#sorry for not including toph and ty lee </3 i love them but i could only do four :( | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

firelxdykatara · 3 years

Note

You’re doing a LoK rewrite, correct? Would be really interested in hearing how you plan on fixing Suyin’s character and the Lin-Suyin conflict because……. oh boy. Man there’s a lot to unpack there. This is what happens when we don’t let Toph just raise her fucking kids for the sake of pushing a stupid as hell narrative about working women and single motherhood.

I am indeed!

In... you know, the way I'm doing most of my big potential projects, in that I have a folder with some documents that have plot notes and... some day I may actually get full, finished fics out of them (h2o AU is in there, as is my voltron!atla fusion AU, and uhhhh my book 3 atla rewrite, and a few other things), so... but I will say that the docs I have for my LoK rewrite so far amount to roughly 4.2k words of just Plot and Character Notes, which may some day turn into words of Story, hopefully.

ANYWAY, POINT IS: yes, this exists, and I have Many Many Thoughts.

Including how the Gaang kids would shake out! Cause I know I'm doing Zutara, and maybe Tokka???? Although I don't wanna just leave Suki out either... maybe a throuple??? Or Sukka having an amicable breakup before Sokka and Toph get together--maybe she already has Lin by then, and Sokka helps support her through the grief of losing Kanto???? Idk honestly, I haven't actually figured any of that out definitively yet except that Aang was perfectly happy to settle down with an Air Acolyte from one of the rebuilt temples because he grew up and out of his crush on Katara pretty easily once he hit puberty and matured a bit.

UHHH none of which is actually an answer to your question, because it's a valid one! Which is why I've been sitting on this a while (10 days I'm so sorry) bc I haven't made any solid decisions but I've been letting it percolate around my head a bit. And the more I think about it, the more I really like the Sukka -> Tokka idea (and I don't want to kill off Suki since the kids all deserve their awesome Kyoshi warrior auntie in their lives, and also I want a Sukka kid to be besties with Iara [zuko and katara's youngest] so maybe she gets with someone else after she and Sokka split? I could be talked into Ty Lee/Suki actually, the more I think about it....), but obviously having a stable father figure and a Toph who is... not what LoK made her out to be will dramatically change the Beifong family dynamic.

That said, I think I actually have a solution. (I'm so sorry for what I'm about to do.) Toph has Lin with Kanto--and he passes away when Lin is two or three, which is why she has very few memories of her father. (Although none of this 'she doesn't even know his name until she's 50+ cause Toph didn't tell her daughters about their fathers' bullshit.) Sokka is there for her through it all (all of the gaang is, of course, but you know that it sometimes just hits different when it's someone you're also starting to fall in love with, especially when there are older and much more deeply buried feelings there that are now resurfacing, because at least in my version Toph was deeply in love with Sokka when they were teenagers, but he was in love with Suki and she also loved Suki so she didn't want to mess up anything about their family or the group dynamics by making her feelings anyone else's problem), they fall in love, get married and have Suyin.

(Sokka may jokingly refer to it as a shotgun wedding, but the truth is he wanted to propose well before he found out she was pregnant, his attempts just kept getting messed up in increasingly comedic fashion.)

Throughout all of this, Republic City has been established, Sokka is Chancellor, Toph is something of a defacto police chief--mostly because, at the time, no one else was willing to volunteer, and she jokingly offered to whip the law enforcement, but unfortunately everyone else at the meeting took her seriously. However, she is also the founder of the probending league, and basically her feelings about law enforcement are complicated and she actively discouraged her kids from joining the force which is part of why Lin did. How else do you have a teen rebel phase with a parent like Toph? (Which, in this instance, means tough and firm but fair, with a 'you break it, it's up to you to fix it' attitude and very little desire to actually control her daughters and their behavior.)

Ah, but here's the rub.

