought if she hadn't been wondering the same thing.

the next morning, zuko slips away silently with his swords strapped to his back. he's tired of running. so when azula tracks aang to a ghost town, zuko appears moments later. "zuko?" exclaims aang. he's so tired, he wonders if he's hallucinating. they haven't seen zuko since the north pole, and despite his new haircut being quite flattering, he looks even worse than aang currently feels. he doesn't have much time to reflect, since azula uses this pause to attack aang, and zuko is trying to intervene for reasons unclear to both of them. katara and sokka show up to defend aang.

meanwhile toph has bumped into a woman about her mother's age on the side of the road. they have a long talk, and they both feel a lot better by the end of it, even if it makes toph miss her mom and ursa miss azula. toph returns to the gaang just in time to save their butts. zuko keeps yelling for azula to stop so they can talk, but azula's just like "can't you see i'm busy right now?"

what does catch her attention, though, is the arrival of ursa. the woman who brought her into the world, and, most recently, pushed her into the sea without a second thought. her hair is shorter. “azula," says ursa sternly, in that what am i going to do with this truculent child voice she has never once used on zuko. "we need to talk."

"yes, yes, mother," says azula. "once i've captured the avatar, then we can hash everything out." ursa grabs azula by the back of her collar as if she's a kitten. "now, young lady!" and she marches azula to the other side of the town, motioning for zuko to stay put. toph is suddenly far less regretful of the fact that this woman is not her mother.

"so...." says zuko, upon noticing that three familiar pairs of eyes are staring at him. he waves awkwardly. aang waves back, but feels so stupid that he puts his hand down after a single second of consideration. "okay," says sokka. "we're all thinking it, so i'm just gonna say it. you look awful." aang and katara both nod. he really does. "oh my god," says toph, "let's LEAVE."

out of the corner of her eye, azula catches the avatar and his companions just walking away, without so much as a fight from zuko, and she squirms in ursa's grasp. "but–" she protests, pointing at the receding blur of orange and yellow. "don't talk back to me!" ursa snaps as she continues lecturing azula on why she needs to be a better sister to zuko and it's clear she wants to take the throne but as a woman that just isn't her place and–

"that's rich coming from the woman who murdered her husband," azula says. ursa does not dignify azula's comment with a response. "also, i don't want the throne," azula continues. "grandfather wants me to have the throne. i'm just doing what he told me to." the fact that he own mother thinks so little of her, that she hasn't seen her in years, didn't even bother to write, and now all she wants to do is lecture her on not being good enough... azula does not cry. her lip wobbles a little, but she's fine. she's fine.

zuko walks over to them, disobeying his mother’s orders. he just doesn’t get why she would scold azula when she should know that she made azula feel as if she was crazy her whole life. shouldn’t she feel at least a little bit guilty for that? “i didn’t kill zhao,�� he tells azula. “a giant spirit hand rose out of the ocean and dragged him down. i tried to help him but he wouldn’t take my hand. believe me or don’t. i don’t care.”

unfortunately, azula does believe him. because she knows her brother, and he cannot tell a lie to save his life. but this is a problem, because grandfather wants zuko out of the way, and without the precedent of treason, they have no good reason not to maintain his position as heir. but she’s always been good at thinking on her feet. “what if,” she proposes, “we work together to capture the avatar, but you take all the credit for it? then surely grandfather would be impressed enough with you that he wouldn’t mind giving you the throne. in return, all i ask is that when you’re firelord, you do everything i say, which is only fair because grandfather thinks i’d make a better ruler, and all my advice would be in your best interest anyway. do we have a deal?”

zuko doesn’t like the sound of being beholden to azula; he’s too proud for that. but he also wants his grandfather’s approval. there's also another issue... “i don’t know how i feel about capturing the avatar, to be honest,” zuko says. “at first i thought he was a scheming coward from a backwards culture, but he actually seems like a pretty good kid. maybe we could reason with him instead?”

azula resists the urge to smack her forehead. this kind of thinking is exactly why he shouldn’t be in charge of a fishing boat, let alone a global superpower. “were you born without balls?” she honestly can’t believe she’s related to him. (“language,” ursa warns.) “you know what, i feel bad even suggesting that we work together. clearly, grandfather was right about you, and if you dare set foot in the fire nation again we will have no choice but to convict you for the murder of that dumbass admiral guy. i mean personally i wish you did kill him, because it would be the only modicum of chutzpah you’d ever display in your pathetic little life, but of course you couldn’t even do that much. and mother, you can’t blame me for lack of trying. but i think you know as well as i do that your son is a lost cause. i’ll be going now. don’t try to contact me again.”

with that, azula walks away, and neither zuko nor ursa try to stop her. she finds mai and ty lee back in the woods by their mounts, damp and shivering and smelling unpleasantly of river water. this situation doesn’t stop ty lee from wrapping azula in a hug the moment she lays eyes upon her expression, poorly masked distress and red eyes threatening to spill over. azula just stands there, letting her clothes get wet.

“so............” says ursa. zuko stares at her. he knows she’s trying so hard not to say i told you so. instead she says, “ba sing se?” zuko reluctantly nods. so he’ll let azula take the throne while he hides in the earth kingdom like a coward. he’s fine with that! glad, even! his family is all kinds of fucked up. who needs them? not him! (he's always been a terrible liar.)

“i have some contacts who can help us get fake passports and tickets aboard the ferry,” ursa says. “i hope you know that this isn’t a dishonorable thing to do. there’s no shame in retreating from a bad situation before it gets worse.” zuko frowns. “like when you killed my father, you mean?” he asks. ursa nods. “something like that,” she agrees.

