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hellz-gate · 2 months

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In another universe Zuko and Katara angst

Summary

Taking place during the final episode after Zuko becomes firelord. Katara decides it’s time to see how Zuko really feels about her.

Today was a day that would be celebrated for many years to come. Today was the day 100 years of death was over. Today was the day 100 years of bloodshed was over. Today was the day 100 years of suffering was over. Today was the day the 100 year war had finally ended.Today Zuko was crowned the new fire lord. Today a new era of peace will come.

Katara found herself with her friends in a tea house Iroh had just opened up. Only Mia,Sokka,Toph,Sukki,Anng,Iroh,and Zuko were there with her. All of them having tea together as companions,as comrades, as friends and as family. Everyone was laughing and celebrating. Katara looked at her friends happily but one thing remained on her mind. A certain fire prince who had made her feel things no boy had ever made her feel.

When she first met him she hated him. And she thought he was one ugly guy. The bald head and ponytail style looked ridiculous to her. Whenever she imagined the fire nation and all the evil it was she pictured his face. How could someone be so heartless and cruel? How could someone want to return the world's only hope for his own self gain? Never showing any other emotion than anger and hatred. She hated him. She really did.

Until that one fateful night in Ba Sing Se. In the prison under the glow of the emerald shaded crystals. He looked completely different. His hair had grown so he didn’t look so ugly anymore. He looked…like he wasn’t angry anymore. And for a second she was reminded he was human as well. For a split second she thought maybe…just maybe…he could change. Only for those beliefs to be shattered in a million ways.

She didn’t see him for a long time after that. Until he had shown up asking for forgiveness and to join the group. If she hated him before, oh boy did she hate him so much then. How dare he have the audacity to ask to join the very same group he had been hunting down? The very same group he has tried to kill so many times. When the group started to trust Zuko she hated him even more. The sight of him made her blood boil. It made her even more mad when Zuko would try to talk to her. Until Zuko and her went on that quest to avenge her mother. Katara would’ve never gotten the closure she had needed for so long. If it weren’t for him.

After that they sorta became…close you could say. Katara had noticed things about him she didn’t before. He was always gentle or soft around kids whenever they were around them. Something she would’ve never guessed before. He was a harsh firebending teacher to Aang but never raised his hand to Aang and would compliment Aang whenever he had improved. Some nights Katara and Zuko were the only ones awake. They would share things about each other that they didn’t know before. Zuko would share things about his culture and family. He would tell her about his holidays on ember island with his family. What his sister was like as a kid. What his mother was like. How much he missed his uncle. Katara would tell him about her culture. Her grandma. How much she missed the snow. Zuko would listen carefully. He had asked if one day he could visit. She noticed on the nights while they stayed up late that Zuko never acted this soft and opened around the others. Only her. She only got to see this side of Zuko. It made her feel special. She also noticed how…beautiful he was. Even with his scar. It gave her butterflies.

She knew she loved him when Zuko almost died for her. The terror she felt when the blue glowing lines of lighting hit him in order to stop them from hitting her. The rush she felt when she handcuffed Azula and sped over to him to heal him. The thought of going on without him felt suffocating. The relief she felt when he was still breathing and alive she felt was so heavy. She wanted to kiss him there. Tell him how much she loved him. She would’ve if it weren’t for Azula screaming in the background.

She looked around, seeing that Zuko was not in the room with her or their friends. He had been serving tea to everyone he most likely went to the kitchen to get more. She got up from her table, excusing herself before heading to the kitchen doors. The doors opened silently with no creaking sounds. She peeked into the kitchen to see Zuko pouring the hot tea into the tiny little cups. She closed the doors behind her. It made a quiet clicking sound causing Zuko to turn and discover whoever came to see him. A smile formed on his lips seeing who it was.

“Hello Katara” her name felt like it belonged on his lips. She smiled at him before walking over.

“Is your scar doing better?” Katara asked, eventually standing beside him over the teacups.

“It hurts when I touch it but other than that it’s healing well you did a good job on it” the memory of seeing Zuko's chest while healing him came to Katara and made her blush a little bit. Katara expected him to have a peck but still. She quickly got that memory out of her head trying to focus on the compliment.

“Thank you it’s funny that you’re serving tea even though you just got crowned firelord”

“Uncle says the best Royalty is serving others” Katara looked out the window as the sunset was giving the sky a purple yellow hue. Both the sun and moon were dancing together.

“It’s crazy to think how far we’ve come hasn’t it? A year ago I was a water bender in hiding”

“A year ago I was a banished prince trying to capture you” both of them chuckled at his comment.

“I’m glad the war is over but I’m gonna miss travelling with everyone, I’m sad we’re all going our separate ways now” Zuko looked over at Katara giving her a sympathetic look.

“We won’t not see eachother forever Katara the world still needs to be fixed 100 years of war doesn’t go away like that, it’s gonna take a long time to bring this era of peace the world still needs the avatar, and the avatar needs his friends” Zuko had somehow always managed to find a way to make Katara feel better. Even though it was expected he would be the last person that could.

“Yeah that makes me feel better thanks Zuko”

“Besides I still wanna visit your tribe, and apologise to them for what my nation and I did to them”

“Yeah grandmas gonna beat you up when she sees you” both of them laughed at her comment, Zuko more nervously than Katara. Katara took a second to look at Zukos features. He looked handsome in his firelord outfit earlier. But now with his hair done and simple clothes on he looked so…majestic. Zuko seemed to notice Kataras staring.

“Is there something on my face?”

“No it's just..” Katara took a moment to choose her words. “You look really good in your firelord outfit but you…look so much like yourself right now…I’m going to miss seeing your hair down like this all the time” Katara saw Zuko's cheeks turn a light shade of pink before going back to pour some more of the tea. Katara looked out the window and saw Aang looking out into the sky from outside. Katara loved Aang. And she knew he loved her. But something about Zuko was just…different. He just…got her. Got her in a way Aang never could. Katara sighed she had nothing else to lose it was now or never.

“You know..Aang loves me right?” Zuko stopped pouring the tea for a second before continuing.

“Yes everyone knows he does”

“And..I’m sure I love him too” Zuko didn’t respond to Katara's comment, giving her a glint of hope.

“Zuko, is there anything you want to say to me before I tell him?” Zuko put the tea pot down and turned to her.

“Katara…I..” he had to have felt something towards her right? He literally almost died for her. Maybe just maybe he did. Maybe they could make it work. Maybe they could be happy. She didn’t want to let him go. Hope spread through her body. His eyes looked at her intensely. She could feel the heat rush to her cheeks. He looked like he wanted to say something like his words were stuck in his throat. He must love her he-

“I think you look gorgeous in that dress” Katara felt her heart shatter. Did Zuko really not feel anything towards her? Were all the nights they spent talking just plationic and nothing more? Katara kept her head up high, hiding her heart break.

“Thanks there was nothing in blue in the market so I got the closet thing I could get”

“You should wear that colour more often if it suits you” Zuko smiled at Katara. But if she looked closely she almost saw a hint of sadness behind that smile. But she probably was just imagining it. Just like she imagined Zuko having feelings for her.

“Thank you Zuko I’m going to see Aang I”ll catch up with you later when the parade is on” Katara began to walk out the room when Zuko spoke.

“Katara wait” Katara stopped in her tracks and looked back. Maybe she wasn’t being delusional. Maybe he did love her. But her hopes were shot back down as soon as they came back up.

“My…father…he told me what might’ve happened to my mother…it would be an honour if you could accompany me on this journey” despite it not being exactly what she wanted to hear she still felt happy he wanted her there. She smiled at the firelord.

“Of course I would love to come” Zuko smiled back at Katara

“Thank you Katara you”ll always be a special person in my life”

“And so will you” were the last words Katara said to Zuko before exiting the kitchen. She closed the doors behind her. She let out a long sad sigh. She loved Zuko. But she had to let him go. Because it was clear he didn’t love her. She loved Aang. She knew she would be happy with him. But there would always be calling to her asking what if?. But she couldn’t let that hold her back. She needed to move on. Zuko was her first love. Even if he didn’t feel the same way at least she could be his friend.

Katara exited the building and walked over to Aang. Who waved happily at her. She loved Aang. She really did. This was for the best she thought to herself. As the sunset and the fireworks set off being tested for the parade being held for Zuko later tonight. Aang and Katara shared a deep loving kiss. Letting all bottled up feelings come out.

Little did Katara know someone was watching not too far.

Zuko watched from a high window. His face showed no emotion but if you looked closely a deep sadness was in his eyes. He felt his heart quietly break as he watched the one he loved kiss someone else. Someone that wasn’t him. And he thought that his heart was already so broken it couldn’t be broken anymore. But oh he was so wrong. He loved Katara. Like no girl before her. But it was just impossible. Her destiny was to help the Avatar restore peace. And his destiny was to restore honour to his nation. Her and Aang were made for eachother. They were always meant to be together. Zuko knew that. Zuko also knew that if he told her he loved her. She would be his. Which is why he couldn’t tell her. She had to follow her destiny. Which is why he must let Katara think he never loved her. He loved Mia. He truly did. And he knew he would be happy with her. But if things were different. He would take the water bender into his arms. Kiss her. Hold her. Tell her how much he loved her. But he couldn’t. Even if she wasn’t made for the avatar. The fire nation would never accept a water tribe girl as their fire lady. He didn’t want to give Katara that burden when she could be happier with Aang. He looked away, he couldn't watch anymore. He had to let her go. But he knew that in the back of his mind he would always wonder what if..

Maybe in another universe the war never happened and the fire nation would be accepting of her.

Maybe in another universe he wasn’t a prince and he could be with who he wanted without worrying about the public opinion.

Maybe in another universe her destiny was with him and not with Aang.

Maybe in another universe one of them was brave enough to tell the other.

#zuko #prince zuko #atla zuko #zuko x katara #fire lord zuko #katara #zuko x reader #avatar the last airbender #atla #angst

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struggling-author · 3 months

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Hey what are your avatar otps besides azulaang?

oh umm… I wouldn’t call them OTPs since that is exclusively Azulaang, but my bi Azula headcanon lives in a variety of ships. Azutara, Azuki, Maizula… not Tyzula tbh because that feels like… imbalanced? and not Tophzula because they are menace-besties but not romantic, but with any of the other girls I think it could be great. Azutara has the enemies to lovers from Azulaang but with more spice and less forgiveness, they‘d tear eachother apart first but that makes it even sweeter if they eventually fall in love. Azuki is kind of different because Suki is more rational and holds less of an emotional grudge, it‘d be difficult for Azula to earn her trust but she would not be openly hostile to her unless necessary. I imagine this one could only happen if Azula is already in the middle or post redemption though, because Suki would not put up with any EtL shit. I guess that is exactly why it intrigues me too, I feel Suki would be more willing to give Azula a chance, more than Katara for example, but at the same time it would be impossibly hard to win her trust and I‘d like to see if Zula can manage it. Lastly Maizula, and I prefer this one over Tyzula because I feel Mai is more capable of holding her own against Azula in a relationship. It’s a complicated version of childhood friends to lovers and I‘m kind of here for it. No idea how it would work though lol.

Aside from Azula ships, I think Zutara is pretty cool and works well alongside Azulaang. Kataang is kinda cool in theory too, but I don’t like shipping Aang with anyone except Azula, it feels wrong 🤷‍♂️ The only other Aang ship I can imagine liking is Zukaang, but I don’t talk about it much.

Oh and I have to give a shoutout to Sokkla, I don’t particularly vibe with it but they’re the sister ship to Azulaang and I do see the potential of the two genius strategists, so if Aang didn’t exist I would definitely ship Sokkla instead. Nothing but love to the comrades over there. 🫶🏼

edit: totally forgot this but I actually also love Tylaang aka Ty-Lee and Aang, it just has absolutely no fandom so it’s hard to get the ball rolling. I just feel they would be such a wholesome bubbly cute ship, and I dig the Ty-Lee airbender ancestry theory so she‘d love to learn all about airbender customs and they‘d have so much fun and probably a huge family 😅 anyway I think party of why I ship this is just because I think these two deserve the world and it represents my wish for them to be totally carefree and happy. you can also add Azula and make this a throuple, I think that would work because you have Tyzula as the polar opposites and Aang in the middle to bridge the gap.

speaking of throuples I enjoy the idea of… Azutaraang? (Azula/Katara/Aang) but it is very difficult to make work. The only way I can see it is if Azula and Katara fall in love first because nothing good could come of them fighting over Aang. or maybe I could see like a stranded on a deserted island AU where the three of them have to work together and learn to rely on eachother… idk, difficult but not impossible.

Oh and I love Zuki too (Zuko x Zuki) …damn I guess I do have quite a few non-Azulaang ships. anyway this is essentially a bodyguard AU and it’s actually my favorite Zuko ship (sorry Zutara) not much to say about it cuz I’ve barely engaged with it, but I love the idea and think they would just work really well together. I also can see this as a throuple with Sokka again. I don’t really vibe with Zukka on their own but if you add Suki then I love it, because Suki deserves two good boys and it’s more fun for everyone involved if those two good boys are in love with eachother too.

final edit hopefully: Sokka Azula Aang is good too, for the same reasons listed for Zuko Suki Sokka, I swear that’s it now. goodbye lol.

