#but i want to hear people’s thoughts on azula’s makeup and if she would continue to wear it and how it connects to ursa and and

[thebrotherskaramazovs]

i think azula would stop wearing makeup post redemption. make up gave her some sort of control, she felt older, more powerful when she wore it. she’d apply her lipstick and she’d think of her mom, and in some ways it would infuriate her, but in some ways she’d see ursa in her herself and she’d think ‘i’m better than you, i look like you, but you’re nothing like me. i had to learn everything without you, everything that a mother was supposed to teach her child’. azula never particularly liked makeup, it was just an intimidation tactic really, it made her feel higher up. ty lee sometimes applied the makeup for her, maybe mai would do it, and after the war, azula didn’t like applying it without mai or ty lee there. so she didn’t. she stopped. it was strange. and she spent one whole day with her hair down, her face bare, and when she came back to her room she didn’t break down crying but it was a sure thing. she would hear ursa’s voice in her head, ‘you have such a pretty face, my darling, such nice hair’ and she stopped. she stopped wearing makeup

#i am just Fascinated by makeup and the relationships a character can have with it #but i want to hear people’s thoughts on azula’s makeup and if she would continue to wear it and how it connects to ursa and and #yeah #azula #atla #min.txt

[sokkascroptop]

traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 22

part 1 | part 21 | part 23

a/n: just for clarification... one of these days Y/N will be happy. I promise. For being set in prison, this is a pretty upbeat chapter. She’s surrounded by her simps so that helps. Also, let it be clear, no Sokka/Suki kiss in her cell for obvious reasons. I like to think of her as being really happy for Sokka and Y/N, plus she’s like soooo wlw.  

Y/N had heard all about The Boiling Rock. 

It was the most notorious prison in the Fire Nation which meant kids at school had endless stories and rumors about the place. That also meant that any knowledge that Y/N could remember about the place was probably not true. 

She spent the whole balloon ride there chewing on the skin around her nails and wondering what was going to happen once she got there. 

Y/N tried not to think about the harsh words her father had said to her. It had been the same rhetoric he had spouted over the years, before and after bad training sessions, or any time she got into any type of trouble. It didn’t matter that it was the same thing she’d hear time and time again–about how she lacked the strength and determination that all of her ancestors had carried high on their shoulders–it all still hurt. Each and every time she heard it, she started to believe it a little more. The games her father liked to play on her mind were always bound to catch up to her. Even though she had just learned that her father would rather see her dead than alive on the other side of the war, she was still feeling guilty for disappointing him again. 

Y/N took a deep breath through her nose filling her lungs with the hot air from inside the airship. She held for a pause and let it out slowly; she kept doing that, staving off the tears that were bound to come. It would be better for her if she didn’t cry in front of her fellow prisoners. She would only need to keep her cool for a little bit longer, tonight, when she was alone in the cell she would get to call home, she could muffle her cries into the lumpy pillow that was bound to be under her head. And then she could be happily numb to it all. Her father, the war, her friends. Sokka. Feelings couldn’t be felt at Boiling Rock. The only way she was going to survive was if she felt nothing at all. 

Y/N spent the day as they travelled looking around the airship at the rest of the prisoners on board. They were all in separate cells and she was only able to visualize a few of them. Large men with lots of tattoos seemed to be the main character, but one thing was certain. Hakoda wasn’t one of them. Y/N didn’t want to think about why he was left behind.

The farther they traveled the warmer it got too. The metal that surrounded them was unforgiving and trapped the humidity making it hard to breathe. Y/N wanted to drop to her knees and thank the gods when she finally felt the airship touch the ground. Except that outside it was just as hot as inside and smelled like sulfur from the volcano the prison was situated on. 

Each and every prisoner was handcuffed before they stepped off the airship. The guard that had waved fire in her face and threatened to burn Y/N’s fingers off latched hers. He was young and smirked at her as he tightened the cuffs to the point that her hands went numb. Y/N leaned forward and spit on his boots before she stepped away.

She was shuffled onto one of the gondolas with the rest of the prisoners in a single file line. Y/N did her best to school her expression. Terror spread through her body like a wildfire, so strong that her knees shook, but this was the last place she needed to look scared. She tightened her jaw and stared blankly ahead of her. Staying blissfully numb wasn’t working quite yet. She began to think about her friends; where they were and how they were doing. Was Aang still worried about firebending? Or had his worries shifted to the comet by now? Was Katara trying to mediate the situation? Was Sokka mad at Y/N? She groaned inwardly. Oh man, he would be mad when he found out what she got herself into. 

Y/N picked at the collar of the shirt they’d made her change into. It was thick, almost burlap material. They even smelled like it too. It itched her neck and her back where it touched her skin just a little too much. The pants were no better on her waist. After making her change in front of them, the female guards had let her into the yard that Y/N had seen from the gondola. Y/N kicked her shoe against the packed dirt and looked at her surroundings. High walls surrounded her, topped with razor-sharp wire. It was a meaningless deterrent, the whole prison was surrounded by a boiling lake, no one could get out of here. 

Y/N leaned against the wall as she surveyed the prisoners around her. 

Then, Y/N did a double take.

It was impossible. It couldn’t be. Suki?

Y/N felt her feet fly under her as she ran to the girl; she paid no mind to the people she bumped into or pushed out of the way, Y/N just had to know if it was true. 

“Suki? Is that you?”

She looked so different from the last time Y/N had seen her. Her face was free of the pale Kyoshi makeup and much tanner than Y/N had remembered. How long had it been since they’d met? Y/N asked herself. Weeks? Months even? 

She was sitting on a bench in the middle of the yard, leaning back on her hands, but quickly stood up when Y/N approached her. Y/N was sure the girls hair was longer too. Half of it was pulled up and tied at the back of her head. It was choppy at the ends, much like Y/N’s was when Katara had first cut it, like she had been cutting it herself since being here. Suki’s brown eyes were expressionless when she looked back at Y/N. If she recognized Y/N, she didn’t show it. Either Suki had mastered the look of emptiness that was needed to survive, or she had fallen into a pit of despair. It had been months, Y/N concluded.

Suddenly, as if she had been struck by lightning, she cocked her head to the side. “Y/N?”

Y/N grinned and walked directly up to Suki. She didn’t know what she expected from the girl. A bow? A handshake? Maybe even a hug for having slipped her that fan before leaving? I mean, Y/N didn’t exactly know about Azula’s plan in the first place and she surely didn’t realize that even after trying to help them escape Azula would have the Kyoshi warriors captured and imprisoned. Suki would understand.

---

Suki did not understand. 

She wound her arm back and punched Y/N so hard in the mouth that she saw stars. 

Y/N crouched on the ground holding a hand against her throbbing bottom lip. Her eyes watered from the pain and when she pulled her hand away it was spotted with blood. More blood from her cut lip dripped onto the ground and balled up in the dirt. Y/N spit what was in her mouth out to the side. She ran her tongue against the cut her tooth made, lapping up any blood before it could run down her chin. She could hear the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ of the other prisoners around them; they had formed a tight circle around her and Suki, itching to watch the cat fight they knew was bound to ensue and protecting them from the prying eyes of any guards near.

Y/N stood up and faced Suki. “That hurt.” Was all Y/N could think of to say. 

Surprisingly, she wasn’t even mad. Somehow it made her feel good. Suki was still there. She wasn’t as empty as Y/N thought her to be from first glance. Something about the presence of Y/N reawakened something in Suki. Y/N could see fire in her eyes as she held up her hands, preparing for a defense she wasn’t going to need. 

“Good,” Suki smiled. 

“Now what?” Y/N asked. She brushed her thumb past the cut and licked the blood off it. 

“Now, we’re even.” 

--- a few weeks later

Sokka peeked around the corner of the wall. “I still don’t see her.”

“Well, she’s gotta be around here somewhere.”

“What if she’s not here, Zuko. What if you heard wrong from Azula?” Sokka’s hands were sweaty and it wasn’t because of the heat. 

“She’s here.” Zuko’s words didn’t necessarily comfort Sokka’s pounding heart, but it was nice to be able to rely on someone else’s confidence for once. 

Sokka looked from side to side, scanning each and every prisoner. It shouldn’t have been so hard, most of them were huge guys with beefy arms, he was looking for the only teenage girl within miles. He was just about to suggest to Zuko that they find somewhere else to continue their search–maybe somewhere higher where they could look down–when he spotted her. 

“There!” Sokka pointed at her for Zuko. Her arms were resting on her thighs and she was staring at the ground between her feet. “I’ll go pull her aside and tell her what’s going on.” Sokka stood up from their hiding place only to be immediately pulled back down by Zuko. 

“Hey, what are you–” he started.

“Sokka, look. That girl, next to Suki. Is that–?” Zuko trailed off with wide eyes, his hand never leaving Sokka’s biceps as he stared. 

Sokka looked back to Suki and–

Sokka couldn’t stop staring either. That was Y/N. His Y/N. Here. At Boiling Rock. Standing right there in front of him. 

The last image he had of her was burned into his mind. Her standing on the cliffside with his father and half his tribe behind her as she watched him go. He’d hung over the back of Appa’s saddle until they were miles away and it had been hours since he’d seen her. 

And now she was here with her hand on her hip, looking–surveying the yard around her. Suki was doing the same from her seat next to her. As Y/N turned more his way he could see a bruise high on her cheek and split lip even from how far away he was. She was practically looking directly at him but there was no recognition on her face. Of course there wouldn’t be. He was wearing a guards helmet. He was dressed like one more of her enemies. 

Suddenly her face broke into a smile as she began to laugh at something Suki had said. Sokka could feel his heart skip three beats. He wanted to run to her, but he knew he couldn’t. Everything in their original plan had changed now. If she was here, was his father here too?

---

Y/N lay curled up her side on her cot. Even though it was the middle of the day she was trying to fit a nap in. Hell, there wasn’t anything else to do. The darkness of her cell helped but trying to fall asleep was always half the battle, day or night. She was exhausted, never getting more than a few hours a night, but even then sleep evaded her. The mattress was too lumpy and the clothes were too itchy and the cell was too hot but the worst part was that she was alone. She hadn’t slept alone in months, and it showed now. She used to think that Appa’s snoring was annoying and that Katara talking in her sleep was distracting but now, Y/N missed it. She missed the crackle of the fire and the soft breathing of all her friends around her. She missed the wind in the trees, rustling the leaves and the gurgle of creeks nearby. Most of all, she missed the comfort of her friends being near. The secure feeling of being able to sit up after waking from a nightmare and count the sleeping bodies around you and know that you were safe because they would never let anything happen to you. 

Thinking about being near them again allowed her to drift off into a doze. She was in that state of half sleep when she heard the click of metal as her door was opened. Y/N’s eyes snapped open, but she didn’t move. Whoever was in her cell with her was trying to be quiet. Y/N waited until they got close enough to surprise them. 

She sat up quickly and turned on them. “What are you doing in here?”

The guard jumped back like they didn’t expect her to wake up. “I–”

“What are you doing?” Y/N stood up and took a step towards them. 

The guard held up their hands defensively. “Wait, Y/N it’s me!”

Y/N gasped when she heard his voice. It was unmistakable, she didn’t need to watch as he lifted his helmet off because she was already barreling forward to pull him into a hug. 

“Zuko, what are you doing here?” Y/N asked, her nose pressed into his chest. She hadn’t hugged her friend in a long, long time. After everything they had been through, she didn’t know if she ever would again. Despite everything that had gone down between the two of them in the last few months, it was a relief to see a friendly face. Even if the last time she saw him he was throwing fire at her. “How did you know I was here?”

“We didn’t–”

Y/N pulled away as her eyes widened. “We? Is Azula here?” Y/N could feel her heart beat a little faster. Of course Azula would be there too. Probably the second they heard of her capture they came to rescue her. Even after all of it, Y/N still meant that much to them, right? Azula and Y/N might not have parted on the best of terms but even she was smart enough to know that Boiling Rock wasn’t where Y/N belonged. Zuko standing in her cell was proof enough of that. 

It might have been child-like wishful thinking, but maybe Azula had rethought Y/N offer to come with her. Maybe both her and Zuko had changed their minds...

Zuko shook his head slowly, then began to chuckle. “I guess it’s been a long time since we talked.”

Azula wasn’t there to save her. Y/N hated that she deflated with disappointment. Y/N was silent which Zuko took as his cue to explain. 

“I left the Fire Nation—“

Y/N’s jaw dropped. 

“—the day of the Black Sun. And I–well, I joined up with your friends. I’m the Avatar’s new firebending teacher.” Zuko scratched the back of his neck and laughed uncomfortably. 

Y/N shook her head to clear it. Her thoughts were whirling inside her brain. No Azula but–“Wait, so does that mean Sokka is here? Toph? Where are they?” Y/N grabbed hastily at Zuko’s sleeves.

“Sokka is getting Suki.”

“Suki?” For a brief moment, Y/N forgot that her friend was even in the cell down the hall. 

“Well, yeah we decided that it wouldn’t be the best I went in there.”

“Wait… so if you didn’t even know I was here until you got here, were you coming to get her?” Y/N couldn’t help that jealousy crawled up her throat and forced its way into her words at the thought that somewhere very near her, Sokka was meeting up with Suki and not her.

“Why do I feel like I said the wrong thing?” 

“No!” Y/N said defensively. “No, just..” Now it was Y/N’s turn to laugh awkwardly. “What’s the plan?” 

“I’ll let Sokka tell you that, he’s the plan guy. Come on, we’ll meet at Suki’s cell.” It was almost like Zuko was trying to reassure her. Sokka was here. Not just here at Boiling Rock–but near her–just walls away. Y/N wanted to feel embarrassed at the way her heart sped up, embarrassed at how much she had missed Sokka and how much she had realized that she relied on him for so much since they had met. Y/N wasn’t supposed to rely on anyone. 

Zuko opened Y/N’s cell door, motioning for her to go out ahead of him. Out of an abundance of precaution, Y/N glanced to the left and then to the right first, looking for any sign of a real guard outside making rounds. When there was none, she stepped out, and felt a weight lift off her chest. Y/N wondered if this was all really happening or if it was some cruel dream she would wake up from. 

However, that was a mistake on her part–to hope for something that hadn’t happened in the first place. She should have waited until she was miles away to let out that breath she had been holding since she arrived. 

Stepping from around the corner was the female guard that was always assigned to this cell block. Y/N forced her feet to keep moving forward and hastened to remind herself that to an outsider, neither her or Zuko had done anything wrong; yet. Y/N nudged him in the ribs and hoped that he would take the hint. Luckily, Zuko was on the same page and grabbed her bicep roughly, like he was escorting an unruly prisoner.

 Y/N turned her head slightly to the side, letting her hair fall across her face, hiding her identity. This guard in particular was not the biggest fan of hers, always saying Y/N was too mouthy and threatening to send her to the cooler every chance she got. Even if Y/N had been led out of her cell for a legitimate reason, she still probably would have stopped them. 

The guard was easily two steps away and had barely made a glance in Y/N’s and Zuko’s direction. At first Y/N thought they were home free. That is until the female guard slid in front of Zuko, blocking their path. “Where are you taking her?”

Y/N’s head snapped up and she felt instant regret as the guard realized who Zuko was escorting. Beside her, Y/N could feel Zuko tense up, his hand tightening around her arm unconsciously. “I was uh, taking this prisoner to the yard,” Zuko stuttered out. 

Y/N wanted to facepalm. 

The guard frowned deeply. “This cell block has already been to the yard this morning. You should know that.”

Zuko’s hand was now a vice on Y/N’s arm, begging her to help him. He chuckled awkwardly. “Oh. Yeah, I’m–um–new?”

“I was unaware that we had anyone new working on this block…” The guard’s eyes widened underneath her mask and Y/N knew it was now or never. 

“Oh, for god’s sake,” Y/N growled. She ripped her arm out of Zuko’s grip and pushed the other woman down to the ground, holding her forearm to her neck. “Run!” She shouted to Zuko. 

Zuko took off immediately, his boots slapping against the metal floors. Y/N tried to watch him go while holding the guard down but she caught a knee to the stomach that made her wheeze and the woman tore into Y/N’s arm with her nails. “What are you doing?!” She screeched at Y/N.

The two of them rolled around on the ground, fighting for an advantage. Y/N grasped the guard’s long ponytail hauling her back and gripped her in a headlock. 

Zuko was nearly to the stairs, as soon as she could no longer see him, Y/N would let go and accept whatever punishment that would be thrown at her for attacking a guard, even if it meant going to the cooler. She could take it.

Just at that moment another guard came racing up the steps, apparently having heard the ruckus that Y/N had started. Except it wasn’t just another guard. It was Sokka. His helmet was hanging loosely from his hand, and it nearly slipped out of his grip when he saw the scene before him. 

Y/N and Sokka locked eyes for a beat and all of the air rushed out of her lungs as she gasped. 

It took just that moment of distraction for the female guard to gain the upperhand. She leaned forward and using Y/N’s arm, pulled her over her shoulder. Y/N landed hard on her back with a groan. She let the guard push her onto her stomach and kneel on her back as she yanked Y/N’s arms behind her. 

“Get him! He’s an imposter!” the guard shouted to Sokka. 

Y/N couldn’t see–her face was pressed into the cool metal floor, but she could hear the two boys scuffle before Sokka’s voice rang out, “Don’t worry, he won’t get away with this.”

The woman leaned close to Y/N’s ear. Her breath was hot and it made Y/N shudder. “Yeah, and neither will you.”

Y/N wasn’t focused on that right now. Not the interrogation or the punishment for whatever they thought her and Zuko were planning on doing. No, the only thing she focused on was Sokka’s words echoing over and over in her head. Don’t worry, don’t worry. 

She would never worry as long as Sokka was around to save her.

--- 

Y/N leaned her back against the wall of the cell they’d thrown her in. It was in a completely different part of the prison, one she had never seen before. So that couldn’t be good. 

The door slid open with a bang and Y/N couldn’t help but flinch at the sound. The warden smiled cruelly at her. “How did Prince Zuko know you were here?” He asked, right to the point. 

Y/N scoffed and crossed her arms. “Who?”

The warden chuckled darkly. “I know of your connection to the Fire Palace. You might pass anonymously through the crowds of criminals here, but your father sent a warning letter when you arrived, laying out everything you’ve done and everything I should be worried about when it comes to his precious little rebel.” 

