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gladerwolfstarkimagines · 3 years

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

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

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

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

Your POV

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

Zuko’s POV

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

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

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

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

Your POV

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

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

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

***

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

1 week later

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

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

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

Your POV

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

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

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

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writebecauseyoucannotbreathe · 3 years

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Ultimate Ship Meme: Azulaang

Rate the Ship -

How long will they last? - Until I say so. I can see them being together after death as spirits.

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - Ooooh boy. Azula struggles to understand friendship. I think she'd fall in love fast and hard but take the longest to realize. Aang wouldn't let himself get attached at first because Azula is unapologetic and one of the things I like about Azulaang is how it would push Aang to deals with the nitty gritty gray, not in a The Fire Nation was right all along way but in how even Kyoshi and Roku's conflict resolution let to disagreements. I think it would take Aang longer to fall in but once they reach a semblance of common ground he'd be well aware he's falling in love and would enjoy the ride.

How was their first kiss? - Let's see my fanfics. In Blue it was awkward. In Weightless it was sweet. In Smut it was horny and hate filled. In canon I think their first kiss would be very passionate and then they snap back to reality and Aang would evade while Azula denies so they wouldn't talk about it but they'd for sure be thinking about the kiss.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Technically Azula. As soon as Aang hears about a Fire Nation wedding, either his friends or he learns about Ozai and Ursa's wedding, his mind would be set on a wedding. He wouldn't say anything but he'd squirrel away relevant wedding information like he'd hear a song and go "I want that instrument to play at my wedding." But Azula would have her life planned out by other people and there'd be a set date where Ozai now Zuko are supposed to comb through suitor requests (it was probably Ursa's role. If she's there she'd talk to Azula directly instead of Lo and Li. I don't think Lo and Li are high enough rank to determine the suitor but I think it would be customary/expected for their input to be asked). Azula would tell Aang something along the lines of "I should be wed." and he'd agree and then Azula will spend an abnormally long time wondering if he married her because he liked her or because it's his duty until she asks him while he's discussing potential baby room colors pre wedding.

Who is the best man/men? - Sokka and Toph. Azula was going to pick Momo but he made a better flower girl. Yes she did this to annoy Zuko (and because Toph didnt want to wear the bridesmaid outfit) it's okay though Fire Lord Zuko was the guest of honor.

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - Katara, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee. Mai pretends she hates the outfit but she's secretly pleased.

Who did the most planning? - Aang did the most thinking but Azula did the most planning.

Who stressed the most? - Externally Aang. Internally Azula.

How fancy was the ceremony? -

Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

100% Azula's fault. Aang has no clue what Fire Nation weddings are supposed to be like.

Aang: Wow I can't believe all weddings in your Nation are this big.

Azula: They're not. It's because I'm Royalty and you're the Avatar.

Though I hc that Aang wants to get married in all the different Nations and Azula secretly wants to experience a small wedding so they get married 3 more times with one of them being a very small Air Nation wedding.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Hmmm I'm not sure. On one hand, Ozai redemption. On the other hand, Ozai death.

Sex:

Who is on top? - Aang. Azula thinks she wants to be on top but she'd rather be pampered and Aang is more comfortable communicating and attending to needs. Aang has no strong preference either way and they do switch but this is their usual dynamic.

Who is the one to instigate things? - Azula but she denies it.

How healthy is their sex life? -

Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

I think it's up to the reader's preference but I can see them being very private (Azula) and naturally talented (Aang) to the point where they assume every couple has sex daily. Hc that Aang and Suki talk about sex freely (ex: When I do __ should I __ or do girls prefer ___? I can never tell with Azula. Why do guys do ___ after ____ ? I've tried asking Sokka but he doesn't give me a straight answer.) Much to the fear of Sokka and Azula.

How kinky are they? -

Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

Again up to the reader. They both like learning new things and are prodigies so I think they'd end up reading about things to try in bed (Azula) and would try things out to see what they like (Aang) until they learn what they and each other generally like/dislike.

How long do they normally last? -

Does the Avatar State remove your refractory period? >;3c

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - No. Aang likes overstimulating.

How rough are they in bed? -

Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

Neither can dirty talk. Azula is rougher. Aang likes to take it slow. She sets the pace in the beginning but he decides when it ends.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? -

No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

Azula refuses to cuddle in public but in return they cuddle all night.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - hc them having twin boys at first with one firebender and one airbender because poetry. But Azula really wants a girl so they have a third child she is an airbender with Aang's charm and knack for getting in trouble and Azula's ruthlessness. Amon kidnaps her and instead of easily escaping (Aang's genes) she instead viciously mocks him the way only a preteen can (Azula's genes.) It's traumatic enough for Amon even before the parents show up. Then Aang wants another one and Azula wants another firebender so they do the do and surprise triplets! (maybe it has to do with ejaculatimg in the Avatar State lol) So 6 in total and lets say its 3 boys 3 girls with 3 airbenders 3 firebenders.

How many children will they adopt? - None. Azula is wary of motherhood and I know people like to hc Aang as adopting and while I can see him acting as a father figure to several kids I think he'd greatly prefer biological kids especially airbenders. It's a flaw that was barely touched upon and def not handled well in Legend of Korra.

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Servants or Aang. After a kid or two Azula would be comfortable enough to change the diapers but it would still be mostly Aang.

Who is the stricter parent? - Depends on the kid. Aang is more lenient with airbenders and Azula with firebenders or girls. I can see Azula being strict with training & studies but not with sharing whereas Aang would have less rules but they'd be more heavily enforced (ex: no airgliding without supervision until you've mastered the safety course)

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Azula. She's pretty lenient with the term dangerous esp. when it comes to firebending as long as basic safety measures are applied (ex: you can pracrice lightning as long as it's not pointed towards yourself aka dont be Zuzu) but Aang is of the mindset "How are you gonna learn airbending without dangerous stunts?" And after the first few incidents she started stepping in.

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Azula but Aang cooks them.

Who is the more loved parent? - Appa

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? Azula. When Aang attends the teachers shower him and his kids with compliments ("You're doing so well teaching your kids the values of the Air Nomads. It must be so hard being The Last Airbender"). They do the same with Azula but unlike Aang she sees through it and manages to get an accurate assessment of how their kids are doing.

Who cried the most at graduation? - Aang was more happy than sad. Azula cried before and after.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Aang. He is a notorious lawbreaker. Azula would bail the kids and she could do so quicker than Aang in a few cases because of her connections but she'd be mad so their kids would rather call Aang or break themselves out.

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - Tied. Aang at first but then Azula wants to learn and after Aang teaches her since she has less experience she finds more enjoyment in cooking.

Who is the most picky in their food choice? -

Technically Aang since he's a vegetarian. Azula hasn't tried as many foods and she's used to not making a fuss at the family dinner table to the point of which Aang notices.

Who does the grocery shopping? - Both. Aang has a better eye for vegetables/fruits and Azula is better with prices (it's not about the cost it's about the value).

How often do they bake desserts? - Aang bakes them when he can/weekly. They're fruit based so if Azula doesn't want dessert he gives it to Momo or flings it at a target.

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - Gee I wonder. Aang eats salad Azula eats meat.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Aang but Azula tends to figures it out. Azula is more likely to plan a dinner but she wouldn't make it a surprise.

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Aang but Azula is a close second. It would be a tie if it wasn't for the bathhouse.

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - Accidentally? Aang. On purpose? Azula.

Who cleans the room? - Servants or Aang.

Chores:

Who is really against chores? - Azula hates cleaning up but she's neater.

Who cleans up after the pets? - Aang.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Aang.

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Azula.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Aang.

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Azula. In the Fire Nation Palace Aang has taken to chatting with Azula in the Royal Spa while he feeds her (and mostly himself) cherries.

Misc:

Who takes the dog Appa out for a walk? - Aang

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Never. Once they like the room they like the room. If its an event they'll go to a different location for it or leave the Air Temple as is.

What are their goals for the relationship? -

To stay together.

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? -

Aang slept for a hundred years so I'll give it to him.

Who plays the most pranks? - Tie. They've both pulled elaborate pranks as kids.

#azulaang #atla #avatar the last airbender #aang x azula #ship meme #long

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leossmoonn · 3 years

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chemistry part fourteen

part thirteen | part fifteen | masterlist

zuko x fem!reader

avatar: the last airbender

includes - you, zuko, suki, katara, toph, sokka, and aang

special appearances by - iroh, azula, appa, and mai

warnings - language, angsty, mentions of sex

“what if they don’t like me?” you asked nervously.

“they, will. azula’s opinion doesn’t matter, and my uncle loves you,” zuko said.

“alright,” you smiled. “i’m ready.”

zuko leaned over and kissed your cheek. “you’ll be great.”

you smiled and stepped out of his car, wrapping your coat around you. zuko and you walked up to his house, holding hands. you had the cupcakes you made in the other hand, and zuko had the gifts you two bought in his other hand. the door opened quickly, revealing iroh.

“hello! come in, come in,” iroh smiled.

“hi, iroh,” you smiled.

“hello, y/n. it is so nice to see you again. i was wondering when my nephew would finally ask you out,” iroh said.

zuko rolled his eyes. “well, i did it.”

“yes, and we’re all happy. hm, you brought cupcakes! you can put those on the kitchen table,” iroh said.

you nodded and left zuko’s side for a moment, going into the kitchen and seeing a few more of zuko’s family members.

“you must be y/n. i’m azula, zuko’s sister.” a pretty, young woman came up to you. she looked so much like zuko; basically a female version.

“hi, it’s nice to meet you,” you smiled and held your hand out. azula shook it, giving you a welcoming smile.

you felt a hand snake around your waist and looked to see zuko standing behind you. you smiled at him, metling into his embrace.

“zuko, you didn’t tell me your girlfriend was so pretty,” azula complimented.

“thank you,” you smiled.

“he could do better,” a mono-toned voice said. it belonged to a girl- zuko’s age. she had black hair, a red dress on, and a cold glare that she directed towards you.

“mai, don’t be so rude,” azula frowned.

“and don’t be so nice, zul,” mai said.

“oh, you’re mai?” you said, your mood dimming a little. “it’s, um, nice to meet you.”

“likewise,” mai gave you a strained smile. she then looked to zuko.

you stiffened as you saw the look she gave him. zuko noticed your reaction and pulled you closer, interlocking hands.

“want to get a drink with me, zuzu?” mai asked.

“nope, i’m good. i’d rather get a drink with y/n,” zuko said.

“ugh, fine. you’ll regret saying no,” mai grimaced, walking away.

“sorry about her, she’s still in love with zuko. if you ask me, you two are cuter together,” azula said.

“thank you,” you smiled gratefully at her.

“yeah, thanks, azula. y/n, wanna go get those drinks?” zuko asked.

“yeah, sure,” you nodded.

you two moved passed azula, exchanging goodbyes.

“so, when did you and mai date?” you asked, grabbing yourself a diet coke.

“in high school. i dated her from sophomore year to half my junior year. so it was about a year and a half relationship,” he explained honestly.

“wow. that’s a long time,” you chuckled.

zuko sensed your anxiety and put his hand on your’s to reassure you. “yeah, but it’s all in the past now. i’m very over it. and plus, i’m with you now.” you smiled at him. “yeah, i know. thank you. have you had other relationships in the past before?”

“yeah, a few. another long-term, a couple short-term. i haven’t been on a date since sophomore year of college, to be honest with you,” zuko said bashfully.

“well, i’ve never had a boyfriend before. well, not an offical one anyways, so i wouldn’t worry,” you smiled

“you not having a boyfriend? i can’t imagine that,” zuko teased.

you blushed and shrugged, “no guys interested me. especially not in high school. all of them are so immature and gross.”

“understandable. i came from a strict family, so i wasn’t too bad,” zuko said.

“that’s not what sokka said,” you grinned.

zuko rolled his eyes. “alright, well, sokka is different. he's all goofy and may have coerced me into pranks, but i was a good kid and student.”

“true. i mean, you are my tutor after all,” you laughed.

“right. right. speaking of tutoring, do you still want to continue?” zuko asked.

“yes! but instead of calling it ‘tutoring’ we can just hang out and you can help me with homework,” you suggested.

“sounds good,” zuko nodded, taking a sip of his beer.

“hey, did you want to play with the vr?” he asked.

“yes!” you exclaimed.

zuko smiled at your enthusiasm. “alright, wanna go in the basement or my room to play?”

“oh, um, wherever,” you shrugged. the thought of you in your boyfriend’s room made you nervous, but filled your stomach with butterflies.

“we can go in the basement,” zuko said.

you nodded. “wait, i want to see your room though.” you knew you didn’t have to go in there and be alone for a long period of time yet, but you at least wanted to see what it looked like.

zuko nodded and took your hand, leading you through the small crowd of people. you went up to stairs and walked to the bedroom that was down the hall.

“i’m going to the bathroom real quick, feel free to look around and stuff,” zuko smiled.

you nodded, watching his retreating figure. you opened his door hesitantly, your nostrils immediately filling with the sweet smell of cinnamon. your eyes immediately went to the bed that sat across from the door and in the middle of the room. his sheets were black with red lines down the middle. his pillows were both black and red, alternating in a pattern. he also had a few stuffed animals laid out on his bed. one of a red dragon, turtle-duck, and a polar bear-dog. he had two, dark-brown coloured nightstands on each side of his bed. on the left one, which was closest to you, was a lamp, a few gum packets, and a few books for school. the right one had a picture frame of him and his mother, him and his sister, one of him and just his mom, and another of him and iroh. across from the right nightstand on the wall, was a black bookshelf. it had 5 shelves with three and a half filled with all sorts of books.

avid reader, i see, you thought.

all around his room he had posters and pictures. the posters were of his favorite bands: AC/DC, greenday, rolling stones, queen, and nirvana. he had some jazz singers, too. like louis armstrong, billie holiday, frank sinatra, and nat king cole.

good music taste, too.

across from the foot of the bed was his desk that had a bunch of papers on there, a clock, and a pencil holder. he had standing lamp next to his desk, too.

“his bed is so comfortable.”

your body stiffened once you heard mai’s dark, monotoned voice. you didn’t look at her, you just kept your eyes trained on his stuffed animals.

“oh, really? how would you know?” you challenged.

“because we’ve had sex there. he’s really good at it, too,” mai said. you could hear the smirk in her voice.

of course that’s the reason why.

“and the jazz music he would play while we cuddled after a few rounds. ugh, so magical. you won't believe the things he can do with that body of his,” mai said.

“oh,” you said, your voice breaking.

mai put her hand on your shoulder, leaning to whisper in your ear. “he's mine, y/n. always have and always will be. he’ll be done with you soon and come running back to me. he always does.”

tears sprung in your eyes and a few ran down your cheeks. you didn’t say anything else, knowing that if you opened your mouth, the only sound that would come out was a sob.

“have fun. ta-ta!” mai said and took her hand off of you. you heard her footsteps walk away, going down the stairs.

you let out a shaky breath, taking out your phone to text katara to take you home. she responded quickly, thankfully, and told you she’d be there in 10.

zuko existed the bathroom, smiling once he saw you in the doorway of his room.

“hey, how do you like the room?” zuko asked.

you took in a deep breath, wiping away your tears harshly. “it’s cool. i really like the posters and the stuffed animals.”

zuko noticed your discomfort. “what’s wrong?” he went in front of you, his heart breaking once he saw that you were crying. “hey, hey, why’re you crying?”

you averted his gaze, shrugging. “nothing, i’m just tired. you mind if i have katara pick me up?”

zuko narrowed his eyes at you. “al-alright. but… why?”

“i just… i got a text from my mom. it's an emergency. i have to go,” you lied.

zuko looked at your face, knowing you were lying. he knew he wouldn't get the truth out of you now, though. so he decided to let you go, let you calm down, then ask you about it in the next few hours.

“yeah, sure. i’m sorry you have to leave,” zuko said, reaching out for your hand gently.

you let him, his touch calming you. “yeah, me, too. walk me out?”

zuko smiled softly, “yeah, sure,”

you two walked down the stairs in silence. you put on your coat, reaching for the doorknob.

“i had fun, thank iroh for inviting me,” you said.

“of course. text me when you get home, okay?” zuko asked.

“will do,” you nodded and exited the house. zuko watched you walk away, sighing.

he looked to his left, catching the eye of mai. she had a malicious smirk on her face, not trying to even hide it. zuko glared at her, putting the pieces together of why you left.

fuck you, mai, he thought.

you got into the car, seeing katara with worried eyes.