"i mean, honestly, zuko... do you even want to be firelord?" zuko scoffs. what is she even talking about? of course he wants to be firelord! it's been his birthright since uncle abdicated, he's been training for it since he was a child. it's honorable to perform one's duty by serving the most just and forward-thinking nation in the world. ursa sighs. "see, zuko, this is exactly what i'm talking about. do you even believe what you're saying right now?"

"okay, okay," zuko concedes, "so maybe great-grandfather sozin and grandfather azulon have been a little extreme in their views, but they needed to rule with a firm hand due to the pressures of the war and the power vacuum left by the disappearance of the avatar. now that he's back, i'm sure we can find negotiations with the other nations that satisfy everyone's needs, and–"

"oh my god. ZUKO. who do you think STARTED the war?" ursa all but yells. zuko pauses. he doesn't want to say something wrong. there are a lot of false starts, opening his mouth, and then promptly closing it, like the world's most thoughtful goldfish. when he finally does speak, he's quiet and to the point. "we did," he says.

ursa lets zuko grapple with this revelation all the way to ba sing se. some guy keeps trying to talk to him on the ferry but gives up after five minutes of realizing he's not paying attention, way too absorbed in his own thoughts and recontextualized memories. they walk through the lower ring, navigating the throng of refugees who have been displaced by the war. zuko doesn't know whether he wants to stay in this bubble forever, or if he's more determined than ever to assume the throne, and right the wrongs of his forefathers. all he knows for certain is that his mom managed to set them up with the coolest jobs he could ever hope for.

katara knows that ba sing se is a horrendous hyperstratified police state, but she's always been one to see the good in things, and ever since her fun little day at the spa with toph, she's been enjoying perusing the cultural resources ba sing se's upper ring has to offer. so she takes momo to a park, where he runs around chasing birds; she takes sokka to the library, where he complains that all their intelligence is outdated while she browses the romance section; she makes all of them go shopping with her, because they lost most of their stuff when appa was stolen, and she's sick of wearing the same outfit every single day; and she tries to cheer up aang as much as possible, which includes a matinee showing of some old earth kingdom play she's never actually heard of, but which got rave reviews in the ba sing se gazette.

during intermission (one of two, apparently this play is four and a half hours long???) katara whispers to aang, "is it just me, or does the lead actress look familiar?" aang is confused. "what do you mean by that? she's literally wearing a mask." katara shrugs. "i dunno..." she says, "i just get this creepy feeling like i've seen her before." they almost miss it, because they're jumping out of the seats by the time the play has finally ended, but thankfully katara remembers to look back when the cast members take their masks off, because holy shit she does know that woman.

aang and katara stealthily follow their marks, trailing behind a good distance while also making sure not to lose them in the crowd. it helps that aang has an aerial view. they finally end up in front of a lower ring apartment complex, where two of the most high-ranking members of the fire nation royal family are apparently.... living??? they're not exactly sure how to make their next move. aang offers that they wait for sokka to come up with a plan, since he'd know what to do, but katara is too impatient. she tells aang to wait outside, and that she'll signal to him if it's a trap, at which point he should get toph and sokka (she's fairly confident she can take a skinny dweeb and his mom on her own, but she doesn't want him getting his slimy fire nation hands on aang).

in a perhaps inadvisable move (since their landlord now expects her to pay for the damages), she kicks the door down, holding ice daggers in each hand. "all right, i'm onto you," she threatens the mother currently trying to pile more food onto the plate of her resisting son. "how did you infiltrate the city, and why are you here?"

zuko shrieks, and then realizes it's just the avatar's waterbender friend. "oh hey...........you." (it suddenly occurs to him that he never bothered to learn her name.) "what are you doing here?"

"that's none of your business," says katara, folding her arms. like she'd spill their secret invasion plan to the crown prince, or let it slip that appa is missing. yeah right. "well, it is kind of my business," replies zuko, "seeing as you're in our apartment." ursa hands her a fresh plate. "sit and eat with us. we can answer all your questions over dinner." katara complies with little fuss, since fire nation or not, she can't help but be charmed by any sort of maternal figure. not to mention she was enchanting in that play.

zuko and ursa explain to katara that they're laying low in ba sing se to avoid the wrath of his grandfather, who has declared him a traitor for helping the northern water tribe during the siege, and they actually quite like it here. ursa successfully auditioned her way into one of ba sing se's most elite theater troupes, and zuko was hired as assistant stage manager. they have no ulterior motive, zuko is just content to help his mother live out her lifelong dreams of becoming an actress, since he's currently too confused about everything to even know what stance he should be taking in this war anyway.

katara leaps at this. "what do you mean you're confused?" she asks. as much as sokka claims that zuko is the biggest idiot he's ever met (and that includes chong), katara can't help but harbor the mildest of soft spots for a guy whose best friend is clearly his mom. maybe this is her chance to finally Fix Him. "well," says zuko, "i always thought my role in this war and in the world was to help my grandfather and someday take over his role as firelord, but now it seems like my grandfather hates me, so i'm not really sure what to do about that. also you and the avatar seem really nice? but not your brother though, he's really mean and kinda terrifying. so... yeah. i'll probably just stay here with my mom."

katara's like, "okay, i totally get that, your mom seems dope, but what if, instead, you went full traitor and helped teach aang firebending? wouldn't that be fun? and don't worry about sokka, you can always just distract him with food or something shiny." and zuko's like, "suppose i agree to your offer, how am i even supposed to firebend in this city without getting arrested?" which is admittedly a pretty good point. but katara's like, "we'll be leaving eventually, and when we do, you can come with us and train aang then!"

