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beifongssight · 2 months

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Sokka x f!Reader | "Family"

so tbh i've always been a Toph girlie and throughout my teenage-hood was a huge Zuko girlie.. so why did some of my Sokka x readers eat when I was sixteen??? sum; After proposing to his long term girlfriend after the war, Sokka and [YourName] wed and soon welcome their first child before greeting their second. tw; fem!reader, everyone does age in this fic, pregnancy, not so steamy makeout leading to implications, birth !!!, wc; 3.1k

It was right after taking out the fleet of fire nation airships did Sokka propose to [YourName]. It was so out of character and unexpected. She originally thought he was joking but the desperate look for an answer in Sokka’s eyes made [YourName]’s laughter die down, “You’re… being serious?” she asked, making Sokka nod. [YourName]’s laughter turned into tears of joy, sure they were only freshly sixteen- but it was normal to get engaged so young, it did not mean they had to marry young. It finally processed in [YourName]’s brain that her boyfriend was proposing to her to marry her, she cried and accepted the proposal.

When returning to Aang and the others, Sokka couldn’t keep his big mouth shut and announced the engagement after celebrating Aang’s win. Katara, Aang, and Zuko all were shocked into silence while [YourName] simply smiled and nodded while Suki and Toph laughed. After things calmed down, Sokka found the betrothal necklace he had made weeks prior. While [YourName] was talking to her future sister-in-law, Sokka clipped the necklace around his future wife’s neck and the sight made Katara’s heart melt. She had never seen Sokka so happy before, and the smile on [YourName]’s face matched his happiness.

After getting properly looked at and after Zuko is crowned the Fire Lord, everyone meets up in Ba Sing Se in Iroh’s tea house. At the Jasmine Dragon, [YourName] leaned against Sokka as he drew, things seemed so calm and [YourName] hoped they would remain that way. It was for a bit, Zuko almost went off his rocker, they found his mother and little half sister, and then some more adventures happened all up until Sokka and [YourName] were both twenty-one. Realizing there was no more adventure needed from the Gaang around the world, Sokka and [YourName] settled in the Southern Water Tribe. Sokka took a job in the council before the wedding was put into action. The wedding for Sokka and [YourName] was small, just Aang, Katara, Zuko, Toph, Suki, [YourName]’s parents, Hakoda, and Malina. Medium sized but had everyone important to [YourName] and Sokka. After the wedding, Sokka was approved to leave and the two spent almost two weeks in the Fire Nation just relaxing.

Shortly after returning from the honeymoon and adjusting into a routine, there was no shock when [YourName] announced her first pregnancy a few years later. Everyone was excited, asking questions about which gender they hoped to have or what they wanted to name their child. After questions died down, everyone decided to head out and enjoy a meal. After returning to the Southern Water Tribe from Republic City, [YourName] watched her husband mature through the days as weeks passed. Between his job and the upcoming child, she knew Sokka was going to mature but it was beautiful seeing it happen.

Around [YourName]’s due date, Aang, Katara, and little Bumi were all visiting. Sokka decided to step out to get something for dinner and [YourName] was showing Katara around the new home Sokka and [YourName] recently moved in with the upcoming arrival of their child. [YourName] was mid showing the kitchen when she felt a pain and wetness grace her lower half. Katara gasped and went right into action, she had given birth and assisted in plenty of births to know what she had to do. Trying to calm [YourName] down while yelling for Aang to go take Bumi and find Sokka was the hardest part. Mostly because Bumi didn’t want to leave the house and [YourName] was refusing to do anything until Aang left. Eventually Aang just scooped his son and left, leaving Katara to try and calm her friend down. Of course nothing was going calmly until Sokka had busted into the bedroom where Katara led [YourName] to lay down. Katara was on full delivery duty, which meant Bumi and Aang couldn’t interfere with whatever she was doing. Sokka only left the room less than a handful of times to retrieve water or whatever Katara requested his wife needed. Eventually, [YourName] would have to start pushing, and while she was doing that Sokka made sure to let [YourName] know how well she was doing, moving some of her hair out the way, and when her hair fell out of her very loose style, Sokka had no problem trying his best to put it back up. Eventually, there was a loud cry piercing through the room and so much relief was felt between Sokka and [YourName]. “It’s a girl!” Katara said with a proud smile on her face as she set the newborn on [YourName]’s chest so she could finish up what needed to be done. [YourName] had fresh tears running down her face as she admired her daughter, “Oh she’s so perfect..” [YourName] whispered, causing Sokka to agree quietly. After getting their daughter cleaned up and checked on, Katara left Sokka and [YourName] to bond with their daughter.

