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the-last-cuddlebender · 3 years

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I wish you would write a fic where.... Aang and katara take their kid penguin sledding ❤️ or just visit the South Pole

My immediate thought with “visit the South Pole” was ice-skating, but the otterpenguins get a honorable mention lol.

(This somehow became Kya-centric, and I absolutely adore it.)

feat. bestdad!Aang, bëbë!Kya, bestmom!Katara, bestuncle!Sokka, bestPap-Pop!Hakoda, littleshit!Bumi, and bëbë!Tenzin

Words: 2,004

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Sokka was going to die if he didn’t stop laughing long enough to breathe. That, or Katara was going to creatively kill him.

Aang was beauty. Aang was grace.

Aang could not ice-skate.

He could surf on the wind and walk on one hand through fire, but put him on bladed shoes on ice? He was worse than a newborn catdeer.

“Daddy, you gotta do this, r‘member?” Little Kya had her mother’s grace and twice her father’s flair even when she was so thickly layered that her arms perpetually stood at the horizontal. Only a thin strip of her face was visible between her parka and her hood.

“I-I got it, moonpeach.”

Aang, in fact, did not have it.

He’s lucky he’s so flexible, otherwise the split he windmilled and then belly-flopped into might have hurt him.

Sokka laughed so hard that the otterpenguins two glaciers down made disgruntled sounds at him.

Aang tried to hide himself in the ice. Kya bent over and patted his arrow with one of her horizontal arms.

The snow melted around Sokka from the force of Katara’s glare, but he really, really couldn’t care less.

Oh, how he wished to have one of those new photo-whatchamacallits that they had in the city.

“Daddyyyy...,” Kya whined in a chastising tone that nearly swapped their roles as parent and child. “Daddy, you gotta do it like this.” Kya was insistent, stern, and extremely amiable with her wobbling student. “Here, hold my hand. I won’t let you fall again, m’kay?”

Aang managed a weak laugh and tried to nervously decline for fear of accidentally smushing her when he inevitably fell again, but little Kya was already taking his hand. Her face flushed a little red as she struggled to gain initial momentum, but it wasn’t long before she was skating with her father, crouched and holding her hand with both of his, like he was cargo tied to a sled.

The ice sang as Katara slid up next to them. Her hands laced behind her back as she swayed with complete control of and on her element. “Very good, Kya. You’re a great teacher.” Katara patted Aang’s back. “Isn’t she, sweetie?”

Kya puffed her chest and smiled so wide that they could see it in the small space between the neck of her parka and her hood. Aang’s legs were starting to shake from crouching for so long.

“Katara,” Aang hissed. “Katara, help me.”

Katara laughed something bordering on pride and mischief. She kissed his cheek, maneuvered to kiss Kya, too, and skated away to push Sokka, sitting on the border of the ice, into the powder again.

“Kataraaaaa…” Aang shook a little more, threatened to windmill again, but caught himself by sinking into a crouch so low that his rear nearly touched the ice. He was level with his daughter, now, and their speed was inches at a time. “Katara, please.”

“You’re doing really good, Daddy.” Kya patted his head with her free horizontal arm. “‘S okay to be scared. Don’t worry. I'll catch you if you fall again.”

“Hehehe, well, you see, Kya, Daddy is really heavy, and he doesn’t want to—”

Kya rounded on him with a familiar glare that compelled Aang to sit straight and speak clearly when he talked. “I’m strong!”

“Oh, I know, sweetie, I know. You’re very strong, but that’s not—”

Kya tried to press her finger to his lips but ended up pressing the whole of her mitt to his mouth. “Shhh!” She straightened like a woman going to war. “I said Imma catch you, so don’t be scared, ‘kay? I promise.”

Aang melted and would have become a human puddle if he wouldn’t have smushed Kya in the process. She had his heart in the palm of her hand.

“I promise, okay?” Kya waddled close to Aang—who was still crouching low enough to be at her level—and strained her horizontal arms to circle his neck in a hug. “I promise.”

Aang’s insides liquified. On the border of their little ice ring, Katara oozed pride so thick that it escaped her in a giggle. Even Sokka picked himself out of the snow and smiled at the loving little oogies.

...The moment was broken the second Bumi appeared.

He and Hakoda were sprinting for their lives.

“What—Dad?” Katara stood at attention with Sokka right beside her.

“No time!”

“Gotta hide!”

Hakoda and Bumi dove into the powder that was once Sokka’s little purgatory of Katara’s design.

They missed. Terribly. Partially because they dove through the powder and onto the ice.

Aang really wasn’t being given much luck that day.

The duo took him out at the knees just as he stood with Kya in hand. A Mother’s instinct was a force stronger than nature, and Katara was in his wake and catching their daughter before Kya was ever in danger of hitting the ice.

“Daddy!” Kya, thoroughly distressed, squirmed to be let down. She was so frantic to get to the bundle of limbs and groans now stuck in the powder that she treaded on nothing for the first few seconds after Katara put her back on the ice. She windmilled her horizontal arms and skated to the scene of the accident.

Aang was on his back and trying to remember how to breathe, mutely groaning a ‘why me’. His daughter’s teary eyes took up all he saw when next his vision found focus, and his heart broke with a crack so loud that he swore everyone could hear it.

“D-Daddy…” Kya maneuvered onto her knees and patted Aang’s face with her mitts. “I’m sorry, Daddy…”

Aang, half-buried in the snow, reached up to wipe away her little tears. His world was collapsing, but he tried to keep the bulk of his worry and desperation out of his voice. “Hey, hey, hey, shhh...It’s okay, Kya. See? Daddy’s okay.”

Kya hugged his head, nearly wrapping the whole of her around him and his neck. “I promised to catch you…I promised...” She sniffled. “I’m sorry…’M sorry…”

Unadulterated fury like a tempest made flesh skated over to them, but Katara channeled her bloodlust into a somewhat rough wave of her hand to free her son and father. They raced to tell her something about ‘Gran-Gran’s retribution’ and ‘leopardseal boots and octopus’ and ‘they didn’t know the sea prunes were hers’ and ‘pretty please tell Gran-Gran to grant us mercy’.

Katara crossed her arms. They sat straight and shut their mouths.

(Sokka, shaking his head, was already working out how he could possibly use his diplomatic skills to save his father’s and nephew’s lives.)

“Sorry…’M sorry, Daddy…”

“Oh, Kya…” Aang was sitting cross-legged and hugging his daughter in the next second. He was flexible enough to move like water even with his skates on. “It’s okay. You didn’t break your promise.”

“But...B-But…” Kya was struggling so hard to not cry that Aang was half-prepared to bargain with even Koh himself for the secret to keeping her from tears.

“You said you would catch me, and I didn’t fall. I was run over by your brother and Pap-Pop.” He kissed her cheek and blew a raspberry until she smiled, and her little giggle stitched the world back together.

The hand on Aang’s shoulder was relieved and no longer thirsty for blood; Katara was a tide receding back to calm waters. “You’re a fantastic teacher, moonpeach,” she softly said as she kissed Kya’s other cheek.

Kya smiled even wider, patted both of their faces, and laughed a sound that even the otterpenguins two glaciers away were calmed and drawn towards.

Aang held her to his chest so she was sitting on his arms. “I guess I need to start calling you, Sifu Kya, won’t I?”

Katara sagely nodded. “Oh, absolutely. Though I must warn you, Kya, Daddy is a pretty difficult student.”

“I am not—”

“Hush, Pupil Daddy.” Katara’s eyes howled with the laughter that she struggled to keep at bay (but that Sokka, Hakoda, and even little Bumi, freely let out).

Aang grumbled but couldn’t care less about their audience when Kya smiled like that. She bounced more than she squirmed to be put down, and she bounced even more as she took Aang’s hand and ‘helped’ him to his feet. She was so excited that she either didn’t notice or didn’t care about Katara picking her husband up and tapping his legs apart so he (resembled) a stance that would keep him from immediately falling.

Aang stayed crouched so low that his rear nearly touched the ice. He was a puddle in airbender robes holding onto his daughter’s horizontal hand with both of his. Katara was a gleeful shadow right behind him and oozing pride as readily as the sun gave heat.

“Can you show me how to stop again, Sifu Kya?” Aang gently asked. “I’m not a really good student—”

Katara laughed.

“—and I could really use another demonstration from a Master.”

Kya spoke in excited huffs and bubbles of giggles, just too excited for words. She nodded so fast that her head threatened to come clean off her shoulders, and she tugged him across the ice even faster.

Hakoda and Bumi sat with Sokka in the powder and cooed at the little oogies.

...But they didn’t have very long to enjoy it.

Gran-Gran crested the hill like a deadly omen armed with a broom that she wielded like a master spearman.

The look in her eyes was a force of nature that put even Katara’s to shame.

Even the otterpenguins two glaciers down cried for mercy and sprinted for their lives.

Katara and Aang were content, for the moment, to let natural selection determine Bumi’s and Hakoda’s fates.

(A Mother’s instinct was a force of nature, though, so Katara’s calm became Aang’s waypoint to gauge when or if he had to save the eldest-born part of their world.)

For now, they were content. Class was in session, after all.

Kya puffed up, waddled with her arms horizontal, and spoke in a tone that compelled Aang to speak clearly when he talked and fight the overwhelming urge to hug her.

The spark in her little eyes was a force of nature all on its own.

A Father’s instinct was a tide that was pushed and pulled with her every smile.

Aang was an ocean reduced to a puddle.

His full moon stood at his back.

His Morning Star waved her arms in excitement, and his Evening Star faintly laughed among Hakoda’s pleas for mercy.

“—this move all on my own! It’s really easy, but I’ll be right ‘ere in case you fall, Daddy!”

...It took Aang months to learn that move.

But it would have taken him lifetimes to learn it all on his own.

He loved every second of it—even the bruises that came with it.

...The first time Aang fell during a ‘lesson’, Katara was too slow to catch him.

A Daughter’s instinct was a force of nature, though, and little Kya was braced with her arms vertical to catch him. Aang should have known better. His daughter was his and Katara’s. If Gran-Gran could chase down three warriors and bring them to their knees even in her old age, it should be no surprise that Kya could hold up one man in her young years.

...The first time Aang skated ‘freely’, Kya and Bumi were on each of his sides.

...The first time Tenzin wore his ice-skates, Kya helped lace them up for him. Her voice was stern but calming like something protective as she herded him onto the ice.

“It’s okay, Ten-Ten. I got you. I won’t let you fall. I promise I’ll catch you.”

Aang and Katara were going to melt the whole South Pole if they smiled any bigger.

...Sokka was going to kill himself if he didn’t take a break from laughing to breathe, but Aang was no better. Katara, either, for that matter.

Kya puffed her chest like the world and everything in it was hers.

“Sifu?” Tenzin didn’t know what most words meant yet, but he was convinced he knew the word for ‘sister’. “Sifu, ‘m hungry...Bumi didn’t share the ‘prunes.”

No one dared to correct him.

(Kya held it over Tenzin’s head for years.)

(“Korra, I gotta hand it to you. Tenzin is a terrible student, but you helped him learn how to be a great teacher.”)

(“Kya, please…”)

(“Ah-ah! That’s ‘Sifu’ to you, Ten-Ten.”)

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I don’t know how this became a Kya-love fic, but I’m not complaining in the least. The splash-bëbë deserves all the love in the world😤, and she has Aang wrapped around her finger💖

#aang #kya ii #katara #kataang #avatar the last airbender #sokka #bumi ii #the legend of korra #kya love #cloudbabies #cloud family #bestdad!Aang #bestmom!Katara #bestuncle!Sokka #bestPap-Pop!Hakoda #myfanfictiontag #fic request #answered #post

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bellatrixobsessed1 · 3 years

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From Chin To Yon Rah (Part 39)

This part was typed mostly on mobile. Sorry for any typos.

She remembers the first time she had seen snow. The feeling...it was bizarre. If she were to be completely honest, she would best compare it to the sensation of her worst days--the days when her mind is slipping and everything feels off and nothing feels real. But instead of fear, she feels awe. Instead of dread, she feels an almost childlike sense of delight.

And perhaps, in some sense, she is a child again; she has something new to discover. Something curious and strange.

"Hajime,look." She points out the window. "It's everywhere." And perhaps it is a silly thing to ask but she inquires anyhow, "how do we walk through it?"

"Like you walk anywhere else?" He quirks a brow.

"But in the Water Tribes...I've heard that there is special equipment used to navigate the snow."

He laughs, "the snow isn't that deep here!" He opens the door and gestures for her to exit.

"It's cold." She complains. Even under her winter wools, she finds herself shivering. And here Atsu goes, dashing out into the winter with no coat at all.

"Git back in here!" Hajime calls. "I tol' you last year 'bout going outside without a coat!"

Atsu comes to a halt, the magic of the morning coming to an abrupt pause with him. " But dad!"

"You need to help Rikka get dressed, she never had to wear a winter clothes before."

This seems to allure the boy and with a wide and gleeful grin he darts back into the house. "Hurry up and put your coat and gloves on, Rikka! We have to build snow people and throw balls of snow at each other and…" he chucks a coat and a pair of gloves at her--Hajime's she assumes based upon the size of them.

Azula stuffs her fingers into the gloves. Only one layer doesn't seem sufficient but another layer or two seems to aggravatingly restrict her finger movements and if she is going to destroy Hajime and Atsu at this snowball war, she is going to need a full range of movement from her fingers.

