#cause like i’m writing this sun spirit zuko fic

[abed-with-a-knife]

sun warrior zuko…. he becomes chief and gets the upper face tattoo and the red is the same shade as his scar…

imagine it edited and arted cause i don’t do allat

yeah <3

#cause like i’m writing this sun spirit zuko fic #and and and #yeah #zuko #atla

[fictionissocialinquiry]

FISI’s Favourite Zutara Fics

A lil late for ZFAW’s Saturday prompt, sorry about that! Haven’t had any internet over the weekend. But better late than never!

I’m not gonna lie… a lot of these are angsty af. But I promise you they’re not gratuitous angst! They’re well written, beautiful stories that will make you feel like a better person for having read them. These are my favourite all time fics, ones I’ve read more than once and will continue to read (even though I’m taking a week break from fandom and fic).

 Multi-Chaptered Fics

The Sparrowkeet Series by audreyii_fic

To be honest, this story’s summary doesn’t do it justice so I ain’t including it. Originally a one shot, Sparrowkeet is headcanon for me now. Move over canon, this is where it’s at. Audreyii_fic’s characterisation, world building, and writing is exquisite. It’s incredible. She manages to channel the same fun and whimsical energy from the show while allowing the characters to grow and develop to places I wish they had actually been taken.

This one is a fandom Must Read and one I return to regularly.

 Clothe Me in Seasons, Dress Me in Snow by sadladybug

It is not the memorial she deserves, nor the one she would want. But it can't be helped. He owns no property in the other nations, and he needed to keep her close. Closer than she was in life, anyway.

Zuko's reflections on a life lived and a life that could have been.

This is one of the best written fics I’ve ever read. It’s tragic and deep and will hurt you in all the tender places but you would be doing yourself a favour if you read this. There’s a real bittersweet feeling to it and the love between them is just… urg, visceral.

 Lovable by LadyCharity

Zuko knew that he could not save Azula. He could only try to forgive her. Fittingly enough, those two were one in the same.

I love stories that make Zutara their centerpiece but every now but then a story like this comes along. A story where their relationship builds almost incidentally because the plot and character development straight up hijack your emotions. I got so invested in this story. Zuko is amazingly well characterised and his complicated thoughts and feelings around his father and Azula are incredibly well written!

 One Shots

Lunar Ephemerality by @formerlygoldilocks (goldilocks23)

After multiple failed attempts on his life and years of self-set expectations, Fire Lord Zuko is a shell of the man he used to be. But Katara won't turn her back on those who need her.

I really didn’t expect this to hit as hard as it did. This straight up snuck up on me, fly-kicked my feelings, and by the end I had written an 800 word comment that was too big for AO3 and I had to contact the author directly to send it to her. Awkward. I couldn’t help myself. The side to Katara we see here is so good, her empathy and love for her friends are one of the things I love seeing most in AtLA fanfic. I’m a sucker for Zuko having complete breakdowns and having to piece himself back together too. So sue me. I like it when they suffer a lil bit. The writing is absurdly good and I will be keeping an eye out for any new stories by goldilocks23!

 31 Minutes by @ifyouwereamelodymeg

It's quite astounding, really, how quickly she's learned to translate him. They've spent a grand total of zero time together outside of training, and he's hardly big on chat so she knows next to nothing about his life.

But she knows him, probably better than she knows anyone at the moment – with every tap of his fingers, every crook of his lips, every turn in his voice, he just...

He makes sense to her. It's weird.

I’m a sucker for fic writers playing with style to make the story pop and boyo does this fic deliver. This is one of the rare times that I’ve been dumbstruck at the end of a story— I just couldn’t accept the ending. Because I’m a sucker for pain, (and this story will bring The Pain) I loved it. The ease of Zuko and Katara’s growing relationship in this bowls you over, it’s absolutely beautiful and you find yourself nodding along emphatically when Zuko calls himself an idiot for waiting… “Life’s short, kids, live each moment as though it could be your last,” says this fic as it pulls my heart out and dropkicks it off a cliff.

 i count to five (and life passes by) by @markedmage

Five heartbeats.

