#Zuko doesn’t have the heart to tell him that the rest of the nation thinks they’re engaged

[fanfic-gremlin-ft-trauma]

Firelord hair care is so important to me (and Sokka, apparently)

#zukka #zuko x sokka #zukka fanart #atla #I have this hc that touching someone else’s hair is like a huge deal™️ in the fire nation #and Sokka just #does it #Zuko doesn’t have the heart to tell him that the rest of the nation thinks they’re engaged #(not because he’s in love with Sokka what haha that would be crazy)

[sokkastyles]

I was asked to write a response to this post, and as always I ask that you please don't dogpile on the OP, I was merely asked for my opinion. This also isn't an invitation to hate on anyone's ships, but it kind of baffles me that in the face of any criticism, people who ship Mai and Zuko will outright deny the characters' respective arcs in order to make it work, despite their ship being canon.

First the OP claims that Zuko shown taking some enjoyment from living like royalty "debunks" what the episode is telling us, that Zuko is experiencing turmoil over his place back home, especially after experiencing life among the people of the Earth Kingdom and witnessing how other people have less, and how the world has suffered as a result of the Fire Nation's greed. Except that OP’s example is a screenshot of Zuko looking uncomfortable as he takes a hot towel, after initially hesitating, which also happens after he refuses the other comforts he is offered. 

The hot towel is actually an oshibori, a Japanese symbol of hospitality that in America, is often associated with high class, as it is often offered on first class flights and luxury hotels and restaurants. The context here is clearly meant to show the Fire Nation excess, and that Zuko is unsure after being away for so long, and uncomfortable with being pampered especially after witnessing the horror the Fire Nation has caused in the rest of the world, leading up to his growing realization that he doesn’t want to be a part of it anymore.

Then we have the scene where he initially refuses the palanquin ride, and finally accepts, both because it would be awkward for him to protest too much, especially if he wants to fit in as prince, and also because yes, like any normal person, he does enjoy having people do things for him. Hence the little smile, the reassurance that it's okay for him to be pampered, which assuages some of the guilt he's been feeling since Ba Sing Se. He's the prince, he can tell himself, he deserves it. That's also why he takes the time to show off to his girlfriend a little a scene later by offering her anything she wants.

However, the message we are supposed to understand is still the same. Zuko is trying to convince himself that he should just accept being back as prince, but we know, and he knows, in his heart, that he should be listening to his guilty conscious.

I also find it baffling that OP says that this isn’t meant to show how Zuko has changed, but then also argues that Mai doesn’t know the extent of Zuko’s emotional turmoil. Which is true, but like, that’s the point OP seems to be missing, and the reason why people use this scene to point to the fact that Mai and Zuko fundamentally don’t understand each other.

She is not an Iroh - who can say exactly what he needs to hear or guide him on the right path. She is a teenage girl from another broken home who was never taught what love truly means. She was taught to restrain herself and her emotions. But when Zuko needs comfort the most - she provides it for him by attesting that despite all the things she doesn’t care for - she cares for him. She becomes emotionally vulnerable in front of Azula to comfort Zuko amidst his difficult times. And yes, In this example on The Beach - Zuko is shown to be comforted and cared for her by her words.

Like, of course she’s not Iroh. That’s the point. She’s not supposed to be. I’ve argued before that Mai’s narrative function is to be something of an anti-Iroh, because like Iroh, part of her narrative function is to give Zuko someone to bounce off of, so that he can voice what he’s thinking, to help the audience understand Zuko’s motivations. However, unlike Iroh, Mai’s main purpose is to keep Zuko tied to the Fire Nation, whereas Iroh encouraged him to seek redemption by looking elsewhere. She’s not supposed to guide Zuko down the right path, but serves rather as an obstacle he has to overcome in order to get back on it. That doesn’t exactly make for a healthy or lasting relationship.

The idea that Mai and Zuko’s relationship is good because Mai shows Zuko support by saying that she cares about him after he blames himself for his feelings in “The Beach” - including his earlier anger at her for being constantly apathetic while he’s hurting - doesn’t exactly scream healthy relationship or support, either. Rather than showing emotional support, she’s very deliberately choosing to support Zuko only when she doesn’t have to support him emotionally, when he internalizes his emotions instead of externalizing them.

Neither does, “I don’t care about anything but at least I care about you.” Like, that bar is so low it’s on the ground. Especially since everyone else around Zuko currently outright hates him.

Look at what Azula says right before. Mai knows that Zuko suffered constant and endless harassment and abuse from his sister and father. From the creators themselves:

“She’s known Zuko her whole life. She knows his life has been intense” - Bryan and Mike, The Beach Commentary

Funny how the creators have to word of god things because what they wrote doesn’t actually show what they wanted it to show. In actual canon, we have Mai telling Zuko that she “didn’t ask for his whole life story,” during their first scene as a couple after she hasn’t seen him for three years.

She’s known him his whole life...except for those three years between thirteen and sixteen, in which time he has grown from a child to a young adult and experienced drastic life changes. Changes which she said she didn’t want to hear about.

And, I mean, whatever, I try not the think the worst of things because people can ship what they want, and most of the problems with Mai and Zuko’s relationship happen because of poor writing choices, not outright abuse apologism, but I agree, let’s look at what Azula says. Let’s actually consider the ramifications of Mai, who had just broken up with Zuko, deciding that she cares about him and they’re back together now after Azula calls him pathetic. Once again Mai decides that she cares about Zuko and wants him back when he’s at a low point. At no point did she offer him emotional support when he was in turmoil. At no point does she dig into the root of why he is angry. Why would she? That would mean examining her own lifestyle and how it profits on the back of imperialism. But if Zuko is blaming himself for his anger - anger which really stems from the realization of how empty life in the Fire Nation really is, and his own guilt at being a part of it - then he’s not questioning any of that, and Azula has ended the argument by announcing that Zuko’s anger is pathetic and not worth examining. That also means Mai can get Zuko back without having to do any of the hard emotional or ethical work herself.

Yet shes the only one from his old life, other than Iroh, that shows unwavering and unconditional support to him. Like @thethiefandtheairbender said, “Mai gives Zuko a reason to love the home that spurned him.”

Actual photo of Iroh watching Mai and Zuko interact from his prison cell:

She’s the only one other than Iroh because she helped put Iroh in prison. You can argue about how loyal she is to Azula and whether she had a choice, but the fact of the matter is that the reason Iroh ain’t around, and Mai is the only one Zuko has to rely on, is because Iroh is in prison and Mai and Zuko would not have a relationship otherwise. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Zuko hadn’t chosen to side with Azula in Ba Sing Se. I can’t help but wonder if it’s ever crossed Zuko’s mind, as well, that if things had gone differently, he would have been in prison alongside Iroh instead of smooching Mai, and she would have helped to put him there. That’s like, so very much the opposite of unconditional support. It means that their relationship is conditional by necessity, by virtue of how it came about. All relationships are conditional anyway, which I will get to later, but THIS is very much not the type of condition that breeds a healthy relationship. What this is is actually the breeding ground for abuse and toxicity, but again, I’m going to assume the writers weren’t actually paying attention to any of that and didn’t intentionally write this relationship as the shit show that it is.

Also, on “Mai gives Zuko a reason to love the home that spurned him.” YES. That’s the PROBLEM. Mai’s function in the narrative is to keep Zuko in the Fire Nation long enough for him to get everything he ever wanted and then realize that this isn’t what he needs at all. That’s why, when he makes this realization, he also leaves Mai behind as well.

Yes, Zuko loves the Fire Nation, and a big part of his narrative is also becoming Fire Lord and redeeming his nation and reclaiming his homeland, but Mai explicitly in canon does not understand this part of Zuko, and refused to listen when he tries to explain it to her.

So back to the Nightmares and Daydreams episode. Mai’s immediate thought is to cheer Zuko up with something that gave him comfort five minutes before.

When that doesn’t work, we see Mai’s unemotional facade break down. She knows that this is something he has to figure out on his own. Her face shows pure empathy, that he must be going through something very troubling. But she doesn’t force him to stay with her. She gives him space to come to terms with his own emotions. She doesn’t stick by him or force him to cheer up after she sees her methods DIDNT work. She doesn’t get frustrated. She feels empathy for him.

And then antis claim that Mai bringing up the whole war meeting was a way to make light of Zuko’s trauma or that she didn’t want him to ruin their happy mood. Yet they conveniently forget that Mai waited outside for the entire duration of the war meeting for Zuko - and immediately asks him how it went - ensuring that things didn’t transpire the way it did at the last war meeting. For them, it’s impossible to see that what Mai said was a matter of true concern for Zuko’s safety. But her actions prove otherwise.

I actually have said that I thought Mai was concerned for Zuko’s safety, but that isn’t enough for me to consider that it’s a good relationship, because like, that’s the very least Mai can be. I do think that their conversation fundamentally shows that she doesn’t understand him, though. Nor do I think she really understands the very real danger he is in, otherwise she wouldn’t be happy when Zuko does go to the meeting, knowing what happened to him the last time he attended one. Because Zuko is not safe any time Ozai has access to him.

But going back to Mai bringing back up the idea of ordering servants around to cheer him up, let’s look at the transcript:

Mai: You know what will make you feel better? [Zuko turns his head slightly.] Ordering some servants around. I might be hungry for a whole tray of fruit tarts. And maybe a little palanquin ride around town. Double time.

She turns Zuko's face to look at her, but he quickly looks away, making Mai let go of him.

Rather than being cheered up, Zuko reacts negatively to her suggestion, and the reason why lies in the previous scene where fruit tarts and palanquin rides were referenced. Because Mai didn’t see and doesn’t understand Zuko’s discomfort with those excesses. She can’t. She only sees the face Zuko puts on because he’s trying to both impress her and assuage his own guilt. That’s why her attempt to cheer him up falls flat here.

And actually, we don’t see Mai give Zuko space or comfort him or show empathy. The scene cuts off there, and the next time we see Mai and Zuko, he is being told he actually is invited to the meeting, and Mai is happy for him. Note that nothing has changed. The danger hasn’t gone away, nor Zuko’s worries. Ozai has just arbitrarily decided that Zuko is now invited to the meeting, and acts like he always was, which is really Ozai playing mind games with his son and actually shows how dangerous and manipulative Ozai is. Zuko doesn’t pick up on this because he’s desperate for his father’s approval, but he will after the meeting. Mai doesn’t pick up on it because she doesn’t really know Zuko or his inner turmoil, nor does she really understand the depth of how evil the Fire Nation really is.

Mai listens to Zuko unwaveringly while he explains how during the meeting, he was the perfect fire nation prince but he wasn’t himself. She doesn’t cut him off out of boredom. She doesn’t shut down his emotions or tells him to feel a way he shouldn’t. After the Beach episode, she learns to listen to him - proving her character development. She’s engaged, she’s listening. She is once again - supporting Zuko throughout his emotional turmoil.

Once again, this is kind of a low bar to prove Mai’s “unwavering support” because the scene cuts off right after Zuko says he wasn’t himself during the meeting. We don’t see her reaction at all. We can, however, assume that whatever it was, it was enough to convince Zuko that he couldn’t confide in her in person about his realization that he needed to leave and join the Avatar and restore honor to the Fire Nation. Her reaction to him when she confronts him about this in “The Boiling Rock” further confirms this, as she refuses to listen when he tries to make her understand. So if we had been shown this conversation, I don’t think it would show Mai being supportive or understanding.

I will never understand the argument that Zuko’s relationship with Mai represents a regression because he wasn’t being himself when he was in the fire nation. Let’s get a couple of things straight. Zuko had to return to the fire nation to truly confirm for himself that he was making the right decision. But the fire nation will always be Zuko’s home. That is why he is coronated as the fire lord at the end. Throughout season 3, Mai experiences Zuko’s good, bad, and ugly. He never once put up a facade around her. She experienced everything - the emotional turmoil, the parts where he pretended to be the perfect prince, the part where he truly loved spending time with her.

Yet OP admitted earlier in the post that Mai DIDN’T know the side of Zuko that worked as a tea server in Ba Sing Se and saw firsthand the plight of the refugees. She didn’t know the part of Zuko that felt uncomfortable being waited on unnecessarily. She didn’t know the part of Zuko that sat in a war meeting and bravely defended the Earth Kingdom people because it was the right thing to do. She didn’t know because she didn’t ask for his life story. And she still doesn’t, by the end, either. She does not understand when Zuko tells her that he has to save his country. This is textually what happens in the show. There’s no argument here. It’s just wrong to say that Zuko didn’t put up a facade around Mai and that Mai always understood Zuko, because we can see that this is not what happens in the story.

the only thing she did was hold him accountable when he was acting like an ass.

How did she hold him accountable? By deciding that she cares about him after he internalizes his anger and the conversation is over? Did he apologize to her for his outburst at the party? Show that he wouldn’t do it again? Or did she just decide to get back together with him when it was convenient for her? This is not what accountability looks like.

Mai was there for Zuko when no one else from his old life was.

See what I said about Iroh doing the Ben Afleck thing from his prison cell.

And if their relationship was a regression - then why did the creators have Mai stand up against Azula and everything she knew her whole life - for Zuko and his mission? That argument would make sense if there was no episode called The Boiling Rock.

Why would Mai NEED to stand up to Azula when she was about to kill Zuko unless she had a realization that Zuko’s life and mission were more important than selfishly clinging to her relationship with him? That was the whole point of their encounters in that episode. Mai and Zuko’s relationship was SUPPOSED to be a regression, and Zuko chose to leave it behind, and that was what Mai had to realize. Further, the entire reason that Mai needed to stop Azula in the first place was because Mai put Zuko’s life in danger because she was mad that he broke up with her. The whole point was Mai redeeming herself by letting Zuko go, despite the fact that he was “the jerk who dumped [her].” It’s a pity that the writers didn’t stick to that, though, and instead had her go back to demanding that he be in a relationship with her in the end.

That Love isn’t conditional based on someone’s morality or redeemable actions.

I told you I would get back to this. It’s not even true that Mai loves Zuko unconditionally, as I said, but in any case, the concept of “unconditional love” should be thrown out when we’re talking about romantic relationships. Don’t get me wrong, the conditions under which Mai loves Zuko still aren’t healthy, but there are times when it is both healthy and necessary for love to be conditional. Morality and redeemable actions, as it happens, absolutely are two of those conditions that love depends on.

Like, what on earth even is this argument. If the person you love doesn’t have morals that align to yours and doesn’t have redeeming qualities in your eyes, then there’s nothing to base the relationship on, other than, say, a mutual hatred of the world and a vague sense that you don’t hate each other. Which does not make a healthy or lasting relationship, or even a romantic one.

#zuko #antimaiko #the discourse

[peony-pearl]

Man honestly like what if Iroh HAD escaped with Katara and Aang somehow during CoD. He holds Aang while Katara whisks them all away with her waterbending. He witnesses Aang’s revival and ends up unofficially becoming part of the Gaang.

Sokka gives him a bit of grief for when he’d said that there was good left in Zuko. Iroh doesn’t reply; he just looks away. Sokka sighs, softening his stance towards the old man but he doesn’t apologize.

Hakoda and Bato aren’t sure about him. Katara tells them he’s the reason they got out alive, but they can’t help but be too overprotective, and when they seize the Fire Nation ship, they confine Iroh. He doesn’t argue.