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cienie-isengardu · 11 days

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Pakku and Iroh

So, let’s talk about master Pakku and uncle Iroh and the vital difference in how the show (and post-war comics) presented them. At first glance, we have a stern man refusing to teach Katara, a self-trained waterbender, because she is a girl and it goes against Northern Water Tribe’s culture. Even after she challenged him and proved her skills in fight, master Pakku still refused to take her as student - even if from pragmatic point equipping Avatar with a well-trained waterbender comrade on his travel through the world would be very much in the best interest of Northern Water Tribe - and changed his mind only after seeing Kanna’s necklace.

In contrast, Iroh very much from the start was presented as Zuko’s supportive uncle, who trained him in firebending or lighting redirection, protected from harm (like he did against Zhao by stopping admiral’s attack after the man lost Agni Kai or Azula when she hunted down her brother on Ozai’s order) and in general tried to be the moral guide and voice of reason to his troubled nephew - if he succeeded or if he was even good at that is of course up for another debate.

It is easy to pit them against each other - on that ground alone, Pakku compared to Iroh doesn’t look that good, right?

But then Avatar: The Last Airbender turned the perception of those men 180 degrees. After the attack on Northern Water Tribe that temporarily killed the Moon Spirit and destroyed a great chunk of the city (enemy soldiers managed to break into the city itself), Pakku’s presence, as the waterbender master, would be greatly important to rebuilding the damage. However he decided, alongside with other waterbenders and healers to head to the South Pole, to help their sister tribe.

Pakku: I've decide to go to the South Pole. Some other benders and healers want to join me. It's time we helped rebuild our sister tribe.

And yes, he wanted also to meet the love of his life, Katara & Sokka’s grandmother, but I can’t stress enough, the war was far from being over. The Northern Water Tribe survived the attack but no one could guarantee the Fire Nation wouldn’t try it again in the nearest future, especially if Avatar failed to bring back balance to the world. Pakku had his responsibilities to his community yet he chose to travel to the other side of the world, to help a devastated sister Tribe that his people - whatever by choice or being unable to help in times of need - abandoned during war (though considering that Northern Water Tribe had no up-to-date knowledge about Fire Nation for like last 85 years I think it is more matter of choice than lack of resources).

So Pakku left his home, his community and traveled to the South Pole where, according to comics Avatara: The Last Airbender - North and South, he actually opened a school to help bring back waterbending to a shattered tribe and was willing to teach everyone, regardless of gender. His two first student, sister Siku and Sura, at first refused to admit they were waterbenders due to fear (as mother forbidden them to reveal their skills due to danger of Fire Nation’s attacks) and instead of being discouraged or complain about ungrateful Southern people, he keep trying and even enlisted Katara to help and in generally deal with the problem in good natured way. There is no doubt that Pakku, a stern character once challenged by Katara, changed for the better and took a serious responsibility in rebuilding Southern Water Tribe’s culture by offering to teach waterbending, something at that time almost forgotten due to Fire Nation’s repeated attacks through decades.

And there is Iroh, our dear uncle Iroh, who when asked by Zuko will he take the rightful place on the throne - and with that, responsibility for Fire Nation, refused to do so and decided to re-open his tea shop. Sure, in the post-war comics he ruled in Zuko’s absence for a short time when needed and helped Ursa face imprisoned Ozai, so she could free herself from the panical fear of her ex-abusive husband but… that is basically it, at least to my knowledge. All the responsibility for the country, narrative wise, was pushed on Zuko because Iroh didn’t want to come back to Fire Nation, even if as a Prince he had duty to his people. Especially since Fire Nation too lost its cultural heritage (music, dances, true sense of firebending) due to the same war that devastated so much Southern Water Tribe’s culture.

Look, no matter how flawed Iroh is, I wholeheartedly like him as a character, but the contrast between Pakku and him is something I think a lot lately. The one master that started as a sexist jerk but who ultimately took on himself the responsibility of rebuilding waterbender traditions - and stayed true to the element he mastered, as water represents change. And the one with warm personality, full of love for his nephew and wise advice for Aang and Toph (supposed enemy and stranger) who wouldn’t do so when asked… and as Iroh explained in “Bitter Work”:

Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want.

but somehow he lacked the said desire and will - or maybe the confidence? - to bring Fire Nation back to its more peaceful roots? Dunno. Like I said, I’m thinking a lot about that contrast between the old masters and members of White Lotus.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #uncle iroh #master pakku #just to be clear here i like iroh with his all flaws #but it kills me how the whole responsibility for reforming fire nation fells on zuko #especially since pakku left his comfy life to do some good to sister tribe and help bring back important part of water tribe's culture

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poeticmoonspirit · 2 years

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These Things I've Done - Part III

Title is based off this song. (You can listen to it while you read if you want lmao, I'm just having fun with this.)

Part I Part II Part IIII Part V Part VI

It had been a few hours since Aang had fled, leaving his comrades in bitter resentment. They all knew they had to train him, to beat the Fire Lord and end the war. But if they were being honest with themselves, they didn't want to anymore.

Aang had shown his true colors, unmasking a selfish and irresponsible boy who didn't understand what accountability was and never hoped to. Whether he apologized wouldn't matter because regardless of his intentions, he still hurt them deeply.

The airbender made his way back to Ember Island on his trusty glider before perching on a nearby rock, searching for the rest of the group. The sun was setting, yet he didn't see anyone.

Where were they?

He knew they'd be furious when they saw him return. He knew that. He left them in a spout of anger and bitterness, leaving them to tend to their wounds he inflicted. All of this was his fault, after all. After he left them the day before, his past lives were so upset with him that they made sure he knew it. Their voices rang in his head, clammering about until he couldn't take it anymore and caved in.

"What do you guys want? I'm not really into the mood to talk right now." Avatar Kuruk scoffed.

"You've got some nerve—!"

He was cut off. "Avatar Aang, you are most disgraceful. You have much to learn about the world, but especially about yourself," said Avatar Kyoshi.

"I thought I was doing the right thing! Katara killed someone! And if it hadn't been for Zuko—"

"When will you stop judging others for what you see as a wrongful deed? Look within yourself to find the problem!" Roku snapped. Finally, Avatar Yangchen came forward, her expression tainted with disappointment and shame.

"Aang, our people have long since been gone from this world. I understand that you want to preserve the ideals of your ancestors, but you cannot expect others to feel and believe as you do. What you believe is right may not be someone else's belief of righteousness, but that doesn't make them wrong either."

"Your views of our teachings have been skewed, Avatar. As an Air Nomad, I thought you would understand this, but it is clear you do not." Aang stuttered, not believing what she was saying.

"Before you respond, have you ever stopped to consider what your friends were feeling? Their stories? Their experiences? They experienced this war much longer than you have and have seen far worse than you. I think it is you who needs to learn from them, rather than them learning from you."

Aang stopped to think despite his unwavering irritation at them. He knew Katara's and Sokka's mother died because of the man Katara killed, he also thought about the abuse and mistreatment Zuko endured at the hands of his cruel and twisted father. With the exception of him, they had all been through the war for more than a decade, something Aang never experienced. He hung his head low in shame.

He'd never been so disappointed in himself before. And he's even more ashamed that it took this to make him realize just how warped his views on righteousness were.

All of the past lives faded away in a wisp, but not before Yangchen said one last thing that made Aang freeze in his spot.

"As a punishment for your actions, your new abilities to take away bending have been severed. You will find your own way to end the war, or you will not at all."

"Wait! Come back! I need those powers!"

But it was too late, Yangchen then disappeared with a satisfying smirk, one that Aang had never seen on her before.

Perhaps this was karma's way of restoring the balance. Aang sighed.

He was about to summon up the courage to make his way inside the house until he heard footsteps from the side of it. Curious, he glanced in his peripheral and saw Toph crossing her arms, her milky eyes glaring at him.

Venom laced her words. "Well, well, well. Look who decided to finally show up."

Aang hung his head low, unable to meet his earthbending teacher's eyes.

"Toph, I'm really sorry." she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Aang stepped closer. "I am."

She huffed, turning around and making her way back to the doorway, but not before stopping to say something.

"You really hurt Katara and Zuko today, Aang. They're the ones you should be apologizing to."

The airbender stood there, shame filling his entire being. His nerves frazzled.

•~•~•

Katara sat on her bed, twirling her fingers in circles, bending a puddle of water to calm her nerves. They were depending on Aang to end this war. A child that only came to know about the world of war a few months ago. She was tired of leaving her fate at the hands of others. She'd kill the Fire Lord himself if Aang wasn't going to do it. And she refused to leave that option to Zuko. He'd been through enough with the man. It was evening time and although it wasn't completely nighttime yet, she could still feel its power running through her veins.

She was about to wash up when she heard a sudden knock on the door.

With an annoyed sigh, she yelled, "Come in!"

A wave of relief washed over here when she saw Zuko's shaggy black hair, his amber eyes peeking through the crack. "Are you sure? I can come back later."

She nodded, patting the spot next to her. "I won't bite." He came all the way in, holding a bowl of food and a small cup of some kind of juice.

"What's that?"

"Watermelon juice. Made it myself. Wanna try?"

Katara took a look at the dark pink liquid. The aroma was sweet-smelling and refreshing. She picked up the cup, taking a small sip. Her thirst got the better of her as she gulped the rest of it down, unaware of the playful smirk that graced the prince's lips.

"Someone's thirsty." Katara wiped her mouth with her hand, picking up the bowl of rice and grilled fish. "Yeah well, I haven't been drinking much water lately. This is as close as it gets."

Zuko frowned. Katara hadn't left her room all day, claiming she needed to be left alone to think. He hated leaving her alone with her thoughts, as they sometimes led to awful mental breakdowns. But he respected her privacy and trusted that she'd be okay. At least for now.

"You wanna talk about it?"

She shook her head, groaning at the headache she now had. He noticed, carefully making his way behind her so that he could softly rub her temples and massage the knots in her back. She almost moaned at the feeling when suddenly the door bursted open, pausing the firebender's ministrations. Katara narrowed her eyes at the person in the doorway.

It was Aang.

#okay so i definitely dont know where im going with this #but im not gonna lie #this is pretty fun #zutara #anti kataang #zuko #katara

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black-velvet-lady · 2 years

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"Who's scarier? Ozai, Azula, Hama, or Koh?"

I think a question like this directly ignores some legitimately terrifying characters that we were introduced to in avatar last Air bender. Such as General Fong, the earth bender Prison Warden, Zhao, Avatar Yangchen, Fire Lord Sozin, Fire Lord Azulon, Combustion Man, the dragon of the west, and Long Feng to name a few.

Now many of these characters are undercut by little screen time, narrative framing, being overshadowed, or having their information be supplemental material.

Going in order of the books the Prison Warden of the earth bender Prison is a legitimately terrifying boss with violent impulses as volatile as a grenade locked behind a hair pin trigger. This guy throws fire at a prisoner's feet and locks him in solitary confinement for a week for coughing while he was talking. Coughing. Not only that he tossed his captain overboard for asking a question, he didn’t even know it was the captain. Then later near the end of the episode Haru throws a rock at his head and he immediately went to burn the kid for the offense. Course this is undercut by the end of the episode with him meekly saying he can't swim and Taro calling him a coward.

General Fong is another character that is legitimately terrifying due to his actual power hungry nature. Fong wants to weaponize a twelve-year-old boy and brandishes guilt upon the boy to achieve these ends. When told no he uses violence to achieve his goal against not only Aang, but Katara and Sokka as well. He buries Katara alive to force Aang into the Avatar State endangering the lives of his comrades and the injured stationed at his base, and he doesn't learn his lesson. He still believes he was right in doing all of this by the end of the episode cause he wants to wield the Avatar as the ultimate weapon and carve a bloody path of vengeance through the fire nation straight to the royal palace. Still he's undercut by sharing screen time with Azula who arguably steals the show from every major villain in the series.

The Rough Rhinos are kind of undercut by the fact that they always loose to the protagonist characters, but they were instrumental in the war effort as the forward troops. Not only that but they also have a canonical body count since they were responsible for the deaths of Jets parents during the burning of his village and they did have murderous intent in the village of Chin.

Sozin. Picture is worth a thousand words and I got two.

Enough said.

Azulon. Man was responsible for 90% of the hundred year war and ordered the death of his grandson cause his second son insulted him. He's a horrible POS.

Long Feng. Controls the largest city in the world through mind control and fear and is able to kill kids with impunity cause he's controlling the King like a puppet. Even when placed in prison he is still a danger to the city and its people.

Combustion Man. I think it's very telling that the gang will fight the dangerous ladies but their go to strategy with him is run and hide.