I still haven’t forgiven Mage for this one. I think it’s the best thing she’s written to date! I mean, tragic and painful and heart-rending but holy shit is it powerful <3

 The Lake of the Dismal Swamp by @thewhiitelotus

Spook af. Spook (horror) is real hard to do well but thewhiitelotus is coming for your goosebumps and those shivers down your spine. She has a way of balancing beautiful, evocative imagery with action (in this and other stories of her) that just keeps you reading!

 Calloused by @rideboldlyride

Iroh hadn’t been able to watch. The pure horror of a man - a father- burning their child for a slight infraction... He couldn’t do anything to stop it, but he will stop his brother from destroying entirely the kind boy he knew Zuko could be.

This is a painfully underappreciated fic for how great the characterisation is. I know we in the zutara fandom tend to not read stories that aren’t Zuko/Katara centric as often but do yourself the favour of reading this (or listening to it: RideBoldlyRide has done us the gift of recording a podfic for this and it’s stupidly *good*). This story is Iroh confronting Ozai just after he burns Zuko’s face and it kicks.

 four days and three nights by @hinaoyamas (lettersfromnowhere)

Zuko discovers firsthand that nothing is more fleeting than happiness, or more enduring than memory.

Do you like reading stories with a distant, omniscient narrator? The kind that read like a myth from the ancient world? Welp, hit the hyperlink, friend, cause this one’s for you. Not only is the writing exquisite but the characterisation and painful inevitability of the plot is grade A.

 For the Fire Nation by tullyblue12

He falls in love with her for his country before he falls in love with her for himself. A Zuko/Katara AU that explores how love and duty aren’t always mutually exclusive.

There are about 40,000 exquisite lines in this story but here is just one of my favourites: “He falls in love with her for his country first. That’s what his people never understand.” This fic says a lot with so few words, which is something I really look up to! In 2,800 words, tullyblue12 does what some 100,000k fics cant: They make you feel.

 Guide Me Home by Rashaka

To sleep, perchance to dream. Katara and Zuko find a friendship they never expected in a place that seemed impossible.

This is a one shot I will forever wish for a continuation of. The setup is just… so juicy. There’s a real sorrowful innocence to this story that the unique short, dialogue only scenes really punch home. I know some people don’t like dialogue only fics but when done well like in this one, it leaves you with the impression of something deeper than a 1,185 word fic has any right to! 

 Other Favourites!

Hopeless by tullyblue12 — Kids grow up fast when a cruel world awaits them. In times of hopelessness, Katara and Zuko grow together. In times of separation, they hope to see each other again.

Speechless by goldilocks23 — Zuko has a medical condition. Or: Zuko speaks in haiku at inappropriate times.

Don’t Follow Me Down by eleventy7 — Katara is the dread queen of the underworld, ruler of the dead, destined to reign her cold kingdom alone. Until a sun god catches her eye. A Hades/Persephone retelling with incredible writing.

I Don't Speak Meow Language by @botherkupo (Boogum) — In which Zuko adopts a cat and Katara just wonders what spirits she pissed off to deserve this fate.

I have the privilege of being friends with some of these authors (they know who they are) and am in near daily awe and gratitude for the works of free fiction they provide us, the fandom. And not just any old stories: Guys... Really good ones!! Can I ask that if you go check out these fics, can you just drop a kudos or a comment their way? If you’re feeling shy just copy and paste this into the comments box anonymously: “WOW! Loved this! Thank you so much for writing it!”

I know it would mean the world to this talented bunch <3

#ZFAW #Fic Rec #favourite zutara fanfics of all time #zutara #atla

[smellss]

the matchmaker - zuko x reader

gif credit: @iwaois

request: @kristingirl14

“hi can i please request a zuko x reader where kiyi plays matchmaker for zuko and the reader who both have crushes on another and hilarity and cuteness ensures”

hi all!

hope everyone is doing well, another zuko x reader this time with kiyi! i really like kiyi in the comics and in @mystic-kitten-writer’s zuko x oc fic Limerence so i hope i do her justice in this oneshot, keep requesting!