She steps out into the snow, she hears it sift beneath her weight. So far everything is going accordingly, there is no ice to land her on the ground.she deduces that, in most places, the snow only reaches up to her ankles which is, though an inconvenience, manageable enough. But she can't imagine that running from enemy fire will be as easy. She supposes that if she needs a speedy getaway she can just melt some of the snow and listen to Atsu screech about her cheating. Perhaps she would feel more guilty over it if Atsu weren't a merciless little brute. He does not wait for her to assemble her protective mound of snow before bombarding her with an onslaught of tightly packed snow.

"Gotcha!" He whoops with each hit that she fails to evade. It would seem that while she was assessing her surroundings he hand been stockpiling an extensive artillery.

"Geez, Atsu, show mercy, this is her first snowball fight." Hajime chuckles from his spot on the porch.

It is a nice thought but Atsu, the feral beast, knows nothing of mercy. He tosses snowball after snowball. She manages to create only one but before she can throw it, Atsu fires another shot. And this one sails directly down the front of her shirt. She feels it slide from her chest to her belly leaving her with a full body shudder as itself away. She had dropped her snowball. Never in her life has she felt anything quite like it; uncomfortable and somewhat biting but I'm a way that wasn't exactly painful.

She tosses a pathetically pleading glance to Hajime who throws his head back in a howling laugh. "Alright, alright." He gets to his feet and steps out into the battlefield.

"Uh oh…" Atsu mumbles, he is now we'll aware that he should have built himself a snow fortress. Azula gives him a smug smile as she lifts a new snowball.

"Uh oh." He repeats as her very second snowball sails right into his face.

Maybe she should feel guilty over it but he isn't crying and he brushes it right off. And besides, she is certain that he was aiming for her face the whole time anyways, he simply didn't have the arm strength to land any hits higher than chest level.

And by the end of the hour she is almost embarrassed by how satisfied she feels to have beaten a child at a children's game. Any tickles of shame are washed away by Atsus delightful giggles. His enthusiastic, "wait until Caihong and Kim get here! We'll kick yer butts until you don't have butts no more!"

People have bestowed upon her many threats. But none have been quite like that.

That day she learns that Atsu is very much a little shit and that, likely, she will never truly shake her competitive nature.

.oOo.

She has been to plenty of awkward dinners but the silence of this one is so thick that it is dizzying. She can’t help but notice the way that Sokka twiddles his thumbs and looks in every direction but his father’s and Katara’s. It occurs to her that he is ashamed of her. Is embarrassed to be seen with her. She supposes that it is a good thing that the snow storm has picked up too strongly to go for a stroll through the village. She can only imagine what sort of looks she will get from everyone else. A firebender...the princess among people who the Fire Nation has displaced and nearly destroyed. She is everything that they detest and she supposes that Sokka has every right to be embarrassed by that. Embarrassed in the same way that she had been to parade him around the Fire Nation at first.

“Aren’t you going to say anything, dad?”

The man gives something between a hum and a sigh, “I’m trying to figure out what to say.” Hakoda looks at her. His face isn’t as steely with stubbornness as Katara’s.

Azula stares at her palms. She should take her mittens off. But any little motion will draw too much attention. Not that Katara's resentful gaze has left her since she got to the table. She wants to have a taste of her seaweed stew but she is already mildly nauseous with nervousness and the scent of the stew doesn't exactly kindle her appetite.

"Just talk to her for a bit, dad, you'll like her." Sokka promises.

The flutters in her tummy intensify that much more. She wishes that he wouldn't make promises that even he isn't certain of.

"She likes history and strategizing just like you do and…"

"And she used it to foil our invasion and get him sent to the Boiling Rock." Katara folds her arms across her chest.

Azula cringes to herself, truth be told, she had forgotten about that. Comparatively speaking, it seemed much less profound than some of her other misdeeds.

"Yeah well she's done a lot of changing since then." Sokka insists. “See, she even has the redemption haircut!”

“The what?” Azula finally speaks up.

“Yeah, Zuko said he cut his hair before joining us and now look at him, he’s happy--but in a grumpy old man sort of way, he’s a good friend, and he’s got long flowing tresses.”

Azula rolls her eyes. She isn’t sure if she wants to slug the man to death right in front of his father and sister or if she finds his recant amusing. She supposes that it would ruin her chances to make amends of she murdered Sokka now. “It wasn’t a redemption haircut I had matted hair and, maybe, lice.” Ji-Zhang had only mentioned it being matted. She supposes if she had lice that they would have shaved…

“Azula.” Sokka manages to cut through her comfort musings. Granted her musings weren’t at all pleasant but her inner monologue very much beats the external alternative.

She realizes that Hakoda has extended his hand. It is far less formal than a bow but she will take what she can get. He gives her hand a shake. “I’m Hakoda.”

“Sokka told me that, already. And he has already told you my name.”

Sokka flushes, “you’re supposed to introduce yourselves to each other.” And then he turns to his father, “she’s still working on the whole having a normal conversation thing. It runs in the family.”

“I can have a normal conversation just fine.” She folds her arms and holds her head high.

“Well it’s...interesting to formally meet you, Azula.”

“Dad!” Katara says sharply. “She’s not a part of this family. I don’t care how much Sokka likes her.”

“Come on Katara.”

“Don’t ‘come on Katara’ me! You’re the one trying to welcome her into the Water Tribe.”

“I get it, this is for the whole Jet thing isn’t it.”

This time Katara blushes.

“Who is Jet?” Azula furrows her brows.

“Yes, who is Jet?” Hakoda agrees.

“You don’t know about Jet?” Sokka asks at the same time as Katara says, “you weren’t supposed to tell him about Jet!”

“Jet’s just some jerk that flooded a whole village full of kids. To drive out some Fire Nation soldiers.”

“Gaipan?”

“Yeah.” Sokka nods. “You know about that.”

Azula returns the nod. “We lost a few soldiers there. There were noble men and women.” She pauses. “Stubborn too. They might have been alright if they fled with the rest of the village but…”

“Firebenders and their pride.” Hakoda clicks his tongue.

She wants to call the man on his generalization but frankly she hasn’t met a firebender yet who didn’t value pride. And maybe that is why it is so hard for her to apologize to Katara and Hakoda. Though she isn’t certain that she particularly needs to apologize to Hakoda--he had led an invasion to defeat her father. He had encroached on her land. It was her duty to see those plans foiled. Though pointing that out probably won’t serve her too well.

“Can you give her a chance, Katara? I gave Jet a chance.”

“No you didn’t. You were protesting and whining the whole time.”

“And I ended up being right.”

“So will I.” With those three words, she storms out into the snow.

“That went flawlessly.” Azula grumbles.

“Just give her some time, she’ll come around when she realizes that you’re actually kind of a really sweet person.”

“I will set everything you love on fire…”

“You just like to pretend that you aren’t.” And to Hakoda he mutters, “It’s part of the firebender pride thing. You can’t let anyone know that you’re nice.” He slings an arm over her shoulder and pulls her in closer.

Azula sighs, it is going to be a long, long vacation or whatever in the spirits’ name she could call this.

#Avatar The Last Airbender #Azula #Sokka #Sokkla #Fanfiction

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weirdest-al · 3 years

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Mokay just a few thoughts because i have been thinking them and i think we could use some ~wholesome vibes~

so like a big chunk of this last/latest chapter of the fic i’m working on is much to do with ice dodging and just like izumi being A Perfectionist about it and just placing too much on her young shoulders blah blah blah really it just made me think more thoughts like

- first and foremost the idea that ice dodging is only for 14 year old boys? not if Katara has a say in it, which she does, and let’s just say, that is a thing of the past, gender? no gender? get on the boat, it’s rite of passage time kids

- Zuko having to go ice dodging to become an honorary member of the Water Tribe and just being like ha ha joke’s on you I’ve captained a ship before and then being like ha ha joke’s on me and sorry fourteen year olds .. do.. this? Alone?

- speaking of 14 year olds when Lu Ten (the oldest) turns 14 he’s s u p e r excited, like already on the boat when everyone else shows up in the morning just like take a seat folks and watch how the pros do it

- okay but also like Hakoda and Zuko being on board bc tradition is that the father accompanies the children and like 1. Zuko both passed the test and is their father and 2. both Hakoda and Zuko recognize the importance of them both being there for the children, like Hakoda because he is not just an honorary member of the tribe and because he missed the ritual with his own children, and Zuko because he is, you know, dad, and also because it’s like hey you really are a part of this now, it’s not some surface level thing

- But also Zuko being quite nervous in private about the whole ordeal (with all of them but like especially Lu Ten because he’s the first one and it kinda dawns on him that this is pretty dangerous and that’s their SON??? he’s a CHILD??) Katara reassuring Zuko that their son is going to be fine and that none of them have failed yet (YET?!)

- Still, the minute he’s in sight of his kids he makes sure to be totally outwardly calm (especially considering he can only sit back and watch unless shit really hits the fan) so he still makes sure to give his kids a big thumbs up to be like ha ha it’s all good who’s worried not me go get em champ

- Kya though.... nervous WRECK right up until the moment she’s on board, like the only thing she can fathom is immediately sinking the boat and everything falling to absolute shit dishonor on you dishonor on your cow and irreparable damage to a boat that was probably pretty costly to make, except the minute she actually sets sail it’s just like ah Kalm

- Lu Ten being like Kya chillax, it’s really fun! you’ve got this! (really trying to be a supportive older brother about it) and Kya being like you’re a WATERBENDER you can’t DROWN!! To which he just is like ?????? I.... I don’t think that’s how that works at ALL

- I also just really like the idea of Katara writing down a little booklet of all the ice dodging tips and tricks and gifting it to each of her kids the night before, like I know you’ve been gearing up for this but just in case, here’s some last minute wisdom, just like passing down all the wisdom she gathered from her own experience and also just hearing everyone else’s stories (especially with Lu Ten because she’s like okay here’s some waterbending tricks, keep it on the DL). Also the booklet would definitely end with very heartfelt notes and blessings for each of the kids that she definitely cries a little writing (argh rites of passage, everything’s a bar/bat mitzvah huh)

- Rohan and Izumi get to do it together :’^) But Izumi is a total perfectionist and Rohan is a real devil may care kinda kid and them finding a balance bc the s t a k e s! Also that’s just... how they operate, somehow they always manage to balance each other out

- also like... yes please GOD the twins just being there for each other always at the end of the day even though they’re so opposite in terms of personality, like when push comes to shove they have each other’s backs and really understand one another

- but also Izumi being like well if we fuck this up I shame not only one but TWO nations, the entire legacy of postwar world rests on my fourteen year old shoulders apparently and I’ll be seen as an outsider and a failure in the Water Tribe! But yeah, glad the whole family is here to see that

- and then Rohan being like but what if I did this... blindfolded?

- hmm what marks would everyone get, well I’ll tell ya!

Lu Ten gets the Mark of the Brave

Kya gets the Mark of the Wise

Rohan gets the Mark of the Brave (well, a bit reckless, but there’s no mark for that... yet)

Izumi gets the Mark of the Trusted

- ugh UNCLE SOKKA giving these kids their marks and just being like well a little tearbending never hurt nobody

- in any case, all of them succeeding and everyone just being proud and happy and the kids feeling like they can have a place in two worlds, that being children of two different cultures doesn’t mean they have to clash. Just being a part of tradition and realizing that the world is complex, but it isn’t all bad, and that they get to be a part of it!! Also they all eat lots of food and have Good Family Bonding Times because hell we all deserve that don’t we

lmao okay so this was more than “a few” thoughts but like who cares dude

#zutara #steambabies #i just.... have so many feelings y'all #like.... yes these kids are deeply tied to their mother's traditions!!!#as they SHOULD BE #ugh i'm soft #weak #this family kills me #atla #wow this post was... long #sorry not sorry :^) you will read my thinks

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headcanonthings · 4 years

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Zukka + moonspirit!Sokka

So I love to write fics but I’m horrible at committing and finishing them out but here’s a rough outline/headcanon for prince zuko and moonspirit Sokka (this is gonna be long sorry)

To start Hakoda is chief of the Northern water tribe which obvs means that Sokka and Katara as well as Kya and Bato are all NWT (Kanna ran away from sexist Pakku and the southern tribe)

Aang is instead from the the Northern Air temple but still runs away and gets caught in a storm and freezes into an iceberg

The Northen Water Tribe gets attacked as the next expected place for the Avatar but thanks to the spirit oasis they’re a little more protected and are able to mostly withstand the numerous attacks; they still lose people but are not on the brink and still maintain a few waterbenders and Kya doesn’t die

Maybe a fire bender gets past their defenses and she gets burned idk but since there’s still water benders she’s healed up and lives (let the water tribe family be happy)

Sokka basically gets Yue’s backstory so that he can become moonspirit blessed

The war and fire nation all tracks with the show up (Sozin starts it, Iroh loses Lu Ten, Azulon order’s Zuko’s death and Ursa leaves, Ozai takes over) until Zuko’s Agni Kai

Iroh’s basically going through the motions after Lu Ten’s death, his depression made worse with the loss of his father and he pretty much doesn’t care that his birthright has been usurped by his little bro because he’d give it all up, live as the poorest person on earth, as long as it meant he had his son back

BUT THEN OZAI CHALLENGES HIS THIRTEEN YEAR OLD CHILD TO A SPIRITS DAMNED AGNI KAI

Iroh starts off with giving his brother the benefit of the doubt, like he knows the guys isn’t the greatest father but he’s not gonna HURT his kid right? Wrong. So the second Ozai cups his son’s face and Iroh sees the flames he snaps out of it and jumps into action

He literally jumps into the ring and pushes Ozai away, challenges him on the spot for the throne and Ozai might be the Fire Lord but Iroh is the MOTHER FUCKEN DRAGON OF THE WEST and kicks the guys ass

Ozai is thrown into the royal prison (and probably has some large burns because his brother can breathe fire??? And Iroh maybe vindictively made sure to burn the hand he hurt Zuko with so that everytime Ozai sees it he’ll remember why he’s there)

Zuko still has his scar but thanks to Iroh’s intervention it’s a little lighter, his sight and hearing on that sides a little fucked, and the outline of a handprint a little easier to discern but instead of the all encompassing shame and anger and pain when Zuko looks at his scar he’s reminded of how much his Uncle loves him and what he did to protect him (thinks of how much his mom loves him and probably Lu Ten because you can’t convince me that Iroh’s kid wasn’t like the best cousin ever)

He’s still a little self conscious of it because come on it’s a giant face scar from his father and he’s a teenager but it’s not as bad as in the show

Newly crowned Fire Lord Iroh declares the war over and since the 94 year or whatever war isn’t that catchy and Iroh wants it to be acknowledged that it was the fire nations fault it starts to be referred to as Sozin’s War

So fast forward three/four years and the world is slowly moving towards peace Fire Lord Iroh is hosting a small delegation of the leaders of the different nations to really start ironing out official peace treaties which means Hakoda and Fam come down from the North Pole and everyone finally meets!

