#When Zuko would remind her that she is in fact younger than him

[platinumrosetail]

Can I have yandere Macaqua and sun JTTW x prince soko twin sister

Like the reader was teleport JTTW world

And Mac and sun fell in love with the reader who has water and fire bender

But the reader found out it wasn't heathy and they are yandere so some how she made it back home and then fell in love with Ang and years the reader child two years old and angi and her having a another baby but some how sun and Mac get into there work and take the cub back with there wife and make her eat the peach and take her home and the little kid that angs is rise by then as well

Oh wow I love the idea of this request 🤩, also the reader reminds me of an oc that I’m trying to make but she’s the daughter of zuko x sokka, anyway shall we get on with it?

This might have more than 7 paragraphs like the last one but I don’t know, i’ll see if I can do more than 7 paragraphs for this one as well.

Warnings: noob author, female reader, yandere characters, and others.

Characters: sun wukong, macaque.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shadowpeach:

You were the youngest out of the first borns of the fire nation royalty, making you zuko’s younger twin sister, which also meant that zuko would be overprotective of you and try to defend you from azula bullying that she is fond of doing to him and make sure you don’t get caught in her abusive ways, though he doesn’t know until later that she wants to protect you as much as he does as well and surprisingly your father, the fire lord also would like to protect you as well but zuko still tries to distance you from those two and more to your mother and uncle.

It was a shock to your family that you can waterbend as well as firebend but they decided to keep it a secret as it could cause a scandal to uproar in the court and the relations with you and zuko actually being apart of the family.

You found a little trinket in the pirate boat when you, your brother, and uncle was trying to find the current avatar to help restore zuko’s honor that he had lost when he was younger the trinket was kept with you and not officially put on until after you and zuko’s joined the gang group.

But when you put on that trinket it had brought you to a world you didn’t know existed before until now. You soon met a unusual group that is heading west to a being called buddha you decided to tag along as this Buddha could help you get home to your rightful world.

You ignore all of pigsy attempts at flirting with you, talk and spend some relaxing time with sandy and talk about the different things about each others culture with Tripitaka, though you spend most of your time with sun as he somehow found his way in your heart and soon became your crush.

You would heal sun with your waterbending and scold Tripitaka about his treatment towards sun and give facts about how he shouldn’t have done those things now or what happened in the past with the knowledge Anna had told you about monks, that made sun soon realize he as well has fallen in love with you too.

You met macaque when you and sun was searching for some vegetarian food for Tripitaka as you sadly won’t be apart of this group forever and cause you have a family to get to so you can’t stay even if you wanted to, macaque had startled you when handing you another fruit you would of overlooked if it wasn’t for him. When you notice how there seem to be a bad tension between the two you decided to fix it.

And fixed it you did as you had them talk about what they needed to talk about while also trying to make sure they don’t go ballistic on each other and try to kill each other over something that could be dealt with peacefully.

The two ended up persuading you into a relationship and how when the time comes for it then they will try to find a way for you three to be together.

You later learned how they actually act, with how they kill people you talk to and from their words ‘are a threat to your relationship’ which wasn’t true as there is something that was made because you loved them, it was also them that was the threat to this relationship for killing innocence people just because they talked with you one time.

You had somehow got the trinket to work and bring you back to your world, leaving behind two angry monkeys left behind after they realized you found a way back to your world, though what they didn’t know is that they would’ve been fathers if they haven’t messed up.

A few years went by, about 2, and you and your friend and first crush, avatar aang decide to get together with your first child from the previous relationship became aang’s child after marrying each other then came the cub that is named mk little sibling and the biological child of aang and what you didn’t know is that you’ll be seeing some people that you didn’t want to see.

Sun and macaque found a way to their missing lover’s world and now is on the search in that world.

You didn’t know what had happened as the next thing you knew is that your back to the world you previous went to but this time it’s more futuristic than it was before. Apparently it has been many years since they last seen you and not the same length of time like your world went to from that event.

Thankfully you have your two children with you but you hope you can get them away from the two.

Though you and the children both had eaten the peaches of immortality so you have a plenty time to play hide and seek from them.

Though that will be hard with two supernatural monkeys that would do anything for you and your children.

#anime #various x reader #anime x reader #x reader stories #lego monkie kid x reader #lego monkie kid #crossover #jttw #anime crossover #lmk macaque #atla aang #atla x reader #x female reader #yandere #yandere x reader #romantic

[lucky-clover-gazette]

The Big Picture

Vio & Shadow-focused Four Swords Manga Adaptation | Rated G

Chapter 4: Quest Updated

“Can you hear me?” asks the voice of Ganon, projected from some kind of unreachable void. Shadow isn’t exactly sure how Ganon’s remote oversight works. All he knows is that Ganon created him, Ganon’s will is truth, and Ganon will appear to him only when the time is right.

Not that Shadow cares, or anything.

“We can hear you,” sighs Vaati.

“I can’t hear you.”

Read the chapter (and very informative author's note!!) on ao3 or under the cut:

Author's Note: Finally, I’m working on this project again! I encourage you to re-read the previous chapters, because I just did a pretty significant amount of revision. The most notable change is the decision to not use manga dialogue verbatim—I’m still heavily referencing the transcription, but changing some language and phrasing to blend with my own style. Also important to note is the change of Vio, Shadow, Green, Blue, Red, Zelda, and Link Prime’s age, which is now 16 instead of 19. Working so closely with the manga, I’ve concluded that it makes the most sense for them to be around that age—mature enough to resonate with adults and potentially develop complex feelings, but young enough where it’s still believable that they would speak/act in line with the manga. To me, the True Manga Canon Links are 14-16 in the same way that, like, Katara, Sokka, Princess Azula, and Prince Zuko are ages 14-16. They’re not living in a world like ours, attending high school or something equivalent; they have very adult responsibilities, while simultaneously coping with teenage angst and the challenge of developing their own identities. And while Vio and Shadow stand out as the characters least believable as any age younger than 14, I do think the others—while silly in an cartoonish way—are not as a whole believable as preteens either. Like, Mabel and Dipper Pines are written as unusually clever preteens, and even they still seem younger than Red. Side note: cartoons are not my only frame of reference for media interpretation, but I am writing this specific thing like it’s a cartoon. Ultimately, I think that while I personally prefer writing a more mature interpretation, these characters can only be teenagers in something meant to complement and supplement canon. That said, I still fully intend to expand on the queer subtext between Vio and Shadow. Their canon arc reminds me a lot of the confusing, codependent, and ultimately life-altering relationships queer teenagers often find themselves in. This adaptation will explore Vio and Shadow’s journeys of queer discovery, both literally and allegorically, because that’s how I personally interpret the manga. Even if you’re not big on shipping these specific characters, I sincerely hope you can respect my interpretation and still find something that resonates. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this very belated update :)

Pure light transports the heroes to a chamber beneath Hyrule Castle. Link has been here before—very recently, in fact—but to Vio it somehow feels new.

“Are you well, heroes?” asks a soft female voice. Vio looks towards the center of the chamber, where a young woman floats trapped inside a magically crystal. She clasps her hands in front of her chest as if to pray.

“The Blue Maiden!” Red exclaims, his eyes wide.

“Did you save us?” asks Green.

“Link,” says the maiden, “something awful has begun. A terrible ordeal. Darkness once again covers Hyrule, just as in times of legend.”

Tell me something I don’t know, Vio wants to mutter, but decides not to antagonize the minor deity who probably just saved his life. .

“The shadow that took us was a phantom hero,” the maiden continues, “created by an evil demon.”

Vio perks up at that. The more he learns about that freak, the easier it will be to defeat him.

“It is a ‘Shadow Link. A dark reflection of you, but more powerful than any mere shadow.”

Vio attempts to process this. How exactly had Shadow Link been created? It couldn’t have been a similar process to himself. Vio is a fractured piece of a person, while Shadow Link is a dark reflection of a whole. No wonder he’s more powerful than the four of them—although combined, maybe the heroes could still stand a chance.

The maiden sighs, recapturing Vio’s attention. “It took all my might to send even that small light through the barrier. His power is not yet at its peak. You must stop him before that happens.”

“We’re no match for him now,” says Red in a defeated slump. “How can we ever beat him?”

Blue draws his sword. “We’ve gotta smash that barrier first!”

“That isn’t possible right now,” says the Blue Maiden. “The Four Sword has been cursed by Vaati. You must re-energize it, fill it with Life Force and the curse will be lifted. Then you can defeat the darkness for good.”

The four exchange uneasy glances. Finally, Green speaks up.

“Blue Maiden,” he says, “where is Princess Zelda?”

“I don’t know,” admits the maiden. “Weak as I am, I can’t sense clearly. But I can faintly sense her spirit… far, far away.”

Green nods, determined. “She’s alive. That’s enough.” It brings Vio relief, too, that this could all still be undone.

“Hold on, Blue Maiden,” says Green. “We’ll be back to save you soon.”

“Be careful, my four heroes.” The maiden closes her eyes tight, as if channeling the little power she has left. “Travel towards the Eastern Sea. I sense another Maiden within the Eastern Temple.”

Vio finds himself nodding, too.

They exit the castle through the dungeons, careful to remain undetected by Shadow Link’s army of monsters. Eventually they reach a path, which according to the sign leads directly from Castle Town to the Eastern Sea. Vio assumes that it’s meant to be followed by traveling merchants, over the course of days.

Red sighs loudly.

“Losing confidence?” Vio asks, almost playfully,.

“Yeah,” says Red, “how’d you know?”

“Because I am you.”

Green stares into the distance, filled with determination. “If Dark Link is our shadow,” he says, “we need to be better to beat him. Be more like father.”

“Yeah,” Vio smirks. “Right now, I’d give us a 50/50 chance.”

“But if we restore the sword we’ll get stronger!” says Red. “And if we can learn some teamwork—”

Blue scoffs, cutting him off. “I don’t care what it takes, we’re doing it.”

Green’s eyes sparkle in the daylight as he addresses his teammates. Vio can’t help but feel a little inspired. “Then it’s decided,” their leader announces. “Let’s go!”

─────────────────

“You’re late,” Vaati tells Shadow as he shuts the door behind him. The one-eyed demon waits at the far end of the conference table, as usual, scrutinizing the shade as he plops down into his own seat.

Steadying his heart, Shadow rolls his eyes. Reclines slightly, enough to slam his boots onto the table. Shoots Vaati a self-satisfied grin. “Sorry, I was busy. Doing things, in my body.”

Vaati’s eye narrows. The Wind Mage may now be free in the world of light, but he still lacks a corporeal form.

“You’re welcome, by the way,” Shadow adds. “For breaking the seal.”

“Don’t congratulate yourself just yet.”

The air in the dark room begins to crackle, an occurrence Shadow immediately recognizes. He removes his boots from the table and stiffens his posture.

“Can you hear me?” asks the voice of Ganon, projected from some kind of unreachable void. Shadow isn’t exactly sure how Ganon’s remote oversight works. All he knows is that Ganon created him, Ganon’s will is truth, and Ganon will appear to him only when the time is right.

Not that Shadow cares, or anything.

“We can hear you,” sighs Vaati.

“I can’t hear you.”

“Do you have us on mute?” Shadow asks, helpfully.

Vaati scoffs. “He just said he can’t hear you.” Shadow just shrugs.

“I think I have you on mute,” says Ganon. “Hold on, this is—ah. Yes, I see.”

Vaati and Shadow lock eyes, unsure who should speak first.

“I still can’t hear you,” Ganon repeats, frustrated.

“Lord Ganon,” Vaati finally says, “we are both here.”

“There you are. Excellent.”

Shadow preens under his approval. “My Lord, I have good news. The Wind Mage has been successfully freed, and the Four Sword drawn. Princess Zelda is in our clutches. Hyrule Castle has been overtaken by our forces.”

“Our clutches? Our forces?”

Shadow winces. “Yours, My Lord.”

Ganon pauses for a moment. Shadow grips the edge of the table. “It seems you are serving your purpose, Shadow Link.”

Shadow grins. “You should have seen it, Link’s father was so fooled. And the four heroes—”

“Are dead?” interrupts Ganon, and Shadow’s heart falls.

“Not… as such.”

“Explain yourself, Shadow Link.”

Shadow deliberates each word before it leaves his mouth. “They had assistance, my Lord. The Blue Maiden, while contained, used her remaining light magic to repel my presence and transport them to safety.”

“I see.”

Shadow braces himself for his creator’s disapproval.

“Because the heroes survive,” Ganon says, “they pose a great danger to you.”

Shadow hangs his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t control how I—”

“You are not the perfect being I sought to create, Shadow Link. You are inherently flawed, weak to the light.”

And now the heroes know it too, Shadow realizes, ashamed. Despite all of his prior gleeful theatrics, he hadn’t even considered acting unbothered by the light. Not when it scared him so much, not when it caught his so off-guard. Pathetic.

“However,” continues Ganon, “your failure is not in your weakness.”

Shadow’s breath hitches. “It isn’t?”

“Your failure is in your admittance of defeat. You have the power of darkness at your disposal—use it wisely.”

Shadow takes a deep breath and nods. “Yes, my Lord.”

“You will need to travel in darkness to defeat them,” Ganon instructs. “Do not attempt to approach the heroes during the daytime.”

“But then how am I supposed to—”

“Have patience. Observe. Prevent the four heroes from gaining power, but do not make yourself vulnerable again.”

Shadow’s palms itch. He’s not a delegator, and patience is not one of his virtues. There’s no place for theatricality in this mission. It doesn’t sound fun.

“I won’t disappoint you,” Shadow reassures his creator, already plotting ways to disrupt the heroes’ journey. He could still make this fun. He could succeed, despite his weakness. He isn’t a perfect creation, but he can still be the next best thing.

Or would he be the next worst thing, considering the evil of it all?

“Your supervision is appreciated,” Ganon tells Vaati. “And Shadow Link—”

“Yes?”

“I am… proud of what you have accomplished. I look forward to your future successes.”

Shadow breaks out into an almost childish smile. “Thank you, my Lord!”

Ganon doesn’t respond, but his presence still lingers. Vaati and Shadow exchange a tired glance.

“You have to end the call,” sighs the Wind Mage. “Sir.”

“Right,” says Ganon, admitting no fault of his own. “Meeting adjourned.”

#my writing #four swords #shadow link #vio link #blue link #red link #green link #vaati #fsa #four swords manga #fs

[bellatrixobsessed1]

The Tangled Place (Part 1/Preview Chapter)

Prompt(s): Whumptober Day 8 “it’s all for nothing” 

Summary: Zuko tries to prove his strength by summoning a spirit to slay. What he gets instead is a demon that takes the form of a Fire Sage who has taken quite a shine to Azula.

Notes: remember that self-indulgent fic I mentioned a week or so back? It’s late but it is now here; decided that it would fit better with spooky season. It's an Avatar/Conjuring Franchise crossover. Could possibly become a longer fic.

And when all is said and done it is all for nothing. He doesn’t feel stronger or cooler. Father still doesn’t love him. In fact he hates him more than ever.

He had played a stupid game and everyone is paying the price for it. Ozai’s is grief, Mai and TyLee’s is regret, Katara’s and Aang’s is disappointment, Azula’s is…he swallows hard. His own price is a mark on his chest–a big black blight that reminds him of what he has done and that his price hasn’t been fully paid. 

He can feel it inside of him.

The blight will only get bigger.

He sees it everywhere now. 

This Thing from some world far removed.

This Thing that is neither human nor spirit.

It is in the mirrors, in every darkened corner, at the shadowed backs of cupboards left ajar.

It is entirely his fault. 

He has lost the ability to sort out what is real from what is false.

Sometimes when he gazes into those dark places, it isn’t the Thing that he sees. Sometimes it is Azula’s face all twisted in agony a blackness much deeper than the shadows that surround her spews from between her discolored lips.

Sometimes he sees her in the corner, her arms stiff and twitching, her back contorted painfully. He knows that it is painful because her mouth is fixed into a silent, gushing scream. 

But it is her eyes….they aren’t right. They aren’t hers. He has seen malice and hatred in them before. He had thought that he had seen evil in them when they were younger. He knows now that he hadn’t seen evil at all–not in its most authentic, simmering form. Because he has looked her right in the eyes many times before and has never seen this.

Three months earlier

The place is overgrown. So much so that the path can no longer be called such. Stones have long since been cracked and dislodged by trekking feet and harsh weather. From the cracks grow tall grasses and creeping ivies. Invasive plants crawl down the throats of old stone fountains and into the tubes of wind chimes with choked voices and water pumps. Vines choke lopsided stone pedestal lanterns that have long since lost their light. 

The writing etched into these lanterns has been eroded beyond reading and in places where the etchings are clear the fuzz of moss has grown to obscure it. 

The trees have been overtaken by hanging moss and lichen that droops down as if melting off of the branches. A great many things hang in the trees, mingling with the natural overhang of vines; paper talismans mostly, tattered and faded paper lanterns, beaded ropes, dented brass incense burners, and collections of miscellaneous trinkets made of feather, sage, straw, white ash, and egg shells among other things. 