zuko's torn, because on one hand he doesn't want to leave his mom, but on the other hand, being an official companion to the avatar seems like a more worthwhile use of time than assistant stage managing (even if it is really fun). ursa's also torn, because on one hand, her dearest wish has always been for her children to be able to lead normal, happy lives, but on the other hand, she thinks it might be good for zuko to finally make some friends his age, and on the other hand, she's not sure if those friends should be the anti-fire nation revolutionaries who are trying to kill his family? like, yes, sure, she's also killed his family, but it wasn't really a politics thing, it was far more personal than that. but zuko's always harbored lowkey treasonous political views, and she cares more about supporting her son's ambitions than she cares about whether or not the fire nation wins the war, if we're being completely honest. it's a real conundrum. ultimately, they're both just like, "we'll think about it," which is good enough for katara, who is convinced that anyone who thinks about it long enough will ultimately come to the obvious conclusion that it is far better to be Good than Bad.

so she leaves their apartment (struggling in a futile attempt to reset their door before finally giving up and leaning it against the wall for their landlord to fix), signals for aang to come down from the roof, and takes the monorail back to the upper ring, where she informs toph and sokka of the absolutely insane day she just had. sokka is immediately opposed to this idea. "you couldn't have found anyone else even slightly less annoying to teach aang firebending?? i really don't wanna spend more time around that guy than i've already been forced to." toph reminds them all that zuko didn't even actually agree to it. he said he'd think about it, which is the exact kind of thing you say to someone when you want them to leave you alone. sokka's like, "man i wish this was the end of it but if you think aang and katara aren't gonna follow up with him the next day and the day after that then you clearly do not know them well enough."

as it turns out, they don't have time to follow up with him the next day, because this is the day that katara runs into jet. (you really think that jet wouldn't find another way to cause a public scene protesting the inherent inequalities of the city, leading to his arrest by the dai li??? cmon now.) with his help, they make their way to lake laogai, where they free appa, but not before their frenemy's demise. they ride into the earth kingdom palace, mowing down countless dai li agents along the way, expose long feng's fraud, and inform the earth king of the reality of the war. all in a day's work.

they decide to go their separate ways for the time being: sokka to see his dad, aang to see guru pathik, toph to "see" her "mom," while katara stays in the city and "helps with the invasion" (ie, lets momo loose in an earth kingdom war room, uses king kuei's credit card to buy so many earrings, goes to see some more plays and then brag to the guy sitting next to her that she's friends with the lead actress). of course katara told sokka to go see their dad because she knows how much he misses him (and not at all because the thought of going to see her dad makes bile rise in her throat haha why would you even say that????), but she's also curious as to whether she can get to know zuko a little bit better in the meantime as well.

she shows up at his apartment and basically demands that they hang out. zuko has seen her waterbend, so like, what is he gonna do?? say no??? they have a very fun time wandering around the lower ring, sampling the food vendors, perusing the market stalls, getting lost in little winding alleyways. momo stayed behind with katara, and zuko is absolutely enchanted by him the entire night. it startles zuko to realize that he weirdly feels very close to katara, like they could’ve been best friends in another life. maybe they still have that opportunity. if he takes her up on her offer to join her group, then he can hang out with her (and momo!!!!) every day... but no, he couldn’t leave his mom, she’s done far too much for him for him to just abandon her...

he tries to communicate this sentiment to her, tries to tell her just how much his mom means to him. katara sighs. “i understand,” she says. “i’d give anything to be able to spend more time with my mom.” zuko stupidly asks where katara’s mom is now. katara very patiently explains. he’s shocked, so he asks a lot of follow-up questions, and katara is like “yes, finally, my opportunity to fully radicalize him!” and you know what? she does. and then she makes him buy her noodles even though she has the king’s all but unlimited purse and he only has the spare change he makes from his job as an assistant stage manager.

katara walks zuko home from their totally not a date and ursa invites her inside for dinner. katara is already extremely full from all the street food she ate, but she will not pass up the opportunity to eat food cooked by a mom. zuko’s mom, even. after dinner is over, ursa asks katara to help her with the dishes, and katara, who loves an excuse to show off her waterbending, happily agrees. sotto voce, ursa mentions to katara, as casually as she can, “look, you need to know something about zuko. i love my son very much, and nothing could ever change that, but.... he was born...... wrong. there’s nothing i could’ve done differently, so ive accepted it and protected him, but you should know that you’re not gonna get what you’re looking for from him.”

katara’s like, “what do you mean........ wrong?” frankly she has not met a more well-adjusted member of the fire nation. if he’s wrong, then what’s zhao??? ursa sighs. how is she gonna explain this to a wide-eyed teenage girl who has decided to pin all her hopes and dreams on her wonderful mistake of a son. ursa backtracks. “not, uh, wrong, per se, just different. he’s not.... normal.”

katara thinks about the fire nation’s standards for normality and decides that maybe that’s a good thing. ursa’s like “okay but just keep in mind what i said all right?” and katara nods with a wide, impassive smile and thanks her for dinner, the dishes all sparkling clean. she takes the monorail back to the apartment in the upper ring with a warm, tingly feeling in her heart and her hands.

ty lee walks into the lounge area where azula is reading a book on global trade sanctions during the yangchen era and mai is fast asleep. “i spied on zuko like you asked,” she says. “he was on a date with that water tribe girl. they were sooooo cute together.” she says that last part loudly and viciously enough to wake up mai, who simply blinks a few times before saying, “barf.” azula tries to hide how disturbed she feels upon hearing this. she knew that zuko was in the city with mother, pretending to be humble actors, she could tell as much from the single performance she had attended (and left during intermission). but befriending the water tribe peasant?? this was too much.