- smells x

the morning breeze blew through y/n’s hair, the girl gazed out her window the warm sun shining onto her skin brought a smile onto her face as she looked down over the fire nation.

people of all nations walked through the streets interacting with each other, the sound of shop keepers shouting out there latest product for purchase and the music being played by people on the street made y/n smile.

whilst she scanned the streets just people watching her eyes fell upon one couple they were walking together holding hands, the girl seemed to be telling a story whilst the boy was watching her as if she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

I wish someone would look at me like that, well really only one person

y/n sighed a pout forming on her face as she thought about her latest problem, zuko.

y/n had been living at the palace for the past 5 years and has watched the fire lord grown up, turning from that hot headed boy she used to tease into a level head and compassionate man who she now called her best friend.

a best friend who can make me blush if he looks at me a certain way. stop it y/n. honestly imagine if he found out how you were thinking about him

continuing to zone out y/n didn’t hear the small knocks on her bedroom door or the small patter of feet quickly running towards her

“Y/N!” a small pair of arms threw themselves around her hips causing y/n to loose her balance a little bit

“kiyi spirits you gave me a bit of a fright, what do i owe the pleasure of a visit from you honey” y/n laughed at the overly excitable young girl who was practically bouncing on the spot

“well mummy said that i can have the rest of the day off from um royal duties, so do you want to have lunch with me and the turtle ducks!” kiyi practically squealed out without taking a breath, her big eyes looking hopefully up to the girl

“well of course i would love to,but first let me change okay you can sit on my bed i’ll be super quick” y/n smiled pointing kiyi to the bed as she went to change, the young scrambling up onto the bed looking all around y/n’s room before getting an idea

“oh y/n can you pretty pwease wear that super nice dress that makes you look like a princess” kiyi exclaimed bouncing on the bed excitedly

“of course honey but why that dress?” y/n laughed at the young girls antics

“zuzu said it to me that you looked like a princess when you wore the dress last time” kiyi giggled out “he had a hugeee smile on his face when he said it too i think he has a crush on you, do you like zuzu y/n?”

y/n’s walked over to the mirror to grab her brush trying to hide her extremely red cheeks and obvious fluster from kiyi

“awww y/n you look red like your dress, it’s okay i won’t tell zuzu i pinky promise” the little girl ran over sticking out her little finger to y/n

y/n shook her head and let out a nervous laugh kneeling down to kiyi wrapping her pinky around the girls then taking holding her hand and standing up

“okay let’s go to the garden’s, we can walk past the kitchen and get our lunch as well?” y/n smiled thinking if she moved past the conversation quickly enough kiyi would forget all about it

“yes yes but on the way can we drop something to zuzu?” kiyi said giving her bets puppy dog eyes and face

“yes i’m sure he would love a visit from you” y/n exclaimed heels clicking on the ground and her heart racing at the mention of her best friend

once the girls had collected there lunch, they stopped at zuko’s office the two guards that stood out the front greeted them with smiles as kiyi pulled the small card out of her pocket

“can you pwease give this to zuz- i mean fire lord zuko?” the small girl said looking at the guards

“of course” the guard nodded shooting her a friendly smiled

“thank you, oh tell him it’s urgent” kiyi said showing her toothy smile before running back to hold y/n’s hand, the girls both waved to the men before walking to the gardens

zuko sighed looking down at all of his paper work, signing them aimlessly placing them in all different kinds of piles his stomach rumbling for about the tenth time

spirits i hate paper work i wonder what’s for lunch

a knock signalled his guards where entering, the two men walking in standing in front of his desk

“fire lord zuko a message from princess kiyi she said it was urgent” the man bowed trying to hold in a smile

“thank you” zuko nodded taking the little card, the men walking out and resuming there posts

zuko looked down at the colourful card seeing pictures of turtle ducks drawn all over the front with little love hearts and in attempted cursive the word “zuzu” was written

zuko shook his head at the nickname his sister had made for him before opening the colorful card

hi zuzu!

pwease come and have lunch with me y/n and the turtle ducks

p.s i made y/n wear the dress you thought looked pretty on her

kiyi

zuko skimmed over the letter carefully trying to decipher kiyi squiggly hand writing, smiling to himself at the invite from his sister until he read the last sentence