Zuko ducks under a tangle of what could be bird and mink bones. He does his best not to touch anything but the trinkets and talismans seem to outnumber the vines and hanging mosses. Something about that makes him queasy.

“This place is so, so…” TyLee wraps her arms around herself and shivers in spite of the muggy, humid air. 

“It smells rank.” Mai bunches up her nose. A scent that is stirred awake and amplified when Azula’s foot disturbs one of several mushy puddles. “How did you even find this place?”

Azula shrugs. “Things have been so dull lately.” She says as though that answers the question. 

But he can put two and two together. Azula had always loved exploring every nook, cranny, and secret annex in the palace. It was only a matter of time before she ran out of those and started to branch out. He just hadn’t realized just how far she would manage to do so. 

There is something charming about it–one facet of Azula’s softer side, the side that she has only just started displaying more openly and more often. She has an almost childlike curiosity about her that juxtaposes most other aspects of her–all of those parts that have grown up far too soon.

She makes her way around a particularly large sculpted boulder and comes to a halt before the dilapidated entrance of a shrine. She stands before it with her hands on her hips, watching a curtain of  paper talismans swish in the breeze. It isn’t just a curtain, he decides, it is a wall. A wall of paper with elegant calligraphy. He shudders.

For a place so teeming with unrestrained nature, Zuko had imagined that there would be sound all around. The beating of wings, the guttural crooning of toad-squirrels, the rattle of branches and a stirring of leaves as tiger-monkeys maneuver about.

But the place is quiet.

Quiet save for a distant chime.

“Should we be here?” TyLee frowns.

“Why shouldn’t we be?” Azula asks. “I’ve come here many times and haven’t had an issue.”

“You don’t think that this place is just a little…off?” Mai asks. 

“Completely creepy, you mean?” TyLee edges closer to her. 

Azula shrugs again. “It suits me just fine.” 

“Okay.” Zuko grumbles. “You can be intimidating but you aren’t anything like this.” 

She tilts her head and furrows her brows. Parts her lips as if to say something. This is another facet of her softer side–that part of her that truly believes that she is malevolent…a monster through and through. The part of her that seems to hiccup and sputter when someone implies that she is actually not so bad. 

Mai chuckles. “Look, if you feel like this place is a kindred spirit, we’ll leave you to it.”

“You wouldn’t be able to stop me if you tried.” Azula waves her hand dismissively. “At any rate, this is the place that I’ve found and I quite like it.” 

“But why?” Zuko scans the place, hoping to see whatever good she sees in it.

“It’s intriguing!” She declares. He is still getting used to seeing her more bombastic hand gestures and expressive speech. “It’s so…so…” She hums. “Charged. It has its own energy.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.” Mai confesses. 

TyLee nods. “It has a weird aura.” 

“That doesn’t mean that it has a bad aura. Weird and sinister are two different things.”

“Okay, but it definitely has a sinister aura too.” Zuko counters. 

Azula props herself up against the boulder. “I don’t think so. I think that it’s rather peaceful. It’s no different than any other shrine–just don’t be disrespectful. Leave an offering–” she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small pouch of crystals, herbs, and gold coins. “Don’t steal offerings that have been left. Don’t break anything…” she trails off. 

“Fair enough.” Mai agrees. 

He isn’t surprised in the slightest that she is starting to warm up to the place. She has her own ripple of eerie vibes that cling heavily to her. 

Azula smiles, cheered to have swayed someone to her side. 

“So are we going in there?” TyLee asks with a gesture to the shrine. 

Azula shakes her head. “I don’t think that we’re supposed to touch the talismans. I usually leave my offerings on the stairs.”

“So why bring us all the way out here?”

Azula rolls her eyes. “Have a sense of adventure, Zuzu! Haven’t you ever explored something just for the sake of seeing it? Enjoy the view.” 

The sentiment is still so strange coming from her. From the girl who had always done things with a clear sense of purpose. Who had never taken a single step without having an end goal, an idea of where that step would lead. He thinks that there must be a newfound sense of appreciation for the world around her, for just living after having been sealed away from it for so long.

His stomach flutters, sometimes he thinks that he dwells upon her confinement more than she does. And maybe that’s a good thing. She has been through a lot and he is happy that she is doing well again. That they are doing well again.

That his family is slowly but surely, changing for the better. Ozai has a long way to go, but he listens to Azula. He indulges her when she proposes ideas to him. Zuko is certain that he just needs to give her time and she’ll be able to get their father to come around. It’ll give him time to decide how he feels and how much he wants to forgive, if anything at all. It might be a matter of acknowledging that some things are unforgivable, choosing to coexist, and moving from there. He thinks that forgiving Azula is plenty enough. 

It is more worthwhile than forgiving their father will ever be; for all of those hard edges and cold aspects of her she has a sense of loyalty, a protectiveness. She can be impossible to get along with but she has a good heart. A guarded and distant one but he has learned to work with that. And she has learned to work with him. 

“There’s a nice clearing just over that bridge, we can have lunch there. Or, if you’re feeling more formal, there’s a teahouse.”

“Does the teahouse look like it is going to cave in if the wind gusts the wrong way?” Mai asks. 

Azula shakes her head. “It’s actually quite new. I’m not sure if it is actually part of the shrine.” She taps her pointer against her chin. “Come on, Zuzu, you’re falling behind.”

He hadn’t even realized. 

He finds that he falls behind a lot.

These days she waits for him to catch up.

#whumptober2023 #no.8 #it was all for nothing #avatar the last airbender #the conjuring #Azula #Zuko #Mai #TyLee #Ozai #Valak #Crossover #Fanfiction

[ellakomskaikru]

Now the real question is: does Iroh love Azula?

Hello anon!

The only time that we saw Iroh show that he cared for Azula was in the flashback in Zuko Alone, where he sent her a gift from the war front. Although, some people say that the fact that he sent her a doll, something that Azula was sure not to like, means that he didn’t care for her at all, but I don’t agree. If he hadn’t cared for her at all I don’t think he would have sent her anything.

Still, after that, I don’t think that Iroh cares much for her to be honest. I don’t think that he hates her, but Zuko is clearly his top priority. I also think that Iroh may be uncomfortable with Azula because she reminds him of himself when he was younger. I also think that Iroh honestly resents the fact that Azula is more skilled than Zuko because it make Zuko feel insecure.

I’ve heard some people say that Iroh has a right to hate Azula because when she was nine years old she did not like that Iroh withdrew from Ba Sing Se after Lu Ten died, but that doesn’t make any sense. Azula was literally nine years old and being influenced by her callous and power hungry father, who likely spoke badly about Iroh to Azula. It would be very wrong and immature of Iroh to hate his niece when he knew she was quite literally being manipulated and influenced by her father.

Iroh’s “She’s crazy and she needs to go down” comments can be interpreted in different ways. I definitely think that what Iroh meant to say was “No, you cannot try to get along with Azula now, she is under Ozai’s orders to hunt and capture you, you need to prioritize your survival.” Not that she is a lost cause, but the way that he said it can definitely be read in that way as well. Iroh was also seemingly okay with Zuko potentially killing Azula in the final Agni Kai but refused to fight Ozai himself because it would “look bad”. I also think that Iroh was using Zuko to fill in the void that was left by Lu Ten’s death, which caused him to disregard Azula even more.

Overall, I think that Iroh did not care much for Azula, but didn’t downright hate her. I think he definitely had misdirected negative feelings towards her because she was an obstacle in Zuko’s path, when that anger should have been directed towards Ozai, who was the one who she his daughter on the mission in the first place. So no, I don’t think he loves her.

Thanks for the ask!

#atla #azula #iroh critical #atla ask #ella’s original post

[ilikepjo24]

Posting my Zucest headcannons cause there's no good reason as to why not! Part 3

Reminder: some take place during or after the search while in some others the comics never happened

(During the show timeline, Zucest x Adult Zucest x Time travel AU)

If 14 year old Azula were to learn that she got into a relationship with her brother of all people she's be horrified. How could she do this to herself? It's so honorless (I can't believe I almost wrote unhonorable) and completely unbelievable! She would never do that! Zuko must have manipulated her! Or course he did! And she fell for it like the idiot she is. But in her defense, Zuko is a tiny bit pretty so maybe it wouldn't be so hard to charm her... Really how are his flirting abilities? Well maybe it doesn't matter because hot damn if her Zuko is pretty, her future selves Zuko is a fucking God. He's so tall and his abs look like they could cut diamond and his biceps are thicker than her neck and his behavior is so much different than his younger self. He's smarter and can control his anger better and more vocal with his feelings and he's so nice to her! Azula had forgotten how it feels like to have a brother who likes you. Her idiot brother though that this whole thing was some mind game... But she doesn't really mind. Not when this Zuko jumped in her defense immediately...

Zuko never wanted to hit a kid as much as he wants to hit his younger self right now. How dare this little shit talk to Azula like that! He cannot believe he actually used to be like that. Blaming everything on a baby! Yes, he knows she's 14 but compared to his Azula, this one is basically a fetus. Maybe that's why he can't see it in the he knows for a fact his younger self sees her. It's just feel weird... It's not bad to have a crush on a 14 year old when you're 16 but when you're 28? That's weird. Thank Agni he dodged that bullet. His Azula keeps his mind occupied enough, so he can see this Azula only as a sister, not as a lover. But that also means he's protective over her and not the possessive kind of protective he's with his fiance but the kind if protective that makes him want to fight anyone who bullies her, his younger self included. Judging by their age, they'll start dating soon enough. Was he that much of an asshole in the beginning of their relationship? Why would Azula settle for him if that's the case? Are her standards this low? Maybe they shouldn't be... Maybe now that he has the chance, he can show young Azula how nice he can be when he really tries! That will surely prevent her from being okay with whatever young Zuko is doing and that little asshole will have to force himself be good enough for her! He'll surely do it, he's desperate.

(Part 4 will be about young Zuko and old Azula)

#azula #zuko #atla #zucest

[litterateur97]

I am going to cause riot 😌😉

Question 1, 2, 5 and 6 for death note please.

Question 8 for atla.

Lol, thank you for the ask!

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

For Death Note specifically, I'd say the only OTPs I don't really get are Light x Misa and then when Ryuk gets shipped with anybody. I'm not against anyone shipping these pairings, I just personally don't see it. The entire story of Death Note to me shows that Light x Misa are not good together, and Light doesn't love her, and Light comes across as gay or asexual in my opinion. But I guess if people are just shipping them in an unhealthy way I can understand it. And then Ryuk just doesn't make sense with anyone to me lol. I mean I'm down for monster fucking type ships (I enjoy Rem x Misa), but Ryuk comes across as asexual and I just can't see him ever being interested in anyone like that.

2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?

I'm not sure there's any pairing that I only see as a BroTP, but I guess I see L x Matsuda as more of a BroTP than an OTP. I like the idea of them as L as the older brother who is condescending towards his younger brother Matsuda. L does bully Matsuda quite a bit throughout the series lol so I can see them more as family or close friends in some ways.

5. Do you have a NoTP in Death Note?

I don't personally enjoy any incest type ships, so anything where it's like Light with his family or L with Watari is a no go for me.

6. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

Oh boy you might get me in trouble with this one lmao. Yeah, the Death Note fandom definitely ruined lawlight for me for awhile there. When I first joined the fandom, I was really into the fanart and most of the fanfics for lawlight, but idk it felt so everywhere and in my face all the time, so I started to get bored of it. I was more interested in the crack ships or rare pairs for the series because I didn't see them as often. And lawlight never quite gave me the same emotions lawmane did anyway. But then some folks would accuse you of homophobia if you shipped something other than lawlight, and that particularly annoyed me because I am gay. I think the fandom has gotten a lot less intense about it now though, so I'm enjoying lawlight again even if it's not one of my favorite pairings, but I definitely don't have the enthusiasm for it that I could have if the ship hadn't been ruined for me in my starting days in the fandom.

8. Unpopular opinion about ATLA?

I'm not sure how unpopular this opinion is (I always feel like there's a lot of hate towards Katara for this but I don't really know for sure if there is), but I very firmly believe that Katara had every right to threaten to kill Zuko and not accept him with open arms when he first joined the gaang. I mean I think people really ignore her perspective on this. She was the first one to trust Zuko, and then he immediately betrayed her, a betrayal that led to her best friend, who she saw as the only hope for fixing her world, dying. And so many people gloss over that fact, but Aang did in fact die at the end of season 2 and was revived by her when she used the spirit water. And then it took forever (months?) for Aang to wake up from his coma and can you imagine how scary that must have been for Katara? She was probably thinking about when she lost her mother or how the world was about to lose its only hope for peace or about how she'd never have fun penguin sledding with Aang again. Of course she threatened Zuko when he joined the gaang, she couldn't let him hurt Aang ever again. And the scene where she tells Zuko "bring my mother back" is obviously her response to the trauma of almost losing Aang reminding her of the trauma of her mother's death. Aang dying in front of her retraumatized her and reminded her of her mother dying in front of her. She sees Zuko as responsible for Aang's death, which I think is fair considering the betrayal, and because Zuko couldn't bring back Aang (Katara already did that herself), she tells him to bring her mother back. It makes complete sense to me.

#ask response #thanks for asking! #i feel like katara gets a lot of unfair hate in the atla fandom #like yes she talks about the mother who DIED in front of her a lot #is that really such a bad thing?

[unfried-mouth-wheat]

Listen, if Toph had went off on her own for a while in Ba Sing Se there is no way she wouldn't vibe with Zuko.

"Welcome to Pao's Family tea shop, I'm Li, waddaya want?"

"Chaos."

"Understandable. Sadly, that's not on the menu. Would you settle for a cup of Jasmine tea?"

"Sure."

#Atla #Toph #Zuko #There is 100% a follow up post to this involving Jet coming #And you should have expected this #As I am a Jet stan #This is my nature #I shall hold back for now though #Toph would vibe with both of them tbh #Then she’d recognize Iroh and be like #Hey you found the angry boy! Good for you! #She’d refer to Zuko as Boy Son and Bucko #When Zuko would remind her that she is in fact younger than him #She would pull out the logic of #I’m blind! How many Twelve year olds do you know are blind? #...none. #And how many old people do you know are blind? #...lots. #Then it’s settled! Now treat your elders with respect Bucko

[saby-chan]

Fire Lord Ozai: A blood thirsty monster or the less fortunate “Zuko” of his generation?

Hello again and thank you as always for clicking and allotting some of your time to read my humble post! Since I’ve happened to notice quite an increase in posts lately regarding the controversial character and nature of the former Fire Lord, the now imprisoned fallen prince Ozai, and I’ve personally promised in my previous post that I will share my own analysis on him if people asked me to do so (which actually happened), I am here to deliver my own take on this very intriguing man’s character, while also building a potential past for him based on stuff gathered from the show’s cannon.

I would like to start this essay with what I find to be my favorite quote ever: ”Monster’s aren’t born, they are created.” ~ Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto) What I like about this quote soo much and find very inspirational is the truth it holds within its short, yet powerful message. We are often fast to judge a “book by the cover”, to reduce others to what we assume of them by their appearance or latest actions that we’ve seen them do, but never actually take a moment and wonder where they come from, if this person we soo harshly look down upon really has been this way since their very beginning?

I’ve come across many comments on social media related to ATLA, especially on YouTube videos on which people would throw with harsh comments such as “Aang being a coward for choosing to spare the villain just because they saw a dumb baby pic of them” or “Ozai is the essence of evil and even as a baby he’d been a monster”. I can’t help but wonder who hurt these people to make them be so cruel? Like, how messed up must you actually be to say that a baby, a friggin baby, is the embodiment of all evils? Or that a child was a coward for choosing to see his opponent’s last bits of humanity and opted to spare them?

Aang was soo morally conflicted about the idea of killing Ozai not only because it contradicted the morals of his people, but because he himself understood that this man hadn’t always been the cruel beast he came to met in their first and final showdown. It’s important to note here the fact that upon finding that picture, Aang was actually convinced it had to be Zuko as a baby since it looked so innocent and cute and was actually surprised to learn it was Zuko’s father. And that’s the thing, Ozai was born like us all as an innocent and sweet baby. Babies aren’t in any way evil or twisted, they don’t even have the notion of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ defined in their small, still developing minds. In fact, the very choice of the creators to add this picture in the show is meant to tell us this very thing: this man wasn’t always like this. But if he wasn’t always like this, then what happened to make him become this way?

Well, in order to find out the reason, we must go back in time to the very beginning: Ozai’s childhood and upbringing. For this next part I am going to solely focus on the show cannon, as the comics aren’t the products of BryKe and have a lot of inconsistencies to the source’s cannon (you can go and read my other post on why they fail when it comes to Zuko’s character and his family).