BONUS

Lu Ten was a non-bender so became super skilled at a number of diff weapons and fighting styles

Zuko is understandablely freaked out by fire bending for awhile after the whole facing his father in a fire duel thing — Iroh remembers how Zuko seemed to like watching Lu Ten practice his swordsman skills so he calls on his good friend Master Piandao

Piandao takes one look at this little traumatized boy and goes ‘Bitch let’s get you some sword therapy’ and hands Zuko his first set of dao swords and during their training while Zuko’s too focused on getting his forms right he doesn’t realize that they’re not talking about swords anymore and instead he tells him about the Agni Kai and his scar and how he’s scared of his own fire

Piandao is the first person Zuko ever tells about how the Agni Kai wasn’t the first time his father hurt him; he’s also the first non family person Zuko’s ever cried in front of and gotten a hug from

Hakoda and Bato never leave to fight but make regular weeks long trips out to keep the defenses up so there’s still some worry that he won’t come back; Sokka’s not allowed to come along because his parents are a little over protective because of how he was born and only alive because the moonspirit blessed him but they still let him do some warrior training after Sokka convinced them about needing to know how to protect himself as son of the chief plus how kya was hurt

“If they got in once they can do it again!”

Sokka and Katara sneak out one day because they feel the need to make sure the Fire Navy is really retreating and they end up in some SiblingFight TM and Katara might have some people to help train her water bending but she’s still a teen girl and when she gets worked up her control kind of gets iffy and she ends up cracking a giant iceberg and FINDS A WEIRD BOY

A WEIRD BOY WHO TURNS OUT TO BE THE LAST AIRBENDER AND THE AVATAR

with Fire Lord Iroh declaring the war over and everyone slowly starting to believe him there’s no rush to get Aang powered up so instead the Water Tribe Sibs take him home and focus on figuring out what happened to Aang and giving him a history lesson in a more relaxed manner

They still take him to the air temple which is hard but Aang won’t believe them about the war until he sees proof and well the Fire Navy is gone and there is no angsty teen hunting him

Hakoda more or less adopts the kid while Aang hangs around the north pole to train and become BFFs with Sokka and Katara

Toph gets tired of her overprotective parents and runs away after she hears them wailing about marriage prospects or something; she finds her way to Omashu where some weird old crazy guy finds her and he says he’s king which is kind of confusing but whatever he gives her a place to stay, doesn’t expect her to act like a lady or treat her like a porcelain doll, he’s kind of funny and is a freaking amazing earth bender (almost as good as her)

Aang comes with Hakoda as part of his fam for the Peace Summit while Toph accompanies Bumi as part of the Earth Kingdom delegation and so the Gaang comes together while the adults fix shit like they should

Zukka specific

Iroh and Zuko greet all the delegations personally so Zuko’s first sight of Sokka is in full Water Tribe regalia and he thinks the white haired boy is the prettiest person he’s ever seen in his life

Sokka has pretty much the same reaction seeing the Prince of The Fire Nation (he feels a little bad about it because it’s only been like three years since the war ended and a lot of people still view the Fire nation as the enemy)

Sokka can’t sleep one night, he’s a bit of a night owl because of his connection, so he’s wandering around about trying to find an open quiet spot so that he can talk to the moon (the spirit saved him so he likes to talk to it like it’s his friend) when he catches Zuko practicing his dao

Zuko has nightmares and going through his dao forms relaxes him along with spending time at his precious turtleduck pond

Sokka is full on smitten after that (there’s nothing more attractive than a boy competently handling two swords)

Sokka asks Zuko to show him how to use his swords

There’s shy flirting between the two and good natured teasing from the others

Mai and Ty Lee come up with little schemes to get Zuko and Sokka alone which clash with the schemes Aang and Katara come up with

Toph choas goddess she is bounces between the two groups throwing out comments that she’s knows will cause the two different schemes to clash

#okay this ended up being way longer than i expected #sorry #zukka #moonspirit sokka #zuko #sokka #a;tla #hakoda #katara #aang #toph #king bumi #uncle iroh #fire lord iroh #headcanon #long post

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bakodads · 4 years

Text

Bandages

“Stealing supplies isn’t the best way to keep a low profile, you know.” He grimaced, staring ahead at the wall as he felt the bandage gently peel away from sensitive flesh.

“Neither is gangrene.” Bato countered, unraveling the fresh gauze. Hakoda couldn’t help but laugh.

Summary: After the Day of Black Sun, Bato helps Hakoda care for his injuries. Things come up to the surface.

A/N: I literally haven’t written something that isn’t a paper since I was 13 so please don’t expect quality writing...

“How old is that bandage, anyway?”

Hakoda dropped his shirt from where he was assessing the wound on his side, and turned to look in the direction of the familiar voice. He continued absently prodding the covered gashes from under his shirt, while his eyes raked over Bato. “A couple of days, maybe.” He mumbled in response, his mind focused on other things. Bato had just been returned to their cell after another round of questioning. Hakoda was relieved to see no evidence that the guards had roughed him up, and his expression relaxed.

Considering him for a moment, Bato stood by the door with one eyebrow raised in obvious disbelief. With intent, he crossed the room. The man seated on the floor watched with interest; Bato always had this gracefulness about him, and Hakoda often noticed that this gracefulness was not just present in the way he fought, but also in the way he carried himself. In a smooth motion, he came to sit cross- legged next to Hakoda, who was still watching him with a curious face.

His mind snapped back to the situation when he felt a hand gently swat away his own, which was still poking at the wound. “Don’t do that.” The taller man chastised, lifting the edge of the other’s shirt to examine the bandage before Hakoda could protest. If Hakoda were to be honest with himself, the attention wasn’t unwelcome. Since the adults were imprisoned after the invasion fell through, he had devoted all of his attention to those under his command, including the attention that admittedly should have gone to the pretty bad gash on his side. He gave a half- hearted huff, but decided not to resist.

Long, gentle fingers traced the line where the fabric met skin in thoughtful silence. The chief heard a displeased hum come from his second in command. “Sure. A couple of days.”

The hand left his side and reached under his own prison uniform, where he took out a roll of bandages. “I knew you were going to need new ones.” He murmured, setting them beside him and returning to the one on the chief’s abdomen. Calloused hands grabbed Bato’s and stopped him from his ministrations.

“You stole prison medical supplies?” Hakoda asked, his voice stern.

Bato looked up and met his disapproving gaze, his own expression serious and his eyes gleaming with smugness. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, chief.”

His annoyance faltered. The deed had already been done, and Hakoda realized he was being hypocritical. He just as easily would have done the same for his men. He huffed once again and let go of his hands, trying his best to conceal the sudden wave of affection he felt for his friend’s selflessness. He decided he was going to stay annoyed at him for a little longer.

“Stealing supplies isn’t the best way to keep a low profile, you know.” He grimaced, staring ahead at the wall as he felt the bandage gently peel away from sensitive flesh.

“Neither is gangrene.” Bato countered, unraveling the fresh gauze. Hakoda couldn’t help but laugh. “Could you take your shirt off? It would make my job easier.” He continued. Hakoda nodded and grabbed the edge of his shirt, raising his arms to lift it over his head. He instantly regretted the movement. The muscles on his wounded side lit up in pain, and a searing sensation shot along his core. He couldn’t hold back the gasp that escaped his lips, and his arms dropped close to his body.

Reflexively, Bato rose to his knees and reached to help him.“Here, let me-”

“Really, Bato, I’m fine. I can do it myself!” Hakoda snapped, suddenly frustrated with the situation at hand and angry at himself for being injured. He was supposed to be a leader, not a liability. With infinite patience, Bato raised his hands in a truce and returned to sitting. Hakoda ignored the embarrassed burn in his cheeks from his outburst, and gingerly removed his shirt. When it was finally off, he straightened his back and stared straight ahead. It was a cop- out, really, settling into his soldier facade so he could at least pretend the man to his right wasn’t pitying him. He did it anyway.

Bato’s unwavering gaze on him was unreadable. He refused to meet the eyes he felt reading his own face, even when he felt Bato take his arm and gently extend it outwards, guiding it until it rested on his companion’s shoulder so it didn’t block his work. Hakoda’s breath hitched.

After a silence that seemed to last ages, Bato finally dropped his gaze and started wrapping the gauze around the other man’s torso. “There’s no shame in injury, you know.” Bato stated, his low timbre turning surprisingly soft. He was speaking from experience. “Sometimes we have to let other people care for us.”

Hakoda said nothing.

“Besides,” he continued, gently guiding the fabric around his back, his chin nearly resting on Hakoda’s shoulder as he reached around him, “you did the same for me once.”

Hakoda let out a bitter, humorless chuckle. “I abandoned you.”

The words struck a nerve in both of them. Bato paused what he was doing.

“Hakoda-” he sighed.

“You nearly died that day, and my idea of caring for you was leaving you behind!” The other man interrupted, finally turning to look at Bato. This time, Bato wouldn’t meet his gaze. He tied off the bandage, but didn’t move away from the other.

“I couldn’t do anything for the man who had done so much for me and my family… and I hated myself for it.”

A massive weight dissipated from his shoulders. These awful feelings he had harbored for ages were out in the open. He finally put his guilt into words towards the man who needed to hear it most- his confidant, his life- long friend, and the man who became his rock when Kya died.

Bato’s head snapped up, and their gazes finally met. “Don’t.” He warned. “Don’t say that.”

“I could have lost you.” Hakoda’s voice was nearly a whisper now. His deep blue eyes were darting around Bato’s face, seeming to soak up his appearance. His own face portrayed such utter sadness, and perhaps a bit of fear, that he hadn’t seen weigh on his chief since the day he lost his wife.

At his words, Bato’s demeanor shifted and his face softened into realization. This wasn’t supposed to be an argument. Suddenly, he realized that the hand resting on his shoulder was moving to cradle the side of his face, and that his leader had turned his body to face him. His breath caught in his throat at such a raw display of affection. Touch was common between the two of them, but it took the form of back slaps, gentle nudges, and the occasional sparring match. This was entirely different, but Bato found that it was more than welcome.

Ever so cautiously, as if the stillness of the moment could be broken if he were not careful, the taller man raised his hand to rest atop the hand on his cheek. He gave it a reassuring squeeze. “But you didn’t lose me,” he began, his voice low and gentle. “And no matter how hard you try, you can’t get rid of me.”

At his words, the corners of his chief’s mouth turned up and his eyes shone with fond amusement. Bato drank in the sight, as happiness had become a rare thing to see light up the familiar, handsome face lately. Hope, uncertainty, and… something else flashed between the two of them, something that Bato thought he would have imagined, if it wasn’t for the eyes now lingering on his lips. Suddenly, he became very aware of their close proximity, and it was Bato’s turn to feel his cheeks burn. This too was new, and this too was more than welcome.

“Koda…” he murmured, seeking something he couldn’t put his finger on- confirmation perhaps, or permission. In an answer, Hakoda titled his head, his gaze never leaving the other’s mouth. Bato leaned in.

The door to their cell opened with an unforgiving clang, and in an instant the two men seated on the floor were apart, once again warriors turning to face the guard. “Looks like you’re going to Boiling Rock, chief.” She snarled while glaring at Hakoda, obviously smug that the leader of the group had finally been smoked out. “Let’s go.”

The hard lines returned to Hakoda’s face. There was no way out of this one. Slowly, half from his wounds and half out of stubborness, he donned his tattered shirt. The two shared a meaningful look, one that said this is temporary; we’ve done this before. Bato gave his chief a nod, and the other man placed a hand on his knee, letting his touch linger as he reluctantly rose to face the guard.

Bato watched as the door to his cell closed behind them. He looked at the discarded bandage laying on the floor. “This better not last long.” he grumbled to himself, trying to ignore the sudden emptiness in his core. He raised his scarred hand to his cheek that was cradled so fondly only moments ago. “It looks like we have a lot more to talk about.”

#bakoda #hakoda x bato #atla #chief hakoda #bato #bato x hakoda #avatar #atla fanfic #otp: water tribe dads #and i DO take criticism!

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pxnk-velvet · 4 years

Text

The Dancing Warrior: Water, Chapter 4

(Sokka x OC Reader)

The group had landed in a forest after their whole debacle with the Pierates. Navani jumping early so the others would have some what of an easier landing.

“Oh my gosh!” Katara yelled when Navani suddenly let go.

She had successfully landed, doing a roll and quickly popping up from her crouching position, “I’m fine!” She yelled back, waving.

After everyone else had landed, Sokka was quick to interrogate this new girl despite how fond of her he was already.