Yangchen and Iroh seem to stick out like a sore thumb now don't they? Don't be fooled. Yangchen's original lore actually states she took her job deadly serious. Yangchen was a fully realized Avatar at 17 and terrorized the world into such a state of paralyzing fear that there was a lasting peace for an entire generation after her death cause everyone feared her wrath. The framing around her and Kyoshi kinda makes them seem like the other way around but I find it very telling that Yangchen says you must sacrifice your own needs to protect the world while Kyoshi equates not lifting a hand to save Chin from dying to be the same killing him.

Iroh is the last one cause honestly you don't need me to explain why Zhao is bad. Let's keep one thing in mind with Iroh. He met the dragons before Zuko was born. He learned that fire is life 9 years before campaigning in the Earth Kingdom and laying siege to Ba Sing Se for 600 days. He only stopped when his son died. Did nothing as his brother took the throne and burned his son. Retired to the place he laid siege to. Brought the white Lotus into power and they continued his father's inhumane prisons on the red Lotus.

And Ty Lee is the scariest and most effective member of the dangerous ladies. No I will not elaborate.

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thatwoodenguineapig · 10 months

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I hope you're having a lovely day! I have a random question I'm asking folks for funnsies.

What are five characters or groups/organizations in Avatar the Last Airbender that you wish had gotten more screentime than they did in the show? Just out of curiosity.

To start, I would've liked more of the perspective of the women in the NWT, particularly how they reacted to Katara being the snot out of Pakku and getting to learn combat waterbending. Were there other girls who saw Katara getting trained and started campaigning to also be included? Were there women who, having the tribe's sexism so ingrained and internalised, began to shun Katara? I need to know!!

I also wanna see more of the normal citizens of Ba Sing Se. What are they like when the Joo Dees aren't around? How do they feel about the refugees given the city's policy of denying the war? How does integrating normally go for the refugees? How do people react when their loved ones get back from a trip to Lake Laogai?!?!

When the Gaang met Jeong Jeong, I wish there had been more time spent with the other deserters. What sort of stories do they have? Do they have families back home that they miss? Do they miss former comrades who didn't/couldn't desert with them? What was it that caused them to desert? To what extent are they against the Fire Nation? Do they agree with Jeong Jeong that fire is nothing but destruction? Just give me more perspectives on the Fire Nation from those who have been disillusioned, damnit!

Similarly, I would've liked to hear more from the people taking refuge in the Northern Air Temple, about how they adapted to living up there, how they felt about the Mechanist designing weapons for the Fire Nation, how the other grown-ups felt about letting the kids jump off the damn temple with nothing but sticks and fabric to support them. And it would've been a great opportunity to hear more about the Air Nomads too, to see how their history was remembered, how the people living in their home interpreted the history displayed in the temple.

Finally, I wanna see more of the Fire Sages. Shyu tried to stay loyal to what the Fire Sages were originally supposed to be, but was he really the only one? The Fire Sages were supposed to be spiritual leaders, but the royal family has been suffocating the Fire Nation's spirituality for a century, so what have they been reduced to? What did Ozai do to get the Sages to confirm him as Fire Lord? How corrupted have the Sages become? How much does their organisation need restructuring post-war, and who has the power to oversee that?

Thanks for the question, this was really interesting to think on!

#atla

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zukoesestupido · 2 years

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Zuko/Zutara fan coming in peace! I didn't write that anon about how you could ship Kataang and like Zuko but I also sort of am taken aback by it? I guess I just figured most Zuko fans also like Zutara as well. When you say you don't understand Zutara, what do you mean, do you mean you don't understand the popularity or you don't understand how it would work?

Um, I mean that there is nothing whatsoever in canon that points to anything other than Katara and Zuko going from enemies, to reluctant comrades-in-arms, to friends who are tethered by Aang. It's ... not an accident that in the LOKverse, Katara and Zuko have rarely spoken after Aang's death. He was their glue. There was nothing at all in the canon that indicated Katara wanted to sit on Zuko's face/be his Firelady/have his children and there was likewise nothing in the canon that indicated Zuko wanted Katara to do any of those things.

I understand the popularity of the pairing just fine. A lot of non canon ships become as popular or more popular than canon ships. Azulaang is growing in popularity, and that's as non canon as it gets.

No, I don't understand how it would "work" because of what I said above, canonically, Zuko and Katara didn't feel that way about each other. It's not like you're talking about something like Tokka, which didn't happen but for which there was at least some semblance of possibility. Same with something like Harutara.

I've gotten more than one ask like this, but decided to answer yours because the "I come in peace!" thing tickles me but makes me sad at the same time because fandom really has sunk to that low.

#antizutara

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shameaboutthedilettantism · 3 years

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Kataang Week 2021: Day 1: Height Difference

written for @kataang-week

Summary: Ty Lee plays matchmaker for kataang. I don't really know what I did here, but I did it, so here it is.

Rating: T

Word count: 2380

Ty Lee watches the embracing couple with a soft smile. She turns to Suki, her new comrade-in-arms, and her smile widens. “They are so cute! Can I also have a boyfriend who's shorter than me so he can put his head on my shoulder? Or a girlfriend. A girlfriend would be good too. Not both at once, though, just one or the other.”

The skin between Suki's brows furrows with her puzzled look. Oh gosh, she is going to give herself wrinkles doing that, Ty Lee frets. She starts to mention this danger, but halts when she remembers how awful she felt every time her mother warned about ruining her looks. Suki is so smart and strong and interesting; Ty Lee doesn't want to hurt her feelings or alienate her. It is so nice having friends who don't also scare her half to death. Not that Suki's a pushover, but she's reasonable.

“Who are you talking about?” Suki scans the crowd in the grand ballroom. People from all nations are gathered here, dressed in their finest and bedecked in jewels. It's inspiring to see people from all nations celebrating the new Fire Lord together.

Ty Lee giggles and uses a gentle touch to turn Suki's head toward Aang and Katara. “Those two! The Avatar and the Water Tribe girl. Seriously, they have to be one of the cutest couples in the room. And their auras complement each other perfectly; the colors are so balanced and beautiful.” Ty Lee sighs dreamily. She can feel how sappy her expression is. A lifetime of friendship with Azula has her bracing for a stinging rebuke about her obsession with romance.

And Suki does laugh, but there's no ridicule in it, only a gentle humor. “Oh, Ty Lee, that's a good one.”

She continues snickering and Ty Lee feels her own brow knit. “A good what?”

Suki's giggles trail off. “Oh, you're not joking? You really think Aang and Katara are a couple?” At Ty Lee's nod Suki shakes her head and continues “No. No way. He's her best friend and she's his. There's nothing romantic there.”

Ty Lee looks at the two again and can't understand how Suki could miss the spark between them. Okay, Suki can't see auras. So she doesn't know how the iridescent halos of light emanating from the two intertwine and mingle. Where their auras touch the colors blaze even more brilliantly, clearly revealing trust and joy and friendship and passion. But even someone who can't see auras shouldn't miss the purely mundane clues! For goodness' sake, they are still holding each onto each other. In Ty Lee's experience purely friendly hugs don't go on for that long after a mere few hours spent apart.

“Suki, forget what you think you know about them and really look.” She waits to continue until she is sure Suki's eyes are trained on the couple. “Look at Katara's hand. She's stroking the back of his neck. Do you do that to your good buddies? Look at Aang's face. Do you see how deeply he inhales? He's breathing in her scent. I bet you a gold coin that if you ask him what Katara smells like he can describe her scent exactly and in the most flattering terms. Trust me, they are extremely attracted to each other.”

Suki tilts her head a bit and there's that crease in her forehead again. Ty Lee bites her tongue once more on unsolicited beauty advice.

“Huh” Suki breathes out a bemused little sound. “If I didn't know them and saw them for the first time, I guess I might think they were a couple. But that's just how they are, Ty Lee, they're always looking toward each other and holding hands and hugging and she touches his face a lot and they cuddle together by the campfire and they do a lot of waterbending practice in their underwear...” With each behavior described, Suki speaks more slowly, wonder creeping in around the edges of her words. “Oh, spirits, maybe they are together. But, no! They would have told the rest of us, right? Or at least Sokka...” Suki's voice trails off as if she is unsure on this final point.

“Well, if they're not officially a couple, they should be.” Ty Lee's voice is firm with conviction. “It's ridiculous for two people who clearly adore each other that much to not be together.”

And then inspiration strikes. Perhaps the two only need a small nudge from someone who can see how well their auras mesh. Someone who believes in love and wants all of her new friends to experience maximum happiness. Someone who successfully played matchmaker for one of her sisters, and an uncle, and even for Mai and Zuko after Azula brought him back to the Fire Nation. That is to say, someone like her. And maybe Suki will help, now that she sees the truth.

Ty Lee hugs herself in delight. This is going to be so much fun!

Enlisting Suki's aid is simple enough. It turns out her commander has a romantic streak nearly as wide as Ty Lee's own. They work out a plan of attack while observing Aang and Katara until Aang is pulled away by someone quite serious and official-looking. He looks back toward Katara reluctantly as he is ushered away. Katara frowns down at her hands, fingers tangled together.

It is time to enact the first phase of their plan. She and Suki move toward Katara with studied nonchalance.

“Hi Katara!” Ty Lee says too brightly. Uh-oh, she didn't mean to sound so eager. Ah well, her reputation for extreme bubbliness can be useful in deflecting wariness.

Katara, thankfully, doesn't seem suspicious. “Hi, Ty Lee. Suki. What's up?” Ty Lee hadn't quite realized how pretty Katara is. Most of their previous interactions, of course, found them on opposite sides of a battle. Up close, outside of war, surrounded by friends and at peace, she's radiant. Sparkling eyes, smooth brown skin, and a cloud of soft dark hair. Wow, she is simply lovely.

“Suki told me the Avatar is your best friend, so I thought you'd be a good person to talk to about him.” Ty Lee begins to spin her web.

Katara's open expression quickly slams closed. “Why? Is something wrong?” She looks around the room anxiously, no doubt trying to locate Aang.

And the fly flits right into her sticky net! “Oh no! Nothing's wrong. I just wondered if you could tell me how old he is, exactly. And if he has a girlfriend. Or boyfriend.”

“What?” Katara's voice is shrill. “Why?”

“Watching the coronation today, it struck me that he's pretty cute. Plus he seems kind and he's definitely interesting. It's obvious he's younger than me, but I don't know by how much. Perhaps it's not an insurmountable gap? If, that is, he's not seeing anyone?”

Katara's face goes oddly still and her mouth is pressed into a tight line. She is so clearly distressed by the thought of someone else pursuing Aang that Ty Lee finds it hard to keep from laughing out loud.

Katara grimaces. “He's 13, which is too young for you. What are you, 18?”

Oh, she does have it bad, Ty Lee thinks gleefully. “I suppose he is for now. But...” Ty Lee pauses for effect, tapping her chin with an index finger. “My cousin Ling seemed pretty intrigued by him, too. She's 14. That isn't too big a difference. And maybe in a few years, after he's had some more experience, our age difference won't matter.” Ty Lee trails off, looking thoughtful.

The sound coming from the other girl could definitely be classified as a growl. Ty Lee bites the inside of her cheek to restrain her incipient grin. Her gaze slips to the side, signaling Suki. It's Suki's turn to add a bit of tinder to the blaze.

Suki speaks up. “Is your cousin the girl who came to get you from practice yesterday morning?” At Ty Lee's vigorous nod she continues “Oh, she's so pretty! And tiny! Even though she's older, I bet Aang's half a head taller than her. They'd be so cute together! Is she here tonight? We should introduce them!”

Katara glares fiercely then turns away, spitting an almost polite “Keep arranging Aang's life without me. I need some fresh air” back at them as she stalks toward an open stone archway leading to one of the palace gardens.

Ty Lee looks to Suki, grinning broadly. Who cares if it causes wrinkles!? But Suki seems uncertain now, biting the corner of her lip, eyes downcast.

“What is it?” Ty Lee asks.

“I didn't quite believe she thought of Aang that way. Not until I saw how she reacted to what we just did. I don't know. It felt like a game before, but now I'm worried we may hurt them.”

Ty Lee replays the interaction in her mind. “I don't think she was hurt. She seemed angry to me. Trust me, this is working out ideally. Let's go find the Avatar. Quick! Before she comes back in.”

Trying hard to hold a somber expression, Ty Lee extends her hand to Suki. Suki's head tilts slightly and a faint pink tints her cheeks as she takes Ty Lee's hand. Ty Lee does not allow herself to think about how warm and strong Suki's hand is. Nope. Not thinking about that at all because the girl is taken. And Ty Lee does not poach. She pulls Suki toward the last place she spotted their quarry.

As they make their way to the Avatar, Ty Lee reminds Suki “You're going to have to do the talking here. You know him and I don't.”

Suki doesn't even have time to nod before they're at his side.