Iroh wonders what is happening in The Fire Nation. Is Zuko happy? Is he safe? He still can’t help but worry about his nephew even after being forsaken by him. Maybe... Maybe he should have let himself be captured. Then perhaps he could have had shreds of news about Zuko; but either way, he would have been confined to a cell... not much help he could be in either situation.

Katara and Toph visit him regularly. They ensure he has decent meals. Sokka does too. He eventually apologizes for what he said about Zuko, but Iroh tells him he has nothing to apologize for after everything he and Zuko put him and the others through. Katara gives Iroh updates on Aang.

Toph tells Iroh she thinks it’s worth mentioning that he stopped Aang from being completely killed. He went against everything he held dear in a day: letting go of his beloved nephew when he chose a different path, and not continuing his forefathers’ destruction of the Airbenders. Iroh sips at his water. He tells her this is only the first bit of penance he has to pay.

He eventually gets a visit from Hakoda, who asks him how a raid on the Fire Nation on Day of Black Sun could be accomplished. Iroh is hesitant to give information.

That is still his family in the Palace. Hakoda urges him to prove he isn’t like the rest of them and Iroh loses his cool. He stands, screaming at Hakoda that he’s known for years he’s not like the rest of his family, and these past few weeks have only cemented that. He was everything his father and nation wanted and it cost him his son, followed by the love of his family, followed by knowing he no longer wants to live like them, but it caused him to be alienated more. He doesn’t belong anywhere because of the misery he’s inflicted in every nation in the world - but his own family no longer wants him because he’s condemned those actions that they demanded of him.

But they are still his family. Two young teenagers being taught the same horrible rhetoric that raised Iroh, that raised Lu Ten, and led him to an early grave.

Hakoda, as a father, knows that the catalyst of Iroh’s change of heart is his own worst nightmare.

The first bit of good news is when Iroh learns Aang has awoken. But he is unable to meet with the lad as he and his team head off on their own way.

Iroh finally knowing that time is of the essence, finally gives Hakoda information about a battle plan, which allows him his freedom on the ship.

But Iroh doesn’t stay for long. He eventually takes off his own way. It’s time for a revisit to the Great Masters.

#atla #Iroh #my writing #long post

[waywardavatarenthusiast]

28 sokkla please

We’re back to doing these! I’ll try and get out the ones already in my inbox first.

****

The winter festival is always one of the best days of Sokka’s year. He remembers the Fire festival some months ago and how Azula had dragged him through the crowd to see every attraction and eat every food. Sokka’s plans for the night aren’t spontaneous, Azula learns. She’d woken up to a scroll on her forehead detailing every activity they would engage in.

“Hear terrible news” wasn’t written on there, but terrible news overtakes everything Sokka has planned. He doesn’t really think it’s that terrible. A guard whispers into the stoic Fire Lord’s ear, whose good eye then widens. It’s Azula who had the unfortunate luck of standing in the doorway when Zuko says to the rest of them, “My father has died. Don’t tell Azula.” Zuko’s warning wouldn’t have been effective either way. Whatever village members are standing nearby make the news known, and the chants shouted that night make it obvious that extra celebration is going on. Sokka’s first instinct should have been to find Azula. That’s what he goes to do. But while moving through the crowds he sees his father raise a glass at him, joy in his eyes. He hears Katara’s laugh as Aang jokes about how he’s glad to not have finished the job. Sokka swears there is a thirteen year old boy tasked with protecting his home weaving through the crowd with him. Then he hears her crying. She’d gone all the way out to the abandoned Fire Nation ship. An invisible wall separates them as Sokka stands on the deck, too scared to say the wrong thing but also not willing to lie. The wall comes down when she looks up.

“Is there anything I can do?” he asks. They’re both too smart to find comfort in asking if she was okay.

Hiccuping, she says, “Just hold me, Please.” So he does. He wraps his arms around her and she draws her legs to her torso. He kisses her forehead and says everything nothing. He’s lost a parent before. Condolences only make the person giving them feel good. He’s still obligated to offer them.

“I’m sorry,” he finally whispers into her hair.

She feels five again. Cold, tired, and in her father’s arms while he tells her that he can’t predict the weather. Where he tells her that they will never practice in such conditions again. They both know he’s lying. But she isn’t five anymore. She sits up straight.

“We both know you aren’t,” she says. She’s wrong though. Sokka’s heart belongs to Azula, so it grieves what she grieves.

“I’m sorry you never had a father worth grieving.”

“Yet here I am.”

“Do you still want me to hold you?” She shakes her head.

“Let’s go to the festival.” She takes his hand. The wind whistles behind them as they walk. He knows he’ll have to hold her later that night.

#atla #azula #sokkla #avatar the last airbender #sokka

[stella-facem-ducens]

I think I don’t hate red.

my fic for zutara month day 7 “touch Starved” 

Summary: When Fire lust for Water and Water desires Fire (this is a smut fic :3)

@zutaramonth

The situation is more than bizarre, for the very first time Katara doesn’t how to feel, usually when it comes to Zuko she has two moods she is piss off with him or she is tired because of the endless chasing now under the tight bind that keep her in place, tied in a pole Katara feels something different she is curious, the cause, they way Zuko is looking at her, there are so many emotions in his eyes she can see anger, confusion and desire.

Zuko is doing the same to her, he is staring deep into Katara’s eyes, and he see the same thing instead of anger Zuko sees curiosity which makes an unfamiliar feeling burst in his chest, Zuko is accustomed to see in people’s eyes repulsion but not in hers, gradually Zuko is closing distance getting near to the waterbender, the girl who confused Zuko so much.

  “Why are you looking at me this way, why are you not disgusted by me ?” Katara could feel the heat irradiating from Zuko's chest, his hot breath near her cheek, those amber eyes looking at her, like a dragon looking at his treasure.

  “Zuko I am not sure if this is how you flirt…. what do you want me to say”?

“The prince of the fire nation is the most handsome boy I’ve ever seen, the way he masters his element is outstanding and those eyes are beautiful, they are like the sun.”

  Katara bit her tongue she absolutely didn’t want to recognize that and Zuko couldn’t stop blushing, Mai has never told him such beautiful words and this water tribe girl is boosting his ego but the feeling vanishes as he remembers the necklace inside Zuko’s pocket, a reminder this girl is not single.

  “Peasant, do you enjoy play with men? or is just with the avatar.”

“You don’t seem that kind of girl, so tell me Katara what is with you? Why is your precious fiancé not here with you?”

  “What on Earth are you talking about, what fiancé?!.”

  “Don’t lie to me peasant, I am sure you have one, after all it is your people's costume to give this kind of thing, I am not a fool.”

  Katara couldn’t believe it was her mother's necklace.

  “I am not sure what you are talking about Zuko.”

“If you remember and I am sure you do after all you raided my town.”

“I am from the south, we don't do that. The most important, why are you holding a dear memento from my dead mother!?”

“Please give it back…. I miss her every single day… please I beg you it is the only thing left I have from her.”

  The sound of Katara's sad voice, how she is at the brink of tears certainly doesn’t make Zuko happy in fact he is fighting his instinct to hold her and hug her. 

  “I lost my mother too, I guess that is what we have in common “

“So Katara let’s make a deal, you get your precious memento back, but you have to answer some of my questions.”

“You already talked about my face, what do you think about my chest where my mighty flames reside, tell me how the power inside the crown prince of the fire nation feels.”

  At first the question seems odds but the desire in zuko's eyes makes it clear what is his intention 

If they have to put a name of what is happening; is not love at first sight, this is desire at first sight and that is more than enough for the crown prince, if he wants something he is going to get, it is that simple, this waterbender is going to be his. 

dragons only have one mate, this girl is the one, Katara just need to realize her future is already decided, he is her future, and she is his

Katara can feel in the air the beating of Zuko’s heart, the heat coming from his chest. 

when ropes finally come off, she rests her head on Zuko’s chest, the fire inside him calls her.

Zuko can barely contain his lust, his body is burning in desire, his cock hard as steel, ready to please his future lady, tame her, show her pleasure no other man can replicate.  

He kisses Katara fervently, his hand slowly reaching his waterbender’s butt, the young prince is on fire he is eager to burn her, to make her lust fire to make her see they can burn everyone. he will be the flame heating her steam, a steam so hot it will burn everyone who dare to challenge them.

Katara couldn’t hold it either. She is moaning, the waves of pleasure Zuko is making her feel. how deep Zuko is pushing his tongue into Katara’s mouth, for him she tastes like heaven, like the most pristine water. 

  “You are beautiful, my raindrop" says Zuko, watching Katara moaning under his touch. 

  “Zuko, I.. I”

  Katara couldn’t form any words, not because she is basically betraying everyone; what her father taught her, he told her she must never be with another man until marriage, she must never let a fire nation get close to her and she must always harbor hate for the ashmakers those are the words her father said to her before he sailed beyond the horizon.

The real reason why she can’t form any sentences is because her body is missing Zuko’s heat, she wants to lean into his fire, feel again his hot breath, the sensation of his kisses how they felt like drinking hot tea so hot it numbs your tongue, she missed the burning hand in her butt, claiming it as his.

  “Zuko if in my life I have to regret something I want to regret this please don’t stop.”

  “Oh, dear Katara you are going to regret everything except me and what we are going to do”

  And true to his words the next thing the fire prince do is burn every claims any men may have on his treasure, the collar on Katara’s neck clearly crafted by the avatar is quickly yank away and burn, burning it near Katara so his princess can feel the flames, they are burning the gift the avatar gave her, the collar claiming Katara as the avatar ’s girl is finally burnt into ashes, the colors of the air nation doesn’t fit in his dear Katara ’s   neck

as the final dust of ash falls into the ground a sense of liberation fills Katara, she is free from a future that doesn’t longer exist, she will never be call avatar ’ s girl and with this new gain freedom katara takes the initiative she kisses Zuko hard, with her intense kiss she summons small sparks coming from inside Zuko, invading her mouth, her entire mouth is in pure ecstasy, those amber eyes now filled with lust, makes her fire prince sexier but is not enough for Katara, she needs to feel more, she needs to touch more with one hand slowly moving, too timid to do it faster she reaches Zuko ’s armor and trying her best to take it away, Zuko couldn’t feel happier and quickly succumb to his lady desire.

on the river bank the only thing dominating are the sounds of kisses, moans and heavy armor falling into the ground, the sounds of raw untamed lust, that is the perfect description. 

  “Zuko please let me touch you more… I need to feel more of you… I need to feel your hot skin against mine.”

  “You are a lewd lady but as your prince I am more than happy to fulfill your selfish desires.”

  in an instant both benders finally embrace each other, the friction between their bodies, the hands greedily moving from Katara ’s butt to her tight teasing her with his fingers, enjoying the sounds Zuko ’s little Katara makes, how the waterbender ’s legs start to fails her, how she voluntary open her legs a little to give him more access and he reciprocated by rubbing his manhood in her virtue, his rod pushing in desperately agony, he wants to go inside her so much but he is going to make her beg, a prince never beg

  “Say it Katara, you know what you want, you can barely stand under my touch.”

“You are surrendering your body, your strength to me” 

“Give your mighty dragon what he desires, you know what you have to say”

“Serve me”

  “Zuko, make me yours.”

  “You have to try harder, waterbender, don’t you remember, I am not a peasant, I am not just Zuko, you know who I am.”

  “My Prince, my dragon, I need you.”

  with eyes fills with devotion Zuko pushes deep into Katara not even caring if it hurts or not because Zuko is absolutely sure she is made for him, they are compatible in every level he will never hurt her, they are made for each other and he is not wrong the most beautiful lustful scream confirmed it, Katara inner walls fit him so right so tight, her entire body is eager to accept him, her body was made for him and only him

overwhelmed by the warring sensations, the burning, the needy emptiness, the want for friction, the intrusive stretching. He feels like a hot flaming steel rod as he finally breaches her maidenhead, sinking his length slowly inside of her, his hands shaking as they hold her hips tightly in their grasp, a groan punctuated by an exhilarated growl.

Katara was still adjusting to the sensation, her body feeling stretched and full, almost  too  full. Eased with each thrust, Zuko begins to growl rhythmically, in time with his thrusts.

Zuko struggles to keep the flames inside his chest, fire is dangerous, it is rare for a firebender to release their fire during mating, it requires a full trust in your partner's abilities.

Katara, she is different, katara lusts for his fire, she lusts for every single part of him, the proof of that is the kisses she is giving him in Zuko ’s neck, going from his chin to her chest forcing the flames inside him burst. unable to keep control and like a beast Zuko releases his fire, the sky turns red with Zuko's flames and as he breathes fire Katara keep kissing his neck

the deepest form of trust between the mate and her firebender

with each thrust Katara loses more and more the strength in her legs, not even the pole behind her can support her. 

the beast, the crown prince Zuko, he is devouring her with his dick

  “on four Katara, your prince's desire to make you feel his entire length.”

  Yes… yes… yes… My Zuko, claim me.”

  with a smile Zuko release his lady from his possessive hold, the sight of his lady quickly collapsing to the ground clearly her legs are unable to hold her, the view of her now in four, how beautiful she, with a wicked smile Zuko thrust his entire length inside her, both of them can’t keep it in, the emotions are too strong they can't keep it quiet  Katara screams Zuko name to the world to hear while he, like a dragon jet fire flames so hot they are almost white, sparks erupts from his feet burning the tiny bits of wood nearby, the water boiling, hot steam soaring, surrounding them, steam so hot anyone near it would get their lungs burn but water will never allow her mistress and her mate be hurt

  “Katara, you feel so good”

  “Burn everything, my fiery beast, let me feel your flames” an excited Katara screams in pleasure the sensation of Zuko inside her, the beauty of the flames around her, Zuko for her is the personification of the sun, her mighty sunshine.

  The words Katara said to her prince with such love, lust and desire do trick, Zuko ’s dick is pulsing in anticipation, ready to mark her as his, fills her, in a primal grunt Zuko grabs Katara waist and carefully change the position, he wants to do it in the missionary position, he wants to see her face. 

  “I am going to mark you Katara, fill you with the seed of the dynasty that will rule this world” as he is about to cum Katara grabs him by the neck and pull, kiss him, both of their bodies are shaking in pleasure, in what it can almost be described as dragon ’ s roar Zuko marks his princess, his lady, his waterbender.

like river of lava with a force only a fire bender can master Zuko cum, aiming to Katara very core, so hot and consuming, Zuko fills Katara deep inside making sure Katara ’s womb belongs to him, her walls contracting, each drop of her dragon ’s seed finds rest deep inside her, a new addicting feeling is forming inside her, she will never forget how it feels. her entire womb becoming a pool of magma. Katara wants Zuko’s cum so much, neither earth, water or air can compare to what fire is doing to her.

She loves every part of him, the flames, those yellow eyes, her body, everything about him. Katara is like the ocean, her body want to pull Zuko ’s body to the deepest part of the sea 

During their orgasm Zuko sees the beauty of love in her eyes he is not sure how long it will last but he will never forget what he saw, he saw the pure raw form of love in Katara ’s eyes.

For a moment they stay in silence, neither of them wanting to separate from each other, katara ’s core is greedily milking each drop of Zuko ’s cum and his dick is possessively refusing to go soft, she is his to fill. 

So both of them opted for the second best thing, they sit with Katara on top, still connected but the fire prince is not done, not even close he needs to consume his Katara until the last piece

“You know waterbender I haven’t punished you for kyoshi island”

before Katara could even respond or complain her prince sucks her nipple, kisses her breasts trying to kiss her heart too but he needs more, from her breast he goes up, to her neck covering her in love bites.