Suyin is ten years old when Sokka dies, and Lin is sixteen. I'm not sure how he's killed--maybe by Yakone, to tie it into my plans for Amon and book 1. (Note that I'm not sure when the Yakone bloodbending trial happened in canon, but it doesn't matter. The timeline I'm gonna build will be completely different post-comet, and I'll eventually write it all down so that I can keep things straight.) Which would incidentally provide excellent means of having Katara have a very personal stake in the Amon conflict, and perhaps color the fight between him and Iara, but I'm getting off track. And I think Sokka being killed by Yakone, and Toph being unable to protect or save him, or deliver her own brand of justice to avenge him (because Aang is there to stop her and.... shit probably got ugly, I suspect she didn't talk to Aang for at least twenty years after Sokka's death--and this isn't to say I think Toph is particularly violent or murderous, but in that moment, she absolutely wanted to kill the man with her bare hands, and however much she may have regretted it afterwards, she took a very long time to forgive Aang for stopping her in the first place), is what results in Toph stepping down as police chief.

She didn't withdraw from her daughters or fuck off into the swamp or anything (words cannot express how much I hate that part of her canon history), but she did grieve for a very long time. Lin, meanwhile, felt like it was up to her to keep her family together, while also feeling a desperate need to... prove herself, I think. And because her mother was so adamant that she not join the police force, that's exactly what she does. I think Lin completely misread Toph's intentions, too, and believed that the discouragement was because her mother didn't think she had what it takes, when in reality I think Toph was scared of Lin losing herself in the job like she herself had begun to, and eventually coming up on something she couldn't change or fix and making the same mistakes she had.

(I think Toph and Lin have communication issues largely because they are both headstrong and willful, but where Toph thought she was giving her daughters the room they would need to make their own way, what Lin desperately craved was direction and she felt like that was something her mother simply couldn't understand.)

Suyin, on the other hand, fell in with a bad crowd like in canon. I think that what she desperately needed was attention, similar to Lin craving direction, and Toph was trying so hard not to be her own parents that she went a little too far in the other direction and Suyin began to feel like it didn't matter what she did, her mom wouldn't care, or get angry, or discipline her, or anything. Lin and Suyin butted heads a lot growing up, too, especially after Sokka's death, because Lin tried to rein in her sister's behavior and this was met with resistance and derision because Suyin felt like Lin was trying to be both mom and dad and she was neither but her big sister would never admit to being just as lost as she was and it made her furious.

So when Suyin is sixteen, and Lin is twenty-two and new to the force, The Big Rift happens. Lin catches Suyin and her gang, tries to apprehend her, gets a scar on her face in the ensuing conflict. But instead of abusing her power and sending her problem child off to her mother before fucking off to the swamp to avoid the consequences of her actions, Toph tries to actually fix things. Suyin cools her heels in prison for a while, because she was paralyzed by guilt at the time when she hurt her sister (a few inches lower and she could have slit her throat), and was still there when Lin's backup arrived.

Uhhhhhhhhhhh..... I'm so sorry I rambled for so long, BUT THE UPSHOT IS: I think Suyin learned a bit about culpability and taking responsibility for her own actions, Toph realized that her daughters had different needs than she did at their age (and I think a lot of the problem was that grief clouded her own ability to connect with her daughters, and in trying to not be her own parents she lost sight of how to be the parent her own daughters needed), and Lin, I think, had to realize that she had never fully processed the loss of not one but two fathers and had turned to her job in order to avoid actually confronting the grief that had overshadowed her childhood.

However, she did not forgive Suyin, at least not right away--and she wasn't forced or expected to. Suyin understood that she crossed a serious line, she took her lumps and did her time, and no one shamed Lin for her anger. I think, as a result, she had less reason to hold onto that bitterness, and perhaps by the time the story actually begins, she and Suyin are on much better terms, though I haven't worked it out exactly yet.

UHHH yeah I went on for days lmao. All of this is subject to change, too, depending on the needs of the story whenever I get around to actually writing it all down, BUT these are my initial thoughts, at least.