“hey, what’s wrong?” she asked.

as soon as you sat down was when the tears starting coming out in hot streaks.

“m-mai,” you sobbed.

katara narrowed her eyes, “that bitch. what did she say?”

“she was talking about how good zuko was at sex. how wonderful their sex was. it was horrible. she also mentioned that he goes back to her all the time. is that true?” you asked.

katara’s eyes widened. “i… why don’t we go back home and get you calmed down first, alright? we have cookies and whiskey.”

you nodded, wiping your eyes. katara drove you home, keeping her hand on your’s for comfort.

note - hope you guys read and enjoy this as new parts are added! if you wanna be on the taglist, message me and/or reply to this post :))

taglist - @sorrythatspussynal @theblueslytherin @charlenasaxen@akiris @the-paintedlady @thatarthistorynerd @freckled-and-daydreaming @fi-chanwrites

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #zuko #zuko smau #zuko imagine #fire lord zuko x reader #atla zuko x reader #prince zuko x reader #atla zuko

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zutaralover94 · 4 years

Text

Prompt #5 Request

This is for you anons! And for @dangerouspersonllamabagel and for @beealexageek

Once upon a time I said I would never write this but here it is!

Read below or Read on AO3 (hopefully I can post on Fanfic soon. Still dealing with those flags!)

Tags: One Night Stands, Pregnant AU, Roommates, Pining, More Pining on Zuko’s half, but Mutual Pining, Rated M, there is a dabble of smut, and a handful of cursing, mentions of the series ‘The Untamed’ and ‘The Office’, Anyone see the Friends inspiration?, I rewrote this more times than I’d like to admit.

Katara woke up with a huge headache. She rolled over and rubbed her face into the warm pillow. There was a groan above her, and she shot up in bed. She looked over to see someone sleeping next to her. She let out a scream before grasping her head in pain. Her eyes closed and she put her head down to her bent knees. There was another groan and the someone sat up next to her. Katara rubbed at her eyes. “Shit.”

“I agree.”

Katara turned to the familiar voice, “Oh fuck.”

Zuko blinked multiple times and then turned to her. “Oh fuck.”

Katara looked down to Zuko’s shirt and sighed, “Oh, thank God.” Katara moved out of the bed pulling the strap of her bra up onto her shoulder. “For a second there I thought we, you know-.” She ended her sentence with a soft laugh and then held her head as she stood up. “Whew,” Katara began pulling on her things from the night before. “I’m going to head downstairs. I’ve got to get something for this headache.”

Zuko patted at his bare thighs and found his boxers thrown over the hotel’s desk chair in the corner. He did his best to be calm as he searches through his non-existent memories to see if anything had happened last night. But he’s fairly sure if anything did happen with Katara, even if someone brainwashed him, that he would remember in an instant.

+++

Three weeks later, Katara groaned as she felt her stomach lurch again. Stupid Sokka and his dumb chicken parm. Katara leaned over the toilet bowl yet again. She dry heaved and cried a little when nothing came up.

“Woah, are you sick?” Sokka pushed open the door. His face screwed up as Katara dry heaved over the bowl again.

“Yes,” Katara whined. “Your stupid chicken parm made me sick.” She leaned back and rested her head on the cool tub.

“That can’t be it.” Sokka poked Katara in the forehead. “Both Suki and I are feeling fine. What are you pregnant?”

“Ha!” Katara burst out a laugh and pushed Sokka away. But then it hit her with another wave of nausea. Have I had a period this month? Katara wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She mentally started counting backwards. And when she got to day 40, she started over again.

“Kat?” Sokka poked Katara again with a much more serious face. He handed her a glass of water. “I was kidding. I know you’re not seeing anyone.”

“Haha,” Katara gave a weak laugh. “Right.” She took a sip of water before laying her head back on the bathtub again.

Maybe she was just late.

+++

Two weeks later and many trips to the bathroom all but confirmed that she wasn’t just late. Katara bit her lip as she shopped through at-home pregnancy tests. She had done her research and was pretty sure which one to get. But standing in the aisle by herself was causing a queasy feeling. (That was not a morning sickness feeling. She knew the difference now.) Katara grabbed the one that had the highest ratings and another one just in case.

When she got home, she held the bag close to her and looked around the apartment. Most everyone was at work. Katara had called in with a stomach bug. She wasn’t too sure how long she could keep using that excuse. Joo Dee was becoming more and more suspicious.

She was almost too nervous to pee. Her hand kept shaking and her stomach was in so many knots. Katara was positive she knew the answer to this test. She was never late and never sick. She was as healthy and regular as any girl could be. Even so much Suki made fun of her.

Katara sat the test on the counter and sat down on the floor. She sighed as she looked around the small bathroom. She reached over for an old magazine in the bin beside the toilet. It was definitely dated but it would keep her mind busy for a few minutes.

Or so she thought. She got through one article about boob reductions before she grew bored and put the magazine in the trash can. Katara stood and leaned over the test but there was still no answer. She took down one towel and began refolding it. Then the next and the next. She put them back in color order making a very small rainbow on the shelf.

Katara froze as she heard the front door open and close.

“Kat?”

She took a deep breath in at the sound of Suki’s voice. Her hands on her stomach and she exited the bathroom with a fake smile. “Hey Suki!”

Suki gave her a strange look, “Did you stay home again?”

“No,” Katara said a little too quickly as she waved her hand as if to be nonchalant. “I, uh, took an early lunch and decided to come home and eat.”

“Oh,” Suki nodded and grabbed her lunch from the fridge and sat down at the table. “That’s good. I was a little worried when I saw your car that you decided to stay home again.”

“Nope,” Katara went to the fridge and realized it was pretty much empty, except for the case of beer, wine coolers and about three boxes of some sort of take out. Katara bit back a wave of nausea and quickly closed the refrigerator door. “You know what I think maybe I’ll just take a nap.”

Suki squinted at her, “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Katara smiled over to her friend and hoped it look convincing.

“Okay, well I’m going to finish this and go. I hope you have a nice nap.” Suki followed her with still squinting eyes to her bedroom.

“Okay, have a great rest of your day!” Katara said cheerfully as she opened and closed her bedroom door.

Katara blew out a breath as she laid on her bed. She closed her eyes for just a moment. Not realizing how tired she was.

It was only twelve minutes later that Suki burst into Katara’s room. “Your PREGNANT!”

“Huh?” Katara rolled over and faced Suki. She rubbed her eyes as Suki held out a white stick.

“What-? Who?!” Suki pushed the stick further at Katara.

Katara blinked a few times before looking at the stick clearly. Two lines stared back at her. She sat up slowly and looked at the two little pink lines for a few more seconds. “I’m pregnant.”

“Yeah!” Suki nodded and handed her the stick. “Aren’t you happy?”

Katara sat there stunned after taking the stick from Suki. Of course. But… “Yeah.”

Suki sat on the bed, “So that’s why you’ve been so sick. You’re never sick.”

Katara only nodded. I’m pregnant. She placed a hand on her stomach. I’m going to be a mother. Katara’s other hand slapped to her forehead. Oh, fuck! I am going to be a MOM.

“Kat?” Suki nudged her best friend. “Kat!” She pulled the hand away from her head. “Katara! Babe! Woohoo!”

Katara blinked back at her friend. “I’m going to be a mother.” Suki’s smile was bright as she nodded. “I have no idea how to be a mom!”

“What?” Suki sat back but still held on to Katara’s hand. “It’s okay. They say it just comes to you. Plus, you’ve been mothering the Gaang since we were like 12. You’ll be great!”

Katara’s thumb brushed over the non-existent baby bump. “I’m pregnant.” She whispered again and looked down at hers and Suki’s hands. “What am I going to do?”

“What do you mean what are you going to do?” Suki squeezed Katara’s hand. “You’ve always said that you wanted kids.”

“I’ve also said I want to lick whip cream off of half the cast of ‘The Untamed’!” Katara countered.

“Yeah, but that’s like not something obtainable.” Suki shook her head with a small laugh.

“And being pregnant with no idea who the father is or how I’m even freaking pregnant,” Katara pulled from Suki and stood up. “I always thought I’d be married with a steady job first. Hell, being in a relationship would be a step above this!”

“Wait,” Suki stood up too. “You don’t know who the father is?”

Katara bit her lip and shook her head. She had run through everyone she had been with in the past three months. Even though she really only needed to know who she’s slept with in the last month. But even then, Katara couldn’t think of a soul.

Tears started gathering in her eyes again. If she didn’t even know who the father was, how was she supposed to raise the child? Katara wiped at her eyes. She was just going to have to think harder.

“Kat, calm down.” Suki put her hands on her cheeks. “Hey, look at me.” She gave a smile that calmed her slightly. “We don’t need to know who the father is. You’ve got me and Sokka and Zuko and Toph and Aang and Uncle Iroh.” Katara gave a hiccup and a smile at all the names Suki started rattling off. “That’s plenty of people to look after Peanut.”

“We are not calling my baby Peanut.” Katara said with a serious face.

Suki held up her hands and backed away, “Okay, deal.” They stood there for a few minutes before Suki wrapped Katara up in a hug. “I’m so happy for you! You’re going to be a great mom!”

Katara hugged her best friend back. She was quiet for a few minutes before whispering, “I’m going to be a mom.”

“Yeah,” Suki patted her back. “So, how long have you known? Or thought you knew?”

“It’s been about a month now.” Katara pulled back and sat back down on the bed. “You remember when I first started getting sick two weeks ago?”

“Yeah,” Suki nodded.

“I’m pretty sure I knew then. But what I can’t figure out is like a week or two before that. Where was I? What did I do?” Katara rubbed at her head. “I remember Mai’s and Ty Lee’s wedding was about that long ago. But I didn’t hook up with anyone at their wedding. Or at their bachelorette party. Or any other events like that.” She looked over to Suki. “The last guy I slept with was Haru and that was what six months ago now?”

“Oh, I did always like him.” Suki nodded and then shook her head when Katara gave her a look. “So, there is no one else? You didn’t go partying without me, did you?”

“No,” Katara looked around her room. “See, this is what I mean… How am I supposed to be a mom if I can’t remember someone I’ve slept with in the past-?”

There was a flash of heated skin and dark hair in her mind’s eye.

Katara’s ankles were hooked around a strong body. Her fingernails scrapping over one pectoral while the others dug into a right shoulder blade. Her teeth sunk into pale skin and sucked. A strong buck of hips caused her to release her teeth and her head fall back in a loud moan. “Oh, my! Do that again! More!”

And more she got. Katara was hot and she ran her hands up the body to his long black strands that stuck to his sweating face. She pushed back the bangs in his golden eyes.

“Oh, FU-UH-CK!”

“Zuko.” Katara whispered as a blush rose up her neck.

“Huh?” Suki blinked at her with confusion.

“We slept together.” Katara whispered. Then groaned as more very detailed memories came back to her from their drunken escapades after Mai’s and Ty Lee’s wedding. “We, fuck.” Katara closed her eyes but was only met with Zuko’s golden eyes practically glowing with desire. “We woke up the night after the wedding in bed together. We still had on clothing, so I thought... “Katara’s eyes popped back open to see Suki gaping down at her.

“Zuko?”

“Yeah.” Katara sat up and ran a hand through her hair.

“Our roommate, Zuko? Your brother’s best friend? That Zuko?” Suki asked leaning forward with each question. Katara nodded. “The Zuko that gave you your first kiss? Zuko, the one that froze our bras when we were 15? Zuko?”

“Yes!” Katara nodded and then covered her face. “Yes, yes, yes, yes. That Zuko. The one and only Zuko we know! It’s not like he is a Lee. We know a million of Lees.”

“Kat,” Suki put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re sure?”

“I can’t think of another male that I have been in a horizontal position within the past two months.” Katara let out the biggest sigh she had ever in her life. She put her hands back on her stomach. “What if he doesn’t want it?”

“Zuko?” Suki asked with skeptic look.

“How many times are you going to say his name like a question?”

Suki huffed and crossed her arms, “I’m pretty sure Zuko will-,”

“Let’s not tell him.” Katara interrupted.

“be ecstatic.” Suki’s arms dropped, “What do you mean ‘Not tell him’?”

“I’m not going to tell him and since you are the only other person-,”

“You should definitely tell him.”

“That knows. You will not tell him either.” Katara pointed at Suki. “Got it?”

“Like ever?” Suki tilted her head and looked down at Katara’s abdomen, “You know that when the kid comes, he’ll probably know.”

“What? How?”

“Genetics.” Suki stated plainly.

“Right,” Katara stood back up again and paced to the other side of her room. “Then we won’t tell him or anyone until absolutely necessary. No one can know. Okay? Deal?”

“Katara…”

“Deal?” Katara walked back to her with her pinky finger out.

Suki sighed and held out her pinky. She yanked it back right before Katara curled it around hers. “But just so it’s on the record. I think you should tell him.” Katara rolled her eyes and hooked her pinky around Suki’s.

+++

Five months later, Katara rubbed her stomach as she munched on another small bag of pretzels. She watched as Sokka and Suki pulled out outfit after outfit from the rack. Katara had only shaken her head to pretty much every single garment. She wondered how long it would take them to realize she was doing it on purpose.

Zuko walked up to her shaking his head as he passed her a white grape juice water, “You know you’re just going to reap what you are sowing when they have a kid?”

Katara gave a soft laugh as she wiped off her fingers on her top. “I don’t know what you mean, ZuZu.”

Zuko just chuckled and passed her the opened water bottle. “Have you decided which bedding set?” Zuko picked up a package with little yellow ducks. “I heard you have to buy a whole bunch of them and put them down like all on at once. So, when Baby Peanut has an explosion in the middle of the night, you just have to take off one layer and not redo the whole bed.”

“I’m still upset that caught on,” Katara mumbled into her water bottle.

Zuko gave a smile, “Ducks or Turtles?” He held up two packages of bedding.

Katara looked them both over, “Both?”

Zuko nodded and placed them both in the buggy. “Both is good.” He pushed the cart down the next aisle. But Katara hadn’t moved.

She pressed her hand again to where she thought she felt something. Alarm bells went off in her head and she looked around. “Zuko?” Was something wrong with the baby?

Zuko was back to her in a blink hearing the shake in her voice, “What’s wrong?” Zuko looked down to where Katara was pressing a hand to her stomach. “Is something wrong with the baby?”

“I-I don’t know.” Katara smoothed her hand over the spot again. And felt the little push again. “Oh my God!” Katara pulled her hand away with a gasp. “Oh, my God!” She put her hand back over where she felt the kick or punch or whatever the baby was doing. “She kicked! She!”

Katara grabbed Zuko’s hand and placed it on her stomach. The baby gave two swift kicks to Zuko’s hand. “Woah!” Zuko pulled his hand back and then broke out into a smile. He put his hand back. His fingers were overlapping Katara’s as he felt the baby move. “She’s moving.”

“I know.” Katara laughed and looked up to Zuko. His golden eyes were so wide with surprise but also looked happy.

Katara hoped Baby Peanut would come out just like her dad. Happy.

+++

It wasn’t until they were cleaning up the baby shower two months later that Zuko asked.

“So, did the father come today?”

Katara paused while shoving a forkful of cake in her mouth. She bit down only if to have her mouthful, so she didn’t have to reply immediately. Zuko took down another row of lights as he waited. He glanced over at her often. Katara licked the fork clean, still trying to decide if she should lie or not. “Uh, yeah. Why?”

“Oh,” Katara watched his shoulders drop a little. But then come back up as he reached for another set of lights. He turned his back to her, “No reason. Just wanted to know if the father would be around a lot and if we are going to get along with him okay. Is he going to be around a lot?”

Katara swallowed and took another bite of cake as Zuko looked over his shoulder at her. Katara held up her finger as she slowly chewed. She looked down at her plate that only had maybe two other bites.

“Bye, Katara! I’m really happy for you.” Joo Dee came over and gave her a short hug. “I can’t wait to see the little one. Bring her in as soon as you can. I know the whole office will be so excited.”

Katara nodded and finished her bite. “I will. Thank you for coming.”

Joo Dee patted her head before leaving. Zuko cleared his throat, as if to remind Katara that he was still here and still waiting for an answer.

“I’m,” Katara licked her lips. “I’m not sure.” She whispered.

“Oh,” Zuko said again and began rolling up the lights.

Katara hissed and placed a hand over where the baby was pushing hard against her side. She winced and moved to be a little more comfortable. Zuko was to her in a few seconds, worry clear on his face. “I’m okay.” Katara pushed Zuko’s hands away that had reached for her side. “I’m fine. She’s just squishing my everything.”