The moans are a blessing to Zuko’s ears like a symphony of lust and love, he will never forget how a celestial ’s symphony sounds. 

He isn’t expecting an angry Katara, did he do something wrong? The answer comes quickly, she starts kissing him passionately this time she is the one claiming him, her tongue deep inside him trying to reach the flames inside Zuko, searching eager to find that burning sensation. The sensation of their first kiss, she is looking for those sparks of lust.

she is not done she can tease too; a dark idea comes to her mind she starts grinding zuko ’s massive dick against her inner walls, he is still deep inside her and she is going to take advantage of that, she is the one this time to make Zuko scream her name.

Her mission is complete, finally from her prince’s mouth those sparks come again, the ones she is starting to love, the proof of Zuko’s deep desire for her, those flames are finally free.

  After the kiss ends, Zuko is proudly proclaiming a simple truth.

“You greedy waterbender, if I knew better, I would say you are from my kind after all your people is all about community and sharing but it appears you are eager to consume me”

“don’t worry my fire lady, I will provide you with the fire your soul desires.”

“You will find no better men in those filthy dirt-benders, you will find no better in the punny breeze-bender you called avatar, you will not find no better men on cowards from the north, no puddle-bender will be better than me.”

  After the proclamation, Zuko lie down letting Katara ride him, a perfectly opportunity for her to escape, Zuko already made his choice, he chose her, it is time for her to decide the answer comes as expected, the greedy waterbender is riding him good with each thrust she is not leaving a single inch outside, she is taking Zuko’s massive dick completely which is amazing because Zuko knows how big he is and he also knows his princess love it, the lust in Katara’s eyes are the evidence, it showed when she saw his cock the first time

Zuko is about to reach his climax and Katara knows it too, the final decision is in her hands.

Katara doesn’t stop when she hears Appa coming closer to her location, she doesn’t stop when she hears her friends calling her, she doesn’t stop when she sees the shadow of the giant bison in the horizon, at this moment everything she needs is Zuko

“I want your seed Zuko, I want all of you, I need to feel your heat inside me again, I want to feel the warm sensation in my belly, I want to feel your pulsating dick releasing your cum in me, the seed of the fire nation in me…. Please turn my womb into a pool of fire and magma, mark my insides with your cum. 

As she says this she grabs Zuko hands and place them in her hips with a final movement she push down and let the must lustful sound leave her mouth to the world to hear, she let Zuko seed remind her she is now fire nation, claimed by the crown prince whatever she like it or not her body will always remember the fire nation ’s prince claimed her, she is forever his. she let Zuko burning hands mark her hip, a red handprint, it will disappear in few days but it will a reminder of what happened today for days 

She is undeniably his and for the look in his face he is undeniably her.

  Katara ’s body is sore and with Aang near, it is obvious they can’t keep doing it, as she stand up Zuko grabs her and place a big kiss leaving a love bite in Katara lower belly and then soft tender kisses following a pattern, the fire nation ’s symbol 

  “You know Katara, this world can know peace when my nation wins, when I am fire lord the world will find and know peace.”

  Katara is sure Zuko means well, she knows her sunshine, the prince, truly believes that but for her, is Aang the hope for the world, she has to go with the avatar and stop Ozai

The look on Katara's face tells Zuko what his princess is thinking, a little angrier Zuko continues.

  “I will keep chasing the avatar and I will keep looking at you with the same eyes I am looking at you now.”

saying the last part softer, hopeful Katara feels the same, hoping she will look at him with desire too

Katara stays silent, she truly doesn’t know what to think, the groan of a flying bison reminds her she must go. 

“You should dress yourself; I will not tolerate the avatar looking at you while you are naked”  the crown prince commanding it with jealousy, Katara has no intention of letting neither Aang nor Sokka see her naked, covered in Zuko’s love marks not because she is ashamed but because she is not that kinky

Before Katara could leave, a still naked prince showing off how handsome and big he is, grabs something from his pants on the floor. It is Katara’s necklace, but the fabric is different. Instead of blue it is dark red.

Before leaving Katara does something unexpected, a kiss, a short but meaningful kiss, a kiss that feels and is a promise.

  A few hours later now with Katara on Appa, her friends get curious about her necklace.

  “Katara what happened with the collar I gave you.”

“Yeah sis, and now your old one is red… as soon we land you should totally change it to blue.”

  Katara tries to agree with her brother or be sad about Zuko burning the gift aang gave her, but she refuses to lie, for her it would be dishonorable, she won’t lie about something she doesn’t regret. 

“The collar was burnt and about changing the color” Katara makes a solemn pause this is important for her.

I think I don’t hate red.

#zutara #zutara fanfiction

[princecosmosanon]

(i'm a different anon btw)

Haha! Zuko is already super jealous of the other characters Sokka hangs around. ;3 He definitely has his reasons for hanging back though. Hopefully you’ll get to know what they are sooner rather than later??

WHATTTT? he's jealous?? sorry but like THE AUDACITY! like he had ~ a week off ~ to spend time alone with sokka but he didn't even bother to show up and now sokka gets to spend some time with new friends and meet new people because of his new job as a consort and he's jealous?? if you're so jealous then go to your room at night.. bruh

you know how we say "he would not fucking say that" about fanfiction sometimes? your sokka is soo different than his canon counterpart but i always think you got his core personality so well. i'm like ohhh he would do that yeah.

could i ask you about other characters? we know katara's at home (god i recently reread the first chapters and her anger is so heart wrenching. she just loves her brother so much i hope they get to reunite in the flesh). aang is still in the ice i suppose. i hope katara's anger at the fire nation for taking one of her loved ones again breaks him free so he can give our girl a bison ride to caldera to see her brother. hope this doesn't come across as rude or telling u what to do but i think it would be hilarious to read toph in this setting. though i don't think they'd have time to be friends in this story. still i'd like her to give zuko a hard earthbending style slap (oh i know i'm gonna regret lashing at zuko i know... but for now he's a lil bitch). yue is alive, hopefully? so... not gonna lie i hope we get to see one or two people falling for our sokka so zuko can be more jealous lmao i need zuko to realize that sokka's a cute magnet for cute people (now i'm not suggesting cheating. that's awful haha... unless 👀👀)

thank you so much for sharing your work with us i'm so in love with it that i reread it aaaaaaaaalllllllll the time krhjdx

i hope life gets less busy so you get to rest and enjoy yourself. writing can wait you're more important, if you feel obligated to write (i know i do when it comes to my writing) take your time please we're here whenever you want to update 💗 i know i won't give up on this story and i'm sure others won't too.

have a nice day king 👑

Whoa, I am soooo late to responding to this!! I apologize! It came into my inbox around when my boss first went on paternity leave and work was exploding around me :x

But LMAO yeah, Zuko is very audacious in this fic. He has a very inflated idea of what’s “right” and “wrong” and for good reason! But it seriously does not mesh with Sokka’s.

Lol I’m glad you like my Sokka interpretation! <3 Part of why it works in Hearts on the Mend is due to it being a non-canon universe. Sokka is older, he’s wiser, he can keep his mouth shut a little easier, but he’s prolly at least 20% more petty than his canon counterpart. He’s mastered passive-aggressive sibling slights and he’s turning that knowledge on Zuko, all guns blazing. - That’s basically why I write him like I do. I find it easier than sassy child Sokka. I’m personally not as good as he is with snappy comebacks, but I can write petty well enough.

Regarding other characters… (spoilers hidden for those who want to not see them)

Katara will indeed see Sokka again in this fic! You can bet Zuko doesn’t get away from her wrath forever. ;)

Aang will also appear in this fic at some point! :3c any more spoilers with him would be telling, tho…

Toph… I haven’t considered in *this* fic, I’ll be honest. She may appear in the sequel fic I plan to write (yes, I already have plans to write more for these characters in this particular setting) but she’s tabled for now.

And does Sokka get more love interests??? Will cheating be involved?!?!? Who can say… no, lol, actually this fic won’t have Sokka cheat on Zuko. He’s not going to put his tribe into jeopardy for his own libido or comfort. But he might have some longing later…!

Thank you again for reading my fic. It’s a lovely story and I want to keep it going. It’s definitely not dead in the water until I say it is, and I do feel like I’ll get back to writing soon. I just can’t say for sure because I’m all scattered still.

Thank you again and again and again! Love and peace,

~Prince Cosmos Anon

#anon asks #hearts on the mend #spoilers #hearts on the mend spoilers #zukka #fanfiction

[petedavidsonscock]

thinking about that ngozi post where she says that the frogs are elemental. first connection is obviously an atla au. pros:

nursey as the avatar. imagine him during a fight scene telling whoever he’s fighting to “chill.” in a small town running for his life & then stopping to correct a misspelling on his own wanted poster.

chowder is a waterbender because of sharks. for a friend he can have farmer. they are obviously not siblings in this: they are bffs. this also gives us an awkward, fun little romance (necessary to all stories) before we get to the nurseydex. he, farmer, and nursey have a comfortable dynamic that’s important for the early story; nursey figures out at some point that chowder & farmer like each other and we do quirky hijinks around that.

zuko dex. dex as zuko. disgraced fire nation prince dex. i don’t even have anything to say here it’s so obvious and fits so well. 

the only question being who dex’s uncle iroh would be since we don’t have many adults to choose from. 

maybe shitty??? he was one of dex’s teachers (but also secretly working for an antigovernmental group), and ozai ordered him to go with dex because he sort of suspected that something was up with him, & got rid of two birds with one stone. shitty isn’t much older than the rest of them, but the mustache makes him look like he is.

bitty is toph

i wanted not to elaborate on that but actually i will explain. pies are kind of earth-like in that they’re brownish. they’re both small and easily underestimated. bitty doesn’t bake initially because his parents would never have let him in a kitchen but he learns how to cook on the trip (none of the rest of them can make edible food) and likes it so much that he invents ovens. 

i don’t have time to do more rn but i really would love a nurseydex take on the aang & zuko dynamic. nursey refusing to take dex seriously, dex getting progressively more infuriated. i want dex to join the group in ba sing se (...boston? would it just be boston? The Earth King Invites You To That Pond In Boston Commons With The Swan Boats) and awkwardly apologize his way into nursey’s heart.

okay & that’s it for now. stay tuned for the more posts i will inevitably make about this as ideas occur to me.

#delighted at the fact that this is word salad to people who don't know these fandoms #omgcp #atla #nurseydex

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine being Sokka and Katara’s cousin and having a complicated romantic relationship with Zuko.

Your cousin Sokka had initially set you up with Zuko because he figured the firelord needed some fun and you were exactly that. You weren’t interested in titles or riches you were just an infectious whirlwind of carefree energy. He figured Zuko could learn something from you and so arranged the date.

He could tell by how light Zuko walked into the room the next day that his plan had worked and he liked seeing the positive effect you were having on Zuko. The pressures of the throne had really been weighing down on him and you helped him to get some much-needed freedom and connect with his non-Firelord side....however it always had a way of coming back.

Zuko loved dating you but he’d gotten pressure from every single fire nation noblemen on the council to break up with you. They disliked you because you were from the water tribe so many viewed you as an outsider trying to influence the fire nation. Zuko’s reign was still so new and with rebellions breaking out more frequently Zuko agreed. He had to put his country first even if that meant losing you. One thing Zuko hadn’t realised however was you had a very different view of your relationship...for one thing you didn’t even realise you were in one with the Firelord.

Your POV

Zuko was always pretty tense but you noticed tonight he was even more stressed and quiet. You tried to make conversation but he was sombre throughout dinner and when you’d finished he put his cutlery down and looked across at you. “Y/n I need to speak to you”. You nodded folding your arm “sure, what’s wrong?”. Zuko sighed "Y/n i’ve really enjoyed our time together but i...have to break up with you, I can’t see you anymore". You blinked surprised, one at Zuko’s honesty and two at the news you had apparently been dating the Firelord. You and Zuko weren’t dating or even close to dating, in your mind you’d just been having fun and sure you were definitely not just friends but you also didn’t think you were boyfriend/girlfriend. Regardless of what the label was you quickly realised what Zuko was telling you and it made a heavy weight settle in your stomach. Whatever this between you was...it made you sad to think it would be ending.  "You do?" you asked remaining composed and Zuko nodded. "It’s nothing to do with you it’s me, being firelord i don’t have the time for dating or fun, i don’t think it’s fair to keep this going when I can’t guarantee i’ll always be able to give you my attention". You nodded your head "that sounds fair, thank you for thinking of that". "No problem" Zuko said smiling sadly and you nodded awkwardly. “I’ll be going then” and you went to walk away when he spoke again "but i really enjoyed our time together y/n, i really did". You smiled "me too, you’re pretty fun for a royal" and bowed "see you around firelord” and you walked away.

Zuko’s POV

You walked out of the room and Zuko sighed. He felt a mix between relief and sadness. That had gone a lot easier than he thought it would and that should be a good thing but it didn’t feel that way. A part of Zuko had wanted you to argue with him or to dig to find the real reason he was breaking it off. He knew if you’d have challenged him in even the slightest way he’d have told you the truth and taken back what he’d said but you had just agreed and let it go without a fight. Zuko couldn’t help feeling disappointed and a little hurt. You remained on his mind the rest of the day and Zuko couldn’t stop wondering about your reaction. He was sat with your cousin Sokka when he decided to bring you up. "Just so you know I’ve ended things with y/n" Zuko explained and Sokka blinked "i’m sorry what?". "I know i should’ve warned you seeing as she’s your cousin...i’m sorry". Sokka shook his head "no i’m confused how do you think you were dating her". Zuko blinked "what do you mean? You literally set us up". "I introduced you because i thought y/n could make you loosen up a bit but Zuko y/n doesn’t date". Zuko blinked "but we hung our several times and...kissed and stuff". Sokka sighed "oh god as gross as this is to have to explain about my cousin...Zuko that doesn’t mean you were dating". "It doesn’t?”. Sokka sighed "okay here’s what you need to know about my cousin, she grew up in a town that was heavily sexist and married girls off at young ages, so as times started to change she leapt at the new opportunities. She refused to ever date anyone, it’s too much commitment and so instead she has fun with people, typically for short periods of time and then she flutters away, usually leaving a broken heart or two". Zuko blinked "but we were dating!". "Did you ever agree to make it exclusive?" Sokka asked. Zuko shook his head "well not in words". "Did you ever ask her to be your girlfriend?". "No but i thought it was implied". "Did you ever call her your girlfriend then?". "No i...it was new i didn’t want to come on too strong" Zuko sighed. Sokka patted his back "and there’s the broken heart". "I’m not heartbroken just confused! Why did she let me break up with her if we weren’t even dating?". "Well breakups are awkward, imagine having to explain to someone in the middle of one, that you're not even dating, i bet she did it just to spare your feelings". As soon as those words left his mouth Sokka regretted it. "No i didn’t mean that...i meant". Zuko stood up angrily "it appears i need to find your cousin".

Zuko was furious. He felt like he’d been living two different lives this whole time and that had caused so much stress. One half of him was the teenager who wanted fun, the freedom to go on dates and just be careless. Then the other half of him was the Firelord who knew he had to be responsible. He knew all the elder nobles thought he was too irresponsible and all his friends thought him too boring and conventional. He liked you because you opened him up to new things and made him feel normal. Not too young or too formal, just right, you made him feel valid.

But he’d sacrificed all that for the “greater good” and now not only was he regretting his decision he was also furious because apparently he wasn’t anything to you anyway. The thing he’d struggled so much with, you weren’t even aware of.