 From what we know and can easily deduce by ourselves just from their appearances, Ozai and his brother Iroh have a huge age gap between them (somewhere between 10 and 15 years). This has to be our first red flag: isn’t it soo odd that this family opted to have their children at such a long distance between pregnancies? It almost feels as if Ozai hadn’t actually been part of his father’s actual family planning... In other words, he was a ‘mistake’ child (I actually hate having to use this terminology, but it will become relevant to when we expand on Azulon’s relationship with his sons). Sure, some may argue that Azulon actually decided to have two sons in case something were to happen to his first born, but wouldn’t it have been more logical to have his second born at 2-3 years max distance from his first? Why choose to have your second child when you are much older and thus risk having a baby with issues, if your sole purpose of this child is to serve as an insurance that you don’t ‘run out’ of heirs? It just doesn’t make much sense, so let’s go for the moment with the possibility that Ozai was an unplanned pregnancy.

This perspective actually gives way to another very interesting aspect: remember the infamous “Born lucky...Lucky to be born” quote? What if I tell you that there is a possibility that this quote wasn’t Ozai’s personal wicked invention, but actually something he himself heard from his very own father? It had been puzzling me for a long time why he choose to say “You were lucky to be born” to Zuko, which implies that Zuko wasn’t supposed to exist. I mean, it’s soo odd that Ozai went with something implying that Zuko was an unplanned pregnancy, since Zuko was the first born. So my theory is that maybe Ozai wanted to convey a different message to Zuko when he said that quote, but due to his anger he ended up replicating the same line he received from Azulon at some point in his childhood. We never got the exact flashback when the line was delivered from Ozai to Zuko, so we don’t have the exact context that lead to it (remember, we are excluding Yang’s take on the matter from the comics).

I mean, this feels like something that wicked old Azulon would have said to his least favorite child. Okay, so let’s go with the scenario that Ozai was an unwanted child, to which we could also add the possibility that Ilah’s health deteriorated after the first birth, which makes plausible the family’s initial decision of stopping at 1 kid.

Moving on, we know from the old ATLA character wiki’s that Ozai’s character design was made with Zuko in mind, being meant to be a grown up version of Zuzu, without the scar. An interesting choice indeed and even Iroh’s letter to Zuko on Ozai from one of the ATLA books describes Ozzy in a similar way to teenage Zuko in book 1: stubborn, feisty, determined and with a volcanic personality (easy to anger and competitive), so it means that these were intentional choices to imply that Zuko and his father are more similar than we were led to believe at first glance. Maybe Ozai was the “Zuko” of his generation. Also, in one of the interviews on the royal family, BryKe stated that Ozai worked very hard to get where he is in book 3, referring to his firebending specifically (we all know how Ozzy got the throne, so clearly, he didn’t “work hard” for that), so maybe he wasn’t always the strongest man alive, with the most exceptional firebending skills out there, like Azula who showed ease in her learning, but rather someone closer to Zuko’s weaker performance as a child, building his way to success through endless hard work until he became the prodigy we know today.

Continuing with our theoretical scenario, after his birth, the second child show’s lesser skills compared to his brother Iroh (by that I don’t mean that he wasn’t gifted at all, but that maybe Ozai wasn’t as fast and great of a learner like his big bro), so Azulon opts to just ignore him and continue focusing solely on his golden child. In my headcannon I actually think that Ilah survived the birth and so she was left in charge of the younger child’s education and upbringing. At this point Iroh is already 10 or older, so he is forced to focus on his development, which prevents him from spending time with his lil brother, but just for the sake of being positive, let’s assume that Ozai still had both his mother and his big brother to keep him sheltered from Azulon’s darkness for a small portion of his childhood.

I choose to believe that Ozai had his mother’s love for a small bit of his childhood due to his willingness in the show to allow Ursa (who mind you, as the granddaughter of Roku was considered a treacherous individual) to spend a ton of time with both Zuko and Azula and share her philosophy with the children, as seeing his wife playing with their children probably reminded him of his own bitter-sweet memories he had with Ilah. They also probably spent a lot of their time near the turtle-duck pond since that pond’s existence prolly dates long before Ozai and Ursa married and had their own children.

Unfortunately, Ilah dies and little Ozai remains all alone, to be influenced negatively by his father (and even by his grandpa Sozin, we don’t really know for certain when the old man died, so he prolly was there for a short time when Ozzy was still a child). Azulon most likely blames Ozai for his wife’s death as the second birth might’ve really had a huge toll on Ilah’s already fragile body, bringing her closer to death, so he still neglects and ignores the child, if not straight out bullies and abuses him for not being on par with Iroh. This prolly leads to Ozai becoming jealous of his brother since Iroh has their father’s love, pushing them further apart. I headcannon that this jealousy between the siblings led to Ozai complaining to his dad when he finally had too much of their father’s discrimination (at a similar age to when Zuko prolly did and got the infamous line, if not younger) only to get the “Iroh was born lucky, you were lucky to be born!” line with the sole purpose of hurting him since now the child knows that he was never wanted.

When Azulon scolds very furiously adult Ozai in Zuko’s memories for daring to ask to be named crown prince, he literally says something like “What, you dare ask me to betray MY own son?!” (this is like red flag number two), line that pretty much testifies how Azulon chose to pretty much treat Ozai as if he wasn’t his son too, showcasing how much he despised his second born and favored the first child over him. Since we are on the topic of their last conversation, the punishment Azulon gave to his son alone proves this man’s level of sadism, which leads me to be believe that Ozai’s childhood was full of this type of punishments for bad behaviors that could be easily corrected trough a long serious lecture or a lesser punishment focused more on teaching him an actual lesson. 

The old wikis also mention on the page about the hall with portraits of the previous Fire Lords that it was the place where Ozai chose to spend most of his time in his youth, seeking advice from his ancestors. I mean, seriously now, if he had a good and supportive father and a present brother in his life, would Ozai had chosen to seek guidance from the dead instead of his living family? That piece of information that was easily overlooked by many proves how lonely this man was in his youth.

So for the most part of his life, Ozai grew up under the toxic influence and abuse of his tyrant father who refused to acknowledge him. Yet he managed to grow up still full of determination to one day prove his worth to Azulon and gain his acceptance (just like we saw with Zuko in book 1, who was desperate to regain his honor and be accepted by his father). But unfortunately, no matter how strong he became or how good of a firebender he was, Azulon was unmoved and unphased by his second son’s performance.

From what we could gather from the little info we received in the show, it seems that Ozai was never sent to the battle field to aid his older brother, being kept as a stay home prince, with the only occasion he actually left home being to search for the Avatar (I don’t think Iroh was sent to do his part on searching the Avatar since he strongly believed that there wasn’t going to ever be one, so it’s safe to assume Azulon assigned Ozai with this mission just to get rid of him for a few years) and the only purpose he ever served to his father was to become part of the old man’s genetics experiment in order to create strong unparalleled firebending offspring (which I am pretty sure were meant to be ‘biological war machines’ used by Azulon in the war, as he didn’t really seem to give a shit about Ozai’s children compared to Lu Ten). So just imagine the level of disappointment and dishonor Ozai must’ve felt as a man and young aspiring soldier to find out that he was going to be used like a ‘non-bending daughter’ in a strategical marriage and never get to serve his country in what he’d been taught was the greatest and most important war for their Nation.

All in all, this marriage didn’t really end up that badly because it seems he and Ursa were actually very compatible. The old wiki for Ursa states that she was a noble woman and the perfect match for Ozai, which leads me to believe that show Ursa was intended to be a very strong willed and determined woman who earned his respect. The show never stated that Ozai never wanted his first born or that he was disappointed with Zuko from birth like the comics say, so it’s safe to assume that Ursa and Ozai actually ended up falling in love at some point since they had not one, but two kids with relatively a short time in between pregnancies. 

There are actually many signs in the show that actually prove that these two loved each other and Ozai didn’t abuse his wife: from the fact that they went every year to see Ursa’s favorite play despite Ozai hating the poor performance of the Ember Island Players (I mean, what man would do such a sacrifice as to endure the same torture every single year just to make his wife happy if he never loved her?), Ursa’s undeniable and sincere love for their children (in the show it was never stated that Ursa saw Zuko and Azula as someone else’s children, so if she were indeed an abused woman who was forced to have these children, she wouldn’t have ever loved them to such an extent, especially Zuko who resembled his father the most physically), the fact that Ursa had equal rights in their marriage and raising of their children (her even scolding and grounding Ozai’s favorite child without hesitation), to the most significant scene to the Urzai ship in Zuko’s flashbacks: Ozai sitting troubled all alone in Ursa’s favorite spot by the pond, in a sad and brooding atmosphere, after he lost her, instead of celebrating what had to be the happiest day of his life since he was finally crowned Fire Lord (it’s clear who had more importance in his heart: Ursa meant more to him than the throne, so losing her outshined his achievement). In fact, Ursa must’ve been the only thing that still kept him outside of the darkness that threatened to swallow his heart and once he lost her, Ozai had nothing else to keep him on the right path.

And even as a father, it seems that Ozai wasn’t always cold and distant to his children, as his true self depicted in Zuko’s memories on Ember Island shows him caring for both of his children, even holding Zuko close to him with a protective arm on the boy’s shoulder. Except the Agni Kai, there don’t seem to be any instances in which he was physically violent towards his son before the banishment (Iroh literally let Zuko in to join that faithful war meeting willingly. Would’ve he done that if he knew his brother to be very violent towards his children in case they disobeyed? If yes, then it would make Iroh actually very questionable on a moral standpoint) and even on an emotional level, I don’t really think that he was actually abusive to him (at least while Ursa was there) because from Zuko’s conversation with Zhao, he’s adamant that his father will take him back and even states "You don't know how my father feels about me. You don't know anything!", meaning that the father he used to know showed him a level of respect and genuine affection (if Ozai were to bully Zuko since the boy’s very early childhood, do you think this kid would grow up to be so sure that his father wants him around and would he defend this bully when someone badmouths them in front of him?).

Even with Azula, despite people demonizing her from early childhood and saying that she was manipulated since birth by Ozai to become a war machine, I do believe that she shows genuine love and affection towards her father. I do choose to believe that back in the good times when the family was happy, Ozai spent quality time with his daughter, filling in the gap left by Ursa’s neglect. I theorize that the reason why kid Azula badmouthed her grandpa and uncle was because she was being very protective of her father: since she used to like spying and eavesdropping, it’s safe to assume that she prolly witnessed many instances in which the old man bullied or insulted Ozai, favoring Iroh over him. It’s a bit harder to see it that way since her snarky comments involve dark topics, but since they live in a society governed by power and war, I see them as something similar to if Azula would’ve said “Uncle sucks and he will surely be fired from his job!” or “Grandpa is old and weak, he should leave the family business to dad!”. Even the fact that the only thing capable of shattering her to pieces was her father leaving her proves how much she cared for him. Ty Lee and Mai’s betrayal was a big blow on Azula’s control and sanity, but she didn’t breakdown until Ozai discarded her after his coronation as Phoenix King. There’s nothing more painful in this world than to be left behind by the person you loved the most and was there by your side your whole life, whom you wanted to follow to world’s end and back. That was the moment Azula finally realized that the father she used to know and love was actually gone and had been in fact, long gone for years at this point.

But if Ozai cared for his family what made him change? Easy, it all comes back to the fact that his father never acknowledged him. The throne doesn’t seem to be his ultimate goal in life since Ozai discarded of the Fire Lord title very easily, tossing it to Azula without any remorse or hesitation. It was more about the meaning behind getting the crown: replacing Iroh in the line of succession was the ultimate proof of his father’s acceptance, that he wasn’t only a “mistake” and “failure” in his father’s eyes, but since Azulon ended up saying and doing what he did, backfired Ozai and made him understand that no matter how hard he tried, the old man will never see him for what he is. So yeah, for a proud man like Ozai this was a hard defeat to swallow, which in turn sparked his strong desire of winning the war and becoming the king of the world: if Azulon wouldn’t accept him even in death, then Ozai will prove to the whole world that he was above his father and his “perfect” brother by accomplishing what they never could and even better and no one was going to stop him, not even his own family.

This is what differentiates Ozai from Zuko: while both had similar upbringings, Ozai never broke away from his obsession of gaining his father’s admiration, allowing himself to fall prey to the darkness left by Azulon in his heart and abandon his true self, only to become the copy of his abuser, while Zuko stood up to his dad and chose his own destiny. If Aang were to come back around 20 or 30 years earlier, then he might’ve actually been able to save Ozai just like he saved Zuko, but unfortunately it wasn’t this way.

Do I think that Ozai could still be saved and redeemed even after the events of book 3? Definitely! Since he’s actually a broken man and still has a tiny bit of humanity left within, I think he still has a chance to change his heart. The only thing is that it’d be a long lasting process: first off he needs to spend a long time in solitude and reflect on his life’s choices and his past, understand where he went wrong and that what happened to him in his childhood is called abuse, which he ended up replicating on his own children. After he understands his wrongdoings and becomes willing to rediscover his true self, he needs to understand the truth about the war, that everything he’d known was fake propaganda and that there was nothing glorious in what he, his father and Sozin did under the excuse of “sharing their Nation’s greatness with the rest of the world!”. But most importantly of all, the only remedy that could possibly save him is love. It sound cliche, but by responding to hatred with more hate like Zuko did in the comics would never change the world “for the better” or bring it “to reality”. The only way to save both Azula and Ozai would be trough showing them the power of love, hope and empathy, how they don’t have to struggle alone and push everyone away. And especially by redeeming Azula, she would be a very important piece in Ozai’s redemption: since he had a closer parent-child relationship with Azula and cared for her the most when he did care, realizing how much he made her suffer through his actions, that would probably break Ozai enough to make him admit that he was wrong all along.

So yeah, this is my analysis on Ozai’s character using the cannon information from the show and old wikis and why I think he is just the product of a very bad environment and an abusive parent who never showed him love (if there’s a reason for why Ozai might be uncapable of showing a healthy parental love to his children is because you can’t show what you’ve never learnt yourself), being the Zuko of his generation who never got to experience the positive influence of an “Uncle Iroh” to guide him on the right path. 

You can agree with me or not on this one, but this is what I choose to believe. Maybe I am way too good by choosing to see any potential good in anyone, but I feel it’s a better way than to counter hate with more hate like Yang did in his monstrous portrayal of Ozai in The Search.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments and if you agree with anything I’ve said, feel free to leave a like and to reblog this post.

See you next time and stay safe! Bye-Bye!

Saby out.

#atla #atla rant #avatar the last airbender #ozai #azulon #ursa #zuko #azula

[sasuhinasno1fan]

The way you had your hair reminds me- Zutara Week Day 1

My second Zutara Week though I hope I can actually finish it this time. I decided I really wanted to do something with Katara doing rhythmic gymnastics so I decided that since most of the prompts fit, I’ll do a sort of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo AU. It’s a good kdrama if you’ve never heard of it. trying to fit 16 hour long episodes into 7 days is gonna be interesting. I’ll warn you now and let you know there will be onesided LuTara but for like a day maybe. I haven’t written that day yet so we’ll see. This will end in Zutara happieness, I promise. Anyway, enjoy. Hair

Zuko crawled carefully as he wiped down the windows. Most of his classmates didn’t want him anywhere near an open area, especially with his limited vision but he’d just gotten his bandaged taken off and he wasn’t about to let it hinder him.

Without them on, he didn’t see Mom flinch at the sight of them, though the massive burn wasn’t any better. The fights between his parents weren’t either and Azula’s teasing was starting to be hurtful more than playful. He wanted it all to stop. If he pretended that things were ok, maybe they would be eventually.

“Hey scarface!” Zuko looked over, 3 of his school bullies storming over. He tried not to flinch, already knowing what they were going to yell at him about. They’d been doing it all day. “We lost the race thanks to you!”

Zuko used to be more confident. But after the burns, a few harsh words and he’d start retreating back down into himself. These bullies took advantage of it. During their Sports Day yesterday, Zuko had dropped the baton in the relay race and ran in the opposite direction, away from the bullies yelling at him.

“Mr. Reversal, can’t believe you’re so stupid.”

“You need a walking stick, scarface? Huh?”

Zuko felt one of them shove him and he expected to hit the window frame. Instead, he went flying out the open window. Years later, Zuko would mostly remember him being caught by an older man with darker skin, most likely from one of the Water Tribes, with kind blue eyes, who held him as he burst into tears and two younger children. The boy patted his back, telling him not to worry because his sister would take care of it and the girl screaming up at the bullies from the ground floor. Her long braid swung back and forth as she shook her fists and threatened to do violent things to them. her eyes seemed bluer than her families, like the clearest ocean.

He didn’t know they’d slip back into his life years later. That the little girl who threatened bullies for a boy she didn’t know, would become so much more important to him.

                                             ________________

Zuko unlocked his bike, trying not to feel discouraged. It was hard not to when he’d been disqualified from another competition for having a panic attack. Every time he walked onto the mat, his hearing would go wonky and he’d start seeing double, not to mention his heart beating like it was trying to escape his chest. As a result, he’d always forget to sault his opponent and the referee.

Along with being propositioned to train an up-and-coming fencer to get onto the national Olympic team – which he refused because how was he supposed to help someone when he could even finish a match – all he wanted to do was collapse onto his bed. He could already tell that during training tomorrow, he’d have to deal with snide remarks from Jett. How that guy became captain, he’d never know. He knew if he just beat him in training like always, it would piss him off even more and with the school’s Sports Day coming up, he was not in the mood to do the worst event for the Fencing Department.