Zuko sat back on his heels. Katara tried to ignore the small flash of hurt in his eyes. He schooled his face and then rose, picking up the string of lights he had dropped. Zuko and her were quiet for some time. Katara finished off the cake and watched Zuko climb up and down the small step ladder as he took down lights.

“Are you still free tomorrow and maybe Monday night to help me take back all the double gifts?” Katara asked to break the uncomfortable silence.

“Sure, if you need me.” Zuko shrugged as he rolled up the last string of lights. The streetlights and some small outside lights still lit Azula’s backyard enough that Katara could see Zuko’s facial expressions. It looked a little agitated, but his emotions were blocked off.

That was one thing she was hoping the baby didn’t inherit. Her father’s skill of turning off emotions. Even after all these years, he could wrap up his emotions with practically a flip of a switch.

“I mean, you don’t have to go.” Katara crossed her arms.

“Why don’t you ask the father to go? Huh?” Zuko turned around to her, dropping the string of lights in a box.

“What is up with you and asking about the father all of the sudden?” Katara tried to stand up swiftly but realized it’s a lot harder being eight months pregnant. Zuko moved to help her and once she was on her feet she slapped at his hands. “Stop. I’m fine. Thank you.” Zuko backed up with his hands raised in surrender. “I just know we had already talked about going back to get that changing table I actually wanted.”

“Yeah, we can do that.” Zuko shoved his hands into his pockets. “Just figured maybe during this last month, you might want to spend some more time with the father. Since this whole time, you’ve really only spent it with us.”

Guilt filled Katara’s stomach, she rubbed her hand over the swell right below her boobs. “I think he would be fine with us returning stuff.” She paused her hand over where the baby’s toes were pushing against her ribs. “I think we can do all that boring stuff.”

Zuko sighed and turned to pick up the box of lights. “If the father is around as much now as he is around when this baby is born. The baby will end up calling me dad. And wouldn’t that be awkward.”

You have no idea. Katara patted her belly with a laugh and walked (more like waddled) behind Zuko back into the house.

+++

It was one week before her due date that The Secret spilled.

“Me?!” Zuko yelled as he and Katara stood toe to toe in the nearly finished nursery. Zuko was holding a piece of the new changing table.

“Yes, you.” Katara had her arms crossed over her chest. “Who else?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Zuko crossed his arms over his chest. “It could have been anyone at this point!”

Katara huffed and unfolded the directions. “But it definitely has to be you.”

Suki popped her head in after just arriving home from work. “Hey guys!”

Katara gave a smile and then rolled her eyes.

“I just don’t see how it’s possible, I’m the only guy-.”

“Oh, you told him!” Suki burst further into the room. She hugged Katara from the side and gave a little squeal. “I’m so happy you finally told! I thought for sure I was going to tell! You know back when you finally told everyone about the pregnancy, I was sure you were going to tell him then. But then I remembered you really didn’t want him to find out. So, two weeks ago at the baby shower. I thought ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be cute if she told him- ‘,”

It took Katara’s fogged up pregnancy brain too long to shove a hand over Suki’s mouth. “Yes, I told Zuko that he had to help me finish the baby room. He is the only one I know that could put this together.” Katara hissed through her teeth.

Zuko looked between the two girls. As Suki blinked a few times and pulled back. “So, you still didn’t tell him?” She almost looked sad.

“Yes, I did tell him.” Katara glared at her best friend. “That I needed his help with building the changing table.”

“Right,” Suki gave finger guns with a slightly guilty face. “Wow, awkward. I’m going to go cook dinner. I’m thinking something spicy. What do you think, Kat?” Suki started making her way to the door. “Pad Thai? Enchiladas? Oh, ramen?” Suki closed the door without an answer. A few seconds later. Katara and Zuko heard the front door close too.

“What was she talking about?”

“Nothing,” Katara looked back down at the instructions. “I swear sometimes I think it’s her that has the pregnancy brain.” She gave a short laugh. “Now we should probably sort-, Hey!”

Zuko took the instructions from Katara. “What was she talking about, Katara?”

Katara ran her hands over her belly. “I think my water broke?”

Zuko gave her an unimpressed look, “You’re not going to ‘Office’ your way out of this. What was she talking about? She seemed way too happy that I was putting together a dumb changing table.”

“You know how us girls are, we get excited about anything baby.” Katara gave a small smile and tried to shrug of the conversation.

Zuko only shook his head, “Look, I’m happy to help. But I want to know what she was talking about. You didn’t even know what color the room was going to be until you were what six months along? So, how would you know to tell me to build this changing table back when you first told us you were pregnant?”

Katara just stood there running her hands over her pregnant belly. Baby Peanut moved around slightly and Katara could feel the little hiccups. Katara looked around the room. There wasn’t really an escape. “She wasn’t talking about just the changing table she was also talking abo-.”

Zuko sighed and sat down the pieces of the changing table and the instructions. “Okay.” He looked Katara over and then began to walk out. “I’m going to go find Suki. I think enchiladas would be better than Pad Thai.”

“Zuko, wait.” Katara reached out for him as he reached the door to the baby room.

“Why? So, you can stand there and lie to me some more?” Zuko opened the door to the living room. “Because I don’t want to do that.”

Katara followed him, “Zuko…”

“No, Katara.” Zuko looked around for his keys and wallet. “I feel like all you’ve done this whole time is lie.”

“I haven’t lied about a single thing!” Katara crossed her arms over her chest in defense.

Zuko scoffed, “Right. Then what was Suki really talking about?” Katara’s arms dropped and her mouth opened but closed again. “Exactly. Do you want two chicken or do you want a spinach one this-.”

“You’re the father.”

“What?”

“I said I wanted two chicken enchiladas and a cup of spicy ramen?” Katara bit her lip.

“No, you didn’t.” Zuko shook his head at her. “You said, I’m- ha. I’m the-.”

“Father, yeah.” The smile she was holding back cracked when Zuko’s bloomed on his face. “That’s what Suki- Mmph!”

Zuko’s lips were on hers. The kiss was surprisingly soft and Zuko wrapped his arms around Katara. When Zuko pulled back, Katara’s lips chased after his. She reached up and pulled his face back down to hers. They stood there kissing for a few moments until Peanut decided to start kicking. Zuko stepped back with the largest smile on his face.

“I’m going to be a dad.” Katara nodded with a big smile too. Zuko’s hands ran over Katara’s belly. “I’m going to be a-. We’re going to be parents. Holy Shi-zues and pekingeses.”

“Nice save.” Katara laughed and placed her hand over Zuko’s. Zuko took her hand and kissed it.

“Agni, I wish you would have told me sooner.” Zuko ran his thumb over her knuckles before kissing them again.

“Why?” Katara gave a small laugh.

“I don’t know. Maybe so I could have enjoyed this pregnancy longer. Instead of being jealous of some stupid jerk that hadn’t been there for any of the important parts.” Zuko shrugged. “Wait.” Katara hummed. “How do you know that stupid jerk is me?”

“You remember the night of Mai’s and Ty Lee’s wedding? When we got super drunk and we woke up the next morning in bed together?”

Zuko vaguely remembers having to grab his boxers from across the room after Katara had crawled out of bed. “And so, you’re sure…”

“Yes, I haven’t been in bed with a male since way before that.” Katara gave a small laugh. “Plus, I kind of remember bits of that night. It was pretty hot. It got me through my horny months.”

“Oh?” Zuko wiggled his eyebrows. Katara gave his arm a little smack. Only for Zuko to gather Katara up in his arms again. “I’m going to be a dad.”

Katara wrapped her arms the best she could around Zuko. “Yeah, you oh-,” Katara clutched at Zuko’s shirt. Katara felt a gush of wetness run down her leg. “Uh, I got to go to the bathroom.”

“Oh,” Zuko stepped back and helped walk her to the bathroom.

“It’s okay. I just didn’t realize I had to go.” Katara patted Zuko’s arm and closed the door. Once she was finished, she joined Suki and Zuko on the couch. Suki had come back with boxes and boxes of take out containers. Her stomach gave a twinge and Katara hissed. She waved Suki and Zuko to continue their conversation.

“So, she finally told me.” Zuko said as he opened another container for Katara. “And I kissed her.”

“Ow!” Katara grabbed at her lower stomach. “Okay that hurt. Sorry. You were saying.” Katara moved to get comfortable again, but her back began to ache and her stomach cramped. She hissed and ran her hand over her stomach. “Sorry, go ahead.”

Suki and Zuko gave her a strange look, “You kissed her?” Suki asked after a second. She watched Katara take a bite of her noodles.

Zuko looked Katara over as she winced while eating, “Are you in labor?”

Suki’s eyes got wide and sat down her fork, “Oh my God she is in labor!”

“I’m what?” Katara groaned as a large wave of pain hit her. “No, remember I’ve had these before.” She patted Zuko on the arm. “I’m fine. What were we saying?”

“We were talking about how you told him, and he kissed you. What does that mean? Are you guys like togeth-,” Suki looked between Zuko and Katara.

“Okay. Ow!” Zuko pulled his arm away from where Katara’s nails had begun to dig in. “Why don’t we just take you down to the hospital?”

“Cause, I’m not in la-.” Katara moved again and felt the need to poop again. “I’m not in labor. I just need to go to the bathroom. Help me back up.” Zuko looked over to Suki before helping Katara up. Katara groaned in pain as she stood. “Maybe get some Tylenol too?”

Suki shook her head, “How about an epidural?”

Katara paused and looked over at her. “No, I’m fi-.” Katara whined. “Okay, maybe we should.”

+++

“Here she is,” The doctor laid the fresh pink baby over on Katara’s shoulder. Katara began bawling and Zuko kissed Katara’s forehead. He reached out for the little crying baby. He held onto Katara’s hand as she touched the baby’s foot. “Alright, we’re going to wash her off and check a few things and then we’ll do some skin to skin time. Okay?”

Katara bubbled out an ‘Okay’ and held onto Zuko’s hand harder. A nurse came by and began helping Katara clean up. They turned out some of the lights before handing the baby over to Katara.

“Oh, my Spirits she is so precious.” Katara whispered and ran her hand down her baby’s back. “And beautiful. Oh, my God. I want to keep her.”

Zuko chuckled and kissed Katara’s forehead again. “You do get to keep her, I promise.”

“Don’t make fun of me,” Katara said in between tears.

“I’m not, ‘Tara.” Zuko’s face didn’t fall from the large smile.

“Oh,” Katara whispered and kissed her baby’s head. “That little sigh. Zuko, I love her.”

Zuko rubbed Katara’s arm, “I love her, too.” Zuko sighed and after a moment continued, “I love both of you.”

“I love you too.” Katara leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Her eyelashes were still wet with tears. “Zuko?”

“Hmm?” He raised a hand to brush hairs from her face.

“I still don’t know her name.” Katara opened her eyes with a little pout. “I’ve just been calling her Peanut like the rest of you.”

Zuko did his best not to laugh, “You’ve got time.”

“But her birth record will show Baby Girl.” Katara pouted more. “I don’t want her to just be Baby Girl.”

“Then what do you want to name her?”

“I don’t know.” More tears started to well in Katara’s eyes.

“How about Peanut?” Zuko joked. But realized that this was not a joking matter as Katara’s blue eyes turned an icy glare at him. “Okay, not Peanut.” Zuko looked around for a minute. They hadn’t looked through any baby naming books. Zuko thought Katara already had one picked out. “What about Hope?”

“No, my godchild’s name is Hope.” Katara waved off the idea. “Next?”

“Uh, Patricia?” Zuko thought he remembered hearing that name somewhere…

“You want to name our baby after our birthing coach?” Katara raised an eyebrow at him.

“No,” Zuko shook his head. “Da-Shoot, this is harder than it looks.”

They were both quiet for a moment. Both working through a list of names. Katara sighed as Zuko’s fingers continued to run through her hair. The soft strokes made her want to dose off. But she knew someone would probably be in to collect their baby soon. Then she could sleep. Maybe she should make Zuko stay with her if only to have him continue running his fingers through her hair.

“What about Zara?” Zuko asked and Katara hummed.

She rolled the name around in her mind a few times, “Zara.” Like Zuko and Katara put together. “I like it.” Katara brushed a hand over the baby’s head, “Zara.”

+++

Two years later and Zuko is trying to take the curlers from Zara’s dark brown hair. “Katara! Hurry up or this flower girl won’t make it to the wedding!”

“Really?” Katara stepped from their room with a diaper bag and her hair still in curlers.

“What?” Zuko smiled up to her. “You know Suki will be mad if you show up late.”

“Oh, like her and Sokka did at ours?” Katara raised an eyebrow. “I believe you told me once ‘you reap what you sow.’? I think that they are doing just that.”

Zuko chuckled and stood up with Zara in his arms. He leaned over and kissed his wife on her freshly painted lip. “Love you.”

“Mhmm,” Katara took out Zara’s last curler. “Now, let’s go because you’re right. She really will be mad if we are late.”

#zutara #zutara fanfiction #unplanned pregnancy #mutual pining #thanks for the request #oh and they were roommates

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xoteajays · 4 years

Photo

▸ ila ↳ headcanons.

✘ ila never picked up any real attacking tactics in water bending, preferring to use her waterbending for healing, but she did specialise in defensive moves. she’s also preferable to ice bending. • she learnt a bit from watching earthbenders while travelling and integrating their moves into defensive waterbending. • she has no formal waterbending training, aside from some healing techniques when she visited the northern water kingdom. • at times, ila breathes out icy air. she also has particularly cold hands.

✘ there was a time early on before she left the water tribe that ila believed she would end up marrying sokka because they were the only people around the same age. she wasn’t against it, but it wasn’t enough to keep her from leaving. she still has some form of affection for sokka and cares deeply for him.

✘ while traveling, ila would frequently seek out people to learn history and legends from. she kept well detailed journals of all the stories she heard. ila’s favourite avatars were kyoshi and yangchen.

✘ instead of buying new clothes when she was travelling, she cut her tunic into a cropped shirt to suit the warmer climate. she kept the fabric to use for repairs. she also cut her hair short early on, previously having long hair typical of water tribe members. she continued to braid it though.

✘ ila and suki very briefly dated a year before the main plotline. ila was 14, suki was 15/16. • they shared one kiss and neither considered the relationship to be that serious. • ila had multiple minor crushes on girls, notably: suki, june, ty lee.

✘ ila was completely cut from the ember island play. despite how bad the play was overall, she was still a little hurt by it.

✘ ila and katara don’t get along as well as ila and sokka, they were better when they were younger but not since kya died and katara grew more motherly/bossy. ila doesn’t let katara mother her. ila has no fear in talking back and/or standing up to katara, usually in defense of sokka or zuko. • katara sees ila as ‘wasting her talents’ because ila doesn’t like to fight and has no interest in learning all the formal waterbending techniques. • there’s a kind of tension between them after katara finds out why kya was killed. neither know which of them was the waterbender that the southern raiders were looking for.

✘ ila joined zuko and katara in facing azula, a good defense to back their good offenses. • ila was the target of azula’s lightning. seeing zuko get hurt caused her to lash out. even though the waterbending reacting to her emotions was still mostly defensive, she managed to knock azula back for long enough to reach zuko. ila worked on healing zuko while katara fought azula. • ila and zuko’s first kiss happened here, spurned on my ila’s joy that zuko was alive.

✘ iroh and ila get along very well. they drink tea and talk about the different blends they have tried during their travels. post-plot, ila frequents the jasmine dragon, more for iroh’s company and wisdom than the tea. • post-plot, iroh teaches her pai sho. • iroh taught her his ‘dragon breath’ firebending move, though ila does it with ice instead.

✘ when zuko planned on marrying ila (they were around their early 20s), he went to sokka for help in making a betrothal necklace and it took weeks for him to make something he was happy with and thought ila would like. aang briefly joined them and finished a lot quicker than zuko. aang and katara were married before zuko even proposed to ila.

✘ there was an adjustment period when ila and zuko started dating (and when they were married) because ila wasn’t used to all that dating the firelord came with. it was always an awkward situation when it came to ila politely refusing the royal handmaids and palanquin carriers. • there was also an adjustment period for the fire nation when zuko and ila eventually got married. the nation’s people worried about zuko’s children being waterbenders.

✘ there was a moment early in ila and zuko’s engagement that ila was targeted by a group of fire nation purists who thought the firelord shouldn’t be marrying a waterbender. • ila initially tried to keep this a secret from zuko believing he ‘had enough on his plate’, but it came to light after she was kidnapped. • there was a period before these purists when ila and zuko were in early dating days where certain guards at the palace tried to dissuade ila from visiting with zuko to the point where the pair once didn’t see each other for over two months and ila briefly considered leaving, thinking zuko didn’t want to see her.