He smiles and bows slightly in greeting. His smile is adorable and his eyes are truly beautiful. Despite his youth he looks mature and wise in his saffron-colored formal attire. Really, if he were even a year older, Ty Lee might actually consider setting her cap for him. Well, if he were a year older and not utterly in love with someone else. Ty Lee is beginning to worry that she might be a bit too personally focused on love and attraction. Her goal here is to instigate someone else's relationship, not to find one for herself. Focus, Ty Lee, focus, she reprimands herself.

“Hey, Aang, do you know what's wrong with Katara?” Suki's gentle question breaks into Ty Lee's self-examination and she is grateful to be pulled out of her head.

Aang's expression quickly switches to one of concern. “What do you mean? I was talking to her a few minutes ago and everything was fine.” He is scanning the room now, surely trying to locate Katara.

Suki continues “She went out to the gardens and she looked upset.”

Aang's expression of worry deepens. “I better check on her” he announces. “Or should I send Sokka? Did I upset her? She seemed okay when we were together.”

Suki flashes panicky eyes at Ty Lee. Ty Lee shrugs in response, then answers for the other girl. “If you did upset her, better go make amends, right?”

“Yeah, you're right.” His smile returns briefly, wordlessly conveying his gratitude. “I'll go find her. See you later.” Without another word he's moving toward the nearest open archway leading to the conservatory.

“Quick” Ty Lee whispers once he's through the opening. “Let's find a spot to observe them.”

They speed through the same exit Katara used, hoping to locate her before Aang does. Luck is on their side and they spot her quickly. Katara hadn't gone far into the garden. She sits on a bench next to a small ornamental pond. A swirling orb of water rotates slowly above her upturned palm. She doesn't look angry any more. Instead, she seems pensive, gaze trained on the water floating above her hand. Silently, Suki gestures toward an alcove that is partially screened by deep burgundy leaves on the drooping branches of a willowmaple tree. There they should be able to observe secretly. Ty Lee holds the branches aside for Suki and then follows her into their concealment.

Only a heartbeat later Aang strides off the path onto the lawn that abuts the pond. He pauses briefly and observes Katara. Then he says her name softly. Ty Lee marvels again that anyone is unaware of how the two feel about each other. The longing and adoration between them is unmistakable.

Then Katara is rising, rushing toward Aang. She pulls him into her arms and holds onto him tightly. The tension that filled his frame when he left the path drains away and his arms wrap around the girl's shoulders.

“What happened? Are you okay, Katara?” he whispers.

Katara leans away from him slightly and stares into his eyes for a long moment. He looks back at her steadily. Then she tilts her head down and kisses him. In the quiet of the garden, their observers hear his sharp inhale and her soft sigh. Through the leaves they see when she curves her palm around the side of his face as the kiss deepens.

Suki places her lips against Ty Lee's ear and whispers “Come on, it's time for us to go.” Aang and Katara are so caught up in each other that Ty Lee believes they can steal away unnoticed.

When Suki has gone through the doorway Ty Lee looks back. Aang's head is resting against Katara's shoulder once more and his aura is the most sublime representation of joy she has ever seen. And Katara is looking right over his head at Ty Lee. Her eyes are narrowed with suspicion.

Ty Lee stumbles slightly. Thinking quickly, she raises her eyebrows at the other girl and gives a slow, deliberate wink. She points to Aang, then to Katara and lifts her brows again. Ty Lee smiles blithely and mimes applause.

Katara's eyes go wide. Slowly a smile transforms her face. She shakes her head wonderingly and chuckles. When she does, both her aura and Aang's blaze so brightly that Ty Lee has to look away.

Ty Lee decides that perhaps she should make a match for herself next. She dances back into the ballroom, considering her prospects.

#kataang week 2021 #kataangtag #kataang #day one: height difference #my writing

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comradekatara · 2 days

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Can you go a bit more in depth about your post about Sokka in the Burning Rock episode? You said that it was basically his suicide mission, which I agree with. I'd really like to hear more of your thoughts on it.

okay yeah i mean i'm sure i've covered all these points before extensively because i love weaving a tapestry of sokka's fucked up psychological landscape more than anything in the world, but every so often someone will comment on one of my posts and be like "i think you're reaching i think sokka is the paragon of mental health actually" and i'm just like um. did we not all watch the boiling rock. did we just ignore the apotheosis of sokka's entire character arc. like katara's apotheosis in "the southern raiders" is both very overt and impactful and also, arguably, subtler than sokka's, because they don't explicitly spell out the themes every five seconds, but like. if you didn't watch the boiling rock then you cannot understand sokka. and weirdly enough i also believe that zuka shippers are the biggest culprit of this despite this episode being thee zucchini episode because they somehow still have the audacity to characterize sokka as "goofy sunshine who exists to comfort zuko" when like. the entire point is that sokka is legitimately suicidal here and zuko is doing everything in his power to support him thru what is quite literally a mental breakdown. like their relationship is legitimately interesting i don't understand how people have taken that and made it deeply boring.....but i digress.

the boiling rock is quite obviously sokka at his lowest. the worst thing that could ever happen to him – fumbling a mission that was squarely his responsibility, from its conception to its execution, due to not being able to sufficiently compartmentalize his emotions, leading to the mass imprisonment of most of his comrades, including the men of his tribe whom he idolized his entire life and felt immense pressure to live up to, including his father who he is deathly afraid of disappointing (for reasons that have nothing to hakoda being malicious or neglectful in any way, fwiw), and thus being directly implicated in the failure and the harm caused by said failure – happened. sokka is someone who is especially bad at dealing with failure, because a) he is exceptionally talented, and thus has less experience dealing with failure in both minor and major ways, and thus lacks the emotional resilience developed through the process of struggle and growth that normal people (such as, incidentally, zuko) go through and b) to sokka, whose primary desire at all times is to protect and provide for others in any way he possibly can, for someone else to sacrifice themselves for him constitutes a fundamental disruption to the order. there is a perverse wrongness to kya or yue or hakoda or suki making sacrifices on their own volition, because it means that sokka has existentially failed to protect them by martyring himself. like, he somehow feels so guilty about suki being imprisoned that when azula reveals this piece of information to him, it literally distracts him from his own mission. and mind you, there's absolutely no way sokka could have known or been responsible for suki's imprisonment. but he still feels guilty nonetheless. and azula knows that, knows exactly how to twist the knife to make him break, because, well, it's honestly pretty obvious.

sokka obviously cannot retroactively save his mother or his first girlfriend, but he can save his father and his current girlfriend. in "the awakening" aang says he has to restore his honor after the guilt and shame of his failure in ba sing se (aang is also an incurable gifted kid perfectionist, btw, as is azula. posts for another time...) and sokka repeats zuko's line again in this episode, after experiencing the guilt and shame of his failure during the eclipse. the driving motivation of zuko's entire character, feeling like he has failed in some ontological way and must therefore redeem himself or die trying, is reinforced through aang and sokka's respective experiences mirroring that drive. aang goes out in a storm and nearly drowns to redeem himself in some vague, nebulous way, because he isn't thinking rationally. and likewise sokka, who usually always has a plan and always thinks things through, feels that caution and foresight is pointless, because he came up with a genuinely brilliant invasion plan and it didn't work, so clearly there's something wrong with him (just as he always suspected) and no amount of planning even matters, because he's a capital F Failure and always will be. and so he vows to save his father, as he promised him he would when they parted on the day of black sun, or die trying, because if he can't even do that then what is he good for; at least he'll die a martyr, which to him, is basically his ideal situation. because to sokka, dying as a martyr is basically the highest form of fulfilling his purpose (being needed, protecting people) and so if he dies a martyr, then maybe his catastrophic failure (that is entirely his fault and rests squarely on his shoulders btw) can be forgiven. so his plan is basically just to sacrifice himself for his father so that he can die "redeemed." very normal, rational, healthy behavior, i would say.

sidenote, i also see people claim that "the boiling rock" makes sokka look stupid because why wouldn't he take any of the insanely talented benders to a prison in a giant volcano surrounded by a boiling lake, and it's like. sokka literally admits that he's not being rational, that he doesn't think he's going to survive this, that this is not a good idea. it would go against sokka's entire modus operandi if he brought the children who he feels a deep, presiding responsibility to protect on a suicide mission that he's lowkey hoping will fail (because he not so secretly loves courting death. it's like she's the moon or something). he only lets zuko come with him because he doesn't actually care whether zuko lives or dies at this point. sokka has absolutely no faith in zuko whatsoever (and frankly, why would he, zuko has yet to actually prove himself to him. he didn't even kill combustion man; sokka did) so he has no idea that zuko is actually going to be helpful and supportive in a meaningful way. and frankly, if he had known that at the beginning, or even remotely liked zuko as a person, he probably wouldn't have caved so easily when zuko invited himself to join. if he didn't think that zuko was objectively worse than him and basically worthless as a human being, i doubt he would have let himself be so vulnerable with zuko in the first place. meanwhile zuko is eating it up bc he's like "omg he's confiding in me he's letting me help him we're basically besties" because he doesn't actually know sokka well enough to realize that sokka doesn't actually do that shit with people he remotely respects. shit like "my first girlfriend turned into the moon" and "i had a feeling this was going to be a one way trip" are simply not things that sokka would say out loud 98% of the time. the fact that he is admitting something real is not a testament to the trust he places in zuko, but rather the opposite. sokka spilling his guts (you know, for him) to his resident collateral damage, sokka bringing his lovingly crafted space sword on this mission, sokka not even confirming whether or not his father is actually there beforehand – he's simply stopped giving a fuck, he doesn't care whether or not he lives to see another day, because to him, he has nothing left to lose.

but of course, that also isn't true at all. i mean, for one thing, zuko still needs to teach aang firebending, so he does serve a pretty important function to the group, and zuko simply telling him to do hot squats in his absence does not qualify as significant tutelage. but also, even more importantly, sokka is integral to the fabric of the group. when he's gone for a day in "sokka's master" they literally all just shut down and start complaining about how much they miss him (we don't actually see any b-roll of the gaang hanging around the western air temple because the episode is simply too busy for that, so who can say whether the same thing occurs twice). sokka cannot afford to simply die just because his first plan failed, he still has a major responsibility to his friends. fucking idiot. i've said before that sokka has the emotional resilience of like. a pathetic wet newborn kitten caught in the rain. but like, come on man. i mean, as someone who has also suffered from debilitating perfectionist issues and never had to be responsible for a failed military invasion that cost my people their freedom, i do get it, but still. not his best moment. although there is something genuinely admirable about the fact that after he finds suki, he decides that saving suki is enough, and genuinely does want to succeed in his mission going forward. like his love for suki is one of the only things that consistently makes him happy and makes him forget that his greatest dream in life is to be murdered, and that's so beautiful to me.

the entire point of this episode, by the way, is that sokka is wrong. if that isn't obvious. sokka's entire worldview, that he only has value insofar as he exists to provide for others, and if he fails to protect people in any capacity, he has fundamentally failed to uphold the one reason he even exists on this earth, and thus he does not deserve to exist unless he is bearing the weight of everyone's suffering or otherwise proving his worth through sacrificing himself for others, is um. fucking stupid???? and incorrect. and stupid. the thing is, unlike zuko, sokka can't really point to any one person who taught him to see himself this way. he can't just face his father and tell him that his abuse was cruel and wrong, because hakoda is a good father who has never not supported and believed in and encouraged him, done everything in his power to protect him, loved him unconditionally. hakoda has inadvertently damaged sokka's psyche in various ways, of course, but never with any intention to hurt him. like, ozai tried to kill zuko, on multiple occasions. it's a pretty obvious indicator of the primary source of harm in his life. but sokka is equally if not more Unwell, and there's no one single figure he can blame, because his complex lies within a tangled web of what my best friend fanon calls the "massive psychoexistential complex" of the colonized subject. he is being dehumanized not through interpersonal abuse, but through the violent logic of imperialism. sokka's formative traumas inform his psychology as he understands that he only has value insofar as he is protecting the people he loves (namely his sister) from being murdered by imperialists, much like his mother did. and that logic is continually reified through the violence he is being subjected to, until he truly absorbs the belief that his life has no value on its own, that he is genuinely Less than [human] in some fundamental way. which is obviously deeply tragic, but also lowkey kind of comical because he also happens to be the specialest boy in the world, who literally did come up with multiple working escape plans at the world's most secure supermax on the fly, mind you! but whenever anyone tries to point that out, including piandao literally saying "you're the most exceptional and worthy person i've ever met in my life" sokka is just like "um. that is incorrect actually." like NO ONE should depersonalize themselves and feel that their only value lies in their ability to serve and sacrifice themselves for others, but it's especially ironic that sokka literally does not think he has any value as a human being, and yet he is also objectively exceptional. like, do you understand why i adore this character so much. do you.