He climbed on his bike, adjusting his kit sitting on its place but stopping himself from peddling back to campus when his phone rang.

“What Sokka?”

“So, the results of the match went up. Jett wants to talk to you; says he’s got the prefect thing for you to do to make up for your loss. The rice lifting challenge.”

Zuko had to bite his lip to keep from screaming. The idea of the lifting challenge was to carry as many bags of rice and the industrial size, like the one the school cafeteria ordered and hold it for as long as possible. Usually, the Karate Department would be the one to win, fencing never even coming close.

“I’m not going.” Zuko said, making up his mind.

“What?”

“I’ll hang out at Lu Ten’s office or something, but I’m not going. Not to the crapshot of a meeting or to Sports Day. I don’t care what he threatens me with. I’m only coming back to drop my kit off.”

“Um, well I actually heard Mai was back. Didn’t make it past the preliminaries for the national team I hear.”

This day couldn’t get any worse.

“Screw it, I’m not coming back for the next few days. I’ll be with my uncle if you need me.”

“Wait! Ask Toph to do your event for you. it would put the Weightlifting Department in danger of losing but most of those guys don’t like her anyway. She’d love a chance to get back at them. come back to campus and ask her and then I’ll take you out for lunch. At my dad’s restaurant. You love his marinated salmon.” Sokka said, trying to entice his roommate.

Zuko sighed. “I want two orders. And you’re paying.”

“Done! Get here soon.”

Zuko didn’t bother answering, stowing his phone away and pushing off, heading towards Republic City Sports University.

                                     ______________________

Effortlessly, Katara grabbed her back leg and straightened it as she did her pivot. She kept her balance as she came out of it and continued to twirl her ribbon. Her coach nodded.

“Very good. You’ve been practising. Your balance is better. Now I want to see if your fouettés have improved as well. If you want a chance at placing first and getting noticed by our sponsor and qualifying for the national team preliminaries, your routine can’t have any mistakes. Ty Lee, pay attention. I’m testing your fouettés as well.”

Katara looked over at the girl dressed in pink, who was pouting down at her matching hoop, Suki patting her on the shoulder. While Katara and Ty Lee weren’t friends, it was hard to not bond over being singled out by their coach.

Katara stood at the ready, twirling her ribbon as she readied herself when the door burst open.

“Azula!” Ty Lee cried.

Azula Lung was the student with the most sway in the whole school. Her father was the Prime Minister of the Fire Nation and while he didn’t hold much power in Republic City, since all powers were equal, that didn’t mean much at the University. She got the best room, private transport to competitions and rules didn’t apply to her. She could boss around any coach, even though she was in the Karate Department. There’d been rumours that her place was bought, until her first competition where she creamed everyone. She was her department’s ace. In fact, she managed to take the Weightlifting Department’s old gym for the Karate Department, which started a massive feud between them. she was rude and arrogant and somehow, one of Ty Lee’s best friends.

Katara noticed a girl standing next to her. She was dressed in all black, the only colour being the red of her nails. She looked incredibly bored and only looked annoyed when Ty Lee launched herself at her.

“Mai, you’re back!”

“Mai has returned from her qualifying competition for the national team. We’ll be taking Ty Lee with us. Problem?” Azula announced.

“No of course not. Except, Ty Lee, you were supposed to show me your routine for Sports Day? Since you’re our department’s cheerleader.”

Azula scoffed. “Sports Day, waste of time. She won’t be attending. You, blue peasant.” Katara balked at that and narrowed her eyes. “You’ll be taking her place. Problem?”

Katara opened her mouth to say, yes big problem, but all the girls of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Department crowded around her, suffocating her with their hands.

“None at all.”

“Thanks Katara!” Ty Lee said, scooping up her bag and dashing off, Mai following and with a raised eyebrow that spoke of her superiority, Azula leaving as well.

“You can’t argue with her Katara.”

“She’d have you removed from the school. I heard she got a person’s whole family business shut down for pissing her off. Do you want that for your dad?”

“Her dad might be the Prime Minister, but he’s practically a mafia boss.”

Comments like this floated over her head, as well as ones telling her they’d help with making a routine for Sports Day, which was in a few days. All Katara could think about was how completely unfair this all was.

And she let it out too once training was concluded for the day.

“It’s completely insane how she can just lord over them like that!” she said, harshly untangling her hair from its bun.

“Easy, you’re gonna rip your hair out.” Suki said, stopping her from tugging at it more and helping to pull half of it into a bun like she usually wore it.

“She’s a student. A sophomore at that. Where does she get off acting like she’s the greatest thing in the world? Just cause her dad is a Prime Minister? So is mine!”

“I thought Water Tribe issues fell under Yue’s dad’s jurisdiction?” Toph, a member of the Weightlifting Department asked, her hand holding on tightly to her guide dog’s harness. She was just as well known as Azula, due to the fact that she was blind but was still one of the highest climbing Weightlifting competitors at the school. She beat all the senior’s bests within her first month.

“Yeah, only because the South is smaller. That’s not the point! The point is, she does whatever she wants and doesn’t get in trouble for it and it extends to her friends too. I have a competition coming up soon and instead of working on my routines for that, I’m going to be learning choreo for a routine for one of the dumbest traditions of Sports Day.”

“Oh,” Toph said, a massively mischievous smile on her face, “well you won’t think it’s stupid when you hear what I heard. Wanna take a guess as to who’s the Fencing Department’s cheerleader?”

Katara looked over at Toph, who’s smile was growing maniacal. Usually that meant someone was going to get embarrassed as hell. It usually tended to be Sokka.

“Wouldn’t it be one of the girls?”

“Nope.” Toph shook her head, popping her p.

“Is it-?”

“Katara, watch out!”

A guy on his bike and panicked look as he turned the corner, thankfully started the veer off course at the sight of her. She still stumbled over her feet and fell to the floor, her hands pricking in pain as they were scratched. Thankfully though, her jacket took most of the damage. The guy on the other hand, had to shove his bike off his feet, rubbing at his shin.

She took in the pale skin, paler than Toph’s and dark hair surrounding his face. It didn’t stop her from noticing the large burn surrounding his right eye. she noticed that his school jacket was the same one Sokka wore, meaning he was in the Fencing Department.

“You should be more careful.” She meant for it to come out a bit nicer, but the anger from dealing with Azula slipped in.

clearly the guy didn’t enjoy being yelled at as he snapped back. “I didn’t see you.” he seemed to rethink his anger and continued in a calmer voice. “Are you ok?”

ok, now she felt bad about snapping at him. “I’m fine.”

“Oh, what up Sparky?” Toph asked, seeming to brighten as she figured out who almost crashed into them. her guide dog Badger, lead his owner over and with surprising accuracy, Toph punch the guy on the arm.

It was a little scary how well she could do that.

“Stop calling me that.”

“Hey, tell me. Seen his skirt yet? I know he doesn’t shave his legs so please tell me he’s going all out for this.”

The guy sighed. “Thought Sokka told you not to tell anyone.”

“Sokka? He’s the Fencing cheerleader? That’s why he’s been borrowing my hair pins? Those things are expensive.” Katara interrupted.

Toph burst into laughter, clearly enjoying herself while Suki looked thoughtful.

“So that’s why he asked for makeup advice. Suddenly Sports Day is looking a lot more fun.”

“Speaking of which, I’m going back to my room before Jett finds me to let me know my event. Oh, Toph wanna annoying your department?”

“Always.”

“Take my spot for the Rice Lifting event. I’ve dealt with way too much to even put up with Jett today.”

Katara furrowed her brow, wanting to say something about the fact this guy wasn’t going to participate but then she noticed Toph’s smile dropped a little and her punch was definitely softer the second time she hit him.

“Done deal Sparky. Tell your old man I’ll see him later.”

“So who was that?” Suki asked as the guy finally took off.

“Zuko Lung, not related to the royal brat. I go to his old man’s tea house sometimes. He’s Sokka’s roommate apparently.”

“Oh yeah, he’s a pretty good fencer from what I hear. Weird though, I haven’t seen his name in the announcement of students placing.” Suki said.

She had a point. Katara never remembered seeing anything either. She also found it a bit strange Sokka never dragged his roommate to meet the rest of them. there was something about Zuko though that seemed familiar. It was on the tip of her tongue but nothing came to mind. Oh well, for another day then.

“Hey, let’s go find Sokka. Maybe if we catch him off guard, we can get him to agree to let us wax his legs.”

                                             __________________

“I hate you.” Sokka mumbled, hiking his cheerleading skirt up. Katara bit her lip to keep from laughing at the crop top he was in. apparently, he pissed off their department captain by telling him that Zuko wasn’t participating and Toph was taking his place, so his new uniform was worse than his last.

She tossed her braid behind her, trying not to think about how young she must have looked. She had her hair like this when she was younger since it was much easier to put it into a bun. Her own uniform was rather pink for her taste, but Ty Lee basically guilt tripped her into wearing it since it already been bought. She was still annoyed at this, even more so when she found out her new roommate was Mai. The dark and depressing girl was apparently in the Archery Department and Sokka, who’d been in that Department before transferring to fencing, said she was undefeated. Yet she didn’t get past the first round of preliminaries to get onto the national team.

“Hey Sokka!” Aang, a member of the Track and Field Department came bounding over, his own skirt floating around his legs. “Katara, you never told me how much fun a skirt can be. Took me a while to find boxers that weren’t too long but still.”

“I’m glad your having fun Aang. At least someone is.” She said, smirking at Sokka.

“You deal with 3 hours of having your hair ripped out and then come talk to me.” Sokka snapped. “Ugg, I’m gonna kill Zuko. This is all his fault.”

“Wow.” A familiar voice said. Zuko was in casual clothes, carrying a cooler. Next to him was a man, with a squarish face, the same gold eyes and dark hair as Zuko, though his hair was pulled back into a top knot. “See if I bring you anything ever again.”

“You know Jett will kill you if he sees you.”

“He can’t do anything. My uncle called to pull me out for the afternoon. This is work, we’re delivering ice tea for the Fencing and Track and Field Departments. Aang, next time, don’t put your order late at night.”

Aang looked embarrassed. “Sorry. You were already gone when I got back from training. I was going to order for the Rhythmic Gymnastics department, but I know how conscious your coach is about sugars and such.” He said, looking at Katara.

“It’s ok. I’m stealing one though, I deserve the extra sugar for being in this outfit.” She said, walking over to Zuko and opening the lid on the cooler. She noticed he was staring intently at her face.

“What elementary school did you go to?” he asked suddenly.

“Huh?”

“Did you go to Ba Sing Se Preparatory?” he asked.

“Yes?”

“You screamed at those bullies.”

Bullies? Wait. It hit her like a thunderbolt, why he looked so familiar. His burn was a bit more faded but she couldn’t believe he forgot him. He’d been pushed out the window by bullies and her dad, would come to drop off lunch for her and Sokka, managed to catch him before he hurt himself and she’d screamed at the bullies from the floor.

“Holy crap. That was you!” Sokka said, “you had like no hair then!”

“Sokka!” he’d disappeared from class for a few weeks and when he came back his hair was cut so far back that it made his bandages stick out more.

“Yours was in a braid then.”

She was confused for a moment when she realised, he was talking to her. Yesterday her hair had been out but now it was in the same style she had it in as a child.

She’d always wondered what happened to him when Zuko suddenly disappeared for good one day. She’d didn’t think she’d find out now.

#zutara week #zutara week 2021 #weightlifting fairy kim bok joo #AU #rhythmic gymnasit katara #fencer zuko #fencer sokka #weightlifter toph #runner aang

[justanotherghostwriter]

Ledges and Parachutes

Genre: Modern AU ZK slowburn/mutual pining.

Warnings: Mentions of child neglect and abuse (same level as canon), brief mentions of mental illness, descriptions of a chronic health condition, including use of appropriate medication.

AN: The rough outline of this fic was put down and ready for Zutara Month. And then life happened, so I couldn’t write for ZK Month and I thought I’d leave this completely unexplored. But @lizanthium is having a birthday today, and I’ve hit a mental block with my other WIPs, so I’m going to use celebrating her being on earth as an excuse to write up about one fifth of what this was originally going to be and call it a confusing oneshot. The title comes from Sleeping at Last’s “Heart”, 10% because Lizanthium and I both love SaL, 10% because the lyrics fit  well for the ZK vibes at this time of the fic and 80% because I’m absolutely the type of jerk to sink to this level of ironic wordplay. (A song called heart for a fic about heart things and heart things? It’s more likely than you’d think.) 

***

Katara scrolled swiftly through the multiple new messages in her class group chat, searching for anything useful amongst the messages full of panic and complaints and procrastination. Finding nothing, she closed the group and was about to put her phone back down and return to the notes before her when she noticed the little green dot next to Zuko’s name. Her eyebrow rose, and she glanced at the time. It was pushing three in the morning; Zuko only made it past eleven if something forced him to. She tapped on his name and sent him a single question mark. After so many years of knowing one another, he was able to hear many of her questions without her having to ask them.

Her phone was on silent, so she kept her eye on the screen, snatching it up at once when her screen lit up. Typically, Zuko had ignored her question entirely. How’s studying? Rolling her eyes, Katara typed out a reply that left less room for bullshit: Fine. Nearly done everything, then I’ll just go over the problematic sections tomorrow. Why are you awake? He took a longer time to reply, and Katara knew with near-certainty he’d typed and deleted a number of replies before settling on what he’d sent her, trying to lie without lying in that endearingly awkward way he still carried with him from his younger years. Just have some things keeping me up.

You can do them tomorrow, she replied at once. Go to sleep. The board members and shareholders of what had once been his father’s company had warmed up to him a lot over the past few years, but they all knew there were a few of the ugly little slugs who would pounce on any small perceived weakness. And Zuko was near incoherent without enough sleep, and seemed biologically incapable of sleeping past dawn unless he was half dead, and, therefore, needed as much sleep as he could get. And needed to be reminded about this fact, as he still hadn’t gotten a firm grasp on what self-care entailed.

K, she got back, and she rolled her eyes. A moment later: good luck studying. She sent back thanks, and another warning to get some sleep, and then went back to studying. Every time she took a break, she checked her phone, but there were no new messages from Zuko, and the dot beside his name remained grey. Katara hoped it meant he’d actually listened to her, and focused on her upcoming exam enough that she almost forgot to worry about Zuko at all.

***

“These are all for you,” Hakoda told Katara, waving the packet of hardboiled candies around. “You can take them in with you, right?”

“Thanks, Dad,” she smiled, chest warm at his thoughtfulness. “If I put them in a container that doesn’t rustle, I can take them in.”

Her dad began hunting around for a plastic container as her grandmother handed her another dish to dry. “Which of your siblings are getting you home?” Hakoda asked.

Gran-Gran and Katara both grinned at the affectionate little in-joke that had started on Bato’s lips once it became clear that Kanna had somehow started an unofficial foster home in Bato and Hakoda’s absence. “Zuko’s got me. His last meeting is set to end about half an hour before my exam does.”

“So you’re his excuse to flee before things run overtime, then?” Gran-Gran chuckled.

“I think that’s why he said yes,” Katara joked back.

“And your other siblings? You guys have things planned this weekend, right?”

“Yeah; Saturday evening. Sokka and Suki will be driving down in the morning. I’ll probably pick Toph up when I’m on my way there. Aang...” Katara grinned, fond. “You know Aang. He’ll just be here one moment, always on time and yet somehow always late. We’re going to Zuko’s to pretend we’re all in our mid-teens again; movie, pizza, junk food, sleepover where we barely sleep. The works.”

“Why Zuko’s? We have more beds here,” her dad said, trying to find a lid that fit the container he had in front of him, brows furrowed at the effort.

“Yeah, true.” Katara dried the last dish and began to help her grandmother pack them away. “But...”

Compared to their little three-bedroom and Uncle’s studio apartment above the shop, Zuko’s house was a palace. But most of the rooms were utterly empty and derelict; Ozai hadn’t liked visitors, and had kept only the truly necessary rooms in use when he’d owned the place. When Zuko had moved back in as the only permanent occupant, the only thing he’d done was set up his childhood bedroom, which had been maliciously trashed and gutted bare in his absence. He’d made noise a few times about actually utilising the whole house, but everybody could tell it was half-hearted. And nobody had pushed him; in private, they agreed that the house was rather creepy and sad, and nobody wanted to try and sleep in Ozai’s old room, or even the room that had, for a time, belonged to Zuko’s mother.