✘ ila integrates her water tribe culture more after marrying zuko and refuses to let anyone forget where she came from. she keeps her braids (braids more of her hair even), she keeps her blue clothes, she actively uses her waterbending whether for simple things or for healing. though ila frequently left the fire nation to visit the southern water tribe, it happened more often after she and zuko had kids.

#ocappreciation #atla oc #avatar the last airbender oc #zuko x oc #long post //#[ this got .... real long ]#[ i just have a lot of ideas ]#oc: ila

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sacredlittlespace · 4 years

Text

Love Language

A little high school AU where Aang is having trouble asking Katara to the homecoming dance. There’s a side plot of Sokka asking Suki to the dance, too! Hope ya like it.

Aang looked across the courtyard with intent. Katara was laughing currently, her head tipped back slightly and her smile wide. The sound came from her gut, and even though it wasn’t a cutesy laugh like some other girls had, it was still Aang’s favorite sound in the world.

“You’re staring again.” Zuko’s even tone annoyed Aang for a reason he couldn’t place. He looked back at Zuko, who had a juice box hanging out of the side of his mouth, and frowned.

“I can’t do this,” Aang said in frustration.

“Of course you can! It’s just my dumb sister, it’s not like you have to ask out the toughest, smartest, most beautiful girl in the school,” Sokka added.

Aang saw that Sokka’s gaze was set on where Suki was sat next to Katara a few tables away from their own. He knew that Sokka was also nervous to ask Suki to the dance, but to Aang, Katara was all of those things, and it terrified him. Especially since they’d been friends for years and nothing ever happened between them. Sure they shared a few moments that made Aang question if Katara did feel the same, like in middle school when they were playing spin the bottle at Suki’s birthday party and the bottle landed between Aang and Jet, Katara had chosen to kiss Aang even though technically the bottle was more pointing at Jet. But what if they were just really good friends? Aang could never tell.

“Look, Katara is popular enough that if you don’t ask her soon someone else will. So you’d better make a move or forget about it,” Zuko said. He leaned back and tossed his empty juice box into a nearby trash can as if he was throwing a basketball into a hoop.

“Easy for you to say,” Aang grumbled. “You and Mai have been together since you were like twelve.”

“She still made me prompose, or whatever you call it for homecoming,” Zuko said, his even tone changing into one of concealed annoyance.

“And the dance number was great, buddy,” Sokka said, leaning across the table to pat Zuko’s shoulder. “Now I have to top that with what I’m going to do for Suki.”

Aang could barely hear the conversation continue with Zuko asking Sokka what he had in mind. Instead, Aang was back to looking at Katara. She was so beautiful, sitting on the top of one of the outdoor tables, the sun hitting her at a perfect angle to make her hair shine but not make her face scrunch up from the brightness. Even though that would also be cute. Every time a guy stood up or walked near her table Aang’s heart would pound. He kept feeling like any second he’d lose his chance to ask her out.

“...and that’s where the smoke bombs come in…” Sokka was saying, animatedly leaning towards Aang and Zuko, who looked beyond bored by whatever he was hearing.

“I’ll be back,” Aang said, not even waiting to hear the rest before standing up. He adjusted his headband and ruffled up the hair that he was still getting used to. Nervous habits. Just start walking, he told himself, and he did. Like a robot he somehow made it to Katara’s table. When he did, the entire group of girls quieted down, and Aang noticed several of the girls smirking. Suddenly his mouth went dry and his palms turned into oceans.

“Hey Aang,” Katara said softly. She looked at him with her head tilted in a way that made her gaze look like a mix between shy and sultry, and Aang felt his heart beat harder. “What’s up?”

“Hey - Katara,” Aang said, stammering on the words. The girls around them giggled and started whispering to each other before Suki shushed them. Aang’s hands started to shake. “Um, I was just wondering, um…” What are words?? Aang thought in a panic. How do sentences work again?? Oh God, I’ve been quiet for too long, I’m being weird, I have to say something -!

“Yeah?” Katara prompted, leaning closer to him. Her cheeks were turning a light pink, and Aang found himself unable to stop fixating on that detail.

I’ve got to do this! Now is my only chance, Aang thought, clenching his fists and squaring his shoulders. “I...was wondering...do -”

The lunch bell rang. Suddenly all of the girls were standing up around Aang, pushing him slightly this way and that as they walked around him. Suki grabbed Katara’s arm, and quickly started leading her away. Aang stood still, his mouth still open with the rest of his words in his throat, ready to escape into an empty room.

Katara looked back at him after a few steps with an apologetic look. “Sorry Aang, let’s talk on our way home from school!”

“S-sure,” Aang said, even though he knew Katara was too far to hear. His face fell with disappointment. There were still four more periods left in the school day. There was no way Katara wouldn’t be asked out by then.

A buzzing in his pocket made Aang focus on something other than the heavy pit in his stomach. When he pulled his phone out of his pocket, he saw that he’d gotten a text from Zuko in their group chat. “That’s rough buddy” was all it said, and then Sokka quickly sent a bunch of laughing emojis in response.

Groaning, Aang shoved his phone back into his pocket and quickly walked back to his table to get his stuff.

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

Aang didn’t walk home with Katara and Sokka like he usually did. Sokka was off somewhere with Toph getting something ready for his homecoming promposal for Suki, and apparently it was Katara’s job to keep Suki occupied so she wouldn’t catch wind of any of this. So, Aang walked home alone.

When Aang got to their house, he went straight to the kitchen. There was only one thing on his mind: comfort food. He grabbed a bag of his favorite spicy chips and sat down on the sofa like a bum. Spending the rest of the school day nursing his disappointment had made him somewhat numb. He was still snacking and mindlessly watching TV when Katara walked in a half hour later.

“Hey, I’m home,” she said brightly. Aang just grunted a response, which made Katara’s face fall. “What’s with you?”

“Nothing. How was distracting Suki?” Aang asked instead, still not looking at Katara and focusing instead on the TV in front of him and the pain in his mouth from eating too many spicy chips. He kept eating anyway.

Katara huffed and threw herself onto the sofa next to Aang. She was just slightly closer to him than what would be considered normal, and Aang glanced at her out of the corner of his eye in response. “Exhausting! I’m sick of constantly keeping Suki away from Sokka. She already likes him, and she knows he likes her so it’s not like she DOESN’T know he’s going to ask her to the dance. He’s just being ridiculous and now I’m stuck in the middle of it.”

Aang nodded sympathetically. He knew Sokka was going overboard and was asking Katara for too much help. He was happy Sokka hadn’t asked him for anything - yet. “Did anyone prompose to you yet? Or do you know who’s going to?” Aang asked, his tone still even, concealing his hurt feelings. Seeing Katara with someone else...it would wound him like nothing else could. But what could he do?

Katara shook her head. “No one has promposed, thankfully. I would be so uncomfortable if anyone did. A couple guys have asked me to the dance through DMs, but I left them on read.”

Katara quickly looked away after speaking, her cheeks quickly turning dark pink. That piqued Aang’s interest. “How come?”

“Well…” Katara trailed off and paused before continuing. “I’m waiting to see if someone else asks me.”

“Who?” Aang asked, sitting up a little. Now he was curious. He wanted to know who would be the cause of the greatest hurt he would ever feel.

“A...guy. He’s a friend, actually. A really good friend. But, I don’t know, I guess without realizing it I started to like him as more than that. Sometimes I think that he does, too, but then other times he seems like just a goofy kid who isn’t even interested in girls like that.” Katara sighed. “I guess I’ll just wait and see. If he doesn’t ask me, I don’t mind going alone.”

Aang wanted to offer to be a backup date, but decided that was super lame. Instead he asked, “So if he does ask you, how would you want him to? Since you don’t want a huge promposal.”

Katara’s eyes lit up with an emotion Aang didn’t recognize. Her face softened around a small smile and she dropped her gaze to the sofa cushion, busying herself with picking at some tiny balls of lint. “Well, it’s a school dance so it’s totally not important. But, if I could choose, I would want something small, private, and meaningful. Something that only the two of us could share.”

Katara looked up at Aang as she said the last sentence, and his breath caught audibly, making him slightly embarrassed after the shock of the moment wore off. He looked away, and decided not to think anything of it. It was just a coincidence. He couldn’t find it in him to form an actual response, so he just nodded, eyes focused on the TV.

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

That night, Aang couldn’t sleep. He kept replaying those moments with Katara in his mind, and fantasizing about the possibility of her actually talking about him when she said all of those things. Aang didn’t want to let himself hope too much, but he did have a nagging feeling in his chest that wouldn’t go away. He felt it physically pull him out of bed, and before he knew it he was sitting at his desk, fiddling with a necklace he’d made Katara but never gave to her. Without thinking, he pulled out a blank sheet of paper and started writing.

Dear Katara,

Remember that time you, me, and Sokka went fishing, but I stole the string off his fishing rod and he got so mad that he accidentally fell off the dock and into the lake? Haha, that was such a good time. It’s still funny. Anyway, Sokka was super upset because he thought I just took it to weave a random knot pattern, but it was more than that. Around that time, you’d lost your mother’s necklace, so I actually wove you one to hold its place until you found it again. But, that night your dad came home with the necklace, and I never gave you this one. But, I still want you to have it. The thing is, I always think about you, everything reminds me of you in some way or another. Like that string on the fishing rod, it made me think of you immediately and I took it without thinking. Honestly, I would do anything for you without a second thought. I’d even give my life. Maybe that’s weird, I don’t know. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I like you. I know you’re hoping some guy asks you to the dance, and he probably will because he’d be a special kind of stupid if he didn’t. But if he does turn out to be a special kind of stupid, I hope you’d accept my offer and go to the dance with me instead. I hope this isn’t super lame. I kind of feel super lame after writing this. Anyway, I hope you like the necklace.

Aang

A sigh escaped his lips as he read over the letter. It was super lame, but since he already wrote it, he decided to give it to Katara anyway. Before he folded the paper, he remembered something, and started looking through his books until he found what he needed. A pressed flower.

It was in the early days, shortly after Aang’s adopted family was killed and Katara’s father took him in. Aang would get sad often, but thought he did a good job of hiding it. Apparently not, though. Katara had found him on one of his lonely walks and fell into step next to him, not saying a word. There was a tree at the edge of their backyard, and Katara stopped under it, making Aang stop too. She told him that she thought it was fate that she found him unconscious in an alley next to his old home, and that he belonged with her, and her family. Then she looked up at the flowers blooming from the tree above them, and in the wind, one fell down and caressed her face before falling onto the ground in front of Aang. He’d picked it up, intending to keep the flower as a reminder of where his new home was: with Katara.

In the present moment, he moved the flower carefully from the book it was pressed into to the letter he’d just written, and folded the paper over it, keeping the flower safe. Then he quietly left his room and walked down the hall to Katara’s room. He stopped outside the closed door and took a deep, silent breath before bending down and carefully leaving the letter and necklace on the floor beside her door. As he walked back to his room, Aang could only wonder how tomorrow would go.

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

When Aang woke up the next morning, he was filled with regret. Why would he write her a letter? Who does that anymore? I’m so stupid, he thought to himself, jumping out of bed to grab the letter before Katara found it, but he was too late. The letter was gone.

Panic. Aang didn’t know what to do now, frozen in the hallway just staring at the empty space where his pathetic letter used to be. It was five thirty, so an hour before anyone else would be awake. Aang decided to get ready and leave before everyone else. It would be easy to avoid Katara in school, not so much when they were in the same house together.

After a quick shower and blindly getting dressed, Aang all but ran out of the house. In fact, once he was outside, he broke out into an all out sprint. The doors to the school building didn’t open to students before seven thirty, but Aang knew a place that was always open to him.

“Aang, nice to see you so early,” Roku said, smiling. He opened his front door wider, allowing Aang to come in. Even though Roku was Zuko’s great grandfather, he’d always had a special bond with Aang. It’s like the two could always talk about anything and always understand each other on a deeper level.

Roku placed a cup of hot tea in front of Aang. They sat in silence at Roku’s kitchen table for a long moment. Finally, Aang broke the silence.

“Roku, I did something really stupid,” he said, his face pulling into an anguished frown.

“Illegal stupid, or normal stupid? I can only help you with one. Kyoshi could probably help you with the other. She killed a man once.”

“Ugh,” Aang groaned in frustration. “Enough about that. Just normal stupid. I wrote a letter to Katara confessing my feelings for her but now I regret it and it’s too late. What do I do??”

“Ah.” Roku looked away from Aang and took a long sip from his tea. “Did I ever tell you how I managed to get my wife?”

“Yeah,” Aang nodded. “You were a total loser but she liked you anyway.”

Roku laughed. “Something like that. Love gets easier as you grow older. You learn what’s important and what isn’t. When you’re young, the surface, the appearance of it matters so much. You say things and think, ‘oh, why am I so stupid! Why did I say that and not this??’ When you get older, you learn that with the right person, there’s never a wrong way to say how you feel. They speak your love language fluently, and accept your awkwardness and vulnerability.”

“But how do I know she’s the right person? What if she doesn’t speak my...language of love,” Aang said, forgetting exactly how Roku had phrased it and making up the closest thing he could on the spot. His brows were pulled together so tightly that his forehead actually started hurting.

“You will know when you find the right person,” Roku said. He watched Aang while he sipped his tea. “Listen Aang. There is no shame in expressing how you feel. We feel things for the exact reason to express them. Your feelings will guide you to the right path; when something fills you with anxiety, you know that’s your spirit telling you that path isn’t for you. When something brings you happiness, you know that’s your spirit telling you that whatever it is that makes you happy is bringing you closer to your authentic self. And when you feel peace, that’s your spirit finding its home. If you don’t accept and express your feelings, you will only become lost. You like this girl, you told her; her response will lead you to your correct path.”

“What if she rejects me?” Aang asked softly.