“So....you’re a fire bender?” Sokka questioned, looking this girl in the eyes. But she had a blue eye? How? Maybe something happened and that’s why her eye is blue?...

She blushed violently, kicking the ground with toe of her shoe, “Yeah...”

“But....” Sokka didn’t know how to say what was on his mind without seeming rude. Yet she easily spoke what he thought.

“I know what you’re thinking.” At that point Aang and Katara had joined Sokka, standing on either side of him.

She sighed, contemplating what she was about to do.

Her whole life her mother had always said to keep the fact that she could bend two elements, opposites for that matter, a secret. Typically she was always introduced to new people as a fire bender, despite her relation to Meena.

Her eyes were squeezed shut as she blurt out the question, “Can you guys keep a secret?”

The three other teenagers looked at each other suspiciously, but nodded. She took a couple of steps back, getting closer to the river bank.

What she did next completely shocked everyone.

She cartwheeled backwards, jumping into the air. Kicking her legs up, to do a mid-air split, manipulating the water to shoot from her left and fire from her right. Her eyes glowing immensely, like the sun and moon. When she landed, she stood tall with her right leg pressed against her upper body as she held it high. Spinning in a circle, moving the fire and water into an intertwined swirl. When she slowed she cartwheeled fowards. Shooting fire above with her feet and whipping water onto the ground with her hands as she landed, crouching on her knees. Her chest heaved gently as she stood tall, feeling pressure change on the bottom of her feet. She smiled softly, feeling content within.

It seemed as though the air around them stilled. They all stood in silence, stunned by all means.

The first one to speak up was Sokka, “Woah...” How could he possibly be even more attracted to her? At this point he was infatuated with her and he had to know all about her.

Next to speak was Aang. Completely thrown for a loop at the fact that she could bend two elements. Is there such thing as a second Avatar?

As for Katara, she felt somewhat envious. Envious of the fact this girl they just met could not only bend fire but water too! Not to mention her agility and flexibility. But she couldn’t let that get to her head.

“You’re a dual-bender.” Katara spoke softly as Navani settled into the timid posture she had before. Kicking the toe of her shoe into the dirt.

Katara had heard of the legends and myths about the dual-benders of the past. But there hadn’t been explanations as to how.

“Yeah. That’s why my eyes are like this...I know I’m a bit of a freak, so it’s alright if you don’t want to be friends with me anymore.” Navani presented, looking down with a shameful blush.

“Are you kidding?!” Aang exclaimed, running up to her, “That’s so cool! And I’m the Avatar!”

“Tell us about yourself!” Sokka suggested, plopping down onto the dirt. Hoping she would sit too.

She does, settling down gently with her knees tucked into her chest, next to him, “Well, what do you want to know?”

Sokka blurt out, “Who are you?” Maybe just a bit too quickly.

Navani looked at him, his blue eyes sending chills down her spin and warmth to her heart.

“Well, you guys know my name. I live on an island just a few miles away from here in the Fire Nation. I live with my mother, she’s from the Southern Water Tribe like you guys.” She told, untucking her knees and sitting with her legs crossed.

“Well how about that? A water tribe member living in the Fire Nation. You don’t see that everyday.” Sokka spoke sarcastically.

“What was her name? Maybe our Gran-Gran knew her.” Katara asked, genuine curiosity within her words.

“Meena. She was a water bending warrior. One of the few females warriors. Apparently she was very well known. Or at least that’s what she tells me.” Navani chuckled, thinking of her mother.

“Yeah! Dad and Gran-Gran would talk about her. Apparently she grew up with mom and dad.” Sokka said, eyes glowing, leaning in towards Navani in excitement. She giggled.

“Hakoda and Kya,” She spoke softly, remembering the stories her mother would tell her about growing up in the South.

Years and years ago, Hakoda, Kya, and Meena had all been friends. Growing up together and watching each other go from child to adults. Over time Meena had watch her two best friends fall in, despite her own feelings for Hakoda. She should’ve know, especially since she had the worst luck with lovers. But she didn’t let it get to her, letting her friends be in peace.

Her and Hakoda had started training to be warriors from a young age. Meena often getting teased for being a girl. Hakoda bravely standing up for her, even though he knew very well she could hold her own. This only led to her falling for the boy who had eyes for her best friend. Their fun conversations, sparring sessions, and deep connection but it didn’t matter.

Eventually she forced her focus on her training and water bending, becoming one of the best warriors to ever rise for the South. Her skills and agility weren’t like anything anyone had seen before and her bending was top tier. Having trained with some of the best masters around.

Her name became notorious with in the Water Tribes. Little girls and boys saying how they would like to grow up and be like her one day, something that filled her heart. But yet there would always be that emptiness, knowing she might of given up her future love.

“Who’s your dad then, if you’re a fire bender?” Aang asked, then feeling guilty seeing Navani’s expression sadden.

She looked at the ground with a slight frown, “I don’t know who my dad is. All I know is that he’s Fire bender and had a lot of money.”

At that the three others raised an eyebrow. Navani sighed, deciding to just tell them everything.

Throughout her childhood he would come and visit, bringing food, clothing, money, and other basic necessities for the two girls he had grown to love.

Yet up until she could remember him, he stopped his visits, resorting to sending things instead. Something that saddened the general deeply.

One day a young Navani had received a letter saying that she would be attending the Royal Fire Academy for girls.

Which could only mean one thing....he had power....or just a lot of money. Because only the family of Fire Nation nobility were allowed to attend such a school.

Within a couple of weeks she had begun her studies at the school, only to find herself in a tough spot.

She had been bullied constantly over how she looked. Being called names and being teased. Something that would take her years to finally let go.

But there were three girls in particular. Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. Navani was always the subject of their torture. Azula especially, saying and doing horrible things to the poor girl.

Eventually once Navani had reached the prodigy level, her mother quickly took her out of school. Ceasing the bullying and torment from her fellow classmates.

After that Meena had begun teaching Navani water bending and furthered her combat training. She took note of how quickly her daughter learned and excelled.

[][][]

Taglist!

@harmlessoffering

@ilovespideyyy

@eat-a-brick714

@none-of-ur-frackin-business

@smolbitch2006

@the-natureofme

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gloves94 · 4 years

Text

Sunburn [Prince Zuko] 26

Warnings: Blood Rating: PG-13 Pairings: Zuko/OC Summary: “You have everything you’ve always wanted.” “No.” He said softly. “Not everything…” His golden eyes looked at her with a melting intensity she had never witnessed before. “I guess not.” She responded with glassy eyes as tears welled up threatening to break the dam of her eyes.

My fanfiction: M A S T E R L I S T

How had things gotten this bad…

Tsai's world was upside down. Literally.

The servant was currently bind by both of her ankles and hung in an extremely painful upside-down suspension. The ties on her limbs were extremely tight restricting the blood flow. Her ankle joins were slowly being pulled apart by her own weight. All the blood had rushed to her head giving her a terrible headache. She almost felt like she was going to pass out again. She didn't know how long she had been in this position… Then again- how had things gotten this bad? xxx

"Lunchtime, General Iroh." Ming smiled as she entered Iroh's cell with the tray of food in her hands. She kneeled before the bars, glancing over her shoulder at the open door, before looking back at whispering conspiratorially, "And this time, I brought you an extra bowl of rice."

"Thank you, Ming." Iroh replied with his own soft smile, "Your little gestures of kindness have made my days in prison bearable." He stared at the young woman for a moment thoughtful then he smiled again, "I think you should take the rest of the day off."

Ming gave him a confused look, "What?"

"You don't look well." Iroh explained easily, "Maybe you should go home and rest."

"No, I feel fine."

Iroh leaned forward and grasped the bars of his cell, "Trust me. It is better that you are not here this afternoon."

Ming stared at him for a moment then nodded in understanding. Iroh watched as she stood up and exited his prison cell then he closed his eyes to meditate. Iroh ate his rice quietly, alone. He knew what was coming. The day of the black sun was upon them.

xxx

Zuko kneeled before a painting of his mother with his head bowed, "I know I've made some bad choices, but I'm gonna set things right." He stood, picked up his sword, and pulled the hood of his robe over his head. Taking a deep breath, he turned his back on the painting and exited the room.

Xxx

Tsai's head lolled to the side as she was taken out of the torture chamber. She struggled to remain conscious. Her head had a terrible ache to it. Her bones hurt. Her limbs. She could still feel the blood rushing to her limbs as she was dragged out of the chamber. Her feet limp dragging across the floor. xxx It was turn for the Avatar and the Resistance to fight back and defeat Fire Lord Ozai and the vile Fire Nation. It had been a strenuous long journey here. Countless of sacrifices had been made. War raged upon them as Aang stormed inside of a seemingly empty palace. He airbendended himself into a dark and empty throne room. He was ready to fight with his arms up in a combative stance but straightened from his pose and stared in shock at the empty throne at the end of the room. He was too late.

"No." He growled in frustration as he dropped his staff and fell to his knees. The Fire Lord was gone. "No, no, no! Fire Lord Ozai, where are you!?"

Xxx

Ozai grinned wickedly as the greatest traitor in the history of the Fire Nation was taken before him. She was tossed to the ground like a worthless sack of bones and she looked up glowering in defiance. A nerve splitting headache made it feel as if her head was going to explode. She raised her head and her blood ran cold, all that blood drained from her face and she paled fearfully at the man who was standing next to the Fire Lord.

xxx

Outside of the palace walls a brown-haired young man with dark, wavy hair used a hand to shade his eyes as he peered up at the eclipsing sun. He could hear the sounds of the battle between his nation and the Resistance raging on. The Fire Nation army was shooting at the earthbender tanks. However, the tanks but they were much too sturdy for the flames, too powerful for them to overcome, especially when earthbenders were running around, launching boulders to counterattack the Fire Nation's soldiers attacks.

"If we move this squadron over here, we can weaken their defense even further."

Mecha removed his eyes from the sky and down at Sokka, who was kneeling behind a stationary tank with Bato and one of the earthbenders. He whipped his arms in a combative stance fighting an oncoming fireball which landed behind him with his own flame. He looked back up at the sky waiting for the black sun. Waiting for the fire to stop burning. 'I'm almost there sister…'He thought to himself with worry. For some reason, he couldn't shake off the ill feeling that something terrible was going to happen. Both him and Sokka cringed at the sound of the resulting explosion.

He turned to see Katara with Water Tribe military leader Hakoda, who was also her father, leaning heavily against her climb through the hole in the wall. Reaching down, Mecha touched Sokka's shoulder and gestured towards his family.

"Dad!" Sokka's expression brightened considerably when he caught sight of his father. He quickly jumped to his feet and rushed over to Katara and Hakoda. Mecha stayed back. His fists clenched tightly. He had become a traitor to his nation and because of it his family had been destroyed. He hadn't seen Tsai in almost a year now since she left on that trek with General Iroh and his disgraced nephew. Oh, how he hated Prince Zuko. This was all his fault. His nostrils fumed with a hot vapor. He would save his sister, get his revenge. Destroy and take over the empire that had taken so much from him. His sister, his destiny as Vice Royal Governor of the wealthiest Fire Nation colony. He had lost his home his title…

He still remembered the day they had come. The Fire Nation officials ready to arrest his parent's for treason against the Nation. Reacting on impulse he took the blame. He blamed himself for making his sister go on that damned trip. For bringing shame and dishonor to his family. The year had toughened him up as he traveled the Earth Kingdom looking for his lost sister and the prince. In his travels he had seen just how much harm the Fire Nation had truly brought to the world. How much pain, damage, destruction, loss, death, famine and horror. How could he have been so blind his whole life? Today was the day he would put the seven headed dragon down. His fists sizzled. "You alright there Hotman? You look like you're ready to grill!" Sokka said suddenly snapping his train of thought. "Yeah," Mecha inhaled a deep breath. "The eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet!" He added. He was much too distracted by his blind rage and thoughts that he didn't realize Katara was looking up at the skies with concern.

"Is that...is that Aang?" She muttered with a quizzical expression.

"This can't be good," he said.

"What?!" Sokka exclaimed and he whirled around just in time to see Aang dodge several fire balls and land in front of him. Sokka stared at the younger boy pleadingly, "Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down." Mecha let out what sounded like a humorous huff.

"He wasn't home." Aang replied wearily as he kneeled in front of Sokka, Katara, and Mecha, "No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned."

Sokka's eyes widened and his expression turned into one of dismay, "They knew." "I told you all," Mecha shook his head. "The Fire Lord is not an idiot." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Azula," Realization suddenly hit Katara. "King Kuei must've said something while she and her little friends were posing as Kyoshi Warriors! That conniving, horrible, evil..." She cut herself off with a growl and punched the ground angrily. They all glared at Mecha. "So where do you think he is?" He was quiet for a moment.

Aang shook his head and rubbed his fingers along the ground with a dismayed expression, "It's over. The Fire Lord is probably long-gone by now. Far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse." "He's in there. Hiding somewhere. It's what I would do." The fire-bender said.

Sokka cupped his chin thoughtfully, "He's right. He wouldn't go too far. He would have a secret bunker, somewhere he could go and be safe during the siege but still be close enough to lead his nation." The other teen nodded in agreeance.

Toph stepped forward with a smirk, "If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for," Her smirk widened and she pointed at herself, "I'm justthe girl to find it."

"The mechanist gave me this timing device." Sokka explained as he pulled out a round mechanism, "It looks like we're got about ten minutes until the full eclipse. Ten minutes to find the Fire Lord." Again Mecha's stomach whirled with unease.

Aang lifted his head and stared at his friends determinedly, "We can still do this. We can still win the day."