“i see,” she says. “clearly he needs our help.” in truth, she wants her family to come back home. grandfather is getting old, and despite the fact that her mother has been nothing but horrible to her, she still misses her, still wants her mother there for her inevitable coronation. and if she knows one thing to be true in this world, it’s that where zuko goes, ursa is sure to follow.

“he needs more than a little help,” ty lee agrees. “have you seen his hair?? that boy is due for a total makeover.” mai just rolls her eyes. she needs ty lee to stop acting like this. to just say what she really thinks for even one single second. ugh. whatever. she goes back to sleep. but azula does take ty lee’s words to heart. zuko’s hair is the shortest she’s ever seen it. it was already long by the time she was old enough to remember anything clearly. why is his hair short?

katara wakes up the next morning with an official summons from the kyoshi warriors to meet in the palace. she’s very excited. she doesn’t know suki all that well, but she respects her a lot, and is always happy to get to know her brother’s sort of girlfriend a little better. when she walks into the throne room, she sees three kyoshi warriors she doesn’t recognize sitting on the floor. “hey guys,” she says. it’s so hard to keep track of them with their matching facepaint. “where’s suki? isn’t she here with you?” the girl seated in the middle smiles. “suki is indisposed at the moment,” says a familiar, blood-chilling voice. “i’m afraid you’ll have to make do with us for now.” oh no.

katara draws her water, but ty lee has already backflipped behind her and blocked her chi, katara’s now useless weapon pooling around her as she lies helpless on the floor. she is completely defenseless as they throw her into an underground prison only an earthbender could escape from. elsewhere, aang gets a vision.

sokka is about to embark on his first actual mission with his father and prove himself as a warrior when he is interrupted by a bison and his boy. once again, he’s needed elsewhere. toph joins them on the way back. a dai li agent who doesn't trust the sudden regime change shows up at their apartment and informs them that katara is being held in the crystal catacombs under the city. sokka is torn between going with aang to rescue his sister or going with toph to save the earth king. as much as he wants to be there for katara, aang can master the avatar state now (or so he says), so he'll probably be fine on his own.

the avatar has been lured directly into azula's trap, and when he sees that the sheer number of dai li agents fighting alongside her are overpowering katara, aang has no choice but to go into the avatar state, which is when azula strikes. having successfully rescued the earth king (and bosco), sokka and toph fly on appa to meet katara, but it seems they are too late. aang is all but dead, and it is only when katara heals aang with her spirit water that he breathes once more. even then, he is barely conscious.

before they can go meet their dad and the rest of the southern water tribe fleet, katara knows she has one last pitstop to make. as she heads to the lower ring apartment, she pleads with the spirits that they'll be home. she really needs a win today. but when she opens the door to the apartment, the only people there are those horrible girls mai and ty lee.

"you!" she gasps. "what did you do with zuko?" mai looks characteristically bored as she responds. "we didn't do anything, azula came and told him that she killed the avatar, so he decided to go back to the fire nation. they left, like, an hour ago." katara is furious. "but she didn't kill aang! or, well, she did, but aang's– ugh! tell zuko to come back so i can punch him in the face!" mai rolls her eyes, but ty lee can tell that she's amused. "as much as i would like to see that," she says, "that's not in my control. so."

katara really wants to fight them, or anyone, really, but she has just enough sense to remember what happened every single time she's ever gone up against ty lee, so she leaves, slamming the (only recently-fixed) door so hard behind her that it breaks. she returns to appa alone with a silent shake of her head and tears streaming down her face. she spends the next few weeks tirelessly healing aang, pouring all her anger and frustration and and desperation into trying to get his eyes to open once more.

zuko is also on a fire nation ship, but not the one he spent the past few years on. he's finally heading back to the fire nation. now that his mission to capture and/or help the avatar is fruitless, he really has no other choice. looks like fate made that decision before he could. or well, azula did. he's not sure what happened to azula to turn her into a killer. it makes him feel somewhat guilty, for leaving. maybe she could've come with them, instead of being left behind with their scary grandpa. he's not looking forward to seeing azulon. how is he supposed to tell the most powerful man in the world that he disagrees with everything he's ever done in his life?

not to mention mai won't stop bothering him. he suspects azula has something to do with that too. mai keeps talking like the past three years never happened, and they can just pick back up where they left off, but zuko has changed so much lately. but as much as he tries to brush her off, she's always there. so he figures he may as well talk to her. she's hardly dumb, so maybe she can hear him out.

mai cannot stand all of zuko's borderline incoherent, flowery rants about "truth" and "justice." they're all "katara said" this, and "guru laghima said" that, and "then katara was like" oh my god SHUT UP ABOUT KATARA. mai obviously knew that azula and ty lee were lying when they were like, "i overheard zuko talking about how he has a crush on you, mai. you should totally talk to him," but she also knows that if she doesn't find a way to secure her position with him she will never live it down or be able to show her face in front of either of them again. so eventually she just gets fed up listening to him talk about how he and katara are totally, like, twin flames or whatever and just grabs his face and kisses him.

now this is zuko's first kiss (the date with jin never happened because ursa has more tact than iroh), so he kind of just freezes up and stands there, very still, long after it's over and mai has left the room, successful in her mission and once more bored and in need of a task. she lets him know that they're dating now and that he should bring her flowers, and zuko's just like "okay." he doesn't know how to feel about that. his first kiss. it felt... underwhelming? maybe if it had been set to a beautiful score, with better lighting, elaborate costumes... it was a very aesthetically mundane kiss. maybe that was the only the rehearsal though, and when they kiss again next time, it'll more romantic and elaborate.