Roku put his tea down, and looked Aang straight in the eye. “Then you’ll get closer to who you need to be with.”

~~~~~~~~~~

While at school it was easy to avoid Katara. She was a year above him in school, so they had no classes together. And usually they didn’t sit anywhere near each other at lunch; that was Katara’s girl time. That started when Suki wanted to talk to Katara about Sokka alone, and then it just stayed that way. Aang skipped lunch today just to be safe.

Roku’s words kept going around and around in his mind the whole day. The right person. Who you need to be with. Whenever he thought about those things, all he saw was Katara. If she rejected him, he’d be totally lost.

Maybe she would reject him quietly. Or maybe she would pretend the letter never happened and spare him. Aang was hoping for the latter when he got home, knowing he couldn’t avoid Katara forever.

“Aang?”

He’d barely entered the home before Katara called his name. “Yeah,” he called back, busying himself with taking off his shoes before entering the house. His voice had cracked slightly with nerves, and Aang cleared his throat, hoping she didn’t notice.

“Can we talk?”

When Aang turned around to walk into the living room, the first thing he noticed was the woven necklace around Katara’s neck. His heart started pounding immediately, but then he looked up and saw Katara’s upset face and his entire body went cold.

“Where were you today? You left early, I didn’t see you at school, and then you weren’t around after school either.”

Aang looked to the side and started playing with his hair nervously. “Sorry, I couldn’t sleep last night, and then Roku asked me to come by this afternoon and help him with some housework. I guess I should have told you and Sokka I would be home later.”

Katara’s face softened. “I couldn’t sleep last night either,” she said, delicately touching the necklace she was wearing. Aang swallowed so hard he swore Katara could hear it. Her face fell back into a frown, and then she said, “Why doesn’t Zuko help him, he’s actually related to him.”

Aang laughed nervously and shrugged. “They have a complicated history. Plus I enjoy spending time with Roku.”

Katara hummed softly in response, and looked away. Her cheeks were turning pink again, and she started nervously playing with her necklace. Aang remembered what Roku had told him, and tucked his fear away for now. Either way, he would come out of this closer to where and who he needed to be.

“I see you’re wearing the necklace I made you, I hope that means you like it,” Aang said. He figured he’d step up and approach the situation head on. He was the one who wrote the letter, he had to be ready for a response.

“I love it, it’s beautiful,” Katara said, smiling at the ground. “And that flower...it was from that day…”

Aang scrunched up his mouth with nerves and started playing with his hair again. “Yeah...you’d said if someone asked you to the dance you’d want it to be meaningful and something only the two of you could share. I figured that was a good choice. I know I’m only a backup date, but I still wanted to do that for you.”

Instantly Aang regretted saying that. He didn’t want to be the backup date, he wanted to be her first choice and he should have fought for it. He worked up the courage to look back at Katara and found that she was already looking at him.

“You know, you really are a special kind of stupid,” she said, smirking.

Aang’s face twisted. “Huh?”

Katara took two steps towards him and smiled. “You’re the one I wanted to ask me to the dance. Suki and I were actually planning a way for me to ask you. I’m glad it happened this way, though.”

“Uh, what,” Aang said, blinking. He felt like Katara was speaking another language. Like he could hear sounds coming out of her mouth, but not words.

Rolling her eyes, Katara closed the distance between the two of them and wrapped her arms around Aang’s shoulders, letting her hands cradle the back of his head. “I like you, too, Aang. Everything you said in the letter, I feel the same. It’s more than the dance, too. I,” she said, ducking her head a little, her cheeks bright pink, “I want to be with you, Aang.”

He didn’t know how to respond. The best possible outcome just happened, and he felt his soul leave his body anime style. He felt like fainting, but instead he leaned forward and kissed Katara. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her even closer to him, something he’d always wanted to do, and they stayed that way for a long moment.

Suddenly the front door burst open, and Sokka walked in, lower lip trembling, eyes filled with tears. Katara and Aang jumped away from each other, not sure if they wanted Sokka to know just yet.

“Sokka?” Katara asked, clearly concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“It was a disaster,” he wailed. Sokka started ticking things off his fingers as he spoke. “The hot air balloon canceled, the acapella group ended up just being one guy who weirdly smelled like pickles and couldn’t even sing - he did have an impressive range of armpit fart sounds, but that’s besides the point! All of the letters I wrote her to be delivered before each class ended up getting sent to some girl named Zuki instead?? And the scavenger hunt clues didn’t match where Zuko actually hid anything. And we didn’t even get to the second part of the promposal yet! The smoke bombs were duds - or so I thought until they went off five minutes later and basically suffocated me -”

“Sokka, stop! We get it, this super over the top, way too many ideas mashed into one promposal didn’t work. Now skip to the part where Suki reacted; what did she say??” Katara asked, and Aang leaned forward too, just as interested to hear.

“I don’t know!” Sokka said, throwing his hands up. He groaned and scrubbed his face with his hands. “I was so humiliated I just ran home. Suki will never want to see me again, I’m a failure!” Sokka was just about sobbing now, but then the doorbell rang, interrupting him. He paused and frowned, turning towards the door. “If this is that weird acapella guy, I’m not paying him.” Sokka angrily swung the door open, and his face instantly lit up. “Suki!”

Aang moved a little so that he could see Suki, who was standing in the doorway with roses in her arms, amongst several bags. She was beaming right back at Sokka.

“Hey Sokka. Zuki gave me all of your letters, and the roses, and Zuko gave me all of the gifts you got me. Someone from a hot air balloon company gave me a free ride coupon, too. Oh, and some guy who smelled like pickles performed the Ave Maria with armpit fart sounds?” Sokka’s face fell and he dropped his face into his hand. Suki just laughed. “But I also saw the dance performance you came up with, or at least the backup dancers. They said it wasn’t the same without you, and the lyrics you wrote for me, but they ended up giving me the lyric sheet and I loved it. I don’t know what else you had planned, but it was all amazing Sokka.”

“Wait. Wait here. There’s one more thing.”

Suki’s face fell a little, and she tried to stop him. “No, Sokka, I -”

“No, seriously, I’ll be right back.” Sokka’s sincere voice convinced Suki, who just smiled adoringly at him and nodded.

Aang looked at Katara after Sokka ran up the steps, but she just shrugged. Aang guessed Katara didn’t know this last part of the plan either. Only a moment later, Sokka was running back down the steps. He approached Suki with a teddy bear in his hands. It was wearing a shirt with a picture of Sokka and Suki printed on it, and tucked into little straps on its hands was a little case.

Sokka rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, looking at Suki with a blush on his cheeks. “This was how I was going to originally ask you. There’s a flash drive inside the case of songs I picked out for you. The lyrics of the songs spelled out a message you were supposed to decode, asking you to the dance, and...to be my girlfriend.

“But once I saw Zuko’s promposal to Mai - who’s already his girlfriend - I panicked. Especially since it’s you. I thought this wouldn’t be enough. But now I see I kind of went way too hard on the promposal. I’m sorry.”

Suki dropped everything in her arms and jumped towards Sokka, grabbing his face in her hands and kissing him. Aang looked away, feeling embarrassed for some reason, and saw Katara do the same. They shared a look and giggled, both happy that Sokka hadn’t seen their kiss moment.

“Sokka, everything you did was so romantic. I love how passionate you are about things that matter to you, and I love that I’m one of the things that matters to you. I would want nothing less than to go to the dance with you as your girlfriend.” Suki’s smile was wider than Aang had ever seen it, and the only thing that distracted him from it was Sokka’s knees buckling and him fainting to the ground.

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

Aang looked across the hall with intent. There Katara was at their table, laughing and talking with Suki and Mai. Aang smiled at her, even though he didn’t know what was making her smile, he just loved to see it.

“You’re staring again,” Zuko teased. He filled up a plate of desserts for both him and Mai, and on the other side of him Sokka was doing the same.

“Yeah, at my girlfriend,” Aang said, and couldn’t help the little laugh that followed. The words still made butterflies erupt into flight in his stomach. His girlfriend. How would life ever get better than this?

“I still can’t believe Suki said yes to being my girlfriend,” Sokka said, turning around to gaze at the table of girls.

“I still can’t believe you fainted when she did,” Zuko said, his voice back to its even tone.

Sokka frowned. “I had low blood sugar! I hadn’t eaten all day because I was working to get everything ready and -”

“Yeah yeah,” Zuko said, waving a hand towards Sokka. It was nothing they all hadn’t heard before. “Let’s just get back before Mai turns into a dragon and bites my head off for taking too long to get desserts.”

Aang quickly finished filling his plate with fruits, but grabbed a few pastries last minute in case Katara wanted those too. When they got back to their table, Katara immediately started eating the fruit off of Aang’s plate.

“Thanks for getting me fruit,” she whispered to him. “I’ve been dying for them all night, but forgot to tell you to grab some when you got up. You just read my mind.”

“I do what I can,” Aang smiled, watching Katara fit so many pieces of pineapple into her mouth that she looked like a chipmunk. Then he brushed her long wavy hair off of her shoulder toward her back, letting his fingers brush the necklace he’d made Katara that she still hadn’t taken off. “I can make you a better one,” he said, looking at the cheap string it was made out of. It was all he had at the time, but she deserved better.

“I already love this one,” she said, shaking her head.

“I love you,” Aang said automatically. Once he realized what he’d said, his smile dropped and his eyes widened. He’d said it without even thinking, and now he was afraid he’d scared Katara off for good.

For a moment Katara’s eyes widened too, but then her face softened into a dreamy smile, and she leaned forward, pressing a kiss onto Aang’s lips. She tasted like pineapples, but that wasn’t the reason Aang had a hard time pulling away.

“I love you, too.”

#kataang #kataang fanfic #katara and aang #katara x aang #aang x katara #sokka and suki #sokki #sokka x suki #suki x sokka

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lettersfromn0where · 4 years

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A Masterlist of Zutara AUs I Wish Existed But Will Never Write

Movies/Books/Shows

YOUR LIE IN APRIL AU YOUR LIE IN APRIL AU YOUR LIE IN - okay yeah you get it. Beautiful anime, lots of similarities to their story, may or may not already be writing this for Zutara week, ohp.

10 Things I Hate About You AU - pls pls PLS yes it would be perfect!

Crash Landing On You AU. I WOULD. DIE A HUNDRED DEATHS. (That would also work better gender flipped - eg Zuko is the heiress and Katara is the soldier - but still. Seri’s home life is a lot like Zuko’s so I can kinda see it. This would work VERY well for Sukka too.)

Miss Saigon AU, period.

High School & College

High School Theater AU - Katara’s the perennial lead actress, Zuko’s the stage crew’s lights & sound guy who auditioned as an actor on a dare and somehow got cast in the love interest role. She resents his ability to be handed things with zero experience, he thinks she’s a theater snob of the highest order...and *then* they have to start rehearsing stage kisses. Things are about to get a little nuts up in this theater.

“Kissing Lessons” AU: Zuko is an aspiring writer who is given an assignment in a creative writing class to ‘experience something new for the sake of your writing.’ And when your most embarrassing high school moment came when your work was used as an example of how NOT to write a romantic scene...well. He’s going to figure out how to write a good kiss from firsthand experience or die trying - and the beautiful girl who sits in front of him is all too willing to help out.

Group Chat AU: a few years back I heard about this challenge teenagers were doing where they had to make a group chat with an even number of people who didn’t like each other romantically in it, pair off, and pretend to like each other, the goal being to see who caught feels first. I’m pretty sure it’s an insanely dumb idea irl but I still want to see the Gaang do that. (Maybe throw in Mai and Ty Lee for Spice.)

Canon Divergence

FAKE MARRIED ON AN UNDERCOVER MISSION AU. I do not think I need to explain why this would be Everything.

Blue Spirit/Painted Lady AU where a) Iroh is Fire Lord and b) Lu Ten didn’t die and is thus the heir, allowing Zuko to spend his youth traveling the world, Blue Spirit-ing, getting into scrapes as teenagers do...and repeatedly running across a mysterious veiled girl when he’s out doing his Blue Spirit thing. However, that life is abruptly halted when he starts facing pressure to marry, and he realizes his most appealing option is a girl whose face he’s never seen. After all, the Painted Lady is definitely a girl his age, and she’s smart, compassionate, skilled - yeahhh, he might be just a little bit in love with her. It may be insane, but no more so than marrying any other complete stranger...right? So Zuko sets out on one last mission to discover the identity of the Painted Lady and win her heart.

Other

Fake Wedding Date AU: at a high school reunion, a very single Zuko lets it slip that his sister is getting married and he’s going to get eaten alive for going to her wedding without a date. Enter his old friend and onetime crush Katara, who volunteers to stand in as his fake date as a very delayed way to get back at Azula, who picked on her relentlessly in high school.

Orchestra AU: the Gaang are professional musicians playing in the same orchestra. Their carefully-maintained status quo, however, is about to get shaken up when Zuko, a newly-hired musician who plays the same instrument as Katara (his instant rival), arrives - along with his younger sister, an impossible-to-please teenage violin prodigy making her debut with their orchestra. Is this an excuse to name-check the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto? Probably. Do I care? NOPE.

#might add later #aus #writing ideas #zutara #if any of y’all wanna write some of these...#or draw them!

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comradekatara · 3 months

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i love hs modern au and i find it unlikely that any of the gaang would like actually put effort into the clothes they wear except for maybe katara but also i know in my heart that azula only wears designer everything

LITERALLYYY whenever i see modern au fanart of them in like, the latest stylish fits i am just like “they would not fucking wear that!!!!” katara, ty lee, and to a lesser extent, azula (in the sense that she only buys designer) are the only characters who would actually put effort into their outfits, but even the outfits i do see them drawn in are not the CORRECT kinds of outfits wrt what they’d “actually” wear (in my subjective yet correct opinion).

katara would thrift all kinds of different clothes and curate her Lük every day depending on her mood, but she cannot walk thru her front door without first passing a vibe check. and she loves fashion and loves curating various outfits on pinterest and she has a lot of opinions on the latest trends, historical costuming in period pieces, haute couture, makeup, and stuff like that. she also makes her own clothes sometimes (or as gifts for her friends).

ty lee is less knowledgeable about clothing than katara is, but just as fashionable. she really only has one consistent style, which is to look as cute as possible at all times. her goal is always to have you know that she’s the prettiest girl in the room but also that you can’t have her. unlike katara, who mostly considers makeup a fun thing, ty lee refuses to leave the house without makeup, even though she’s so beautiful that her face looks exactly the same without it (except slightly less shiny and glowy and pink).

azula dresses like shiv roy, or lydia tár from tár (bad movie), so it’s not a matter of being more fashionable, but rather looking effortlessly sleek and elegant and clean and, most importantly, rich. but rich in a way that isn’t show-offy and crude, because azula cannot stand people who brag about their wealth in coarse ways that signify that they clearly don’t deserve it. she dresses like a corporate lawyer every day, years before she actually becomes a corporate lawyer. she grows into her threads.

as for the rest of them… aang wears a color block t shirt and shorts basically every day (he even wears shorts in winter sometimes, because he is oddly impervious to cold). so does toph. sometimes she switches it up with a pair of baggy overalls. sometimes she just wears sweatpants outside (which katara finds appalling) because fuck it, who cares? not her.

sokka wears the same basic outfit every single day, and whenever anyone questions him on it (usually katara) he’s just like “these are my clothes…why wouldn’t i wear them every day…” and he’s never once put more thought into it than that (except for the very first time he officially went on a date with yue, at which point he had a minor freakout over whether his favorite sweater made him look sufficiently erudite. katara was just like “yeah i can’t help you there”).

zuko dresses extremely preppy and has no sense of fashion whatsoever, he just wears the exact same type of clothes his mom bought for him as a child until he dies. sometimes he fantasizes about dressing cool and edgy, like to a concert or something, but every time katara offers to help him pick out an outfit he chickens out at the last minute and just ends up wearing the same soft brown sweater he always wears.

suki doesn’t put a lot of effort into her appearance but she puts maximum effort into looking as dykey as possible at all times. she kind of dresses like a lesbian fuckboy. that said, she is constantly trying to give sokka a makeover, because she’s convinced that “if he only dressed sluttier, he’d realize that he’s bisexual.” to which sokka is like, “wouldn’t i ‘realize that i’m bisexual’ if i ever felt attraction towards a guy?” to which suki’s just like “you understand nothing.”

finally, mai has a pretty similar style to azula in the sense that she also dresses in a casually elegant way, but unlike azula, she isn’t really putting effort into cultivating that look, she just happens to like soft yet elegant comfortable clothing, and she happens to have her dad’s credit card handy whenever she needs to purchase new clothes. she wears a lot dark colors, long cardigans, turtlenecks, long flowy pants, scarves, boots, and coats. tank top + long flowy pant is her go-to summer look, and big black peacoat and red scarf is to go-to winter look. but she especially thrives in autumn, her favorite season. not that she puts a lot of effort into curating her wardrobe, but it doesn’t even matter because she just looks effortlessly great anyway.

#sapphikatara #asks #modern au #the gaang and #this was supposed to be like 2 sentences #as always 😓#if azula dresses like shiv aang dresses like roman in the finale specifically

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firelxdykatara · 5 years

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do you have any headcanons about zuko&katara's relationship??

OH BOY DO I (this kind of turned into ‘zuko and katara getting married’ headcanons but i can’t apologize, my heart is too full)

When they first started dating (a few years after the war ended–it took forever for the awkward turtleduck to realize it would even be possible for Katara to return his feelings, nevermind work up the nerve to actually ask her out), Zuko had no idea he would one day ask her to marry him–he was still trying to grow accustomed to the fact that she actually liked him liked him. She stuck around and she kissed him and she spent so much time with him and sometimes he found himself looking at her in absolute bewilderment, with no idea what he could possibly have done to be worthy of her.