"Wait!" Katara said hurriedly and she looked at the others with worry, "If they knew we were coming it could all be trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure we all get out of here safely."

"Oh, trust me. They'll be expecting us."

Xxx

"Ugh…" Tsai let out a sound as her pulsating headache went from bad to worse. She wished that she could hold her head. Instead she managed to stand up on her wobbly knees. Her hands were still bind at the front and her mouth had been gagged with a filthy rag. She tried not to let her fear show as she stood up straight with her head lifted up high.

She didn’t know what it was… But something wasn't right. She didn't feel well. Her vision was beginning to blur as she felt faint. xxx

Toph, Aang, Sokka ran behind Mecha and down a tunnel. When a loud gasp grabbed Mecha's attention and he whirled around aggressively. His eyes narrowed dangerously when he saw a war minister standing behind them.

Some moments and several flames later. The man threw his hands in the air submissively as Aang, Sokka and Toph stood on either side of Mecha, effectively cornering him against the wall.

"The Fire Lord's chamber is that way, down the hall, to the left," He squeaked fearfully and made climbing motions with his fingers quickly, "And up the stairs, you can't miss it!"

Aang eyed the man suspiciously then grinned widely, "Thanks!"

Mecha scowled at the terrified man and spun on his heel racing down the hallway he'd indicated with Toph, Aang, and Sokka hot on her heels. He was thirsting for blood and he would get his blood.

"Sokka, how much time do we have?" Mecha called over her shoulder as they raced down the tunnel, Toph now in the lead again.

Sokka pulled out his timing device and looked at it quickly, "It's almost time!"

Xxx

Zuko stared at the small metal door with two torches on either side and closed his eyes, exhaling slowly as he bowed his head, "I'm ready to face you."

He opened the door and stood in the entrance, staring at his father with determination. Ozai paused as he was about to take a sip of tea when he noticed his son standing in the opening doorway. There was a smug expression on his face. Slowly, he set his teacup down in front of him and addressed his son, "Prince Zuko? What are you doing here?" He responded genuinely surprised.

He noticed a man that stood next to him with his back straight, his hands were held before his back as he starred at the person standing before the two with contempt.

Before the two of them stood Tsai. Her clothes were tattered, and she was gagged, and her hands were bound to her front. His eyes went wide and the sliding door closed behind him as he fully stepped into the room.

Ozai rose from his throne. He put the tea aside and waltzed down the steps slowly approaching the girl that stood in the center of the room.

"I'm glad you could join us Prince Zuko," His father said maliciously.

"You've met the Vice-Royal Governor of Yu Dao, right?" He tossed as he nodded his head towards Azah of Yu Dao. The man looked as if he had aged ten years. The light had vanished from his eyes. His beard was peppered with gray hair, eyes hollow and his face had stretched into what looked like a permanent scowl. His long hair which he kept in a top knot similar to his uncle had also lost its color. He looked at his daughter apathetically with dripping disappointment.

Tsai looked terrified. Zuko had never seen her face so white. She turned to look at him with a ghost like horrified expression.

Ozai approached the auburn-haired girl and stretched out a hand towards her body.

"I heard you went slumming last night…" He began with a sly smirk referring to the prince’s trip to the servant’s room the night before. "That I can forgive my son. I have been there myself." Ozai said cruelly as he touched her body with his hand. She squirmed under his touch and he ripped at her tattered clothes vulgarly exposing her bare skin. "Colonial women… Am I right?" He said disgustingly.

The girl was heaving. Her courage had vanished, and her knees gave as she collapsed on them. Looking down in shame avoiding her father's judging dark eyes.

"However, treachery… I cannot forgive, and I've been more than merciful to this bastard child."

Zuko slowly approached his father as he rounded the center of the room like a vile vulture. Azah simply starred apathetically this whole time judging his daughter.

"Which is why I ask you Prince Zuko to honor me, your father and punish this treacherous red minx." Ozai spoke wickedly. Fire blazing in his yellow eyes. "Stand for your Nation and do not hold back. Let's show traitors the wrath of the will of fire!" Ozai sank a hand on the girl's shoulder and she winced as he buried his sharp nails into her flesh. This was Zuko's worst nightmare coming to reality.

"Unless of course… You would rather do it," He gave two steps in the Governor's direction. Who looked like a ghost. The man did not show a single trace of emotion. Azah closed his eyes for a moment and took in a heavy breath.

"I have no daughter." He said after a moment of silence.

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

Tsai felt as if she had just been punched in the stomach. Her shoulder's bent forward as she hunched lowering her head even further.

"Prince Zuko…" Ozai looked back at his son. The masochist eager to witness the torture.

Zuko stepped up. He stood before Tsai and their eyes met. The expression in them was a powerful yet unreadable mystique as they were flooded with pain. He lighted a fistful of flames and scrutinized the enemy before him. He knew what he had to do. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice…

It would take all of his strength, but he had to do it.

With a wild snarl he shot the flame at his father's feet. Ozai stood unwavering simply dismissing the flames and looked at the prince with an appalled expression on his face.

"I lied." Zuko admitted. "I do care. She means everything to me. Everything and more."

Tsai's chest puffed up in what seemed to be a little bit of life. She looked at him with glassy eyes as she struggled to fight the rag that was wrapped around her mouth off.

"Fine," Ozai composed himself. His expression stern. "If you won't. Then I will."

There wasn't a moment to react. With a swift movement Ozai blasted a wave of scorching fire at the girl kneeling before him.

The Prince's horrified cry echoed the chamber as her body became engulfed in a wave of bright burning embers. His father grinned wickedly. Her father disturbed simply turned away not wanting to witness the unraveling scene. Ozai began to cackle with malice. At the tortured expression on his son's face.

Zuko felt his knees go weak. What had he done… This was all his fault. He placed a hand over his chest clutching at the unbearable pain as his emotional insides were painfully desiccated. "No.." He cried out painfully.

"You monster." He heard.

He looked up and his heart stopped. This had to be a hallucination. His eyes had to be playing tricks on him. Compensating for the most horrifying scene he had ever witnessed.

The girl from the colonies stood before the Fire Lord. She stood tall and unwavering emerging from the flames like a phoenix. Unharmed. Her red hair even seemed to sway lightly as it danced with the lingering fire that licked her body.

Ozai looked befuddled. Surely his eyes were playing tricks on him. He raised a hand and struck a firebolt at her again. Yet the flames brought no harm. Instead they clung to her cloaking her as she remained unharmed.

"You're a monster! You horrible, horrible man!"

This was not possible.

With her teeth gritted she pushed with all of the strength she could muster and using her weak legs and pushed through her horrible migraine used her head to headbutt directly into Ozai’s face.

The Fire Lord clenched his nose after a sickening crack resounded the room.

Zuko stood stunned. She never ceased to stop surprising him. Sometimes he questioned if his father even bled and she had managed to strike him so boldly. She let out a breath and filled with adrenaline somehow managed to run towards her friend. She really was not feeling well. Feeling weaker and weaker with every passing moment. Her vision darkening around the edges as she breathed heavily.

He was speechless. The prince looked at her with disbelief and touched her face. It was real. She was real and stood before him in body and flesh.

"I'm okay," she uttered drowsily, her head pounding, a dazed look over her eyes.

"Get out." Was all he could manage. Still holding his breath. She turned away and exited the room.

"That bitch!" Ozai cried out angrily removing a bloody hand from his bleeding nose.

"I warned my father not to spoil her too much," Azah spoke melancholically after a moment. He stepped down the stairs and appeared to be calmly retreating.

"You're not going anywhere." Ozai warned. "If I can't have your daughter's head. I will have yours-" He wiped the blood with the back of his hand and tossed it at the floor. The crimson liquid had dripped down to his nose, chin and neck. "First I need to teach my son a lesson. One he hasn't seemed to manage to learn."

The governor remained petrified. Ozai stepped towards Zuko.

"Coward. Facing me during an eclipse.” He stretched his limbs cracking neck from side to side.

"I've come here today to face you father. To tell the truth!" He growled out. "First of all, in Ba Sing Se, it was Azula who took down the Avatar, not me."

"Why would she lie to me about that?" Ozai narrowed his eyes.

Zuko smirked slightly, "Because the Avatar's not dead. He survived."

"What?!" The Fire Lord snarled, shocked and slightly horrified at the news. Ozai was already furious he now seethed as he glared manically at his son, who continued speaking as if he hadn't interrupted.

"This defiant breath will be your last!"

"Think again." Zuko snapped back and he unsheathed his swords, holding them out in front of him offensively. Xxx

Tsai ran out of the bunker as fast as she could manager. She grew weaker with every passing second. Her breathing hard. Almost as if she was suffocating. She figured her headache was happening due to all the torture she had endured from hanging upside down all day long. Her ankle joints still hurt with every step she gave. She leaned against one of the walls of the volcanic tunnel. The air felt hot. It smelt like sulfur. She felt smothered as she panted.

What had just happened?

How had she survived that?

Her mind was racing as unanswered questions crashed into her like waves. Adrenaline pumping through her body. Her vision was pitch black when she heard a familiar shrill voice in her perimeter.

"Well look who it is." The voice said.

"A..zula…" Were her last words before everything went pitch black. Her body collapsing like a wilting flower. Her eyes rolled back as she fell in dead weight hitting the ground roughly.

xxx

"The eclipse is starting!" The mechanist called out as the invasion force marched up the side of the volcano. He quickly removed his monocle and pulled out the specialized eyewear he'd invented for just this purpose, slipping them onto his face as they gazed up the black sun "Put on your eclipse glasses!"

The warriors stopped around him and thrust the ends of their weapons in the ground, putting on their eclipse glasses quickly before continuing to march on towards the capital city. Near the back of the invading army, Hakoda and Katara stopped walking and turned to look up at the sky, watching as the moon fully blocked out the sun.

xxx

The metal doors of an inner chamber burst open with a windstorm. In stepped in Aang, the Avatar, Sokka, Toph and an older teen with wavy shoulder length hair whom she had never seen before. "So, you are alive after all." Azula said crossing one of her legs over the other.

Aang gaped at Azula in shock as they stepped into the room and saw her sitting calmly on a throne at the other end of the room, she held a metal chain leash on her hand which was tied to Tsai's neck as a leash. The girl currently lay unconscious at the foot of the throne. Mecha snarled and would have lunged forward for his sister if Sokka hadn't grabbed his shoulder. His dark green eyes narrowed, and he glared furiously at the princess, as if hoping to burn her with his eyes.

Azula smiled cruelly at the foursome as she addressed Aang, "I had a hunch that you survived. But it doesn't matter." She tossed her head proudly and looked down her nose at them, "I've known about the invasion for months."

Mecha shrugged Sokka's hand from his shoulder, glaring at the princess with burning hatred while Aang and two friends stared at Azula in surprise and horror. "Where is he?" Aang demanded as he stood in a fighting stance beside his friends, "Where's the Fire Lord?"

"Hmm." Azula hummed as she rose from the throne, "You mean I'm not good enough for you?" She pretended to be hurt, "You're hurting my feelings." She said mockingly. xxx Why do I feel so… weak… There was only vast darkness surrounding her in this slumber. Her body felt cold. Freezing. Alone. She could only see a never-ending darkness as she embraced her trembling person. Then there was a voice calling for her. A familiar voice. When was the last time she had heard this voice? Felt this familiar presence? She could hear this voice calling her name. It was then that she saw a dim white light in the distance. She moved in the darkness first walking and finally running until she found it. A woman wearing white. With beautiful hair the color of moonlight. "Yue," her eyes widened. She felt her eyes moisten with tears of goodbyes that were never said to her short-lived friend. "Yue!" The girl smiled at her and Tsai ran and embraced her tightly their bodies eclipsing. "Yue, is this the spirit world? Have you come for me?" She asked letting go of her friend. "Not quite," she said. "This is where we meet," she explained. "We?" The other retorted with a perplexed look in her lost eyes. "It is very obvious if you ponder on it," she added again with a sweet small smile. "What is?" Tsai was beyond confused. She felt as if the Northern Water Tribe spirit was speaking in riddles. "I'm the moon and you're the sun." She suddenly forgot how to speak. She could not find any words having forgotten how to properly communicate like a human. Wild, vivid memories began flooding her mind at all of the insignificant incongruities in her life that suddenly came together to make sense. She starred at the Moon Spirit in disbelief. "Tsai," she took her hands in hers gingerly, almost lovingly. "You've been touched by the sun. Just like I was touched by the moon."

This couldn’t be true.

“You’re the Sun Spirit.” xxx "For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me. I thought it was my honor I wanted, but really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turning." Zuko snapped angrily and he pointed one of his dao blades at his father, "My father, who challenged me, a thirteen-year-old boy, to an Agni Kai! How could you possibly justify a duel with a child!?"

"It was to teach you respect!" Ozai retorted scornfully, an angry sneer pulling at his features.

"It was cruel!" The prince shouted back, "And it was wrong."

"It's obvious that you have learned nothing!"

Zuko shook his head, "No, I've learned everything! And I've had to learn it on my own!" He lowered his swords and stared at his father distastefully, "Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the War was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was." He scowled at Ozai, "The people of the world are terrified of the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it!"

"We've created an era of fear in the world." Zuko said passionately, "And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness."

Ozai laughed mockingly, "Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?"

"Yes, he has." Zuko replied as he closed his eyes for a moment then he smiled proudly as he thought of his uncle.

Ozai's eyes flashed angrily and he frowned in disapproval.

xxx

Aang quickly leapt over her head and ran towards the Dai Li agents that Azula had summoned to protect her, Sokka, Toph, and Mecha hot on his heels. The agents bended a massive wall towards Aang, who nimbly dodged it by leaping up and pushing off one of the metal support beams in the room, flipping forward.