#atla #lin beifong #toph beifong #suyin beifong #tokka #lok rewrite #lok rewrite notes #precious-metal-girl #asked

31 notes · View notes

smilindesperado · 3 years

Text

Signs of ATLA Characters

For starters, my astrology knowledge mostly comes from interpreting mine and friends’ charts for fun, so apologies in advance if anything feels off. I just enjoy thinking about people’s / character’s charts when I’m on an astrology kick.

Also, assuming the ATLA world takes place on an Earth that is not our own, they would have their own in-universe zodiac based on their own planets, stars, etc., but for the purpose of this post, I’m just using Modern Tropical Astrology, which is what most people are probably familiar with.

For benders, I feel like their star sign should coordinate with their element, but there are a lot of factors other than just your star sign that go into your chart, so I give each character a few signs that I feel resonate with them. I don’t think I know enough to guess each character’s sun/moon/rising, but I definitely think the signs below could be in their big 3 or feature heavily in their chart.

Aang: I have to go with Libra for Aang, the peacekeeper, although I definitely see some chatoic Gemini in him as well. Definitely a ton of Pisces energy too (brother nature). I’d imagine as the Avatar his chart is probably pretty even, but I can definitely see his lending itself more to Air and Water.

Katara: Cancer because I gotta include a water sign and she is emotional and caring. However she is also confrontational and not afraid to stand her ground so she needs some Earth and Fire energy to balance out that water. Definitely see Virgo and Aries energy from her.

Sokka: Sag 100% he’s such a sarcastic little shit (and I love him for it). But also I’d say some stubborn/gluttonous Taurus energy (big foodie) and flirty/bougie Libra vibes.

Toph: Stubborn Taurus and independent Cap for sure, but I also think she has chaotic Gemini energy. I also kinda see some Scorpio energy from her? She is so nosy and loves reading people, but hates being read. Scorpio. (also probably some Sag energy in there too? As a sag merc/venus I could also see her being a Sag merc/venus as well).

Suki: Okay before I do Suki, I feel like I should include a disclaimer that I do really like Suki’s character. But, if anyone in ATLA is a Mary Sue it’s Suki, sorry (she’s just too perfect!) I am really looking forward to the Suki Alone comic so we get a little more on her backstory, because out of everyone on this list, we really know the least about her (which is fine, the story never really lended itself much to Suki’s backstory). So trying to figure out her sign(s) is a little difficult. Maybe Leo / Capricorn? Pisces maybe? (she’s kind of a romantic, and she’s a helper). Maybe some Virgo energy? Idk, Suki’s a little tough, but I couldn’t leave her out.

Zuko: Hot-headed Aries for sure, like calm down buddy. He’s definitely stubborn, but I’m not really sure I see Taurus? Maybe Capricorn? Probably some Scorpio energy (the Blue Spirit is such an emo and dramatic alter ego + pretending like you’re dark/tough but actually super emotional and caring is big Scorpio energy)

Iroh: My man is a good-natured Sag, just vibing all the time. He also has a sense of justice and is a flirt, so maybe Libra? I see some wise Pisces energy in him too.

Azula: So, Azula is the only one I’m going to attempt at piecing some of her chart together. Leo sun 100% she wants to be queen so bad and look good doing it! (constantly wearing lipstick and fancy armor? LEO). Virgo Rising (so meticulous and calculating. Flirting by comparing an outfit to a battle ship? Nerd.) Scorpio Moon. Same thing with Toph, loves reading people, hates people seeing her vulnerabilities/pretends she doesn’t have them. Also, Mars in it’s home in Aries (god of war) in her chart would make sense.

Mai: Major queen of darkness Scorpio vibes (probably Scorp rising, but possibly sun). Plus, she bottles up all of her emotions and pretends she doesn’t have them, but we all know that’s a lie (you’re not fooling anyone Scorpio!!) Also cool, ‘I’m surrounded by idiots’ Capricorn energy. I also see some Sag (constant boredom, sarcasm, etc.) Def a little bougie Taurus energy there too.