By contrast, every inch of Katara’s three-bedroom childhood home was utilised. They’d moved a second bed into Sokka’s room when it became clear Aang preferred their home and his new foster family didn’t care much where he slept. Another bed squashed into Katara’s room when Toph refused to go back to her house. Suki appearing off and on had them adding a bed into the small living room that they forced to double up as a sofa during the day. That was when Hakoda started staying home more often, which meant both he and Bato needed places to sleep, which added two sofa beds to the mix. Zuko’s bed started out as a hammock on the enclosed back porch, so he didn’t wake the house on the nights he snuck in at all hours, looking for somewhere safe to sleep. He’d been upgraded to a mattress that lived under Suki’s bed in the living room when not in use once he and Katara stopped thinking they hated each other’s guts, but the hammock had remained outside. Hakoda and Kanna had left all the sleeping options as they were even as the kids graduated and moved out, just because both of them knew they’d always come back to the house, eventually. The most that had happened was Katara shoving the two twins in her room together to make a king when she’d moved back home for her final year of pre-med.

Their little house was, therefore, the much more logical choice for a sleepover, especially as they were trying to invoke the nostalgia of years passed. And yet there hadn’t been any debate that they were throwing the little reunion/celebration party at Zuko’s.

“This place already has good memories,” Katara said, after struggling for an explanation that would make sense. “His house... he’s usually all alone there...”

Hakoda glanced at her, and his look turned troubled for a moment, before he smiled. His hand ruffled her hair affectionately. “Got you,” he said, and Katara knew he did understand.

“Drag them all around here on Sunday, then. It’s been too long since something’s been broken in this house. We’ll make stew,” Gran-Gran said, shutting the last kitchen cupboard.

“I’ll make sure of it,” Katara promised, whipping out her phone to send the missive to the group.

Everybody sent through their delight at the prospect of Gran-Gran’s stew in a mixture of words, keysmashes and emojis, except Zuko, who remained quiet. He still hadn’t replied by the time she slipped into bed early, knowing she needed an early night for the exam the next day. She sent him a private text: You can’t get out of a family meal. Suki will fireman carry you here if she needs to.

She was mostly asleep when the reply flashed across her lockscreen: I’ll see. Good luck for tomorrow. Sleep well.

***

Her head felt like it was stuffed with hot air and the scraps of the exam paper she’d just completed. A few people around her power-walked out of the venue, but most of them drifted as she did, dazed and confused as though waking from a dream. Nightmare. Katara didn’t have the brainpower to process whether the exam had been difficult or easy; it just was. And she’d existed solely in it, and in preparation for it, that the aftermath seemed... surreal.

A movement caught her eye, and she glanced over instinctively to see a familiar hand hanging out the window of a familiar car, waving a familiar reusable travel cup. Some primal noise escaped Katara’s throat, and she made a beeline for Ursa’s old car, her bag slapping against her thigh. The hand disappeared back into the car, and when she opened the passenger door the travel mug was stretched toward her instead in offering.

“Spirits. Thank you,” she said, with great feeling, collapsing into the passenger seat and grabbing for the cup even before she closed the door.

Zuko gave her one of his sideways smirks even as his eyes flickered over her face, searching her expression. He had a casual hoodie over his shirt and tie, suit jacket nowhere to be seen, and his hair was pulled back in a messy half bun. “Thought you might need it after having to wake up before nine this morning.”

She half-heartedly smacked his shoulder as he started the car. “Not everybody sleeps grandma hours. Even Gran-Gran doesn’t sleep grandma hours,” she quipped back, settling into the worn leather with a contented sigh. She tilted her head back and shut her eyes as the car started, and in that moment she could have been fifteen again somewhere in the middle of nowhere with crappy gas station coffee during the impromptu, catastrophic, cathartic roadtrip she and Zuko had taken in that very car. “Does Uncle know you set foot in a cafe that isn’t the Jasmine Dragon?” she teased, cracking one stinging eye open to watch Zuko’s reaction.

His lips twitched. “Uncle doesn’t sell coffee.”

“Such a traitor to your family,” she teased, without thinking, and then instantly felt her stomach clench and drop in horror and guilt.

But Zuko snorted before she could apologise for the unthinkingly cruel jab, carefully navigating into traffic. He was a surprisingly careful and meticulous driver, possibly because he’d had to go through so many hoops to convince people he could drive even with his impaired vision and hearing, possibly because of the circumstances under which Ursa had disappeared, possibly because all of Zuko’s recklessness seemed to be contained within his streak of martyrdom that popped up every now and then.

“Uncle has a slow-drip machine hidden in the very back of the kitchen cupboards. He likes to pretend I didn’t find it years ago.”

Katara laughed but, still feeling a little guilty for her jab, lapsed into silently sipping at her coffee. At the first traffic light, she saw Zuko glancing over at her from the corner of her eye. He knew her well enough to know she’d not hold back anything that she wanted to talk about and that she didn’t like being pushed into talking what she didn’t want to talk about, but it was obvious that he wanted to ask how her exam had gone. Katara found her lips curling up in a fond, amused smile.

“I think it went okay, today,” she said, breaking the minutes-long easy silence, and she saw Zuko’s shoulders relax some as she started on processing the paper out loud, even though he wouldn’t understand most of the technical terms.

When she ran out of things to say about the exam and her predications and plans about the way forward, she started planning the next day, frowning a little when Zuko gave the bare minimum input. Even driving he was usually a little more responsive. She let them lapse back into silence, not willing to force the conversation when he was clearly not into it – perhaps his mind was still on work. She would ask about it, but Zuko was definitely the sort you only pushed to share information he wasn’t willing to offer by himself when it was entirely necessary to do so – and ended up half dozing against the door. Thoughts wandering idly through various topics, she cracked open half an eye to ask Zuko what days he and Sokka had made plans to practise swordsmanship so she could come along to do some sparring with them afterwards and caught him rubbing at his sternum.

The half asleep feeling washed out of her in a rush, and she sat up fully. Zuko abruptly changed the motion to him loosening his tie in an attempt to fool her, but Katara knew what she’d seen.

“Hey,” she said, quietly, and he raised his eyebrow in casual askance, eyes still on the road. “You good?”

“Yeah,” he said, in that too casual way of his, and Katara gave him a flat stare that he caught when he glanced over at her. Zuko sighed. “It’s fine.”

“Normal people fine?” she pressed, crossing her arms so she couldn’t follow the instinct to reach out and feel for his pulse. Boundaries. She knew she had to respect them, and his word – he knew better than she did what he needed and what he could handle, and, as much as his view of what acceptable risk and pain was contrasted with everybody else’s, it was still his body and his life.

“Yes, Katara.”

She let up until they stopped outside her house, which was closed up and devoid of any other life. “Do you want to come inside?” Zuko sighed, loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose, and Katara hoped she was imagining the slight tremor to his fingers; worrying her fear into existence. “Dad and Gran-Gran will be gone until much later tonight, and I recorded the latest EIP episode, and there’s food and I just... it would suck to just sit there alone.” Zuko squinted at her, and she kept her face as neutral as possible. It was only a bit of manipulation; she really had intended to invite Zuko to stay for an episode and a drink. It was just now less of a casual offer and more of a sharp desire so that she didn’t let him out of her sight before she’d had time to do some proper observation. But she was better at fibbing than he was, and so she lifted both her hands in mock surrender. “I’m not going to drag you in, Zuko. If you want some popcorn and series, then come inside. If not... I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Silently, she pleaded that he’d follow her inside, and nearly sighed with relief when he nodded and mumbled an assent. She said some inane filler and let herself out of the car, carefully lifting the car door so it shut properly without even thinking about it, and then making her way up the stairs to open the front door. She casually glanced back as she did, and felt her heart clench when she found Zuko still at the car, leaning against the body with one hand gripping the still-open driver door. Worse than she’d thought, then. Crap.

She forced herself to walk inside and not wait and watch, starting a mental timer in her head so she knew when it had been long enough that she had good reason to go back outside and check on him. But she’d just put the bag of popcorn in the microwave when the front door closed quietly. Mechanically, Katara reached for the tea mix that was in the house because of, and largely for, Zuko and Iroh and, as she put the tea into the strainer, she thought about Iroh’s hidden coffee machine and wondered, not for the first time, if Iroh had been as much a tea purist as he was before they all found out about Zuko’s heart condition.

“Anything else other than tea and popcorn?” she prompted as Zuko entered the kitchen, pretending that she didn’t jump at his silence entrance. She still hadn’t gotten used to how quietly he could walk, but had learned not to draw attention to it – the reason he’d learned to be so quiet was a sad one she didn’t want to poke at unnecessarily. “We’ve got fruit. And, um...” Your pills, if you need them she wanted to say, but bit her tongue.  

“No, that’s fine.” Zuko reached around her to adjust the tea strainer, and she rolled her eyes, making a note to tell Iroh so they could both rib Zuko about being tea pedantic like he insisted he wasn’t and would never be.

He leaned against the counter beside her, close enough that their hips and shoulders pressed flush together. She couldn’t feel him visibly shaking, so Katara watched the popcorn beside him in silence. Zuko poured the tea while she put the popcorn in a bowl, and then they both settled on the lovingly worn sofa in front of the television. Katara shucked her shoes as Zuko took off his tie completely and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, and Katara had to force herself not to think of the thick scar on his chest that started just below the button he’d opened.

Zuko made it through half of the latest Ember Island Players episode before falling asleep, and Katara moved as slowly and quietly as possible to fetch him the comforter off Suki’s bed to drape it over him. Stranger than Zuko being asleep this early in the evening was Zuko not even twitching as she tucked him in, sleeping far deeper than he usually did.  Still, she didn’t want to chance it and so, when the episode ended, she flipped to something inane, lowered the volume, and stayed exactly where she was on the couch, munching on the unpopped kernels and feeling the long days and nights of studying and stress slowly catching up to her.

Zuko awoke with a gasp so sudden and so loud that Katara jumped, instinctively leaning away from him, hands gripping the popcorn bowl as a weapon. Zuko flailed wildly, trying and failing to get upright, and logic overrode instinct. Dumping the bowl without care, Katara clambered off the couch and helped haul Zuko upright. He was gasping for breath and shaking all the way through his body, face screwed up in a grimace.

“You’re okay. You’re fine; you’ve got this; you’re okay.” Katara ran circles on his back as he tried to choke down air. When he was still struggling after a minute, she finally crossed the threshold and placed her fingers against his neck to check for a pulse. Ice-cold fear trickled down her shoulders and into her belly, writhing and twisting with its intensity. “Did you have a nightmare?” Zuko shrugged one shoulder, and Katara penned the possibility as likely. He’d probably started having an SVT episode as he slept, and that triggered bad dreams which just made it all worse. But that was just speculation. “How long has it been bad?” She amended a split second later: “How long haven’t things been normal for you?”

Another shrug. “Uh... Four days?” Katara winced. “Today’s th’worst, though.” He winced deeply, teeth grit, and Katara automatically turned the touch against his throat into a caress against his neck.

“Pills?” To her relief, Zuko nodded after only a short hesitation. “I’ll be right back. Hang in there.”

He probably had some in the car – Katara made a note to check he had some in the car later – but she went to the few he’d left the last time he’d come over, checking the expiry date she’d taken down on a sticky note and attached to the bag they’d put them in. She took a glass of water back with her, even though Zuko tended to swallow everything dry, and then sat beside him on the couch to wait, fingers curled around the pulse point in his wrist while his hand lay in her upturned palm. Getting his breath a little more under control, Zuko slumped against the back of the couch and then into her a little, and Katara automatically leaned her head against his shoulder. She often found herself wishing she could do more to help people, especially with their medical issues, and it rankled something deep and sharp-toothed and angry that, even if she passed the exams with flying colours and went on to be some brilliant specialist somewhere, there would always be these little things that just were despite her best efforts.

“Is it hurting a lot?” she asked, quietly, a little worried at how his heart still wasn’t back to normal rhythm.

“Little,” he whispered back, and she squeezed his hand, eyes prickling slightly as she realised what that meant in Zuko-speak. “S’slowing down.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Keep breathing.”

The first time she’d been witness to Zuko in tachycardia she’d been fourteen and still convinced she couldn’t hate anybody more on the planet than Zuko. Except maybe his father and sister. Aang and Sokka and Toph had all been trying to talk her into accepting Zuko being around more often, but she’d been dead set in giving him only the bare minimum that was necessary. Katara could remember that he’d pissed her off that day, but she couldn’t remember what he’d done to make her so angry. She’d yelled at him; enough that his temper had flared and he’d yelled back. At some point she’d threatened him; the exact words were lost to memory, but she could definitely remember saying something awful about wishing he’d die. Later that night she’d snuck out to take out the trash she’d promised her dad she’d taken out hours ago and had found Zuko on the floor beneath his hammock, clutching his chest and unable to breathe.

Despite all the other times she’d sat beside him as his heart freaked out, that night still held the honour of one of the scariest, because she’d been so sure, for a few moments, that it had been her fault. The guilt still lingered even after they found out about the congenital condition that Zuko liked to do all he could to hide because Ozai was the worst parent just about ever, and would have probably remained a little niggling thing eating at her for years if, not a year and a half later, Zuko hadn’t nearly died saving her life. Her dad had had to forcefully remove every member of their friends group from Zuko’s hospital room when they ignored visiting hours at least once during his recovery, but she’d been the worst repeat offender, already neck-deep in medical research she’d done over the years to give her any sort of an extra gap into a med school one day and doing all she could with that knowledge to help him heal faster.

He was fine, most of the time. Kicked Sokka’s ass whenever the two trained together with swords, managed to hold his own against Suki with her weapons and against the rest of them with their different martial arts styles. Toph bullied him into going jogging with her at least three times a week, and their affectionate competitiveness with one another meant, Sokka predicted, that they’d be running a marathon together by the end of the year. Even knowing that, though, she still caught herself, and some of the others, watching him every now and then. And the knowledge of the usual didn’t help her feel anything less than chest-clenchingly afraid in the moments where she sat beside him silently and willed a normal rhythm back into his heartbeat.

Eventually, her silent wishing bore fruit, and Katara slowly let herself relax as Zuko relaxed beside her. He mumbled something that could have been an apology and could have been thanks into her shoulder, and she stroked absent lines up his forearm. “You have two options. The first one is sleeping over. The second one is me driving you home. Or you can get a cab and I’ll drive your car to your place tomorrow for the movie. You have three options,” she amended.

She felt Zuko’s head rolling and shifted so she could glance down at him still leaning against her. He looked exhausted and ashen, but was mulling over her ultimatums without protest. Katara watched him think, still holding his one hand in both of hers, nervously tapping her foot as she hoped he would choose to stay like she so wanted. She wanted him where she could keep an eye on him, even though it was incredibly rare that he’d have two episodes in one night. If this was one of the rare times, though, and he was all alone when it hit again...

“Can I stay, please?” he asked, eventually, and she couldn’t help but sag a little in relief.

“Of course.”

They settled again with his feet in her lap, and he dozed while she got started on all the things she’d been too busy to watch, one thumb absently stroking against his calf.

***

“Zuko?”

“Hmm?”

It was more a grunt than anything, and Katara found herself laughing quietly. That caused Zuko to crack an eye open to gaze blearily at her, the left one remaining closed where it was mostly smushed against a pillow. Katara instinctively reached out to brush flyaway hair from Zuko’s forehead and then let her thumb linger across his temple and across the bits of his scar still visible. His gaze was curious, somewhere underneath the exhausted brain fog, but utterly trusting. And she realised with some detached clarity how close they were actually lying. She just had to move her face a few inches forward in order for their noses to touch.

She’d ignored the way her father and Gran-Gran had glanced at each other when she’d said that Zuko would sleep in her bed with her. It was, technically, a separate bed; it just happened to be pushed flush against hers. And they’d slept next to each other too many times for her to count any more. And she wanted to keep an eye on him; he wasn’t bouncing back as quickly as normal, and this had been building for days, he’d said. And she didn’t have to justify any of this to her family, because they should know exactly what she was thinking by making the decision to have her beside him.

But it was... He was warm, beside her, and adorably sleep-mussed, and there had been something on his face when she’d offered him her bed, when Hakoda had gently lowered him to the mattress and had patted Zuko gently on the back before kissing Katara goodnight and leaving the room. Something about the way that he’d looked at her then, sitting on her bed while she came in with somebody’s old sweats and a T-Shirt he could change into. It was the same way he was looking at her then as they lay in the dark with the moonlight and streetlights only just giving them light to see by.

“Yeah?” he asked again, softly, when she said nothing.

“Um...” Her mouth was dry. “Goodnight.” She withdrew her hand, tucking it under her chin as though in chastisement.

He blinked at her, slow and sleepy, and then gave a ghost of a smile. “’Night.”

She closed her eyes and tried not to think about the way her heart was beating. She’d just calmed down when there was the sound of material against material, and Zuko’s hand snaked, slowly, hesitantly around her waist. Without opening her eyes, so it wasn’t truly real, Katara shuffled closer to him, bridging the little bump that signalled the separation between the two beds.

He was warm, and she was content. And that was all she needed to know for that moment.