It had been after a feeding that Sokka finally had the courage to hold his daughter and do skin-to-skin. [YourName] watched her husband bond with their first born child, a soft warm smile on her tired face. Despite being so tired and drained, [YourName] wanted to give her daughter a name. “How about..” [YourName] began before thinking “Shui, for a name.” the tired new mother offered. Sokka was already smiling and if he could, it would have widened, “I think it’s perfect.” he hummed before coming close to his wife. “Now, rest,” Sokka whispered, pressing a kiss to his wife’s temple. [YourName] and Sokka would raise Shui into a spunky little girl. She was a huge daddy’s girl and her personality practically matched her father’s. Between the sass and how things come naturally to her, she was most definitely Sokka’s daughter. Sure, Shui shared some features of her mother, but that was Sokka’s through and through. Shui was now six-years-old and was starting to grow her own personality of her own and [YourName] and Sokka both encouraged Shui to do so.

Shortly after Shui’s sixth birthday, Sokka was requested to an emergency meeting which meant [YourName] was in charge of putting Shui to bed by herself. [YourName] had done this plenty of times to know the tricks, but she didn’t need to pull any of them out. Sokka kissed his daughter’s head before heading out after dinner, and soon after [YourName] got her daughter into the bath and changed into her nightgown. [YourName] scooped her happy daughter into her arms, making both of them go into a fit of laughter. “Good night, Princess..” [YourName] whispered, booping her daughter’s nose before kissing Shui’s forehead. [YourName] shut her daughter’s door before heading back toward the kitchen and put leftovers away, started to clean the areas that were used, and headed to get ready for bed. [YourName] had no idea how long her husband was going to be at this meeting, but she hoped he’d be home soon to keep his side of the bed warm. [YourName] had just finished changing, letting her hair down, when she heard her husband return. With excitement in her light steps, she rushed over to the man she happily married years ago. “How was the meeting?” [YourName] asked, reaching up to caress her husband’s face. “Great, they requested me join the council in Republic City.” Sokka hummed, leaning down to press a kiss to his wife’s lips. [YourName] gave him a surprised look before pushing Sokka away from her face, “You’re just going to drop this great news and casually try to kiss me? Sokka! This is great news!” [YourName] said in an excited tone. Sokka rolled his eyes playfully before laughing “It’s exactly why I’m trying to kiss you.” he joked before bringing his wife into a kiss. [YourName] laughed into the kiss, allowing her husband to slip his tongue into her mouth. The sudden action caused [YourName] to gasp, but she happily took the bait Sokka was obviously setting out. Sokka’s hands fell from [YourName]’s face down to her waist, which would eventually fall down to her bum. With little needing to be said, [YourName] pulled away for a moment to hop up and Sokka happily caught her. His hands held her thighs as he walked back toward their bedroom.

Once in the bedroom, Sokka and [YourName] fell onto the bed. Their laughter muffled between their kisses, Sokka gently squeezed [YourName]’s thighs earning a slight whimper from the woman. They truly were testing waters they haven’t tested in weeks, but tonight was worth celebrating. Sokka and [YourName] were as quiet as possible and luckily hadn’t awoken their daughter in the process.

It shouldn’t have been a shock, but when [YourName] found out through the healer she had once more fallen pregnant she was shocked. Of course the one night she and Sokka decided to have time to themselves, to explore each other like the needy teenagers they never got to be, she falls pregnant again. [YourName] wasn’t upset at the news, just a little shocked. After being dismissed, [YourName] headed straight home.

It took [YourName] to confess to her husband what is up with her health, finally confessing she was nearly four months pregnant with their second child. Sokka was brought to silence in shock, but laughed before scooping his wife up and twirling her around as if they were younger than they actually were. [YourName] laughed before she was put down, “Spirits, makes me wonder how Shui will react..” the woman says softly.

Their daughter had been an only child for the last six years, and sharing and being nice to the kids around her came naturally, but still worried the parents as they hadn’t even planned to have a second one. Sokka and [YourName] were more than content to have Shui as an only child but obviously the spirits had other plans, plans [YourName] didn’t have the courage to change. “She’ll be fine..” Sokka comforted, pressing a kiss on the crown her head.