Ty Lee: Flirty Libra, carefree Aquarius, witchy Pisces probably. Do I need to say more? Probably some Leo in there somewhere too (attention issues)

Bonus: Yue is a Pisces (obviously)

#atla astrology #atla #avatar the last airbender #astrology #self indulgent astrology post #aang #sokka #katara #toph #atla suki #zuko #iroh #azula #atla mai #ty lee #disclaimer: i am not an astrologist and this is just very self indulgent #I made this instead of writing #i would KILL to see Azula's birth chart

18 notes · View notes

su-univeralai · 3 years

Note

MAILEE???? AS PARENTS???? Tell us more Su.

Ok, Joy, so I was thinking about this a lot last night, and had originally thought that they would have 3 biological kids, Mai and Ty Lee get different sperm donors. Mai would get pregnant first and have a girl, and then Ty Lee would have twin boys. They would also foster orphans and teach them etiquette and how to defend themselves (but I'm not going to include them since they're only there until they age out of the system with some dope skills, or are adopted)

BUT THEN!!!

I thought.... Ty Lee is 1 or 7 identical sisters WHAT IF instead of having twin boys, she had like quintuplet (5) boys!!! But she gave them all very different names and made them do very different activities so they were their own people, unlike how she felt with her sisters. Of course the five of them would end up forming some sort of group gymnastics team or something so they could spend more time together.

IDK Joy! I'm conflicted on which route I wanna take. I'll lay both groups of kids out for you (and anyone else who's interested) and y'all can help decide which Mai Lee family will make the cut lmao.

Also going to put a cut here because... well this is gonna get looong

Yaisha (F) Firebender, 29: Yaisha is Mai's biological child, yet very much has personality close to her Titi (Ty Lee). She isn't a very skilled firebender when she starts, but cousin Ichika (Azula's daughter), trains her to become a pretty an average bender before heading off to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. She latches onto Kya (steambaby) who is 3 years older than her and they become close like sisters. Seeing that Yaisha isn't the strongest bender, she is also taught dagger throwing, which she excels at like Mama. Although her firebending skills are quite avaerage, she uses them masterfully in the kitchen, specifically as a baker. She ends up marrying an earthbender at some point in the future (I have no other info on this dude yet, sorry lmao) and they settle down in Ba Sing Se and open a pastry shop next to the Jasmine Dragon.

Yaisha is there in both iterations of my idea. The rest of these OCs will be split between Ty Lee having twin earthbending boys (bc her sperm donor was an earthbender) or two firebenders, an earthbender, and two non-bender quintuplets.

Twins:

Siju and Dizai (M) Earthbenders, 27: Siju and Dizai are pretty skilled earthbenders for people who live in the Fire Nation without any proper training. While Yaisha trains at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, the twins are shipped off to train with Toph. The twins get super close with Suyin they become a trio until Su gets sent to Gao Ling to live with her grandparents. Siju is quite a skilled metalbender, but Dizai turns out to be a lavabender. Once they hone their skills, both of them come home to show Mama and Titi their skills. Everyone is very impressed.

Siju stays home and meets a midranking officer in the Fire Navy and they fall in love.

Dizai travels around the world and meets Sokka and Suki's daughter, Alayi. Even though Dizai is 6 years younger than Alayi, the two fall in love and settle in the SWT where Alayi wants to teach the new waterbenders how to master their element. Together, they have two children, an earthbender and a firebender.

Quintuplets:

Jaree (M) Non-Bender, 20: Jaree is a skilled chi blocker like Titi, but is also interested in welding. He becomes the youngest and best-known welder in the world but the age of 15. People come from all over the world to get beautifully designed weapons made by the boy. Jaree makes customized weapons for his Mama and Zaija on a regular basis as 'practice'. When he turns 18, he only does commissions because he enjoyed spending his time with his brothers dancing and messing around.

Zaija (M) Non-Bender, 20: Zaija on the other hand, takes after his Mama and is a skilled thrower. Jaree makes customized throwing stars, daggers, knives, etc for him. They are perfectly balanced and ensures that he never misses his target. when he's not small weapons and going on top secret missions for Shushu Zuko, he writes under the name Wang Fire (courtesy of Sokka). Wang Fire is the best-selling author for teen dramas. Only Sokka knows his secret.