anyway. the point of this episode isn't that sokka has worth because he's exceptional, either. that's lowkey the point of "sokka's master," but also a) sokka doesn't really internalize it and b) the more important part of the episode lies in how much the gaang just misses his company because they miss their neurotic control freak big brother who makes bad jokes. but even if he couldn't come up with multiple working escape plans on the fly, suki and zuko still stay by his side anyway because they care about him. they are demonstrating that they would risk their safety and possibly even their lives, in the exact way that sokka is always trying to for everyone else, for him. that sokka doesn't need to be the one who always protects everyone else, and that he isn't a failure for letting people who care about him help him and protect him. and sokka has to accept their help, because suki and zuko are simply too stubborn not to force him into letting them support him. they are standing in a literal maximum security prison in the middle of a volcano and they are still choosing to prioritize sokka's mental health and wellbeing, which is honestly crazy, but also exactly what he needs in this moment. suki has known sokka for what, 3 days maximum? yes they're soulmates but like, girl get up. and in zuko's case, "girl get up" is magnified tenfold, because he literally risked his life to go with him to the boiling rock (also largely motivated by the guilt of not being able to stage his own prison break with iroh, but still!) and let himself get imprisoned despite being the fire nation's most wanted criminal, stayed by sokka's side no matter what including getting thrown into a literal torture chamber for him, jumped across a gaping boiling chasm with no guarantee that he'd survive except for the implicit expectation that sokka would catch him on the other side. like zuko is so fucking pussywhipped and sokka didn't even value him as a human being until like halfway through their entire mission. insane.

in conclusion: "the boiling rock" is a beautiful story of the most mentally ill boy on the planet (he took first place ever since jet died rip jet forever in our hearts), and his two ride or die bitches who he met like yesterday, and also his dad, and a casual homophobe named chit sang, all working together to demonstrate to him why killing yourself is a bad idea in most cases, probably. it's also the story of the most insane dyke drama of all time, but that's for another post (of which i have of course made multiple, most recently, here). i said it's the apotheosis of sokka's arc, and by that i mean it's the most overt acknowledgement of what his fundamental issue is, and the first steps one must take in actually resolving it (namely, accepting help and support from your peers and loved ones). do i think that sokka is magically cured after returning from the boiling rock? no, probably not (in fact, because i'm somewhat sick & twisted myself, i like to imagine that once the war ends, he actually gets worse). but he does seem genuinely happier after they return. and maybe that's just bc kyoshi warrior pussy hits different, but like. he was able to rely on others for help (including mai my best friend mai) who supported him unconditionally and prevented him from simply giving up, and that's so incredibly important. that kind of support is always important, to everyone, of course, but as we've established, it's especially important to sokka specifically, at his lowest (quite possibly ever), in this situation. no one has an obligation to risk their life for someone else, but sokka is something who thinks that his purpose is to risk his life for other people (namely katara), and so for people who really have nothing to gain and everything to lose in standing by and promising not to leave without him, to actually show that they support him unconditionally is huge. if sokka has no fans then i am dead and so is suki zuko hakoda toph aang piandao iroh the mechanist etc etc etc. perfect episode <3

#suicide /#writergracethepanda #asks #analysis #sokka #sokkaxsuki #cinematic masterpiece the boiling rock part 2 #(technically i use that tag to talk about maizulee but swagever)#this post is basically just stream of consciousness unstructured rambling so i hope you find it valuable in some way...#at this point i've given up on trying to do Readings of and make Arguments about sokka #and i'm just rambling. i posted a whole fucking. ACTUAL essay about him yesterday and no one read it #but this is not that. this is. who even knows. it's certainly not an ''essay''#my thesis statement: i love sokka so much #my body paragraphs: hes a weak willed mentally ill fucking IDIOT #just trust me ok. trust the process

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caw4brandon · 3 years

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Regarding Sokka

When it comes down to male heroes. Not all guys are smooth and cool. Some are real jerks who berate the main character for their actions and decisions while some are real idiots but with tons of hidden potential that may or may not have appeared out of nowhere. Yet, the rarest kind of male character one may find in shows is the hero who knows their limits but still joins the fight anyway. That kind of character is Sokka from <Avatar: The Last Airbender>

Don’t toot your horn just yet Sokka...You’re not the only boy out there with this kind of archetype! There are several other examples out there that is similar to the non-bending water tribe boy. Someone like say, Neville Longbottom and Usopp. These characters are well aware of where they stand when compared to their comrades but are still able to fight in the smallest of ways.

There’s a lot to unpack regarding Sokka starting with his childhood. Sokka (Age: 15) is a born and raised from Southern Water Tribe with his only sister, Katara while their father; Chief Hakoda goes to war against the Fire Nation. As the oldest in the family, Sokka holds himself with high responsibility as the only young man to provide and protect what remains of the tribe. On one particular hunting trip, Sokka and Katara found an odd looking iceberg which kickstarted the series.

With his sister being a beginner water bender and the mysterious boy in the iceberg; Aang being the Avatar. Sokka joined the pair as the “adult” of the group. Keeping rations, making stops for fill up and getting out of situations if things ever go wrong.

Unlike his sister, Sokka is a non-bender but as a child of war, he has picked up some form of combative skills, sharp intuition and creative thinking through his father. (Also, he's GREAT with a boomerang) Still, Sokka has a rather “boo-type” humor and narrowminded thinking about other cultures with big packs of sarcasm and a ton of exaggerated expressions.

On one particular episode, Sokka had trouble comprehending the idea of having girls getting involved in fights when the group encountered the Kyoshi Warriors of Kyoshi Island.

He was arrogant and believed that girls should not be involved in such activities that is meant for brave men. By Aang’s choice, the team took the time off to rest, restock and restore the village. In that process, Sokka took it upon himself to apologize and learn the ways of the Kyoshi Warriors from their leader, Suki who overtime became his first crush that later became his lover.

Often the skeptical one, Sokka is a bit of a killjoy, trusting his gut in situations that didn’t feel right to him such as the case with Jet who is very much like him. Despite Sokka’s hate for the Fire Nation, he is well aware from an early age that there are those who commit the war and those who live under it. Being able to see past Jet’s approach of seeking revenge on the innocent as justified. Along the way, they also made allies with the likes of The Mechanist, a refugee of the Northern Air Temple, even liberating them from the constant attacks from the Fire Nation.

This very incident and a number of other incidents was a good display of Sokka’s early inventive and strategic skills in combat. Thanks to a few lucky stops of finding places and gaining knowledge, Sokka recommended using The Day of Black Sun to attack the Fire Nation along with some inventive ideas with the help of The Mechanist. While the attack went very well with innovation and strategy, the invasion ultimately failed.

Believing himself to still be lacking, Sokka tried to train with a famous Fire Nation swordsman; Master Piandao to learn the way of the sword. Unconfident and unworthy, Sokka comes clean about what he thinks and how he feels which peaked Master Piandao’s interest to train him. Even taught him how to forge his own sword with a unique meteorite.

At the same time, it taught Sokka to believe in himself despite his lack and his failures which is also why he was far more capable of breaking in and out of The Boiling Rock, a Fire Nation prison.

In a video about Childhood Crushes from [Emirichu] The video failed to mention how much of a catch Sokka is. Not that I’m interested in any way but I never shy away from calling people handsome or pretty. (if you are reading this, you are RADIENT today!) Compared to the first season, Sokka went from being snobbish and skeptical to being confident and optimistic. Don’t forget, Suki wasn’t his only crush and only lover. There was Princess Yue who,

“turned into the moon”

As the seasons progressed, We see Sokka shine far differently compared to anyone in the gang. He may have not been the brawns of the group but he definitely is the brains behind the team.

Keen viewers noticed that while Sokka may have not been The Avatar, he is in some way. The Avatar of non-bending combat as well as understanding the cultures of the four nations. While that may be one way to see his development. I’d like add a few more words to that statement.

The Arc of Sokka is much less about him finding his worth and developing his skills but more about him discovering himself. Compared to the other characters. Sokka is very well aware that people don’t see much of him while expecting him to act like a proper man when technically, he’s still just a boy. Despite his lack, he still strives to add more value to himself in his own way.

In the end, his value found him. When in his element, Sokka is good at talking to people, lifting people’s spirits and being tactful against opponents far stronger than himself. It was this will and desire to learn that stopped him from stagnating and falling behind from Team Avatar. When being surrounded by so many heavy hitters, its easy to slack off or feel demotivated. Yet, Sokka never gave up on himself.

Sokka’s Arc is relatable to us normal people who see very little of ourselves. Regardless if it is high expectations or low. The most important lesson to draw from Sokka is to be willing to grow one’s self. Over the four seasons, Sokka went from just Boomerang boy, to Part Kyoshi Warrior, Innovative strategist to a Swordsman.

He is prove that if effort is made, it would get better. (and maybe, be the light of the party at your own expense) Which kind of reminds me, I have an Art Degree and should get back to drawing...

Thanks for Reading

- B -

#avatar #avatar the last airbender #the last airbender #aang #katara #sokka #suki #sokka x suki #zuko #Michael Dante DiMartino #bryan konietzko #master piandao #neville longbottom #usopp #emirichu #childhood crushes

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lightdancer1 · 2 years

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Also a point worth noting in the Continuation-verse

Kuei being relegated to an afterthought in the middle of a formal state visit would be a much bigger and very dangerous problem for the Fire Nation if not for the whole 'Fire Nation knew it was facing a major coup and was trying to end-run it.' Kuei is also not about to object to being saved from that or to stir up waters he wants quiet after the Ba Sing Se Riots, which basically are one of the precedents for how his daughter Hu-Ting ends up so unpopular that she had people dancing on her grave before it was dug.

They've been more background information thus far, and they will receive treatment in the background anthology, but the Ba Sing Se Riots are one of the big reasons, along with getting the Water Tribes not to have their civil war within a year or two of the end of the Big Damn War that Aang took a decade to get around to sorting out Jiren, which is why he was officially there in the Fire Nation in the first place.

The Earth Kingdom *calls* it 'Riots' but it was more of a vicious civil war where the Earth King sought to impose authority (officially reimpose it) after a century's lapse and where the Outer Ring of Ba Sing Se was led by a clique including the same Joo Dee that Azula promoted to power when her hypnosis wore off and she was PiSSED.

It's also where the People's Will actually began to get notice as one Comrade Koba was involved in the later stage of the riots in the attempt to overthrow King Kuei and ended up fighting the Avatar and Katara in the very same place that Azula killed Aang and it was only there that they realized it was no hyperbole, he really *was* a metalbender and a damned good one, too.

#atla aus #atla continuation verse #the Earth Kingdom goes from one war to a brand new one #and calls it 'The Ba Sing Se Riots' rather than the 'War of Consolidation' though it really was more this

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wesokkasimp · 3 years

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impulsive (part one)

TW!! mild swearing, mentions of death, bad makeout scene

word count: 8766

You woke up to a splitting headache. For a few minutes you couldn’t concentrate on, much less remember, anything. All you could do was focus on the pounding in your head while you pitied yourself.

Then, it all started to come back, bit by bit. Azula had split off from you, Mai, and Ty Lee to find the Avatar, tasking the three of you with finding his friends. You had found and fought them pretty easily, but things took a turn for the worse when the sky bison flung your comrades into the water. You were spared from the lake, but had been knocked unconscious by the male Water Tribe peasants toy. That was probably where your headache had come from. But that didn’t answer the question of where you were. Suddenly, your thoughts were cut off by a shout.

“Guys, something’s moving in the tent. I think she’s awake!”

Okay, that was definitely not Mai, Ty Lee, or Azula. Something wasn’t right.

You tried to sit up and stretch, but found that your hands had been bound. You realized that your ankles were bound, too. An uneasy feeling began to settle in your stomach. It couldn’t be…

The tent flaps began to shuffle. As an unfamiliar figure entered the vicinity, you caught bits and pieces of conversation. Spirits of the islands, now was not the time for a migraine.

“Are you sure she’s awake?”

“She doesn’t look conscious…”

“Is she falling back asleep?”

“Hey! Whoever you are! Don't…”

****************************

You woke up again, this time with a milder headache and a clearer mind. Unlike the last time you woke up, you were not alone in the tent. The waterbender you had fought with Mai and Ty Lee was sitting by your feet. As if on cue, she noticed that you were no longer passed out.

“Hey, you’re awake again! How are you feeling?” the girl spoke, genuine concern lacing her voice.

“Who are you? Where did Mai and Ty Lee go?” you mumbled.

“My name’s Katara. You and your... group fought me and my brother yesterday. Sok- er, my brother hit you with his boomerang and you were knocked unconscious. Appa knocked your friends into the lake, and they were taking a while to get out of the water. We didn’t just want to leave you there, but we had to get going to see if Aang was alright. So we, um… Took you with us.” the evidently uncomfortable girl explained.

“What’s an Appa? Who’s Aang? And most importantly, who gave you the right to kidnap me!?” you barked at the now annoyed peasant.

“H-hey! We may have just saved your life, so I would be a little more grateful if I were you. My brother hit you pretty hard, I had to heal some of your head injuries after we set up camp. Appa’s our sky bison, and Aang is the Avatar. Y’know, the person you’re trying to kidnap?” the Water Tribe girl snarked.