Two whole weeks passed and still nothing came out of Sokka or [YourName] in telling Shui she was going to be a big sister. By now, Katara and Aang found out, and the others were next in line, but [YourName] felt she owed it to her daughter to tell her before absolutely anyone else found out. As much as Sokka wanted to be there to see his daughter’s reaction to being a big sister, he allowed [YourName] to take Shui out on a girls day out.

Shui was eating up her time with her mother, finally settling in a cafe for a little treat. After receiving the small sweet treat and a drink for herself, [YourName] and Shui sat at a table near the corner of the cafe, away from most people since Sokka wasn’t ready to share the news too publicly. [YourName] watched her daughter devour her treat before finally getting to the nitty gritty of why they chose a secluded place to sit.

“Shui, have you ever wanted a sibling?” [YourName] asks her daughter, the little one looked up from her treat before thinking and nodding. “I want to have always sleepovers.” Shui states her main reason for wanting a sibling, [YourName] smiled at her soft and innocent reasoning before she spoke up, “Well, Shui, I think you’re going to get your wish.” she explained. It confused the little girl at first before [YourName] laughed and further explained, “You’re going to be a big sister, I’m going to have your little sister or brother.” the mother said.

Processing took a moment, and Shui gasped and squealed. Shui brought her mother in for a tight hug, [YourName] returning the hug. After playing 101 questions with Shui, [YourName] and Shui returned home, Shui rushing in and announcing that her mother was going to have a baby to Sokka who acted shocked at the news. Sokka picked Shui up, “I had no idea!” Sokka claimed, making [YourName] smile and admire her husband and daughter.

Months passed and Republic City was calling Sokka’s name for a meeting. Just, he couldn’t just leave his wife and daughter right now. [YourName] was due in about three weeks and he was worried the meeting would drag into days and between the traveling time and such, he decided Shui and [YourName] tag along. The whole ride there, [YourName] was fighting for her life with sea sickness and Shui was excitedly telling all the soldiers on board she was going to be a big sister, as if they hadn’t heard it the first million times. But because she was Sokka’s daughter, they let her talk about it.

Landing in Republic City, Sokka immediately took [YourName] and Shui to Air Temple Island. Aang and Katara happily greeted Sokka, [YourName], and Shui. Shui looked around before she heard yelling and after getting the ‘okay’ she went ahead to find her cousins to join in their playing. Once Aang escorted [YourName] away to show her where she could rest until dinner, Katara talked to her brother. “Why would you bring her here when she’s so close to her due date…?” Katara asked in an almost scolding tone. Sokka sighed, knowing this was coming from his sister. “I didn’t want to miss her giving birth and I thought this was probably the best option.” Sokka explained, Katara cocked an eyebrow but rolled her eyes, “Whatever, just know traveling takes a toll on the body, plus being pregnant, you owe her some sort of massage.” she huffed before taking her leave to find her children and niece.

As his sister advised, Sokka sought out his wife to give her a nice massage before dinner. “The meeting is fairly early in the morning,” Aang explains over dinner to Sokka, [YourName] and Katara were too busy teaming up together to make sure the children were eating. Sokka nods, listening to Aang speak about the importance of this meeting.

Eventually dinner was over and everyone was retiring to bed, Shui found her parents before they excused themselves to bed and asked if she could sleep with them instead of in Kya’s bed. Sokka was ready to question his daughter on the sudden switch in plans, but [YourName] interrupted and agreed. “She won’t be an only child for much longer and I want her to know how much I love her..” [YourName] said to Sokka before turning to her daughter and making her way to the bedroom.

The following morning, before the sun even thought about rising, Sokka woke up. He got ready for the meeting before kissing Shui’s head and placing a quick, lazy kiss on his wife’s lips. [YourName] had woken up temporarily to wish her husband a good day, but soon fell back to sleep until Shui woke her up for breakfast.

The day started off perfectly fine. [YourName] got her daughter dressed before herself and headed to breakfast where Bumi and Kya waited for their mother to place the food on the table. [YourName] tried to assist Katara in getting breakfast finished, but the woman simply refused and forced [YourName] to sit down and monitor the three children as they talked. Eventually, breakfast was served and everyone began to eat.