“fuck, spirits kiyi what did you do” the fire lord muttered sucking in air as he read the last sentence over again

great zuko way to be smooth tell your little sister she won’t tell anyone about your feelings for your best friend

zuko placed his head in his hands shaking it back and forth, thinking about what he can do to fix this

you know what i am going to have lunch with them and act like everything is normal

the fire lord stood from his desk and walked out the door towards the gardens acting like nothing was wrong

“honey you have to eat first then we can feed the turtle ducks okay” y/n laughed out rolling her eyes at the girl who was now ankle deep in the turtle duck pond throwing small crumbs to the fluffy creatures

“okay but shouldn’t we wait for zuzu” kiyi exclaimed to y/n titling her head at the girl before her smiled widen and she began to sprint

“zuzu you got my letter!” kiyi squealed jumping into her brothers arms, zuko catching her with ease spun her around before placing her down on the ground

“well how could i deny my to favourite girls lunch especially with that beautiful card” zuko exclaimed to kiyi while giving y/n a wink causing her to roll her eyes and stick out her tongue

the group sat down basking in the warm sun and eating until there stomachs were full, the turtle ducks cautiously coming closer to inspect the group as they discussed there day

“so then i finished my um royal lesson and i went to get y/n and doesn’t she look so pretty in her dress zuzu? i told her to wear because i know you like it” kiyi giggled sitting in between the two now flustered adults

“yes she does look very pretty” zuko smirked drinking in y/n’s appearance making the girl’s face dust with blush as she turned her head towards the pond attempting to not make eye contact with zuko

“kiyi look the turtle ducks look hungry why don’t we feed them” y/n smiled to the young girl handing her the turtle duck food before walking over to the pond with kiyi, zuko trailing behind trying to hold in his fluster

“aww y/n look at the turtle duck mummy and daddy they look just like you and zuzu” kiyi squeaked throwing the two creatures a generous amount of bread before zuko and y/n trying to avoid eye contact there faces getting more flustered by the second

“ why aren’t you guys a couple zuzu likes y/n and y/n likes zuzu i don’t see the problem” kiyi states looking at the two adults who’s jaws where practically on the floor from shock

“kiyi um why don’t um why don’t you go get some fruit tarts from the kitchen?” zuko smiled at the young girl kneeling down towards her to give her a wink

“okay be back in a second” kiyi exclamied skipping off to the kitchen unknown to the mess she had just made

the pair looked at each other, then away, then looked again and then away until y/n finally talked

“so um this is incredibly awkward” y/n said out crossing her arms trying to advert eye contact

“yeah definitely” zuko chuckled scratching behind his neck

“you know what zuko i’m just going to say it yes i have feelings for you and i probably should have told you and not kiyi but i did and i’m sorry but i didn’t want to ruin our friendship but i really like you a lot zuko and i um-” zuko’s lips shut off y/n’s rambling his hands cradled her jaw, raising it up mere inches to meet his.

his soft lips slotted against y/n’s before any other syllables slipped past her lips. after the initial shock wore off, the girls fingers curled around his wrists attempting to bring the fire lord closer to her.

as there lips unlocked there foreheads rested together, chests heaving from the lack of oxygen

“i guess that means you like me back” y/n chuckled out looking into the fire lord’s warm brown eyes

“definitely love, definitely” zuko smirked craning his neck to kiss y/n once more but interrupted by a very high pitch squeal erupting from behind them

“oh spirits my plan worked now you can get married and have babies oooh yay” kiyi squealed running over to hug y/n and zuko, the turtle ducks quacking happily in the background as the sun shone down on the happy little family.

#atla zuko #zuko x reader #zuko imagine #fire lord zuko #zuko fluff #team avatar #avatar the last airbender #alta #aang x katara #kataang #toph beifong #zuko angst #zukoedit #zuko fanfic #zuko x y/n #zuko x oc #zuko #avatar gaang #avatar: tla

[widowed-mistress]

Okay the fact that a fic that includes Dragon Zuko, Toph and him being siblings, and zukka doesn’t exist is unacceptable, so I’m writing this idea here like this because I cannot write characters for shit.

Okay, so when Zuko was born, he was born at the dead of night on a new moon. Their god Agni long gone and his sister Tui having abandoned the sky in place of hanging out with La. Because of this he is a very weak baby to the point everyone thinks he won’t make it to the morning. They leave Ursa alone for the night where she cuddles him close, but soon she feels his breathing die out. She cries into the sky hoping for someone to save him. Trying to warm him up by holding him close. Her prayers are heard. 