A few months into their relationship, though, they were taking a walk through one of the poorer sectors of the city (it was difficult and hadn’t gained much traction, but Zuko did his best to not only make reparations to the rest of the world, but to improve the lives of all of his citizens, and spent a lot of time with Katara to improve conditions in poorer areas), and they came across a young girl who was being picked on by several other children. Zuko was about to put on his Fire Lord Voice, but before he had a chance, Katara had rushed forward and was giving the other children one hell of a tongue lashing. As he watched her comfort the girl, picking her doll up out of the dirt and wiping the tears off her face, he was hit by a sudden realization–he wanted to marry this woman. He probably always had.

It was a desire he sat on for a very long time. After all, it took Zuko years to get over the near-crippling fear that one day Katara would wake up and realize he didn’t actually deserve her. (His one serious relationship before her had… not been healthy. Nor had it ended well.) Katara knew this–it killed her, sometimes, the fear she saw in his eyes whenever he presented her with a gift, as if he was just waiting for her to throw it back in his face, or the way he always hesitated before telling her he loved her, afraid she’d shrug it off or outright reject his feelings–but she also knew she couldn’t fix it for him. All she could do was let him know how she felt–tell him the things she loved about him–appreciate the effort he put into their relationship, even when he made mistakes–gently guide him into self-love because damn it he would understand the way she saw him even if it killed her.

Speaking of love, the day Katara realized she was in love with Zuko, it hit her like a lightning bolt. It was late at night–Zuko almost always went to sleep before she did (he was an early bird, she very much a night owl), no matter how hard he tried to stay up (he wouldn’t say it, but she knew that sometimes he was afraid she’d be gone when he woke up), and one night, she was coming to bed, and he was quietly asleep. His hair–quite long, by this point (he mentioned getting it cut once, and Katara basically begged him not to, to the endless amusement of Toph and Suki, who were visiting at the time and gave Katara some very knowing looks (a knowing smirk, in Toph’s case))–was spread out across the pillows, and silver light poured through the window, illuminating his face with an almost ethereal glow. He was so beautiful, in that single instant, she almost wanted to cry. And in that moment, Katara knew, unequivocally, that Fire Lord Zuko was the love of her life.

Katara started dropping hints that she wanted to be his wife a long time before Zuko actually popped the question. This is mostly because Zuko had written a letter to Hakoda, desperate for information about Southern Water Tribe marriage customs–he had learned a lot about her past and her culture over the course of their relationship, but marriage (even though they’d been together for years by this point) was something that always got danced around or glossed over. Katara worried that Zuko would get skittish if she came on too strong. Zuko worried Katara might say no, and he cherished their time together far too much to risk losing it until he was absolutely sure.

Hakoda, of course, used this as an opportunity to leverage a trip home out of his daughter and her boyfriend. It took months for Zuko to arrange things to the point where he could safely leave Caldera for an extended period of time. Zuko had met Hakoda a few times over the years, of course, but he hadn’t spent a great deal of time with him, and now that Hakoda realized his daughter’s boyfriend was very serious about wanting to spend his life with her, he planned to give him the ultimate third degree. Zuko tried to hide the fact that he was a nervous wreck–Katara’s father intimidated him in ways he could never quite explain, except that there was always a part of him that would picture Ozai’s reaction to anything he said or did–but Hakoda understood more than he realized. And he spent all of five minutes alone with Zuko before he realized that a) this kid loved Katara with all his goddamn heart, and b) he had a second son now, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Speaking of Southern Water Tribe marriage customs–they didn’t do betrothal necklaces like the North. And Zuko wouldn’t have wanted to try to replace Katara’s mother’s necklace for her, anyway. So instead–because men in her tribe tended to present gifts as a show of their own skills (furs, other trophies from hunts, hand-crafted tools), which the women could then accept if they felt the men were worth their consideration as life partners–he carved a set of leather-working tools with his own hands. Years of sword-play had left him with deft hands and quick reflexes, and finally, at dinner during the last night of their stay, he presented the tools to her, on his knees and head bowed, silently praying to Agni that he hadn’t misjudged the depth of her feelings. Sitting on top of the set of tools was a small comb fashioned from burnished bronze, with the symbols of tui and la engraved on one side and the moon on the other. After accepting his proposal (Gran-Gran, Hakoda, and Sokka all had tears on their faces, even if Sokka wouldn’t admit it; Suki was openly weeping), Katara turned and asked Zuko to help her thread the comb into her hair.

She wore that comb in her hair every single day of her life, until the day Zuko died. They’d lived long and full lives, had several children, and he’d passed the mantle of Fire Lord onto their oldest daughter decades earlier. Katara herself only lived a few months longer. The day her husband died, she placed her comb in the urn with his ashes. She lived long enough to set the rest of her affairs in order, and say goodbye to her remaining friends and family. At her request, she was laid to rest in the style of the Fire Nation so she could be with her husband, but only after the chief of her tribe had performed the traditional Southern Water Tribe funeral ceremony.

……..i made myself sad. and probably went overboard. it’s not like i think about this every day or anything >.>

#atla #zutara #katara #zuko #I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH YOU GUYS #AND HOW MUCH THEY LOVE EACH OTHER #AND WHAT AN AMAZING COUPLE THEY'D MAKE #Anonymous #asked

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yay855 · 5 years

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For a late Father’s Day post, I’d like to provide a list of television shows, video games, and movies with genuinely good fathers. The list is below the cut, so that it doesn’t clutter up anyone’s dash.

Steven Universe is a very good example. Greg Universe is a single father raising his child; he gave up everything so that Steven could live a happy and comfortable life. Greg lived in a van for most of his life, and got a job at a local car wash so that Steven could eat. He made sure that Steven had plenty of toys and games, albeit not up-to-date ones, and taught him how to sing and play the ukulele. Whenever Steven has issues, he can always count on his father to help him figure his problems out and feel better. Thanks to Greg, Steven is a happy, well-adjusted child.

Nate, from Fallout 4. His entire story arc revolves around finding and rescuing his kidnapped son from the people who murdered his wife.

Barret Wallace, from Final Fantasy 7. The man may run a bar by night and sabotage Shinra by day, but his little Marlene is well-cared-for. and he fights for her future. And the minute he has to go away for an extended period of time, he ensures that she’s in the care of someone he can trust. Marlene may not be his daughter by blood, but she’s his by love.

Doctor Light, from Mega Man. Although he’s made a lot of mistakes and ended up bringing several children into a world that didn’t see them as people, he genuinely cares for each and every one of them. X is his pride and joy, a child who he made to have every tool necessary to defeat whatever problem comes his way. And if something came that he wasn’t prepared for, Thomas would still grant it to him even in death.

Digimon Tamers has Takehiro Matsuki and Janyu Wong, the fathers of Takato and Henry respectively. Takato’s father is very kind to him, and encourages his imagination and kindness. Henry’s father absolutely loves to dote on his children, especially the seven-year-old Suzie.

Fullmetal Alchemist has Maes Hughes, a man who loves his wife and daughter more than anything in the world. Simply talking about them makes his face light up with joy, and he delights in spoiling his daughter.

Tatsuko Kusakabe of My Neighbor Totoro is a very good father. He cares for his daughters dearly, and although he has very little time to spend with them, he always spends that time with a smile on his face.

Lord Death from Soul Eater is a very good father. Although he’s limited in what he can do and where he can go, he does his best to ensure that his son, Death Junior, is happy and gets the best education he can. He even respects his son’s nickname for himself, Death the Kid, and makes sure that his son never feels pressured to live up to him.

Depending on the writer, Batman. He can be very kind and good to his children, and grants many orphaned souls a chance to recover from their trauma by feeling powerful through saving others.

Pa Kent, from Superman. He took in an alien baby as his own and raised it to be kind and good. It was from him that Superman had such a strong code of ethics.

Pacha from The Emperor’s New Groove. The man loves his wife and kids, and gladly plays with his three little ones. He even ends up becoming a father of sorts to Kuzko, and helps the emperor feel loved for the first time in his life.

Eli La Bouff, from Disney’s Princess and the Frog. He is a wealthy white man living in 1912 New Orleans, and yet he’s not only very kind and good to his daughter, but he isn’t racist, and passed on his open-mindedness to his daughter. He even provides daycare for his servants’ children!

Shrek. Although he spent much of the third movie terrified that he would be an abusive father like his own, he ultimately was a very good father, and did as much for his children as his wife Fiona.

Bob Parr, from The Incredibles. Although he’s not exactly there for his kids in the first movie or the first half of the sequel, he quickly catches up to being a stay-at-home dad. He learns his kids’ schoolwork so he can help them through it, he learns their likes and dislikes so they can feel comfortable and at home around him, and he does it all with a smile.

Bowser, from the Mario series. Although he’s a terrifying villain and king, the man is an excellent father. He adopted seven different koopas as his own, and he deeply cares for each and every one of them alongside his one biological child.

Jack of Bioshock 1. Provided that you go for the good ending, he ends up adopting twenty-one little girls, and gives them a home and happy lives.

King Asgore of Undertale. The man deeply loves all life, especially his children- he had one biological child, Asriel, and one adopted child, Chara. He’s known as a lovable figure by all his subjects, and acts as a father to them all.

Avatar: The Last Airbender has two notable good fathers- the first is Hakoda, the father of Katara and Sokka. Although he doens’t interact with them much in the show, it’s clear from what we do see that he loves them dearly. Iroh also ends up as a surrogate father figure to Zuko, and although he’s not actually the teen’s father, he loves Zuko as his own.

Although Jack Fenton from Danny Phantom is very oblivious and almost ends up killing Danny a few times out of ignorance of Danny Fenton being Danny Phantom, the man very much loves his family- he loves spending time with them, but also knows to give them their space when they want it. But when one Fenton is in trouble, he goes full Papa Bear- the man is built like a tank, and will gladly deck someone should they endanger his family.

Surprisingly enough, Bender from Futurama. Although he never wanted to be a father, after being saddled with a son, he turned out to be a very good father, and raised his kid right. He even sacrificed their relationship to let his son achieve his dream.

Shining Armor from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The man absolutely adores his baby girl, for all that she can drive him up the wall with all her power.

Heinz Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb. Although he may not completely understand his daughter, the man does the best he can to care for her- whether that means spending ten years searching for a doll she really wanted, zapping pedophiles into another dimension, or throwing her the best birthday party ever, he always goes above and beyond to do what’s right for his daughter.

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atypicalkataangist · 5 years

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Bestowing Honour

Type: Oneshot [Angst]

Summary: One year after Aang’s death, his family returns to the place of his funeral to bestow honour on the late Avatar.

Word count: 2241

Author’s note: Hey guys. Today’s oneshot is actually something special for me. I used it as a vent for many emotions that were boiling up inside of me for the last while. I began writing this Oneshot about two weeks ago; It was the first anniversary of my Dad’s untimely death, who had died of pancreatic cancer last year. We visited my Dad’s grave and so many emotions were bottling up inside of me that I had to release them somewhere, and since something similar happened to the Avatar’s family, I couldn’t pass up the chance to weave my own thoughts, memories and words together with those of the characters in the story.

By the way, AtLA was pretty much the first thing i could really enjoy after everything that happened last year, and I’m very thankful for all the beautiful moments it could give me despite everything else.

So please enjoy this, and even if you don’t I understand, all I wanted to do is to write down my most intimate emotions, and I’m glad I did. This is enough sad stuff for the next while though, I’m looking forward to write about something fluffy finally again! But as you might have noticed by now, updates take a while.

Don’t forget to think positive, whatever may happen, guys; because remember what a wise man once said:

“When we hit our lowest point, we’re open to the greatest change.”

~ Dedicated to my Dad ~

The wind blew strongly at the southern cliff of yue bay. The sun hid behind a thick layer of clouds, the sky was coloured in a deep grey most of the time, only interrupted by brief seconds when the sun was given the opportunity to shine through the almost inpenetrable wall. After a short moment of sunshine however, it would go back into hiding, never to be seen again.

Neither of them had been looking forward to this day, but they all knew that it had to be done. One year ago, on this exact date, the Avatar had died. Avatar Aang, the last airbender, the bringer of piece, had met his demise after a long period of serious sickness. Even though the whole world seemed to be disconsolate about the great man's demise, his family of course was hit hardest. The last year had been an incredibly difficult time for the Avatar's wife and three adult kids; whereas the world seemed to overheap the late hero with honors like planning to build a gigantic statue of him in yue bay, or establishing an "Avatar-Aang-Memorial-Day", his family could only think about the person behind the Avatar, behind the politician, the bringer of peace.

The Avatar's burial had been a huge event, with hundreds of famous people from all around the world giving speeches, sometimes more personal and heartwarming like the one held by the Avatar's trusted friend and ally, Fire Lord Zuko, or sometimes more political and impersonal like the speech held by a nobleman from the earth kingdom, of whom Katara wasn't sure if he had actually been in the same room together with Aang just once while he was alive. According to his beliefs as an Air Nomad, his remains were cremated and his ashes handed over to the winds of yue bay, on the far end of a cliff not far from his lifelong home on air temple island. It had been a terrifying day for Katara. Even though hundreds, if not thousands of people expressed their more or less honest condolences to her, offering their help whenever she would need it, her inner instincts were just telling her to run. Run as far away as her legs would carry her. It had all been too much, way too much, and without the support of her children, she would have probably left, not bearing to witness the act of hundreds of people crying in remorse over someone they barely knew.

She had known him, better than all of them . She had loved him every day of her life. She had cared for him when he wasn't well, and she was by his side, she didn't leave him in his final days, holding his hand, watching the final bit of life leaving his frail body until his suffering came to an end. She had cried until there were no more tears to shed. She had loved him more than she had loved anything else, perhaps except for her children. She had spent her whole life at his side, going through ups and downs, highlights and crises together. They had saved the world together. They had rebuilt a culture. They raised three children together. They had been married for well over forty-five years. And they had endured ravage, destruction, wars, Appa's death, Iroh's death, rebellion, and so much more.

And all of that should've come to an end now? Because the universe decided that the world needed a new Avatar? A fresh start? With him, almost everything she cared about was taken from her, a part of her dying together with him. A part of her wished to die as well, to be reunited with him in the spirit world, to spend eternity at his side. But another part reminded her of her children, her first grandchild that was on the way, the fate of her husband's air nomad culture that lived on through the air acolytes and her son Tenzin. She secretly knew that her time had not come yet.

After his death, she didn't dare to return to their old home on air temple island. They had spent their whole lives together in that house, and there was nothing that didn't remind her of him. She needed to get out of there and never return. Many begged her to join them, like Zuko, who was more than willing to help one of his dearest and oldest friends with an apartment in the royal palace, or the ancient earth king who had always appreciated and cared for the Avatar and his family.

Nonetheless everybody knew where she was going. The day after his funeral, she took the first ship towards the south pole, her home, the only place where she had lived for longer than a few months without him by her side. Her birthplace. The place of her family, her culture, her ancestors. Her daughter Kya joined her, putting her life on pause, postponing the wedding with her fiancee. She couldn't let her mother alone in a time like that, so she cared for her for the next hard months. The late Avatar's wife barely spoke, sunken in dreams and memories, yet she appreciated her daughter's company. Her sons came to visit every now and then, at least relieved to know that she would be in good hands with Kya, but their lives kept them busy most of the time, Bumi being a general in the united forces and Tenzin being the head of a culture that had yet to be reborn. Of course Katara didn't hold a grudge against her sons. Whenever they asked if they should stay, she reminded them to get back to their duties, not to worry about their old mother.

The only positive thing, the only glimmer of hope and the only thing that finally caused her to leave the south pole once in the next year, was the birth of Tenzin's first child, Aang's and her first grandchild, a little girl named Jinora, who quickly turned out to be an airbender. It was the first time she felt something like hope again since the death of the Avatar. Yet again she felt incredibly remorseful that her husband was not there with her and his son to share this beautiful moment together, the birth of their first grandchild, the second air bender in the world.

The next months she spent at the south pole, at least returning to her usual behaviour prior to the traumatic experience. She didn't stop to teach her daughter expert water bending techniques, also training some younger waterbenders from the southern, as well as the northern water tribe. She began to slowly return to life again, regaining a purpose. Kya even caught her mother laughing from time to time, and that sound she hadn't heard for way too long was like music in her ears.