Zuko walked into the large living room the gang had taken to lounging in and saw you sat with Haru. He felt his temper rise as Sokka’s words filled his mind. How you broke hearts and moved on instantly. You laughed at something Haru said and Zuko’s eyes narrowed. He really meant nothing to you. Zuko stalked across the room and came to stand in front of you both. Haru jumped "Firelord Zuko" but you took your time glancing at him. You eventually raised your eyes to his and nodded "Firelord Zuko". Zuko tensed "y/n we need to talk". "Is it urgent because....". "It is, now...please" Zuko said and he walked away.

Your POV

You blinked as Zuko stormed away and apologised to Haru before following him. You had no idea why Zuko wanted to speak to you, surely everything was wrapped up now you were done but he seemed so angry. You’d heard about this famous fire nation temper but you’d never seen it on Zuko and part of you was a little impressed. You liked fire benders for that reason precisely, their inner fire and passion but Zuko had been completely composed and calm the whole time you’d know him. Not now though.

You followed Zuko into a room and he shut the door. "Zuko what’s wrong?" you asked and he spun to face you rapidly. "What’s wrong?" he cried "why did you let me break up with you and say all that rubbish if I meant nothing to you?". You paused "who says you mean nothing to me?". "Sokka!" Zuko cried "he explained how you flit from person to person, never dating them just having fun and how you move onto your next person when you get bored. We were never dating, why didn’t you correct me?". You shrugged "i... I didn't want to be rude, but Zuko I wasn’t just waiting to flit from you to someone else". "Ow yeah, Haru’s just a coincidence?". "You broke up with me! Why are you angry even if something was going on with Haru?". "Because i didn’t want to break up with you y/n" Zuko explained "i did it because i had to and it was a really tough decision for me to make. It felt like a big sacrifice to me and then to find out you didn’t even think twice about me" Zuko said rapidly before staring at the floor almost deflated. "Zuko i do think about you" you said softly "whatever Sokka said isn’t completely true. Yes i don’t like putting labels on things but that doesn’t mean i don’t care or feel the same things anyone does at the start of something. I think the reason i move on or flit around so quickly as you said is because i move on as soon as I start feeling things, i don’t like being vulnerable so me not thinking of you as my boyfriend wasn’t because I didn’t care about you, it was more to protect me from the opposite". "So you do like me?" Zuko asked and you took a breath. "I do...a lot". Zuko rushed forwards hastily and kissed you. You kissed him back wrapping your arms around his neck before you paused "but wait...i thought you said you literally weren’t allowed to do this". Zuko nodded but didn’t remove his hands from your waist "i did, as Firelord i’m expected to behave dignified and composed all the time, i’m not supposed to get emotional or act irresponsibly for example by dating an unconventional water tribe girl" Zuko smiled "but i don’t care! I don’t care if they disapprove! I don’t care if we’re boyfriend and girlfriend or it’s just casual, all i know is i really like you and really really want to kiss you". You smiled and rehooked your arm around his neck "then kiss me".

Zuko was obedient and kissed you passionately before moving onto your neck. You were both surprised and pleasantly fascinated at Zuko’s confidence. Usually he was shy and kissed you quickly before moving away but now....now he was confident and purposeful with each touch. It was very attractive and you suddenly saw why the fire nation had such a strong reputation. Zuko caught the look in your eye and smiled "if you want we can....go to my room?". You smiled "lead the way”. Zuko stepped towards the door so quickly he knocked a table over but he just tugged you past it "leave it, it can stay that way for all i care right now" he muttered and you laughed at how spontaneous he was being. It was nice to see him let his hair down and you grinned as he pulled you through the fire nation halls hastily. He yanked his door open before pulling you inside and slamming the door. Trapping you on the other side. "Hmm i don’t think running through the hall is dignified Firelord Zuko". Zuko shrugged "neither is this" and began to kiss you again.

***

You laid side by side and Zuko seemed very relaxed but you were wondering about something. "Should I be going...am i even allowed to stay here in your room overnight? Doesn’t it break some century old fire nation tradition?" you asked. You’d never been in Zuko’s room before and only now did it really hit you he was the Firelord with a whole country on his shoulders and hundreds of advisors all monitoring his every move. If they’d gotten so angry at you for spending time together surely the nobles would be furious at you spending the night in his quarters? Zuko however did not care. "Of course you can” he said immediately “no servants will bother us and my guards will know to leave so we can be alone...of course that’s if you want to? If you don’t want to stay the night...". “Are you kidding me? And miss sleeping in these silk masterpieces?" you asked wriggling against the royal bedding. Zuko laughed watching you before he looked more serious. "I meant what i said" Zuko said softly "you don’t have to be my anything...i like you, i don’t need any labels or anything". "But do you want them?" you asked. You’d been more honest with Zuko than you’d ever been with anyone and now a part of you....wasn’t terrified by the idea of making him something more. But Zuko had also listened to you too and didn’t want to scare you off. "All i want is you" he smiled coming closer "if you don’t want labels then they won’t come anywhere near us". You smiled at the effort Zuko was making and leant into him. Zuko wrapped his arms around you and you buried your head in his chest. Ignoring the feeling in your stomach that you should have been more honest.

1 week later

Zuko definitely took what you’d said into account. He was a lot more confident with you both in private and publically. Apparently almost losing you made him more determined to make the most of his time with you. He invited you to royal events and was attentive to you throughout them. When nobles questioned him about you he would tell them it was none of their concern and refuse to answer any further prying. You liked seeing Zuko stand up for himself using his dominant abrupt side but also kind of missed his soft sweet side. Sure having a temper and attitude were hot in the moment but after a while they lost their depth and you got the feeling it was an act Zuko was putting on for you. As if  Zuko thought by acting tough and in control with his court you’d be more attracted to him when in reality you loved how caring and considerate he was.

Zuko was also struggling. As well as maintaining the imposing Firelord who didn’t care what others thought of him, Zuko was also pretending he was okay with being casual. Zuko was not a casual person in any meaning of the word. He was a dramatic over-thinker, he had never been carefree and although in the moment with you he did enjoy it, afterwards his mind fretted over everything he’d done. He also worried about your open relationship. He knew freedom was important for you but he couldn’t help but wonder if when you looked at another person you’d start seeing them as well. Zuko liked you a lot and was sure he never wanted to see you with another person. He wondered if it was selfish but he wanted you all to himself and wanted an exclusive relationship....but he’d promised you he would be fine with this and that meant more to him.

So you and Zuko continued the charade to please the other, no idea that the other person actually felt the exact same way.

Your POV

You and Zuko had just had a pleasant evening with his friends and were retiring to his room for the night. On the way you passed a guard who looked at the two of you and then frowned. Zuko immediately tensed and went into Firelord mode. “Something you want to say?” Zuko called and the guard lowered his eyes “no Firelord Zuko”. “I thought not” Zuko agreed and took your hand. Zuko led you into his room and shut the door with a loud snap. You watched Zuko and all the things you’d been feeling this week came up. You needed to say something and now was just as good a time as any.  

You prepared for the night and sat down on the edge of the bed watching Zuko warily, wondering how he’d take what you were about to say.

"Zuko i’ve been thinking about something and I think we need to talk” you said suddenly and Zuko jumped standing up taller. "Are you okay?" he asked immediately coming to sit next to you. "I am and i want to thank you for all the effort you’ve gone to but i think we need to reassess the situation”. Zuko immediately panicked, you’d realised he wasn’t a cool collected leader and that he was faking it....you weren’t attracted to him anymore. "Y/n i think i know what you’re going to say" he frowned when you carried on "i miss how it was before". Zuko blinked "what?". "I know you’re trying to be more dominant in your rule and to be more protective of us but that doesn’t mean you have to act all unfeeling and unbothered for my benefit. You’re a kind sweet person Zuko and I like when you show that, so i guess i’m asking have you been trying to change for me?". Zuko looked down "i have....you just reacted so intensely to me being more confident and so i thought you’d want that more". "I do love it when your confident" you smiled "but you don’t have to keep that in every aspect of our lives, maybe just when we’re alone?". Zuko felt a blush rise to his cheeks but he nodded "okay". You smiled "and sorry one more thing....i know i said i don’t like labels but i think i’d maybe like to try them?". Overcome with the realisation you felt everything he did Zuko just kissed you passionately. You kissed him back before laughing as you separated "what was that for?”. "For weeks i’ve been playing this character and restraining myself from asking you to be exclusive with me and i thought if i felt this way how can we be compatible but all along you felt it too". You blushed and nodded "yes i....i’ve felt that too”. Zuko grinned and kissed you again before pulling away "wait let me make sure i understand this correctly, you’d like us to start dating? Properly and officially?". "And exclusively" you smiled and Zuko grinned "i’m going to do this officially then, y/n will you be my girlfriend". "I thought you’d never ask!" you cried and kissed him again.

#zuko #zuko imagine #zuko x reader #avatar #avatar the last airbender imagine #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender zuko #atla zuko #avatar zuko #fire nation #fire lord zuko #fire nation royalty #fire nation royal family #sokka #katara #haru #avatar sokka #atla sokka #avatar haru #atla haru

[azenkii]

A Long List of Trash Fire Lord Zuko Headcanons

...that i couldn't get out of my head:

(warning: SUPER LONG POST i havent figured out how to trim posts yet)

he's the one who unchains azula despite iroh's protests. she doesn't even try to fight him, just cries into his shoulder and keeps mumbling about how father's going to be so disappointed in her. he takes her to her rooms and has her drink a sleeping draught, then stations the best guards he has left outside her chambers.

his first council meeting takes place literally a day after sozin's comet. he hobbles into the council chamber shirtless with his entire torso covered in bandages and every council member just looks at him like '...what'

he does NOT sleep for like,,a week after sozin's comet and then another two weeks after his coronation. katara, aang and suki try to persuade him to sleep and he doesn't listen. eventually sokka, toph and mai team up to literally drag his ass to bed and tell him he's not allowed to get up until he sleeps (does mai pin him to the bed with her knives? yes. is it kinky or sexual in any way? definitely not.)

he drinks So. Much. Tea. at this point it's practically tasteless to him but he drinks it anyway because he just needs something to do and tea is something familiar. he keeps iroh on his toes because he's constantly asking for new tea blends, uncle, i think i actually tasted the last one,

he flat-out refuses to grow his hair for at least a year after ozai's defeat. the second it starts getting close to his chin he shears it off himself, with his knife, and his stylist has a heart attack every single time

when he's tired he'll occasionally jump up when one of his guards moves. it stops after a bit, but for the first month and a half or so he's really twitchy. when sokka asks, the only explanation he can come up with is that he's not used to having people stand behind him silently and not want to kill him, much less want to protect him (sokka immediately takes him out for a shopping trip and makes a point of walking behind him the entire time, but only on zuko's right side, where he can clearly see it if sokka moves towards him)

when the healer declares azula mentally unstable and in need of an institution, he shuts himself in his office for the rest of the night. no one's allowed in, not even iroh. he finally emerges in the morning, eyes red from crying and sleep deprivation, and tells the librarian that he'd like a list of the best mental institutions in the country, please, the best in the world if you can get them

he loves theatre (is this even a headcanon?). unfortunately it practically died out in the fire nation along with the rest of the creative arts, leaving nothing but small troupes like the ember island players. one of zuko's personal goals (meaning things he wants to accomplish that aren't as important as restoring his country) is to bring back theatre; he finally manages to do it after about eight months or so of being fire lord, along with other arts like dancing, music and sculpture

he establishes a national day of mourning, on the first day of autumn every year, to commemorate the genocide of the air nomads. from 100AG onwards, every calendar printed in the fire nation has it marked. at first it was called the day of repentance, but aang persuaded him to have it changed (by arguing that he didn't want guilt to be a literal staple of fire nation culture)

he introduces literally So Many educational reforms, plus a mandatory class that teaches students about the cultures of the other nations (air nomads included) and how some of their traditions overlap

he turns down the offer of having a statue put up of him in the capital. toph ignores him and does it anyway.

he visits azula regularly, makes sure she's (relatively) comfortable and well-fed, and sometimes just sits down outside her door and tells her about everything that's going on right now ('some of the far colonies have developed their own standardised writing, azula, you wouldn't believe it, and i've asked the fire sages to come visit more often—but you never liked them, did you? oh, well; i'll make sure none of them go into your chambers by mistake')

(he doesn't know it, but when he does this azula sits by the door and listens. she wonders what kind of writing the colonists have developed, and whether or not the fire sages have taken on some new recruits.)

he hates being above anyone else. never sits in the throne if he can help it, nor does he sit on the dais in the council room. when he talks to people shorter than him, he finds himself stooping a little bit to talk to them on their level (the exception to this rule is sokka, who he mocks for being shorter all the way up until sokka grows taller than him, the bastard)

the first time he visits the earth kingdom, the earth king's ministers call a toast. he ends up being the only one who has to sit out, because he's too young to drink by earth kingdom law

once his servants figure out he won't kill them for talking to him, they start becoming a lot more bold, telling him off when he doesn't take care of himself. at one point, they force him to let them take care of him so much that he literally just bolts into the gardens and hides there until the staff rope in mai and ty lee

when he needs to escape, he does one of two things: (a) he dresses up as the blue spirit and does some parkour until he calms down, or (b) he goes to work at the jasmine dragon. (b) happens less often bc the jasmine dragon's in ba sing se, but there's been a few memorable incidents when an earth kingdom diplomat walks in and yells, 'LEE?!' when they see the fire lord

the first court artist who draws him also happens to be the one who drew azulon and ozai. he draws zuko without his scar. zuko takes one look at it and tells him, very calmly, that he'd like him to leave, please.

zuko burns the portrait. he doesn't fire the court artist, but he never calls on him again unless he has to. a second court artist is called, and can't help but be a bit confused when the fire lord tells him to be sure to include the scar

he forgets the crown. a lot. sometimes he walks into council meetings in his sleepwear with his hair tied up in a messy ponytail and a bunch of scrolls tucked under his arm. none of his councilmen have the guts (or the heart) to tell him that this is not, in fact, formal council wear

he goes to feed the turtleducks when he's stressed. he thinks he's being subtle. he's not. the entire palace knows, and they consciously give him space when they see him in the turtleduck garden

most of his staff are older than him, so they look at him and see this teeny tiny fire lord who is So Small and who Must Be Protected. the day after zuko's coronation, the head chef holds a meeting where they commence Operation Do-Not-Let-That-Boy-Turn-Out-Like-His-Father (subsection He's-The-Only-Good-Thing-We-Have)

one night he wakes up to find suki sitting in his room, decked out in full kyoshi warrior garb and makeup, and just about screams blue murder. suki tells him there are suspicions of an assassin in the palace, and would you please stop yelling it's very distracting, we won't be able to hear anyone coming over that racket

zuko gets very, very paranoid of random spirits after that. yeah, suki looks like a possibly malevolent spirit when she's wearing her makeup, what about it? (when he tells sokka he's highkey terrified of spirit shenanigans, sokka just looks at him and says, 'man, the stories i could tell...', and THAT'S when zuko remembers sokka spent like six months more than he did travelling with the avatar)

on his first visit to the southern water tribe, he removes his boots and leg guards, rolls up his pants and kneels barefoot in the snow. even though chief hakoda immediately starts trying to pull him up, he's stubborn as hell and stays kneeling for the entirety of his very long, very sincere apology-on-behalf-of-the-fire-nation speech. he nearly loses his toes to frostbite after that, and both sokka and katara never stop giving him shit for it

the first time he grows a 'beard' is completely accidental. he's stressed over some trade miscommunications with chief hakoda, hasn't slept in a few days...and then when sokka arrives as water tribe ambassador to help smooth things over, he takes one look at zuko and says 'man, facial hair does not suit you'

zuko: facial what now

he checks a mirror to find that he's got stubble covering his chin, dark enough that it almost looks intentional, and holy gods how the fuck did he not notice this before

'UNCLE WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME' 'i assumed you were doing it on purpose' 'WHEN HAVE I EVER DONE ANYTHING ON PURPOSE'

he shaves it all off immediately, of course, which prompts a lot of teasing and rib-poking from sokka until zuko finally snaps that he's scared it'll make him look like his father. sokka stops after that.