#i couldn't get around to writing the movie night gaang bonding #or the sparring bonding #or Azula calling and her and Katara being awkward but really trying with one another #or the fact that in this AU it was Azula vs Katara and Zuko featuring an electric fence #Zula is doing much better now and she's mending bridges slowly but surely but it's still awkward to have a convo #with the woman you pretty seriously tried to kill/hurt v badly a few years ago during your dark mind time #anyway there you have it now it's out of my brain and I can REST #and then get back to slowly chipping through my actual WIPs with my tiny bit of free time #writing is hard #ghostfic #zutara #zutara fanfic #tw: medicine #tw: medical issues

[softluci]

atla hcs

i’ve been thinking about this for a minute, and i wanna do a set of headcanons for how i think the brothers (and eventually the undateables) would feel about certain avatar: the last airbender characters, or something along those lines. i actually just wanted to talk about lucifer and azula, so everything else here is a bonus. this doesn’t matter, but for what it’s worth: wherever the mc pops up, they will be gn, enjoy!

also: this kinda goes without saying, but there are most definitely spoilers in here. for which seasons? i don’t remember, i watched this show when i was nine, but proceed with caution if you have yet to watch it.

lucifer

if it’s one thing you are not gonna play with him about, it is princess azula. this man is an azula supremacist, and while he might not say those words exactly, anyone would be able to tell that’s the case if they talked to him about the show for longer than two minutes. he actually wasn’t even interested in the show until azula showed up, and he will readily admit this to anyone who inquires about it. what makes it funny is the fact that her first appearance is literally, like, ten seconds, so that means he saw her and immediately knew she was the best, which, like—real recognize real. is he projecting? am i projecting? yes, no. in that order. shut up.

he actually almost couldn’t hide how proud he was when azula almost killed aang, this man is deranged. the same way he takes her wins personally, he takes every loss of hers personally as well, so when she lost that agni kai? 🚶‍♂️ 

the average azula enjoyer believes azula should get a redemption arc, lucifer believes azula should simply get whatever she wants, and the difference between those two things is striking.

average azula enjoyer: i believe azula deserves to heal and redeem herself. it isn’t fair that she was left with her tyrannical, abusive father during formative years of her childhood, with no one to help her or show her what it means to be good. she cannot be blamed for the way she turned out. it especially isn’t fair that she gets no redemption for evil things she did at age fourteen, for a year, while the entire show is iroh’s redemption arc, and he was doing evil for decades—he is literally called “the dragon of the west” because of it. additionally—

lucifer morningstar, resident azula supremacist: everything azula did, she was right to do, because i would’ve done the same. there was never a point at which she was wrong, it’s just unfortunate that nobody could keep up with her, her father included. the only reason why she ended up losing, ultimately, is because this is a children’s show, and good is supposed to win out. it was plot armor. if this were realistic, she would’ve beaten everyone—at the very least, she would’ve beaten zuko in the final agni kai, it’s just that he broke the rules and brought backup. at the time of the agni kai, she was literally the strongest firebender in the show. that’s actually the only part of this lucifer is right about, but you can’t tell him that.

if you ask him what his favorite quote in the show is, he’ll immediately say, “i can see your whole history in your eyes. you were born with nothing, so you’ve had to struggle, and connive, and claw your way to power. but true power? the divine right to rule? is something you’re born with.” and he will do it so well that it’ll give you the chills. 

in actuality, his favorite quote is, “i’d really rather our family physician look after little zuzu, if you don’t mind.” it’s just that it doesn’t have the same chilling effect as the first one. 

does he like any other characters? does he even care about any other characters? he has a deep fondness for sokka because he reminds him of mammon.  yes, and they are katara and suki, with honorable mention to avatar kyoshi. 

does he hate any characters? no, but if you mention avatar kuruk or uncle iroh to him, he might get annoyed. is mildly frustrated by aang, but has the sense to cut him some slack for being twelve and the last of his kind. never speak of ozai.

mammon 

toph supremacist. frequent user of the phrase, “toph is just fucking class.” knows for a fact that toph is the best and strongest bender in the entire show, and no one has ever managed to convince him otherwise. mainly because nobody really disagrees. like, have you ever even seen toph slander?

just like lucifer with azula, he wasn’t invested in the show until toph showed up, which, once again, is funny, because technically her very first appearance is only a few seconds long, so that means he saw her for a literal second and just knew. you can’t even be mad at that, real recognize real. 

no one will ever see him more proud than when he’s talking about one toph beifong. he can’t get over her raw, unbridled talent, and he really never should. if you let him (so, if you’re levi), he will spend so much time analyzing her character and every single one of her strengths, from the fact that she’s the only one who knows when azula is lying, all the way down to the fact that even though she projects a tough persona, she can still be vulnerable, AND—

not only is she strong, but her personality is simply untouchable. this girl grows on literally everyone; like, even lucifer likes her, even though he’ll die before saying it out loud. 

he gets so smug whenever someone asks him who his favorite is and it’s because he knows his taste is top tier, and what makes it worse is that no one can even disagree because toph is just that good. 

will never admit it, but he was shaking and crying during the scene where it looked like toph and sokka were literally gonna die. was also gonna cry when toph almost drowned. basically: he is eternally grateful to suki. 

his favorite line in the entire show is, “i am the greatest earthbender in the world! don’t you two dunderheads ever forget it.” it’s just fucking class.

does he like any other characters? he sees himself in sokka, he’ll tell you that much. he also knows that satan and lucifer like sokka because of him, and he found out because he heard them talking about it. to their joint dismay, they turned to see him standing behind them, grinning like an idiot, and they couldn’t even scare him into leaving them alone when he hugged both of them at the same time because, one, they didn’t really want to, and two, they couldn’t turn off their fondness for him fast enough ^_^. did they reciprocate his hug? did they stay like that for a little bit? did lucifer kiss the tops of their heads? maybe so🤨

does he hate any characters? not really, but he doesn’t particularly like azula because she scares him and makes him sad, like lucifer and doesn’t see her appeal. once tried to make a case for why she shouldn’t have a redemption arc and felt painfully human from the way he almost died. do not mention toph’s parents to him. the name ozai should also never be on your tongue.

levi 

resident sokka enjoyer and suki appreciator. do not ever call sokka dumb in front of this man unless you want a proper lecture. unlike a few of his brothers, he doesn’t like sokka just because of his similarities to mammon. he also likes sokka because he relates to him on a personal level. 

levi absolutely knows what it’s like to feel inadequate and outshined by people younger than you. he absolutely knows what it’s like to feel like your competence is overlooked. while he might be unfamiliar with how it feels to strategize for a war and lose a battle, but it is one of his biggest fears and it absolutely crushed him to see sokka go through that. 

on a lighter note, levi has a deep appreciation for sokka’s comedic value, despite the fact that it can overshadow his intelligence. levi would actually venture to say that he likes sokka’s funnier side because it overshadows his intelligence to the point that it throws the opposition for a loop. this is the aspect of sokka that reminds him of mammon. 

it also seriously warmed his heart to see how everyone missed sokka while he was away for sword training; he especially liked that episode because it was just an affirmation of the fact that sokka is an integral part of team avatar, which he really needed to see. 

you know who else is an integral part of team avatar who needs to be recognized as such more often? suki. do you know how much pain levi is in every time he thinks about the lack of suki screentime . it’s a lot . suki is just too good for the amount of screentime she has, he’s sorry, but it’s true. this is evidenced by the scene of her literally running across prisoners’ heads to apprehend the warden of boiling rock. that scene speaks for itself—she and the other kyoshi warriors end up as zuko’s body guards for a reason. 

he will never let anyone forget that if it weren’t for suki, sokka would still be a misogynist. she was an essential element to sokka’s growth as a character and everyone had better remember it or so help him. also , he is a firm believer in the fact that suki was the best love interest for sokka, with zuko as a close second. don’t ask questions. rip yue but argue with the wall.

his favorite line in the series? 

“zuko’s gone crazy! i made a sand sculpture of suki, and he destroyed it! oh, and he’s attacking aang.” 

it’s not profound or cool or anything like that, but it makes him smile and giggle every time he thinks of it ^_^. 

does he like any other characters? he has a lot of love for toph and azula for the sole fact that the series improved exponentially after both of their introductions; he thinks both of them are in leagues of their own and seeing them in action just puts a smile on his face. he’s also inexplicably fond of king bumi. 

does he hate any characters? not particularly, actually! he pretty much respects and appreciates everyone, except the guy who mutilated his thirteen year old son for speaking out of turn.

satan 

just pick a girl. any girl. and from the way he talks about them, you’ll think they’re his favorite. he can and will go on about the girls of atla for the rest of eternity.

but since we’re being specific:

katara appreciator. azula enjoyer. basically, between him and lucifer, no tongue raised against azula shall prosper. he has a deep respect for each of their wraths. he also really must have a thing for angst because both of these characters just break his heart. 

if you let him (in other words, if you’re levi), he will go on about how it’s not fair that people call katara annoying when, in reality, she just hasn’t healed from the trauma of seeing her mother’s corpse at age eight, followed by having to take care of her village, meaning she got literally no time to grieve properly, and—

call katara annoying in front of him and you might actually have to meet god for your shallow views of such a deep, complex character. 

he will also go on and on about how katara would be the best bender in the show, if it weren’t for toph, who is untouchable. instead, he’ll talk about how katara almost killed pakku for being misogynistic and how she single handedly beat azula during sozin’s comet. you will frequently hear this man say, “katara aang’s master for a reason,” and he’s right. 

similar to if you call katara annoying, if you call azula scary in front of satan, he’s bullying you. he’s sorry, but it has to happen. no way you’re scared of a traumatized fourteen year old, what are you, eight? or do you have no understanding of azula’s depth? both are unacceptable. 

satan is the average azula enjoyer, times about seven. you simply won’t get away with speaking poorly of azula in front of this man, so if you’re like mammon and don’t like her, you better tread very carefully. 

one time mammon tried to be like, “azula is too far gone to deserve redemption anyways,” and satan literally reverted to his demon form as he said: “if i were abandoned with my terrible father as a child, with literally no one to help me, and then my friends betrayed me, and then, as i was about to be crowned ruler of my country, my dumb fucking idiot brother showed up with his dumb peasant friend for backup, which isn’t even allowed, i might be mad forever too, actually—” and then he threw the nearest chair at mammon for his criminally bad take.

another reason why satan loves azula so much is because he’s convinced she’s a lesbian and satan is the most “let’s go lesbians!!!” person you will ever meet. you actually can’t convince him that she isn’t a lesbian. forget chan. nobody gives a fuck about chan.

what’s his favorite line in the entire series? 

“trust me, zuko—it’s not going to be much of a match.” 

like, come on. katara is just too good. 

does he like any other characters (other than the girls of atla)? he’ll never admit it, but he has a lot of respect for sokka and a soft spot for him because he reminds him of mammon. he also has a lot of respect for aang because he reminds him of beel of how well he handled literally everything despite being twelve. 

does he hate any—yes. never speak of avatar roku. or iroh. or ozai. for good measure, don’t mention general zhao either. 

asmo 

what lucifer is to azula, asmo is to ty lee. like do i even have to say anything else. but for what it’s worth, he also love, love, loves azula because she reminds him of lucifer, from her strength and class, all the way down to her descent into madness. and even though she breaks his heart just as much as she does satan’s. he may or may not have cried over azula in satan’s room while they were talking about her. unlike lucifer and satan, he can respect it if you don’t like her, but it’ll make him so sad. 

but enough about azula. ty lee is where it’s at for him. her subtle strength and unwavering love is something to die for, and he will defend it against anyone, up to and including lucifer, and he’ll win too. asmo is not to be trifled with and neither is ty lee; he can make a strong argument as to why ty lee is the strongest character in the show, and you will have a very hard time trying to refute his points. (the main point being: it’ll be really hard to win a fight against someone who can paralyze you in a few seconds, bender or not.)

the fact that ty lee ran away from home because she was tired of the fact that nobody ever saw her as her own person is just something that tugs at asmo’s heartstrings. he thinks ty lee’s bravery is just something that can be so personal. 

also—he has a massive appreciation for the fact that, even though there’s a war going on and ty lee is in near-constant danger, she still has the sense to maintain her appearance and worry about the skincare of not just herself, but also people she’s close to. that is a detail he will never let anyone forget. 

never mentions it in front of lucifer but one of his favorite scenes is when she paralyzes azula to save mai. once again: ty lee’s bravery is just something that can be so personal. 

he doesn’t have a favorite line in the series, but his favorite exchange of dialogue is between ty lee and azula, wherein ty lee is trying to teach azula how to flirt. he thinks it’s the cutest thing in the world.

does he like any other characters? of course! he likes everyone ^_^ . you’d actually be hard pressed to find someone he hates. ozai. it’s ozai. he has a real soft spot for mai because she reminds him of belphie. something about their shared aversion to affection is just so cute to him!

beel

aang supremacist, will hold steadfast to the fact that aang is the best character in the show and you will struggle to figure out how to convince him otherwise. 

if you ask him why aang is his favorite, the first thing he will do is gesture to a picture of him and say, “look at the material,” like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, before diving into a ten minute in depth character analysis for this boy. 

come on. he shouldn’t even have to explain himself. not only is aang one of the strongest, most competent avatars to exist, ever, he also mastered all four elements in a year, when he was twelve—he’s literally a different breed. and he managed to beat ozai in his own way, without killing him, as a means of staying true to a culture that could have literally died with him at any point in the show. aang is just fucking class.

he also admires aang for his near unwavering kindness and lighthearted nature. and for never going berserk and killing everyone he sees, especially after finding out his people were killed while he was in ice.

you have no idea how much pain beel was in when he found out that the air nomads were just gone. seeing a child find out that not only their family is gone, but also the entirety of their people and culture, just absolutely broke his heart. and that guilt aang was feeling? hit way too close to home for him. 

he also thinks it’s really nice that aang was so quick to forgive zuko after everything, and the two of them ended up being really good friends. it just puts a smile on his face. 

after some reflection with levi, he would’ve liked to see the full scope of an airbender’s power in the series; as in, he would’ve liked to see someone suffocated, but it’s okay, because aang wasn’t like that.  and he heard it happens in the next series over.

anyway, beel’s favorite quote in the show...well, it isn’t really a quote, as much as it’s a dialogue between two characters. it’s the scene where toph asks, “do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?” and aang says, “i don’t see why not.” it could bring a tears to his eyes just thinking about it; and in the next series over when it’s proven to be true, he absolutely cried. 

does he like any other characters? he’s actually really fond of zuko and mai because they both remind him of belphie. he also likes sokka for the same reason lucifer and satan like sokka. he has a deep appreciation for katara because aang would literally be dead without if it weren’t for her.

does he hate any characters? well, he doesn’t really like azula. he feels bad for her, but he doesn’t like her. but as for who he hates? take a wild guess. 

belphie 

zuko makes him sob is his number one. yes zuko is his favorite because of his redemption arc, yes he sees himself in zuko, no he will not explain any further than that, what’s your point🤨

in actuality, he will never be able to properly articulate how important it is for him to see that redemption is, indeed, attainable, if you put the work in. in a similar vein, he will also never be able to give words to how important it is for him to see that forgiveness is also attainable.  it means the world to him. that is why it makes him cry. the feeling is overwhelming. i’m gonna cry if i think about it for too long.

he will cling to the fact that zuko is the best character in the show, and he will cling to it even when zuko embarrasses him by saying stupid shit like, “no lightning today?” and even when zuko is so awkward it causes him physical pain. that’s his number one and he’s not changing on it!

firm zukka supporter. will not argue. that’s all.

what’s his favorite line in the entire series? it’s one of the two you’re thinking of. make that decision for yourself.

does he like any other characters? he positively adores aang and will readily admit that it’s because he reminds him of beel. bonus points for aang because he also loves the dynamic between him and zuko. toph is a distant third, mainly because he just really likes her attitude. he looks at her and thinks, now this is someone who would not hesitate to kick lucifer’s ass. 

does he hate any characters? you better believe it. he hates iroh because he reminds him of dia. he can’t really bring himself to like azula because she makes him a different kind of sad. and if you know what’s good for you, you will never mention ozai. 