Nonetheless no day went by without Katara thinking about the love of her life. At night she often went for long walks, looking up to the sky, searching for symbols or signs as a piece of evidence for his presence, but there was nothing. Sometimes she even went out to ice fields where she had found him in the iceberg. On the day that changed her life. Where she held him in her arms for the first time. Where they exchanged their first words. Where they went penguin sledding together. She couldn't think back at this moment without tears immediately shooting up to her eyes. How much she missed him... It felt unbearable.

And now, one year after the worst day of her life, she had to return, only to be confronted again with the terrible place near the coast, where she had to scatter his ashes. At least no one else was present now, except for her children and her brother. She wanted to keep it in the family. It would be hard enough as it was.

The skies didn't seem to approve of their endeavor. Maybe it was Aang, desperately trying to let them know that he was still there; or maybe the spirits were raging again. In the end, it didn't matter anyway. It was right after noon when all of them had finally made their way to the small edge of the cliff , where nothing but a small memorial stone and a bronze plaque which simply said "Avatar Aang - 12 BG - 153 AG" gave an indication of a memorial for a great man.

They stood there in silence; Katara in the center, opposite to the memorial stone, framed by her brother and her daughter, with Bumi at Sokka's and Tenzin at Kya's other side. The wind didn't allow them to have the peace they deserved, howling and messing up their clothes and hair. By now Katara could even feel tiny raindrops against her skin. Without even realizing it, she bend the whole rain around them away, leaving them dry.

She watched her husband's memorial with hurt, painful eyes. She was the first and only one to talk. "Aang...", she barely uttered with a shaky voice, while her whole body began to tremble from grief, "we...we've been doing okay so far... but we miss you" She began to cry heartbreakingly,"...so ...so much..." Her family, her brother, her children instantly offered their support, barely capable to hold back their tears as well. She wasn't ready to be helped right now. Nobody could comfort her. Powerless, she dropped on her knees, the wind joining in to her howling, breezing through her greyish hair. She wasn't even strong enough to bend the rainwater away anymore. Her brother dropped right next to her, very gently holding her back while his tear-dimmed eyes tried to meet his sister's, gently drawing her into an intimate hug. Her crying became louder against her trusted brother's shoulder, turning into nerve-splitting howling as all the good and bad memories came back into her mind. "I... I can't do this...", she cried, repeating it over and over again.

Kya felt dizzy from the pain she felt and she could see within her mother. She felt helpless. Not even she could heal her mother's pain. Guilt, anger and pain rose up inside of her, causing her to tremble. A wave of tears broke out of her despite her efforts to hold it in. She was about to lose equilibrium, about to hit the ground, when her little brother noticed her dizziness and held her firm, pressing his grief-stricken sister against his shoulder, sniffing away tears of his own.

The only one standing alone was Bumi. Even though they didn't always come along greatly, he had loved his father very much, and he was in mourning for him after his death. He didn't want his family to notice, but now, after a whole year had passed, with so much happening in his own life, he had felt simply nothing when he came back to the place of his funeral. He knew that his father was sitting there somewhere, watching him and hopefully be proud of his son. But when his mother started to cry again, like on the same day a year back, heartshattering and nervewrecking, he couldn't help but feel somewhat angry. Maybe it was his soldier-like attitude that he had to learn while being in the forces; whatever you do, don't show weakness. Or perhaps he was angry at her, because she became so dependent on her husband being there for her, that now that he was gone, her whole life began to crumble and fall apart.

Though perhaps he was angry at himself for all those missed opportunities, perhaps for taking so much for granted in the past; for forgetting so many beautiful memories to make coping with the pain easier. For putting his own life about his mother's, leaving her and his sister alone, only to fulfill his own dreams, to live his own life.

Finally, a tear slipped out of his eye, the only thing indicating the turmoil inside of him. He stood there in silence as he tried to bring his thoughts in order, watching the memorial as he somehow tried to share his thoughts with his Dad, telling him about his deepest feelings.

He snapped out of his trance after feeling a hand touching his shoulder. It was his uncle who looked at him with weary eyes, trying to figure out if his favourite little nephew was alright inside. Not coming to a clear conclusion, he still decided to hug him.

Bumi closed his eyes. His hero's touch felt good, it reminded him of how his Dad showed his appreciation whenever he heard of his sons accomplishments in making the world a safer place. He missed moments like these. When he opened his eyes again, he saw his mother was back at her senses now, sitting in the wet grass. She looked almost childlike, despite being an older woman by now. The way she was sitting there, wiping away the last few tears with her wirstbone, not daring to raise her eyes to meet what was in front of her. Kya and Tenzin were sitting on her left; he decided to take place on her right, putting his arm around her back, gently rubbing her back in small, circular patterns. She leaned into his touch, and when he heard her calmly breathing again, he knew that one day they would be alright.

#avatar #atla #kataang #family #death #grief

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justteamavatar · 7 years

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How do you imagine Korrasami's wedding?

Oh man, I just noticed this this inbox! And it’s such an awesomequestion too!

Honestly, I don’t have one definitive image of what a Korrasami wedding wouldlook like. I’ve read some headcanons that I REALLY love and others that I wouldrather not happen.

Iimagine that the two of them would prefer a smaller gathering with close friendsand family. It would lead to a far more personal and intimate environment fortwo of them; Korra and Asami sharing the most important day of their lives their family and friends. However, I think this would be a bit tricky for them to pulloff, seeing as how we’ve got the CEO of a very prestigious company marrying Korra,the Avatar (and well, I think her importance is obvious enough that I don’t have to writeit out :p)

There would probably be a bit of a political connotation attachedto their wedding along with MANY news coverings on each and every aspect from the lead-up, to the ceremony, to the honeymoon and everything/anything else inbetween (much to the dismay of our two ladies).

Due to this, I imagine that theywould potentially hold two weddings. One where they can get all of the newsshenanigans out of the way and another along the lines of what I mentioned before - anintimate reception with their loved ones.

I’m not sure where I would like tosee the wedding take place, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it was at AirTemple Island or the Spirit World (which would kinda be appropriate too since theyboth had their first, big romantic getaway there).

I’ve seen a lot of debate about who would officiate the wedding –some say Bolin due to his role in Varrick’s wedding, other people say Iroh or Tenzin. I honestly don’t have any objects to any of these characterstaking the role, but the one that’s grown on me a quite a bit is Katara.

There justseems to be something really fitting about it – if perhaps a little emotional, seeingas how she’s the widow of Korra’s predecessor, Aang. I know we haven’t seenmuch of her in TLOK, but from little snippet’s we’ve witnessed, Katara has alwaysbeen a champion of Korra – believing in Korra’s strength after the firebendingtest, understanding Korra’s need to journey out to Republic City and be in thereal world, attempting to restore Korra’s bending after the equalist revolutionas well as being one of Korra’s caretakers during her downfall after Zaheer. Katarahas always wanted Korra to thrive, to be happy, to succeed and to just live her life. One exchangebetween these two that has always been stuck on my mind is:

“And…what am I going to find if I… get through this?” ~ Korra

“I don’t know. But won’t it be interesting tofind out?” ~ Katara (B4:E2)

I’ve already written a long analysis about how Korra fought her way out of the dark and found inner peace. But she also found love; true, organic and meaningful love with Asami. Katara is someone that found a similar love with Aang and… I don’t know, I just feel like she would possibly want to help Korra and Asami celebrate this wonderful feeling (sorry for the long-winded focus on this topic, let’s move on).

Hmm, what else… I also kinda like the idea of Tonraq walking Asamidown the isle, ESPECIALLY since she lost her own father. I have a bit of aheadcanon that Tonraq and Asami would get along immediately – almost to thepoint of where they become “best friends” (for a lack of a better term),bonding over teasing/loving Korra as well as having silly inside jokes – I blame @weissrose and his amazing series SeekingBalance for this. But yeah, I definitely think Tonraq (as well as Senna,obviously) would quickly accept Asami as one of his own; a member of the Water Tribe and a daughter. I imagine that Asami would also feel a little emotionalover having Tonraq walking her as she finally got one of the things she alwayswanted – a family. But who knows… Maybe he’ll walk both of his girls down theisle, or maybe Asami will be the one waiting as she watches the love of her lifewalk towards her in down the isle in her beautiful dress.

Speaking of dresses, I definitely see Korra sporting a beautiful,traditional Water Tribe dress while Asami wears either an elegant red dress ora white one with red accents (maybesomething along the lines of this or this?). I know some people like Korra in a suit/vest, but we’ve seen her constantly wear dresses at important events. I also think their decorations and drapes would consist of reds and blues alongwith blends of purple to represent the unity of these two beautiful ladies (cliché,I know…).

I think lots of tears will be shed during each other’s vows (though I’m sure that tears of happiness will begin once they first lay their eyes on each other on the isle). In that moment, it will just be the two of them and no one else. I wouldn’t be surprised if the three year separation between Book 3 and Book 4 was brought up during the vows. It was a painful period for them, one where they spent more time apart than with each other, but it was also a time where they had the chance to really miss each other, analyze their feelings and grow to understand that “yes, the reason why I miss her so much is because she means the absolute world to me.” I think Janet Varney put this very beautifully here. During this time of their wedding, they once again get to promise that will never leave each other’s backs ever again.

Other little things that I would love to see in a Korrasami wedding include:

~ Bolin bursting out in loud tears once Korra and Asami join each other at the end of the isle to begin the wedding ceremony

~ Pabu being the ring bearer

~ Korra attempting to dip Asami when they go in for the big kiss, but Asami beats Korra to the punch AND lifts her up bridal-style

~ Speeches from Tenzin, Pema and the Krew - Mako can’t help but mention how the two ladies he once dated ended up very much in love with each other…

~ Tahno and his band playing jazzy music

~ Korra and Asami absolutely stealing the show with their first dance. Even after other couples join in, all eyes are on the two of them. Not that Korra and Asami notice; they are far too intent on each other and the emotion of finally being married that nothing else matters. They also totally show everyone up during fast dances as well…

~ Tonraq and Senna dancing with Korra and Asami

~ Tenzin dancing with Korra and Asami

~ THE KREW ALL DANCING WITH EACH OTHER

~ Korra and Asami cut their first piece of cake and feed each other, but it quickly escalates into a food fight due to Korra and her mischief - not everything can be picture perfect, you know…

~ Korra and Asami both throw their flower bouquets and Jinora, Ikki, Opal and Meelo quickly try to catch them in mid-air with their bending… it ends a human pile with flat flowers

~ Tenzin and Korra have another little heart-to-heart conversation with each other about how proud and happy he is for her and Asami

~ Naga whisking the two ladies away on her back (though this may be a little awkward if they are situated on Air Temple Island - though I guess Korra can form one of those cool water bubble things around them if they choose to leave via the ocean rather of waiting for a ferry)

And I’m sure there are lots of other things that I like but didn’t put in. I’m really curious as to what you all would like for a Korrasami wedding. If you have anything to add, please do! At the end of the day, what really matters is that our two ladies will be together and in love for the rest of their lives.

Thank you so much for the question

#korra #asami #korrasami #avatar #tlok #lok #the legend of korra #legend of korra #korrasami wedding #ask

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katara-s-blog · 7 years

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The Nth Time Katara Saves Zuko From A Date

Written for day five: modern day for @zutaraweek 2017! Late submission, but it’s never too late to write Zutara fanfiction. Many thanks to @theadamantdaughter and @themomentofdavyprentiss on tumblr for helping me characterize jealous!Katara! Read on AO3

Summary: It is late afternoon, and more customers begin to come in. The noise of chatter, combined with the sound of rain, gets louder, but still comfortable enough for Katara to not need earphones to block out the din. A few minutes later, she notices a woman enter the establishment, struggling to close her wet umbrella. She is tall and slender, with the kind of body one would only see on magazines. Her skin is light, especially against the maroon of her dress, and her slightly damp brown hair reaches her waist. She’s pretty, Katara thinks, but she changes her mind when she sees Zuko approaching to assist the woman. (Just another coffee shop AU featuring a jealous Katara)

A warm hand squeezes Katara’s shoulder from behind. “You know, it’s distracting that you’re always here.”

Without yet looking up from her book, Katara chuckles. She turns in her chair and finds Zuko standing behind her, the corners of his mouth drawn into a small smile. “I’m just quietly studying here,” she says, feigning an innocence betrayed by the mischief in her eyes. “You lose today. You owe me a latte.”

“How terrible,” Zuko says without a semblance of an attempt to fake dismay. He leans down swiftly, giving Katara a peck on the cheek. “It’s not like I don’t buy you coffee all the time, anyway.”

“Hey, you do that on your own, Mr. Manager,” Katara says, absentmindedly smoothing the front of Zuko’s black button-down. “But I appreciate it a lot.”

“You’re bad for business, you know that?” Zuko jokes in a low voice. She hopes Zuko doesn’t notice her blush after he says that, but his grin tells her otherwise. “Anyway, I’ll be going back to work now. I’ll have to pretend that you’re not taking up my attention again. Talk to you later.” Giving her shoulder one final squeeze, Zuko leaves for the counter, leaving Katara feeling warm and distracted.

As a law student, Katara often finds herself studying in coffee shops and small restaurants for hours. Her apartment, which she shares with her batchmate Suki, isn’t far, but she struggles to concentrate with her bed so close to her desk. It just so happens that a café she frequents for its good coffee and cheap meals is owned by a man she finds herself strongly attracted to. It’s difficult not to notice him, really, Katara remembers. The pale skin of his face is contrasted by a faded red scar around his left eye, giving him an intimidating yet arresting appearance. Along with that, even from afar, his amber irises can be seen catching light. The starker contrast, however, lies between that impression and his actual demeanor: he greets the customers with a genuine politeness, greatly tempering the fear one would experience from seeing a man with such a scar. Up close, his bright eyes seem almost molten from the softness of his expression. When Katara mustered up the courage to finally ask him out a few months ago, she learned how deeply his kindness goes, and that along with it runs a sharp wit and sense of humor similar to her own. Two months in and she admitted to herself that she’d fallen in love with Zuko, and to her surprise, she found out that he had been in love with her for a while now.

The months passed like a soft breeze, and the two fell into a comfortable, steady relationship punctuated with moments of intensity. With both of them often occupied with work or school, they would excitedly catch up with each other during their vacant periods, going on all kinds of dates. He’s an adoring boyfriend, always trying to surprise Katara with presents as small as a blue hairpin she didn’t have enough cents to buy, or as big as an overnight getaway at the beach during her weekend. They do see each other often at Zuko’s café because Katara now basically only ever goes there unless she had to be elsewhere out of necessity, but they agreed to interact minimally during his shifts. Zuko would focus on work, and Katara would focus on hers. It also gives them something to look forward to at the end of the day.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Katara then composes herself, shifting her focus back onto her readings. She smooths the page in front of her, uncaps her blue highlighter, and resumes her reading. It starts to rain outside, and Katara sighs relaxedly. The sound of pouring rain helps her concentrate.

It is late afternoon, and more customers begin to come in. The noise of chatter, combined with the sound of rain, gets louder, but still comfortable enough for Katara to not need earphones to block out the din. A few minutes later, she notices a woman enter the establishment, struggling to close her wet umbrella. She is tall and slender, with the kind of body one would only see on magazines. Her skin is light, especially against the maroon of her dress, and her slightly damp brown hair reaches her waist. She’s pretty, Katara thinks, but she changes her mind when she sees Zuko approaching to assist the woman. He closes her umbrella for her, and deposits it in the container by the door. Katara tries to avert her gaze back to her table, but she continues to watch as he escorts her to a single table a few feet from Katara. The woman gives a tight-lipped smile, drawing attention to the fullness of her red-painted lips. Zuko bows after the woman seats herself, and walks back to the counter. Katara, grasping her highlighter tightly in her hand, exhales heavily. Spirits, Katara, she’s just a customer, she reprimands herself. Who happens to be very pretty.

Despite her attempts to let the matter go, Katara observes the following: the woman asks for soy milk for her macchiato, she is almost as tall as Zuko, and she engages in small talk with the cashier. She is also ridiculously pretty with her silvery-blue eyes under thick, long lashes. Katara starts to calm down, but then she sees her calling Zuko, who, as manager, Katara convinces herself, would be happy to assist her in anyway. Her ears perked, Katara overhears the girl asking something that isn’t what’s on the menu or how are you today . She’s asking him what time his shift ends. He’s closing up tonight, he says, and so the girl asks if maybe he could spare a minute to chat with her because she’s new in town. It is still raining outside, Katara notices, so she directs her attention to the sound of rain to help her study. Katara tries to concentrate on the Constitution but the girl’s giggling keeps breaking through her focus. Sneaking a glance in their direction, she finds Zuko now seated across her, and the girl leaning forward with her elbows on the round table. He’s not even looking at me!

“Fine,” she mutters to herself. She loudly shuts her book and shoves it into her satchel along with her other reading materials. She drops her pens and highlighters into the bag, not even bothering to return her pens in their case. Pushing her chair back sharply against the wooden floor, Katara stands up and walks over to the table where Zuko is at. The girl notices her presence first, eyebrows raised subtly but inquisitively at Katara. She tries to maintain her composure despite the seething in her chest, but one look from Zuko’s bright face immediately soothes her.