The Dai Li agents bended two slabs of rock from the ground and flung them at Aang, but he deflected them easily by kicking them away. Toph suddenly burst through the stone wall behind Aang, creating a massive hole in it. She landed between the two agents and slammed her hands down, bending two diagonal pillars of stone up from beneath them and pushing them both towards the walls.

Mecha leapt through the hole Toph created and used his bare fist to hit one of the agents, forcing him to leap away from the wall. The agent thrust his hands towards the him, bending a pillar of rock beneath her feet. Mecha leapt, sweat forming on his brow from the stress of being unable to fight in his element.

While his comrades were distracted, other Dai Li agent pressed his feet against the wall and earthbended a pillar of rock from it down at Toph. The blind Earthbender swung her arm towards the pillar and blocked the attack by bending a stone wall up from the floor. Thrusting her hands forward, Toph bended a stream of earth at Azula, the stream of earth pushing the princess up into air.

Azula quickly backflipped off the attack and flew back towards the throne, smirking as she landed lightly on her feet. Aang charged forward then, the Dai Li agent that had attacked Toph running after him. A grinding noise reached Aang's ears and he stopped, turning to stare at the wall just as the Dai Li agent slid over the side of the wall and past him. Aang's attention momentarily turned to Mecha who was desperately trying to get to his sister who still lay unconscious on the ground. The agent flung himself off the wall and landed in front of Aang, putting himself protectively in front of the Azula. The agent earthbended a large, diagonal wall of stone up from the floor as Aang continued running towards him. Leaping high into the air, Aang flipped forward and burst through the wall feet first, landing behind the Dai Li agent. Without turning, he popped the agent into the air with a small pillar of stone then knocked him away with a larger one.

Aang spun his staff above his head, letting go of it as he turned forward and swung his arms around his body, shooting a powerful blast of air at Azula with one hand. Scowling slightly, Azula grabbed onto the arms of the throne and cartwheeled away just before the throne was completely destroyed by the air blast. It was then that she leapt off the throne and picked up the limp body of the passed-out girl. She grabbed her lolling head and held it between her hands pressing a blade to her neck. "One wrong move and she gets it," She threatened menacingly using the girl's body as a shield. Aang and the other froze their attacks, halting in response of the hostage situation. Mecha was ready to kill a marble of sweat slid down his temple from the stress.

xxx

Zuko stared at his father calmly, "After I leave here today, I'm going to free Uncle Iroh from his prison and I'm going to beg for his forgiveness. He's the one who's been a real father to me."

"Oh, that's just beautiful." Ozai chuckled sarcastically then he smiled cruelly before once again wiping his bloody face, "Maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure."

"But I've come to an even more important decision." Zuko continued as if his father hadn't spoken. He paused for a moment then smiled slightly, "I'm going to join the Avatar. And I'm going to help him defeat you."

"Oh really?" Fire Lord Ozai drawled with a sly smile, "Since you're a full-blown traitor now and you want me gone, why wait? I'm powerless, you've got your swords. Why don't you just do it now?"

"Because I know my own destiny. Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny." Zuko replied softly and he sheathed his swords. He turned his back on his father and began walking towards the door, "Goodbye."

Ozai narrowed his eyes and stood abruptly from his seat, "Coward! You think you're brave enough to face me, but you'll only do it during an eclipse. If you any real courage, you'll stick around until the sun comes out." A slow, cruel smile spread across his face as he stared at his son's back, "Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?"

Zuko froze in front of the door and turned to face his father slowly, who grinned at him venomously. He took a step forward, "What happened that night?"

"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son." Ozai replied silkily, "And I was going to do it. Your mother found out and swore she would protect you at any costs. She knew I wanted the throne, and she proposed a plan, a plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared."

Zuko clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes, his head bowed slightly as he listened to his father's cruel words.

Xxx "Aw don't tell me you're upset Sokka," Azula taunted. "First you couldn't save my prisoner and now you can't save my servant." She mocked with a malicious grin on her face. "Sokka don't listen to her!" Toph suddenly said. "She's just trying to keep us here and waste all out time!" Toph pointed accusingly at the princess. "Um, right. I think your friend just said that, genius." Azula scoffed and she rolled her eyes dramatically, "And since you can't see, I should tell you, I'm rolling my eyes." "I'll roll your whole head!" Toph shouted angrily and she took a threatening step forward. "You have to go," Mecha suddenly said nodding his head to the door of the throne room. They all looked at him in shock. "But- your sister," Aang protested. "We can't leave Tsai behind!" Mecha could begin to feel his fire returning to his being as the eclipse passed. His core boiling with the rage he was ready to unleash. "Go, I'll hold her back you don't have a choice. You have to get out of here and find the Fire Lord on your own somehow." It was then that Toph tensed up as she sensed something. She felt the hostage suddenly take her ground and Tsai opened her eyes wide almost as if she had come back to life. She heaved her chest rising up and down violently from the shock as her eyes darted around the unknown room. "Mecha!" She gasped at the sight of her lost brother. Her voice cracking into a desperate high pitch. He didn't look like she remembered him. His wavy hair was long and untamed reaching past his jaw. His face was twisted into an aggressive expression. "Quiet you!" Azula barked holding her closer to her body, pressing the knife tighter to her neck just below the dog necklace she had forced her to wear she still held the metal chain in her hand. xxx

"Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night." Ozai commented darkly with a cruel smirk, "She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished."

A tear slipped down Zuko's cheek, "So she's alive."

"Perhaps." Ozai replied flippantly with an elegant shrug then he sneered, "Now I realize that banishment is far to merciful a penalty for treason. Your penalty will be farsteeper."

The Fire Lord closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as he felt his firebending return. He snapped his eyes open and snarled, stepping forward and swinging his arms out. Two arcs of lightning danced from his fingertips and he thrust his hands towards his son, firing a powerful lightning bolt at him. The Governor stepped back awkwardly as he stood in the shadows witnessing the powerful scene unfold before him.

Zuko gritted his teeth as he caught the lightning with the tips of his own fingers, his feet sliding backwards several paces from the force of the attack. The lightning swirled around his body and his hair stood on end, but Zuko ignored it as he lowered his body slightly and pulled his arms inward, the electricity running through his body. Quickly, he thrust his other hand forward, redirecting the lightning back at Ozai.

The bolt struck the ground just in front of the Fire Lord, creating a massive explosion that threw him back against the wall and into the tapestry behind him. Ozai struggled into an upright position with a low grunt, his hair falling over his face as he straightened fully. The tapestry behind him fell to the ground and began to burn around him. When the smoke cleared, his expression darkened when he saw the Zuko had disappeared.

Xxx

Tsai noted how Azula's right hand was the one pressing the knife against her throat. It was a small knife like the one he had stabbed her with that one day. The other was holding her body tightly, the metal leash was tangled tightly in her left one. Her eyes met her brother's and she nodded closed her eyes for a moment before she quit her struggle. She leaned back into Azula's body her body now more relaxed. Azula lowered her knife and her golden eyes turned to look at Tsai's. It happened so fast that Aang and the gang didn't have a moment to react. In what seemed like one swift fluid motion Tsai wrapped the chain around in her own hands. She lunged forward so quickly and with so much momentum that Azula was dragged down and collapsed to the floor. Her brother called her name as she ran towards the group as fast as she could. However, before she could her body was jerked back sharply, and she once again collapsed with a whiplash from her neck being pulled. "How dare you!" Azula growled she still gripped the chain in her hands tightly. She rose to her feet and raised a fiery arm ready to blast fire. "Toph!" Aang turned to his friend. Azula dropped the chain. It was too late. A fiery inferno of blue flames consumed the shape of a girl. Sokka winced raising his arms to protect his eyes from the scorching heat that seemed to radiate the hateful attack. Mecha lunged forward like a raging beast. Toph and Aang held him back with all of their strength as he struggled against their grips. "No!" His heartbreak echoed the room's steel walls. He collapsed to his knees. Azula had a triumphant smirk on her face, she opened her mouth to say something but choked back at what she saw.

They all did.

Once again, the girl stood in the inferno unhurt. A light smirk danced on her face.

She knew who she was. "T-That's impossible!" Azula panicked. "How?" She scowled furiously. She shook her head and like her father blasted another flame and another and another. Yet the girl remained unmoved, her hair simply swaying with the impact. "Don't you know?" Tsai picked up the hot chain in her hands. "You can't burn fire," she grabbed the chain in her hands and whipped it in Azula's direction. The hot chains rattled and hit the ground making sparks due to friction. Azula backed up against the wall trapped. Where Toph raised a wall pinning her to the back wall. "Mecha!" She turned around and with her own leash in hands sprinted towards her brother. Her eyes crying rivers of tears. He embraced her tightly holding his sister close in the long-awaited sibling reunion. "I've been looking for you," he said with watery eyes. "I'm so sorry about everything," he apologized. The guilt consuming him.

"I'm sorry too! I should've looked for you! But I-I didn't know where you were- What had happened-" "Here," Toph interrupted and grabbed her hands in hers and bended the metal shackles off. The girl looked at her sore wrists and rotated them in an attempt to ease the pain. "As touching as this has been," Azula said breaking out of the rock wall no longer feeling threatened. "I'm not going to allow you to leave with my prisoner. Dad's all the way at the end of the hall and down the secret stairway on the left. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to see you now." "Your sick Azula!" Tsai shouted. "You're sick and twisted and vile! That's why you will always be alone!" She shouted back. Azula actually looked as if a dagger had just been buried into her cold heart. She frowned maliciously and hurt before rushing forward hands blazing with blue fire as approached ready to attack. "I won't let you!" Mecha stepped forward ready to protect the person dearest to him. "Mecha! No!" Tsai reached for her brother holding his hand tightly. She looked at him with pleading eyes. He couldn't do this to her. After all this time they had finally been reunited and he was going to stay back just like that? "The rest of you go on. Tsai you have to go with them. The Fire Lord can't hurt you. You have to help Aang," he looked at her determination on his eyes and nodded. There was so much she wished she could've said to him. So much that she wished she could've done. With a painful nodded she embraced her brother for what felt like the last time. "I love you so much," she whispered tearfully before following after the others. "And now it's too late." Sokka muttered hopelessly as they exited the room.

"Maybe it's not too late." Aang said slowly. "The eclipse is over, but I can face the Fire Lord anyway."

“I’ll help you.” The girl said in a determined tone. “I landed a good one on him earlier.” She said proudly. They all turned to look at her oddly. Tsai stopped moving when she suddenly felt a wet sensation on the side of her torso. She stopped in her way and gazed at the blood that coated her hand. She looked at her side and realized that Azula. The knife. She had gotten to her. She had gotten to her good and in a rush of adrenaline hadn't even realized. The knife still stuck to her torso.

"Tsai! You're bleeding!" Aang noted. "I'll be fine," she said as she pushed back the pulsating pain to the back of her head. "It's not deep. We can go," she winced slightly as she yanked the weapon from her side and tried to smile encouragingly. Defeating the Fire Lord was greater than whatever injuries she had.

Also- she had to find Zuko. They had both planned to meet up after this. At this rate she would never find him…

"I don't think that's a good idea. We have to get you out of here, " Sokka stated "That wound looks like it can be fatal."

"But Aang's ready!" She exclaimed pointing to the airbender. "Right?" "I came here with a job to do and everyone's counting on me," Aang said as a whirlwind of thoughts swirled in his head.

"The Fire Lord knew we were coming this time. We thought we had surprise on our side, but we didn't." Toph said patiently as she they approached the Fire Lord's chamber, "What we need to do now is go help our friends and get Tsai to Katara."

Aang glanced down the tunnel then looked back at his friends, his gaze resting on Tsai who was clutching at her side shoulder with a painful smile on her face. "You're all right. Let's go." "No-" "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to you," Aang said. "Especially after your brother…" He looked back at the tunnel in the direction in which they had come from. Tsai's eyebrows twisted in concern and she nodded her head. Aang's expression mirrored hers.

Sokka placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder reassuringly, "Don't worry, you'll have another chance. I know you will."

Aang nodded once then the foursome quickly made their way down the tunnel, heading towards the surface.

xxx

Katara leaned her father against one of the earthbender tanks and they removed their eclipse glasses.

"What should we do, Hakoda?" Bato asked concernedly as he ran up to his friend, "Shouldn't something have happened by now?"

"I don't know." Hakoda replied, his brow furrowing with his own concern, "But now that the eclipse is over, I expect we're going to see some firebenders any minute."

Bato opened his mouth to reply, but something in the sky caught his attention and he stared up at in shock. Katara frowned slightly and turned to look in the same direction, her heart leaping into her throat when she saw five Fire Nation war balloons ascend into the air.

"My own invention!" The mechanist exclaimed in dismay as he stared up at the war balloons, "Oh this is terrible!"

Teo silently placed a comforting hand on his father's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. The rest of the invasion force watched with mounting horror as a massive zeppelin ascended into the sky behind one of the war balloons, followed by four more. Katara turned away from the sight and gasped when she saw Appa's familiar form flying towards them.

"They're back!" She exclaimed and she ran forward as the sky bison drew closer.

Perched on Appa's head, Aang stared at the mounting zeppelins with a worried expression before he turned back around and directed Appa to land just as Katara ran up to them. He looked down at the dark-haired Waterbender with an uneasy and saddened expression. Katara bit her lip and glanced over at Toph, Sokka, and Tsai sitting in the saddle, similar grim expressions on their faces. Sokka quickly helped Tsai out of the saddle and off of Appa's back, leading her towards Katara. The girl felt a little lightheaded and she leaned on Sokka for support as they approached his sister.