(the day after sokka leaves, zuko finds that a mysterious someone has scribbled all over ozai's royal portrait, giving him a frankly ridiculous beard and moustache that literally CANNOT be grown in real life. oddly enough, he can't bring himself to care about the defamation of royal property. he's too busy laughing.)

his paths cross with toph and sokka more than any of the others, because sokka is ambassador and toph is technically still a beifong. most of the time, at formal functions, he ends up sequestered in the corner with toph and a hoard of snacks, and they talk and swear much more than they usually do (zuko's ministers once heard him when he was drunk with toph, and the servants swear the older ministers' ears started bleeding)

he restores fire nation cultural festivals, and in doing so subjects himself to learning a lot of complicated dances

during one memorable week, he wrote so many letters and drafted so much legislation that he ran out of paper. he had to go visit the nearest school and ask for some

he keeps up with his firebending and sword training even though it's hard to fit into his schedule. his ministers refrain from reminding him that he has guards to protect him now; it's still hard for zuko to trust his safety with anyone but himself (team avatar is the exception).

he started sleepwalking about two months into his reign. no one knew why. one time, he nearly sleepwalked right off the edge of a balcony, and one of his guards had to grab him by the back of his robes.

the sleepwalking stopped after around a month and never happened again. at this point it's practically palace legend.

after freeing the war prisoners, he went around collecting every single earthbender-proof wooden cell he could find in the capital and surrounding areas. when he'd gotten most of them, he gathered them into a huge pile in the city square and set fire to them with his own hands.

unfortunately he couldn't do that with the waterbender metal cells but he did get toph to come in and bend them all into pretty shapes (well, toph thought they were pretty shapes. everyone else thinks they're meaningless squiggles)

he learned how to write with both hands at the same time out of sheer necessity (he refused scribes until it became clear that he'd be putting some people out of a job; that was when he started letting scribes write very, very minor things, but all important documents/drafts/letters are still written by him)

he once put the wet end of an ink brush in his mouth instead of the wooden end by mistake. didn't even realise until he bit down to keep it in place and ink went oozing everywhere

when his guards rushed in to find him coughing and spluttering black liquid all over his desk they thought he'd been poisoned but no he's just stupid

on his 17th birthday, his first one after being crowned, he got tackled by team avatar in the middle of the ballroom and ended up at the bottom of a cuddlepile for like ten minutes

this cuddlepile happened at an event that was very much public and very much formal. it was a scandal for weeks

just. fire lord zuko, guys. so much potential

#holy cow this ended up so much longer than i intended #atla #avatar #zuko #firelord zuko #headcanons

[julietwiskey1]

De-Aged Azula AU: Babysitters

The comedic aspect of this AU is definitely the gaang trying to babysit and the raise future ruler of the Fire Nation five-year-old Azula. The gaang is quick to learn that a child like Azula needs near constant supervision. It’s not that they think she tries to be bad and so destructive, it just seems that chaos follows her around the palace. Which begs the question how would people try to watch over Azula?

Here is my take.

Zuko: He would be absolutely awful. Even if Azula is only five and he is sixteen she still knows how to push all of his buttons. His quick temper and impatience means that he is often found getting very angry and walking off or shooting insults right back at her. Most of the time Azula finds this funny, but occasionally Zuko goes to far and she ends up crying (Katara tells her that it is okay to cry sometimes).

Iroh: Somehow is worse than Zuko. His stick of kindly old man does not fool Azula, and she still doesn’t like him. And you know what, he doesn’t like her back. He just sticks around because Zuko begged him for help with Azula and her education. After all what does Zuko know about selecting tutors.

Katara: She can get overly preachy sometimes when interacting with Azula. She tries to undo all of the bad things Azula has learned, and trying to get the child to engage more with her emotions. Katara also has the unfortunate perception of being the “group mom” which leads to the gaang trying to make her Azula’s mom when ever they babysit. This means that they always try to give her Azula when ever Azula misbehaves or is being difficult (which is often).

Sokka: He happens to be a surprisingly good babysitter much to the wonder and amusement of the gaang. Although Katara is not surprised, she never did have the heart to tell him, but the real reason why the village let him try to train their children to be warriors is because it was essentially free day care. So, when he babysits Azula he falls back on old habits and starts trying to train her to be a warrior, which Azula finds supper fun and she tries her best. The rest of the gaang find it disturbing that he is training her to be a child soldier again, but how can they complain when she is so tired that she falls asleep at bed time?

Suki: She is very similar to Sokka in her strategy with Azula. Suki often trains her in the same method she trains her warriors, and becomes quite impressed that she is already at the level she would expect of an eight or nine-year-old. Amongst the training she also gives history lessons on the kyoshi Warriors. Azula appears to idolize her and always seems to gravitate over to her when she is with the rest of the gaang.

Toph: The gaang absolutely refuses to let Toph babysit Azula alone. Toph’s only goal when looking after Azula is to make sure that the little spitfire doesn’t get hurt, beyond that its free game. When they are alone together steeling from the kitchens is inevitable along with some accidental destruction. Toph has becomes Azula master in the art of the prank, but soon the student becomes the master.

Aang: Azula does not like Aang, actually she is terrified of him and refuses to be alone with the boy. After all she knows that he hurt her father, and while she can warm up to the rest of the gaang, she can never seem to relax around him. He only interacts with Azula in a group setting, were he is always trying to do something cool and interesting in an effort to befriend the girl.

Okay so that was my take on how the gaang would babysitting Azula. Let me know what you agree or disagree with. At this time, I don’t know if Mai or Ty Lee would try to babysit child Azula. It might just be too weird for them to see their friend turned enemy the age as they originally met. Do y’all think Mai and Ty Lee would baby sit Azula? Also, I am planning on Ursa showing up again with Kiyi and Ikem, and having Ursa take over as Azula’s main caregiver. But I don’t know if it should be like the search where she had a memory wipe, or if she retained her memory and returned to the palace as soon as possible, what are your thoughts?

#de aged azula #azula #zuko #iroh #katara #sokka #suki #toph #aang

[dickpuncher420]

hi ambre my love for writing prompts can i get uhhhhhh fairground ferris wheel zukka

As the Fire Lord, it’s rare that Zuko finds enough time to travel, especially at this time of year. But the spirits must have been feeling especially generous lately, because this is the longest he’s ever gone without an assassination attempt, his council has been uncharacteristically agreeable, and all of his current projects are moving smoothly along, without the need for his supervision—meaning that he’s free to take some time off, for once in his life, and finally experience this Glacier Spirits Festival that Sokka has told him so much about.

Sokka and Izumi have already been down in the Southern Water Tribe for a while, ever since Izumi started suddenly bending the tea out of their cups at breakfast one day, and they’re the first ones to greet him when his airship touches down on the outskirts of town. Izumi makes a face when Sokka pulls him in for a kiss—she’s getting to that age where everything her dads does embarrasses her—but then tugs insistently at Zuko’s robes until he reaches down to pick her up.

“Oof.” Zuko groans as he settles her onto his hip. “You’re getting a bit too big for this, ‘Zumi.”

Izumi pouts at him, her golden eyes big and imploring. “But Daddy does it all the time, and he never says I’m too big.”

“Does he now?” Zuko shoots Sokka a look, and Sokka grins sheepishly and shrugs. They’re going to have a talk about that later—he’s well aware that Izumi has the both of them wrapped around her little finger, but that doesn’t mean they can’t learn to tell her no sometimes.

He sets Izumi down after placing a kiss to the top of her head, and she holds his hand and chatters excitedly the whole way back to the house. Auntie ‘Tara has been teaching her some very basic waterbending control, mostly to keep her from getting into any future accidents—even Azula didn’t start learning actual bending techniques until she was six years old.

With the festival starting tomorrow, booths and attractions have been set up all over the centre of town, and Izumi eagerly points them out as they walk past. Zuko can practically feel the tension easing out of his shoulders by the minute—he doesn’t realize how much the crown weighs him down until he’s finally free of it, and now, with it safely stored in his rooms all the way back in the Fire Nation, he feels lighter than he has in ages.

Dinner is a quiet, simple affair. Sokka nabs the stewed sea prunes that Izumi has pushed to the sides of her bowl, and laughs at the face that Zuko makes when he bites down into one by accident. Even after all these years, he’s never quite been able to get used to the taste; never had to, really, since Sokka would always steal his right out of his bowl whenever he came to visit.

They put Izumi to bed once she starts nodding off in her seat, and then spend a few more hours talking quietly, curled up together next to the hearth. Zuko heats his hands and massages Sokka’s leg without being asked—the break is old and fully healed, but Zuko knows that the cold still gets to it sometimes—and Sokka sinks back into his furs with a grateful groan.

“You’re the best husband ever, you know that?”

“Mhm,” Zuko says, smiling. “You could stand to say it more often, though.”

They’re awoken in the morning—or what passes for the morning, this close to the solstice—by Izumi, who leaps onto their bed, squealing about the festival. She barely gives them time to eat breakfast before she’s ushering them out the door, one hand clasped in each of her fathers’ hands, dragging them along as fast as her little legs will go.

Zuko catches Sokka’s eye as they walk and grins. He can’t help it—Izumi’s excitement is infectious.

She totes them along as they go from booth to booth, trying out the fried eel-squid here, admiring the beadwork of a young vendor there. At one of the game stands, Sokka wins her a stuffed sky bison plushie, which she immediately names Baby Appa—or Bappa, for short. Zuko complains that it sounds too much like Baba, and Sokka just laughs and wins him one too, if only to shut him up.

There’s something comforting about the anonymity of the festival. Here, he’s not the Fire Lord. Here, he’s just a man, enjoying the Glacier Spirits Festival with his family, just like any regular person. He’s not the only foreigner, either: in the years since the end of the war, the festival has expanded enough that people from beyond the Water Tribes have become regular visitors as well. Nobody even spares Zuko, with his pale skin and mottled scar, a second glance—especially not when his hair has been braided back like this, in a traditional Water Tribe style.

Zuko doesn’t often regret being the Fire Lord, at least not anymore. Sure, it’s tedious and tiring and stressful, but he’s always proud of his work, and there isn’t a single person in the world that he would rather have take his place.

It’s at times like this, though—with Sokka’s hand in his, and Izumi bounding ahead to marvel at the ferris wheel that towers over the rest of the town—that he wishes he could leave all the pomp and circumstance behind and just be Zuko.

Izumi waves them over, practically vibrating with excitement, and begs them for a ride on the ferris wheel. Unable to deny her anything, Zuko dutifully hands over a few copper pieces to the operator, and the next thing he knows they’re being strapped into the strange metal contraption, Izumi safely wedged between him and Sokka.

Snowflakes begin to fall as they wait for the rest of the seats to be filled. Izumi kicks her feet excitedly, eyes wide, and sticks her tongue out in an attempt to catch a few. Zuko laughs and joins her, and he’s so intent on his snowflake-catching that the sudden jolt of the ferris wheel kicking into motion catches him off guard, and he yelps and clutches at Sokka’s arm.

“Scared?” Sokka teases, and Zuko gives him a half-hearted smack.

“Are you scared, Baba?” Izumi says, adorably earnest in the way that small children are. “You can hold my hand.” She holds out a small gloved hand, and Zuko smiles at her and takes it, wondering if she can sense the way it feels like his heart is melting in his chest. He can feel people’s inner fire—surely waterbenders must be able to do something similar?

“Thank you, ‘Zumi,” he says, and she beams.

The ferris wheel creaks and groans as it carries them up, and back down, and back up again. Sokka assures them that it’s perfectly safe—he’d looked over the plans and supervised its assembly himself—and Zuko finds himself relaxing into the motion of it, chuckling at the way Izumi’s eyes go wide whenever they reach the top of its cycle.

Eventually, the ferris wheel slows and shudders to a stop—and it’s just their luck that they happen to be sitting at the very top of it when it does. Like this, they have the entire town spread out before them, with all its lights and colours and the crowds of people milling about. It makes Zuko feel strangely small, but small in that way that he likes, in the way that makes him feel like just Zuko.

And maybe it’s only temporary, but—he glances over at Sokka, at Izumi, both staring down at the world below with wonder in their eyes—he thinks he can let himself enjoy being just Zuko, just for a bit.

#zukka #atla #dickpuncherwrites #goldrushzukka #ask #hiiiiii alex beloved this got way out of hand. i hope u like it anyways #zukka dads

[asciendo]

I Have Something to Tell You

Zuko has just started his reign as the new Fire Lord and everything seems to be falling into place. 

That is until Y/N finds out she’s expecting and doesn’t know how to tell Zuko, afraid she’ll ruin the perfect bubble they’ve been living in. 

It’s been five months since the end of the war and since Zuko became Fire Lord. Life was good, the four nations were in harmony under the protection of Aang and you and Zuko were stronger than ever.

Your family was welcomed back in to the Fire Nation so you had your home back, but you spent most of your time with Zuko at the palace.

There were so many close calls during your time with Team Avatar, which made you, and Zuko appreciate and value your relationship even more. Zuko would include you in his important meetings and valued your opinion, you were there for him when he’d question his capabilities to run the Fire Nation, he’d constantly visit your family and you’d wake up to each other every morning.

Everything was going smoothly until the day you found out you were expecting. You weren’t certain at first, you were late and felt sick in the mornings. Zuko was concerned, thinking it was something you ate so sent a doctor to your bed the third consecutive day you were throwing up. When the doctor told you that you were pregnant, you couldn’t talk or move for a good hour. When Zuko came back and saw your shocked state, he rushed to your side immediately. You told him it was food poisoning and had to be kept in bed the rest of the week. He placed a kiss on your forehead then went back to work.

After your week of “food poisoning” was over, you started to think of how to tell Zuko that he was going to be a father. You weren’t sure how he was going to react, as you knew he was still getting used to ruling over a whole nation. You hated keeping secrets from him but you wanted to wait till you were even used to the idea of being a mother. The situation made you distant from Zuko and he was starting to get frustrated with your cold demeanor.

“Hey, do you want to go for a walk after the state dinner tonight?” Zuko asked hopefully one afternoon. It was week two of your cold demeanor towards him and everyday was more stressful than the one before. “No.” you stated as you read by the window in Zuko’s bedroom.

“Figures.” He rolled his eyes as he turned away from you. “What?!” you snapped back, you didn’t know what it was, the hormones maybe, but other than distancing yourself from Zuko, you also found yourself snapping at him more often.

“Nothing.” He said through gritted teeth as he began to leave the room. “No, Zuko, say it!” you slammed your book shut and sat up from your lounging position.

“Nothing! I’m just not surprised with your attitude anymore!” he turned to face you and you could see the frustration in his face.