Mozu (M) Firebender, 20: Mozu is an awful combat firebender, but he's very skilled in firebending as a healing art. He studies under the Bhanti sages to learn how to energy read with firebending. From there he learns the power of Reiki and massage therapy to heal people. Mozu and Shain start a healing business together, as Shain is a skilled acupuncturist and acupressurist. In his small amount of free time, he likes to study teas. Eventually, after the quintuplets stop competing, Mozu goes to help Iroh in Ba Sing Se at the tea shop.

Yaro (M) Firebender, 20: Where Mozu could barely fight, Yaro excels. Yaro is sent to the Sun Warriors to learn firebending from Ran and Shaw. After returning, he makes it his life mission to learn how to control the colors of his fire. By 17, he is able to create any color flame he wants. He explores how different things react based on the different temperatures and colors the flames are. Yaro becomes a potter, creating unique bowls, plates, etc for the nobles. He and Jaree open a gallery together to sell their masterpieces.

Shain (M) Earthbender, 20: Shain is the odd man out, being the only earthbender in the family. He is sent to train with Ayi Toph and discovers he's a very skilled metalbender. Between his metalbending abilities and knowledge of muscles and pressure points, Shain creates a better way of doing acupuncture than the experts have done for the past 300 years. Shain spends one season each year in Zaofu with Suyin and Bataar to better his metalbending and teach other metalbenders his acupuncture technique.

The five of them are all super flexible and able to get some height when jumping. They form a gymnastics and dance troupe of the five of them. They compete in the group version of bending dance competitions that Tiao Wu does. He's a big fan of them and is always siked when they let him dance with them.

OK! Here is a much longer than I intended answer to your Mai Lee babies ask. Please let me know what you think and which direction you think I should go because both would be interesting to have.

#mai lee #next gen atla universe #next gen atla kids #ask me #thanks for the ask joy!#ask me about my universe #this is getting more complicated #but I love it?#you should see my family tree #it's more chaotic than you can imagine #I'll post it soon lol #should ty lee have quintuplets or just twins?

8 notes · View notes

firenationember · 4 years

Text

Destruction, Everywhere (OC Fic)

7/?

Authors note: I just had to include that smirk, since technically this chapter happens after they get back from Boiling Rock lol

Zuko and Sokka returned a few days later, riding in on a Fire Nation blimp instead of Zuko’s war balloon. It turns out they snuck into a Fire Nation prison because Sokka wanted to find his father. They returned with Hakoda, a Kyoshi Warrior named Suki and another prisoner who just so happened to hear about their plan.

We were all sitting around a fire that night as everyone caught up, the air light. I got up from my spot next to Toph and walked over to where Zuko was sitting alone. He smiled at me as I sat down next to him and I gave him a playful swat on his arm.

“Ow! What was that for?” He asked chuckling, rubbing the spot I just hit.

“What was that for?! I asked if Sokka was okay, you told me he was, and then you guys just disappear for days after leaving a weird note behind. Which, by the way, was not believable.” He shrugged with a small smile on his face.

“I knew Sokka was going to try and do something reckless, I had to go with him. No one deserves to fight alone.” I smiled at him before looking away, feeling the blush creep on my face, hoping he wouldn’t see.

“I’m glad Sokka has you.” I motioned to Suki, who was sitting cozily next to Sokka. If it weren’t so dark, I’m sure we’d all see Sokka’s pink cheeks as he fawned over her. “Of course, Sokka would run into an old flame, even in a Fire Nation prison.” I shook my head with amusement and saw a shift in Zuko’s demeanor. “Did you run into anyone?” I asked, not sure what made him tense up. All I got was a shrug.

“Azula was there, that blimp was hers actually. She brought… her friends with her to fight. I haven’t seen my sister since the day of Black Sun.” He said, his hesitation when mentioning his sisters’ helpers obvious. Unsure what to make of it, I reached out and gave his upper arm a reassuring squeeze.