"What happened?" Katara asked in alarm when she saw the dark stain that darkened Tsai's fire nation clothes. "Tsai!" She said in surprise.

"Just a crafty bitch with a knife," Tsai growled angrily. Katara was a little stunned at the use of the language yet wasted no time in bending the water from her canteen and covering the wound on her side with it.

"It was all a trap." Sokka explained loudly as his sister healed Tsai while Toph climbed down from the saddle behind him, "Azula knew we were coming, and she's plotted out every move! We've got to get to the beach as fast as we can." He turned to face his father as he approached, "If we can make it to the submarines, maybe we can get away safely."

Aang suddenly stood up on Appa's head and snapped his glider open, "They've got air power, but so do I! I'm gonna do what I can to slow them down." He tossed his glider into the air and took off, Momo following close behind him.

Katara hesitated and stared after him worriedly. She jumped slightly when Tsai snapped her out of her train of thoughts.

"Go." She said fire in her eyes and she nodded towards Appa, "He's gonna need all the help he can get."

"But you're hurt-"

"I'll live. Now go!" She snapped almost angrily at the water bender.

Katara nodded once and hurried over to Appa, "C'mon Appa, we can help too."

Sokka and Tsai watched as Appa flew after Aang, catching up to him quickly, then Sokka turned to address the rest of the invasion force.

Tsai looked down at her wound and placed a hand over it clutching her side painfully. She shut her eyes for a moment and focused on the pain and just like that it was gone. Surprised she blinked twice and saw a faint golden glow emitting from her hand. The wound was gone.

"Everyone, let's get back to the subs!" He turned to face the colonial girl. "Come!" He said placing a hand on her upper arm helping her keep a steady pace as they ran back towards the beach with the others following after them.

Xxx "Tsai!" Zuko shouted desperately as he ran the hallways of the palace, but she was gone. There was no sign or trace of her. He hoped she had safely made it to the place where they had both agreed to meet last night…

Last night… He cursed as he kicked a nearby table knocking its contents down. Last night ruined everything. Their plan. Today. The end of the war. There was no time to lose. He panted as he sprinted out of the palace and ran towards the jail prison tower. Maybe she was there saving his uncle…

Zuko raced towards the prison, throwing open the door and darting inside. He ignored the guard lying on the floor, who winced and cowered as he passed him. Running down the hall towards his uncle's cell, Zuko skidded to a stop in front of the open door.

"Uncle!" He shouted only to stare in surprise at the large hole in the cage, the surrounding bars bent outwards. He noticed the warden lying in a dazed state on the floor and he hurried towards him, grabbing him by the collar and holding him up, "Where is my Uncle?"

"He's gone." Poon mumbled still in shock and awe, "He busted himself out. I...I've never seen anything like it! He was like a one-man army!" "And the red-head?" He barked his fist tightening around the warden's armor. "What red head?"

Zuko scowled and released the warden, running out of the prison as fast as he could.

xxx

Tsai grunted in surprise when Sokka abruptly stopped running down the slope towards the plaza below and she crashed into his back. He turned slightly and looked up, his eyes widening when he saw the zeppelins slowly making their way towards them.

"Try and find cover!" He shouted out to everyone when he noticed the bottom part of a zeppelin opening. He looked over at Katara and Aang as they landed behind him, Toph, and Tsai, "I think we're about to see some bombs!"

Everyone quickly huddled together as Toph bended a large slab of stone above their heads, the other earth benders doing the same. Tsai bent over painfully holding her hands above her head flinched every time one of the bombs struck the slab of rock above them and exploded. She sucked in a sharp breath when the stone slab cracked and began to fall. Her eyes widened as she braced for impact. It was then that Toph bended two stone supports up from the ground to keep it upright. She let out a breath she dind't realize she had been holding all along.

When the bombs stopped, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Tsai stepped out from under the rock slab and watched the zeppelins continue towards the beach.

"Why aren't they around to attack us again?" Katara asked in confusion.

"They're headed for the beach." Aang said slowly and his eyes widened with realization, "They're going to destroy the submarines!"

Sokka stared at the zeppelins in dismay, "How are we all gonna escape?"

"We're not."

The five friends turned towards Hakoda and Sokka frowned in determination. He punched a fist into his palm, "Then our only choice is to stand and fight. We have the Avatar, we could still win!"

"Yes, with the Avatar we could still win, on another day." Hakoda moved away from Bato and stepped towards his children, "You kids have to leave. You have to escape on Appa together."

"What?" Katara demanded in shock and she grabbed her father's forearms, "We can't leave you behind. We won't leave anyone behind!"

"You're our only chance in the long run. You and Sokka have to go with Aang somewhere safe." Hakoda explained patiently, watching as his daughter looked back at Sokka, Aang, and Tsai sorrowfully, "It's the only way to keep hope alive."

Bato turned to address the rest of the invasion force, "The youngest of our group should go with you. The adults will stay behind and surrender. We'll be prisoners, but we'll all survive this battle."

"I've got some experience with Fire Nation prisons." Tyro said as he approached the group, "It's not going to be easy, but we'll get by."

Tsai glanced over her shoulder and sucked in a sharp breath when she the zeppelins were already at the beach, "Look!"

"They're at the beach already!" Sokka exclaimed and they all watched helplessly as the zeppelins dropped more bombs, the swamp benders who had remained at the beach no doubt trying to defend the submarines. One by one, the submarines exploded and were completely destroyed.

Sokka swallowed thickly then closed his eyes, his expression grim as he begrudgingly accepted the turn of events that had just taken place. Opening his eyes, he turned towards his father and nodded his head in acceptance.

Hakoda nodded back and straightened as best he could, turning to address the invasion force around, "Quickly, gather the youngest in our group and bring them down to Appa as fast as you can."

Tsai leaned heavily against the back of Appa's saddle clenching the injury at her side tightly, watching with sad eyes as Toph and a mechanist carried a boy in a chair with wheels from she had never met before in his arms, rose up to Appa's back on a platform of rock that Toph was bending. The blind earthbender hopped into the saddle and the mechanist carefully placed Teo down in it, hugging him tightly.

"Bye, son."

"Bye, Dad." Teo whispered back sadly, "I'm really proud of you."

The mechanist gave his son a wobbly smile and waved slightly as Toph lowered him back to the ground. Brushing the stray tears from her cheeks, Tsai shuffled over to the of the saddle, leaning over it and looked at the strangers below. She watched all of these strangers below embrace with so much love and specially so much hope. They would fight until the end, each and every one of them with tooth and nail if they had to. She felt an intense pain as she thought of her brother how he had sacrificed himself so that they could flee. She thought about Mecha and she prayed that he would be okay. The thought made her hug her arms as she fought back the tears. And then there was Zuko... She thought of the last time she had been with him. How they spent yesterday just talking and feeding the turtle ducks, it had been different to all the other times before and then the night... She shifted in her seat.

Something had changed… but what? And Iroh- he was probably still in prison. She clenched her fists tightly as anger began to make her head feel hot. She should've done something to help him. Anything.

Katara jumped into the saddle as Aang sat down on Appa's head, Momo climbing onto his shoulder. Appa rumbled lowly as he took leapt into the air and flew away from the Fire Nation capital, the adults watching them go sadly. xxx

"Should we follow them, Princess?"

Azula smirked as she stood on the gondola of her zeppelin, watching the Avatar's bison fly away through the window. She tilted her head towards the zeppelin's captain as she replied, "No. They're too fast. It doesn't matter though, they'll be back."

xxx

Tsai stared at the zeppelin along with the others, her jaw clenched with anger. She held her side which hurt a little less. "I know just the place for us to go where we'll be safe for a while." Aang called back to them from Appa's head. He exhaled heavily, "The Western Air Temple." They vanished into the clouds of the sky. Katara returned to Tsai's side once they were settled into a steady flight mid air. "What happened in there?" Katara asked more calmly as she continued raised her shirt raised to expose her skin where there had once been a wound. "Azula got real crafty," She said looking down and suddenly realized she was still wearing that hideous dog necklace she had made her wear. "Real damn crafty," she grumbled angrily as she unbuckled the necklace rapidly and threw it out of the flying bison with hatred. She let out a deep breath she didn't realize she had been holding heaving.

“But- there’s no wound anymore?” Katara’s eyes narrowed as she inspected her abdomen confused.

Tsai took in a deep breath. “I think I healed myself… somehow….”

She leaned back into the saddle and letting out an exhausted saddle. "You also passed out for a while," Toph said mindlessly. "Right…" She said in a low voice as she lowered her head processing what had happened. The truths that Yue had unfolded to her. "I saw Yue," she said turning to look at Sokka. His expression became unreadable, it took him a moment for his eye brows to knit in disbelief. "What?" he mouthed. "She came to me," Tsai explained. "When…" she couldn't figure out just what to call what had just happened to her. "When I was out… Said some things to me. Explained things I still can’t understand." Her eyebrows shifted into a painful expression. "Told me to tell you that she'll always be with you," she said to Sokka. "That she's proud of you and wants to see you be happy." Sokka turned away his eyes clouded with sadness as he gazed out into the horizon. "So you can talk to spirits now?" Toph asked bluntly. "Not quite.… Tsai said softly.

“You’re the Sun Spirit.” She could still hear Yue say to her. "Can we talk about this later?" She sighed as exhaustion swept over her.

xxx

Unbeknownst to the group, a single war balloon flew after them. Zuko stood in the balloon's basket, holding onto the ropes, and stared at the sky bison's retreating form determinedly.

xxx

AN: This chapter was LOOOOOOOONG. A lot to unpack there. You’ll find out what happened the night before and got our heroine into this predicament in the next chapter. Thank you for the support. Xx

xxx

FIRST https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/621142853126602752/sunburn-prince-zuko-1

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CHAPTER MASTERLIST

#prince zuko #zukoxreader #Zuko x oc #Zuko x you #zuko #zuko imagine #imagine #atla #atla fanfic #avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar fanfic #avatar x oc #avatar fanfiction #original character #wattpad

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seyaryminamoto · 4 years

Note

Yakuza Sokkla AU headcanons?

Well, for starters I can point you to a Yakuza AU fic that already exists and features Sokkla, though it’s not the main pairing... here you go!

Now then... let’s toy around with a set of headcanons, shall we?

Azula of course belongs to the biggest baddest yakuza clan in the nation, spanning back who knows how many generations, probably since the Edo period. It’s a pretty violent clan, with complicated and gruesome rites of passage. For instance, Zuko could’ve even been burned in this setting for the sake of proving himself a worthy successor to his father :’D it may sound insane, but there’s a real-life yakuza tradition of amputating their pinky fingers to settle conflicts or as punishments... so in their case, the burning is a rite done to the clan’s heir -- if the heir survives, he’s proven himself, so, strangely, in this AU Zuko’s burn is a mark of pride rather than shame :’D (and Ozai probably has a burn of his own too). Theirs could be, perhaps, the Homura clan (as a reading of Homura 炎 would mean “flames”).

Sokka would belong to a smaller yakuza clan, but his father could be a little like Hanzo and Genji’s father from Overwatch, a wise old man who actually reels back his more criminal and wild associates, who surely want their clan to outdo the Homura at all costs, even if by breaking their more traditional and respectful (and samurai-ish (?)) approach to their work. I’d think their clan can be the Kawakami clan (written 川上, means “above the river”).

The Kawakami are renowned for having THE coolest tattoos so that’s one nice thing they have over every other Yakuza clan around, bahahaha. Sokka has been learning (amongst other things) how to make tattoos of his own too, so he gets plenty of art education here and is damn good at what he does because this boy has the soul of an artist and if it were nurtured properly he’d go the distance with his talents, MARK MY WORDS!

Eh-hem, Sokka fangirl rant over... as they’re from rival clans, Sokka and Azula have bumped into each other on occasion, whenever friction rises between their groups. They’ve known of the other’s existence (and their respective siblings) all along, and they’ve been raised to hate each other’s guts :’D as kids they probably only saw each other on a few occasions, but once they’re old enough to take up missions of their own, their paths will cross more often.

The Homura clan traditionally handles most the drug trafficking and arms trading, and of course, the Kawakami are trying to deal in those things too... which results in frequent spats over suppliers, even outright fights between group members, until Hakoda Kawakami decides he’s had enough of the nonsensical rivalry and determines their clan will benefit most from a truce and an alliance with the Homura clan. He tasks his son and heir with arranging it, since this could be their rise to yakuza glory!

Of course, Sokka Kawakami has a lot of possible ways to achieve success at his father’s request. He starts by making peace offerings to the other clan, yielding some suppliers, for instance, in a show of good faith. But Ozai Homura is not amused and not impressed because he can tell these people are up to something: as he wants his heir Zuko to stay focused on learning the elements of the business that matter, such as learning to read stock markets and such (legit, it seems the Yakuza do this to find out which companies to extort :’D), he dispatches his daughter to handle the lesser threat of the Kawakami clan.

This means a huge cat and mouse struggle begins between Azula and Sokka: she decides to turn his displays of generosity against him, by extending Homura “protection” AKA extortion to people within Kawakami territories, arguing that the Kawakami’s displays of weakness these days mean they’re no longer upholding their duties to “protect” their people as they should. Naturally, Sokka is outraged that she’s fucked up his plan but he counterattacks by reaching out to the people she’s trying to steal away to prove that he’s indeed going to protect them. From HER! :’D The people in question are just plain confused because who should they believe at this point? xD

After a few weeks of this pretty pointless tug of war, Sokka decides he needs to step up his game and take a new approach to fulfilling his father’s request: he asks Azula for a peaceful private meeting in an empty park at night (and by private I mean they’ll talk alone while about 20 members of each clan point guns at each other from the shadows of the park), and he explains what’s going on and why he’s been up to what he’s up to. Azula is uninterested in any alliances, for the Homura are perfectly strong as they are, but Sokka points out... their tattoo game ain’t as good as the Kawakami clan’s. Azula is confused but intrigued.