“Attitude?! Just because I don’t wanna go on walk doesn’t mean I have an attiude, Zuko!”

“It’s not that! You’ve been so—so—“

“So what?” you raised an eyebrow waiting for him to finish his sentence. “CRANKY!”

“Well if I’m so cranky then why would we even go on a walk together, then?” you were standing up now with your hands on your hips.

“Forget it!” Zuko huffed and left the room.

“Agh!” you collapsed on the couch. You hated yourself for acting this way towards him. He didn’t do anything and he certainly did not deserve your attitude. The whole thing was so confusing for you and the truth was, you were scared. You and Zuko were only seventeen and you just won the war. Bringing a baby into the mix now is a whole different ball game that you weren’t sure that either of you were ready for.

That evening at the state dinner, you sulked on a couch in the corner of the courtyard.

“Hi.” Zuko sighed as he sat next to you. “Hi.” You said back but didn’t look at him.

“How are you?”

“I’m bored.” You laid your head on the wall. “I know. Me too.”

“I’m hungry.” You sighed and looked up at him and he huffed then stood up to get you some food.

You were getting impatient until you heard a voice coming from the crowd. “Move! I have to bring food to my cranky girlfriend!”

“Really, Zuko?” you rolled your eyes as he handed you the plate of food. “What’s wrong now?”

“Telling everyone I’m your cranky girlfriend isn’t exactly chivalrous.” You snapped.

“I can’t do anything right with you anymore!” he was whispering so no one else would hear but there was strain in his voice. “I’m gonna go.” you didn’t want to look at him then made your way out to the balcony.

You were so angry with yourself for being this way. This wasn’t you and it made you think about what kind of mother you would be if you couldn’t even comprehend the thought of having a child. Of course you wanted a family with Zuko, but you never expected it would be this soon.

Suddenly, you felt a hand on your shoulder and you turned to see Katara. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just needed some air.” You smiled but you could tell she didn’t believe you. “How are you and Zuko?” she asked.

“Uhm, we’re okay? Why do you ask?” you nervously stared at your feet as she looked at you with a concerned expression.

“Y/N, come on it’s me. You can tell me, I won’t judge I promise.”

“I’m fine! Really, me and Zuko are okay.” She rolled her eyes as you continued to lie. “I heard him talking to Aang, alright?”

“What did he say?”

“He thinks you’re going to leave him.” Your eyes shot wide open, “WHAT?!”

“Yes! That’s why I wanted to ask you first!” Katara raised her arms in relief, as she knew you were finally going to open up to her.

“Oh no, this is all my fault.” Burying your face in your hands, Katara placed her arm around you.

“I’m so awful to him! He’s been nothing but amazing towards me and I was the biggest jerk!” your face was still buried in your hands as Katara watched you with concern.

“What’s going on?”

“Katara...it’s just...” there were tears forming in your eyes as Katara pulled you in for a hug. “It’s okay, I’m sure whatever it is—“

“Katara I’m pregnant.” She froze as soon as the words came out of your mouth. Katara stood there frozen and just staring at your face, then at your stomach. “I know, that’s how I reacted too.” You turned to face the open air as she continued to stare at you with her mouth wide open.

“OH MY GOD CONGRATULATIONS!” She suddenly pulled you into a tight hug.

“Katara it’s not that simple!” there were so many factors that would make having a baby complicated, how young you both were, Zuko just started his reign, and you not knowing the first thing about being a mother.

“Y/N, this is a good thing!” she squeezed your shoulders. “How? I mean...I don’t know how to feel about it yet...” you looked down.

“We’re only seventeen! Zuko just started his reign! I-I don’t know the first thing about being a mother!” you paced back and forth as Katara giggled.

“Why are you laughing?!”

“It’s just...Y/N you’re looking at all the bad things. Yes, we’re all still young but you both won’t have to do it alone. You have all of us! Can you imagine how loved your baby will be?” she smiled and you stopped pacing and looked at her. “Aang is going to flip! Sokka would spend every single day here if he could, and I know I would make the best godmother.” She winked and you laughed.

“But Zuko’s been so worried about how he is as the new Fire Lord...he has a so much on his mind and I’m so scared the baby will just add more stress for him...” you sighed and plopped down on one of the benches.

“He’s going to be happy no matter what. Zuko is going to be a great father and you’re going to be a great mother.” Katara sat next to you and put her arm around your shoulders. “I was so awful to him Katara...”

“It’s completely understandable, you were scared. Heck, I would probably be the same too! But you have to talk to him.”

“I know...thank you. It feels so good to finally tell someone!” you laughed in relief. You’ve been keeping this secret for so long it felt good to tell someone.

“Of course, I’ll always be here for you! But now you have to let Zuko be there for you too.” She smiled sweetly and you knew she was right. The both of you made your way back to the party laughing at the thought of Zuko changing diapers.

As soon as you entered, you spotted him in the middle of conversation with his generals. Your eyes locked on his and he quickly averted his gaze back to his own conversation.

“Good luck.” Katara smiled and left you with your thoughts.

The state dinner was over and you were making your way to Zuko’s bedroom. As you entered you leant by doorway and watched Zuko try to remove his ceremonial robes.

“Let me help you with that.” his body stiffened at the sound of your voice. “I’m fine.” He grumbled but continued to struggle. You sighed then walked over and helped him. “Zuko...I need to tell you something...” you fumbled with your fingers as you sat in front of him. Zuko stopped then sat down in front of you but he was avoiding looking in your direction. There was sadness in his eyes, which confused you at first, but then you remembered what Katara told you about how Zuko thought you were going to break up with him. “Zuko...I’m sorry.” You began and he didn’t react. “I’m sorry for being such a jerk to you these past few days...or weeks.” You rubbed the back of your head sheepishly. “Zuko can you please look at me?”

“Why should I? If you’re going to break up with me just do it.” he said bitterly. “Zuko, I’m not breaking up with you!” You grabbed his face with your palms and he was finally looking at you. His eyes were staring at you intently waiting for you to speak. “It’s just...” tears started to form in your eyes as you began to speak. “Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?” Zuko suddenly looked at you with so much concern that your heart melted knowing that no matter how awful you were to him, he was still the sweetest to you.

“No, no, it’s not that it’s...” you stood up and started pacing back and forth and Zuko watched you in confusion. “The reason why I’ve been such a jerk to you is because....I didn’t know how to tell you and I also didn’t fully, I still don’t actually...uhm...the information hasn’t really sunk in for me either, so whenever I thought about telling you, I still didn’t believe it myself so I didn’t tell you!” the whole thing was making you nervous so you started to ramble. Zuko stared at you with his eyebrow up and head tilted so you knew he was confused.

“W-wait I don’t get it. The reason why you were a jerk to me is because you did something I wouldn’t like?” he asked looking at you with a little bit of fear in his expression. “I didn’t do anything...well I kind of did by not telling you when I should have but I didn’t tell you because I still don’t sort of believe it myself?” Zuko’s expression was still a confused one you didn’t blame him. “So you’re hiding something from me?” you nodded and he huffed. “Is there someone else?” he looked down to the floor. “NO! God no, Zuko there is no one out there for me but you.” you quickly grabbed his face again.

“Then what is it?”

You sighed and turned to face him directly. “Okay, I’m going to tell you what it is now.” You said slowly as if convincing yourself that you were actually going to do it. Zuko stared at you with big eyes in anticipation of what you were going to say. When you still didn’t say it Zuko shot up from his seat and started making his way out the door.

“Zuko!”

“Y/N if you’re just going to keep me guessing the whole night you might as well not tell me!” he stopped by the door but was refusing to face you.

“Zuko...please!”

“If you don’t trust me—“

“ZUKO I’M PREGNANT!” the words finally came out of your mouth as you waited for Zuko to react. He stopped in his steps and slowly turned to look at you. His eyes were huge in shock and his mouth open.

The both of you stared at each other without saying anything until you finally broke the silence. “I know I should have told you! I was just so scared...I mean I don’t know how to be a mother. I’m so sorry for taking out my worries on you by being a jerk and I know how stressed you’ve been being the new Fire Lord and I didn’t want to worry you even more. I’m so so—“ before you could finish, Zuko’s lips were on yours and you fell into each other.

“Y-you’re not mad?” you looked up at him. “I’m mad because you didn’t tell me.” He looked at you with a serious expression and you looked away. “But not about our baby.” He pulled your face to kiss you once more. “Why would I be mad about the start of our family?” he looked deep into your eyes. “I-I don’t know, I guess I thought you’d be scared about it but I guess it was just me.” You buried your face in his chest again.

“I’m so sorry you had to deal with this on your own. That must have been terrifying.” He whispered in your hair. “No, it’s my fault, I should have let you be there for me.” You smiled and he kissed you on the forehead. “We’re going to be a great family.” He said and at that moment, you couldn’t be happier.

The next day, the both of you decided to have the gang over for lunch to tell them the news. You told Zuko that Katara knew, he was a little upset at first that he wasn’t the first to know and you understood. You promised he’d be the first to know if anything ever happened with you again and he forgave you.

Zuko sat at the head of the table and you to his left. Uncle Iroh was seated to his right but you haven’t told him yet as well. Katara and Aang arrived first and Katara gave the both of you a knowing look. Sokka and Sukoi came next with Sokka telling everyone he had big news to share. Toph was last as usual saying she was busy throwing melons at strangers.

“Uhm, guys we have something to tell you.” Zuko smiled looking at you while squeezing your hand.

“Wait wait!” Sokka stood up and everyone stared at him. “I think we should start with the most important news first. Don’t we all agree? And I have an announcement!” Sokka started to prance around the table. You started to chuckle and Katara was glaring at him. “Yes, let Zuko talk!” she said with annoyance.

“But I don’t think whatever hot head over there is going to say is more exciting than mine!” Sokka glared back at his sister. “Sokka—“

“No it’s fine, go ahead.” Zuko smirked and you punched him in the shoulder playfully. “What’s your announcement, Sokka?”

“Glad you asked Y/N!” Katara rolled her eyes and slumped to her seat as Sokka grinned from ear to ear.

“I have been declared BOOMERANG MASTER!” Sokka declared while everyone stared at him with amusement. His proud expression quickly dropped and you started to giggle. “WHAT! I am!”

“Who even declared that, Sokka?” Toph teased. “THE BOOMERANG CLUB!” Sokka’s face turned red and the rest of the gang laughed. “There’s a boomerang club?” Aang asked and Sokka sat back down and Suki rubbed his back but she was laughing as well.

“Okay, if that doesn’t excite everyone then I DON’T KNOW WHAT WILL!” Sokka fumed which made everyone laugh harder.

“I’m pregnant.” You announced and Zuko was staring at everyone with a huge grin on his face. Katara was smiling as she already knew, Aang stopped mid drink, Toph yelped, Suki’s eyes were large with excitement and Sokka’s jaw dropped to the table.

“Y-you’re what?” Aang jumped up in excitement as Katara hugged you. “She’s pregnant. I’m going to be a father.” Zuko announced proudly. Aang rushed to hug the both of you while talking about how he’s going to teach your child how to go penguin sledding. Katara started asking you about baby names. Toph was already planning on making a crib for your baby. Sokka was still in shock while Suki whispered to him that she was excited about his boomerang master status.

“OH MY GOD!” Sokka burst out then rushed to hug the both of you telling you guys he’s going to give all the boomerangs he could find to your future baby. You were all so happy to tell the rest of the group and to see their excited reactions. You were looking for Zuko but then saw him hugging Uncle Iroh tightly and you saw tears in his eyes. That moment, you knew you were so lucky to have a child with the best father there could be.

#atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #aang #zuko #zuko imagines #zuko x reader #zuko x you #fire lord zuko #daddy zuko #katara #sokka #suki #iroh #momo #appa #azula #tai lee #mai #imagine #zuko fluff #last airbender

[beifongsss]

threatened by the blind bandit [zuko]

Pairing: Zuko x Beifong!reader (also an earthbender)

Summary: requested by anon. “ hii 👉👈 could we get a nervous, flustered!zuko going to sokka for advice on how to get you to like him back?”. This also takes place during season three sometime during the Ember Island Players. I also made the reader Toph’s older sister because I thought it’d be interesting 🙊

i also kind of changed it a little too much so i hope you still enjoy it anon! <3 sorry :(

~

The first time Prince Zuko had seen you had been the time that Azula had been tracking you and the rest of the Gaang with her mysterious machine. You had gotten there along with your sister, bursting in to help Aang fight against the royal siblings. As Toph ran off to help fight against the princess, you had cornered the prince, a slightly crazed look present in your eyes due to your lack of sleep. He had exchanged glances with his uncle before Iroh stepped forward, his hands raised in surrender.

“We mean you and the avatar no harm,” Iroh had said softly. You had tilted your head to the side, glancing at him before making eye contact with Zuko. His eyes had widened as they met yours, a faint blush spreading up his neck that was only visible to Iroh. Your gaze had hardened as you looked at the prince, backing up slightly before speaking.

“If it were just you, I’d believe your words. But since he’s here, I’m not taking any chances,” you said sharply. Turning around, you waved your hand behind you, causing the ground underneath them to become uneven and send them stumbling against the wall behind them. With another wave, pieces of rock flew towards them, chaining their hands to the wall.

Zuko’s eyes didn’t leave your form as you jumped into battle, fighting his sister with a grace that admittedly made his stomach flip. He was so caught up in watching you that he didn’t realize that Iroh had freed himself until he spoke. “Maybe you should spend less time looking at the earthbender and more time trying to free yourself.”

Zuko scowled as he ripped his gaze from you, settling on shooting his uncle a glare. “Free me.”

Iroh chuckled at his nephew’s words but did as he said. Zuko wasted no time in going after Azula, trying not to get distracted by the way you made bending seem so easy. You didn’t notice him, too busy making sure that Sokka was safe from any stray fire or falling rocks.

Eventually, you became the last thing on his mind. Once Azula had attacked Iroh, his well-being became the only thing that mattered. When he screamed at the Gaang to leave him alone, he felt your gaze on him and he hesitantly glanced up, his vision blurred by the tears welling up in his eyes. You took a hesitant step forward, only stopping when Zuko flinched and looked away, his tears finally spilling.

“We have to go,” Toph exclaimed, grabbing onto your hand and pulling you towards Appa. “Now!”

You allowed your sister to pull you away, throwing one last glance behind you. You felt your heart clench at the sight of Zuko hugging Iroh. You climbed onto Appa and sat next to Sokka in silence as you flew away.

~

You didn’t see the prince again until Azula and her friends infiltrated Ba Sing Se. You and Katara had stayed behind to plan the invasion into the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun while Aang, Sokka, and Toph each embarked on their respective journeys.

“You’ve got company,” a Dai Li agent called out, tossing someone down next to you. You gasped quietly, turning away from the tunnel you had been creating for you and Katara to escape through.

“Zuko?” you questioned, exchanging an uncertain glance with Katara.

Katara stepped forward, an angry expression on her face. “Why did they throw you in here? Oh, wait, let me guess. It's a trap. So that when Aang shows up to help me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches!”

The prince stayed silent as Katara continued her ranting. “You're a terrible person! You know that? Always following us! Hunting the Avatar! Trying to capture the world's last hope for peace! But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood!”

You ran in front of Katara, placing a hand on her arm as you noticed Zuko’s expression. “Katara maybe you should calm down.”

She looked at you incredulously before yanking her arm away from you. You flinched out of instinct, stumbling back and landing on your butt next to Zuko, who immediately helped you up and stood in front of you. “Don’t.”