Suddenly, a boy entered the tent. You recognized him from your fight at the lake the other day, and he looked similar to Katara. He must be her brother.

“Did she finally wake up? I heard shouting.” the boy asked his sister.

“Yeah, she did. Now, if you could kindly untie my hands I can leave and we can pretend this never happened,” you huffed, not wanting to waste another second with these low-life peasants.

“We can’t just let you go! You’ll probably try to kidnap Aang, and even if you don’t, you’ll definitely tell your little girl gang where we are! We need to stay here for a while so that Aang can learn earthbending, Toph said that he’d pick it up quicker if he learned all the basics in the same spot,” the boy sneered.

“Who are you? And who’s Toph?” you asked, seemingly innocent. In reality, you were gathering possibly useful information to give to Azula when you were finally released.

They would release you, right?

“I’m Sokka, the guy that hit you in the head with a boomerang,” he stated smugly, pride washing over him as he watched you scowl. “Toph is… Well, I’ll just get her in here.”

After a few uncomfortable beats of silence with the waterbender, the boy entered the tent again, this time with a small girl following him.

“This is Toph. She’s teaching Aang earthbending,” Sokka sighed. He was clearly already exasperated.

You took in the girl standing above you. She was quite small and delicate looking. As your eyes traveled to her face, you noticed her eyes were glazed over. Realizing she was blind, you let out a hearty cackle.

“What’s so funny?” the girl demanded. It seemed she also had a bad temper.

“Oh, nothing,” you sighed. “I just think it’s a little funny that the best earthbending teacher the Avatar could find is a tiny blind girl.”

A chunk of earth shot up from the ground and smacked you square in the forehead the second you finished that sentence.

“Hey! H-how can you see where I am?” you squeaked. Perhaps you had underestimated this girl.

“I see everything with my feet, dunderhead. Ever heard of seismic sense? You’re lucky that’s all I did, because trust me, Princess, I’m capable of a lot more,” Toph chuckled.

Okay, this girl was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Your gut was telling you, and your gut never lied. You made a mental note to report all of this to Azula.

“Well, it’s been fun, but I really need to get going. I know you guys don’t trust me, you’d be fools if you did, but what are you going to do with me? I’m a world class combat expert, I’ve been in worse situations, so unless you're planning to keep an eye on me 24/7 and putting better restraints on me I’ll probably escape by dawn,” you drawled.

“She has a point, y’know. Azula is the princess of the Fire Nation- it would only make sense for her to have the best team of warriors money can buy,” Toph stated.

“Azula isn’t paying me,” you scoffed. “I’d never accept pay. Serving beside someone in the royal family so closely is the one of the highest honors someone could get- that’s payment enough.”

“You think hunting down and kidnapping the world's last hope for peace is honorable?” Katara said, shooting you the deadliest glare you’d ever received.

“The Avatar isn’t the world's last hope for peace. If the other nations would just cooperate with the Fire Nation-”

“How could you expect us to cooperate with conquest?” Katara screeched, cutting you off in the process.

“Look, now is not the time to get into this argument. Right now, we need to figure out what we’re gonna do with…?” Sokka sent you a questioning look as he realized you hadn’t shared your name yet.

“Y/N.” you sighed.

This may be harder than you initially thought.

****************************

The group had come up with a temporary plan. They replaced your rope restraints with earth ones Toph made. They already had a night watch system in place, so they decided that whoever was doing night watch would simultaneously watch you.

You didn’t get a wink of sleep that night, so lucky you got to stay up through all four shifts. Katara had the first shift. Her shift was uneventful, it seemed she didn’t have the best social skills. She reminded you of Azula in that way. A lot of ways, actually. They were both 14, powerful benders, and overshadowed their older brothers. You couldn’t be positive about anything, but you were pretty good at reading people, and from the small amount of time you’d spent with these four misfits you had picked up a bit of jealousy on Sokka's end. Probably because his sister was a bender and he wasn’t. It was understandable- you’d probably be jealous of your own older brother if he possessed bending and you didn’t, even if it was a weak element like water. Lucky for you, you had firebending, the most superior element. Although you supposed it would be nice to be an earthbender right now. You had been thinking for hours about a way to escape with your firebending, but so far it had been in vain.

The next person on the night watch was Sokka. Unlike Katara, he attempted to make small talk with you.

“So, how long have you known Azula?” the watertribe peasant questioned. You thought about the question, and after deciding there wasn’t a way your answer could be used against you later, you answered,

“About two months. She knew Ty Lee and Mai from The Royal Fire Nation Academy for Girls. I went there too, but we didn’t know each other. When her father asked her to hunt down her brother, she saw my name on the top of a list of elite soldiers. She asked me to join her team, and I accepted.”

“You were in the military?” Sokka asked. His eyes widened, probably wondering why someone as young as you was in the military. After all, you were only 16.

“Yup. My family was pretty poor, until some soldiers came to our house one day and saw my brother and I were firebending prodigies. We got moved to a fancy housing unit near the Fire Nation Royal Academies. After I graduated three years ago, I was enrolled into the military,” you answered. You didn’t know why you were telling him all this, but Sokka was surprisingly easy to talk to.

“Wow. I can’t imagine joining the military that young. In the Southern Water Tribe the minimum age for joining is 17,” Sokka replied. “I actually tried to join when I was 13, but my father made me stay.”

“That was a mistake on your tribe's part. You’re a strong, able, young man. You could’ve been trained in a few months and then your tribe would’ve had another set of hands,” you stated cooly.

The boy only hummed in response. He knew it was pointless to try and get you to understand why sending a child into battle was wrong. He knew how the Fire Nation carefully bred its children to be cold-hearted, logical, and violent. Yet he couldn’t help but feel that there was something different about you. On the surface, you seemed like every other Fire Nation noble he’d come across: arrogant, cocky, and ruthless. But underneath, he saw more. Remorse? Guilt? Like you knew in your gut that what you were doing was wrong, but the Fire Nation had trained you to trust them and only them? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he had seen something similar in Zuko. It was more apparent in you, though.

The rest of Sokka's shift went without a word. The third shift belonged to the Avatar himself. This was the first time you really got a good look at the boy. He was shorter than you expected, but besides his height everything about him radiated maturity. You thought about what he had gone through to get that maturity- learning about the genocide of his people a century after it happened, the Northern Water Tribe fiasco, and being hunted down by two of the worlds most powerful firebenders. All in a few months, on top of the normal stresses of being the Avatar. You felt a pang of sympathy for the boy. Even if your loyalties belonged to the Fire Nation, you had never thought the genocide of the Air Nomads was anything less than barbaric, even if you would never dare say that out loud. But the Fire Nation had evolved for the better. Things were different now.

Right?

“You must hate me,” you chuckled darkly. Your voice was humorless.

Aang looked confused as he asked “Why would I hate you?”

“I’ve been hired by someone to kidnap you, and wholeheartedly agree with what they're doing. Don’t worry. I’d hate me too,” you replied.

“I don’t hate anybody. I could only hate someone that truly had no good in them, but there’s good in everyone. Even you,” the monk said. He smiled up at you.

You were surprised at his words. You shouldn’t have been. He was a pacifist monk, after all. Not many people had ever tried to see good in you. Why would they? You were a soldier that served your nation loyally. Nothing more, nothing less. There didn’t need to be good in you. In fact, it was better if there wasn’t any good or bad in you. As long as you stayed loyal and obeyed the Fire Nation, everyone seemed perfectly content with leaving you be.

The rest of Aang's shift went by without another word between the two of you until the very end. Aang started to stand, eager to get back to sleep, when you started to speak,

“Hey! I just wanted to, um, apologize.”

Aang's eyes widened in surprise. Was it possible? Has his ~inspirational~ words touched your heart this quickly? Reversed the years of brainwashing and abuse the Fire Nation had exposed you to? Maybe you would even willingly join their team! Maybe-

He was cut off by your explanation, “What happened to your people, I mean. Not, uh, trying to kidnap you.”

“Oh,” the young Avatar replied. “It’s alright. It’s not like it was your fault.”

Okay, not exactly what he was looking for. But hey, at least there was some good in you. Not wanting a race of people to be brutally murdered or wishing an entire culture to be wiped out was… a start.

Finally, the fourth shift started. Toph. You didn’t have much respect for any of these kids, but Toph was definitely the one who had garnered most of your respect. Despite her lack of sight, Toph was the most powerful earthbender you had ever seen. In a way, her blindness enhanced her abilities by heightening her other senses. She didn’t take shit from anyone, which was something you were insecure about. Being in the Fire Nation militia, you had to take shit from your superiors, unless you wanted to be discharged. Or worse.

It seemed that Toph was not a morning person, so about 25 minutes after her shift started, Toph dozed off.

For a second, you couldn’t believe your eyes. What luck after such a pitiful few hours! But there was still the problem of your restraints. You hadn’t really taken in the campsite, as you had thought you wouldn’t have the chance to escape. While you were looking around, a sharp rock caught your eye. Perfect.

After scooting over to the rock, which took more time than you would like to admit, you raised your arms and brought them down hard upon the rock. The restraints broke instantly. After doing the same with your ankles, you surveyed the land. You figured you only had about an hour until somebody woke up, so you had to get moving quickly. You had a pretty good sense of direction, and that sense was telling you to go west of the campsite. You began spriniting in that direction. You knew you wouldn’t be able to sprint like this for long, but you had to get a head start. Once “Team Avatar” realized you had left, they might go looking for you on their giant flying bison.

****************************

You had been traveling for two days now. You weren’t anxious about a Team Avatar member hunting you down anymore. That was a worry of the past. Now you were more concerned with getting something to eat. You had found some hope when you came across a town, only to be disappointed after finding it was abandoned. Even though you were hungry and thirsty, you were also absolutely exhausted, and this town could provide shelter. You walked into the first building you saw, ready to pass out as soon as you hit the floor. In fact, you were so completely out of it that you didn’t notice the building was already occupied. You simply entered, found a nice corner, and hit the deck.

While you may not have noticed the other occupants of the decrepit building, they noticed you. Well, one of them. A certain banished prince, to be exact.

He watched as you slept, not even sparing him a glance before you fell asleep. It was a bit shocking, to say the least. Any normal traveler would walk in, realize the building was occupied, apologize, and find another place to rest. This behaviour was suspicious. Too suspicious to not give you a quick once over.

Zuko walked over to you as quietly as possible, even though he didn’t need to worry about his volume. You were an impressively heavy sleeper, especially when you were exhausted like this. He crouched over you, taking in your features. His face softened for a moment as he saw the pure exhaustion gracing your eyes, hardening again soon after. What did he care if you were well rested or not? You were just some random traveler. He looked around in your corner and saw that there was no weapon. You didn’t even have a small travel bag.

Assured you were no threat, Zuko walked back over to his sleeping uncle and decided to turn in after a long day of training.

****************************

You woke up feeling more refreshed than you had in days. That was the best sleep you’d had in, what, seven weeks? You began stretching your limbs, feeling ready to continue your search for Azula. Then the hunger pains hit.

You doubled over, letting out a small moan of pain. That small moan, however, was all it took to awake the Dragon of the West.

As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he looked around to make sure his nephew was okay. The prince was sleeping peacefully beside him. As you let out another hiss of pain, Iroh whipped his head around to see you, a young girl, clutching your obnoxiously loud stomach. He had conquered enough small Earth Kingdom villages to know what starving looked like, and that’s exactly what he was seeing.

“Excuse me, miss,” he all but whispered. You whipped your head around, suddenly on high alert.

“I apologize, I did not mean to startle you. But I noticed that you seem quite hungry,” your stomach growled in response as Iroh spoke. “My nephew and I have a little extra food to spare, as well as some exquisite tea. Would you like to join us for breakfast?”

Under normal circumstances, you would have been way more skeptic of an old man you’d just met offering you food. But you hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since the night before you got kidnapped, and this weirdo was your only option.

“I suppose,” you sighed.

“Wonderful! I will get started on breakfast. Would you like ginseng, green, or jasmine tea?”

“Jasmine,” you responded.

“Good choice. Jasmine is my nephews favorite,” the old man replied, a fond look painting his face.

As Iroh started breakfast, you couldn’t help but feel as if he looked familiar. Perhaps he had been on the news? Or possibly one of your textbooks? You shook off the feeling immediately; no. It wasn’t possible some filthy traveler had made it into a textbook. You laughed internally at the thought.

About 45 minutes had passed since Iroh began preparing breakfast, and he had finally finished cooking the meal. You walked over to the corner of the room the old man and his nephew had been staying in as Iroh beckoned you over. When you got close enough to the younger man to get a good look at him, you got that same familiarity ebbing at your insides. It wasn’t an unsettling familiarity, just… strange. But you supposed everything about this situation was strange.

Just as you began to sit, you were interrupted.

“I’m sorry, young lady. But could you wake up my nephew? As you can see by the bandages, I got hurt quite badly recently and cannot move around very well,” the old man said sheepishly.