When she wakes up again she is holding a tiny baby dragon staring at her with eyes that remind her of the morning sun. He is a baby dragon, so he is able to jump around a bit in her arms. Ozai comes walking in, but before he sees Zuko he has already transformed back into a human and is smiling up at Ursa. Zuko grows up with some weird habits, but he doesn’t transform back into the dragon Ursa saw. Everything goes the same way it does in the show.

Zuko is burned by his father and is exiled, but he is shipped of before he heals. The pain of the fire panics him so much while he’s first waking up he finally transforms back into his form with only his uncle around. knowing Iroh’s reputation with dragon he flys away and end up passing out at you guessed it Beifong’s home. Also I’d like to think that because of Zuko’s more protective nature now he’d be close to Azula, so she would come with him on his journey and see him fly off. Her and Iroh now go off trying to 1.Find Zuko 2. Maybe find the Avatar and hope the bridge to the spirit world could help find their spirited boy or at least end the war, so Zuko feels safe enough to come back to the Fire Nation.(get some therapy for this girl I beg of yall)

Of course the Beifongs don’t know what to do with a fucking dragon that has a scar, so they end up just keeping him in a stable. Toph ends up finding out about him and they become good friends. 

Know I don’t know what would be cooler. Of course they would have him caring for their daughter as if he was a service dog(dragon?). Mostly because Toph already has a connection to him and because it’s a goddamn dragon. However, I don’t know which of these two ideas I like most:

Toph being the only one to find out about his ability to turn into a human and the two of them sneaking out and causing chaos. Causing a few scams????

Or her parents also find out and teach him things. Like maybe he also preforms when not “taking care” of her.(mostly because I think with his mom being an actress he would have a really nice singing voice and a great dancer, particularly something like ballet or formal dancing). Him getting some meh adult figures for the first in a while.

When Toph goes out to the Fight, having Zuko as a human is risky considering his golden eyes, so he is a dragon when going with her. This doesn’t raise any eyebrows because nobody sees Toph out of her house, so they don’t know she even has a dragon. This is just the Blind Bandit with a dragon because of course she manages to find one. This means that when the gaang try to talk to her after the Aang beats her a DAMN dragon just pops up and cuts them of.

A dragon that mind you, then leaves with what Aang hopes would be his future Earth Bending teacher. One day they find they two of them at a garden at night. Toph is lying on a rock and eventually gets annoyed and tells Zuko to get out of the damn tree and tell her what is going on. He does, but transforms mid drop. The gaang silently freak out as Zuko goes on and on about how suspicious they were and the fact that Aang well has arrow tattoos.(all the while Sokka has a bi freak out). I don’t really have anywhere else to take this soooo, I’m cutting this of here. This is why I said I can’t write, but this was fun, and also way longer than I thought it would.

#zukka #zuko #dragon zuko #toph #toph beifong #sokka #blessed zuko #atla #Avatar The Last Airbender #just for fun #fanfic ideas #azula

[milf-harrington]

this is the first zukka fic i ever started! i remember writing the outline in my careers class and having to use code names for Zuko and Sokka bc i knew one of the girls in my class watched atla and i didn’t want her to know i was writing fanfiction lmao - anyway i don’t think i’m ever actually gonna finish it so i figured i’d post it at it’s wip stage

Later, when Katara fusses over the duck patterned band-aids on his face, he’ll blame the sun for being in his eyes and be glad that his skin tone hides his blush.

And, technically the sun was involved so he wasn’t even completely lying.

---

When he was heading home from Suki’s, Sokka usually took the shortcut through the alley so he could make it in time for dinner. But, the alley was closed for some reason when he’d gotten there which meant he had to go the long way around. 

The detour took him down Bosco Street, which was made up of cafes and clothing stores, with the trees painting a dappled shadow across the pavement. It was soothing, the rippling sunlight and the rumble of wheels against the cement, occasional shoppers offering a polite smile as he rode past.

He and the Gaang used to walk down there most weekends, shopping and getting lunch from whichever cafe caught their attention that day, until they all got busy with their last few years of high school. 