Y/N raised her eyebrows but otherwise didn’t make a sound. The warden paced in front of her like her father had so many weeks before, taunting her with hurtful words. Y/N let her eyes slide out of focus as they tracked his movements across the room. 

“How did you get a message out of Boiling Rock to him?” He paused, standing in front of the open door. Y/N cocked her head and looked to the small opening between his body in the door. She couldn’t help the thoughts that intruded her mind about how small in stature the warden was and how fast she could run. There was a slight opening that she could take to run, given the chance, but there were guards posted outside and she’d be caught quickly and easily. 

Y/N shrugged noncommittally. It was no use trying to argue against him, he wouldn’t believe anything she had to say. And she and Zuko had literally been caught doing exactly what they had been accused of. “Maybe I’m just that good.”

 Besides anything she did say could risk Sokka’s disguise. 

“Normally for a stunt like you just pulled, I’d lock you in the cooler for a week. I’d like to see how a non-bender would fare in there for that long.” A smile stretched over his wide lips. “But it might be more entertaining to just leave you to the masses. Everyone here might be a criminal, Y/N, but they are still mostly loyal to their country. And they don’t like people like you or Prince Zuko. It would be a shame for them to find out you were traitors to the Fire Nation.”

“Are you threatening to tell them?” Y/N couldn’t help but ask.

The warden mimed the same disinterested shrug she gave him earlier. “I won’t say anything. They’d have my job for that. But I can’t guarantee someone else won’t have a slip of the tongue in the future.”

The warden turned around and walked out, leaving Y/N with a feeling of urgency. She still didn’t know what Sokka’s plan was, but it was now or never for her and Zuko. Otherwise she had a feeling they could be in real danger. 

---

It was hours before the guards let her out of that cell. She was led back to her cell block and told to do her chores like she had never been taken to be interrogated by the warden in the first place. Y/N spotted Zuko in Y/N’s usual spot next to Suki, mopping the floor by the staircase. 

Y/N took the steps two at a time to get down to the both of them. She slid into the shadows, hiding from any guards who might see her not doing her job. 

“Y/N!” Suki’s eyebrows knitted with worry. “I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, the warden was just trying to scare me. Zuko, are you okay?”

He paused his mopping. “What did he say to you?”

Y/N shook her head. “Just some things about how we were working together. He was wondering how I got you to help me escape. He said that it would–” Y/N deepened her voice to mimic the warden, “’be a shame if the other prisoners found out who we were.’ ”

Zuko frowned. “He said that to me too.”

“That’s not good. We have to get out of here as soon as possible,” Suki said. 

“And we will.”

Y/N looked up to see Sokka hanging over the stair railing looking down at the three of them. 

“Sokka,” Y/N breathed in relief. As he came down the stairs to meet them, the only thing Y/N wanted to do was run and jump into his arms, but she knew she couldn’t. She couldn’t risk anyone seeing them. After what had happened with her and Zuko earlier, the guards were sure to keep a close eye on her. She settled for reaching a hand out and squeezing his tightly, trying to convey every emotion she was feeling into that single touch. 

Suki sent Y/N a pitying look. She knew how much Y/N had missed being back with her friends. Prison wasn’t good for a lot of things, but it was good for catching up between two people. And slowly through that, her and Suki had become friends, even if it was a bit unwilling at first. Suki and her had spent the first two days of Y/N arriving just recounting what had happened between the two of them. Y/N learned of the early days of Aang, Katara and Sokka’s travels, the first time they met Suki, even Suki teaching Sokka how to fight like a Kyoshi warrior. 

---

“He was so hopeless,” Suki had giggled. “It was like teaching a platypus-bear how to dance.” And Y/N had laughed. “He was the same when I first taught him how to sword fight!”

“I thought he had a little bit of a crush on me, you see,” Suki smiled slyly, “but when we met the second time in Ba Sing Se, I was sure he didn’t. He was different. More protective, but not in a love-type way. Like he was afraid for me, or what might happen to me.” 

“I don’t know why he’d ever be afraid of that. You’re tough as nails, Suki.” At that point, Suki had flipped her hair over her shoulder and grinned. “I know.” but then her voice lowered. “I don’t know, but I think something happened to him when he was in the North Pole. He didn’t elaborate, but he told me that he lost someone he was close to, and he just couldn’t have it happen again. That’s why he pushed me away. Well,” Suki rolled her eyes, “he kept me close just to keep me at arms length. And then I left them there, at the wall, so me and my girls could go back and help more refugees.”

“And then me.” Y/N chewed on her lip.

Suki watched her. “And then you.”

---

Suki was giving her that same look now. The one where her brown eyes could dig wells into Y/N’s soul. It was like she knew Y/N better than she knew herself. Although at one time there might have been jealousy hidden in those dark eyes, there was none now, just sadness, and understanding. She had spent countless hours with Y/N sharing even the most mundane details about their friends. It passed the time and kept hope alive that someday they might be rescued, even if it took until the end of the war for liberation. 

The foursome crouched down, hiding from any prying eyes. “I think I may have found a way out of here.” Sokka grinned mischievously.

---

Y/N stood on the banks of the boiling lake with Suki, waiting for Sokka to come back with Zuko and the cooler. The wind that blew in off the lake was hot and stifling but at least it was dark now. The night air gave some relief from the humidity. Y/N couldn’t wait to be off the island and well, anywhere else. 

“That was some fight,” Suki kicked at some of the rocks on the beach, doing her best to look disinterested.

She was talking about the fight that had been staged between Y/N and Zuko hours earlier to get him thrown in the cooler. At first it had been just that, a fake fight for a means to an end, but by the end the guards really were pulling them off each other, trying to stop them from killing each other. Y/N rubbed her bruised arm, the one that Zuko had kicked when she had blocked him. It was better than a busted face.

“It got out of hand. We both have tempers.” Y/N had no idea what had set either of them off. One minute they were throwing fake insults at one another, and the next minute Y/N had her hands fisted in the front of his tunic hoping to get another punch in before she was hauled away from him. She hadn’t even realized how mad she was at him until she had come down from the adrenaline high in her cell. And she had yet to figure out why it all came about.

Suki smirked and held up her hands, “Hey, no judgment from me. He burnt down my village, Y/N. He deserves the black eye I hope he gets.”

Now it was Y/N’s turn to smile.

“But–

“Oh my spirits.” Y/N’s smile faded instantly.

Suki huffed. “But, you two need to get along for the time it takes for us to escape. After that, feel free to beat on him as much as you want.” Suki wiggled her eyebrows. “I’ll even help hold him down.”

---

Y/N could tell there was something on Sokka’s mind once the four of them slid the cooler down the hill and into the water. At first the idea of knowing someone that deeply shocked her to her core; the last time that happened it didn’t exactly go well. The second she had that thought the fear melted away like an ice floe. Of course Y/N knew Sokka like that! They spent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week together for weeks on end as they traveled through the Fire Nation. He was her best friend! 

His gaze was downcast and he definitely wasn’t acting like the same person who 30 minutes beforehand had come to her cell and hugged her tightly, sliding his hand into her hair and promising with such conviction that he was going to get her out of there if it was the last thing he did. 

---

Y/N knelt beside Sokka as he pulled out his blue Water Tribe clothes from behind a rock. Y/N laid a hand on his back and felt him tense up. 

“What’s going on?” she murmured. She couldn’t help but think Zuko must have said something to him just as she and Suki had while they were separated. Was he trying to make Sokka think that their fight was her fault?

“We heard some guards talking–”

Anger flared in her chest as Y/N heard Zuko speak. “I didn’t ask you,” she sneered. The only thing that quashed some of her irritation was the beginnings of a bruise on his cheekbone. A black eye for sure, Y/N thought. 

“You know what, Y/N–” Zuko started. 

Y/N didn’t expect Sokka to stand up so suddenly, turning on the both of them. “Knock it off, both of you!” Sokka rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed in exasperation. “While I was getting Zuko out of the cooler, he and I overhead some guards passing by. They said that there would be more prisoners coming tomorrow. War prisoners.”

“Oh, Sokka, your dad…” Suki left the edge of the lake where she was holding the cooler from floating away and joined the three of them on the rocks. 

“It doesn’t matter.” Sokka shook his head with a look of resolution in his eyes. “Let’s go.”

“Are you sure?” Zuko asked. His voice breaking the thick silence falling over the group. 

“Of course I’m not sure.” Sokka admitted. “But we came here with the purpose to save Suki, and–and we were lucky to find Y/N here too. I feel like we’re risking too much now. If I had cut my losses at the invasion none of this would have happened in the first place. Maybe I need to do that now.”

“No, Sokka,” Y/N stepped in front of him, forcing him to look at her. “We stayed behind and that was our choice. Hakoda and I did not get captured because of you.” Y/N didn’t mention that it was because of her they were all in this mess.

“It’s better to call it quits before you lose.” Sokka’s voice was morose.

“Not in this case,” Zuko said. “You can’t quit because you’re afraid you might fail.”

“Even if I stay, what about you two?” Sokka grabbed at Y/N’s hands. “You and Suki should leave, you’ve been here long enough. And you too Zuko, you can get them out of here. I’ll stay behind and find my dad.”

“Not happening,” Y/N muttered. When Sokka opened his mouth to protest she quickly shook her head and added. “We all care about you Sokka. I’m staying.”  

“Me too,” Suki seconded. 

“Me three.” Zuko shared a look of understanding with Y/N. Whatever was happening between them could be figured out later. For now, they needed to work together. 

Sokka pulled Y/N in for a hug. “I hope we’re not making a huge mistake,” he murmured into Y/N’s shoulder. 

“I’m not too sure we have a choice anymore.” Suki pointed out. “The cooler is floating without us in it in the middle of the boiling lake.”

It had been a long time since Y/N had laughed that hard.

---

Y/N paced around her cell. She wished that patience came easier to her but everytime she sat down, she stood back up and began walking in circles again. Hakoda was here, they’d all seen him come off the gondola, but now that they were all separated again, it felt like she was in the dark. 

Sokka had told them he was going to talk to his dad and hopefully the two of them could come up with a new plan that could get everyone out of Boiling Rock. But that had been hours ago and Y/N was starting to get worried that she hadn’t heard anything from him. What if he had gotten caught sneaking into Hakoda’s cell? Different scenarios swirled through her brain and they all ended the same way. Sokka, locked up, wearing the same prisoner’s garb that she was. 

Y/N pressed her palm into her forehead. “Well at least all of us would be together here if that happens.” Y/N muttered to herself. 

“If what happens?” Y/N could see Sokka’s blue eyes peering through the slat in her cell door. 

“Oh thank Agni, you’re here.” Y/N rushed forward to embrace Sokka. 

“Of course I’m here. I told you I’d come back.” Sokka said. 

“Yeah, but I have this very rational fear that you’re going to get caught masquerading as a guard.” Y/N flicked Sokka’s visor with her index finger. 

“I won’t get caught,” Sokka grabbed her hand before she could pull too far away and linked their fingers. “I saw my dad. He told me what happened.”

“Oh?” A lot had happened the day of invasion. She just wasn’t sure what Hakoda had shared. 

“He said you saved the rest of the warriors by luring off the Fire Nation soldiers. Otherwise everyone would have been captured. I couldn’t be more grateful for what you did for them.”

Y/N’s cheeks grew hot. “You would have done the same.” 

“It was kind–” Sokka kissed one blushing cheek. “–and brave–” he kissed her other cheek, “–and very stupid.” He finished by kissing her lips.

Y/N groaned and snaked her arms around his neck. “Please tell me you have a way out of here. It feels weird kissing a guard.”

Sokka laughed. “I do. We’re leaving on the gondola; today. 

Y/N eyes widened. “I’m not even going to ask how we’re going to pull that off.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got everything planned out. I’ve already talked to Suki but…” Sokka paused.

“But what?”

“I can’t find Zuko,” Sokka admitted. 

“Well that’s not good.” Y/N might not have thought too highly of Zuko at the moment but Sokka seemed to be friendly with him and she knew that he wouldn’t leave without him. 

“I’ll keep looking.” Sokka said resolutely. “I’ve got to go. Find me when they let everyone into the yard.” 

“Be careful.” Y/N watched him step outside of her cell and slide the door shut, darkening the room once more. She was halfway to her cot when she heard Sokka’s voice, still outside her door, and it didn’t sound like he was talking to her. 

  Y/N tiptoed closer so she’d be able to hear what he was saying. 

“–they’ve really got to get their act together.” A voice that Y/N didn’t recognize said. 

Sokka chuckled nervously. “Uh haha, yeah. Well, I got this one, you just get the next one, okay?” Y/N could already picture him doing a set of cheesy finger-guns at whoever he was just talking to. 

Just then, the door to her cell slid open again and Sokka stood there with a worried look on his face. 

“What’s going on?” Y/N whispered, unsure whether the other guards were somewhere near. 

“The warden wants to see you.”

--- 

The only thought that was rushing through her head as Sokka marched her back to the interrogation rooms was that she needed to keep one foot in front of the other. Her knees shook the whole way there and Sokka could tell that she was a bundle of nerves. 

“This is why you couldn’t find Zuko,” Y/N said matter-a-factly. 

“What?” Sokka’s head turned to look at her.

Y/N looked straight ahead. “You couldn’t find Zuko because they already pulled him aside to talk to the warden. They probably found that cooler floating in the middle of the lake and assumed that him and I had something to do with it. They’re going to lock down the whole prison trying to figure out how we did it and who helped us and you’re gonna get caught and th–” 

“Y/N, relax,” Sokka squeezed her arm. “You’re hyperventilating.” He looked around the hallway, looking for some place to stop but it was too big of a risk; so they kept walking, albeit Sokka had slowed them down significantly. “No one is going to get caught. I don’t know why the warden wants to talk with you again, but it doesn’t matter. I said we’re getting out of here today and I meant it.” 

“I’m not worried about me,” Y/N said through gritted teeth. “I’m worried about you.”

“I know. But don’t, I can take care of myself.” 

“I know that.” Y/N hoped that what she said didn't offend him. Of course she knew that Sokka was a perfectly capable warrior who could protect himself. But it was just so much easier to be with him every step of the way to watch his back and make absolutely sure he was okay. It was the most frustrating thing about imprisonment. The control that she held so dearly was gone while she’d been here, and she was clawing at the walls trying to get it back. 

“I’ll find Zuko and I’ll come back to get you,” Sokka muttered under his breath as he left her with the pair of guards standing outside of the room. 

---

Y/N had prepared herself to expect anything when the door slid open, but seeing Azula standing there waiting for her was the last thing Y/N expected.

“Azula? What is going on?” Y/N jumped as the door slid shut behind her, leaving her alone, locked in a windowless cell with one of her enemies. 

“Why did he send you here?” Azula asked.

“What?” Y/N was extremely confused. 

“Your father. Why did he send you here?”

“I am a traitor to the Fire Nation, I thought you would be happy to see me imprisoned. It’s what you would have done.”

“Not here. Not with these people.”

“So what? Why do you care about me all of a sudden?” 

“Not all of a sudden,” Azula murmured. “I can overrule your dad’s orders. I’m bringing you back to the Fire Nation with me.”

“What? No!” Y/N felt like she couldn’t breathe, like she was being backed into a corner with no way out. 

“Why not? Why don’t you want to come back with me?!” Azula shouted.

“Why would you want me to?”

“Because you don’t belong here! You told me that you could change me–why can’t I do the same to you? Why can’t I bring you back to the Fire Nation and make you Y/N again, because that’s not who you are right now.”

“Oh yeah? Well who am I then?” Y/N taunted.

Azula completely ignored her question. Opting to cross her arms and roll her eyes. “You don’t have a choice. You’re coming back to the Fire Nation.”

“I won’t be your puppet anymore.”

“You think that.” Azula’s gold eyes bore into Y/N’s. “But at your lowest, I’ll be the only one that’s there, and you’ll come back.”

Y/N was seconds away from screaming. How dare Azula think that she would even stoop so low as to come crawling back into her good graces. Did she ever really know Y/N as deeply as she claimed? Because if she did she would know that it would never work on her.

Suddenly, a guard slammed the door open, breaking the reverie between the two of them. “Princess, there is a riot in the yard. We have to get you to safety.”

Y/N scoffed at the idea of someone Azula away from the fight to keep her safe. She would want to be right in the middle of it. But Y/N didn’t have time to think about it much more. She assumed that was her cue to leave. 

---

Y/N shoved past the guard in the doorway, grabbing the ring of keys on his belt as she ran past. She slammed the door shut and locked it. Y/N felt the door shake as both Azula and the guard threw fire, trying to break it down, but Y/N knew that they would have a rough go at that. It was a prison after all. Everywhere was meant to keep angry firebenders locked in. 

She took off in a dead sprint backtracking the way that she and Sokka came. She turned the corner and ran smack into someone. Y/N fell hard to the ground but immediately rolled to her feet, in a fighting stance. 

A hand gripped the front of her shirt, his other hand poised over her face. “Oh, it’s you.”

Y/N pushed Zuko away. “Get off,” she growled. 

Zuko rolled his eyes, “Come on, we have to go.” his voice was gruff.

Zuko and Y/N pushed their way through the rioters to get to where they had spotted Sokka through the crowd. 

“How’d you get out, Y/N? I was just about to come and get you.” Sokka asked, shocked. 

“I’ll tell you later, right now we need to get out of here. Fast!” Y/N looked around her and counted heads; they were all there, including Hakoda and Suki. Y/N didn’t know how long the cell could keep Azula contained. If she was as mad as Y/N thought she was, it wouldn’t be nearly long enough. 

“We just need to grab the warden and get to the gondolas.” Sokka promised.

“How are we going to do that?” Zuko asked. 

“I haven’t figured that part out yet,” Sokka cringed. 

While Zuko and Sokka argued over the plan to escape not being fully developed, Suki tugged on Y/N’s arm. She pointed up to the main tower; guards rushed across the balconies, but one person didn’t move, just stood watching over the mayhem happening in the yard. 

“There he is,” Suki muttered. 

“Let’s get him.” Y/N grinned.

---

Suki and Y/N ran, dodging and weaving between the prisoners and guards fighting. They scaled the tower using the balcony railings as handholds and footholds together, until they landed on the same level the warden was on. 