“It must have been hard to see your sister, I’m glad everyone made it out okay.” He smiled at me after sighing, relief clear on his face.

“I’m just happy to be back here, with you.” I looked down at my lap, blushing at his words. If this wasn’t a clear sign that Katara was right, and Zuko has feelings for me too, then I’d never understand boys. I knew I had to tell him how I feel, just to get it off my chest. I decided to wait until he got some rest; I’m sure sneaking into a Fire Nation prison is exhausting.

Sokka insisted we relax for a few days, to balance out the few days they were in the prison, saying how it was the “only way” to get “back into fighting shape”. I knew he just wanted to catch up with Suki after not seeing her for months, and I get it. It didn’t stop me from feeling annoyed though, knowing Sozin’s comet was getting closer.

“When are we going to get back to training and, oh I don’t know, planning what we’re going to do when Aang has to face the Firelord?” I finally decided to ask one day, annoyance clear in my voice. Sokka and Suki were sitting up against the fountain in the courtyard as the others milled around, all content with doing their own thing for a bit. Sokka turned away from Suki, giving me the strangest version of what I think was supposed to be a sympathetic look.

“Draya, relax. With Suki and-“

“Yes, we know that your girlfriend is an incredible warrior, and I would love to learn from her, which is why I’m wondering when we’re going to start training and planning again. Your dad is here Sokka, we could have half of our plan thought through already!” I didn’t realize how animated I became while I spoke, having to catch my breath when I was done.

“Maybe she’s right, Sokka. We should be doing something more… productive.” Suki said, offering me a soft smile. I returned it along with a soft nod, thankful she agrees.

“No Suki, it’s okay. I know what this is really about.” Sokka said, turning his attention to me. At this point, the others were quiet and listening to our conversation. I could see Katara glancing between her brother and I, waiting to put out any fire (real or metaphorical). Zuko walked closer to us, having missed the beginning part of the conversation but obviously noticing my aggravation, confusion clear on his face. A mischievous smile crept on my face as I crossed my arms over my chest, ready to hear what Sokka said next.

“Oh really? You mean it’s not about me wanting to do something more productive then sit around and flirt all day?” I asked, directing all my attention to Sokka, hoping Suki would know I wasn’t intending to insult her. He stood up and walked over to me, amusement dripping in his laughter.

“Oh Draya. Draya, Draya, Draya. This is clearly because you’re jealous. You’re jealous that you and your firebending prince boyfriend can’t sit around ‘flirting’ all day because you think he still might have feelings for his Fire Nation ex.” As soon as the words escaped his mouth, my smug expression dropped, being replaced by confusion. I saw Sokka recoil as he realized what he said, after Suki smacked his leg. I looked back at Zuko, hoping I didn’t look as hurt as I felt. His eyes, for once, weren’t already looking back at me; instead, they searched the floor beneath him. I felt my face contort into anger, turning to face Sokka again.

“For the last time Sokka, he is not my boyfriend.” A burst of flames escaped my palms as I spoke, emphasizing my anger. “Even if he was, at least he didn’t turn into the moon.” Sokka’s expression quickly became pained, making me regret the words as soon as I said them. It was a low blow, and I knew it. I turned around and, before marching away, I said “I knew I should have left when I had the chance.” I held my head up while I grabbed my bag, shoving my sleeping bag messily inside, and started to run off without a plan.

I had found an empty staircase in the temple after running for what felt like forever, and it seemed to crawl up the side of the mountain. I looked up the never-ending steps and sighed. I sat down on the bottom step, finally allowing my shoulders to drop and the tears to spill out of my eyes. It was almost infuriating how miserable Sokka’s words made me feel; I mean it’s not like there was anything to be jealous about. Zuko and I, we’d only ever just be friends and I knew that.