“Hey, Zuko,” Katara says, moving her weight to one leg to emphasize her hips. In the woman’s presence she starts to feel conscious about her faded blue top and black jeans, but she shoves this embarrassment to the back of her mind. “I’ll have to go home early today. Turns out Suki left her keys in our apartment, so I’ll have to open up for her.” Suki did actually call this morning to ask Katara to wait up for her because she left her keys. But Katara knew Suki won’t be home earlier than 9 in the evening, and it was only five minutes past six. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Her heart leaps a bit when Zuko’s eyes widen, visibly dimming with disappointment and worry. “Now? But it’s still raining. Why don’t you wait it out?”

“Oh,” Katara shrugs. “It’s pretty much just drizzling at this point, I’ll be fine.” She looks away, upset and nervous about the whole situation.

“No, Katara, it’s pouring really hard. I know you like the rain,” he insists, standing up. Katara tries not to smirk as Zuko is now completely facing her, his hands on either sides of her face, the nameless girl completely forgotten. In her periphery she could see the girl staring at them, her perfect eyebrows scrunched together. “But you’re going to get sick out there. If you really need to go, I’ll drive you, I’ll just have to let the staff know I’ll be going out for a while. It won’t take long, anyway.” He kisses her forehead. “Okay?”

“Oh, Zuko, you don’t have to.“ Katara freezes—she just wants to kiss him goodbye in front the girl, not pull him from his work out of her pettiness!

"It’s not a problem, Katara.” He assures her with a warm smile and a squeeze on her hand, loosening the tension in her spine.

Before he manages to walk away, Katara gently pulls him by the hand, making him turn back towards her. She stares at his lips, gesturing her desire to kiss him, and she glances slowly at his eyes for approval. Zuko lets out a small chuckle before kissing her right there in the middle of his shop, right in front of the light-skinned girl. His kiss is warm and electric, as always, and as gentle as a falling into place. She hears a soft, deep sigh from Zuko as she tongues his lips open, making her way into the warmth of his mouth. Satisfaction and desire settle in Katara’s belly, and she starts to think that she might have been cruel. For a moment she feels almost embarrassed by her possessiveness, by allowing it to drive her to do such an act in the middle of Zuko’s café, but she couldn’t stand seeing Zuko cluelessly responding to others’ romantic and sexual advances. She finds Zuko’s obliviousness to flirting adorable, but maddening because she’d always have to step in and keep Zuko from unwittingly agreeing to a date. Katara knows she’s not gorgeous, and it doesn’t help that she’s always just bare-faced and plainly dressed. She often doesn’t mind this, but when someone who looks like a runway model shows interest in Zuko, Katara can’t help but suddenly feel insecure and defensive. And Zuko is beautiful, of course people would express interest! Katara has to remind herself, he chose me, he continues to choose me. And when the mental exercise doesn’t work—and it often doesn’t—she has to resort to making sure, in whatever manner necessary, that the other party knows that yes, Zuko chose her.

When they finally pull away, Zuko appears obviously flushed, his gaze fixed on Katara’s face. Her lips, still parted, tingle in the absence of Zuko’s kiss. He lets out another quiet laugh, as he often does in awkwardness, and seals their kiss with another on her forehead. Katara’s jealousy dissolves into tenderness at Zuko’s affections. Shaking his head, he whispers almost seductively, “Bad for business.” She thinks herself silly for being jealous for a moment when Zuko has done nothing but demonstrate how smitten he is by her. It had to be done, she thinks to herself anyway, letting out a breath in relief. Then, turning towards the stranger, Zuko bows lightly. Politely he says, “Thank you for your company. It was pleasant chatting with you, but I’d have to excuse myself now. Enjoy your coffee.” Saying nothing further, Zuko then leaves for the staff area. Katara, herself breathless, holding onto the strap of her satchel with one hand, eyes the obviously upset girl and smiles. “He’s the sweetest.”

#YAY I finally finished this #I've been so busy the past few days because it was my birthday #and during zutara week!#I hope you guys enjoy this I thoroughly enjoyed writing jealous katara #zutara #zutara week #zutara week 2017 #fanfiction #lian's works

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comradekatara · 3 years

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ok I love your sokka/mai/toph dynamics and I want to hear your thoughts on the relationship between toph and mai in particular , as rich girls who resent their families I feel like they’d have a lot of common experiences growing up which would be a good start to their friendship, but how would it progress from there ?

yess their friendship would be so fucking good. like they’d just Get each other, and toph’s encouragement & understanding would definitely help mai figure out that she doesn’t need to dedicate her life to pleasing her parents, or anyone, for that matter, and she can go after what she wants without shame. and of course they both think the other is hilarious and badass and awesome. they’re always hanging out and causing chaos together. here are 10 bullet points about their friendship:

they are each other's automatic assumed plus-one to family events. this arrangement begins one day when they're in their teens and mai is bemoaning an upcoming family dinner. toph first suggests that mai simply skip it, because that's what she'd do, but when mai admits she wants to see tom-tom (toph: "ew, why?") they hatch a scheme together. toph will accompany mai, and she'll begin the evening by acting like a perfectly composed young lady, but get steadily weirder and make mai's parents more and more uncomfortable as the night progresses. by the time the dessert course rolls around, toph is fully metalbending the dessert spoons out of their hands and cackling when they reflexively grab for them. this amusing display becomes a tradition – if mai is expected to attend anything, it's assumed that toph will be there as her mischievous date. toph even begins attending her own family events for the first time just so she can take mai, who will obligingly derail dinner by doing knife tricks for the horrified guests. in true theater kid tradition (much like her ex-boyfriend, mai's always had a fondness for live theater), any fancy rich people dinner becomes "dinner and a show."

when they are in their early twenties, there's a brief period of time when mai and ty lee are temporarily "off." it's not important whose fault it was (it was both of theirs) but for weeks on end, neither one can shut up about the drama. while ty lee cries in suki's arms, mai sullenly stays in toph's little hovel, getting high a lot and eating all of toph's snacks. at some point during this period, mai suggests – with deadly seriousness – that she and toph should just hook up. toph is like, "okay, yeah," but by the time they lean in to kiss, they've already thought better of it. they both suffer through a very awkward kiss (and it's not even bad, just terribly self-conscious) and then pretend to get distracted by other topics. they don't mention it again.

neither one has the faintest idea how to do laundry. the first time they go on a trip together just the two of them, they can't figure out why their clothes smell so increasingly… weird. mildew-y. it turns out that you can't simply wave your clothes around in the river without any soap and then leave them out on a rock all balled-up and expect them to be dry in the morning. they wind up having to toss all the clothes they brought with them on that trip. it is a humbling experience.

one day, while staying at the fire nation palace, toph spontaneously decides to prank mai by pretending she and azula kissed last night. she claims the kiss was surprisingly good and then works her way up to shyly "confessing" that she thinks she's developing feelings. mai completely falls for it. she squawks and objects and threatens to tell katara. they cause such a commotion that azula actually wanders downstairs to see what's going on. though toph attempts to nonverbally communicate that azula should just go with it, azula reacts like an absolute space alien, letting loose a stream of nervous giggles and barely managing to fumble out the words, "i-i-i-i've never kissed a girl, actually." afterwards, mai is a little embarrassed for believing in it, but they're both way more embarrassed for azula herself. toph decides that kind of backfired.

for mai's thirtieth birthday, toph metalbends her a knife. engraved into the metal is a perfect image of toph herself, a kind of signature. the more normal thing to do might be to put this logo on the handle, but toph puts it right at the tip of the blade. this overt branding of the knife as an extension of toph herself leads to an inside joke where mai will sometimes ever so casually turn to toph and say "you killed someone last night," and toph will be like, "nice! good for me."

toph gets super offended on mai’s behalf whenever someone refers to her as “lady mai.” it’s an outrage! toph insists. SHE’S NOT A LADY, SHE’S A DYKE!!!! (toph repeats this point so often that at some point, mai realizes she’s gone from quietly resigning herself to the reminder of her nobility to being just as outraged as toph.)

it’s a widely-known fact among mai’s friends that she is really, really jealous of sokka’s hair. toph’s like “so just cut your hair, then?” and mai’s like “but his hair is a cultural thing, it would be weird if i just. had his haircut.” so then toph suggests that they both cut their hair to look like sokka’s (pictured here & here), that way, it can’t be cultural appropriation! and mai’s like “that doesn’t make any sense.....but it sounds hilarious, so i’m in.” they also get glasses similar to his, despite the fact that mai has perfect vision & toph has none at all, and stop wearing shirts with sleeves, just to complete the look. at first sokka is like “okay, haha, very funny,” but like a year into them both sporting wolftails, glasses, and sleeveless tunics, it’s become apparent that they’re actually both deeply attached to these fashion statements. but it would have nothing to do with the hordes of girls who have been hitting on them... nothing at all...

toph thinks it’s extremely funny that mai dated zuko. of course, she has enough tact not to voice this while they’re still in their teens, because it’s still a sore wound, but once they’re in their twenties, toph’s like “hey remember when you dated ZUKO?????” and starts laughing hysterically and then suki’s like “what’s so funny” and toph, between wheezes, is like “i just remembered when MAI dated ZUKO” and then suki starts cracking up too and then ty lee walks by and is like “hey guys whats going on” and stuttering between breaths, crying with laughter, toph and suki are like “remember when MAI??????? DATED?????? ZUKO??????????” and ty lee is like “DO I??????????????” and they’re all just rolling around on the floor trying to breathe through their laughter and mai is just. completely stone-faced, like “yeah that was pretty bad.”

toph, mai, suki, and ty lee almost immediately become a Squad after the war ends. existing on the periphery of this squad are sokka, the other kyoshi warriors, and aang, who is technically invited to any group hangout because his presence is always delightful. they invited zuko once, and they all agreed that it wasn’t fun for him. they invited katara once, and toph was like “watch out guys she’s gonna be such a buzzkill because she HATES FUN like a BORING OLD MOM” but actually katara got wayy too wild and the four of them had to rein her in. well, mai, toph, and suki egged her on; ty lee reined her in. but still, toph and mai definitely got a taste of the Sokka Lifestyle that night.

the first, and last, time toph is forced to babysit tom tom, it is because literally everyone else is absent from the fire nation. even zuko, who would probably agree to hold tom tom while in diplomatic meetings, is currently in the earth kingdom or something, so toph is literally the only option mai has. approximately 15 minutes later, once mai has returned from her errand to both of them, somehow, covered in jam (and possibly blood??) mai’s like “...well?” and toph just says grimly, “i am never having kids.”

#asks #arthoe-iceland #c #well. chell wrote the first 5 points i wrote the last #but still.... i miss her presence on this bloggue :(#these days its all sayid this ben linus that #i dont even know what it means!!!!#mai&toph #mai #toph #not tagging everyone mentioned #anyway #i love lesbians #postwargaang

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comradekatara · 3 years

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omg do you have any ideas for the gaang + room decor (in a modern au ?? perhaps ??)

ok so aang wouldn’t really have that many material possessions, especially nothing flashy (though he probably has some art and assorted knickknacks) but his spaces would always have really warm vibes. like i picture his childhood bedroom walls being painted a kind of friendly, mustard yellow, and there being candles and blankets and pillows everywhere like when you’re in aang’s abode you just feel welcome and cozy and at peace

and then coupled with katara’s vibes, when they move in together as adults, it’s just extra warm and lovely and the walls are painted a light beige and there’s lots of indigenous art on the walls and seashells they’ve collected over the years on the mantle and on the coffee table and they’re both obsessed with candles which sokka claims is a fire hazard

katara’s childhood bedroom is entirely blue and purple because those are her favorite colors and she refuses to display anything in her rooms that does not match her particular colorscheme. she has lots of posters hanging on her walls, like she has a karl marx quote next to a picture of some boyband she’s obsessed with next to a poster of sea turtles she got at a climate change rally. also she would have one of those cutesy little landlines that is also purple and she twirls the cord around her finger while telling aang about her day, even though he was with her the whole time they still call each other every night just so she can twirl her phone cord around her finger

sokka’s room is extremely clean, like freakishly so, except for his desk which is an absolute fucking mess. he wouldn’t even know how to begin organizing it so he never bothers. half his closet space is dedicated to katara’s clothes (even tho she has her own closet) which he’s fine with because he only wears like three shirts, or just wears suki’s clothes anyway. he has a bunch of posters with science puns, and a periodic table poster, and a poster of uranus which is his favorite planet (everyone thinks it’s his favorite planet because he thinks the name is funny but it’s because he thinks it’s cool that it has a 98 degree axial tilt! she’s so unique.... so mysterious...) and also he has a really fluffy bright blue rug in the middle of his room that yue always insisted on lying down on even though the bed would have been objectively more comfortable. she liked sitting on the floor and getting lint all over her white sweaters, which her mother couldn’t stand. sokka gives the rug to katara after she dies because it reminds him too much of her looks kind of childish. katara had been eyeing that rug all her life (it’s fluffy and blue??? sign her tf up!!) so it actually worked out pretty well... all things considered.

the only things toph wants in her room is things that her friends have given her that remind her of them. otherwise she hates material possessions of any kind (reminds her too much of her evil bougie family) and thinks furniture should exist to be comfortable, and that’s it. if she couldn’t fit everything she owned into a small backpack, then she wouldn’t be toph.

zuko keeps everything because he gets sentimental over literally any object. no azula you can’t throw out that old leaf!!!!! he found that leaf in the park and it had a little caterpillar bite taken out of the side and don’t you see that leaf symbolizes him???? if he threw out that leaf it would be like parting with a piece of his soul!!!!! sokka’s like “oh so you’re a hoarder” which makes zuko even angrier because how is HOARDING if every object MEANS something even marie kondo would claim that if it sparks joy then it must be kept!!! and sokka’s like “....this empty sprite can sparks joy??” and zuko, deadpan, is just like. “IMMENSE joy.” katara hung out in his room one time and the clutter was so stressful for her that she just invited him back to her house every single time after that day. at one point mai just straight up says to zuko “maybe your weird little trash collection isn’t the problem, you just like feeling like you have some semblance of control over yourself and your life” and zuko immediately bristled at such a ridiculous, unfounded accusation and then refused to speak to her for three days, yknow, for no particular reason.

no one knows where suki lives (though the most popular theory is that she was actually raised by wolves) so no one, including sokka, has actually seen the inside of her bedroom. they’ve seen the inside of her pickup truck, though, which is basically the same thing. it’s filled with empty chip packets and loose joints and underwear that is not hers and sports gear that is mostly hers. it smells distinctly of girl sweat, and the same playlist of indie rock angry sad girl bangers is always on in the background. she knows the words to every single song that comes on when in her car, and she isn’t afraid to sing along to them, which most people find endearing, but katara absolutely cannot stand. she enjoys driving with no destination in particular in mind, and she and sokka like going to secluded areas and lying in the back of her truck and getting high and stargazing, an activity which might resemble a date to the untrained eye, but is in fact, totally not a date, because that would mean they’re dating and they’re definitely not, okay???

azula, naturally, is all about the minimalist rich bitch aesthetic. her apartment as an adult is so cold and uninviting sleek and modern that people are amazed that she’s not depressed just living there (and honestly. isn’t she?). there just is so much empty space and modernist architecture, not even a single carpet or piece of art on the walls. normally people who are into modernism would at least have some modern art, or something, but azula doesn’t actually understand modern art because it’s too abstract and mystical, and all art, really, is some froufrou nonsense for people like zuzu who gaze into wells all day instead of knowing how to get ahead and make bank. most of her bookshelf is just books that look good on a bookshelf, her old law textbooks, the art of war, and of course, ayn rand. lots and lots of ayn rand.

ty lee shares a living space with so many other girls that attempting to carve out her own distinct space for herself would be a fruitless endeavor. instead she makes a bunch of interior decor dreamboards for herself that comprise an inexplicable mix of gothic cathedrals, iconic 80s/90s teen girl bedrooms, cottagecore, and french rococo. yes, she knows it’s not aesthetically cohesive; sue her.

mai really really hates her parents’ style of mcmansion with just enough diluted japanese influences that it somehow makes them seem more assimilated. she wishes her room had yellow wallpaper just so she could peel it. as an adult, she makes sure to hang art she actually likes on her walls, but her taste in art is strange and offputting to pretty much everyone. she’s like grunkle stan in that one scene. whatever. everyone is a bunch of filthy aesthetes; they can’t handle the real shit that actually says something. also she has a giant terrarium for her lizards that takes up like a quarter of her living room. what i’m basically saying is that she is the coolest girl in the world and also fundamentally undateable.

when mai and ty lee ultimately move in together all of their stylistic interests clash with one another but they don’t care because their home is just filled with things they like, so it doesn’t matter. ty lee thinks that mai’s offputting art is amusing (mai’s like no it’s supposed to be DEEP but ty lee has a really twisted sense of humor so it’s just funny, the same way that horror movies are funny) and mai likes how eclectic ty lee’s tastes are. anyone who walks into their home only need to look around for 3 seconds maximum to be like “ah yes........... lesbians live here”

#the gaang and #modern au #i got rly into this one lmao #i love these kinds of asks #just rly fun #asks #mrsmiroir

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