Suki took on the first guard they encountered, ducking under his fire punch and tripping him. Y/N slid under another’s legs, and grabbed the only weapon the guards carried, a heavy baton meant to scare the prisoners into submission. She smashed it into his face as she rolled to a stand. 

The warden made a run for it, but Y/N caught up to him, holding the baton against his neck. “I didn’t take you for a coward.”

Suki came around the front of him and smiled at Y/N who was hovering over the man’s shoulder. “Of course he is, Y/N. You should see his face, he looks like you’ve got a sword held to his throat.”

“I wish it was a sword,” Y/N grumbled. 

Suki quickly tied his hands and gagged his mouth. Y/N pushed him to the ground and the two girls stood over him. A satisfied expression crossed Suki’s face. “Sorry warden, you’re our prisoner now.”

---

Halfway to the gondola, more guards showed up to stop them. Everyone ducked as Zuko blocked the guards firebending. “Stop! Back up! We have the warden!” 

Each and every one of the guards looked to one another to figure out how they were going to handle this type of situation. Slowly, as a collective, they backed away, allowing five of them to pass along with the warden who seemed to be screaming obscenities behind his gag. He began to struggle against his bindings and Hakoda, who was leading him. 

Y/N hefted her baton and pushed the warden’s cheek. “We don’t have to let you walk. One swing and you’ll be out like a light.” That seemed to quiet him down.

Zuko started the gondola and then repeatedly kicked at the lever, breaking it in half so the guards had no way of stopping them once they started. He jumped from the platform and landed on the edge of the gondola; Sokka pulled him inside one of the windows. 

It was slow moving but Y/N could feel the gondola climbing the cable, dragging them out of the Boiling Rock. It was surprisingly silent, like none of them could really believe it was happening, and so easily at that. Everyone shared a cautious look. 

“Is that it?” Suki asked warily. “Are we really on our way?”

“Uh, who’s that?” Hakoda asked, pointing over Y/N’s shoulder back to the platform.

Y/N turned around and stuck her head out the window. When she caught sight of who Hakoda had seen, her whole body tensed up. “That would be what I was going to tell you about.”

“That’s a problem,” Zuko said, his head peeking out the window next to Y/N’s. “It’s Azula and Ty Lee.” 

Suki joined Y/N at the window. “I’ve been waiting for this rematch.”

“Me too,” Zuko said. 

Y/N couldn’t say she agreed; in fact she definitely disagreed. It felt her story was never-ending at this point. She would feel much better if she never had to see Azula again. 

Azula smirked and Y/N could feel her eyes on her face. By the time that Y/N had climbed to the top of the gondola with the others, both girls had made it there. Ty Lee gunned for Suki and Y/N at one end of the gondola, while the boys took care of Azula at the other end. 

Y/N immediately noticed something different about Ty Lee; her brow was furrowed at Y/N and her eyes narrowed. She was angry. 

Y/N was so shook to her core at never seeing Ty Lee angry–ever–that she was almost chi-blocked in her left arm. Luckily, Suki wasn’t phased in the slightest and stepped in to block. Y/N quickly ducked out of the way to get her bearings.

“Why did you leave?” Ty Lee shouted over the wind whipping in their ears. 

“What are you talking about?” Y/N blocked a hit from Ty Lee and kicked out, trying to trip the girl. She was much too agile and backflipped over Y/N’s leg like it was nothing. 

“No explanation, not a word to me about anything!” Ty Lee took a moment to throw a savage punch at Y/N’s head. “What happened?”

Y/N ducked to the left, grabbed her arm and bent it behind Ty Lee’s back. “She asked me to kill someone!”

Ty Lee was like an eel-snake and slipped right out Y/N’s hands, chi-blocking her right arm along the way. Y/N’s arm went numb, pins and needles traveled down from her shoulder all the way to her wrist. Ty Lee chuffed at Y/N’s words and held up her hands, ready to jump right back into the fight. Suki squared up alongside Y/N, ready to finish things. But Y/N was so tired of fighting her friends. She stepped forward, but made no move to attack the other girl.

“I found a better way!” Y/N held her limp arm to her chest and she noticed a waver in Ty Lee’s normally steady hands. “I saw my chance at a life where I wasn’t fighting every second of every day!” She shouted. “Now, are you mad at me for leaving, or are you mad at yourself for not?”

A look of realization passed across Ty Lee’s face, just as she heard Suki shout. “Guys! I think they’re going to cut the line!”

Y/N’s eyes snapped from Ty Lee’s to the platform where she could see guards working on cutting the cable holding the gondola up. 

“Then it’s time to leave,” Azula smirked and used her firebending to blast herself up on top of an incoming gondola. When Y/N looked back, Ty Lee was already jumping to the other gondola sparing a concerned look in Y/N’s direction.

---

Y/N crawled back into the gondola through the window, landing next to Suki on the floor. Her arm was just regaining part of its feeling as she made her way to the front of the gondola with the boys to watch the guards cut only thing still holding them in the sky. 

“I hope this thing floats,” Hakoda said absently. 

“Yeah, if we don’t die from the impact of it hitting the water,” Y/N couldn’t help but add. 

“Wait, look!” Zuko exclaimed. He pointed out a dark figure flinging knives at the guards cutting the cable. 

Mai! Y/N quickly leaned out the window to the other gondola, where Azula and Ty Lee were standing, hoping to gauge a reaction from them. She shared a worried look with Zuko. They both knew what it meant to cross Azula when it came to something she wanted. 

---

Just then, the gondola shuddered to a stop on the far rim of the volcano and they all hopped out. 

“If Azula’s here she must have brought an airship,” Zuko said. He walked up a large hill by the sea, looking for it, but Y/N was still stuck staring across the boiling lake. 

Sokka grabbed her hand. “Come on, we have to go. Azula could be right on our tail.” He began tugging her in the direction the rest of the group had run and she let herself be pulled along because Y/N had seen all she needed to see. 

“I don’t think she is,” Y/N said to Sokka moments later, as they boarded the airship. 

“You don’t think what?” Sokka asked, confused as to what Y/N was talking about. 

Y/N slid down the wall of the airship, all the adrenaline leaving her body at once. “I don’t think Azula’s going to be after us right away.”

Sokka sat beside her and quirked an eyebrow up. “Why not?”

“Because I’m pretty sure while I was still up there I saw Ty Lee chi-block her.”

Sokka’s eyes widened, recognizing how big of a deal that really was. 

Y/N’s emotions crashed down on her like a hefty wave. There was so much to process, so much to mull over. She simultaneously wished she could take a hot bath and drink a hot cup of tea, hell, she would even settle for a bath in the river if nothing at the moment changed. But one thought dominated all the rest. Home. She dropped her head into her hands and stared at the floor between her legs. 

“Spirits, you don’t know how happy I am to see you,” Y/N murmured.

“You’ve been with me for the past two days,” Sokka replied, his voice muffled into her hair. 

Y/N snorted. “That’s not what I mean.”

“I know what you mean.” Suddenly, like it was the last thing he would ever do, Sokka tipped her head up and pulled her in for a bruising kiss. 

It felt like home.

---

a/n: most of suki and Y/N’s time together at boiling rock isn’t mentioned to keep the wc down, but we can guess that they became fast friends while there. And yes, I’m really ramping up the sappiness in Y/N and Sokka’s relationship in preparation for a surprise coming in the near future!

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[sokkabeifong]

22 + 32 azulaang? 😚

Yes yes yes!! I totally can see azulaang in these scenarios, 32 (A kiss so passionate, so perfect - that after they part, neither person can open their eyes for a few moments afterwards) and 22 (A kiss that is leading to more, but is interrupted by a third party). Thank you for the ask!

Longing is not something Azula is used to. Being the princess of the Fire Nation, she usually gets her way. No, not usually. Always. No matter the obstacles she must hurdle in order to obtain what she wants, she gets it. By force or by not, through bribes or other charges.

Somehow, through means she cannot describe, emotions fill up her heart, closing in on every spare space, squeezing and pinching and tugging until she's sure she will burst from feeling too much. Feelings are buried deep under the surface, and yet they hover just beneath her skin whenever she thinks about them.

Want is something she is familiar with, but the yearning is not. And this thing, this - this concept, this bubble that sits on her abdomen and threatens to rise up and spill out of her mouth - this thing is the one thing she cannot have.

It's for the stupidest reason imaginable.

"With this ring, I thee wed."

Azula strains her eyes to concentrate on the little figures at the front of the church, but they're merely blurbs of green and blue. Toph and Sokka, on their wedding day.

She sits in the back, unsure how welcome she would be if they knew she was here. There had been no formal invitations, nothing sent to her via messenger hawk or any form of communication for that matter, so she'd decided quite last minute to show.

Not for them, because she quite frankly couldn't care less about Toph and Sokka and Sokka and Toph and whatever romantic mushy nonsense they were saying up there on their ledge. From what she knows about Toph, it can't be too much, but still. She came for one reason, and one reason only.

And he's sitting at the front.

"Toph, with this ring, I thee wed." Sokka's voice, from the front, but she doesn't divert her attention from the sleek, pale head a dozen rows ahead. The blue that runs from the top to his neck shines brightly under the sunlight. She knows there to be identical twin arrows, running along his arms, those arms that had held her close so many times. How she wishes those arms would be wrapped around her now.

She yearns for the arms, the way she yearns for him, the way she wishes she wouldn't.

It happens, then, so quickly, so smoothly, she would have missed it if she hadn't been paying such close attention. His head turns for the briefest moments, but it's enough. Their eyes lock, and she's caught. He's aware of her presence.

Immediately he whips around so that he's facing the front again, just as quick as he had before. Anyone watching would have thought he was shaking off a bug, or giving a small jerk, or wiping away a tear.

The plummeting feeling of being ignored surprises her.

But soon her spirits, despite her conflictions about them, lift once more. He turns again, more firmly this time, and she knows that no one could mistake this for a spasm. And then, like an idiot, he breaks into a wide smile and waves.

At her.

She shouldn't be smiling, but she is. She shouldn't wave back, but she does.

At that moment the wedding concludes, and Aang turns back to his friends just in time to see Toph dipping Sokka back into a dramatic kiss. He laughs and claps with the rest of the guests, and suddenly they're all rising and filing out of the church toward the back doors. Toward her. Panic seizes her for a split second.

Aang is the first one out, practically stumbling over the many feet and people he encounters in his desperate attempt to reach her. She forces her face to remain flat, but it's hard.

"Azula!" he cries, finally coming to a stop directly in front of her. Some of the passersby behind him eye her suspiciously. but Zuko is there too, so she assumes they think she's here with him. At any rate, no one asks any questions.

"Avatar," she deadpans, crossing her arms and slightly enjoying the way his face falls at her assessment of him.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, cocking his head to the side. "You told me you didn't want to be my plus one. You said you weren't ready to tell everyone. You said -" his tone is becoming more and more accusatory "- you said that you weren't coming. Why would you lie?"

"I... I changed my mind, that's all," she says haltingly. Her fingers involuntarily reach out to his, just shy of holding them.

His eyebrows are creased. Not confusion, but not contempt either.

"I had to see you," she says. "I just... had to see you. I can't explain it."

"Hm." He heaves an unnecessarily long sigh and rolls his eyes. "All right. I can't really stay mad at you."

"Good." Her yearning is back, crashing through her body like a furious, passionate wave. She grabs his arm and jerks him into a closet, slamming the door shut. "We've got a few minutes before they notice you're gone."

"Princess Azula," he smirks, but he threads his hands through her hair and kisses her firmly.

She kisses him back, slowly and surely, her body curving ever so perfectly into his. She still marvels at how they fit together, even nearly a year later. She will never tire of his kisses, that much she's sure of.

He breaks away first, gasping for breath. Her lips are swollen, tinged with pink, she's sure. She takes a feverish breath. Neither of them open their eyes for a few moments, their arms still hooked around the other's neck.

"I love you," he whispers, pressing their foreheads together. "You know that, right?"

"I do," she breathes, and their lips are connected once more. She pushes him back against the wall, their kiss becoming more and more feverish. His hands grope for her shirt, tugging it upwards as she angles her hips with his. They sway together, around and around and around and around and suddenly light is pouring into the closet, but that can't be right, because she shut the door before they went in, and Oh, my Spirits, Sokka's in the doorway, and even worse, Toph is behind him and she can't take her eyes off them, caught in the act of kissing.

"Hey," Sokka says, as casually as possible. Toph snorts at his attempts.

"We knew you were in here," she explains. "I felt you go in. Felt a few pulse changes too, so I figured you were..." she coughs. "Anways, we would've left you be -"

"Which would have been the polite thing to do," she sneers.

Sokka glares at her. "You want to talk about polite, sis? This is our wedding, and you weren't invited."

"Near as I can figure, no one was invited," she counters, but it's difficult to look intimidating without a shirt and makeup smeared. "You just told people to come."

"Well, I -"

Toph slaps her husband's arms. "Not important. Point is, we have to clear out of the church now. There's a funeral coming in."

Aang frowns. "Oh, dear. We'd better go, then." He gets up, brushing himself off as though nothing had happened. She stares at him when he offers his hand. "Coming?"

"I -I -" her eyes dart between his calming grey ones, and Sokka's stormy blue, and Toph's hazy green, and back to his. They're warm and kind, just like him. She takes his hand and he helps her up.

"Don't worry," he whispers, quietly so that Toph and Sokka cannot hear. "We can continue back at my place."

That's enough for her. She smiles serenley and beckons for them to follow.

"Come on, then. Don't want to interrupt a funeral."

They roll their eyes, but start walking behind them. Aang taps her arm and their eyes meet. They're both thinking the same thing.

Two down.

#azulaang #azula #aang #tokka #toph #sokka #had to add them bc why else do i write #atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender

[willsimpforazula]

Sokkla Month Day 24: Politics

A/N: Background Sokkla, like it's there and it's obvious, but not like super overwhelming and in your face. But it's still Sokkla so eh(?)

------

Sokkla Month Day 24: Politics

"You're late."

"Considering the circumstances, I'd think I'll take being five minutes late over the alternative, thank you very much."

"But did you die?"

"Came pretty close a few times. Not that you'd care."

"Last I checked, you were my blade. And blades don't talk back."

"Funny, because I think, no, I know that you absolutely love it when I talk back to you. I mean, who else in the court has the balls to go toe to toe with you? Apart from that monkey Zhao. Or Qin, whenever he isn't trying to fuck over Zhao. Seriously, how did you people even get out of Caldera, much less conquer half of the main Earth Kingdom cities with a dysfunctional Diet as this?"

"Focus, commitment and sheer will."

"All I'm hearing is you're too stubborn for your own good."

"Keep talking."

"I sincerely doubt you want to wrestle in those heels of yours. Or explain to the ministers at the party as to why there is a suspicious looking mark on your neck. Because I'd really, really, hate to have Ty Lee's makeup work all ruined because you got all flustered and horny. You should think about giving the girl a raise, y'know."

"Please, that girl doesn't need me to give her a raise. She's practically self-sufficient from all the blackmail and betting rings she's running. Also, what did I tell you about NO SHOES IN THE HOUSE SOKKA!"

"Wheoops?"

Instinctively, he ducked as a throwing dart embedded itself firmly in the doorpost.

"I-"

"Shut the fuck up Sokka, if you know what's good for you. Now come on, any longer and those spineless dickwads and entitled little bimbos are going to be asking questions I'd rather not answer." Azula hissed, before slamming home a shot of 'white lightning' like it was water.

As much as Sokka would have loved to keep up the banter, knowing full well that it would definitely lead to some of the most intense and life altering (in his humble opinion, which he wisely kept to himself lest he inflate her ego any further) sexcapades if he continued, seeing her like this made him decide otherwise. Besides, he really did stink.

-----

In Azula's mind, a princess was supposed to be punctual, despite the generous leeway she was afforded due to her status and prestige. For her, showing up late meant she was growing soft, which in her mind would and could be translated as a sign of weakness. In the world of palace politics, any sign of weakness would inevitably result in death, if not political then physical. Not that one was better than the other, but she would rather commit suicide than be placed into such a spot.

Banishing such dark thoughts from her mind, she put up airs and false smiles as she 'interacted' with the pit of vipers and power hungry concubines who would stop at nothing to see their chosen taking her spot as the designated successor to the Dragon Throne. That she was still single even now sparked incessant rumours, some of which were dangerously close to the truth. At least Ty Lee managed to work her magic and for the most part, they were only as such, rumours.

While Ty Lee dealt with the concubines and gossips, Sokka had the much more difficult task of 'persuading' people to come around to her way of thinking, which typically meant some roughing up here and there. Occasionally, some people just did not wish to get with the program, no matter how much sense it made but for the simple fact that she possessed a vagina instead of a penis. Thus, in Azula's mind, they would be put on a watchlist and monitored more closely before deciding that enough was enough and they had to be permanently removed from the mortal coil of life lest it came back to bite her in the ass some point down the road.

As far as assassinations went, there weren't that many, just enough to send a message to those who had similar plans in their sleeves. Besides, she did not wish to gain a reputation as an unreasonable person who could not tolerate dissent. After all, it was because of her grandfather's notorious lack of tolerance for contrarian voices that led the Fire Nation into a sixty year long quagmire in the south and western regions of the Earth Kingdom.

-----

"Princess, I believe you should refrain from taking another glass." Sokka chided formally, while keeping a lookout for any hint of suspicious activity, concerned that in her inebriated state, she would do or say something regrettable. Privately, it was because having to deal with a hungover Azula was not much fun at all, what with her temperament being that of a very short fused platypus bear.

"You should take your guard's advice, your Highness." the lady added. While no stranger to intrigues and backroom plots herself, Lady Miyu was considered by Azula to be one of the rare friends she had among the ministers and courtesans.

"Fine. But just one more sip please, else I'd never be able to put up with that-that-"

"Do I need to remind you how you act when you're hungover? Also, I'd rather not be out cleaning up some mess you made because you insulted the wrong person while you were blasted to Agna Q'ela and back."

"He's right you know." Miyu added.

"Y'all are no fun."

"We can have all the fun you want when your asscheeks are on the throne. But for now, that glass can wait."

"Point. Noted." she growled.

Leading her by the hand, he escorted her out from the ballroom discreetly and headed back to her apartment complex.

"Politics and playing nice is a right pain in the ass." she grumbled.

"Tell me about it."

"What do you think I'm doing right now?"