The thing was, in all the conversations we’ve had since the day in the alcove, Zuko never mentioned having an ex-girlfriend. Not once. He told me about his family; his mother, the way his father and sister treated him, how wonderful of a man his uncle is. But never a mention of an ex-girlfriend, or even an ex-flame. I rolled my eyes with a laugh as I wiped at my tears with the back of my hand. It had to have been one of Azula’s friends, his weird pause from our previous conversation finally making sense. He probably grew up with her, having long history together that I could never compete with. I was so lost in my spiral of thoughts that I didn’t hear Zuko walk up until he cleared his throat. I looked up at him, mustering the best neutral expression I could with tears streaking my cheeks.

“Draya, I-“, Zuko started as he stepped closer, the cold daggers in my gaze making him stop in his tracks. “I’m sorry. I should have been the one to tell you about my ex-girlfriend.” His words made me laugh, dripping with more cynicism than amusement.

“There’s nothing you have to tell me Zuko. We’re just friends, you don’t owe me an explanation.” My wave of sadness has been consumed by anger, not knowing who exactly I was angry at. Zuko? Sokka? Myself? I turned my body away from him, and I could hear his quick movements getting closer. He gave out a huff as he sat on the steps near me, staying quiet for a long time. I was about to stand up and leave when he decided to speak.

“Her name is Mai, she’s friends with Azula. Her and another one of their friends, Ty Lee, used to hang out at the palace a lot when we were young. I really thought I liked her, and I do. I’ll always care about Mai as a friend.” He kept his tone even, voice soft, as he spoke. I hesitated before turning my body to face him, his head hanging while his fluffy black hair covered his face. He was gripping his hands so hard; his knuckles were starting to turn white. I could tell how nervous he was to open up, I knew I had to say something.

“Zuko, thank you for telling me about her. You really don’t have to explain yourself, though. My anger back there was… dramatic. And mainly directed towards Sokka’s big mouth.” My gaze never left his face as I spoke, hoping he would look up at me. His grip loosened and he shifted his body, so he was completely facing me before looking up. I felt my heart jump to my throat at the sight of his gentle eyes, giving him a soft smile. He held my gaze, the sincerity clear on his face. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“After Azula tricked me into thinking my father had changed his mind, Mai and I reconnected. We soon became close and it felt comfortable having someone I was so familiar with around, someone that didn’t hate me. Before I left, I knew I had to break things off with her. Everyone thought I was a traitor; I couldn’t drag her into it. While in the prison, I was caught and given my own cell as an actual prisoner. Her uncle is the warden, so she found me. She was upset that I only left a letter-”

“A letter Zuko? Really? You cannot make this a habit.” I say, trying not to laugh. He smiled slightly.

“I know, I know. Anyway, I told her I was sorry, and how great it was to have her around when I returned to the Fire Nation. She was probably the best friend I had there, really. She told me I was betraying my country; she didn’t understand that when I broke up with her it was so that I could leave to help save the Fire Nation, not to hurt her. I knew she would never be able to understand, and I told her that things would never work between her and I.” His free hand hovered up to my face, his palm getting close enough that I could feel the heat coming from it before he dropped it to grab my hand instead. We just stared at each other for a few beats, savoring every bit of this moment. The sun was hitting his golden eyes, the color dancing the same way a breathing flame does. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Mai.”

“Zuko. Really. It’s okay. I’m not mad at you. I’m… not even mad at Sokka. I should be the one apologizing to him right now. It’s just… when you disappeared with Sokka, I was so worried that I’d never see you again and it broke my heart knowing that I never told you how I feel out of fear… fear that I’d lose the one person who’s helped me realize what actually belonging feels like. I care about you Zuko, in a way that I’ve never cared about anyone else, and that scares me. Everyone I’ve ever known is gone, anyone I cared about…” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, preparing myself for what I was going to tell him next. Zuko noticed how nervous I was, squeezing my hand.

“Take your time Draya, it’s okay.” His soft smile gave me the courage to go on. I gave a soft nod, shifting my gaze from Zuko to a small, stray tree swaying on the cliffside.