“Sure,” you replied. This old man seemed nice enough, and he was making you, a complete stranger to him, breakfast. So you didn’t mind waking up his nephew. It was an easy task.

Or so you thought.

As you walked over to the sleeping boy and crouched over him, your breath hitched in your throat. Oh wow. This boy was quite the looker. His scar made him look all the more badass. You shook off these thoughts as quickly as he came. No. You didn’t have the time to pursue relationships with boys you didn’t even know.

You put your hand to the sleeping boy's arm gently, shaking him just enough to wake up. Waking him up wasn’t the hard part. The hard part came after he woke up.

You know, the part where he proceeded to attack you.

You let out a squeak of surprise as he leapt onto you, pinning you to the floor in the process. All your normal reflexes and strength had gone with your full stomach. On top of that, you didn’t want to hurt this guy, spirits forbid his uncle reclaim your breakfast invite. His arms were by the sides of your head to keep from crushing you. He leaned down to your face.

“Who are you, and what are you doing?” the boy growled into your ear, his voice extra raspy considering he had just woken up. He sent you a glare that rivaled the one Katara had sent you the other day.

“Lee! This is not how we treat our guests. I invited this young lady to sit with us for breakfast and asked her to wake you up,” Iroh scolded.

“Uncle, you can’t just go around inviting random people to sit with us at meals!” Zuko protested. “It isn’t safe.”

“Hush, nephew. She’s joining us and that’s final,” Iroh retorted.

Zuko sent you a final glare before getting off of you.

The meal was pretty silent at first, not that you minded. You were pretty focused on stuffing your face. After a few minutes of comfortable silence passed, Iroh started some small talk.

“So, young lady. I don’t believe you told me your name. What is it, if you don’t mind me asking?” Iroh inquired.

“Y/N,” you responded. “I don’t think I caught your name either.”

“Mushi,” the man responded. “And this is my nephew, Lee.” he gestured to the boy sitting next to him. Said boy sent you another glare. You sent him your snarkiest stare back.

“So,” you began, “Mushi. Where are you from?”

“I come from a small village in the Earth Kingdom, you’ve most likely never heard of it. My nephew and I left a few years ago in search of a better life,” Iroh answered as his gaze traveled to the small travel kettle. “Oh! The tea is ready.”

Mushi took the kettle off of the fire. Huh. Fire. That wasn’t there when the old man had first invited you to breakfast, and you hadn’t heard him trying to make a fire. Unless he was a firebender, which was impossible considering he was from the Earth Kingdom, how did he start a fire so easily?

You brushed it off. He probably just had a lot of experience or something, right? Yeah, yeah. Sure. Instead, you turned your attention back to ‘Mushi’ (you suspected that wasn’t his real name), who was pouring some jasmine tea for his nephew. The smallest fond smile graced the boy's face as his uncle poured his tea. His smile was a nice change of pace from his usual scowl. You wished you could see him smile more.

Wait, no. What were these thoughts? You couldn’t go around ogling at boys like a school-girl! It was simply out of the question. You had one purpose in life: Serve. The. Fire Nation. Maybe someday your parents would arrange a marriage for you or something of the like, but you had no intention of falling in love.Wishing someone happiness and a crush were two very different things. Besides, you could never fall in love with someone just because of their looks. You weren’t that shallow.

Once you had finished breakfast, you walked back over to the corner you claimed to pack up. After noting that there was nothing to pack up, anxiety started to settle in. Realizing you didn’t even have a weapon to defend yourself with, you started to feel full on panic. You had been so preoccupied with escaping Team Avatar and staying alive that your lack of, well, anything had slipped your conscious.

This was not good. You were in the middle of nowhere with nothing but the clothes on your back.

Mushi must have taken in your state of dismay, because he walked over to you and placed a comforting hand on your shoulder.

“You seem a little lost, Y/N. Is there any way I could help you?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. But I think I’m going to have to stay in this town another night until I can figure something out,” you sighed. Every moment you became more and more anxious about how Azula would react if- no, when you returned. Would she be angry about it? Or did she view you as a disposable tool? You hoped for the latter. If that was how she saw you, maybe she would be pleasantly surprised when you returned. While “disposable tool” might not have been the exact way you described yourself, it certainly was close to that. Serving your country was a noble thing, and if you died doing it, it would be an honorable death.

“I think you are making a wise choice. It would be foolish to go out traveling with no resources. However, because you are staying, I do have to tell you something. I have not been completely honest,” the man muttered, looking at you sheepishly.

“What are you talking about?” you asked, incredulousness gracing your features. How could he have lied? He’d barely spoken to you, for spirits sake!

“My name’s not Mushi, and my nephew is not Lee. We’re not from the Earth Kingdom. Our names are Iroh and Zuko, and we hail from the Fire Nation,” Iroh explained.

“Oh,” you said, relieved it hadn’t been something worse. “That’s fine. I’m from the Fire Nation too. But why didn’t you just tell me in the first place?”

“I was not sure if you were from the Earth Kingdom or the Fire Nation. Most people are not comfortable revealing that information to strangers. People from the Earth Kingdom do not always react kindly to Fire Nation citizens,” the old man replied.

“Damn right,” you scoffed. “Personally, I think they need a little lesson in respect.”

Iroh hummed in response, not showing any other sign of agreement or disagreement. He didn’t want to scare you off or fight you, but he also didn’t want to show any agreement with what you’d just said.

“Are you a firebender? I’ve been teaching my nephew, so if you’d like to train with us, you’re more than welcome,” Iroh inquired.

You thought about the offer. You hadn’t trained in a week. You had decided not to bend at all while you were traveling to conserve energy, so your bending was probably a little rusty.

“Sure, I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” you responded.

“Great! My nephew and I are currently working on a special technique that we started yesterday. We’re redirecting lightning. I actually made it myself,” Iroh replied eagerly.

“Wait, you can redirect lightning? Does that mean you’re a lightning bender?” you asked, dumbfounded. Lightning bending was one of, if not the most, powerful forms of bending. Because it was so powerful, the only people who got to learn it were members of the Fire Nation royal family.

“Yes, I can conjure lightning. But I don’t do it often,” Iroh chuckled.

Then it all began clicking into place for you- of course! Prince Zuko and former heir to the throne General Iroh! It hadn’t clicked sooner because of Prince Zuko’s banishment. You hadn’t heard his name in a few years, and he had just kind of left your consciousness.

“So you’re General Iroh? The Dragon of the West? The only man to ever conquer Ba Sing Se?” you squealed. General Iroh was a hero of yours. He was a strong asset to the Fire Nation and an even stronger bender. His loss of Ba Sing Se had been disappointing, and you personally thought he should have stayed. Still, losing a son must be hard. The loss of Lu Ten, whom you had thought was going to be the Fire Lord one day, was devastating for the entire Fire Nation. On top of all that, he was stripped of his heir status. The details on that had always been shady, as Fire Lord Azulon never mentioned anything about his wishes for Ozai to become the Fire Lord while he was still alive. Not to mention Fire Princess Ursa disappearing right before Ozai’s coronation. Still, reading into it too much was a waste of time. Fire Lord Ozai was a strong leader, and that was what the Fire Nation needed.

“Uh, yes. I did conquer Ba Sing Se for some time,” Iroh replied, trying his hardest to hide the discomfort that had now taken over his face. “But let's not focus on that. We should get to training.” he urged.

You walked outside with Iroh towards a cliff, where Zuko was waiting. As he spotted you, his eyebrows shot up in surprise. Surprise quickly turned to annoyance as he said,

“Uncle! Was inviting her to breakfast not enough? Why is she out here?”

Iroh looked impatient while saying, “Zuko! Where are your manners today? Y/N here is a bit stranded, so for the time being, she will train with us.”

Realizing his uncle had called him by his real name, Zuko sent Iroh a glare, but he didn’t say anything about it. Zuko didn’t want to give himself away completely.

“I just remembered- you need to be in a calm state of mind for today's exercise. I need to go make some ginseng tea!” Iroh said, hurrying back to the decaying building to start the drink.

You groaned internally. You had grown quite fond of the old man already, but you couldn’t say the same for his nephew.

An uncomfortable silence took over as he just stood there awkwardly.

“So, how long does it take for your uncle to make tea?” you asked, hoping to quell the silence and get an estimate of when you could begin training.

“Half an hour for ginseng. He likes to get it just right,” Zuko answered. He was clearly annoyed by your presence, as he has hoped to work on the lightning technique his uncle created. But alas, he couldn’t give away that he was from the Fire Nation. I mean, really? Why had his uncle agreed to letting you train them? A free meal was courteous enough, no? Now a whole day of training would be wasted on teaching some random girl the basics of hand to hand combat.

“Is he coming back while the tea steeps to get us started?” you sighed.

“No, he usually stays by the tea. He doesn’t want anything to happen to it,” Zuko explained.

“Well, in that case, do you want to get started without him? Just to warm up?” you asked.

“Sure, why not?” Zuko mumbled sarcastically. Was a moment alone with his uncle too much to ask for?

As Zuko got into a standard position for hand to hand combat, you crossed your arms and shot him a confused look.

“Spirits, don’t tell me you don’t even know basic fighting stances,” Zuko groaned.

“Of course I know basic fighting stances!” you countered. “But why are you in a hand to hand combat stance? I thought this was a firebending session.”

Zuko froze. “You know I’m a firebender?” “Uh, yeah! I also know who you are, princey, in case you haven’t picked up on that either. Now are we starting or not?” you cried.

Zuko stayed frozen. “How do you know who I am?” he demanded.

“Your uncle told me, idiot. You were also the heir to the throne of the country I live in for a hot minute. It took me a while, but you’re not unrecognizable,” you replied.

“Oh.”

“Yep.”

After another few minutes of awkward silence, you spoke again.

“So hottie, are we sparring or not?” you asked, now impatient.

Zuko started to nod before he realized the nickname you had just given him.

“What did you just call me?” He tried his best to sound intimidating, but it was challenging considering his voice had gone up an octave.

You smirked. “Hottie. Y’know, short for hothead?”

“Oh,” Zuko sighed. He didn’t know if he was relieved or disappointed.

“You’re also, like, totally hot,” you said nonchalantly. You knew you shouldn’t have been flirting. That’s what you had been telling yourself all day. But he was just too easy! His cheeks flared up immediately after you called him hot. And you never got to flirt! You were always too busy training, or on a mission. Besides, it’s not like this will go anywhere. You’ll have your fun for an hour or two, and by the end of the day you will have figured something out and leave.

While you were trying to justify your flirting, Zuko was busy having an existential crisis. He was, for lack of a better word, bamboozled. Just… what? How could anyone, much less a pretty girl like you, find him attractive when he had a giant fucking scar covering a third of his face? He had barely even spoken to you, and his words had been cold at best. Why did you still find him attractive? Though he supposed he was thinking the same about you. Sure, he found you annoying and maybe even a little arrogant, but he recognized your attractiveness.

“O-okay. We can get started now,” Zuko stammered, his blush quickly spreading.

“Alright,” you giggled. “But be warned, I’m a little rusty.”

You and Zuko got into position swiftly. After stretching, Zuko got into an intermediate bending stance.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

As the first plumes of fire left your hands, you felt feelings you only ever felt while firebending. Grace. Comfort. Complete and total warmth. Firebending had always been a form of escapism for you, and it had killed you to temporarily stop. But now, as you focused on the flames erupting from your hands, you felt a sense of peace.

Zuko was surprised by your skill. He outmatched you, but not by nearly as much as he thought he would. It was clear you were naturally gifted at firebending; your elegant movements said that much. Zuko had the best private teachers money could buy at his disposal growing up, so he being better than you was a given. He assumed you went to one of the many Fire Nation public schools growing up, but after seeing your bending, he realized you must have gone to a pretty good private school.

After the quick warmup, Iroh came out with the tea.

“Sorry I took so long. Ginseng is always fussy,” the retired general sighed.

“Nephew, since I already told you all this yesterday, how about you take your tea and meditate for a few minutes while I catch Y/N up to speed?” Iroh asked.

“That works,” Zuko said. Oddly, after the brief spar with you, Zuko found all his annoyance at you disappearing.

****************************

It had been a grueling day of training. You were a fast learner, but it appeared that you were not going to master this technique any time soon Zuko tried to help you, but so far it had been to no avail. Iroh left to rest about half an hour ago, after raising his eyebrows suggestively at Zuko, who rolled his eyes at the gesture.

“You’re not getting you chi low enough,” Zuko groaned. This was the fourth time he was explaining this to you. “You need to let it travel through your stomach.”

“What the hell does that even mean?” you cried, growing frustrated.

“Just- I’ll help you,” Zuko mumbled, trudging over to where you were standing. He positioned himself behind you, putting his hands on your arms.

“It’s like this,” he explained. He guided your right arm a bit higher, and put your left arm at a much lower angle. His arms dropped from your arms to your waist.

“You have to guide the chi lower,” he repeated.

You did the motion again, making sure your arms were in the position Zuko had put them in. The places he had touched were still tingling from his warm, rough hands.