"Fair enough. Now get some rest, my princess." he replied, scooping her up in his arms as they entered her living quarters, before she was deposited on her bed. As he moved to exit the room, Azula called out "Sokka?"

"Yes?"

Patting the side of her bed, Sokka rolled his eyes, before stripping off his suit and shirt and laying next to her.

"Thank you" she replied, shutting off the lights with a flick of her wrists before curling up around him.

#sokkla #day 24:politics #sokkla month #ded is brain halps

[hexx-bunny]

if you keep moving, you will come to a better place

zukka, abo, omega!Zuko, alpha!Sokka, slow burn When Zuko presented as an Omega, he knew Ozai would find the worst possible way to get rid of him. He is to be married off to anyone who wins a stupid tournament. Zuko has other plans though, which include escaping and living his life however he wants. But it proves harder than expected. Cue Sokka enters his life, a non-bending Alpha unlike any he ever met. A marriage that may or not happen. And a long, weird roadtrip that shows Zuko the rest of the world is not as cruel as his Father made him believe.

AO3

Chapter 1:

Zuko was ten when he presented. Earlier than expected, and worse than anyone could predict. He still remembered those days vividly. After a visit to the doctor, he was scolted back to his rooms, which he was forbidden to leave. Nobody would look at him. The guards, usually gentle sometimes, avoided him. He could hear his mom and dad screaming at each other from the other side of the Royal Wing. Was he sick? Was he going to die? He didn’t feel like he was dying. He just felt alone, and scared.

When the door finally opened he almost jumped from the bed, waiting to see Uncle Iroh. His uncle never lied to him. But Azula waltzed in with a smile that never brought anything good.

“Guess what I just found out, Zuzu~”

“Go away, Azula. I’m not in the mood.”

Since their last presentation of Firebending progress to their grandfather, she’d been more smug than usual. Azula ignored him, tapping a finger to her lips as she studied him. She knew how to press his buttons.

“What?!” Zuko snapped.

“Hm… nothing. Just, I thought Omegas were prettier. But you still look the same.”

The boy’s heart froze.

Omega. Omega?

“You think it’ll make it harder to marry you off?” she continued, “Since, you know, that’s all you are good for now. Maybe they’ll give you to some old, gross man. Actually, I’m kinda sad. I really wanted to keep seeing you embarrass yourself in front of grandfather, but Omegas aren’t allowed to Firebend and all,” Azula chuckled, “At least it explains why you are so bad at it. Omegas are just… not made for that stu- Hey! I’m not done, come back!”

But Zuko wasn’t listening anymore, he was running before he noticed. Omega. He was an omega. Dad may not like him very much but he wouldn’t… he couldn’t right? Ursa and Ozai’s screams were too close, and before the guards could stop him, Zuko was opening their door.

“Dad!” he cried. He was an Omega. He was crying. He felt like the smallest thing in the world, yet he gathered all his courage for that moment. Zuko’s tiny fingers grabbed the red robes of his dad, his mom was trying to pull him away but he refused to budge, Dad, please! I- I don’t care that I’m just an omega, I promise I’ll try harder. I’ll get better! I’ll… I’ll train more, and master Bending, please, please don’t give me to an old man. Please, I pro-”

That part he remembered in flashes: Ozai’s pure look of disgust. His hand moving. Zuko braced for a slap. The heat, the unforgiving heat, he didn’t expect. It burned. It burned. It burned. Something smelled bad. The bright light died, and as everything went black, he heard his mom crying.

“Look at what you’ve done,” was the first thing Ozai spat when he woke up. The pain almost made it hard to hear. Actually it…  was kinda hard to hear. Why was his face covered up? What had happened? “Do you know how hard it’ll be to find you a mate now? Nobody wants a weak, scarred Omega.”

Ozai didn’t visit him again. Neither did Azula. Those days were spent in silence, in pain, Ursa cradling his body. Zuko wondered which of them was shaking.

He had ten years, still Zuko never got fully used to the scar. The way people turned their faces when they saw it was maybe part of the problem. He knew what they whispered about him, about how ugly it was, nobody would want a mate like that. Any partner he managed to find would certainly be just after his position. Correction: any partner his Father managed to find.

Zuko guessed he would find out in a few hours.

He stared at his reflection. Maids and servants only prepared married Omegas, Prince or not he was supposed to get ready by himself. It didn’t look so bad. His long dark hair half secured on a high ponytail with the Fire Nation symbol. The red robes also fitted him well, even though they were a pain in the ass to walk in. Zuko would gladly kill whoever had decided Omegas needed to wear so many layers of clothing. The most important part, the makeup, was missing. He didn’t exactly despise that part, but he despised how the paint would only bring more attention to his scar. He had angrily scrubbed it all off, better to endure his Father’s anger for one more day than to be mocked for walking around like a half-painted clown.

Mothers were allowed to help their unmarried Omega kids. Ursa probably would’ve managed to paint him well, she would’ve looked over his shoulder to their reflection and said Zuko looked beautiful. But she was gone.

Zuko let his fingers touch the golden earrings. They used to belong to her. That was when the door finally opened.

Uncle Iroh gave him a half-hearted smile.

“Are you ready?”

He had been the only person Zuko could count on for a decade. When he was banished from learning Firebending for being an Omega, Uncle Iroh would sneak him out of the palace late at night and teach him. When Zuko was prohibited from fighting, Uncle Iroh gave him double swords as a secret birthday gift and taught him how to master them. And when Zuko told him he was going to run away after today’s celebrations, it was Uncle Iroh who hugged him tightly and promised to help. Even though it would break his heart, Uncle Iroh always helped.

Zuko often thought his Uncle was probably the only decent Alpha in the world.

“Yes.”

Here is how an ideal life for an Omega would take place in the Palace: they would learn just enough to manage a household and attract a mate. After sixteen, Betas and Alphas would start courting them. By eighteen, it was normal to be married off to a mate that could bring status to the Omega’s family.

Here is what Ozai decided: Zuko would learn enough to manage a household. Nobody wanted to court him, he was too damaged, too much of a black sheep. Instead of marrying him to some foreign Prince or Princess, he decided to host a mating tournment. He invited nobles from all the world to fight for Zuko. Dogs fighting over a scrap of meat.

The marriage wasn’t even going to be officiated in the Fire Nation if a foreigner won. Zuko was theirs, and therefore no longer Ozai’s problem. Azula, who to nobody’s surprise presented as an Alpha at twelve, was his heir and all he cared about. Soon there would be high status Betas and Omegas begging for her hand and Zuko would only be on the way.

As always. Always on the way. A blemish on his plans, reflected by the one on his face.

Ozai didn't even spare him a glance when Zuko arrived at the podium, sitting on the smallest throne right next to Azula. The Palace courtyard was bursting with excitement. It was impossible to figure out which of those people came to fight or to watch. The complete lack of respect for the noble participants was unlike the Fire Lord, who would plan even the tiniest detail, showing there was a hierarchy and his place was at the top. It was just another sign of his disinterest, that tournament was not for him, it was to humiliate Zuko. And now, surely with any high ranking nobles leaving for what they would consider an insult to their status, he was left with…

“The rabble is very interested in your hand, Zuzu.”

He had an escape plan. It was not a question of if, but when. He had it all ready. He could firebend, he could fight, he had the money and supplies Iroh smuggled to him. Still, seeing how many old, terrible Alphas and Betas were in line to mate him was terrifying. Zuko’s biggest fear for years stared back as dozens of eyes: being forcefully mated off, raped and diminished to a baby-making machine until his death.

Happened with his mom, why wouldn’t he have the same fate?

A warm hand gripped his shoulder. Uncle Iroh sat on the last throne.

The drums begin playing, a mimeckry of his heartbeat.

No. No panicking. Zuko was gonna get out. A few hours, and he was out.

“By the way,” Azula whispered by his ear, looking as bored as ever, “Your runaway kit is ridiculous.”

Her hand grabbing his arm was all that stopped him from jumping away. The pit on his stomach grew, it felt about to swallow him whole.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” he croaked.

“C’mon. You are not that dense,” she relaxed her grip, “Father doesn’t know about it. Yet.”

“What do you want, Azula?”

The first nobles stepped on the makeshift arena. Zuko couldn’t care less.

“A deal. Father just wants to get rid of you, but General Zhao has other plans. He thinks if he wins, you’ll give him some political leverage. He’ll probably try something stupid like killing me and putting one of your… spawn on the throne. I know, a complete idiot. I’ll kill him by the end of the year, I swear he is so boring…”

“What are you talking about,” his throat felt dry. Zhao was never part of any of his plans. Azula clearly knew that.

“Well. He set some of his agents on you," she shrugged, as if those were old news, "Here is what’s gonna happen: If he wins, you are on the heart of the Fire Nation, surrounded by his men and legally mated. There is no way you could escape.”

“Yes, I can,” Zuko gritted his teeth.

One of the contestans was knocked out. People cheered. The second round began.

“Be realistic, Zuzu. Now, if he doesn’t win one of the two things will happen: either some low-level Fire Noble wins. You are still stuck here. And his agents will probably try to make a widow out of you and he'll sweep in, oferring to take you. Daddy will agree, of course, you know it. Or, some Earth Kingdom nobody wins. Zhao is too much of an idiot to know how to infiltrate the Earth Kingdom, but he is set on making his agents follow you to the borders. Maybe he’ll try to make it look like an accident on the road. Who cares. The thing is, you will be out, then you can run. Unless… someone tells daddy dearest of your little plan.”

Zuko’s scar throbbed. He thought he was being so smart. But at every corner, Azula seemed to take pleasure in proving him wrong. He looked angrily at her with his good eye.

“What do you want ? Spit it out.”

If he weren't so immersed in his own desperation, Zuko would’ve been shocked at the way her face changed. Few people could see when her mask of cruelty slipped, and then, for a moment, Azula looked heartbroken. It was gone as soon as it appeared. He briefly wondered if he had imagined it.

“I won’t tell on you if you find Ty Lee for me. She is on Kyoshi Island. Tell her,” she forced the next words out, low and too sincere, and making sure Ozai wasn’t listening, “I wish there was another way.”

Zuko was taken aback.

“But- how would you even know I did it?”

“I know all about your stupid concept or honor. You would do it. And you wouldn’t use it to blackmail me,” Azula faked a yawn “Deal?”

Not like you are giving me a fucking chance here, Zuko thought. Yet, he muttered:

“Deal.”

He stared at the sea of green and red uniforms that made the crowd. Air Nomads would never participate in such a ritual. And the Water Tribes never seemed to care much about their business. The arena was already marked by Earth and Fire bending, each disgusting Alpha trying to out-Alpha the other. For a moment he spotted General Zhao and Zuko forced himself to take a deep breath. He thought he saw a flash of blue clothing, but it was probably a trick of the light.

Those few hours suddenly felt too long to endure. The third round was about to start.

#zukka #zukka fanfic #zukka fic #atla fic #abo zukka #abo #My writing

[zukkatrash]

A Mask to see me as I am

a modern zuko wears makeup au, 2k words, finished, read under the cut

Summary: Zuko tries to cover up his scar with make up, fails miserably but realizes that he doesn't have to cover his face to stand to look at it

(includes bad Haikus from someone who doesnt know shit about Haikus)

credit to @turtleduck-vibes for beta reading this (thanks again ur the best!!♡)

---

The first time Zuko remembered putting makeup on his face was when he was six.

His mother was painting Azula's face next to him for a festival. He couldn't help himself, just dipped his fingers into the small container of colour and smeared it on his face, trying to mimic the delicate lines mother had drawn on his sister. His mother had smiled at him as she wiped the paint off of his hands and tried her best to fix the greasepaint on him into something more put together. Zuko barely remembered the festival or even what was painted on his face, but he did remember the concentration in his mother's eyes. The dedication and love she put into every stroke of her brush and how she smiled when he giggled at the tickling sensation.

Ozai hated it.

Mother didn't paint his face

again, remembering screams.

---

The second time Zuko put makeup on was when he was thirteen, desperately trying to hide a hickey he could not and would not want to explain to anyone.

---

It didn't hide it.

Ozai found out easily.

It had hurt so much.

The third time Zuko put makeup on was when he was fifteen. He still couldn't stand looking into the mirror longer than it took to check if there was something between his teeth. So he skipped the mirror, grabbed the foundation and more or less smeared it onto his eye. The texture of it felt weird on his face, too clumpy and suffocating. So foreign from the salve he had used to heal the wound. The brush however, brought back the memory of his mother. Her death still stung in his heart — He suspected it always would. But when he stopped attacking his face with the pigment for a second and just let the brush glide along his face, he could only think of his mother's smile. He lifted his face to the mirror and couldn't help but hope that it wouldn't glare back at him with the mark of Ozai's hate.

It looked almost worse.

His eye still too small. The place where an eyebrow should be standing out starkly. The skin around his eye clumped with makeup in a harsh contrast to the smooth unmangled rest of his face. 

It took exactly three and a half seconds for him to tear his face away from the mirror.

---

He could not hide it

Hatred burned into his skin

So he wiped it off

The next time Zuko put on makeup, he was a bit more prepared, having read up a bit on proper application and the like. He set his things on the desk in front of him, asking himself once again why he was even trying. The scar would always be there. Burned into his skin. Zuko had already spent his tips from the teashop on this, so he might as well try. But when he faced the mirror, he still couldn't hold his own gaze. He should be used to it by now, having lived with the scar for over two years. Having lived with Ozai’s contempt for as long as he could remember. But hope could be persistent. Zuko knew he could never earn his father’s love. That it wasn’t something a child could earn, that it should have been given to him from the second he came into his life. Zuko knew Ozai was wrong and hateful and abusive, but still he couldn’t help but hope on some days. Couldn’t help but hope that the mirror would show him something different than the truth

Hate.

Disappointment. 

Condemnation.

He moved the mirror, only his right side visible to him now. Maybe he could practise there until he could finally stand seeing his own face again.

But what good would that do? If he wanted to hide his scar he had to put the makeup on his scar. He adjusted the mirror again. If he didn't move, all he could see was his cheek. The rough skin looked bad, but not as horrible as his eye. As my whole face- he couldn't help but think. He put some foundation on his brush and began spreading it. Unsure how to hold the brush, unsure how to move the brush, unsure why he was even trying.

But the brush felt nice and if he just focused on this small part of his face he almost forgot what he was trying to do. So he kept going, letting the brush glide over his skin, adjusting the mirror ever so slightly as he kept going. Scooting closer to it when his eye came into view, not wanting to see it compare to the other one. The normal one. The intact one. Before he knew it he had covered it all. He was done. He pulled back from the mirror.

---

But it still looked wrong

His skin the same colour, but

A mangled landscape

Zuko gave up on trying to cover his scar. The skin was too broken to ever look normal. The eye too broken to ever look normal. He was too- No, Uncle wouldn’t want him to think like that.

But he couldn't deny that he liked putting on the makeup. The method of painting, as if his face was just a sheet of paper and not a testament to Ozai's cruelty. The focus only on a part of his face, without time to criticise when there was art to be done. The memory of his mother smiling down at him as she tickled his nose with the brush. So Zuko didn’t give up on makeup. Only now, he stopped trying to hide something that would always be there.

At first he tried to emulate other people’s makeup, starting with simple things, or what he had thought to be simple things. More often than not, it didn’t come out looking any good. The soft green around his eyes, however, did look quite nice and he couldn't help but think of his uncle's work apron as he looked at his face in the mirror. For the first time in a long time, he could see his own smile look back at him.

---

The face still the same

His again with colours and

Memories of love

At seventeen Zuko’s weekend routine now had an addition. Instead of reading or studying, he would put on makeup after his shift at the jasmine dragon and wipe it off in time for dinner. He would lock the door, set the mirror on his desk and take out the small bag from where it was stuffed in his bottom drawer. He would see how different colours looked against his face, how the shapes accentuated different parts of his face, but he wouldn't cover up his scar anymore. Mostly he settled on leaving it alone altogether, since the pigment didn't tend to feel all that good on it. He got good at it though. Now he even took pictures of it, mostly just to track his progress, but the first one he had taken was a celebration. Of the first time his eyeliner looked not only even but good. Never to show anyone though. Not that he really could show anyone, since Jin would definitely tell his uncle. It wasn’t that she was a telltale, but only a few people managed to spend much time with Uncle without letting some secrets slip.  Zuko still couldn’t quite believe how easy it had been to come out to his uncle, how accidental it had been.

So maybe it wouldn’t be that bad if Uncle knew. No it definitely wouldn’t be bad. But this wasn’t only a hobby, or something Zuko just was. This was something that helped him look in the mirror. Even if his face was bare he knew how well blue went with his eyes. Where to put highlighter to bring out his cheekbones. How to get the tail of his eyeliner just right. This was something that helped him see himself behind his face.

---

A way to separate

The now away from the past

Mask to see himself

There was a knock at his door.

"Just a moment." He called back. Uncle was early, usually Zuko would have at least another half hour until dinner. He grabbed a makeup wipe and almost scrubbed it at his face. But today he had finished the dishes early. Today he had been ambitious. Today there were delicate flowers on his cheekbone. Flowers he had drawn and cleaned off with a q-tip and redrawn over and over again until they were perfect. He couldn't just wipe them off. 

“Do you need to come in?” Zuko asked before he could think better of it. 

“Are you alright, nephew?” And there it was. He hated to worry his uncle, the man had done so much for him and Zuko still just served to make his life harder.

“Yes.” Everything was alright, he just didn’t want him to come inside and yet even Zuko could hear it in his own voice. The undertone that would tell Uncle that there was something.

“I only wanted to ask if you would like to join me on a walk before dinner” Uncle’s voice was as gentle as ever.

“Nope, I’m good.” Zuko could almost feel his Uncle’s disappointment through the door.

“I am worried about you.” There was hurt in his voice and there was nothing Zuko would hate more than hurting his Uncle. He had to tell him, or rather show him.

“Zuko,” Uncle paused and Zuko already knew what was coming, but he really was fine. But then again Uncle wouldn’t know that. Zuko had already thought of telling him, but this felt like it was his and only his. He was sure Uncle wouldn’t react badly. Hell, Zuko could probably come home with bags full of stolen stuff and Uncle wouldn’t be mad at him. But this had been the first skill he had ever honed that wasn’t for other people, not to convince them of his worth. It wasn’t even that he didn’t want to tell Uncle, he just didn’t want to tell anyone.