Noticing the way her arm was raised, and how it had implied that she was going to strike you, Katara took a step back. She brought her arm back down to her side, shooting a worried glance at you. She was surprised at the prince’s actions; she had never seen him be that gentle, not even with Iroh. You kept your gaze down, admittedly feeling safe knowing that Zuko was standing in front of you.

“(Y/N),” Katara whispered. “You know I’d never-”

Her voice faded as she noticed Zuko’s fiery glare. Her tone changed as she addressed the prince. “I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Zuko said, his voice gruff and his eyes never leaving you. Katara opened her mouth to speak only to be interrupted by a loud boom coming from the tunnel you had begun earthbending.

“Aang!” you had exclaimed, running over to the avatar. “Where’s Toph?”

“She went to warn King Kuei about Azula. Sokka’s with her,” Aang replied. Your eyes widened before you began running back out through the tunnel.

“(Y/N)! Where are you going?” Katara asked, stumbling after you.

“To help my sister,” you replied fiercely. “And to make sure that Sokka doesn’t get injured!”

Katara tried to go after you only to be stopped by an enormous wall of crystal. Everyone in the catacombs stared after you as you ran away, amazed by what you had just done. Sure, they had known you were a talented earthbender, but this...this was raw power and it had shocked them into silence.

The silence was broken by Zuko, who was still staring wide-eyed at the tunnel you had escaped through. “Wow.”

Everyone else had turned to look at him, causing his cheeks to burn. Remembering his actions from earlier, Katara’s expression changed into a knowing one as she looked at the blushing prince. He avoided her gaze, instead looking at Aang, who’s face held a wide smile, before finally looking at his uncle, who couldn’t stay silent. “Staring at her again? Prince Zuko, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you are very enamored by the earthbender.”

Unfortunately, Zuko’s response was quickly ignored as Azula entered, two Dai Li agents at her side. Zuko got into a defensive position, forcing himself to stop thinking about the beautiful earthbender.

~

The third time you saw Zuko was when he finally joined the group at the Western Air Temple.

He had received a cold welcome from the group, you and Katara especially. After fleeing from Ba Sing Se, Katara had filled you in on what had happened after you left the catacombs, causing you to feel an ache in your chest for some unknown reason.

Maybe it was because you thought that there was no way Zuko could have been evil, not with the way he had shielded you when you thought Katara was about to strike you. Not with the way he threw himself over Iroh’s unconscious body when Azula has attacked, sobs racking his body. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because a part of you had felt your heart flutter when you noticed the soft way that Zuko had been looking at you in the catacombs.

But he was the prince of the Fire Nation, and you now knew that the Fire Nation could not be trusted. The only reason you were keeping him around was so that he could teach Aang firebending. Other than that, you were ready to throw him off a cliff, especially when you found out he had burned Toph’s feet.

You spent more time with the prince than you expected, especially after finding out that he was the only other bender that had any training in hand-to-hand combat. Before him, Sokka had been your sparring partner, but you were always hesitant to fight him because you were used to using your earthbending as an advantage and you didn’t want to hurt the nonbender. When you weren’t out sparring with Zuko, you spent your time with Sokka, ranting about said prince.

Sokka found the whole situation amusing. He could tell that Zuko had feelings for you. If the blush that coated his face every time you sparred wasn’t enough of an indicator, the way Zuko would stumble and stutter every time you addressed him was more than enough evidence. It also didn’t hurt that Toph could feel his heartbeat speed up whenever you were around him.

The water tribe boy leaned against a pillar as he watched the two of you spar, wincing slightly when you hesitated to strike and were hit with a fireball. Sokka’s lips twitched as you let out a hiss from where you were sitting, cradling your arm to your chest as you inspected the burn. Zuko ran forward, panic clear on his face as he took in the damage he had caused.

“(Y-Y/N), I-I’m so, so s-sorry,” Zuko stuttered out, crouching next to you as he reached for your arm. You glared at him, pulling your arm away from him as you rose to your feet. “I d-didn’t mean t-to.”

You didn’t say anything to him as you stalked away, deciding to find Katara so she could heal the burn. Once you were out of sight, Sokka stepped towards the prince, clapping slowly as Zuko scowled.

“You know, it’s pretty funny to watch you turn into a stuttering mess when you’re around her,” Sokka said, smiling widely. “I can help you with that.”

“Why would I accept any help from you,” Zuko replied rudely, turning to walk away.

“Because I’m her best friend,” came Sokka’s smug reply. “And trust me, if there’s anyone that knows how to deal with her anger, it’s me.”

Zuko paused, thinking over Sokka’s words before turning back around, a defeated look on his face. “Okay. Help me win her over. Please.”

~

Sokka did end up helping Zuko, to an extent. In return, Zuko had helped Sokka break his father and Suki out of the Boiling Rock. No matter how much the two boys would deny it, breaking in and out of the Boiling Rock had helped them grow closer together, something that annoyed you to no end.

Now, whenever you wanted to talk to Sokka, Zuko was right there next to him. It was like you could no longer avoid the prince no matter what you did.

After Zuko had helped Katara track down her mother’s murderer, she had finally forgiven him, leaving you as the only one who hadn’t welcomed him fully into the group. You did all you could to avoid him once the Gaang had reached Ember Island, spending most of your time with Appa.

~

“You have to get over it sometime,” Toph’s voice broke through the silence, startling you slightly as you turned to face her.

“What?” you asked, pretending to not know what she was talking about.

Toph remained silent as she stared at you, or at least as she stared at where she thought you were. In reality, she was staring at Appa as you stood off to the side. You tried your best to stifle a laugh.

“Why can’t you see he’s changed? Everyone else has, even the Sugar Queen,” Toph continued, crossing her arms. “Besides, I’m getting real tired of the way his heartbeat gets when you’re around. I swear you’re gonna kill that boy.”

You flushed at your sister’s words, opening your mouth to reply before you were interrupted by Sokka’s screaming.

“Let’s go see the play!”

“Look,” Toph said, beginning to walk away. “Just think about it okay?”

You stayed silent as you followed her, wondering when the hell she had grown up so much.

~

The play was set to start in a few minutes so you all decided to me your way to your seats. You were about to take a seat next to Toph when she pushed you away before pulling Katara down next to her. “Sorry this seat’s taken.”

You glared at your sister before sitting next to Katara, stiffening up when you looked next to you to see Zuko sitting there. The two of you blushed as you made eye contact.

“Toph’s a genius,” you heard Sokka snicker from behind you, causing you to sink down in your chair. The play began soon after and as far as plays go, this one was absolutely terrible. Hilarious, but terrible. You and Toph were having the time of your life laughing at the way everyone was being portrayed. You had no idea that the Zuko was paying a lot more attention to you than he was to the play.

Intermission came too soon (at least in your opinion) and you found yourself heading to the lobby to buy some fire flakes.

Back near the doors, Zuko was sitting down with his back against the wall and his head buried in his arms. He glanced up when he heard a set of footsteps approach him only to find Toph standing next to him. He put his head back down.

“You’re pathetic,” were the first words to come out of Toph’s mouth, causing Zuko to look up wildly, disbelief and offense visible on his face, not that Toph could see it.

“What?”

“You heard me,” the Beifong girl stated. “I can’t believe you’re over here wallowing in your pity instead of confessing to my sister.”

Zuko opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Toph. “Don’t deny it! In case you forgot, I can feel your heartbeat and I know that it goes crazy whenever you so much as think about her.”

Zuko’s face burned as he noticed the rest of the Gaang coming back.

“Just man up and tell her how you feel okay fire pants?” Toph spoke again before stomping back inside the theater.

Once everyone was settled back in their seats, the play began once again. After a shockingly accurate portrayal of you and the reveal of Toph as a buff man, the play finally got to when you had been trapped down in the crystal catacombs.

You and Katara shifted uneasily as Actress Katara raised her hand, causing Actor Zuko to step in front of Actress You and stop Actress Katara.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on her,” Actor Zuko growled.

“What do you care?” Actress Katara replied. “This doesn’t concern you Zuko.”

“Yes it does!”

“Why?”

“Because I love her,” Actor Zuko roared. “Because I love her and I won’t let anyone hurt her.”

You tuned out the play when Actress You also professed her love for Actor Zuko, who then proceeded to kiss Actress You. You could feel Sokka’s stare burning into your head and you sunk low into your chair, turning to glance as Zuko only to find him already looking at you. You swallowed uneasily as you maintained eye contact only to break it when Aang spoke.

“Why are you all silent now?”

Katara glanced at the stage and then at the two of you as subtly as she could, not that you didn’t notice.

“Is it because of the confession?” Aang asked adorably. “It’s not like it’s weird, we already knew that Zuko liked (Y/N/N)!”

You heard Toph and Sokka try to stifle their laughs as you and Zuko sank impossibly low in your seats, flinching when you felt your arm rub against his.

~ It was dark out when you decided it was finally time to talk to Zuko. After searching for him in the house, you noticed flashes of light and you followed them to find Zuko firebending down at the beach.

You observed him for a while before deciding to speak up. “Zuko.”

Zuko flinched and whirled around, losing his footing when he saw you and toppling into the sand. “(Y-Y/N)!”

You smiled softly, offering him a hand. He took it, standing up and coming face-to-face with you.

“W-What are you d-doing out here?” Zuko asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I just thought I should tell you that I’m sorry for being so rude to you and not welcoming you into the group,” you whispered, your eyes never leaving his.

“You don’t h-have to apologize,” Zuko breathed, growing nervous under your soft gaze. “I d-deserved it, after everything I’ve done t-to you.”

“No. I was being unfair to you, even after you proved that you had finally changed,” you retorted, closing your eyes before continuing. “The truth is, I was upset that you had chosen Azula’s side because a part of me...a part of me has feelings for you, and I was angry with myself for letting myself fall for you.”

The silence that followed was deafening and you found yourself regretting your words. What if your sister and Sokka were wrong? What if they were just lying to you? There was no way that they could know how Zuko truly felt abou-

Your racing thoughts were silenced when you felt a pair of lips press against yours. Zuko’s hands trembled as they gripped your waist, pulling you closer to him. You returned the kiss, your hands weaving through his hair and your head spinning as you realized that you were kissing someone that had been considered your enemy for the longest time.

“I left the palace to train Aang,” Zuko said huskily, finally pulling away. His hands didn’t leave your waist. “But I know that I also left because I wanted to see you again and I wanted to prove to you that I wasn’t evil and that having feelings for someone as good as you wasn’t wrong.”

You stared at him before speaking once again. “I never thought you were evil.”

Zuko’s gaze changed to surprised before going back to the soft gaze he had been directing at you. Without saying anything, he pulled you into a hug breathing deeply at your words as a weight lifted off his chest.

“I never did,” you continued, clinging onto him. You stayed like that for a while before Zuko pulled back, staring at you for what felt like an eternity before stealing another kiss from you.

“I’m glad we finally talked,” he mumbled against your lips, causing you to chuckle.

“I can’t believe we have my sister to thank. She basically threatened me into talking to you,” you said, breaking the kiss.

Zuko’s eyes widened before he started laughing. Wrapping an arm around your shoulders, he began to guide you back to the vacation house, pressing a kiss to your temple as he smiled down at you.

“Funny. She threatened me too.”

~

hiiii i hope this was good i kind of struggled with how i wanted this to play out but i hope you enjoyed!!

#prince zuko x reader #atla zuko x reader #zuko #prince zuko #atla zuko #aang #avatar #avatar: tla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar toph #avatar aang #toph #toph beifong #avatar x reader #atla #katara #sokka #appa #zuko x reader #atla sokka #atla katara

[peony-pearl]

What happened when it hit Zuko that he was next in line to be Fire Lord?

What went through his mind? Was he excited? Or maybe the burdens frightened him at first?

Did he ever wonder how Lu Ten looked towards the future of the crown? Oh no, if only he’d spoken to Lu Ten more; asked him more. But Lu Ten was raised so close to Iroh, often so far away in villages near the barracks, or right in Iroh’s tent on the Front Lines. A hearty soldier from birth that shared his father’s boisterous laugh.

The laugh was gone from both father and son.

But Uncle was there to talk to. Uncle would know how it felt to one day have the Fire Nation on his shoulders. Even if he never gained the crown, he knew how it felt to prepare for it.

If Ozai wasn’t proud of Zuko as a Firebender, maybe Zuko could make Iroh proud by being a good future Fire Lord... the same way he loved Lu Ten.

When Zuko asks Iroh to let him into the War Room and he says ‘if I’m going to lead this country one day, shouldn’t I be a part of this?’ Iroh pauses.

What if for a second he’s thinking about Lu Ten? What if for that second he sees his son, who lost his life for this kingdom. The son that Zuko was now standing in place for.

Iroh is not upset with Zuko - he never could be.

But he sees Zuko trying so, so hard to impress everyone. To be seen; mostly by Ozai.

Iroh sees him. Which is what Zuko wants. But Iroh doesn’t catch on that Zuko is trying to emulate what he thought Lu Ten would do.

It’s years later, when they’re at the precipice of Sozin’s Comet, and when Iroh tells Zuko it is time for him to take on the crown, they have one last conversation.

Zuko is frightened. He tells Iroh that he’s worried he won’t be what the Fire Nation needs. He apologizes for being scared.

He apologizes for not being like Lu Ten.

Iroh drops everything and holds Zuko. Just as tight as he had when they’d reunited earlier. Iroh looks at Zuko and apologizes to him.

“Zuko, you will never be Lu Ten; because you are Zuko. My Prince Zuko, my beloved nephew. Lu Ten is gone, and you are here, very much here and very much alive and so brave and strong and full of light; and I would not change you for the world. I know you are frightened, and I am not upset with you. How could I be? You have more of a heart than the rest of us in this family; you are the only one truly capable of leading the Fire Nation back into harmony; I have too much blood on my hands; but I will be there. When you are frightened, when burdens are heavy, my Zuko, I will be there. And I will be so proud of you, every step of the way. I swear it.”

#atla #Zuko #Iroh

[spasmsofthought]

rituals. (zuko x water tribe!reader)

+This turned out to be far longer than I anticipated it to be, but I couldn’t get this idea out of my head. I’m sorry if Zuko feels out of character; I tried my best to not make him so. I wrote him in my mind to be older than 16 and with, at least, a year of Fire Lord experience with him. All of the things he says in this fic may not be completely on point, but I hope I made sense of his character in this situation and kept an accurate frame of reference for you to hold onto! 

I’ve been thinking: What would it have been like to marry the Fire Lord if you were an outsider, from another nation/element? And where that question led me is what produced this. 

I tried my best to have accurate research, but if something’s off or wrong, please kindly let me know! I’m not an expert about the fandom here. 

Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this mess of fluffy Fire Lord Zuko and a Water Tribe OC just trying to navigate the way between two different cultures. 

Read Part II here! 

Like, comment, reblog! 

--

“Thank you.” You smile softly as some Fire Palace officials make their way out of the giant, ornate room. Their faces are more stoic, but there is one older man who gives you a slight quirk of his lips before they are back in a thin line. He’s been the only one who has been semi-kind to you. The rest of them have just been rigid and downright insufferable. It takes a few moments before their footsteps recede and you are surrounded by silence. 

It turns out that the Fire Lord asking you to become his wife comes with a lot more than you thought it would. 