“Good job,” Zuko muttered. His hands were still placed firmly on your waist.

“Well, you’re a pretty good teacher,” you giggled. Y/N, you thought. You were trying to have as much fun with this boy as you possibly could.

“Is that so?” Zuko murmured, suddenly feeling confident. He didn’t get to have much fun either. And his uncle was always teasing him about not being good with girls. Maybe with you, he could kill two birds with one stone. Have some fun and get some practice around girls. He’d need it someday, to court his future Fire Lady. “Maybe I could teach you other things. Like firebending.”

“I know how to firebend, Zuko,” you said, rolling your eyes.

“You don’t know anything too advanced, though,” Zuko retorted.

“True, true. I guess I could take you up on that offer. But with all the things you’re teaching me, I’m going to have to teach you a few things in return.” “Like what?”

You smirked, tilting your head back until it was under Zuko's chin. “Oh, you’ll see. But for now, teach me some firebending.”

Zuko's heart inexplicably started racing at your mysteriousness. Was he simply nervous that he didn’t know what you were going to be teaching him? Or was it the way your voice went a little lower? The new close proximity of your faces? The knowing smirk on your face?

Still nervous, Zuko took his hands from your waist. “Okay, in that case, I’ll teach you something I invented. I call it fire daggers.”

****************************

“You’re doing pretty well. You just need to push a little more chi to your wrists,” Zuko explained. He had been teaching you how to create fire daggers for about 45 minutes, and you had almost mastered it.

“Okay,” you replied. You took a deep breath, and tried your hardest to focus all your chi to your hands. You felt the warmth become more concentrated around your palms, and finally, you let out two, very concentrated fire daggers.

“Finally!” you exclaimed. “Wow, you invented this?”

“Yeah, but it took a while to perfect,” Zuko admitted. “So, what are you planning to teach me?”

“Oh, can we do it after we eat? I’m starving,” you said, careful not to tell him what you had in mind.

“I’m actually not very hungry. But you go eat with my uncle. I’ll train until you can come back.” “Sounds good.” You headed to the shabby building, leaving Zuko to train. As you were walking, you began thinking of what you would teach Zuko. You hadn’t planned that far ahead. Spirits, what about this boy made you so impulsive? Oh well, you’d think of something.

“Hello, Miss Y/N!” Iroh greeted.

“Hey, Iroh,” you responded. “What’s cooking? It smells good.”

“Some jook,” Iroh replied. “Where is my nephew?” “He’s still outside. He’s not hungry so he’s training some more.”

“Classic Zuko,” Iroh sighed.

He served you a bowl of jook, which you happily began to eat. As you were eating, your mind wandered to other places. Team Avatar, to be exact. You thought about how they treated you. Sure, they put cuffs on you, but that was expected. They weren’t complete fools. You thought more about the way they had tried to make you comfortable. They offered you water, like, every fifteen minutes. And food, which you had refused. That wasn’t a good idea in hindsight. Sokka had even tried to make you more comfortable by making small talk, and Aang had been polite when you initiated conversation. If it had been the Fire Nation who captured them, there would be no such hospitality. Why had the enemy been so kind to you? Maybe- no. How could you think such a traitorous thought? Still, now that it was on your mind, you had to let it out.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” you asked, fidgeting with your spoon.

“Of course. What is on your mind?” Iroh questioned.

“Do you think this war is… right?” you sighed, not meeting Iroh’s eyes.

“What do you mean?” “Just… I was captured a few days ago, by the Avatar and his group. And some of the things they did and said got me thinking. Is it possible that the Fire Nation is in the wrong? We refuse to see good in anything but ourselves. I was taught from a young age to never show mercy; that mercy is weakness. But the Avatar and his friends were nothing but hospitable to me. I mean, what is the reason for this war? Conquest? Why are we trying to conquer the world? My school books say the Air Nomads were planning to invade us, but the more I think about that, the more absurd it sounds. They were pacifists, for spirits sake!” You hadn’t planned on saying all that, but once you started talking, you couldn’t stop. You felt confused, and now angry. Had the Fire Nation really been lying to you this whole time? Was everything you knew a lie? You felt like you were suffocating, shocked by the things that had come out of your own mouth. If you weren’t a faithful servant to the Fire Nation, who were you?

Iroh stared at his bowl of jook for a few seconds, contemplating what you had just said. Then, he spoke.

“Morals are something you must develop for yourself. Take a look at the facts and your own life experiences, and form a code of ethics to follow. I know how difficult it can be to question what you were taught, but we must always be bettering ourselves. Don’t take the easy way out, and always remember to trust your gut.”

You understood what Iroh meant. It’s easy to just follow someone blindly, especially if they’re manipulating you. Developing your own moral code, while harder, would be more fulfilling and worthwhile in the end.

“Thanks, Iroh. I have a lot to think about,” you breathed at a barely audible voice.

“Of course, take your time.”

You slinked off to your corner, figuring you had about twenty minutes until you had to go to Zuko. You hadn’t eaten much jook. You thought about your brother, who had always been the perfect Fire Nation citizen. He never questioned the Fire Nations wishes, not for one minute. You had always looked up to him, and longed for his praise so badly, so you didn’t question the Fire Nation either. And look where that got the both of you. You were here, stranded in an abandoned Earth Kingdom village, and he was, well, dead. Killed in battle at the ripe age of 17, just as you were about to graduate from the Fire Nation Royal Academy for Girls.

It was in that moment that you finally understood what Katara had meant. Why would the remaining two nations comply with the Fire Nation when the Fire Nation was trying to overthrow them? Complying wouldn’t result in peace. It would result in chaos.

Well, fuck. Now what were you going to do? You couldn’t go back to Azula, and your gut was telling you not to stay with Iroh and Zuko. You had to get going by tomorrow morning.

“Iroh, I have a favor to ask,” you said.

“Anything, my dear,” he answered.

You rubbed the back of your neck sheepishly. “Do you have, like, an extra canteen of water I could take? Or a little bit of extra food? I really need to get going tomorrow morning, and-”

Iroh cut you off. “Of course, Y/N. I’ll get a few things packed up for you, but in the meantime, I think my nephew is waiting for you.” “Thanks, Iroh,” you said, smiling. Iroh nodded in your direction as you jogged out the door.

Feeling much more optimistic and more sure of yourself than you had ever been, you sauntered over to Zuko, who was doing a few cooldown stretches.

“Oh, hi Y/N. I was just finishing up. Are you ready to repay me yet?” he chuckled.

“Not quite yet. Follow me,” you said in a teasing tone. Zuko got up and followed you despite the confused look on his face. Oh, how naive, you thought.

You led Zuko to a crumbling wall you had spotted earlier during training. When you stopped, Zuko began speaking.

“What are we doing over here? What are you even teaching me?”

You could tell he was getting impatient with you. Oh well, just give the boy what he wants.

“Never knew you were the eager type,” you giggled.

Zuko’s witty comeback died in his throat as you yanked him by the arm towards you and effectively pinned him against the wall.

“Wh- what are you-”

“Quiet, hottie,” you murmured. “Class is in session. Would you consider yourself a hands on learner?” “I guess so,” he whispered. The almighty Fire Prince was melting into a puddle right before your eyes, at your hand nonetheless. He really was too cute for his own good at this moment. His eyes wide instead of the default glare they were set in, his entire face red.

“Good,” you responded. You took his hands, which were hanging limply at his sides, and stationed them on your waist. You then placed your hands firmly onto his shoulders. Zuko shuddered under your touch.

“Ready for the demonstration?” you asked, serious tone not at all fitting for what you were about to do to this boy.

“U-um, well, I… ah-” Zuko sputtered. Was it only this morning he was glaring at you for joining his meal?

You rolled your eyes. “Lesson one: Talk. Less.” you stated.

You leaned in until your lips were just barely brushing Zuko’s. You could hear his breath hitch in his throat. But you weren’t done having fun with him yet.

At the last minute, you turned away from his lips, instead opting to place a feather light kiss on Zuko’s cheek teasingly.

You pulled away from Zuko slightly with a sly smile, just enough so you could see his face. His expression was shocked, confused, and longing.

Perfect.

“You don’t have to be so stiff, you know,” you giggled. “Move a little. It-”

Zuko cut you off with his lips, grasping at your waist like his life depended on it. You gasped into his mouth before hurriedly kissing back. Sure, you’d kissed a guy or two in your life, but none of them felt like Zuko. He tasted like jasmine and woodsmoke. His lips moved against yours with passion and vigor as he let out little sighs into your mouth. Your hands left Zuko’s shoulders, going to his chest instead as you grabbed fistfuls of his shirt.

You pulled away from the kiss, smiling as he chased after your lips.

“Why… did you do that?” he whispered.

“I had to teach you something, didn’t I? Did you learn anything?” you asked.

“Talk less,” Zuko said, his eyes hazy.

You chuckled. “Yeah. Remember that one.”

You walked off, leaving Zuko to contemplate what just happened.

****************************

You left that same night. Iroh had gone to the nearby forest to forage for some plants, and Zuko was still standing at the wall, dumbfounded. That left the building you had stayed in empty. There was a small bag sitting in the corner you had slept in, packed by Iroh. You found a compass in Iroh’s bag, found which way west was, and started off in the direction, taking the compass with you. It didn’t matter; Zuko had one in his bag. You checked.

You weren’t quite sure where you were going. Going back to Azula was obviously not an option, but the Fire Nation wasn’t a good choice either. There would be too many things to explain to your family, and you could be sent to jail for abandoning Azula. Or worse. It would be better for the time being if you were presumed dead, not that anyone besides your parents and perhaps a few of your friends would care.

That left a few options. You could become a nomad of sorts, jumping around from town to town, never staying long. You weren’t built for that sort of life, though. The few weeks traveling with Azula had been enough to last you a lifetime. Omashu, now New Ozai, had become occupied by the Fire Nation. The Northern Water Tribe was secluded and virtually untouched by the war, as the recent invasion attempt had failed. Unfortunately for you, it was nearly impossible to get to, even by high-tech warship. That left settling down at one of the abandoned Air Temples or Ba Sing Se. The latter seemed less lonely and more attainable, so off to Ba Sing Se it was.

****************************

“Fine, but you’re closing tomorrow!”

“Okay okay. Thanks, Xia!”

You washed the flour caked on your hands from hours of work, left the keys in the small tray by the back door, and began your walk back to the small apartment you lived in, apron in hand.

You had been living in Ba Sing Se for two months now. After forging some papers and departing the ferry that took you to the city, you landed a job at a small, but lively bakery that locals of the outer ring loved. Your weekly salary was enough to pay for rent, food, and a few recreational activities too. Overall, you lived a comfortable life, and you would have been happy to spend the rest of your days in the life you’d built for yourself, even if you had to pretend there was no war.

You had been hearing about a tea shop from some of your neighbors. It wasn’t new, but there was a new employee that really knew his way around the drink. You hadn’t had a cup of tea since the ginseng shared with Zuko and Iroh, and you certainly had the money for it. Deciding to treat yourself, you walked into the store and ordered a cup of jasmine tea. After paying, you sat down at a table by the window and waited for your tea to be served. Drumming your fingers on the table, you thought about how much your life had changed in just a few short months. You had gone from a loyal servant to the Fire Nation, ready to sacrifice anything and everything for a facist tyrant, to a normal young adult working in a bakery. You couldn’t help but feel grateful you had fallen into this timeline. What if Sokka’s aim had just been a bit off and you hadn’t been knocked out? You’d probably still be out there with Azula, hunting down the world's last hope for balance. Crazy how one little action can have such a huge impact.

As you thought about Azula, your mind wandered to her older brother. You smiled at the thought of Zuko. Your time together had been brief, but you looked back on it fondly. Sure, he could be very aggressive and intimidating, but he could also be quite shy and bashful, if you got him in the right situation.

Looking back on the kiss the two of you had shared, you blushed. You felt giddy and slightly embarrassed at the same time. You had been so impulsive in that moment, but you couldn’t help it. He was just so cute, stuttering under your soft gaze!

“Order up,” a raspy voice stated behind you.

Ah, your tea. You turned around to accept the steaming cup, tip in hand, but something stopped you from reaching out to take the drink from the rusted tray.

That something was the wide-eyed stare of a certain Fire Nation royal family member.

“Oh,” you choked. “Hi again.”

a/n okay i know i said literally yesterday that this would be out in december but you never know when motivation will hit ig. this isn’t the full thing but i think that’s understandable since this bitch is loooong. the second part will probably be shorter. the other zuko h/cs will still be out before thanksgiving! requests are still open as well, but i want to finish this so it may take a little for me to get to them. thank you to @ladyamaya (sorry it’s not letting me tag you :() for requesting this. sorry it took so long. also, sorry if this sucks :)

#Zuko #ba sing se #zuko x you #zuko x reader #zuko x y/n #sokka #katara #aang #toph #iroh #zuko angst #zuko fluff #bad makeout scene sorry

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