But then Uncle had continued talking. 

Zuko took a deep breath, he knew he didn't have to worry. He knew Uncle loved him. He knew Uncle would never be mad at him for this. And yet the walk from his desk to his door had never felt longer. Zuko put his hand on the door and before he could think himself out of it he opened it.

His eyes were glued to the floor and his voice barely above a whisper.

“It’s not done yet.” Uncle took a second to react, which was to be expected but still Zuko couldn’t help his internal freak out at the silence. 

“Oh, what lovely jasmine blossoms.” and Uncle’s words were filled with love and a split second later his arms were filled with a very relieved Zuko.

---

Flowers blooming free

Pressed against a smiling cheek

Honesty brings freedom

Uncle knew and despite Zuko's worries it still was his. He might be getting more pictures of flowers when Uncle went on a walk but he didn't pry. He never pried, only ever waited patiently with open arms and a cup of tea, and when the next Saturday came around, Zuko didn’t lock his door. But left it wide open as he settled in front of his desk. And he almost didn’t startle when the apartment door opened later and the sound of Uncle’s hum filled the space.

Zuko was about to pull out his phone when he realized something. He didn’t have to take the selfie in his room where the light didn’t reach in the evening. He could catch the sun as it set from the living room. Uncle didn’t look up from his book as he passed him on the way to the window. Zuko very much understood it as the gesture it was. That their home was a place for Zuko to be himself, that Uncle wouldn’t stare at him just for expressing himself. He very much appreciated it as well, even though he had shared his secret, didn’t mean he was quited ready to really talk about it.

Vulnerable trust

Held steadfast with time and pain

And wounds can still heal

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #zuko #atla modern au #zuko wears makeup #tw childhood trauma #tw child abuse mention #atla fanfic #zuko fanfic #zuko & iroh #hurt/comfort #angst with a happy ending #this is my first fanfic so i really hope its okay #alsoif u have any thoughts abt this at all please tell me #like even if u hate it i want to /know/ #and dont hide it in the tags idk how many notifs i get hhaa #thats a lie every notification gives me serotonin

[dapple-grey-mare]

atla social media headcanons

(brainstormed with my friend when we were messing around/being completely serious with our love for the characters)

in this modern au, iroh is the fire lord and lu ten is the heir. also, bending and the avatar is still a thing.

beware of shameless sukka and mai lee because those are the only ships i will accept no arguments about. (i’m also a zu/tara and t/aang shipper but you won’t find anything romantic about them in here)

read below the cut because it’s a lot

katara posts aesthetic photos and inspirational quotes on instagram and sokka never stops teasing her about it 

(he won’t admit it, but there are days where he gets super stressed and reads one of her posts and immediately feels better)

sokka keeps posting about suki (they’re not dating yet) and everyone hates it (but also loves it)

he also posts videos of stupid stuff he does alone and with his friends, as well as livestreaming q&a

(katara: sokka you aren’t actually famous)

sokka unironically vlogs

toph posts random pictures (usually of her feet or of the ground) and pretends it’s because she’s blind and can’t take proper pictures and everyone knows she’s just messing with them

but everyone does add alt text to their photos so toph can hear what’s in the photos and captions

the actual reason why toph is bad with instagram is that she wasn’t even allowed to have a phone when she was younger, as her parents thought it would be unsafe for a little blind girl (they were wrong)

the gaang eventually realizes that toph isn’t entirely messing with them and help her through everything

she now knows that she can post videos and will not stop filming her earthbending or her sessions with a blindfolded and vulnerable aang that she beats up in two seconds

aang posts a bunch of pictures of appa (who is a dog? still a sky bison? we don’t know)

zuko and suki don’t have instagram (zuko says it’s because he’s royalty and he doesn’t want to get stalked and suki just likes to do the exact opposite of what sokka tells her to) but their friends continue to pester them about getting accounts

zuko ultimately caves, but as a “fuck you” to all of them, he posts a selfie with suki captioned “say hello to my best friend and the only valid person in my life besides my mother and uncle”

sokka is outraged and he, along with katara because she’s the nosiest, find zuko’s account password, gather all of his friends and family (the valid family members only), take a selfie with all of them, post it with the caption “the best people around” or “the people i love most in the world” or smth uncharacteristically cheesy like that, then wait for zuko to notice

it gets a million likes

he eventually does notice and he swears to delete it but doesn’t

mai also does not have an instagram and she does not cave despite their constant badgering

she does cave, however, when ty lee asks her. she only needs to ask once.

azula is just subtly posting pictures with the royal palace as the background because she likes to flex

every year, katara posts a family picture on mother's day and/or her mom's birthday

also on mother’s day, each member of the gaang (even zuko because he really would do anything for his best friends) posts a picture of katara and very seriously celebrates her as a mother

they do the same with zuko on father’s day

every time aang posts, without fail, everyone in the gaang comments “BABY 🥺🥺🥺” and they refuse to stop

they convince iroh to make an official account for the jasmine dragon to bring in more business, but both iroh and zuko have no idea what they’re doing with it

so the rest of the gaang posts posters and menu items but since they all have different styles, every post is wildly different and customers are really confused

katara is all about the aesthetic and posts pics of her order almost every time, sokka livestreams and sneaks random videos of zuko working, aang actually really tries to help with marketing but it’s all just pictures of the menu which hardly every changes, toph has a schedule for posting pictures of chair legs, suki is the only competent one and with katara’s help, makes cool posters and edited videos

the first time someone tags zuko in a picture on their account, all their followers freak out about the fire nation prince in their game night or cafe outing

since then, they make a point to get zuko in all of their photos

as well as the occasional lu ten or iroh

suki’s first post is a video sokka took of her practicing martial arts with her warriors and at first, she was a little hesitant to exploit the kyoshi culture but kyoshi herself appeared and gave her permission to show off their badassery

since then, she’s posted tutorials and practice/teaching sessions

she’s also a makeup master and she posts standard makeup tutorials too, but she refuses to post a tutorial on the kyoshi makeup look in case people start appropriating it (sokka understands and stops asking her)

katara doesn’t like to show off her bending on social media, especially since it’ll mess up the aesthetic of her account, but once zuko posts a video of him practicing because sokka dared him to (he really can’t resist a dare), katara gets annoyed and does the same

it becomes a competition of sorts, but they never mention it outside of their posts, so the rest of the gaang doesn’t know if they should intervene or encourage it

(toph obviously encourages it, aang is conflicted)

(sokka is secretly rooting for katara, but he likes to annoy her further by cheering zuko on)

it’s pretty neck and neck for a while, but katara is a faster learner and surpasses him

zuko gets really upset with this and decides to post of a video of him practicing with his dao swords, since katara can’t do any fighting outside of her bending

(katara: that’s cheating, you’re a cheater, i hate your guts)

(she doesn’t)

sokka keeps trying to make zuko post a video of the dancing dragon and aang really wants to, but zuko refuses

they all have a shared youtube account with videos of them sparring, playing games, or just chilling

azula is in one of these videos and roasts each of them, and it’s the most liked video on the account

(toph is laughing the entire time but the second azula gets to her, she throws a rock in her face and the video ends)

sokka posts gaming videos and vlogs on his youtube, zuko draws the line at youtube, aang has a camera on his staff and livestreams the view of the ground as he’s flying, katara makes cooking videos, suki is a makeup guru, and toph is their designated guest star when they’re running out of content because viewers love her

every time sokka is in a post with a girl that isn’t katara, he gets shipped with them, so he starts baiting viewers with intentionally vague wording and shots that could be romantic

eventually, sokka and suki start fake-dating to get the extremely pushy viewers off his back, but in pure rom-com style, they fall in love for real

ty lee makes shopping vlogs and makeup hauls and these are the only things mai will say no to her about

one time, suki had toph try and do her makeup... it did not go well

(suki: i swear to kyoshi, you did this on purpose)

a lot of sokka’s vlogs involve him, aang, and toph lounging on the sofa (all of them but zuko share an apartment, zuko is trying to convince his family to let him move out of the palace) watching tv and eating chips

katara and suki hate it but they allow it as long as they clean up the mess

they draw the line once they catch the three of them simultaneously fart

(suki: sokka, i’m dating your sister now)

#avatar: the last airbender #atla #social media au #atla social media #katara #aang #zuko #suki #sokka #toph #azula #mai #ty lee #sukka #mai lee #gaang #they're best friends shut your mouth #zuko and katara being competitive little shits #zuko and suki constantly exasperated with everyone #uncle iroh just wants some tea #iroh #sokka toph and aang are PIGS

[fangzeronos]

Fanning the Flames Ch 2

Ch. 1

Over the next three days, Azula waited outside of the healing ward, hoping she’d be allowed to go inside and see Suki. Taking time only to sleep and eat, Azula spent every waking minute outside of the ward, her arms wrapped around herself. She knew that Shei was the reason she was being kept out, and she couldn’t blame Suki’s mother in the least. When she would sleep, the Fire Nation Princess found her dreams filled with Suki, both of them in some compromising positions, sending her already confused mentality about Suki spiraling out of control.

On the morning of the fourth day since Mahu’s attack, Moya walked out of the ward with Shei behind her. “How’s Suki doing?” Azula asked as she stood up, biting her lip nervously.

Moya smiled softly. “Because of her quick thinking, she’s going to be fine. Nothing internally was damaged, she’ll have another new scar to add to a lifetime of fighting, and her shoulder was simply dislocated. It was easy enough to put back in,” the healer said. “She’s asking for you.”

“I don’t approve,” Shei said, folding her arms. “It’s your fault she’s laid in that bed anyway. If you hadn’t come to Kyoshi—”

“If I hadn’t accepted Suki’s offer to come to Kyoshi Island for my own mental health, I’d be laid up in a hospital with healers watching every move I make, analyzing everything I say and do to make sure I’m not going ot hurt anyone,” Azula said. “Ma’am, I have been nothing but respectful since I walked into your home almost a week ago. I have held my tongue, when as little as three years ago I would have burned you where you stood for talking to a Princess of the Fire Nation like you have.” Her hands clenched at her sides, feeling the faintest sparks of fire ebbing over her knuckles, but she quickly tamped the anger down.

Taking a deep breath, Azula continued. “Consider us both lucky that I am making the effort to change my ways, Shei. Suki is laid in that bed because she pushed me out of the way. If she hadn’t, I would be dead because do you know how many people look at me like I’m a leper? Nobody would have come to my aid if Mahu had stabbed me or used that club of his on my skull. Suki took an attack for a friend, something I don’t know that I’ll ever have the strength to repay if situations are reversed.” She sighed, shaking her softly. “You may not like me, Shei, and that’s fine. I’ll add your name to the list of people that would like to see me hanged or locked away for the rest of my life. Right now, if you’ll excuse me, my friend is asking to see me.” She stepped past Shei, heading into the hospital.

Moya looked at Shei, the slightly younger woman looking like she’d been slapped by a badger-mole. “Shei…you had that coming, my dear,” she said, patting the other woman’s arm before walking in behind Azula. “Nicely said, Princess.”

“I didn’t want to start any trouble,” Azula said softly. “Ever since I stepped foot off of the airship, everyone’s treated me horribly. Except Suki and the other Warriors. I know my past is what’s known more, but I really am trying to be better than that. I don’t want to be that girl anymore. I want to change to be someone that Zuko can be proud of, someone my mother will love, and….someone that Suki can be proud of.”

Moya nodded, smiling softly before putting her hand on Azula’s shoulder. “Standing up for yourself and not incinerating Shei where she stood was a good start,” she said. “Come on. She’s this way.” She led Azula down the hall, knocking on Suki’s door and opening it. “Captain.”

Suki looked up, sitting up slowly with a wince. “Moya,” she said. She looked past the healer and smiled. “Azula.”

Azula walked over, sitting beside the bed, smiling sadly. “I’m sorry, Suki.”

“Don’t be. If it were anyone else, I’d have done the same thing. Any of my Warriors, Zuko, Aang, Katara. Any of them. I’d do it again if I had to,” Suki said, reaching over and putting her hand on Azula’s arm. “Are you ok?”

“I don’t know. I feel bad that you’re in here because of me. Your mother hates me because you’re in here, and I still can’t go anywhere without being treated like I did something wrong,” Azula said. “I know it’ll take time for everyone to see me as anything but the “crazed Fire Nation heiress”, but…until that happens, I can’t stand the looks I get.”

Suki nodded, biting her lip as she thought. “I know you can Firebend like nobody’s business, but how well can you defend yourself in hand-to-hand?” she asked.

“Fairly well. I was trained by Piandao and several prominent Fire Nation masters,” Azula said. “Why?”

Suki smiled. “After I’m out of here, I’m going to train you. As a Kyoshi Warrior.”

“What?!”

“Yeah. Why not? You’re here, we’re supposed to be training anyway, even on vacation, and it’ll be a way to get people to see you as more than a crazy person,” Suki said. “Besides, you’ve already been in the uniform and makeup once.”

Azula smiled a bit and nodded. “True. When we kicked your asses and disguised ourselves to get into Ba Sing Se,” she said.

Suki smiled, sitting up and wincing as she held her stomach. “Oh, damn…” She sighed, shaking her head softly. “I’m sorry about my mother. She’s adamant that this is your fault and that your being here is only going to cause more problems. She even told me “If that upstart little bitch of a princess so much as breathes at the wrong time, I’m cutting her throat.” That set Moya off. Didn’t do me any favors. I told her to shove it up her ass,” she said.

Azula sighed softly, shaking her head. “I understand why she doesn’t like me. There’s nothing I can do about it. Thankfully, some of the other people around the Island have been more welcoming then your mom,” she said. “Rahin’s been nice to me, and his wife has helped me a couple of times while you’ve been in here.”

“Yeah, Kyorah’s a good woman,” Suki said. “She used to be a Warrior.”

“Really?” Azula asked. “Well, I guess that makes sense. She’s got one of those fans above the mantle.” She sighed softly, rubbing her arms. “I wish you were out of here.”

“Me too,” Suki said with a small smile. “Give it a couple of days and I’ll be back home to stop Mom from giving you trouble. Just…ignore most of her comments. She’s just mad I got hurt and she couldn’t break the man responsible. She’s always been like that. Just give it time and she’ll come around.”

Later that afternoon, Azula finally left Suki in the hospital, returning back to Suki’s house. She could hear Shei in the workshop off the side, and she bit her lip, heading straight for the door.

“Azula,” Shei called, walking out with her apron and face covered in soot and ash, a headed billet of metal in her gloved hand. “Come in here. I want to talk.”

Azula bit her lip, nodding and following Shei into the workshop. She looked around, seeing Kyoshi Warrior fans, swords, and shields hanging on the walls, molds for casting weapons and various bits of metal for guards and pommels laying around the benches. She smiled a bit as she had flashbacks to Piandao’s workshop in the Fire Nation, having visited with Zuko and Iroh a couple of times.

Shei tucked the cooling billet back into the forge, pumping the bellows to get the fire hotter again. “I’m sorry,” she said after a few minutes of silence. Taking her tongs, she pulled the billet and put it in on the anvil, grabbing a hammer and starting to bash it into the glowing metal.

“What?” Azula asked. “Why?”

Shei sighed to herself, the sound of the hammer on the anvil ringing in the silence. “For how I’ve been treating you since you came to Kyoshi. Suki’s putting her faith in you that you’ll keep your calm and there won’t be a fiery explosion if you lose your temper, and all I wanted to see was the psychopath princess who wanted to watch the world burn. I wanted to hate you,” she said, tucking the billet back into the fire. “I wanted to hate you and let that hatred spill into others, running you from the Island. But…listening to what Rahin, Moya, and Suki all said, how she pushed you out of the way of Mahu’s attack…I realized I was the one in the wrong.”

Azula nodded softly. “I can understand why you’d hate me, Shei,” she said. “I’m Fire Nation, I tried to burn the Earth Kingdom down, I took over Ba Sing Se, and I almost killed my brother and his friends a thousand times. The last time the Fire Nation was on Kyoshi Island, Zuzu burned the place down. I understand why you hate me. Honestly, I hate myself.”

She watched Shei try and get her fire going again, seeing the forge wasn’t responding. “Let me try.” She walked over, rubbing her hands together, wisps of fire blossoming to life on her hands before using her firebending, reigniting the forge with blue fire. “It’ll burn a little hotter, so your billet will come up to temperature a bit faster but be easier to forge.”

Shei tilted her head and smiled softly. “Thank you, Azula,” she said, putting the billet back in the fire. “How did you know what to do?”

“Zuko and I spent a weekend with my uncle Iroh when he visited Master Piandao. He taught us how to forge, how to work the machines, the hammers, everything. It’s something I haven’t done since I was, Spirits….seven or eight years old. It’s been a long time.”

Later that night, after becoming exhausted from working with Shei, something Azula didn’t realize she’d enjoy, the Princess laid back on her bed, sighing as her eyes drooped closed. Her mind wandered to Suki, her dreams taking on a rather different tone that night.

Azula sighed as she felt one of Suki’s hands sliding up her stomach, her back arching as she felt the captain’s tongue against her clit, whimpering softly. Her hands tangled in Suki’s hair, biting her lip. “Suki…please…”

   Suki giggled as she reached her destination, squeezing Azula’s tits, playfully tugging on her nipples. “What, Azula? You want me to stop teasing?” she asked, pushing her fingers into the squirming girl under her. “Maybe. I just want you to feel good.” She lifted herself up and dug her fingers further into Azula’s depths, leaning down and kissing her. “Don’t you want to feel good?”

   “Yes…but you’re teasing….please…” Azula begged, her hips rolling against Suki’s fingers. “Baby, please…” She moaned as she felt Suki’s lips against her neck, her back arching slightly. “Suki…”

   Suki nipped Azula’s throat, curling her fingers inside of Azula as the heel of her hand ground against her girlfriend’s clit. “I love when you beg. It makes you get off so much harder,” she said, adding a third finger inside of Azula.

“Ahh! Spirits, Suki!” she whined. “Please, Suki…please…let me cum…” Her hips pushed against Suki’s hand, hearing her girlfriend laughing above her. “Suki…don’t be mean!”

   Suki smiled, kissing Azula again as her thumb started rubbing against her clit. “Then cum for me, baby,” she said, her voice low and seductive.