It was then that [YourName] should have noticed something was off. She tried to play it off as simple false labor pains but throughout the day it kept throbbing and getting worse. Finally, while she was walking with the kids to where they were guiding her. As they walked, she felt a slight pop before liquid ran down her legs making her halt her walking. Shui was the first to notice her mother stopping, so she stopped Bumi and Kya, and all three came to investigate. “Go find Katara-” [YourName] asked the children, and before she had to repeat herself Bumi took hold of his sister’s and cousin’s hand and went to find his mother. When Katara came rushing into the hallway, children nowhere in sight, [YourName] was straining not to absolutely collapse. With assistance from Katara, [YourName] was put into a room and preparation for the birth had begun. [YourName] was panicking and it was not helping the situation, “I’m not due for another week- Katara- please, I can wait.” she said, trying to convince herself along with Katara. “[YourName], I warned Sokka traveling strains the body and he shouldn’t have brought you- you can’t wait, this baby is coming.” The waterbender said, trying to erase whatever thoughts were going through [YourName]’s mind. “What about Sokka?” [YourName] said, nearly sobbing.

Shit.

“I can’t do this without him, Katara.” [YourName] said, fear and nervousness leaking from her words. Katara wanted to comfort her as a sister-in-law but she knew as a friend she had to help [YourName] face the music. “Sokka won’t make it back in time. If you try and hold this baby in, not just the baby will be in trouble, but you too.” Katara said, prepping her water. [YourName]’s head fell back as she sobbed, knowing she was going to have to do this with just herself and Katara.

It was shorter than Shui’s birth, but still a handful of hours passed and a healthy baby. Right as that cry was heard, the door busted open to reveal Sokka. [YourName]’s tense body relaxed at the sight. “It’s a boy!” Katara announced as she placed the little one on [YourName]’s chest as Sokka made his way over. Sokka kneeled down and profusely apologized to his wife for missing the birth of their son. Between sweat, tears, and helping her son latch on to her breast, [YourName] managed to whisper a soft ‘it’s alright.’. All that mattered now was that Sokka was here now and he got to hold his son. After the little boy ate and was washed and checked on, Katara left to allow Sokka and [YourName] to bond with their son. “No.. No more, okay?” [YourName] said as she gently handed their son over to Sokka, “Children? Yeah, I think my cap is two anyways..” Sokka hummed as he took the little one. This simply made [YourName] softly chuckle.

Things were settling down, Sokka had done skin to skin and then brought in dinner, which left naming their son. The baby went a whole night without a name, unlike his sister who [YourName] carefully planned her to be a girl. “How about Hakoda? After my father.” Sokka suggested making [YourName]’s heart melt. Hakoda, Sokka’s father, had passed the chief title to Sokka shortly before passing and it was a super emotional few weeks of [YourName]’s pregnancy.

When morning came and graced Republic City, Shui was welcomed into the now cleaned room. Sokka brought his daughter into his lap to show her baby Hakoda. Shui was at a loss for words before Sokka assisted Shui in holding her baby brother. It was moments like this that [YourName]’s heart strings were tugged. Watching Shui be so gentle and polite made [YourName]’s worries all drift away.

She couldn’t wait to see what was next.

#x reader #cartoon x reader #atla x reader #avatar the last airbender x reader #Sokka x reader #atla sokka x reader #avatar the last airbender sokka x reader

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zuko-always-lies · 22 days

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Am I'm the only person who thinks Azula's love language is really, really clear?

Like, what does she do?

Hugging her friends when she's sees them again.

Telling Mai that she's very glad to see her again.

Humiliating her friend's awful, abusive, neglectful parents in front of her.

Giving her (distinctly non-royal) friends seats on a throne.

Making the impossible happen and sacrificing her status as heir to the throne so that her brother can come home.

Openly telling her honor-obsessed brother than he's restored his honor in her eyes.

Repeatedly trying her best to comfort her super-angsty brother whenever he got worried or stressed or sad.

Using physical touch to try to make her brother feel better.

Getting her brother invited to a party.

Doing what she can to try to prevent Zuko from doing something stupid that will get him banished again.

When she screws up and makes her best friend cry, apologizing and using physical touch to comfort her in order to make her feel better.

Risking her life in order to protect her defenseless father.

This is not an ambiguous list. It's probably more clear and straightforward than what we see of Toph's love language, for instance, and if any character less demonized by the narrative than Azula did what Azula does, the fandom would have zero doubt about how deeply she loves people.

And sure, Azula is a bad friend who does plenty of other things which badly screw up her relationships, but I don't think Mai or Ty Lee or Ozai ever doubted for a second that she cared deeply about them. Zuko was the only one so oblivious he couldn't notice, and I'm sure it was blindingly obvious to both Ty Lee and Mai that Azula loved him very deeply.

And all this clarity of love language came despite Azula not having a single family member who ever showed her clear and unconditionally love and affection.