They’d caused a lot of chaos when they were younger and less aware of what was around them, but Sokka could confidently say that that afternoon was the first time he’d eaten shit in the middle of the pavement. 

He looked up just as he reached the Jasmine Dragon, a tea shop that had opened a few months ago with beautiful windows that took up most of the store front and looked out onto the street. 

Light from the lowering sun streamed directly through those windows, landing on probably the most beautiful person he’d seen since Yue.

It was one of the servers, his short hair barely held out of his face in an uneven pony tail, strands falling over his forehead and glowing white in the afternoon sun. From what Sokka could see of it as he rolled past, it was a very nice face with a square jaw and a rounded nose.

He was bent slightly at the waist, carefully pouring steaming tea into a cup as an older woman smile and spoke, hand waving around dramatically. The boys’ pale skin was flushed from the steam, black hair falling into his eyes as he straightened and slender fingers moving to tuck it behind his ear before he looked up and met Sokka’s eyes.

Sokka, who was too busy staring at the pretty tea server to watch where he was skating.

He felt the wheel jam into something he hadn’t seen in his distracted state, the board disappearing from under his feet as he lurched forward. In an effort not to break his face, he tried to roll so he’d land on his shoulder and half succeeded, a sharp burst of pain sinking into his skin where he scraped his jaw. 

He lay there for a moment, wallowing in his own brief misery, before pushing himself up to assess the damage. He’d skinned one of his knees through his jeans (his Gran Gran was going to kill him) along with both palms and apparently his face if the stinging was anything to go by. His skateboard was still rolling away from him, the wheels clattering cheerfully over the pavement.

And he’d done it all in front of a cute boy.

He groaned, silently asking the spirits to make him an earthbender so he could get the earth to swallow him whole.

-

whats supposed to happen after this

Zuko sees Sokka just fuckin stack it outside of his uncles tea shop and he’s like D:

So he goes outside to see if he’s okay and he’s like “wow you’re pretty shit at skating dude” and Sokka’s like “D:< it’s your fault!!” while he grabs his skateboard

and then Zuko takes him to the back room and, like, gives him some sub-par first aid while calling him an idiot (insert that tiktok audio that’s like “im sorry i called you a fucking idiot, i was trying to flirt”)

and Sokka’s like “wow you’re pretty shit at giving first aid”

and then they both kinda stare at eachother before laughing and then they’re all soft eyed and moony over each other

and then Katara texts like “yo where are you?” and Sokka’s like “): i have to go”

somehow he gets Zuko’s number before grabbing his skateboard and zooming home

#wip #zukka wip #i'm probably never gonna finish this #zukka #zukka fic #kinda lmao #sokka #zuko #my wips #my fics #also if anyone wants you can finish it?? im not saying that you have to or whatever just like #the options there

[twitchesandstitches]

A few details i wasn’t able to get into the library fic that introduced the Avatar characters to Crossthicc! This was worldbuilding stuff I thought was interesting, but didn’t have room to put into the fic properly.

AVATAR STUFF

Suki is one of the daughters of Kyoshi, who rules a system of islands, and has inherited something of her size, power, and commanding attitude. The Kyoshi Islands are intended to be an analogue to Japan in some respects, and in particular Kyoshi’s daughters lead their own respective dynasties in service to Kyoshi, who is ultimately a Raava-blessed empress uniting them all as a daughter of Heaven.

The girls are considerably older than in canon, and the boys are more or less their canon ages but in a way to give them a different dynamic with the girls. Katara is the eldest child in her generation, with Sokka as her younger brother. Her dynamic with Aang is even more ‘skilled student winds up marrying his gifted mentor’, with a bit more emphasis on Katara being a heroine. The biggest shift is for Zuko; as Azula’s younger brother, he was never in the running for being Fire Lord and was a surplus child. Mai was more or less his bodyguard and they wound up falling for another as a bright spot in each other’s lives.

Way more AU as the cultures of Avatar go. Sun Warriors are still extant, groups such as the Foggy Swamp Tribe are all over the place. The Fire Nation is presently in a huge civil war between Azula and forces that follow Zuko, and Azula is actually more active as a leader than Ozai is; as it stands, the Fire Nation is basically like Warring States-era Japan, but with people who can breathe fire and ride dragons.