#can you tell i am also an azula enjoyer #doesn't matter because i'm correct but still #worth mentioning i suppose #obey me #obey me! #obey me headcanons #obey me imagines #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphie #obey me belphegor

[that-was-anticlimactic]

okok like I do with every series I watch I tend to do a crossover with my current fixation (atla lol) so I was wondering in hour most experienced view who would be who in ninjago x atla lol <33333

bestie bestie bestie have i got feelings for you !

so, there are a couple of different ways to go about this.

if we go by element / powers, zuko would be kai, katara would be nya, aang would prolly be morro tbh or lloyd since green ninja and avatar, toph would be cole, idk sokka would be pixal, azula would be jay ???

now, some of these are legit, and i will get into that. um. this got Very Long.

first, let's start with aang.

aang would be lloyd and vice versa. both have powers they never asked for, powers that others wanted, powers that set them aside and made them automatically more "special" and "precious" than everyone else, powers that made them a major target, powers that made them many enemies by default. both of them tend to be lighthearted until they get stressed or begin to notice the pressure becoming worse and worse. they both think and act like a child because they are children until they're forced to face something that challenges what they stand for / believe in (for aang, killing. for lloyd, defeating or maybe even killing his father).

next, i'll talk about zuko.

zuko is kai. like. he just Is. he is angry and brash but one of the best freaking big brothers you will ever meet. he is protective to a dangerous level and gets invested in the impossible to a dangerous level, just like kai. kai's inner quest to become the green ninja is similar to zuko's inner and physical quest to prove his worth to his father and to capture the avatar. s1 ep10, the green ninja, is the equivalent of the western airtemple. or, i suppose you could say it is the equivalent of zuko telling his "father" (he sucks dude) off in the final episode of the day of the black sun. if zuko were to have a true potential episode, i think the one best suited for him is kai's. yes, you could argue that cole wanting his father to be proud of him is what zuko went through, but lou is much different than oz*i and the end result of the royal blacksmiths would not lead to unlocking what was holding zuko back. in fact, that would hold him back even more. it's about letting go of false hope and understanding that there is value in supporting those around you rather than being the "special" one and accepting your true destiny. kai and zuko are both brash and quick to anger but also caring and comforting. not to mention, kai goes through an arc where he loses his fire powers, and that reminds me a bit of zuko struggling to use his powers until he finds a replacement for anger. also, they are both the definition of loyal. they probably wouldn't like each other, tho lol

next, katara.

i do think katara would be an Incredible nya. i supposed you could say that katara not truly discovering and learning how to bend until she was older is similar to nya not learning about her powers until s5. nya is Amazing. she is extremely skilled, versatile, quick to anger and quick judgements, but also smart and willing to stand up for herself and she does, just like katara. they're both feisty and often underestimated. they're both younger siblings (who were looked after by their older siblings when their parents were Gone). they're strong, have a strong sense of justice, and i think they go through a similar arc of dealing with loss and learning how to control their emotions in a healthy way. also... if katara reached her true potential the same way that nya did... oh my gosh i would SOB SHE WOULD BE AMAZING. oh there's also the whole nya being the samurai thing and katara being the painted lady, helping out in the only ways that they know they can because they know they would be judged or not taken as seriously.

next, toph.

toph is freaking Hard. on one level, cole does fit. i feel like cole's true potential would work for toph... aside from the fact that toph's parents suck and would not, did not, accept them for being what they wanted. i think that it works in a found family sense, but not in parental. zane is too different personality-wise and power / skill-wise to be toph. besides, zane's true potential came from discovering and accepting who he is and idk toph already accepts that she's blind and doesn't need like. some kind of arc that may inadvertently (or even blatantly) seem like some "tragic blind girl" thing. no saviorism, no thank you :) then there's jay, also a huge no for toph. their arcs are Drastically different. so, i feel like that leaves a few options: wu (no), pixal (not the vibes), skylor (perhaps...), darreth (PLEASE NO BUT THAT'S FUNNY), and... ronin.

now, ronin is introduced in s5 and he is, essentially, a thief. an "i'm a loner don't need help don't want help unless you give me money" kind of guy. he learns to soften up a little and help without expecting anything in return. i wish he was in the show more because i do love his character a lot. but like. blind bandit, toph's money thieving days... LITERALLY RONIN THO !!! he's very much an "i look out for me and nobody else" kinda guy... until he gets attached (will not admit) to the ninja team, specifically, the durability and perseverance of nya, or, katara. then, he starts to turn around and risk his own person in ways that he never thought he would just to save these people that... he can maybe call family??? although ronin doesn't have elemental powers, he is not to be underestimated and he Is important. maybe this is a stretch, but i am going with ronin. (... although... june would be a good ronin too...)

now, to sokka.

this was also hard. i didn't Want to be obvious and go jay but like. jay. why? well, jay's whole true potential arc is about accepting who he is. i mean, the message and the spark is literally "you are the best you" which i am going to get tattooed eventually. that is something sokka Really needs to know because sokka plays roles. he plays older brother, warrior, water tribesman, avatar's friend, he plays everyone but himself, and when he Does play himself, he gets shut down. he wants to be worthy and he wants to be good enough and he is... he just... chooses not to talk about it. he'll talk about anything else, tho, and so will jay. then there's the whole jay is a genius, show, please stop forgetting that. i mean, he's an incredible inventor and like... so is sokka! sokka has the brain to be jay. yes, he also has the brain to be zane, but zane is aware that he's intelligent and also sokka's sense of humor is Very similar to jay's. they turn to humor to cope, and they underestimate their own abilities. i know that jay and nya are canon but uhhhhh for the purpose of this, sokka and katara are still siblings Not in a romantic relationship relationship and sokka is still her older brother (and also dating zuko). but, they are more than their outwardly anxiety. humor is their coping mechanism which is the loudest part of them. really, they are important to battles. they are strong, their strength is just not so much their strong suit as is their brain. so, they (and often others... aka ninjagio fandom fanon jay oops) often underestimate their physical strength and endurance. no, neither of then are big beefy guys (please... for the love of God... sokka is Not big and beefy...) and their brain is their biggest advantage, but they can carry themselves and they are braver than their outwardly panic makes them appear.

next, suki.

for suki, imma say cole. yes, she is still a nonbender. part of this is purely vibes, but also like. i know that i am right. as one of cole's biggest fans, that is lol. cole is very much the silent leader, the one that takes a step down and observes from the back. the leader before someone more "special" than them came along. they are tactical geniuses and also bury their feelings deep deep deep deep deep deep inside themselves so they do Not have to think about them. they both consider themselves expendable and they both value the lives of their team / friends above their own to a scary degree. they know when to be silent and they know when to speak up. they are clever, good at plans, and are able to play the role of leader and follower without missing a beat and they know when to switch between them. they both play mentally strong and they both crave things they are too scared to ask for. they are both stubborn to a fault and physically strong and capable, both often probably seen as muscles and that's all (i actually did an exploration of suki and how she views the word "strong" before). they are used to taking hits and used to taking the short end of the stick without complaint. but, they are loyal and kind. they take things to heart very deeply but are bad at showing it. they love through acts of service and train to hide their feelings. i just. i gotta be right with this one.

iroh, though this is probably obvious.

iroh is sensei wu. wu is iconic for being an idiot, tbh. a lot of issues occur because he simply does Not tell his students anything until the villain strikes. everyone mocks him by saying "ninja, there's something i haven't told you..." and like. iroh would. both value tea before their life and speak in convoluted riddles and metaphors purely to sound smart and create chaos. they do care for their kiddos. kai and wu have, imo, a very similar relationship to zuko and iroh too. anyways this one is p obvious so imma stop there

now, azula.

yes, i know, azula. where does she fit in? there are a couple of roles that fit: first, harumi from s8. will not spoil as to why because you said you're on s4, but like. it'll make sense. next is morro, the original possible green ninja who let his longing to be the green ninja drive him to death and hate. but, imma take a huge leap and say that azula... would be garmadon.

garmadon has a tragic story. he was bit by the great devourer and the evil was coursing through his veins, much like how azula was trained to be manipulative and evil. i feel like they would have similar arcs where they were torn between what was morally right and the venom in their body corrupting them. not to mention, kai hates garmadon more than anyone else. zuko. also, wu is garmadon;s brother, and although azula and iroh aren't siblings, they do have a strained familial relationship. iroh and wu both kind of gave up on them. i feel like garmadon's arc of constantly having the world stacked against him in ways that force him to be evil until it consumed him is very azula-esq. also i am getting tired and have to shower, so i'll end azula analysis here lol. i also did Not want to make oz*i garmadon because garmadon deserves better than that :/

other important things:

the cabbage merchant is the mailman and No i am Not accepting criticism, i am Correct.

appa is the ultradragon

maybe mai as zane ??? will go into her and ty lee more later (i wanna look at jet and yue too...)

zhao as pythor (... sorry pythor, you deserve better than that...)

#jingyi tag #i have feelings. um. did Not mean for this to get so long #i got So Very Excited by this ask you have no idea ahhhhh #this was So Fun ahhhhh !!! #thank you for letting me ramble and analyze my kiddos !!! #be sure to lemme know what you think too because i am genuinely curious as to what you think !!! #ninjago #atla #corey rambles:)

[lottienatyellowjackets]

i love your maiko headcanons and i need to know your takes on elderly, retirement era maiko. i just know they're thriving on ember island, being badass grandparents, and constantly bickering in that cute old couple way.

eep my first ask this is so exciting!! i love elderly maiko so much the idea of them growing old and being happy and just in love makes my heart so happy. i honestly hadn’t really thought of many before now but here are some i find so <3:

•when zuko abdicates and izumi becomes fire lord, mai and zuko stay in the palace for a few years. i don’t know the exact age he abdicates at, but in my head, he’s eighty four when he abdicates the throne for a forty six izumi. they stay because while their beloved grandson(who they were very hands on with in terms of raising) iroh is thirty, mizuki is thirteen and they want to be there for her teen years.

•they are still ridiculously so in love in their old age!! they’re that elderly couple who have that whole “if lost return to jan” and “i’m jan” way about them. they still kiss and hold hands and all that much to the chagrin of their family (who pretends to hate it but secretly loves how happy they still are)

•a few years into izumi’s reign, they decided its time to leave the palace for sometime(for izumi’s sake, she’s had nearly fifty years of their hovering) and head to ember island.

•on ember island, zuko finally relaxes (except when he’s traveling as an ambassador for peace, which mai sometimes accompanies him with) and writes and directs all the plays he’s ever wanted to.

•mai paints!! she’s always loved art, even as a little girl and her mother deemed it her talent to hone to perfect, and while she always loved it, often it was put on the back burner for Fire Lady, her family and other forms of self care

•she is reminded of how even at republic city university (oops <3 another hc <3) how every student studying art came from money. and she begins to realize of all the galleries in the fire nation, artists were always from prominent families. and zuko realizes almost all the directors/theatre critics too come from families where that kind of career is okay, because you always have family money to fall back on.

•it does not sit right with them that the nobility dominates even the arts in the Fire Nation. so they cut their retirement short and return home to their family and open a center of the arts school for all the children of the fire nation to attend if they so desire. shortly, they open more schools in different provinces of the nation so that way no child would be left out. and they visit the schools often to see what the children of their nation have created and they’re so proud, because this is their country’s future.

•but back to their couple dynamics!! zuko is the guy who embraces his age because he never thought he’d make it to sixteen, never mind late eighties. mai however, does not. she’s the one to round down her age and always make sure everyone knows she is a year younger than her husband. zuko finds it funny how upset she was that she got wrinkles and grey hair like every other elder, much to mai’s chagrin. but he finds her to be the most beautiful, graceful, intelligent and stylish woman even after all their years together and tells her everyday.

•but they bicker!! by the age of eighty nine and eighty eight, they have been married for sixty nine years, which is a long time to be married. they know everything about the other and are happiest together, but they also know what irks the other. zuko claims it “keeps them young and on their toes” to bicker and mai always rolls her eyes fondly.

•out of all their accomplishments as fire lord and fire lady, peace ambassadors, artists, etc, they are most proud that they are parents. they’re the parents who stop people in the street to still brag about their girl, even though she’s a grown adult with children of her own. in fact, even though izumi is in her fifties, zuko (and mai) still get emotional on the regular that they have her (and neither will admit it).

•if they love anything more than being parents, it’s being grandparents. izumi was seventeen when she had iroh and the father was never in the picture, which meant she was trying to handle her role as studying to be fire lord and be a mother, so mai and zuko spent a lot of time with their grandson. and they spoil him rotten!! even as a grown man, iroh knows he’s always going to be given hugs and snuck fruit tarts by his grandparents. and mizuki (i saw a fic once where she had that name and!! i love it!!) who was born many years after iroh, is very much adored by them as well. she emulated mai’s childhood hairstyle her whole youth because she loves her so much. and both mizuki and iroh will say when asked without hesitation the biggest influences on their lives are them.

•also mai dies first, but not for many years after lok, she was off writing poems with mizuki (:

#mai #atla mai #maiko #zuko #atla maiko #izumi #fire lady mai #fire nation family #thank you for the ask #please ask me these people i love them so much

[ssaltbending]

Ok, guys, hear me out: Zuko is a Capricorn, Katara is a Cancer —and here’s why (it would be so poetic).

Part 1: Zuko

TW: explicit mentions of child abuse.

I know this statement might seem weird and out of place, but in the last couple weeks I’ve been digging a lot into astrology and, in order not to forget my roots, I thoroughly felt the need to combine both of my most recent obsessions in one post, given that this headcanon hasn’t been able to leave my mind ever since I came up with it: if we applied astrology to the Avatar world, I’m sure Cancer and Capricorn would be Katara and Zuko’s signs, respectively. And I don’t say this in a superficial way, just by looking at zodiac memes and associating Katara with the crybabies Cancers are portrayed as or saying Zuko is a Capricorn buzzkill as people who know astrology on a surface level would assume they are —those are some of the most common stereotypes about the signs. No, I’m saying that they embody those signs on an archetypal leve: in the way their stories, especially Zuko’s, resemble the myths that originate the zodiac signs and their respective traits.

Therefore, without further ado, let me explain.

The Capricorn archetype: the sins of the father...

As any casual astrology enthusiast may probably know, the sign of Capricorn is connected to qualities such as perseverance, integrity, resilience and ambition, typically treated as the CEO or boss of the zodiac. However, the sign itself has a richer and much more complex story as we look at the deities it is associated with as well as the planet that rules it: Saturn, linked to the Roman god of the same name and the greek gods Cronus, Zeus, Hestia and Pan. Some astrologers choose Cronus as Capricorn’s patron god and others prefer his children, but that can be explained very easily.

The myth goes like this: Cronus, a giant and father of what we would know as some of the main greek gods (Hestia, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, Hera and Zeus), was actually the son of Uranos, who he subverted thanks to the advice of his mother Gaia to use an agricultural tool to kill him. But as time went by and Cronus had started having children with his partner, Rhea, the fear of his descendants becoming stronger than him and doing the same thing he had done to his father took over him, which led to his decision of swallowing them all whole. He started with Hestia all the way back to Zeus, whom he couldn���t swallow right after he was born, unlike his other children, because this time Rhea had hid him in the island of Crete to protect him from his father. To deceive him, Rhea then covered a rock in cloth to make it resemble a baby for Cronus to eat it, thinking that it was a newborn Zeus.

Time passed and Zeus grew stronger until he was ready to confront his father and save his siblings from his womb, and when he finally did it, he managed to force Cronus into disgorge them one by one, in the reverse order they had been swallowed —which left Hestia as the last sibling to be disgorged.

After that, Zeus was left with a prophecy, where he would also be possibly overthrown by a son of his. And after Métis, the woman he was told would bear said child, gave birth he swallowed the newborn whole just like Cronus had done with his brothers and sisters. The child in question, however, started giving him headaches as it grew older and bigger inside of him and would become the goddess we know as Athena. What Zeus did with her was the repetition of a cycle perpetuated by his forefathers, a cycle of abuse and trauma that seems inescapable. What this part of the duality of the Capricorn archetype shows one of the ways in which those ideas of tradition and legacy can be carried on (a very negative one, to be honest), but that’s not the only way they can manifest, which gives the archetype this… almost cinematic quality, in my opinion. (And if we take this into account, I might headcanon Azula as a Capricorn rising due not only to the archetypal coincidences but the overall mastermind outlook she has and how much of a natural, domineering and calculating leader she is, but that’s besides the point.)

Now, let’s talk about the other side of the archetype, which gives it this incredible dual quality: Hestia’s path. Unlike her brother Zeus, Hestia was the one who not only had been devoured by her father, but she had spent the most time inside him as well. This is often associated with the emotional isolation many Capricorns experience in their youth, the lack of warmth and love by one of their parents, along with the desire not to become the abusive parent they were exposed to. Hestia is the other side of the story, the unspoken leader of the Olympians, the one who broke the toxic cycle running in her family for generations, vowing to become an eternal virgin and protector of the earth. Besides, Hestia means “hearth”: the inner fire, the one that is never allowed to go out.

(art by @elisebrave​)

That is the soul of the Capricorn archetype: the crossroads of destiny, the moment when the child decides whether to become like their parents, or forge their own path like Hestia did. Do you guys see what I see now? Are the similarities clear enough?

As my dear friend @persephobeee​ points out in her Capricorn essay (a crucial source for this one): “The Capricorn archetype is a cycle of stuck parents putting stress on their children at such a young age so then their kid ends up making money in retaliation, but then treat their kids the same as well due to the lack of warmth and freedom they had in their own childhood. The intense pressure put onto them as a child [then] leads to isolation and depression. It’s a cycle. ‘I don’t want to be my parent, but also… how they have ruined me’. The chain can continue with Zeus (projecting sorrows and nightmares onto their own children) or it could break with Hestia (the path of love, light and protection).”

This is why Capricorn’s planetary ruler, Saturn, is also associated with ideas found in this myth: restriction, limitation, order, boundaries, leadership, responsibility… pretty much dad vibes, to be honest. Do you guys see what I see or do I have to dig deeper?

“But isn’t zuko a firebender?? Why would he be an earth sign??”, you may ask.