   Azula screamed as she felt Suki’s fingers digging against her, her entire body arching as she hit her peak. She sank to the bed, her eyes fluttering in a post-orgasmic bliss. “Holy…”

   Suki gently removed her fingers from Azula, bringing them to her lips and licking them clean. She heard Azula groan under her before she laid beside her girlfriend, kissing her softly. “Better, love?”

   “Mmmhmm…” Azula whispered. “You are so mean. Why do you always tease me?”

   “Because it’s fun,” Suki said with a smile, resting her head against Suki’s shoulder. “Besides, if I didn’t tease, you wouldn’t have as much fun.”

   Azula laughed and smiled sleepily, running her hand in Suki’s hair. “That’s true,” she said. “I love you, Suki.”

   “I love you, Azula,” Suki said, looking up at her and smiling.

Azula’s eyes popped open, whimpering as she pulled her hands out of her underwear, feeling the slick on her hand. “What…in the hell was that?” she muttered. “Oh, no. No, no, no. Azula, no….” As much as she wanted to deny it, the nagging in the back of her head was cheering “Azula yes!” as she got up and cleaned herself up. “How can I face her now?”

A few days later, after helping Shei with some new weapons for the Warriors, Azula stood in her room at the house, tightening the straps down for her new Kyoshi Warrior uniform. She sighed as she applied the make up, biting her lip as she set the brush down. A knock on the door sounded, breaking Azula out of her thoughts as she looked behind her.

“Hey,” Suki said, walking into the room. Her arm was still in a sling, and she was a little slow, but otherwise she was back up and going. “You look good, Azula.” She walked over, putting her hand on the other girl’s arm. “What’s wrong?”

Azula’s face heated up, her mind flashing back to the dream from a few nights before. She hadn’t been able to look Suki in the eyes for longer than a couple of minutes, and she hated lying to her friend. “I just feel…off wearing this,” Azula admitted. “Like a fraud who doesn’t belong.”

“You’ll be fine,” Suki said, squeezing Azula’s arm softly. “You just have to remember not to use your Firebending. I know it’ll be hard, but this is a good chance to learn, Azula. Phuong, Kim-Li, Kikki, and the others are going to be able to help you.”

Azula sighed softly, looking down. “I wish Ty Lee were here.” She wrapped her arms around herself, shaking her head. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“Yes, you can,” Suki said, putting her hand on Azula’s cheek. “You’re going to be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you. The girls are going to love you. You’ve seen how protective they are already. Remember when we stopped in Omashu? When one of the merchants tried to attack you? What happened?”

“Phuong jumped in and stopped him, breaking his arm and threatening anyone else,” Azula said with a light smile.

“Exactly. If that doesn’t prove the other Warriors are already on your side, then I don’t know what will,” Suki said. She pulled her hand back, Azula swearing that she felt heat on her face from Suki’s touch. “Come on. Let’s get you to the training yard and we’ll see what you can do.”

Azula walked out with Suki, heading down toward the training yard. She saw a couple of older women stop and stare at her, but she decided to ignore them, holding herself a little straighter as she made her way down. The pair walked into the training yard, Azula seeing the other Warriors chatting and having fun, Phuong redoing Kim-Li’s hair while Kikki sharpened her blade.

“Alright, ladies,” Suki said, clapping her hands together. “Let’s gather around. We’ve got a new recruit.”

The Warriors gathered in front of Suki, Phuong smiling. “Azula!” she said.

“Yes,” Suki said with a smile. “I offered her the chance to join us, give her something special to belong to. I expect you all to treat her with the same respect and admiration you’d show any woman of the Earth Kingdom who joins the Warriors. Just because she’s Fire Nation doesn’t mean she gets treated unfairly.” She looked at the Warriors with a cocked eyebrow. “Understand?”

“Yes, Captain!” the group of warrior women sounded.

“And that means no itching powder in her robes, Kikki,” Suki said, looking at her friend.

Kikki sighed dramatically and smiled. “Alright. I’ll behave.”

“Good,” Suki said. “Azula, stand in beside Phuong and we’ll get started. We’re going to start with the basics again, ladies. Always good to have a refresher while showing new Warriors the standards we uphold.”

Azula stood beside Phuong, the other girl giving Azula a smile. She stood and waited for Suki’s instructions, watching the other girls strip off their weapons, setting them aside before moving back into formation.

As the day progressed, Azula found herself struggling to keep up even with the basics of combat. She was doing her best to resist her Firebending, knowing it wouldn’t be good and she didn’t want to hurt anyone. Despite managing to keep up with Kikki and Phuong at various times, she fell to the mat more times then she’d have liked. When Suki called time for the last spar of the day, Phuong helped her up.

“You did good, Azula,” Phuong said with a smile. “You’ll get the hang of it the more you train and practice. It doesn’t come easy at first but give it time.”

Azula nodded, tugging at the skirt of the robes. “I think my problem is I’m used to doing all of my fighting in pants. The robes are throwing a wrench into my usual styles. And it’s so damned difficult not to use my Bending. I don’t want to hurt anyone, and I’m afraid that’s what I’d do if I lose control.”

Phuong gave Azula’s arm a squeeze, a reassuring smile on her face. “You’ll be fine. When you start feeling like you can’t do it, take a break and back up. Suki’d understand, and so would the rest of us. Slow and steady, right?”

“Yeah, slow and steady,” Azula said, looking over at Suki as she talked with Kikki and Kim-Li, the two backing up to join the others a few seconds later. She saw Suki look at her, a smile on her face, and Azula felt like every drop of blood rushed to her face, and a maddening heat pooled in her core, her mind flashing back to the dream again.

Phuong looked at Azula and then over to Suki, giggling as she saw how red Azula’s face was under the makeup. “Azula, you’ve got a crush,” she said.

“Shut up. No, I don’t,” Azula said, shoving Phuong and folding her arms. “Just shut up.”

Phuong grinned and smiled, hooking her arm around Azula’s neck. “Awww…it’s adorable.”

“I will ignite you,” Azula said, narrowing her eyes. “Shut up, Phuong.”

“Alright, gather up!” Suki called, the Warriors standing in their rank and file lines in front of the Captain. “You all did good again today. You welcomed Azula with open arms, and some of you took to training her yourselves. You’re living up to Avatar Kyoshi’s standards, and that’s something I’m happy to see. We’ll meet again tomorrow morning. Dismissed.”

The Warriors all gathered their things and walked out, Phuong catching up to Kikki and Kim-Li. Azula sighed as she sat on a bench, pressing her hands to her eyes and shaking her head. She felt Suki sit next to her, and she looked down.

“You alright?” Suki asked, putting her hand on Azula’s back. “Azula?”

“I’m fine,” Azula lied, biting her lip. “Just tired. I was on my back more today then I have been in a long time.” She stopped and sighed, shaking her head. “Not remotely how I meant it…”

Suki giggled and smiled. “It’s fine. I’ve probably heard worse innuendo out of Sokka,” she said. She walked out with Azula, locking the training yard behind her.

“What happened between the two of you?” Azula asked, following Suki home.

“Conflict of interest. He was working on Republic City with Aang and Zuko, and I was guarding Zuko all the time, and we never had a chance to meet up. If we did, it was for a few hours and then we were gone again,” Suki said. “And, y’know, him housing a crush on Toph and me sleeping with Zuko didn’t really help anything.”

Azula blinked. “You slept with Zuko?” she asked. “How did that happen?”

Suki chuckled, shaking her head. “Assassin tried to kill him in his suite. I killed the assassin, doing my job as his bodyguard, and the next thing I knew after Lei Fei and the others took the body away, Zuko had me pinned against the wall kissing me. Next thing I remember was waking up with his arms around me, marks on my neck, and my hips sore as hell from, apparently, nine or ten climaxes.”

“Spirits,” Azula said. “Can’t say I’ve ever had that with anyone.”

Suki hooked her arm around Azula’s, giving her a squeeze. “You’ll find someone. Maybe not on Kyoshi, but you’ll find someone someday.”

Azula bit her lip, patting Suki’s hand softly. “Maybe,” she said. “Maybe…”

“The problem is, I already did. But it’s not like you’ll ever see me that way, Suki. I’ll have to suffer because you’ll never see me the way I want to see you,” she thought.

#Fanning The Flames #Avatar The Last Airbender #Azula #Suki #Y'all ok #this chapter took me a month #A FUCKIN' MONTH #I've picked and pawed at it since August 9th #I hate that #Gonna try and be better #so anyway #we got sexy Azula masturbate dreams in this one #plus some badass ladies #woo #I kinda pirated Kikki from #Madamezuki #Phuong's my own OC #she's repurposed from Young Justice

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Mutilated Mannequin (Part 22)

Azula’s festival dress is form fitting and reaches just above her knees with a hem lined with a shimmery fringe of electric blue. Well aware that much of the festival and viewing party will take place outside, she finds herself the custom leggings that match the complexion of her skin. She slips them on and goes to fetch her necklace. She isn’t sure that she needs a necklace at all. The collar of her dress is eye-catching enough with its line of glimmering rubies. The entirety of the dress is adorned with many zigzagging fingers of that same electric blue. It starkly contrasts the bright red silk of the dress and glitters in the light. 

She wears her hair up and spices it up with blue and red glitter. It is slightly curled. Her mother has worked the better part of the evening to style it for her before wandering off to check on Zuko--who, with the help of their father, should be in his tux. 

She hasn’t yet seen her entire ensemble, but assumes that it suits her better than her homecoming dress did and she is glad that she hadn’t wasted wearing it then.

Azula closes stands before the mirror for a very long time with her eyes closed. The skin beneath her fingers is still so rough and somewhat lumpy. It alleviates her nervous anticipation none. 

She lets a few more moments pass her by before she opens her eyes. She both wishes she hadn’t and wishes that she had done it sooner. She wishes mostly, that she would have looked at herself earlier, that she would have given herself time to get used to the damage dealt. Most of the scar tissue is gathered on her cheek left cheek; a long and thin raised line where the blade had once dragged. In some places there are still lumps. Small lumps, but bumps sizable enough to be noticed with ease. Strangely contrasting the lumps, that cheek is sunken. Far too thin. Thin enough to make her look almost malnourished.  

Though the scar tissue is less on the right side of her face, she thinks that, that side looks profoundly more horrific. It is just as thin, perhaps moreso, and makes her wish that she still had her babyfat. At least then she had looked healthy. She considers for the first time, and all too late, that the puffiness that she had hated so much was perfectly natural.

Movement on that side is still terribly limited, rendering that half of her face slack. It is that slackness that seems to create the lack of symmetry. 

Azula’s stomach lurches, she never did like asymmetry, it always made her headache. It instilled within her this unbearable desire to recreate the symmetry and her head would throb until she did. But, God, she can’t create symmetry on her face. 

She wraps her arms around herself, leans against the wall, and slides to the floor. She had expected to dislike her new face, but she hadn’t expected it to make her feel physically sick. She lets out a small, gasping sob.  

She should have waited until after the festival to ruin her night. 

She feels queasy and anxious and suddenly it seems like a trick or a joke that Katara wants to spend any time with her, much less take her on a first date to a festival. 

“Azula!” She hears her mother shout. She tries to pacify herself. “Katara is here.” 

She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand and stands up, her stance is unsteady and somewhat weak as she makes her way towards the door. By the time she reaches the staircase, Katara is already halfway up it. She greets Azula with a bright smile, those big blue eyes seeming to sparkle under the chandelier’s light. Her dress is more practical with long sleeves and a long train, made of navy blue velvet. It is simpler than Azula’s own having only a few faux diamonds at the neckline and a trim of fake white fur on the sleeves and at the hem. Still, the dress is lovely and it fits her better than any excess glitz could ever. 

She wears her hair down in deep brown waves. Thin strands of her bangs are held back with two small, pearl hair combs. A few more pearls are weaved into her hair, Azula can’t tell if they are genuine.  

“Hi Azula. You look nice tonight.” 

Azula doesn’t believe that, not for a second. But she believes that Katara does and she says as much. 

“Are you ready to go?” Katara asks.

“I need to put some makeup on.” 

She must sound terribly glum. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Azula insists. 

“Let me help you with your makeup?

Azula nods. “I hope that you’re amazingly skilled with makeup because…” 

“I promise, it won’t take that much makeup to make you look beautiful.” She takes a limp Azula into a hug. Her head hangs over Katara’s shoulder as the girl rubs her back. 

“You can say what you really think.” Azula informs softly. “I already know…”

“I am saying what I really think.” Katara holds her ground. “That dress looks nice on you.” 

“It would look nicer on someone who has a flattering face to go with it.” She folds her arms over her chest. 

Katara’s expression darkens and that enthusiastic glimmer in her eyes is gone. “I thought that you were done with that…” 

“Yes. But then I actually saw what it looked like.”

Katara’s eyes go momentarily wide. “You mean that tonight is the first time you’ve seen your face since the surgery?”

Azula gives a slow and forlorn nod. 

“Oh, Azula.” She almost sounds like her mother. “What are we going to do with you?” She adds a small and sad laugh. 

“Fix my face?” Azula mumbles. “It’s gross.” 

Katara takes her by the shoulders and moves her so that she can look into her eyes. “I don’t want to change you, Azula. I don’t have any trouble looking at your face. Sokka doesn’t either. Chan and Tylee… and Mai. I think that you’re the only person who thinks that it looks gross.” Before Azula can open her mouth Katara adds, “Jet’s opinion doesn’t count and Yue’s we can consider but…”

“It’s questionable.” Azula finishes she forces a laugh. “I’m skeptical of anything Yue says.” She stands and beckons for Katara to follow her to her bedroom.

“I promise, you look fine. Your face doesn’t bother anyone that matters.”

“It bothers me.” 

“I think that you just have to get used to it.” Katara guesses. She picks up two lipsticks. “Which one do you want?”

Azula points at the bright red, Katara is already applying it when it occurs to her that such a bold choice in color will draw unwanted attention to her face. She hopes that the lipstick will be bright enough to keep their focus on her lips rather than her ravaged cheeks.

“You don’t understand.” She says after Katara swaps out the lipstick for some eyeliner. Katara quirks a brow and Azula takes that as her cue to continue. “Look at my room.” She gives her girlfriend a chance to take it in. It’s immaculate cleanliness and the tedious and orderly fashion in which all of her belongings are arranged from the alignment of her shelves, dressers, and bed to the collection of trophies on her dresser and crystals on her nightstand.  Even the stuffed pandas on her bed and the fairy lights wrapped around the bed posts are perfectly straight. There is an impeccable balance about the room. “It’s all symmetrical or at least balanced. Everything is where it is supposed to be.”

“I can tell.” Katara replies. “You’d hate Sokka’s room.” She dabs some eyeshadow gently atop Azula’s lids. 

“I don’t like when things are lopsided or out of place. It hurts my head. It’s like this itch that won’t go away until I straighten whatever it is up. I can’t do that with my face. It’s literally going to drive me insane.” 

Katara puts the makeup brushes aside and takes Azula’s hands. “You’re going to be fine.” She looks around the room. “How about this, you can wear one of those masquerade half-masks to the festival. You family has crazy cash, I’m sure that your dad could buy you a bunch of those masks until you’re comfortable looking at your face again.” She seems to grow more excited with each word. “It could be your thing! I don’t know anyone else who spices up their school uniform with a mask. I’m sure Pathik would make an exception to the dress code for you. He likes you.” 

“I guess that, that could work.” Azula replies. She picks up the mask that came with her dress and slips it over her face.”

“But since it was my idea I want you to do something for me.” 

Azula rolls her eyes. “What?”

“Just promise me that you’ll look at your face, without the mask, at least once a day. Even if it’s just when you brush your teeth or comb your hair in the morning.” 

“Perhaps.” 

“You have to get used to seeing yourself like this. I don’t want you to have to cover your face forever.” She pauses. “I want you to appreciate yourself for who you are. For that to happen, you’re going to have to…” 

“Accept it first.” Azula finishes. She inhales deeply and removes the mask once more. “I’m still going to steal your mask idea though.” 

“You really like attention, don’t you?”

“I like to...make myself known.” She clarifies. “I feel like people will remember the person who comes to school wearing a different mask every other day.” 

“Every other day?” 

“Yes.” Azula says. “I’ll tolerate looking at the asymmetry for a day and then I’ll give myself a break from that. Is that a problem.” 

“No!” Katara says quickly. “That’s...that’s actually more than I thought you’d be willing to do.”

“You thought that I was going to be dramatic about this didn’t you?” 

“You were definitely dramatic. ‘It’s literally going to drive me insane’.” Zuko mocks from in the doorway. Azula chucks her mask at him. “Jesus.” He rubs his arm, that goofy grin never leaves his face. 

“I thought that you’d want to take baby steps, is all.” Katara answers. 

Azula crinkles her nose. “If I’m going to do something, I’m going to put a real effort in.” She turns back to Zuko. “Where’s Mai?”

“Fussing with Tom-Tom again. You two are probably going to have to meet me there.”

“You’re our ride, dumb dumb.” Azula collects her mask and finds her favorite perfume; a rose fragrance in a dragon shaped bottle. “Do you want a spray.” 

Katara holds up a different perfume with a seashell bottle, “I’d like to try this one.”

“Go on.” 

While she is there, she might as well start now; she takes another breath and spares the mirror a look as she gives the perfume bottle a few pumps. 

.oOo.

“It’s beautiful!” TyLee gasps. “It’s been such a long time since I really looked at the stars.”

“Your gymnastics season is almost over, yes?” Azula asks. 

“Yeah, unfortunately.”

“You can follow Katara and I to the astronomy club.” 

“Oh yeah! I could do that!” She replies. 

“Do you guys want to try candle making?” Zuko cuts in, he jabs his thumb in the direction of an activity stall. 

Mai shrugs, “I’ll tag along.” 

“I like scented candles.” TyLee tugs Chan towards the stall. 

Azula exchanges a look with Katara, “do you want to make one together.” 

“I’d like that.” She smiles. 

Azula finds that she likes working with the wax, it warms her hands as she shapes the candle. Katara had insisted that they use blue wax and let Azula pick the shape. Ultimately she decides to make a simple pillar candle. She fades different shades of blue wax into each other while Katara etches in stars of silver glitter. It smells of blueberry and ocean spray. Both Yue and TyLee have created candles of pink; TyLee’s is a bubblegum scented pastel and Yue’s a bright pink, peach smelling abomination. It grows worse still when Kei Lo adds a touch of red apple. 