On that note, the Fire Lords are more or less just the Fire Sages as they originally were in canon; the Fire Lord is the leader of the Fire Sages, who ride dragons here and commune with them, and have enormous power over the Fire Nation’s people with this influence. Azula has taken over as hereditary right and the most powerful of the family, but Zuko has also earned the right and this has caused the civil war in question, with an unprecedented amount of nobles, warlords and influencers split between the two rather than the usual free for all.

The Air Nomads are mainly based off the people of ancient Mongolia, with Genghis Khan’s example being a pretty obvious one. The Air Nomads who live in this area are explicitly intended to be modeled after them. Yangchen herself is an analogue to the Khan, down to building an empire and unifying her people, and having a strict ‘insult my people and die horribly’ vibe. As a whole the Air Nomads are a lot more diverse than what we see in canon; Air Nomads like the monks we see in canon are still around, but they’re a specific set of clans who live in the mountains near the Southern Water Tribe and have established a monastary there. They support their life style by working out deals to control the wind for the benefit of their Water Tribe neighbors.

Bending here is marked by two things: becoming a giant hyper-curvy lady (as is the main rule in this AU when you become powerful), and physical mutations. Not like the mods used by other, but non-functional attributes such as crystalline skin for Earthbenders, icy body temperature for Waterbenders, blazing skin for Firebenders, and so on. It varies for each individual, gets more intense as they power up and the specific kind of mutation changes when they are bending different things, but all benders are obvious and easily spotted.

Size is linked to bending. The more powerful you are, the bigger. The inverse is true; if you’re bigger, you have bending powers. Characters who canonically have no bending ability but are big here (Mai, Suki, Asami and so on) are benders here, but have very low grade powers or extremely specialized skills. Suki is probably an Earthbender who can do minor tricks with soul to be immovable, Mai and Asami are firebenders (Mai does internal tricks with heat, Asami can bend lightning but ONLY lightning), and so on.

I usually avoid specific sizes, but I did measurements for a tricky line, and worked some things out. Katara is roughly about twenty feet tall here, an average man only going up to her knees. Toph may be about 30 or so while the other girls are smaller than Katara on average, ranging from 12 to 15 feet. Korra is the biggest at at least forty feet. She is very big!

Raava does not serially incarnate here, but instead bonds to multiple human hosts as they are born; the Avatar is thus not a singular entity but a soul fusion of many different people to previous ones and the other living ones, linked and boosted by Raava. Thus, Korra and Aang can be around at the same time, and she can be significantly older than him too. The other Avatars relevant to Aang (Kuruk, Kyoshi, Roku and Yangchen) are, of course, all alive and doing things, being important heroes and leaders.

The owl entity that is mentioned briefly near the end of the story is intended to be Wan Shi Tong, and the Great Library is a combination of his library and the idea of the Akashic Records from Mage: The Awakening. He’s not as anti-mortal as he is in canon, or at least, not allowed to act upon it due to the other powers in the Library. He is a spirit of the idea of knowledge and lore, and acts as a neutral figure within the library’s command.

Bending stuff. Here, bending is not hereditary (though it is dependant on cultural identity); rather, people commune with specific spirits after manifesting an elemental power at a young age. Everyon can use an element appropriate to their culture, though perhaps very limited, and some can commune directly with the spirits, earning their favor and gaining their powers, being physically transformed in some respect and gaining enormous amounts of power. These are like Benders from canon, but they explicitly sought it out. Animals like badger-moles and sky bison are linked to these spirits, too. (There are different ways of earning favor; some women might become hyper pregnant with powerful spirits, for example, and at the end of the pregnancy, transform into their new state and gain their powers. The REAL elemental blessing was inside them all along…!)

The Air Nomads are alive and well!

Aang is ethnically related to the northern Air Nomads who are based on the followers of Genghis Khan; Yangchen’s clans, here. However he was raised among the monastary monks near the Southern Water Tribe, where he met Katara when young and studied under her to learn Waterbending. His heritage carries no stigma, and while he has no concern about his actual family (it being an Air Nomad thing to raise children communally), he wants to know more about his birth-people and ancestral culture.