zuko gets very in his own head about planning the perfect date so that he can stage the perfect (remedial) first kiss with mai. he brings her flowers, naturally. mai says, "thank you for the gift" and then drops them on the ground. zuko's like. "what??? did i bring you the wrong flowers???" he researched the flower symbolism and arrangement ahead of time so as to perfectly express this symbol of early love, developing feelings. mai's like, "oh, no, you did great, but i hate flowers." zuko has no idea what to say to that. she asked him to bring her flowers. mai's like "yeah but that didn't mean i wanted them." zuko asks mai what she does like, so that next time he can bring her that instead. she says, "knives," and then immediately follows up with, "but don't actually bring me knives. you'd be a bad boyfriend if you brought me knives. you're supposed to bring me flowers." zuko doesn't understand why he should go out of the way to bring flowers for someone who'll just throw them on the ground, but mai assures him that this is what good boyfriends do.

he resolutely continues the date he planned, even though it's clear that mai is not actually enjoying any of it. at the restaurant, she takes only the smallest bites of food, eating rice grain by grain. but every time he asks her if she wants to take it back to the kitchen and get something else, she assures him that she likes it and intends to finish it. they take a walk through a park at night, lanterns glimmering over the black water, and mai can't help but comment on what a cliche this romantic moonlit stroll is. zuko's like, "oh.... uh..... i think it's nice...." and mai's like, "of course it's nice. i love it." dessert is eaten on a picnic on a cliffside looking out at the full moon. mai comments on how full the moon is, but in a tone of voice that implies that she's fatshaming it. zuko blithely ignores her comment. once they finish their respective fruit tarts, zuko decides that this is the perfect moment to kiss mai again, this time with him in control so that it won't be all chaotic and boring like mai is. he still feels vaguely underwhelmed by the kiss, but this time he reassures himself that it's because he was kissing something he doesn't really like all that much, and not because the setting and ambiance and mood was off.

mai goes home extremely pleased with herself. if she has to date the crown prince to please azula, her parents, and whoever else gets their sick kicks from enforcing the heteropatriarchy, she'll at least troll everyone in the process.

meanwhile, ursa is adjusting to life back in the palace. zuko keeps remarking that he didn't remember the fire nation palace being so...... big and, like, foreboding. was it always this miserable here? ursa chuckles darkly. "believe it or not, it used to be a whole lot worse." zuko suddenly recalls the stories she told him in a barn in the middle of the night. he understands why she never told azula the truth.

it's weird. azula seems to actively be seeking ursa out, but she can't seem to go five seconds before picking a fight with her. ursa doesn't know how to communicate with azula. she never did. she assumes azula wants affection, but the more affection she shows her, the more azula pushes her away. but when she rises to azula's bait, azula says, "you haven't been here in over three years and now you want to criticize me???" eventually ursa just resigns herself into accepting that all fourteen year old girls are like this with their mothers; god knows she was, and she didn't even have to deal with being royalty.

aang wakes up, slowly but surely, and he isn't happy just spending his days on a fire nation ship. sokka assures him that this is the safest way for them to plan for the invasion, but aang can't take it. he let the world down. again. there's another storm at sea. this time, he washes ashore on a semi-active volcano. they find him, and from then on, they're hiding out in the fire nation until the invasion. they don disguises. aang goes to a fire nation school, and throws his classmates a secret dance party. katara impersonates a spirit and blows up a factory. sokka finds a master and forges a sword. they scam some people, fight some people, plan for the invasion. all pretty on-brand shenanigans.

azula is even more on-edge than usual. if she doesn't orchestrate this invasion counterattack perfectly, who knows what could happen. what matters most is that the avatar is really dead. she finds the perfect assassin to make sure of it. if the avatar is still alive, he won't be for much longer.

meanwhile zuko is so. bored. he thought being back in the fire nation, celebrated as a hero for finally killing the avatar (not that he actually did that, but y'know. everyone seemed to take azula's word for it, and it's not like he can expose her lie) would mean that he got to make more political decisions, but azulon still seems to treat him like he's some naive child. he traveled the world, he slew the avatar (allegedly), he has a goth gf! he's a man!!! but instead of letting him into important war councils, he's sending him off to ember island to go play kuai ball like he's some fucking kid. his only consolation is that azula's forced to go with him too, and she doesn't seem bothered with it, so maybe it's not a big deal.

it still sucks though. not only does zuko have to spend an entire weekend without his mom, but he has to put up with his annoying ass little sister and her annoying ass little friends, one of whom he is apparently dating, even though all she does is make fun of him to his face. no matter what he does there's no winning with her. she only seems remotely happy with him once he finally gets frustrated enough to dump her, but then five seconds later she's like, "okay i forgive you let's get back together," and he's like, "what??" she is dedicating her life to the bit, but he is the world's worst improv partner he is giving her nothing. ty lee wishes she could just sit there and enjoy the show but unfortunately she has to teach azula how to talk like a human. apparently azula spent all her time learning how to talk to generals, and never learned how to flirt with their dumb as bricks hot sons. they return to the capital and zuko goes to ursa and is like, "i don't know why you insisted that it would be good for me to make friends my age, teenagers fucking suck."

azulon finally lets him into a meeting, though not without azula milking those mindgames for all they're worth just to see if zuko's cheeks will puff up and he'll stomp his feet and clench his fists when he yells at her. he's so dramatic, it's hilarious. mai is waiting for him by the door when they file out of the war room. she asks him how the meeting went, and he stares into the distance and mumbles something inarticulate under his breath that sounds very much like a profound soliloquy, just based on like, the cadence and the meter. for all his enthusiasm for theater, zuko clearly never learned how to enunciate, so mai has no idea what he said. she just pulls her cheeks back into a thin-lipped smile and says, "sounds good, zuko."