#Azula #Azula meta #Ozai #Mai #Ty Lee #it's really clear

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comradekatara · 2 months

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the gaang and “do they shoplift”

aang: yes, because he enjoys the fun little thrill of it.

katara: yes, because she enjoys “sticking it to the man” and considers it praxis.

sokka: not unless he’s truly desperate, because he knows that he’d get caught and given a life sentence will die in jail if he so much as takes a single apple.

toph: yes, because it’s fun and also praxis.

zuko: not unless you count that time that azula slipped a diamond necklace in his pocket and then pretended to have no idea why zuko would ever do such a horrible thing after he got in trouble for it.

suki: yeah of course. it’s literally fine and necessary to do.

azula: she is a law abiding citizen!! but also she steals red lipstick sometimes, just to feel something. she doesn’t even need it, since she already has 200 tubes of red lipstick at home. but what’s one more?

mai: yes, even though she obviously doesn’t need to, because she’s bored and loves a quiet rebellion.

ty lee: she doesn’t need to because she already gets things for free just by batting her big brown eyes at various men who offer to buy her everything her heart desires. she’s never paid for a single object in her life.

#sokka would shoplift if he could get away with it tho #as evidenced by ‘the runaway’#but he can’t get away with him because everyone is suspicious of him and assumes that he’s shoplifting even when he’s not #meanwhile aang katara and toph can steal a flatscreen tv and no one will even notice #also. YES for the record zuko does NOT have the pilpel to shoplift but he WILL straight up rob you at knifepoint. duality of man #the gaang and #technically not tagging this modern au bc it basically also applies in canon

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transboysokka · 5 months

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Here’s another one that is So Canon To Me that I forget I’m not on the same page as everyone else about it:

Katara gets elected Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and Sokka pretty much never goes back

Let’s please give Katara something permanent to do oh my god. Aang is the Avatar, Toph ends up a cop, Sokka is involved in the running of Republic City. Can Katara please get another role other than Avatar’s Wife Who’s Also A Good Healer??

We’ve seen in the show that she’s a very inspiring leader with a huge sense of loyalty. It seems to me like she’d be a natural at politics and strategically a great choice to lead because of her relationship with the world’s other leaders. Also as the last Southern Waterbender and a great healer, she’d have a lot of respect in the tribe as a warrior and as someone also knowledgeable about spiritual matters.

She’s always had a strong connection to her people and her culture and she’s still living there during Korra. I think she trained to be chief under Hakoda and she and Aang and their family split their time between Republic City and the SWT at first. She probably gets elected a few years later and they live there more permanently, then when her term ends they focus more on RC for a while. I think when Aang dies she’s so happy to move back permanently, having moved away due to duty but her heart has always belonged in the South and its next generation of benders.

Sokka meanwhile… We’ve talked about his trauma. I made a post about this somewhere before I think he’s one of those guys that definitely prefers to visit back home than to spend time there permanently. The memories of losing essentially both his parents and being responsible for all his people’s survival… I don’t think he ever fully deals with those. He’s always had a more global outlook on life and I think his skills in engineering and diplomacy would be better used in the Fir Nation and eventually Republic City. I know we hear him called Chief Sokka in I think S3 of Korra but it’s always made way more sense to me that he would be appointed chief of the Water Tribe folks living in the United Republic, which would reconcile the role we see him in on its council.

Also with his disability later in life… the cold weather in the South would probably not be great for him at all…

I do see a lot of stuff about Sokka being chief post-canon and then Katara just kind of fades into oblivion and I mean we know why that is but consider this instead.. ^^

#is that a decent enough explanation do I make myself clear idk #atla #text #headcanon #Sokka #chief katara #katara #greatest hits #100

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avatartophblindbanditbeifong · 10 months

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The Perfect Pair

Miles Morales x fem!Reader

2.4K words

Summary: Miles would do anything to keep you out of harms way. But what if the only way to protect you is to hurt you in the process?

Miles rapidly bounced his knee up and down.

He was sitting on the variety of red and orange seats of the New York City subway while looking at your contact on his phone. He eyeballed the picture that lit up his screen every time you called—a candid photo he took of you mid-giggle-fit with your mouth open and your eyes shut tight.

His thumb hovered above the call button for what felt like forever to him. The longer he waited, the more anxious he got and and his knee bounced, and bounced, and bounced… and now he was calling you. Miles physically froze; paralyzed. His eyes widened, his breath halted, and his heart pounded.