You may have noticed a reference to ‘red tornado spirits’ in regards to Aang’s tattoos. Double meaning here; Aang’s tattoos were originally based, from what I hear, on the DC robot hero Red Tornado’s markings, and thus the spirits who originally taught the first Air Nomads were related to the spirits that give Red Tornado life force. (It was either that or make Red Tornado this settings version of Tenzin. Still might do that, actually.)

Speaking of Tenzin, Aang and Katara’s children are around for sure, but doing their own thing during the events of this story.

NON AVATAR STUFF

Hermione here is based on my take on her in the fics I’ve written here and there. The other group mentioned in relation to her is intended to be her canonical friendship group, including Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna and Neville, and possibly others. The Great Library may be Hogwarts, but the castle may exist elsewhere with the wizards and witches here being a specific group that wound up at the Library through a mishap.

Witches like Hermione grow bigger as they get more magically powerful, as generally goes in this AU.

Hermione is intended to be read as black/Afro-British (or a space future analogue) but I’m not sure I’m that great at conveying that in writing.

Hermione’s somewhere between Toph and Katara’s sizes. Smaller than 30 feet, bigger than 20 feet. She’s thicc, hyper busty, and big all over!

Hermione not speaking the language of the Avatar characters is based on a few plot points I’ve had in mind; linguistics in this AU is a serious matter with no ‘translator microbes’ or quick solutions to language barriers. Languages must be learned the hard way. She’s never had any reason to expect to communicate with the people, expecting a life as a solitary scholary with her library chums, so she’s woefully unprepared for this. She will correct this in the future.

Magnus the Red is shamelessly based on the interpretation of him from the youtube web series, If The Emperor HAd A Text To Speech Device. I also included aspects such as the Primarch’s being sensory overload to regula humans, and more mystical overtones than they normally get in 40k. I wrote this with the idea that the Imperium was a pre-cataclysm society in line with the Emperor’s original goals (and had none of the anti-alien issues, due to difference circumstances), and the Emperor has become a god of the idea of humanity as its own thing, with the Primarchs as different reflections of that: Magnus embodies humanity’s magical potential as well as the drive to learn and know.

Magnus doesn’t have an exact size. He is huge, yes, but his bizarre magical nature means that he is much larger than he would seem to be. He’s also a shapeshifter, so make of that what you will.

The figures with him are basically Space Marines: Thousand Sons and Blood Ravens, if it wasn’t obvious enough. Gabriel Angelos, one of the canon Blood Raven leaders from the Dawn of War games, is mentioned briefly.

Obliquely referred to a few times is Optimus Prime; in the main events of the AU his absence has been notable, so this is where he’s been all this time; searching for an answer to what has become of Primus, and unable to return to the Autobots. Grimlock is gonna be PISSED.

The Unseen University’s faculty from Discworld are present here as more comedic elements of the faculty running the library, and may be seen on some other time. They’re not human here, since I’m trying to avoi the idea that humans are super-important in-universe. Ridcully, for example, is most likely a krogan. The magic they employ is a cross between Potterverse spells and classic D&D magic. (I used to headcanon that potterverse magic was particular to humans, but i may be moving away from that.)

I originally intended there to be several characters drawn from religious/monk origins for use as library characters to later join the Endowed Fleet and converse with the characters in this one, but there were too many characters as is. Two of the most important would have been Zenyatta from Overwatch (here a full on magic user and Guru Pathik-analogue) and Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist (donated his brother’s teachings to the library, stayed there to study as a religious duty)

There was originally an in-universe lesson about how their world fits into the cosmology, but i couldn’t find a natural place to slot it in. In brief, they’re technically one of the mortal universes, but exist in a demi-realm deep within the realms of magic and swimming in spirits, so they’re not really connected to the mortal universes and unless you know what you’re doing, there’s no real way to get there. This universe is mainly empty but rich with magic, so it’s possible for people who find their way there to establish new worlds there.

#/ #// #/// #//// #///// #queued #twitchy ideas #crossthicc AU #admittedly some of this is not so much 'stuff i couldn't put in' #but stuff i dont want you NOT to know #i demand u know all my worldbuildign nonsense #atla