zuko takes a day trip on his war balloon to the southern fire nation, and more specifically, a certain tea shop he had to beg his mother for the address to. at first, iroh thinks he is hallucinating the ghost of his dead son, or perhaps his dead brother, but then he realizes that it's just been six years since he'd last seen his nephew. he can replace that shattered teapot anyway.

iroh pours zuko tea as zuko tells him about how he spent the past six years. iroh is fascinated to hear of his travels, especially of meeting the avatar and his water tribe companions (and flying bison and lemur). he tells zuko that he's been living a humble life serving his community through teamaking and hosting pai sho game nights. of course, that's not the full truth, since he does receive frequent letters from the order of the white lotus, but zuko doesn't need to know that.

finally, zuko asks iroh what he came all this way to ask: "why don't you want to be firelord? you would have so much power to help people. don't you have a responsibility to use that power?" he could've stayed in ba sing se, safe behind the walls, but he knew it wasn't right. why doesn't his uncle? iroh sighs. "look, prince zuko. this may be difficult for you to understand, but i have caused a lot of harm in my past, and i am ashamed of what i have done. here, i don't have to worry about hurting anyone. tea may be a small joy, but it makes people happy. i would rather spend my life not harming anyone than having all the power in the world, even if it means helping the 'greater good.' this was the way of the air nomads, and i believe that if everyone adopted this practice, the world would be a better place." he places his lotus tile in the center of the board, beating zuko by a hair. with their tea drained and their pai sho game over (5 - 0), zuko hugs iroh goodbye and heads back to his war balloon with the promise to see iroh again soon. there are tears in iroh's eyes as zuko leaves.

the day of black sun is finally upon them, and everyone is prepared to meet their destiny. zuko remembers to scrawl a hasty letter to mai before removing his armor and undoing his topknot. where he's going, he won't need these hollow signifiers. while azula is distracting sokka, aang, and toph, zuko walks into azulon's throne room, swords in hand. he calmly tells his grandfather that he can no longer belong to such a cruel and violent system. there is no changing it from the inside, so he's leaving. oh, and also, he didn't kill the avatar. azula lied about that. he wasn't sure that he was alive until now, but turns out the avatar is part of the invasion force, so good luck with that. azulon is so shocked he actually passes out.

zuko runs to his mother's chambers to let her know of his somewhat sudden change of plan, only he can't find her anywhere. on second thought, he probably should've told her ahead of time. now he has no clue where she is and he needs to leave soon if he wants to follow the avatar. also, it's probably for the best if she stays behind with azula anyway. he leaves a note on her dresser and rushes to his war balloon, right in time to pursue their flying bison.

none of them want to talk about what just happened. the invasion should've gone perfectly, but instead it was a colossal failure. sokka suggests that they still have time to stick to the old plan, teach aang firebending in time for sozin's comet. zuko, who managed to sneak up on them with their backs turned (minus toph), offers his services. before he can even finish waving awkwardly, katara has nearly speared him 20 times, and it's only with aang and sokka holding her arms back that her ice doesn't penetrate his flesh and instead just melts midair and splashes on top of him just someone dropped a freezing bucket on his head, the force of which knocks him over.

zuko slips and slides a little before finally righting himself and repeating his little speech. "i can teach firebending. to you." he tells aang, while trying not to shrivel under the weight of katara's glare. aang's like, "yeah, i don't think that's a good idea. you should probably leave before our muscles give out and we can no longer hold katara back." he takes one look at katara, who is frothing at the mouth ready to rip zuko into a million little pieces, and is like, "yeah okay."

toph tells them that they're being idiots. they need a firebending teacher, but apparently the guy who offers to teach them firebending isn't good enough because he ghosted katara or something? after katara has tired herself out of yelling to toph about all the ways in which he betrayed her, and then sokka tacks on that toph wasn't there, she hasn't actually witnessed zuko's bad vibes firsthand (which conflicts katara because on one hand, she quite likes zuko's vibes, but on the other hand, she wants to murder him), toph calls them blind and stomps away.

zuko is having one of his typical nightmares when he's interrupted by a little green child he only vaguely recognizes. he is not fully lucid upon hearing her, so his instinct, to shoot fire at her, proves to be a disastrous mistake. toph crawls all the way back to camp with burned feet. hurting katara emotionally was one thing (as protective of katara as sokka is, he also recognizes that katara does often set herself up to get hurt emotionally), but hurting toph physically is another. toph assures the furious siblings that she startled zuko, and it was an accident, but to katara it's just fuel for the flames, and to sokka it's the worst thing anyone could do. absolutely no way are they letting that violent clown anywhere near their friends.

then who shows up but combustion man. they can't run from him anymore, not if they want to preserve what's left of the western air temple. zuko runs right up to his face. "my sister hired you, right??? well i can pay you double to stop!!!!" he doesn't listen, for some reason. (maybe it's a matter of pride?) he shoves zuko aside with one extremely large hand. it's like picking up a kitten. it's impossible to fight this guy head-on. but sokka throws his boomerang square in his third eye, which results in him blowing himself up, and zuko too. almost.

aang has no choice but to thank zuko. even though sokka was the one to kill him, hello???? but, it was noble of zuko to attempt to save them. katara is tempted to suggest that it was all staged to make him seem heroic, but then thinks better of it. no one is that insane. he launches into a (far more coherent) speech (now that he's not at risk of developing hypothermia), and gives them the full explanation of why he made the choices he did, and what made him change his mind. zuko then apologizes to toph for burning her feet. he acknowledges the destructive nature of firebending, but that he only wants to use firebending to heal and help people from now on. this promise shifts something in aang. maybe zuko does need to be his firebending teacher.