Next thing Ozai knows, Azula is offering to take one bullet for the clan: she will receive a tattoo from the Kawakami heir to see if they have ONE worthwhile thing to offer their clan or not. Ozai is utterly uninterested but fiiiiiiiiiine, their artists have been pretty lackluster lately and it’s known decent tattoos are needed for people to respect a yakuza clan as it should be.

As these tattoos are very difficult, painful and time-consuming, it takes more than one session. Sokka of course insists he must be alone with Azula or he won’t be able to focus -- not that he’s focusing too much while she lies down naked to the waist on his tattoo parlor and he works on inking her back as best as he can :’D the very FATE of his clan rides on whether he can do wonders on Azula’s body or not... (?)

... Obviously, this ends up taking a whole other meaning when it’s time for him to work on other, more intimate parts of her body...

Ehem. Things are no longer PG-13. Not that they ever are when it comes to the yakuza. Or to me writing these two.

Azula goes home after the final session of her hugely-detailed epic tattoo with the biggest, stupidest smile on her face because ahaha that tattoo was good “ahaha yes father he’s TALENTED I mean, very talented, the things he does with his HUGE needle...! Um, y-yeah, I’m totally talking about tattoos, not about anything else, that’s not it (?)”

A temporary alliance is crafted then, despite Ozai thinks Azula’s approval of the Kawakami clan is super weird and isn’t exactly crazy about allowing this puny clan to even breathe in his direction, but he’s always had a weakness for his daughter + has no idea she’s doing the tattoo artist so he lets everything run its course (?)

I guess one day he finds out and legit war blows up between both factions (?) buuuut that’s too much plot to plot and I have enough big stories in my head as it is x’D feel free to imagine that war and its outcome for yourself, anon (?)

(as a bonus, looking into the yakuza wikipedia article revealed that, amongst their TONS of criminal activities, the real life yakuza actually offered relief and assistance during big catastrophic events in Japan, like the Kobe and Sendai earthquakes? How epic would it be for the Kawakami clan to offer relief and earn the loyalty of a fuckton of people, turning them into a clan big enough to rival the Homura before Ozai is the wiser... :’DDDD further spice into the clan war, eh, ehhhh?)

Well, that was fun xD I hope you enjoyed it too, Anon xD

#sokkla #sokka #azula #yakuza au #I hadn't really pondered making one of my own #since my friend wrote that other one #and I'm not exactly super-knowledgeable about yakuza despite having written about them ages ago #but this was hilarious to ponder #and now I put this potential story up for auction (?)#if anyone out there wants to write a sokkla AU story and doesn't know what to do #feel free to nab this one (though PLEASE let me know you're writing it because I wanna read it xD)

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the-last-cuddlebender · 3 years

Text

Kataang Pilot!AU

(This prompt was really fun. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, Anon!)

Words: 1,659

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

Katara met him when they were in flight school. Well, ‘met’ might be too strong a word.

She was walking down the hall and contemplating fluid dynamics when she passed him—the boy with tattoos a shade of blue that put the sky to shame and with a smile so bright that she had to squint to behold it. His laugh was a vapor trail that made her giddy like nothing else had done before. He gesticulated so animatedly that he nearly cut off the heads of a dozen passers-by.

Katara tried, once, to talk to him. It was the only test in flight school that she failed. She was too quiet; the world was too loud. It didn’t exactly help that some boy named Haru had pulled the tattooed boy into a headlock that devolved into a wrestling match just as she got his attention.

He tried, twice, to talk to her. He was more than successful both times.

The first time, he spotted her from across the courtyard and damn near teleported to her.

His name was Aang. He wasn’t that tall.

He was the kindest soul she’d ever met.

When he left the school, he took most of her with him, and Katara had been searching for what he stole ever since.

...

Not too long after he left her puzzled, empty, and longing, Katara had to leave, as well. But it wasn’t for an advanced program like he flew off to.

Gran-Gran had a heart attack. It wasn’t pretty. Katara was the glue and the salve cooing her brother and her father to cope and recover. They helped her just as much, and she vowed to visit them more.

(Gran-Gran told her that she saw death, called him a bitch, and reminded him to tell her daughter-in-law that Kya had to wait another ten years for her company.)

...

Katara was only a little behind and only had to retake a few classes when she returned to flight school a year and a half later, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

Graduating was easy, but choosing an employer? That was hard. Katara was an ace—the top of her class. They even put her photo in the hall of notable students.

...She was reminded of Aang and what he stole from her every time she saw his portrait pinned next to hers.

...

It was a requirement to serve as a co-pilot for the first few years after schooling. It was like a continued education after medical school when an MD truly learned what it meant to be a practitioner, but turning from co-captain to captain felt like it was taking twice as long.

Sometimes, it took students twelve years to become a captain. Sometimes, it took them two years.

It took Aang eight months.

Katara was entering her ninth month when she was transferred to his airline.

He spotted her from across the terminal like he had been waiting and looking for her. He vanished and reappeared at her side, and if only he had a puff of smoke, she would have thought him a magician.

He shook her hand and talked at Mach speed. His smile alone nearly blew her away, but his hand holding hers kept her on her feet.

“—it was you! They all said you dropped out, but I knew you wouldn’t! And then I saw your plaque when I visited on a favor-call from Roku, and I couldn’t believe—!”

He paused. Katara’s world stood still. Her world also looked kindof splotchy and dotted with black.

That was weird…

Oh wait.

Breathing.

Breathing was a thing she had to do.

Unfortunately, Katara was too late in her revelation. Her heart broke when his eyes softened like that and his concern boiled over into panic. She was thinking about how nice it sounded when he said her name even as she fell back and fainted.

He caught her, of course.

Luckily, Mai and Lu Ten were willing to exchange their schedules to save either Katara or Aang from being fired.

(He had refused to leave her. It was incredibly foolish. Top in the industry or not, their superiors would only take so much from even him.)

It wasn’t exactly a first date, but he bought her food from the cafeteria and bought her one of those super-fuzzy travel blankets to keep her warm. They talked over pizza that was so greasy that they had to dab it with napkins, and they laughed over coffee that was far too bitter to be called ‘edible’.

They shared secrets over hot cocoa and talked like they knew each other forever.

Aang thought he was being sly when he loaded his straw with a paper wad and blew it at her.

He smiled like a kid on Christmas.

Katara felt like she was one, too.

The g-forces she experienced when he smiled—at her—made her so lightheaded that she whispered a thankful prayer to whoever was pulling her life’s strings that she was seated when she first witnessed the miracle so close and in its entirety.

They fell asleep back-to-back (though it was more like side-to-side) in the terminal—just another ‘couple’ bending under the stress of a connecting flight.

...

“You seem eager to be out of here.” Katara settled into her co-pilot’s chair as her captain fussed over the little details that Katara’s classmates had made fun of her for caring about.

“Ba Sing Se has never been...Well, let’s just say that it’s not like how I was raised.”

“But the South is?”

“Of course! Middle of nowhere, lots of high places, room to run and frolic as I please—”

Katara couldn’t hide her laugh. “Frolic?”

“Have you never frolicked?”

“When I was a girl, maybe.”

“You should try it sometime. It’s not like it gets any less fun with age.”

“Is that an invitation?”

“...Maybe.” Aang scratched his face, didn’t meet her eyes, and flushed a color even brighter than the emergency exit sign. “Or it could...be a date?”

“To go frolicking?”

“Of course.”

It was quiet until it wasn’t. A giggle slipped past Katara’s defenses. She hugged her middle and laughed so hard that she cried, and she nearly laughed herself into a coma when Aang bent over, too. His laugh sounded like how good memories felt, and Katara never wanted to hear more of something in her entire life.

She couldn’t feel her seat beneath her—just the feeling of her hand on his arm and the soft bumping of his head against hers.

Katara was falling, and she was falling hard.

But, for some reason, she wasn’t scared of hitting the ground.

If she didn’t know any better, she might have thought that she was flying.

...

Sokka, having heard the hint of interest in Katara’s voice when she recounted her tale with her dreamy tattooed captain, made immediate plans and cashed-in on more than a few favors to get himself onto her new schedule. He didn't trust Aang, not at first. No one could be that happy.

“—and gentlemen, in the event that you have not been in an automobile since 1942, we’re gonna show you how to fasten a seatbelt, so watch closely—”

Sokka, while a phenomenal flight attendant, was walking a razor’s edge onto Katara’s last nerve.

But Aang and her brother got along famously.

Katara should have expected nothing less.

This was Aang she was talking about.

Her boyfriend could befriend the devil himself.

The thought made Katara’s world get fuzzy and black-splotchy again. Luckily, Aang was laughing too hard with Sokka to notice her holding tight to the wall.

Breathing.

Breathing was a thing she had to do.

Aang’s vapor-trail-laugh gave her the cardinal directions and guided her towards which way was up. His arm curled around her waist like the seatbelts that had kept them anchored when they hit turbulence two months ago and dropped 400 feet.

Katara didn’t notice when next she blushed so hard that her vision went black-splotchy again.

But Aang, without pausing his conversation, was already tugging her closer so she all but pressed right against his heart.

His laugh died out. His chest slowly expanded.

Breathing.

Katara smiled.

Breathing was a thing she still had to do.

...

When Katara finally got her wings, Aang couldn’t have been more proud.

Sokka puffed his chest. “This is Katara, my flying sister.”

“Sokka, please…”

“Yeah, Sokka.” Aang was a grinning shadow touching her shoulder and a reminder to smile brushing her side. “Katara isn’t your ‘flying sister’.”

“Thank you, Aang—”

Aang hugged her from behind and held her so tightly that he curled over and started to eclipse her. “Katara is my flying girlfriend~”

Aang rubbed his cheek to hers. Katara grumbled and fought fate to keep angry as long as she could. “You both are insufferable.” She kissed Aang’s cheek like she was swatting a mosquito, but it only made him giggle and hold her tighter.

Sokka pretended to gag and uttered ‘Oogies’ like a mantra.

Katara blushed, lost her slippery grip on the smile fighting to make itself seen, and looked at her father just as the shutter on Hakoda’s camera went off.

...Aang carried the photo on his person like it was a medical device so vital that he would die if he was ever without it.

“Do you have to keep it there?” Katara pulled one switch and then two, and she side-eyed her smirking First Officer.

Aang ignored her and adjusted the photo pinned to the gauges in front of him. His smile got a little bigger, his eyes a little softer. He looked down at the clouds below them and then up at the heavens beyond. “...The stars sure are beautiful, tonight.”

His hand found hers—they were at an altitude that required little more than autopilot, but it was still breaking regulation.

Katara gently squeezed his fingers. “Yeah. They are.”

...

All of their nights melted into a routine that felt like the same night played over and over.

Katara wouldn’t have had it any other way.

She didn’t mind when Aang put up a fuss just because he could and because he liked to get her flustered. She didn’t even mind when he cocooned himself in the blankets and pouted in a silent demand for five more minutes.

He was only playing. He could be plenty serious if he wanted.

Like the time he crabbed the plane onto an icy runway in an emergency landing. Or like the time he dove into the belly of the plane to give CPR to an elderly passenger.

His seriousness could only go so far, though. He truly was a child at heart. There was nothing wrong with that, of course. Something forever young could never grow brittle and die.

Like the way he blushed every time she reached for his hand. Or like the little hitch to his voice that took over his words whenever she hugged him.

He could hardly speak when he asked her to marry him.

Katara wasn’t that much better off, but neither of them had needed words for the longest time. They sat side-by-side in the nose of the plane and ‘spoke’ in the silence for hours on end.

Kisses were quiet, anyways.

Well, not entirely.

Aang laughed, absolutely giddy, every time, no matter how much or how often they did.

Katara’s laugh drifted in his vapor trail as a gentle hum that made his smile impossibly bigger.

Then, and only then, did it feel like she had finally gotten back what he had stolen—all those years ago—from her.

...

His voice was a song, and his love bled into every worded lyric. They were the warm purrs of an engine that would never fail, and they made Katara’s stomach fall and bounce heaven-ward like her wheels had just left the ground.

When she danced with him, every step felt like lift-off. Every turn gave her g-forces that had her sinking into him to keep from being blown away.

The wedding was over, their guests were gone, but every star and galaxy crowded the sky to witness their love for each other.

This was her captain and co-pilot—her husband and best friend for life.

His name was Aang. He was very tall and quite proud of it, though he made himself eye-level with every person he met.

He was a simple monk and a dirty thief.

But Katara finally had back what was hers.

What was hers was named Aang.

He was the kindest soul she’d ever met.

He kept her grounded even though her feet never touched the earth when she was with him.

He was the part of her that she loved most.

His kisses were g-forces.

His ‘I love you’s were free-falling.

His hugs were the wings that handed her the sky.

His smiles were the spirit that held her aloft.

His name was Aang.

He was hers.

He was the kindest soul she’d ever met.

And Katara would remind him of how much she loved him even long after they were both tied to the earth.

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

If you spotted that reference to Tao philosophy, I give you a cookie🍪☺️

#kataang #Aang #Katara #avatar the last airbender #atla #modern!au #pilot!au #Sokka #captain!aang #cocaptain!katara #kataang wedding #first dates #Aang is a ~little shit~#littleshit!Aang #friends to lovers❤️#this made me smile thank you for the prompt anon☺️#fic request #myfanfictiontag #post

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