“I didn’t just lose my mother the day my village was raided. She married a farmer when I was a baby, and not soon after… I had a younger brother; his name was Kin. He was only 2 years younger than me. Growing up, all I’d hear is how much my mother loved the fact that Kin was ‘just like her’, that she finally had a ‘good’ child, a child who didn’t bend fire. It made me resent him, even when he proved that he was nothing like our mother. Kin was kind, sweet, and so funny.” I laughed, surprised when I felt tears I hadn’t known were there fall from my eyes. I wiped at them with the back of my hand, shaking my head. “The morning of the raid, we had gotten into a stupid argument. I told him that I wished he were never born. I hurt him so much that he ran out of the house, and I didn’t go looking for him. That was the last thing I said to him before… I was hoping I’d see him with the other children, praying to the spirits that he was kidnapped too. Maybe then I could protect him, make up for all the times I wasn’t there for him before. Tell him that it wasn’t true, I was so happy he was my little brother.” I looked down at my hand that was still being held by Zuko, not bothering to wipe at the tears that were now steadily falling. He dropped my hand to wrap his arms around me, using one hand to cradle the back of my head. I wrapped my arms around his torso and laid my head on his chest.

“Draya, I am so sorry you’ve been carrying that with you. You don’t have to say it out loud; I feel it in the way you speak, how you act. I haven’t known you nearly as long as your brother did, and if I can see how clearly you care for others, I know he felt it. You can’t hold on to that forever Draya, it’ll eat you alive.” Both of his arms were wrapped tightly around me, his head now resting on top of mine.

“I was awful to him Zuko. I knew the years of pain I endured was karma for how I treated him. All he wanted was for his big sister to play with him, to plant in the garden with him, to love him. And I always refused. I should have been there for him. I should have looked for him. Not even for my baby brother could I stand up to my mom, if only to her words already in my head.” I buried my face into the front of his robe, hating the fact that I was opening up so much. I couldn’t stop.

“What you went through was cruel, and nobody’s fault but my fathers, not karma. You’re one of the most brave, resilient, and caring people I know. Your past doesn’t define you, or your future.” His tone was kind, sincere.

“It sounds like someone has been listening to their uncle’s advice.” I mumbled into his chest, refusing to move from our embrace. I felt a light rumble in his chest as he chuckled, leaning back to look at me. He grabbed my face with both of his hands, palms resting on my cheeks and thumbs gently wiping away my tears. “Thank you for always listening, Zuko. I’m happy I met you.” I smiled, placing my right hand on top of his, leaning my face into his warm palm.

“I will always be here for you. I care about you, Draya.” He smiled, dropping his hands and wrapping one around my shoulders. We sat there for a while before Zuko stood up. “Ready to go back with the others?” He asked, and I sighed as he held out a hand. I took it, standing up next to him and grabbing my bag that was still sitting on the stairs. We walked silently back to the courtyard where the others were now sitting in front of a fire. As soon as he saw me, Sokka stood up and ran over to me, throwing his arms around my body. I stumbled back a bit from the impact, but that didn’t seem to faze him as he hugged me tight.

“Draya! Thank the spirits Zuko found you. I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I’ll stop calling him your boyfriend, just please don’t leave! We can’t afford to lose anyone else.” He leaned away; his face covered in a sad apology. I just smiled at him.

“It’s okay, Sokka. I’m the one who should be saying sorry, I shouldn’t have said… what I said. You know I respect her, and you. I’m sorry.” He shrugged in response before smiling and wrapping an arm around me, leading us back to the others. We enjoyed the rest of the night around the fire, Sokka promising we’d get back to serious business tomorrow. I absorbed the feeling of being surrounded by my friends and smiled. I knew that no matter how much we planned, we’d probably never be ready for the future. I shake the thought away, not wanting the thought of Sozin’s comet to ruin an already salvaged night once again.

#avatar #avatar: the last airbender #avatar: tla #a:tla #atla #atla fanfic #original character #oc fanfic #oc x zuko #zuko #slow burn #book 3: fire #sokka #suki

8 notes · View notes