The way that I might be making headcanons about the Gaang’s western zodiac signs isn’t gonna be based on which element they bend, because that would be quite reductive and restrictive for me as an astrology junkie, but their similarities to each sign’s archetype and overall characteristics. And yes, I do see Zuko as an earth sun, but that wouldn’t be his only sign, there is also the moon and the rising sign, which also have an important impact on the individual. In my opinion, Zuko’s personality embodies the qualities of fire signs as well: competitiveness, drive, passion, impulsiveness and loyalty. But to me those qualities are better shown in his character through his moon sign: an Aries moon, to be specific. See those anger outbursts? The “I don’t need any [fucking] calming tea!!”? The “you never think these things through”? Aries moon behavior, right there. But I’m not going to focus on moon signs right now. Let’s get back to the behavior I am the most well-versed at: Capricorn behavior.

So, the sign of Capricorn is also a cardinal sign, a leader, since they are the ones that begin each season. In the Northern Hemisphere, Capricorn season starts right on the winter solstice, and the opposite happens in the South. However, since all the astrology lore comes from the North thanks to the Greeks, Babylonians and more, the seasonal connections are related to the seasons there. As a consequence, Capricorn is the cardinal sign that brings the coldest, darkest season of the year: winter. And incorporating that into Zuko’s character would be incredibly fitting, in my opinion, because of some stuff I’ve read here on Tumblr saying that making him being born during the coldest time of the year would make it a terrible omen for a firebender, worse in this case due to him being born into the royal family, symbols of the power and “supremacy” of the Fire Nation. The fact that he would be born in winter, if we follow this reasoning, would have made him seem as a disappointment to his father ever since birth. 

… or maybe I’m just cruel, guys.

Moreover, I think Zuko embodies many of the Capricorn qualities in the way he carries himself (because no, not all Capricorns are confident managers with the world in our hands) and how hard he has to work to earn everything he gets. A key part of what this sign represents is “the path of hardships the goat has to overcome in order to reach the top of the mountain”, which along with the myth I have described before, could easily be applied to Zuko. It describes values of endurance, hard work, discipline and drive in order to achieve your goals, something that can be seen in Zuko all throughout the series, but changes its focus as the seasons go by. Besides, uhm… have you guys seen “The Day of Black Sun, Part 2”? That is literally the positive outcome of the Capricorn myth made into animation: the confrontation between an abusive father figure and his abused child who has decided to part ways with him in order to become a better person.

On another note, I think it is important to highlight how the Capricorn in Zuko could be seen based on how the rest of the Gaang treats him as well when he changes sides and he’s accepted into the group. How?, you may be wondering: as a father figure, but in a positive way. In many scenes it can be noticed how he naturally takes a position of leadership within the group as well as he takes care of the younger members such as Aang and Toph but, especially in Aang’s case, tries to ground them and teach them. As examples, take the following: Zuko reminding Aang that soon he will have to face the fact that he might have to kill Ozai, him trying to get everyone to train when the comet is about to arrive; how when Aang gets lost, it is him the one people look to in order to lead the group, etc.

Another thing that is well-known in Capricorns is our resilience and perseverance and, honestly: do I even need to explain that? When it comes to the guy who would get his ass beaten again and again and again for one season straight in order to get what he wanted which would also give him the approval of his father, what he craved most? It screams earth sign behavior to me, but with a heavy saturnian influence due to Zuko’s background which, to me, can be quite an interesting reflection of the Saturn/Cronus myth with his children. Said tenacity could also be exacerbated by the willpower and energy brought by the possibility of him having a fire moon, I don’t know, think about it. I stick to that headcanon.

That perseverance can also be seen when it comes to Zuko’s firebending, given how much he’s always trying to improve his skills. Although it could be argued that in reality he’s doing so due to the expectations put on him to be a proficient bender just like his sister in order to be accepted by his father, and his constant training to the point of exhaustion is just a manifestation of that toxic behavior. I am sorry to tell you, but that’s textbook Capricorn behavior, associated with the symbolism of the hardworking goat in general: working the hardest in order to get what you want is always on-brand when it comes to important Capricorn placements, and in my opinion Zuko is no exception.

Final thoughts.

Anyway, what I think would be most relevant is what I mentioned before about the Capricorn archetype and how it could tie in nicely to Zuko’s character arc with him as a representation of Hestia, who could grow out of the abuse she experienced and got a chance not to make her father’s mistakes and break that horrendous cycle she had been a victim of. I would go into this more deeply, but I think it has been enough for now. However, I’ll be back soon with a part two, talking about my water queen Katara. What do you think about this headcanon? Do you agree? If not, why? 

Thanks for coming to my weird-ass TedTalk at 1am. I needed to vent and I haven’t been able to put the computer down since 9pm, I literally only stopped to eat, lol.

See you soon, 

a Capricorn sun.

#zuko #atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar #meta #atla meta #astrology #capricorn #mythology #yes i had to combine my biggest obsessions of the past nine months #what about it? #i can't believe my debut in the atla meta community was AN ASTROLOGY POST #WTF #I DIDN'T EXPECT IT #but here we are #i was inspired #zutara #zutara meta #my favorite tags #yaaaaay

[mellowpop]

Pain au

- Ozai makes Azula burn Zuko.

- Maybe for dramatic effect, their age difference is slightly larger as well; Zuko is 14 when he’s burned, and Azula is 9/10

- 17 y/o Zuko has a slightly smaller scar, and a much stronger policy against harming children

- Ozai had guided Azula’s hand, but she had looked so scared, and not at all triumphant

- Her tiny handprint was scorched into his skin. Azula didn’t flinch when he screamed but her hand dropped off of his face immediately (and if her brother’s screams occupied her nightmares for many, many nights after that no one would be any wiser)

- Zuko tried very hard not to think about what would have happened if Azula had used her blue fire on his face that day (Azula thinks of it obsessively, stares at herself in mirrors and the reflection of the pond in the garden, now devoid of turtleducks, and wonders if she could have killed her brother)

- Zuko isn’t actually trying to find the avatar, he’s long since come to terms with the fact that his father isn’t the person Zuko thought he was. He recognized Azula’s look of fear and horror and he never wants to see it on his baby sister’s face ever again.

- He’s well aware that he’s been sent on a fools quest, that he’s been sent off to die, but their ship got caught up in a storm, and they were swept towards the South Pole just in time to watch the avatar emerge from an iceberg

- Katara and Sokka are 14 and 15 respectively. The avatar is twelve, but looks so much younger. Zuko looks at the hopeful air bender who is meant to save the world and his heart breaks a little more (he’s seen the ruins of the air temples, he fears for this boy)

- When Zuko passes them by he sees Katara, slightly older than his baby sister would be now, but filled with just as much righteous anger. Sokka reminds him so much of himself, so eager to prove that he is worthy, who burns with a desire to protect his people.

- Zuko sees that he can’t protect these children from their destiny

- So Zuko tells them the truth, and offers all the help he is able.

#atla #ozai makes azula burn zuko au #atla au #zuko #azula #ozai's a+ parenting #aang #katara #sokka

[su-univeralai]

GOOODDDD MORRNNNNIINNNGGGGG SUU 💛

I am here for your essay. Or yknow, just any dunebaby facts that you can spare.

*heavy breathing* oh no, she's come for my OCs exactly like she said she would.

lolol Ok, I've got bios on 9 out of 10 of my kids so far, but I wrote a quick blurb about them so hopefully you can't figure out who I didn't start until now lol. The older 4 (which 3/4 are legit characters in LOK, but tweaked to my liking) are grown-ass adults while the other 6 are probably between 14-21. So, our beloved Taang parents have been popping kids out from when they were 18 or 19 to 39 or 40 years old.

At some point I'll make a family tree for you, since most of the older dunebabies have their own families and that can be confusing. Some have more information than others, but more will be added on each of them as time goes on. I just haven't figured them out yet.

Also, gonna put a cut here, because it's a long post and I know not everyone wants to see my OCs lol.

Ok Onto the Dunebabies from oldest to youngest:

Gyatso (M) Airbender, 35: Named after Aang’s father figure, Gyatso is Toph and Aang’s first born and first of several airbending children. He has a knack for the art and excelled quickly with mastering it, narrowly falling short of beating Aang’s record of mastering airbending at 13. As he got older and his parents continued having children, he became like a father figure to the younger ones. That’s the best part about having tons of kids, right? At some point the older ones raise the younger ones and the parents can just have fun. Once Tiao Wu turned 13, Gyatso and his own wife, boyfriend, and kids moved away from home and resided in the Western Air Temple with some Air Acolytes.

Lin (F) Earthbender, 32: Lin is a straight arrow, always following the rules. Sometimes Toph’s jokes that her first born daughter is actually Katara’s because wasn’t as goofy as Gyatso and Tenzin. As kids, Lin and Tenzin butted heads like no other. They may have had a year or two when they got along, but that was when Lin was training to be a police officer and Tenzin was always out because he was dating Pema. They constantly bicker at family gatherings, but make a mean team when they spar against the other next gen kids. Their twin telepathy (yes, they are twins in my universe) comes into play and they are undefeatable. That is until the triplets becomes masters in their own right. While Lin is a talented earthbender and metalbender, she struggled with picking it up (perhaps because of Toph’s hardcore teaching style). She responded to a “more gentle approach” as Katara would say, and Aang helped her learn the basics until she was ready to take on Toph’s more intense lessons. Lin is definitely closer with Aang than she is with Toph, but goes to mom if something needs to be done quickly and under wraps. Lin works long hours as chief of the police force in republic city, so she doesn’t have much time for romance. When she finds a spare moment for intimacy, she frequents a bar that accepts everyone. She brought Songa with her before her little sis fell in love with (insert steambaby daughter name here).

Tenzin (M) Airbender, 32: Tbh Tenzin still marries Pema and has his four kids, like in LOK. Lol. Unlike the show, with the weight of the whole air nation not on his shoulders, Tenzin was not a serious kid. He played pai sho with the white lotus members and roughed it up with Lin. Tenzin had a difficult time mastering airbending, though. He lacked the spiritual connection that his father and brother easily had. He blamed being stuck with an earthbender in the womb for 9 months at his lack of skill with airbending. His masters airbending at 21 and is pumped to finally get his tattoos. Since Pema is an air acolyte, I'm saying that her parents were also acolytes, and she and Tenzin met as kids and got along really well. They started dating at 16. Tenzin wanted to wait to get his arrows before proposing to her, so they date for 5 long years as Pema cheered him on in the grueling training. Tenzin and Pema eventually move to the Northern Air Temple and kept Teo company.

Suyin (F) Earthbender, 26: Suyin was a troublemaker when she was a kid, always pranking her siblings. She spent way too much time with Sokka. At least that’s what Toph says. Her teenage years, that’s when things became dicey. With Lin on the streets as a cop and Su committing petty crimes, the two were bound to cross paths. After Lin brought her in for whay must have been the thousandth time and Toph had to bail her out, Toph sent her to the her old stomping ground: the Earth Rumble 6. Toph still had her ear in the stadium and stayed in touch with The Boulder, and she thought it’d do her some good to get beat up by other earthbenders. Su stayed with her grandparents and got the structure she needed and got her act together. She got pounded by her opponents the first few years, but she slowly moved her way up the food chain and eventually held her mother’s old title as champion. Once she turned 18, she left to travel the world, meeting up with Kya (can't decide if Kya will be a steambaby or a Sukka baby. Is there a cut name for Sukka babies?). Along the way she met Bataar and fell in love with him and together build zaofu and have all their kids from LOK.

Songa (F) Airbender, 21: The oldest of the triplets to be born. Songa is a calm spirit, she reminds Aang of Yangchen with her way of keeping the peace in their large family. She’s a true romantic like her father and catches the attention of a lot of men, but alas, her heart is won over by one of Katara and Zuko’s daughters, (insert steambaby name here lol). She sees the best in everyone and trusts a little too easily. Watch out though, if you get on her bad side or betray her trust one too many times, her mother’s sass and tongue come out and no one wants to be hit by her earthbending styled airbending. Songa is a talented bender and has a tendency to use her airbending like an earthbender, facing things head on. She can seemlessly switch between styles, but she'd prefer to take her opponents on directly.

Kera (F) Nonbender, 21: Kera is the heart of the triplets. She’s passionate like a firebender and meets conflict head-on like her mom. Being the first non-bender didn’t feel great coming from the lineage of the Avatar and Toph Beifond, strongest earthbender in the world and metalbender originator, but she found peace in being a non-bender when hearing all the stories of Sokka, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee, Teo, and their many other friends taking down bender and non-benders alike. Kera begged her parents to live in the Fire Nation to study under Mai and Ty Lee. Aang and Toph didn’t have any problems with her going, but Zuko and Katara did, fearing she (being a dunebaby) would cause mayhem in the palace. Only after swearing to Zuko that she wouldn’t make a mess did the Fire Lord allow her stay with them. During her time there, she mastered Mai and Ty Lee’s techniques and trained under the Yuyan archers. When she came home, she could beat the other two thirds of her triplets easily. Only when she teams up with the other two, can they take down Lin and Tenzin.

Choekyi (M) Airbender, 21: The last of the triplets to come be birthed. Choekyi is a free spirit, much like his father. He enjoys traveling and meeting new people. As a child (and an adult) he is easily excited and is a very charismatic guy, which gets him far with the ladies in his teens and early twenties. He’s never scared of trying new things, sometimes to his detriment, as he gets hurt a lot for someone light on his toes. His preferred method of transportation is air scooter. Choekyi gets along with Uncle Sokka the most, with his never ending jokes and letting him learn how to throw a boomerang even though he’s a bender. Choekyi spends some time in the swamp with the swamp benders just because he finds them to be hilarious and interesting. This is where he connects with his spirituality and returns to excel in airbending, and earns his tattoos.

Songa and Kera are idenitcal twins, so no one (beside Toph and Choekyi) can tell them apart until Songa earns her arrows. Choekyi looks similar to them, as he is their triplet, but since he came from a different egg, he turns out to be much taller than his sisters. Just imagine Toph's face when she feels three freakin' heartbeats along with hers. Idk if that's scientifically sound, but it's my universe, so I can say what I want lol.

Gyun (M) Nonbender, 18: He's a very musical guy. Gyun means music, but it can also mean germ or bacteria. So his older siblings make fun of him when he’s young. While his bending siblings practice and spar, he masters most musical instruments and even becomes a skilled singer. He’s a favorite of Uncle Iroh’s and spends time with him playing music and perfecting his tea making when he’s not training with Master Piandao and mastering different types of sword fighting styles. Gyun is a lover, not a fighter, and is recruited as the youngest member of the national opera company. He rises in fame, without having to reveal his high ranking connections to his family members. Gyun is a true renaissance man (you know if the renaissance existed back then). He looks up to all of his siblings and soaks in all the stories and advice his can get to perfect the art of storytelling and acting.

MeiLin (F) Nonbender, 17: MeiLin may be one of the youngest, but she’s definitely the sassiest of the bunch. With the personality like her mother, it’s no wonder she’s a bosslady even from a young age. She doesn’t take shit from anyone. While she’s the beauty of the dunebabies (but who really isn’t attractive in this family?) and can hold her poise better than any royal, from the tender age of three, she’s wanted to become the fiercest fighter in the world. After a lot of convincing, Toph and Aang let her train with Aunt Suki and learn how to fight like a Kyoshi Warrior. After she masters that, She begs her parents to send her to the Fire Nation to study under Mai and Ty Lee. By the time she’s 14, she’s already mastered the art of dagger throwing, chi blocking, and the Kyoshi warriors fighting style. Aang isn’t too pleased that she fights in tournaments like Toph did, but Toph watches every match she can get! MeiLin asks her to bet on her and they split the wealth at the end. Lin wants her youngest sister to join the police force when she turns 18, but MeiLin isn't sure she wants to enforce the law like Lin.

Tiao Wu (M) Earthbender, 14: The baby of the family, and loves it. Unlike MeiLin, Tiao Wu is a homebody and a huge mama’s boy, though really isn’t a mama’s boy in the Beifong Family? Like his name suggests, he’s a great dancer and for an earthbender, he sure is light on his toes. While Gyatso is called Twinkletoes Jr, Tiao Wu is known as the Fancy Dancer. Literally. That’s the stage name he chose for his bending dance competitions. When he’s not dancing or hanging out with Toph, he’s studying his cousin’s bending forms, wanting to incorporate it into his repertoire. Tiao Wu is also close to Aang, as he showed an early talent to be one with the spirits. As a six year old, he would meditate next to Aang and beat the freakin’ Avatar, master of all four elements and bridge between the physical and spiritual world, to the Spirit World. He’s also known to be the only human who is allowed to visit Wong Si Tong’s library there.

ALRIGHT Joy, here are some basic facts about my dunebabies universe. If you or anyone else wants to send me asks so I can more deeply construct their personalities, feel free!

#I did it Joy!! #thanks for the ask #my asks are open #ask me about my dunebabies #eventually i'll create steambabies and other next gen #but her now only dunebabies #who's your favorite? #can you guess who I didn't have a backstory for yet? #you and stitch should be proud of me #ignore the fact that I haven't looked at my wips in months #i mean what? #I definitely am working my wips #👀