And of course, you had never been blind to the fact that Zuko is of royal lineage. His family has passed down the title and office of Fire Lord for generations. The people of the Fire Nation have known this family for over a century. 

The blood definitely feels thicker than water here, though Zuko’s own familial situation may testify against that. 

How naïve of you to think any of this would be simple and easy. Nothing about this past century has been.

You press your head to the solid table beneath you, hand-crafted and polished so that it shines like the stars you remember seeing at night back home. Frustration and stress knit your shoulders together, your arms curling in towards your midsection.  

Deep breath in, the voice of your mother reminds you. You can barely remember her face now, lost to time, but her voice still somehow stays clear. You hope it stays that way for a long time. Now let it go, she says, too. 

If you close your eyes, you can almost picture your little family’s home. The sea squid hanging out to dry so that it can be prepared for supper and her bed disheveled but lined with furs that keep you both warm at night and during the coldest days. It’s probably empty now, a home to no one. 

You exhale, forehead still pressed against the table. You repeat the process a few more times, trying to somehow expel the tightness of your shoulders. The weight stays. Despite whatever you may lose,  being with Zuko is the closest to home you will ever feel now. 

You get up from your seated position at the table and move to a window, looking down at the picturesque landscape of a quiet pond garden. You lean against a pillar supporting the ceiling and try to absorb yourself in the peaceful scenery. You close your eyes and try to listen to the sound of the soft breeze rustling the leaves of the tree. You just want it all to go away for a second.

“Have they exhausted you yet?” A gravelly voice behind you asks. 

You turn to see Zuko standing in the open doorway. He’s dressed in all his formal attire, of course, but he seems to carry his own weight on his shoulders today. 

Idiot, you think, of course he looks stressed and weighed down. He’s trying to re-establish peace among four nations after the 100-year war his ancestor started. 

“Yeah, sure.” You mumble and smile softly. 

The moment doesn’t last long before you turn back to the pond, stomach churning now. The grief and the stress mingle together. You miss home, you miss the weather and wearing your furs. You miss your parents, who have been gone for four years; your father to the war and your mother to sickness. The ache never seems to go away, but it dulls when Zuko is able to be around. 

Zuko makes his way to stand beside you, saying nothing as he directs his gaze also to the peaceful pond, undisturbed by people or the noise of the outside world. 

Despite what you had been told about the Fire Nation your whole life growing up, and what you’d been told about Zuko during the War, you’d always appreciated when he did this. Despite his title and the lineage he carries, he’s always treated you like an equal. You are no less to him because you are female, and you are no less to him because you come from the Water Tribe. 

If it had been a few years ago, you wonder if he would have thought differently. Or perhaps he has always been able to understand honor more than most since he was a child, and that was part of the reason he was the one who was destined to be Fire Lord all along. 

You take in the side profile of his face for a moment, trying to gather the strength you’ve always had inside you.  

“I don’t want to worry you,” You begin, turning back to the view of the pond. 

It’s still and quiet and sounds like a great place to escape to in this present moment. 

“I’ll let you know when I can’t handle it,” His sardonic tone answers back. 

You know he means it as a joke, but there’s a stark truth to his words. He’s handled much more than a trivial conversation about what may be bothering you.

You take a moment to organize your thoughts so that you don’t come across as an emotional train wreck. Zuko has always seemed to have infinite patience with you while you express your emotions, but emotional intelligence is new to him as well. You don’t want to burden him with trying to figure out your emotions while he’s trying to cope with and understand his own. 

“I just... I didn’t know how difficult this would be.” 

“What?” He sounds a bit surprised. 

“Adopting your culture as my own,” Zuko opens his mouth but you stop him before he can even begin. “From a shallow frame of reference, I had always known your culture and your people would be different than mine. And the time I spent traveling back and forth from the Water Tribe to here when I was only your girlfriend gave me some exposure, but I didn’t know. Not really. Most of your people have been so indoctrinated by nationalistic propaganda that our union wouldn’t have really even been conceivable a few years ago.” 

There’s another moment of silence as you take a breath and exhale it. In and out. Zuko doesn’t try to interrupt the moment with platitudes or words of comfort, and that’s another thing you’ve grown to love about him. 

He doesn’t say something he doesn’t mean. It’s not in his nature to do so. 

In allowing each of you to struggle with the weight of your words and emotions, he honors your emotions without dismissing them. Sometimes, it leaves you speechless because the practice is so ingrained in him, there are times he doesn’t even notice he does it. 

“I can adapt. That’s not what I’m worried about. My people are strong because we are so willing to adapt to change, just like the ocean: strong and flexible. I can belong here without losing myself. I just don’t have anything to bring with me. There is no recognition of my culture, and since these meetings have started a few days ago, I get shut down every time I try to bring something into what should be the happiest day of my life.” 

You turn to him also and take a step closer. His expression remains neutral and you can tell it’s going to take some time for him to digest all of this. For a moment, you place your hands on his chest, clothed with the finest robes available in the Fire Nation. 

“When I said yes to your proposal, to the reality of a life with you, I meant it with all of my heart. I still do. But I have nothing tying me to my homeland or the place of my birth like you do here.”

He looks like he has a thousand things to say, but then the words fade away before they even make it out of his mouth. Zuko’s face turns back towards the outside, looking out at the pond as a soft breeze again disturbs the tree by the water. He always gets this look in his eyes when he’s in deep thought. The dilemma is less with him and his position as Fire Lord and more with how to integrate you in his world without making you “fit in” in ways you were never supposed to. 

“If I’ve learned anything over the past few years,” He begins, still standing straight and looking outside. “It’s that nothing in the world is right if there is no balance.” 

He reaches inside his formal robe and pulls out a box. Your brows furrow in confusion, because Zuko is not one to give gifts. 

“I was going to give this to you later, but it seems like the right time now.” He shrugs and hands you the box while a hand goes to rub his neck. 

He always does this when he feels shy or flustered. It’s kind of cute to see the “decisive Fire Lord” act like a teen aged boy. He had rare opportunity to act like one before. 

The box is like a square and a silk ribbon is tied around it. Your fingers work at the knot while you raise your eyebrow at him. You place the ribbon on the windowsill once it’s unraveled and gently pull the lid off the box. It may have looked inexpensive, but you never truly knew in the Fire Nation. 

The thing inside almost takes your breath away. It’s all blue, every single bit of it. 

It’s a betrothal necklace. 

You didn’t even know Zuko knew they existed, let alone what it would have meant in your culture if he gave you one. (Granted, he’s already asked you to marry him, but for the moment you dismiss the thought.) 

It’s true, most marriages are arranged by parents or parental figures in the Water Tribe. Most people at home are not as lucky as you have been to freely choose a partner, whether inside the Tribe or outside of it. Sometimes it seems a more hollowed out gesture when neither party is truly looking to get married for love. But the ones that do always give the necklace its meaning and purpose. 

“I asked Katara for some help,” He began to explain as you stare at the necklace. “I didn’t know what I was doing or where I should go, so she was the one who guided me. She gave me some ideas of what the carving in the stone should represent, but in the end, I came up with the design by myself.” 

Zuko rubs the back of his neck again as you glance between him and the necklace. 

The choker is dark blue as always, but the color gives you some semblance of peace. Blue isn’t a very prominent color displayed in the Fire Nation. Indeed, the stone fastened to the choker has already been carved into. The design is somehow intricate and simple at the same time. It is intimate without being gaudy or overdone. It is all blue and reflective of the culture you grew up in and the one you still carry with you. 

“You carved it yourself?” You whisper, not doubting the answer but still needing to ask it. Zuko just nods and your eyes well up with tears. He doesn’t even know how sacred this necklace is to you in a place where no one else will ever understand its full importance and meaning. 

“Will you put it on for me?” You hand the necklace to him as you also discard the box on the windowsill and turn your back to him. You’re thankful your hair is already tied back (still adorned with various blue beads from your background) as you sweep it to the side so Zuko can clasp the necklace around your neck. 

The weight of it is unfamiliar but grounding. It anchors you to the truth. It reminds you that no matter what marrying Zuko looks like, you carry your culture with you wherever you go. The way you treat others, hold yourself, and what you, hopefully, pass down to your children is far more important than what traditions you do or don’t adhere to in a ceremony. 

“I’ll talk to the officials,” He offers as he clasps the choker together. “You should be able to have all the customs that are important to you when we get married. You have always been my equal, but this time it will be a fact and not just an assumption.” 

You touch the stone with your fingers as you turn back to face him. The tears are already sliding down your cheeks, but you also give him a sweet close-lipped smile. He knows but he doesn’t. And that is what makes him so beautiful. 

You cup his face between your palms and feel him relax a little. Physical affection had never been a priority in his childhood or adolescence, but you can tell he’s starting to understand why you think it’s important to give and receive it. 

“Thank you,” You say, smiling wider. 

You close the distance and bring your mouth towards his. The kiss is steady and soft but also full of unrestrained emotion. Zuko gives you a second one before you both pull apart. He just shakes his head. 

“I think I’m the one who should be thanking you.” He whispers back as he brings you to his chest. 

He is home now, and that is what matters. 

#avatar the last airbender #avatar: the last airbender #atla #atla zuko #zuko x oc #zuko x reader #prince zuko #fire nation #water tribe #avatar the last airbender one shot #zuko one shot #zuko imagine #zuko #avatar: tla #fire lord zuko

[runephoenix6769]

Why Netflix aging up the Characters could spell disaster.

Ok, so I’ve tried to find confirmation that this is true and kinda found bubkiss so far.  But.... Zuko being aged up by two years does not bode well his motivation or Azula (or Sokka for that matter), narratively speaking and will massively change how their stories/character arcs hit.  It’s my belief that by aging up the characters they’ll kinda lose some of the soul of the show AND the poignancy of just how much pressure has been laid on the shoulders of Gaang and Azula's trio. The nuance of Children fixing a world broken by adults. (I shall preface by saying that anyone under 18 is a child and therefore even joining the military at 16 is still awful, but this post is being written within the context of the avatar universe, its societal norms and customs.)

Hear me out.  Within the show, all the main cast of children are supposed to be outliers and exceptionally skilled, even surpassing many of the adults in that world in terms of mastery of their elements and ability to execute strategy.   At 16/17 Rangi had her first commission after graduating from the Junior Corps in record time, to eventually become one of the youngest Lieutenants in Fire Nation Army service, during peace time.  400 years later we are in the midst of a global war, meaning the goal posts within the various societies would have shifted considerably. (Apart from the Earth Kingdom, they seriously need to get with the times.) Zuko is the heir to the throne of an imperial expansionist country, where military service is expected of many of the aristocracy. (If not every citizen doing something towards the war effort.) And has been since the reign of Sozin.  Being the heir, he would naturally be expected to take a military commission at 16/17, as precedent has been shown to us via Rangi. This would serve to foster loyalty from his soldiers, train him in ways of command to prepare him for taking over the Nation, etc etc.  Lets say that Netflix keep the rest of his story the same, so he is still ousted at 13 sent on a mission of folly as a cruel punishment. Well that just casts his 4 years at sea and his behaviour towards his men in an awful light. In four years he has not learned regard for the safety of his men? It makes the treatment of his men look callous instead of being a child who doesn't quite grasp how much his crew do for him, that they too have been ousted and separated from their loved ones! Four years of shite treatment would surely land a mutiny on his hands?  If anything, it serves to make him look whiny, and incompetently oblivious to the needs of others.  And what does it mean if they move the timeline of the Agni Kai up by two years, to 15?  It doesn't have quite the same impact. Remember what sits at the core of this show. It is ultimately about children trying the fix the world that the adults broke, violence, cruelty, child soldiers and the effects of war upon them, under intense pressure to succeed.  Zuko is supposed to be a child who hasn’t even begun to figure out what he wants.   His character arc in the show is supposed to be that journey!

Which brings me to Azula!  A child prodigy, who took down Ba Sing Se in a relatively bloodless coup at 14! Its meant to be an awe inspiring Herculean feat! A top notch military strategist, she is meant to be unmatched by any of her peers.  Her age in the OG show certainly explains her behavior, her not being developed enough in many ways. This contributes towards the deterioration of her mental health when she cannot reconcile the heavily cultivated sense of self with the reality culminating in the tragic and heart wrenching mental breakdown at 14! At 16/17, it makes it look like a huge ass hissy fit! OG Azula’s inflection moment begins in The Beach episode. She is begins to ask questions of herself in the form of small experiments. It takes the form of her hiding their identities on Ember Island.  It is as if she is trying to feel out if she is as witty and charming as she believes, but she comes to learn that she is woefully socially inept, people don’t like her for her, beginning the spiral of insecurity and self doubt. We are also told that Azula’s mother thought her a monster and she is massively hurt by that, though she plays it off as nothing.  This insecurity is blown wide open on the Boiling Rock cemented by Ty Lee’s betrayal and culminates in Azula, who is truly terrified that he might burn her in a way similar to Zuko, seeing her being sidelined by Ozai.  She takes as a form of punishment for her ‘failure’, a form of banishment, that she has been discarded like Zuko, when she had imagined being by her father’s side as they burned the world in celebration of their mutual victory rather than for what is truly is which is Ozai being a glory hog and reaping all the benefits from Azula’s hard work.  Which brings me to the suggestion by Azula to burn the world in the first place. A child suggesting that you ‘Burn the World’ smacks a whole lot differently when you think of it as a kid not quite grasping/understanding the ramifications of such a suggestion, but a 16 year old? Such a thing tips her from confused mentally unwell child with a crippling fear of failure raised without a lick of compassion to full blown villainy with nothing remotely sympathetic about her! The way the last Agni Kai is framed you are supposed to feel sympathetic towards her! Which makes me wonder if they are gonna paint Azula as unhinged straight from the get go? Her unravelling at the seams is supposed to be her journey!

Sokka.... at 17!  In the OG show, Hakoda does the right thing by telling Sokka to remain behind to look after the village because at 13 he is too young to go to war.  Why leave him behind at 15? Would that not serve to feed into feelings of inadequacy, that he was deemed too weak to leave and fight with the other men and boys of the tribe?  Now, I would argue that Sokka’s OG arc rivals Zuko’s redemption. He does feel inadequate and overcomes it. He also unlearns a shit load of misogyny! What 17 year old doesn’t take responsibility for his own clothes, in a tribe were adults are few and far between? What 17 year old expects his little sister to be his mother and bear the brunt of the domestic? How obtuse and unfeeling would that make Sokka? It would propel him to the side of boorish, lazy and entitled rather than the sweet teenage boy who grows to realise he has a lot to learn.  OG Sokka is humble as hell and not afraid admit when he is lacking! He will go and openly admit his flaws and learn from others who he had previously written off.  Suki gives him a glass of respect women juice and he keeps on chugging, only adding to the Sokka we know and love.  This is supposed to be his journey! 

OG Sokka is just as much of a genius as Azula!  They are both supposed to be exceptional. Having them sit at 16/17 figuring this all out within a war torn world were it would be totally normal for them to participate in the generational war machine kind of robs them of this. Their more child like behaviours, grappling with concepts and truly understanding their consequences is supposed to remind us that they are children, being asked to do something no child ever should! Aging them up casts these things in a whole other light, skewering the what makes this show so beloved!  If you change the core characters to the point their journey’s don’t make sense within the world they inhabit, or they become unrecognisable to the audience you’re trying to milk then really.....what’s the point?  

#avatar last airbender #atlab #atla #avatar the last airbender #prince zuko #princess azula #sokka #zuko #azula #rangi #rise of kyoshi