Expectedly, Mai insists on a black candle that smells of licorice and cherry.

“Where’s your brother anyways?” Azula asks. 

“He and Suki wanted to do a little holiday shopping before coming here, that’s why I told them to drop me off at your place.” 

“And Aang?” 

“I think that he and Teo are trying to convince Toph to come. She says that she gets tired of pointing at random spots in the sky and claiming to see aliens.” 

“She knows that there are other things to do here, right?” 

Katara shrugs and then takes a step back to look at their candle. “I think that we’re done.” 

Azula moves it to the drying rack to be picked up at the candle lighting hour. Katara takes Azula’s hand, “why aren’t you wearing gloves?” She asks.

“They don’t match my dress.”

“Your hands are freezing!” She exclaims. “Take my gloves or let’s go get a cup of hot chocolate. Geeze, my mom would kill me if I came out here without gloves!”

“I’m not cold.” Azula denies. 

“You are too.” Katara huffs. “You’re shivering.” 

Azula gives a soft and stubborn pout. “I’m fine.” She insists, her words accented by teeny puffs of fog that do little to help her case. The smoky wisps trail in brief bursts towards the sky. She watches them drift, fading away before they can even reach the strings of soft gold lights that connect one food stall to the next. The strings of light bob in the same snowy gust that shakes the paper lanterns.  She supposes that the atmosphere is very pleasing. Beneath her feet, the ground is a mess of star shaped confetti and silver glitter, not that the glitter is necessary with the natural sparkle of the snow accumulating on the ground.

Every twelve feet or so is a small fire where people gather and warm their hands. Katara is pulling her in the direction of one of them. She rustles around in her oversized backpack and pulls out a blanket. “Here, take this.” She wraps it around Azula and steals a look at the nearest food stall. Azula slips her a handful of cash. She gives Azula a brief hug and makes her way to the stall. 

Azula sits there listening to the crackle and pop of the flames. She supposes that she is happy to be wrapped in the blanket. Her hands were beginning to grow red. Katara returns with two steaming cups of hot chocolate. “S’mors?” She offers, gesturing to the sticks. 

“Yes, that sounds nice.” 

As Azula sips her drink, Katara twirls two marshmallows over the flames. 

.oOo. 

Azula is rather quiet and Katara has trouble gauging her mood. She is fairly certain that the girl is content. At the very least, her teeth aren’t chattering anymore. Katara doesn’t think that she has ever seen someone get so cold so fast. 

She watches the girl tinker with her telescope and then with her own. If only having one free hand is slowing her down, she sure doesn’t show it. Azula looks up from her work and Katara can finally gauge her emotions. She does look rather elated, more so than Katara has seen her look in a while. 

They are only minutes away from Sozin’s comet passing. Katara looks down from the top of the hill; from top to bottom it is alit with hundreds of flickering candles. A sea of twinkling flames and thin wisps of smoke. 

“We’re all set.” Azula notes. 

Katara can’t imagine how thrilled the girl must be to finally see the spectacle that gave her family such an esteemed name. 

“Sozin’s comet will be the first to fall and then the rest of them should appear.” Azula remarks with more enthusiasm than Katara has ever heard in her voice. Every now and again she leans into the telescope. Katara decides that it is best to make her way over to her own. 

It happens quickly; a flash of brilliant orange in the sky as the comet flares into view. It is humbling to view such an old object. One that very well could have been around since the dawn of man. From such a distance it looks so small. Even still it is beautiful to behold with its fiery tail and the trail of dust and debris it leaves behind. Katara follows it with her telescope until it dips below the horizon and out of view. 

It was such a fleeting moment, but then, the most glorious moments usually are. A second or two of splendor, a minute at most and then all is ordinary once more. She supposes that the universe knows that beauty is best appreciated when it is a rarity to be seen. Even so, the moment isn’t entirely over. 

Just as Azula noted, the sky becomes crowded with many falling stars. A rain of them that leave silver-blue lines in their wake like contrails of an aeroplane.

“Wow this is…” 

“Magnificent.” Azula finishes.

Katara thinks that there is no better word. 

She feels arms wrap around her torso and a blanket falling over her shoulders. Azula isn’t quite tall enough to rest her had in the crook of Katara’s neck so she presses her mostly healed left cheek against her back. 

Content to finally see Azula initiating physical contact for once, Katara doesn’t move. Not until it occurs to her that her girlfriend is slightly trembling again.  

“Let me warm you up?” She offers. 

Azula takes a step back. Katara takes her blanket and wraps it around herself. She then takes Azula into a hug and wraps the blanket around the both of them. Azula peers up at her, snow clings to her lashes. Katara never realized how small the girl was until then. She gives Azula a cheerful smile.

The comets still burst overhead, she can see them reflected in Azula’s eyes as the girl stares up at them. She doesn’t want to interrupt her viewing, but at the same time, she craves their first real kiss. So she cups Azula’s less delicate cheek and leans in. 

Azula doesn’t flinch or draw back as Katara had anticipated. The girl closes her eyes and lets Katara guide her through what she assumes is the girl’s first real kiss. Katara can’t tell if Azula’s face is rosey with the cold or because she has never been kissed before. 

No matter, she seems to be at peace. 

She sniffles.

“Let’s look at the comets for a few more minutes and then get inside before you get yourself sick.” Katara suggests.

“I’m fine.” Azula insists, but she doesn’t protest when Katara begins to pack away their equipment and she doesn’t put up a fight when Katara begins tugging her towards the banquet hall. 

Katara herself is relieved to be out of the cold, she was beginning to shiver herself. She watches Azula wander over to the chocolate fountain where she greets TyLee who has a rather absurd amount of chocolate covered fruit already gathered. Chan says something and the three of them laugh. She wishes that she could have heard it but she is thrilled to see Azula in such good spirits, especially after seeing her look so dismal and beat down. 

“She seems happy.” Mai notes. 

Katara nods. 

“What did you do to  her?” Zuko flashes an amused grin. 

“I gave her some hot chocolate and a blanket...and then a kiss.” 

“Hey, thanks for doing this for her.” Zuko says. “She really needed a good night like this. Even if she doesn’t tell you, it means a lot to her.” 

“I know.” Katara smiles. “I can tell.”

#Avatar #Azula #Katara #Azutara #TyLee #Zuko #Mai #Fanfiction

[focusas]

You were never even a player

This fanfiction ignores atla comics. Long fanfiction under cut.

Two years after the war has ended Azula broke out of asylum and disappeared in a country side. This news greatly shocked Zuko. That fear was mostly fueled by Iroh telling that you can’t let Azula roam freely or she will come and deal with you when you were sleeping and instead should be found and dealt before she has any chance to harm him. Iroh never liked Azula, or maybe it was that he saw Ozai inside that girl, so it was natural for him to think that it will be easier to deal with Azula if she was locked in some dark cell where everyone would forget she even existed. So after Zuko had talk with Iroh for any advice on how to deal with his sister, he was so shocked that he called Katara, Aang, Sokka, and Toph to palace to discuss this disaster and how they could find his ‘deranged’ sister. Those were his exact words that he wrote in letters asking his friends for help. Zuko was wolfbat shit insane that his sister may do something nasty and take his throne for herself while at same time Iroh was calmly sitting and drinking his tea. It was so funny to mess with his nephew. Zuko knew that Azula could be extremely clever and lethal and to get into her hands would be fate worse than death, but that was just his superstitions. So after all group has assembled in Fire nation royal palace, they started to think about plan to find Azula and how to deal with her after that. Zuko was the first to talk and offered to lock Azula in another mental asylum with bigger guard escort to make sure she doesn’t escape this time. The gang were mostly silent on this topic expect for Sokka saying that if Azula managed to escape from previous place she may find way to get out from next too and to lock her in that horrible place may not be the brightest idea, but no one listened to him and instead said that they will think what to do with her when they found her.

It was easier to say that to do. All trails leading to places that Azula may have visited or stayed were already cold and would lead do dead ends or it would take so much time to get to other place than no trace of Azula would be found when any gaang member would reach that place to check it out. So after months of searching Zuko once again summoned everyone to Fire nation royal palace to summarize everything they have found until this day.

Everyone, that is Sokka, Katara, Aang, Zuko and Toph, were walking palace corridors and discussing their journeys through Fire nation before entering room where the real meeting was supposed to be. They all sat on cushions with huge maps laid before them.

“We have already searched entire capital island” Zuko pointed to one island map laid before them “Ember island and Black cliff” Zuko pointed to other maps.

“I have checked Jang Hui and nearby islands and can ensure that she wasn’t there too.” Katara pointed another batch of maps.

“And I have checked … ” Sokka started to talk, but was interrupted when new voice have rang nearby.

“It’s good that you all have met here.” Sing song voice rung nearby and everyone jumped out of their place. “It was already getting boring to play hide and seek with you.”

“Azula!” Zuko was the first one to speak.

“How did you get in here?” Toph demanded the answer. She was so sure that her skills in earthbending and her seismic sense would help her greatly to find the crazy Fire nation princess, but somehow that girl managed to sneak past her and was standing nearby. It was big insult to Toph who thought to be the greatest earthbender and that no one could hide from her all seeing feet.

“That’s easy to answer! I was already here when you entered this room.” Azula smirked at people standing before her. “And i could have killed you all if I wanted to do so!” Azula’s smirk grew even bigger with those words at same time fear started to crept inside Zuko and other people minds.

“You were here all this time?” Toph asked unsure of what to do. She was sure the room and all corridors or other places leading to this room were empty and that there was no way that someone could creep behind her. Yet here she stood before them in all her glory; princess Azula of Fire nation.

“I came here today to say that you are wasting your time looking for me. While it was funny to play with you, it soon became boring. You weren’t even a player in this game and it was so easy to mislead you on wild goose chase. It was even funny sometime.” Azula turned to look at Sokka and Toph “did you enjoy trip through the sewers? I knew you had some funny experience with local dwellers there” and could see how they shrug their shoulders remembering this mentioned detail.

“What’s your point?” Toph asked the question everyone had on their tongue tip, but no one dared to ask.

“I am glad that you asked.” Azula once again smirked. “I would like to state that I made complete recovery and if you try to lock me once again in that horrible place. I will escape and kill you for that. So it’s better than we settle this thing peacefully before anything bad has happened to anyone. Fire can be so hard to control sometime.”

“You got better, so what? What are you going to do now? You can’t attack us all. You are surrounded and there is no way out of it without causing huge havoc.” Zuko stated and moved into position to defend himself or attack Azula if it would call for it.

“I came to claim what is rightfully mine!” Azula replied to her brother.

“Do you want my throne? You aren’t getting that!” Zuko stated and moved another step forward with hands extended and ready to shoot fire and his crazy sister.

“Throne?” Azula looked at Zuko and ignored his unspoken threats. “You can keep it… for now, but I am sure we could find ways to work it out later. For now I am taking back everything that you take from me when you locked me in that spirit damn place. I am going to stay here, in my apartment, and annoy you like we used do before you did that stupid thing and got yourself banished!”

“You what?” Katara was unsure what was happening here, but to be safe she opened her water pouch and prepared to defend if the need arise.

“Who’s to say you wouldn’t start acting crazy and kill us all when we least expect it?” Katara asked Azula, who looked too calm when she was surrounded and outnumbered.

“It looks like this peasant girl has some trouble with hearing. Like I previously said, if I wanted you to be dead I could have done so when you were looking for me or when you entered this room.” Azula answered the question. “It was horrible at first to hear the voices in my mind and the power that ran through my body when the comet was passing adobe didn’t help at all, but I finally managed to work it out. I learned that the voices I heard weren’t in my mind, but in other people heads and minds. You could even say it was ground breaking discovery!” Azula took small moment to stop and recount her memories. “But after I found out that thing, it was easy to find the solution to problem and what was happening to me. I was hearing other people thoughts in their heads and later learned how to block them. It is surprising what you can do when you are locked inside house with bunch of crazy or insane people, especially when you are the only sane. Even doctors there were a bit wacko!” Azula recounted her experiences. Everyone was stunned after hearing this explanation.

“You are lying! We all know that you are very good at it and are just messing with our minds now!” Zuko stated after his mind processed what Azula has said minute ago and then he slightly turned his head toward Toph as if waiting for her to disprove it.

“Can’t accept that I can hear your thoughts or read your mind, Zuzu? Do you need a confirmation? Fine! Here it goes.” Azula focused all her attention to Zuko.

“You have a dirty mind, Zuzu. I can see you are thinking about bunch of naked girls dancing with you and calling you ‘Your honor’ to get yourself distracted that your sister maybe telling truth and could actually read your mind.” Azula told to Zuko who was fast to disprove it, but that just made situation worse.

“Oh now I get names connected to girls. Damn, Zuzu, I never thought you will be like that. I can see Mai, Ty lee, Katara and Suki there. I can understand why Mai and Ty lee would be there, but Katara and Suki? A peasant and too much makeup using girl? Really? There are also someone named Song and Jin and June, but I don’t know who they are. Please think more about them.” Azula continued to speak and Zuko become red like tomato. If someone saw him now it may even say he was burning from shame and humiliation after his deepest secret was exposed or that his face once again become one color, red, again. Azula continued to smirk and had a lot of fun. “Thanks for thinking about them now I know who they are. I can understand why Song, who was good for you, but you decided to repay her for it by stealing their ostrich horse, and Jin who was your Ba Sing Se crush could be here, but I never expected that you would like older woman like June too!” Azula was having lot of fun making Zuko sweat, but she was interrupted by Katara stating that if Zuko wants to think about bunch of naked girls dancing with him he has the right to do so and that she should stop this nonsense. At same time Katara and Aang were feeling uneasy.

“Oh just look who’s talking! I know that you both, that is Aang and Katara, think nothing else, but how to make out at any given moment, but … how about you chill? I know that Aang was huge responsibility to recreate his nation, but maybe you wait until you grow up? The things I could see in your minds are … what was that word Sokka use? Oogies!” Azula turned her attention to Katara and Aang and if they weren’t red before, now their faces were same red as Zuko’s. Azula never imagined she would have so much fun by messing with these people today. It was fascinating!

Suddenly the ground shifted and Azula was now facing Toph who was cracking her knuckles as if reading to fight.

“I ‘see’ that you are having lot of fun with these dorks, but you wouldn’t get me.” Toph stated and pointed at Azula. “Let see if you can truly see what I am thinking now!”

“You?” Azula started to laugh while looking at blind earthbender. “You are even easier to read! All you think about is how to wreck as much chaos as possible and then there is something about melon lord. Oh it’s your alter ego, like it was Blue spirit for Zuzu, Painted lady for Katara, or Wang Fire for Sokka.” Azula’s sight landed on Sokka and stopped there. Then her hand rouse in the air and slapped Sokka’s cheek.

“Stop imagining me naked!” Azula growled and locked her eyes on Sokka as if trying to find out his deepest and darkest secret that she could expose and make fool out of him. They both stood one before another with their eyes locked looking straight at each other as if this was some unspoken battle where the first one to blink would be considered looser. One minute passed, then another, but nothing changed except Azula’s face getting redder with each passing second. Finally Azula couldn’t take it anymore and her hand once again rouse up and hit Sokka in the stomach forcing him to scream and fall on the floor.

“I am nothing like what you said! Nothing!” Azula screamed and rushed toward room’s exit.

At same time, outside in the corridors, Suki and Ty lee were walking when they heard Sokka’s voice that was soon followed by Azula’s voice. So it was normal that they assumed something bad was happened there and they rushed toward its source. Ty lee was the first to enter the room and saw Azula coming toward her with Sokka lying on the ground. The acrobat jumped forward and tried to chi block the enemy, but Azula side stepped her and slapped Ty lee across face forcing Ty lee fall on the ground and hold her hand to her cheek before low growl escaped Ty lee’s mouth. At same time Suki extended her fans and prepared to engage Azula, but Azula just ran pass her as if she wasn’t here.

“What just happened here?” Suki asked everyone gathered in this room then after she was sure Azula wasn’t anywhere close, she helped Ty lee to stand up. The girl was still holding her cheek covered with her hand.

“Are you ok?” Suki asked Ty lee and removed Ty lee’s hand from her cheek only to stop there when she found four red stripes on it with some blood flowing out of them.

“Now you really need to tell me what is happening here and more importantly if I should alert all palace guards to help deal with this situation.” Suki asked anyone that could answer her question. At same time Ty lee once again covered her cheek with her hand, but it was clear that it pained her greatly.

“Yeah, I too would like to know what just happened here, Snoozles.” Toph replied while Katara moved toward Ty lee to inspect her wound. Looks like all this time Azula never trimmed her nails and they grew large enough to be used as weapon and Ty lee was unfortunate to be the first to test just how large and painful they could be. Katara put away Ty lee hand, summoned water, and started to heal Ty lee. Both Sokka and Zuko winced when they saw Ty lee face and four stripes on it.

“Don’t worry! You will be fine and no scaring should be left after I finished.” Katara ensure Ty lee trying to make her feel better.

“You are right. We should gather palace guards and move to confront Azula before she hurt anyone else.” Zuko come to Suki and they both left the room.

“Just what did you say to that crazy spicy princess, Snoozles?” Toph asked Sokka after Zuko and Suki left the room.

“Oh, just some stuff. You really don’t want to know it.” Sokka casually replied to Toph.

o0o0o0o

Zuko and Suki gathered guards and moved to look for Azula to find the place where she would be hiding. Neither Zuko nor Suki had any idea where they should start to look for Azula since there were so many places where she could be, but one senior guard decided to speak and suggested to check princess former apartment where she lived before the end of war. Zuko decided that it was good place to start looking for her and everyone went there. After reaching Azula’s former apartment Zuko decided that only he and Suki should go in and confront Azula there alone and would only call guards if there will be need for them. Zuko opened the doors, entered the room and surprisingly Azula was sitting in this room.

“If you really wanted to talk to me you really don’t need to bring half of all palace guards or are you just so scared that your mean sister would do something bad for you?” Azula greeted the vistors. “And I also see that you brought one of those naked dancers with you too.”

“You need to do some explanations, Azula!” Zuko growled.

“I don’t see what I need to explain here? I am going to stay here and there is nothing you can do about it if you don’t want huge scandal on your hands.” Azula replied to Zuko in calm tone.

“What kind of sick game you are playing here?” Zuko asked Azula.