he asks toph what she thinks, and of course toph is all for it. she knows a sincere apology when she hears one, and besides, zuko seems like an all right guy to her. sokka acquiesces that aang does need a firebending teacher, so he'll do whatever it takes to win the war, even if it means putting up with this absolute schmuck. katara glares at zuko while admitting through gritted teeth that she trusts aang's decision.

sokka shows zuko to his room and zuko is so grateful and happy so sokka tries to be polite, but afterwards he goes to aang and is like "okay it is literally so hard to be nice to that guy." katara shows up in zuko's doorway the second he's done setting up a photo of his mom by his bed and she threatens him so terrifyingly he nearly blacks out. since he hasn't eaten all day, his hunger wins out over his fear of katara and he joins them for dinner, where he finds out that three other people he's never seen before in his life are also staying here?? before he can properly introduce himself, sokka's just like "zuko, meet haru, teo, and the duke. guys, meet zuko, he's the piece of shit i was telling you about who's gonna teach aang firebending." zuko's just like, "...............................hello?"

zuko excuses himself from dinner early. he was already scared of sokka from the moment he met him, and that was before he watched him kill combustion man with a boomerang. now he also has reason to be terrified of katara. he burned their friend's feet. things are still pretty awkward with the avatar. and there are three other teenage boys here too. is it too late to go work in his uncle's teashop and avoid all his responsibilities?

the next day, zuko does some pretty weak firebending demonstrations for aang. frankly, firebending has always been one of his weakest skills. aang claps politely, but zuko feels like a fool. but then he remembers something iroh said during his visit, that everything he learned about true firebending could be found at the sun warriors' temple. aang's like, "aren't they all gone?" but zuko just shrugs. he trusts uncle iroh.

katara accuses zuko of wanting to take aang to secondary location so that he can drug and kill and possibly torture and even eat him, but aang's like, "no, katara, zuko is many things, but he's not a liar. plus i'm pretty sure i can take him lol i mean look at how skinny he is a gust of wind could knock him over." this gets katara to smile. "you're right, aang," she agrees, "i trust you." zuko is just standing there like, "okay well first of all that was really rude. also i'm not a cannibal??"

they come back a few days later with a fire nation dance locked and loaded. katara and sokka have a lot to say about it, but eventually zuko relaxes upon realizing that them gently homophobically bullying him is actually far preferable to them talking about how they would murder him. with aang now fully onboard the zuko train, it's easier for everyone else to integrate him into the group. toph, teo, haru, and the duke (not that zuko actually remembers any of their names) all treat him like he's any other friend, katara limits her dislike to mean jokes at his expense, and sokka is pretty quiet and withdrawn in general.

one night, sokka pulls zuko aside. zuko tries to mask his terror as he oh so casually asks, "so what's up?" sokka asks him where high ranking prisoners of war would be held, and zuko is forced to tell him once sokka admits that he wants to know about his dad. of course he's also aware that this means that sokka will not rest until he has found his father, so zuko ambushes him as he attempts to sneak off. sokka's like, "look, no offense, but even if i did let you come, you'd only slow me down. i don't need some useless imbecile getting me caught." zuko's like, "okay, well, offense taken, also you need a firebender to operate a war balloon and that's your only viable mode of transportation." sokka points out that actually that isn't true, he did quite literally invent the mechanism that allows war balloons to fly, and zuko's just like, "oh my god what the fuck nooooo" and "how is that even possible????" but then he says, "if you don't let me help you i'll literally kill myself right now and then you'll have to explain to aang why his new firebending teacher is dead. my blood will be on your hands." he's fully bluffing, but sokka isn't willing to take his chances (mostly because killing himself just to spite someone else has always lowkey been his fantasy). sokka is like, "well your blood will be on my hands either way but whatever it's your funeral" and zuko's like, "what?" and sokka's like "what?" and off they go.

they return with suki, hakoda, and chit sang, sokka now of the opinion that zuko is somewhat tolerable. what he lacks in brains he makes up for in bravery and extreme sincerity. azula shows up to the temple a while later with a crazed look in her eye that does not bode well. zuko, mai, and ty lee all betrayed her. her mother has disappeared god knows where. azulon's health is failing but it's clear he doesn't want her to succeed him now that he knows she lied to him to bring zuko back. he keeps asking for iroh. azula doesn't know what to do. all she can hope for is that if she kills the avatar and zuko for good then maybe grandfather will be able to forgive her before he dies. of course it can never be that easy.

the gaang celebrates another near escape, but katara sees nothing to celebrate. even sokka accepts zuko now. how is he of all people not on her side about this?! zuko goes to confront katara. he doesn't understand why she won't just trust him. she reminds him that she was the first person to trust him, to offer him a spot in their group. and he abandoned her, betrayed her trust. he asks what he can do to make it up to her. she snarls, "oh, i don't know, maybe you can bring my mother back!"

zuko doesn't really know what to do with that, since she told him what happened to her mother. zuko barges into sokka's tent without a second thought and asks him what the flag emblem on the ships that raided them that day looked like. sokka tells him, as quickly as possible, so that he'll leave him the fuck alone. zuko waits outside katara's tent all night to share this information with her. they go track yon rha down, despite aang and sokka's concerns.

katara returns with a newfound understanding of herself, of her own humanity. of how to let go of the stories she told herself to survive, and instead better appreciate what's real, even when it's not pretty. she understands zuko better now too. she hugs him, and from that moment onwards, they are best friends.

they travel to ember island, where they spend their remaining days until sozin's comet. from his deathbed, azulon tells his granddaughter that she can't be trusted with the plan – her plan – to burn the earth kingdom to the ground. instead he'll send a delegation of generals on their airship fleet. he wants to keep her close, in the palace, where he won't have to worry about her screwing things up. guards follow her everywhere. no matter what she does or where she goes, she knows there are eyes on her, watching for any signs of further betrayal. she's a glorified prisoner, having to pretend she doesn't notice. needless to say, this situation is terrible for her already rapidly declining mental health.

informed of the plan to raze the earth kingdom, aang isn't sure what to do. zuko reminds him that azulon is in his final years, but azula is next in line to take the throne. aang isn't sure what's worse, having to kill an old man or a teenager. zuko reminds aang that this "old man" is responsible for the decimation of the southern water tribe and occupation of the earth kingdom. aang doesn't like being talked down to as if he doesn't already know that, so he leaves the room. he needs to be alone, to meditate and reflect on what impossible choice he must make next.

the next morning, aang is missing. they can't find him anywhere; they even search the entire island, but despite the fact that his glider is still in the house, he's gone. zuko takes them to june the bounty hunter to track him down, but she informs them that he's disappeared. for all intents and purposes, he doesn't exist. zuko refuses to lose hope. he gives june his mother's shawl. sokka's like "you just take that with you.... everywhere you go?" but katara and toph are like "awww no it's sweet shut up." she leads them just outside the outer wall of ba sing se.

they make camp there for the night, but are awoken by four old masters. they lead them inside the white lotus camp grounds, where it turns out that iroh, ursa, and about an eighth of zuko's former crew have been living since the day of black sun. as it turns out, ursa received a letter from iroh after zuko visited him, cryptically instructing her to meet him on the outer wall of ba sing se on the day of the invasion. zuko asks his mom why she didn't take him or azula with her, but ursa admits that she didn't know where they were and she didn't have time to find them. she could only hope they would remain safe in her absence.

katara is shocked. "you've been a member of the white lotus the entire time???" she asks ursa. she informs her that actually, she just joined in an official capacity. she kept regular correspondence with iroh, but she wasn't herself a member. then he invited her to participate in their mission to take back ba sing se for the earth kingdom. ursa has vital information on the city that was integral to their plans, being the only member of the organization who's actually lived there and all. besides, they could use another firebender, especially if they plan on striking during sozin's comet.

zuko is, of course, overjoyed to see his mother again, but he admits that he's worried about azula. they've left her behind in the palace once again, but this time she doesn't have mai and ty lee to rely on, and she's fallen out of their grandfather's good graces. they devise a plan. sokka, suki, and toph will take down the airship fleet, while zuko and katara go to the palace. they have to be careful. the palace is filled with guards, and they don't want to fight any more people than they have to. they find azula, sitting alone in her room with scissors in her hand and clumps of hair on the floor.

"what are you doing?" zuko asks. "is it not obvious?" azula retorts. "i'm giving myself a royal haircut. i have to look good for my coronation after all. any day now, grandfather will take his last breath, and i will become firelord. it's a shame that it has to happen after sozin's comet, since i would have done an excellent job of burning the earth kingdom to the ground, but no matter, i'm sure the generals will do a fine job as well. grandfather wants me by his side in his final days, you see. i find the sentiment a bit maudlin, but he is dying, so i can forgive him this." her words are slightly slurred as she rambles.

zuko merely scoffs. "you're not going to become firelord," he says. azula laughs, high and manic. "oh, you think you're going to become firelord? after you disgraced our nation by joining the avatar? you're hilarious." katara readies her water. "and you're going down," she snaps back. they get into fighting stances, but zuko puts his hand out. "wait, no," he says. "i don't wanna be firelord." all the fight is knocked out of azula out of sheer surprise. "but didn't you always say it was your destiny?" she asked. "i spent our whole lives trying to convince you not to be firelord and suddenly... you agree?" zuko nods. "yeah pretty much."

but suddenly another problem presents itself. who will take the throne? katara suggests ursa, but azula shakes her head. "she would never agree to it. she hates it here." same goes for iroh. "what about you?" zuko asks. "could you do it?" katara laughs. then she realizes he's serious. then she laughs even harder. "or sokka? sokka could be good." katara's like, "i know, let's get momo to be firelord. we can make him a little cape and crown." she's obviously being sarcastic, but zuko, who adores momo, puts his hand on his heart as he says, "i can think of no one worthier." meanwhile azula's like, "who the hell is momo?"

they explain to azula that momo is their pet flying lemur, and azula's just like, "you know what? fuck it. that's hilarious. i don't even care anymore. life's just a waste of time until you die anyway, right? so what the hell." katara and zuko exchange a look. gently, zuko asks, "um.... azula? do you wanna talk about it?"

by the time everyone else gets back to the palace (sokka with a broken leg, but everyone else relatively unscathed), zuko and katara are just like, "oh, good, you're all alive. and on our end, azula is taking a nap. yeah she cried so hard she eventually passed out. but now she's sleeping soundly :)"

ursa goes to check on azula, who is curled up in bed with her hair in a braid and a cup of half-finished tea on her bedside table. she decides not to disturb her daughter while she's resting. whatever conversation they should have can wait for tomorrow. then she goes to azulon's room, where he's slowly dying. she decides to speed up the process. meanwhile, zuko and katara inform their friends that they've decided that they're going to crown momo as the next firelord. aang, sokka, toph, and suki are all ecstatic. this the best possible outcome. (the only objector is appa, who maintains that he would do a better job, but his roar of indignation sounds a lot like his roar of agreement, so everyone just assumes that he's happy for his friend's new promotion.)

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