“It’s not a game. I returned to the rightful place that i belong. Don’t worry I already notified servants that I am going to stay here so you don’t need to do anything, Zuzu.” Azula relaxed in her seat and ignored two angry faces that wanted to burn hole in her face with angry starring.

“You know I could get you locked in mental asylum or trialed for the crimes you did during war and got rid of you.” Zuko decided to turn conversation his way.

“Oh don’t joke me. You wouldn’t want to do anything like that. There is no crime you could blame me and even if you managed to create some fictional I would find way out of it or drag you with me. It’s you who should be wary that someone from Earth kingdom doesn’t decide to press charges against you for everything you did there while chasing avatar all those years. After all you always were the violent and not me.” Azula inspected her nails to make sure she got all red skin out that was left there after her contact with Ty lee.

“So what now?” Suki decided to speak for the first time, but was completely ignored by Azula so Zuko repeated it.

“Looks like you have some problem with hearing, but that can be excused, maybe when father burned your face, he also damaged your ear. Or maybe you become so stupid after one too many times someone dropped you and you landed on your head. Ok, fine. I will repeat it. I am staying here, in PALACE, and going to annoy you like all those good old days, when we were still family.” Azula casually replied to Zuko.

“What if I don’t want for you to stay here?” Zuko asked his sister.

“Did that old fool once again got to you? You don’t want any problem with me and I don’t want any problem with you and could have killed you at any time if I wanted, but I don’t. Don’t force me to do anything that you would regret later and I wouldn’t say Sokka what you do with his girlfriend in your room at night.” Azula smirked and saw how both Zuko and Suki started to feel uneasy after hearing it.

“What about Ty lee? Did you really need to do it?” Suki asked Azula and this time Azula decided to reply to her.

“It is unfortunate that she appeared in wrong spot at wrong time, but she deserved to get bitch slapped and I don’t feel sorry for anything I did.” Azula looked at Suki. “Next time you visit my brother’s room, you can also invite her. I know that you both would want to experiment with it. Please do mind and stop thinking what you are going to do later this night. I don’t want mentally scaring image to plague my dreams.”

Next several minutes were spent with starring at each other and trying to decide what to do next. Azula was casually fixing her nails while Zuko and Suki stood before her red face and unsure of what to do. Finally Zuko turned around and left the room and after he was out he dismissed all but two guards that should be posted to stay near door entrance to check on his sister if she decided to leave.

“What was that?” Suki asked Zuko when they were alone in palace corridors.

“I … She is going to stay here. That way we can always know where she is and see what she do. If we let her run wild there is no telling how much chaos she could do. It’s better that she stays were we could see her at all time. ” Zuko started to speak with Suki. “ And  looks like she learned how to actually read other people minds, not that she didn’t know that already, but now she can Actually hear what we are thinking and … Ty lee? Did you really think about Ty lee?”

“No. I didn’t think about Ty lee. Well I thought what has happened to her today, but nothing about her… and us.” Suki started to fidget.

“Good. Me too didn’t think anything about her… and us. Maybe we should postpone our nightly activities at least until we can be sure Azula don’t do anything?” Zuko proposed to Suki who decided to disagree with him.

“I think opposite. This is perfect opportunity for me to perform my guard duty and stay with you all night to make sure you are safe.”

o0o0o0o

Azula was playing with everyone and they weren’t even player in her game. Well everyone except Sokka, but Azula was already planning to get this boy for herself. Happy with how things were going Azula decided to go and look for her prey. It was already dark and perfect time to further her goals.

Sokka couldn’t sleep and decided to get some snack and went to royal kitchen. He was walking dark corridors with only light from torches illuminating passage ways and making creepy shadows play on the walls when arm appeared out of darkness and pinned him to the wall. Sokka wanted to scream and fight this mysterious arm, but decided against it when face appeared several seconds later. It was Azula so instead of screaming like small child and running away, Sokka decided to face the princess head on and hold nothing back.

“Did you really mean everything what you said earlier today?” Azula demanded Sokka. The shadows playing on her face, made her even scarier that anytime he ever saw her. Azula was master as scaring people wolfbat insane when it come to it.

“Yes! You are as smart as you are beautiful and you are drop dead gorgeous.” Sokka smiled and decided to humor the princess and instantly saw how her features has softened and started to look more like regular girl instead of some scary spirit that came to claim his life. “You should know that already if you can read my mind. Hmm… Do you want to join me for some snack in the kitchen?”

“Thanks, I guess. I would love too.” Azula was unsure of what to do. This wasn’t supposed to be part of her plan. Sokka was supposed to run away screaming like a baby and making fool of himself, yet he stood up her challenge. So she decided to follow him to the kitchen.

“So do you really can read our minds or is this just another of your tricks?” Sokka asked Azula while sitting on table.

“Yes, fool I can actually hear your mind, but for now I am suppressing this ability since I don’t want to know what everyone is doing.” Azula answered the question.

“Cool! So what it’s feels like?” Sokka was genuine surprised he could talk with Azula like regular person without sass attached to every word.

“It feels strange. Don’t tell anyone, but when I open my mind i am instantly assaulted like a damn was breached and thousands voices start to ring in my mind and I need to filter all that noise if I want to reach someone special.” Azula took a sip of glass of water. “Some minds are lauder while other are more silent. For example Zuko is extremely laud right now in his chamber with a girl. That’s why i have to suppress my ability to hear other people thought for now.” Azula didn’t know why she decided to be open with this guy, but it felt relaxing to talk with someone about it without getting called crazy.

“Meh, that most likely is Zuko and Mai having fun. I heard they were couple or something like that.” Sokka replied to Azula after taking bite of his meal.

“But Mai is here.” Azula pointed to blade wielder who was fast to leave the room and could see that Sokka was surprised by this bit of information. It was strange how this guy could be clever at one point and clumsy and clueless at other. Looks like she would need to adapt her strategy to it and then no one will be a player in her grand game of life.

#Azula #atla #azula week #Sokka #Zuko

[sokkascroptop]

traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 8

part 1 | part 7 | part 9

A/N: seems a bit anticlimactic when we all knew it was going to happen. I hope y/n learns that she isn’t the burden. Anyways, here it is. 

Y/N bit her lip to stifle a snicker, she heard Azula do the same on her right. Y/N felt a twinge of sadness for what she had done. Here she was, laughing with her friends like she’d done nothing wrong. 

The Earth King had welcomed the four of you, no questions asked, into his court.  The disguises were working and for once it felt like things were going in your favor. Y/N knelt at the foot of his throne with Azula, Mai and Ty Lee, as King Kuei recounted all that happened. Y/N had to admit, he was a little dramatic as he gestured around wildly, so much that he was constantly pushing his glasses up his nose. Y/N was surprised the bear didn’t take his hand off when he came too close. 

“You couldn’t have come at a better time. My most trusted advisor Long Feng and his Dai Li agents tried to take control of Ba Sing Se from me.”

Azula shook her head. “It’s terrible when you can’t trust the people who are closest to you.”

Blood rushed in Y/N’s ears like the thumping of drums. Surely Azula wasn’t talking about her? Right? No. No, she didn’t know. She couldn’t know. Y/N was careful when she gave Suki that fan. It was just a coincidence that The Earth King had just been betrayed by his long time friend and close confidant at the same time that Y/N had done the same thing to Azula...

“–luckily the rest of the Dai Li are absolutely loyal to me, and we haven’t had a problem.” Kuei leaned over to pet his bear on the head. “Isn’t that right, Bosco?” he placed a kiss on the bear’s nose. 

“Ew,” Mai muttered beside her. 

Y/N bit her lip to stifle a snicker, she heard Azula do the same on her right. Y/N felt a twinge of sadness for what she had done. Here she was, laughing with her friends like she’d done nothing wrong. 

---

The Earth King gave the girls a separate house to stay in while they were there. It was next door to the palace but Azula was happy for it; it was outside of any prying eyes and ears there might be. 

Ty Lee and Mai were seated at the large vanity cleaning their faces of the thick greasepaint. Y/N was on the balcony looking at the stars, and Azula was pacing and plotting behind her. Their faces were already scrubbed bare, having raced to the mirrors first. 

“We have come across an extraordinary opportunity girls.” Azula drawled as she approached Y/N. 

“Mai finally gets to wear makeup that not totally depressing?” Ty Lee giggled. 

“Ha. Ha.” Mai glared at her and then held her cloth out to Y/N. “Please come get this off my face.” She demanded. Rings of black circled her eyes and she still had white paint on the tip of her nose. Y/N brushed past Azula–who went to stand where Y/N was before and wiped gently under Mai’s eyes. 

“I’m talking about conquering the whole Earth Kingdom,” Azula said as she stared out at the palace grounds. All three girls jerked their heads around to stare at her. 

“For a hundred years, the Fire Nation has hammered away at the walls of Ba Sing Se from the outside. But now we’re on the inside and we can take it by ourselves.”

“Gosh, you’re so confident. I really admire that about you.” Ty Lee gushed. Mai and Y/N looked at each other and simultaneously rolled their eyes.

Azula continued. “From the inside we’re in the perfect position to organize a coup and overthrow the Earth King. The key is the Dai Li. Who ever controls the Dai Li, controls Ba Sing Se.”

“How do you know?” Y/N asked. She reached for Mai’s chin and continued wiping her face. 

“The Dai Li work as a team. They wouldn’t be divided in who they were loyal to. I bet that Long Feng still controls them from prison.”

“So what’s your plan?” Mai asked.

“Glad you asked.” Azula’s gold eyes glinted dangerously in the light. 

---

Ty Lee and Mai both had said good night and went their rooms about a hour ago. But Y/N couldn’t make herself get up and leave. She laid on the floor of Azula’s room on her back, staring at the wooden beams above her. It didn’t matter how tired she was or how much she wanted to sleep in a bed, once her head hit the pillow, sleep would evade her. Guilt would poke at her until her head ached and the sun was rising. 

She wished she had a way out. A way to leave Azula and the girls and go back home without getting in trouble, but she knew couldn’t have both. She couldn’t leave and still be friends with them. There way no easy way for her to tell them either. The only way she could leave is if she snuck away. 

“I appreciate you coming with me,” Azula said from the balcony. She rested her head on her hands and looked out at the earth kingdom, land that she was about to claim for the Fire Nation. 

“I wasn’t aware I had a choice in coming.” Y/N replied. 

“You didn’t. Still. It’s much better to be doing this with friends at my side.”

“Yeah,” was all Y/N said. 

“I trust you, explicitly.” Azula turned from the balcony and towered over Y/N.

Y/N rolled to her feet. “Yeah?” She was taller than Azula, but she always felt like she was looking up to the younger girl. There was a little skip in Y/N’s heartbeat. That... was unexpected.

“I know that you would do anything I asked you for.”

“Azula I–” Y/N bit her lip. She held back everything she wanted to come flowing out of her. Azula, I’m leaving. Azula, I’m sorry. Azula, I didn’t mean to hurt you. Azula, I love you.

Instead Y/N asked something safer, but had the same heaviness about it. “Azula, why does everything fall to you? To us?”

“Because whose else could do it?” Azula narrowed her eyes. “Zuko is a failure. Iroh is a failure. Everyone fails. Except for me. Taking Ba Sing Se will be the first of many victories I will take in my father’s name.”

Y/N didn’t know what to say to that. She just nodded like she understood. She kind of did, her father always needed proof that she was good enough too. But he was nothing like Ozai. 

Y/N packed her bags that night. She didn’t have much, just a few changes of clothes, her sword and her armor. And then she sat there. All night, awake staring at nothing until her eyes burned with sleeplessness; until the sun peeked over the horizon. 

Then she painted her face and got dressed in the Kyoshi warrior dress and pretended that she didn’t mean to leave at all. Because that was just who she was. 

Y/N was a coward. And she hated herself for it. She could feel her soul being ripped apart at the idea of staying. But she wasn’t strong enough to stand up for herself and she wasn’t strong enough to leave. She was loyal to Azula. So she was going to do the only thing she knew how to at this point, and it was conform; obey.

Hearing what Azula had to say last night made her feel worse that ever. Azula had said she trusted her, and that meant a lot. She sometimes showed that she lay trust in Y/N, but telling her? Someone who was normally so headstrong and independent admitting that she was putting her faith into Y/N; she could tell it was difficult for Azula to admit. 

---

They sat in the throne room laughing. Their plan was going to work. The Dai Li had heard Mai and Ty Lee talk about being from the Fire Nation while Azula and Y/N hid in the shadows. They slunk off to tell their boss quickly after that. Azula was going to take Ba Sing Se for the Fire Nation and Y/N couldn’t say she wasn’t happy for her friend. This was something that her father would be proud of. Y/N’s dad would be proud too, and if he told her that, Y/N was sure that she wouldn’t stop smiling for a week. 

It felt weird to follow along with their plan and laugh and joke but she cared for these girls. There was no doubt about that. They were her family, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt them. She had pushed away that pesky guilt before, she could do it again for their sake. 

The door opened with a bang. The watertribe girl they’d been after, came running in, a flying lemur was perched on her shoulder, chattering noisily. 

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here, Suki!” the waterbender was looking directly at her. Y/N touched Suki’s headband self-consciously. 

 “Something terrible is going on. The Fire Nation has infiltrated the city. I just saw Prince Zuko and his uncle! We have to tell the Earth King right away!”

Y/N let in a sharp intake of breath. Zuko was in the city? Iroh was alive? She looked to Azula who was already walking towards the girl. 

“Oh don’t worry. I’ll be sure to let him know.” 

Something changed in the girl’s face. She didn’t look comforted by the sight of them anymore, she looked scared. Something about Azula had tipped her off that they weren’t the real Kyoshi warriors. She turned like she was going to make a break for the door but Ty Lee was already there, chi blocking her. 

The waterbender fell to her knees in front of them, her arms hanging limply, and uselessly at her sides. The flying lemur had taken off, leaving at the first sight of danger. 

“So Zu-zu’s in the city too? I think it’s time for a family reunion.” Azula stood over the girl. “So while we’re dealing with Uncle and Zuko. What are we going to do with you? Y/N?”

“Yes?” Y/N stepped forward and stood next to Azula. The watertribe girl gave her a look that could kill. 

“I want you to kill her,” Azula murmured.

“What?!”  Y/N looked at her incredulously. That was not something that Y/N would do. 

“ I want the Avatar, not some water tribe savage. She is in my way. Take out your sword, and do as I tell you.” Azula was amused even as she said it. 

Y/N wanted to drop to her knees. Azula knew. She had to know everything. Y/N was not a master at lying, she never had been but she thought she was hiding her torment well enough. As the realization dawned on Y/N’s face, a smile lifted on Azula’s. 

“Don’t be so caught up on the killing part, Y/N.” Azula reached up to touch Y/N cheek but she jerked away. “You already killed all of those Kyoshi warriors.”

A tear slipped down Y/N cheek. “No…”

“You thought I didn’t know about that?” Azula threw her head back and laughed. “I know everything about you. I know when you’re nervous, when you’re scared. You haven’t been able to look at me since. It was obvious.” She pointed at the water tribe girl. “So do what you’re meant to do and maybe I can find the strength to forgive what you’ve done.”

Y/N didn’t know what Azula expected her to do. This was never part of the plan. None of this was. These were all just schemes that Azula made up along the way to give her something to win at. If this is what loyalty was, Y/N didn’t want that. This was not something you asked of your friends. This was a game to Azula. A test to see the kind of person Y/N could be. And Azula acted like she already knew the answer. 

“No.”

“What?” Azula growled. Y/N had shocked Azula and herself. She had shocked everyone in the room. Y/N was Azula’s lap-dog. She didn’t tell her no, nobody did. 

She couldn’t force herself to do it, not for anything. The alarm bells that had been tinkling before, were ringing full force in her ears now. “I won’t kill someone that doesn’t deserve it. It’s not right.”

“I’m not asking for your opinion on the morality of murder. You need to learn your place!” Azula’s voice was dangerously calm. It was worse than if she had been shooting flames at her. 

Y/N was the complete opposite. She was enraged that Azula would even suggest she kill for her. “If this is my place, then I don’t want it! I don’t want this! We were the ones who attacked them in Omashu. We have been chasing them. They have only defended themselves against us. I think that makes us the bad guys, Azula!” Everything was spilling out now. “If you want her dead, you can kill her yourself.”

“Where do your loyalties lie?” She asked it slowly, mockingly, through her gritted teeth. It was her. It had always been her. Except for now it wasn’t. 

“They used to lie with you.”

Smoke rolled out of Azula’s nose as she tried to control her breathing. Control was what she was all about. Controlling those around her but also controlling herself. She’d never let anyone know that she was spiraling because of the words that came out of Y/N’s mouth. 

Azula never took her gold, piercing eyes off of Y/N. “Mai, take her sword. Ty Lee, get the Dai Li and have them escort the savage and the traitor to the crystal caves below the palace.” Her voice shook with anger.

“You were my friend,” Azula spat in Y/N’s face. 

“Friends don’t order their friends around like their personal guard.” Y/N wasn’t sure where the surge of confidence came from. 

“I chose you. You betrayed me.” And Y/N thought Azula might cry there in front of her. That word–chose–used to mean so much to Y/N. It used to feel special, Azula never used it to describe anyone else. Now, Y/N knew why. Now, it just felt like an insult, a kick while she was down. 

“I choose me.”

Y/N didn’t look away. Not like she might have done a few months ago. Not when Mai stripped the belt that held her sheathed sword off of her, not when she forced her to kneel in front of Azula like she was a prisoner and not an old friend who had come to her senses. Y/N was done. She was free. But now she felt more trapped than ever. What had she just done?

---

A/N: I added some things this morning. I think I’ve read it so much that words have lost all meaning. I hope you like it! ❤️

Taglist: @myexgirlfriendisthemoon​ @reclusive-chicken-nugget​ @astroninaaa​ @bubblebars​ @beifongsss​ @crownofcryptids @welovediaaxx​ @littlefluu @lozzybowe​ @thebluelcdy​ @kellllybeans​ @sugarmoongey​ @fanficdepot​ @teenbiology​ @13-09-01​ @riespage​ @davnwillcome​ @naanlianid​

#sokka x reader #sokka x you #sokka x y/n #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla sokka #avatar: the last airbender #avatar #avatar resurgence #avatar fic #a:tla #suki #azula #ty lee #mai #zuko #katara #aang #toph beifong