“Your message has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system (347-).”. Miles blew out a sigh from his lips, hung up, and hunched over his knees, thanking whoever decided not to put cell phone service underground.

Miles loved you. That was a fact nobody could deny. You were all everyone ever heard him talk about. You were his first thought when he woke up in the morning and the last face he imagined when he closed his eyes at night. With you being everything he absorbed, the last thing Miles wanted to do was hurt you.

News had been circulating around about “Spider-Man's Potential Lover?” with various pictures of him swinging around the city with you attached to him . Paparazzi were ruthless and would do anything to get a glimpse of gossip at the expense of your safety, and Miles would not have any of that. If you were revealed as Spider-Man’s lover, then his parents (and yours) would know about his double life. Everyone who knew you and him would know. That possibility would put you and everyone around him in danger. And villains wouldn't hesitate to do something horrible just to get to him.

It’s to keep her safe, he reasoned with himself.

Truthfully, he couldn't stand the thought of another person he loved dying because of him. Miles would rather go the rest of his life knowing you're safe from a distance instead of standing atop your grave. If Spider-Man was bound to lose the people closest to him, then Miles couldn't be close to you anymore.

She’ll understand; he tried to convince himself, right?

…

Meanwhile, in your room, you sat alone in the dark. Your only source of light was that of your phone, which illuminated your face and nothing else. “‘The stars sure are beautiful tonight. Too bad you can’t see them, Toph!’” you huffed out a laugh at that line. You were watching Avatar: The Last Airbender, a show you initially introduced to Miles for the two of you to watch together, but actively watched without him when he wasn’t around.

…which, when you thought about it, seemed to be more often than not recently.

Of course, this was the routine for the entirety of your relationship with Miles. He was around, but not really. In class during roll call, Mr. Morales was almost never there to announce himself as present. During a date at your favorite burger spot, Miles had to leave early because of a car accident on Clinton Street. A text you sent at 3PM on a weekday wouldn’t get a response until 5PM. You knew of his responsibility and the toll it took on him in every way, shape, and form. So, when he didn’t call or text at night, when he got home at 3AM from patrol, you knew the ‘why’ and didn’t get upset because you understood that this is what it meant to be in a relationship with a superhero.

This will all pass, you presumed, …right?

A triple knock on your window brought you out of your onslaught of spiraling thoughts. You didn’t have to turn around for your brain to register who was behind the glass. You turned off your phone, rolled out of bed, and strided to your window in one big swift movement, then opened it to be face to face with him. You noticed he wasn’t in his suit, which wasn’t unusual, but if he wanted to spend time with you, he could just have used the front door. You made a mental note to tease him about that later.

“Hey!” you breathed with an infectious smile, all while grabbing one of his hands into yours to keep him sturdy as he ducked under the window frame and into your room.

“Hey, Y/N.” he muttered. You kissed him upon his greeting, muffling his annunciation of your name.

“How was your night?”

“Oh, it was fine,” he shrugged. “You know… beat a couple’ve bad guys… the usual.

Miles stuffed his hands in his pockets, nervously rocking back and forth from heel to toe. “So, what about you? How was your day?”

“The same— well, I mean, I didn't beat up a couple of bad guys, but y'know… the usual,” you answered. “Oh! I— uh… may or may have not watched a couple of episodes of Avatar—”

“You didn’t!”

“I said I may or may not have. I never said I did!” you chided playfully.

“How many episodes did you watch?”

“... Eight,” you said, through gritted teeth.

“What!” Miles threw his head back in mock despair. “That's practically an entire season!”

"No, it's not!" you insisted. "Just because I watched ahead doesn’t mean I can't rewatch it with you!" At that, you and Miles burst out laughing with squinted eyes, covered mouths to muffle yourselves, and smile lines that pierced into your cheeks, but not too loudly; your parents were home.

Miles watched you through the slits of his eyes while you were hunched over with one arm cradling your stomach and the other covering your mouth. While what you said wasn’t even that funny, for whatever reason, the reaction that came out of your banter caused a chain reaction like pinball; you laughed, he laughed harder. He laughed because of your laugh, and you laughed because he was laughing at you. It was the epitome of your dynamic. But the ease and warmth he felt around you were quickly replaced by dread and guilt seeping through the seams. Miles subconsciously reminded himself that he came here for a reason.

"You know you could have used the front door," you chuckled, simmering from the laughter from just moments ago.

"...It's 9pm."

"Right, well..." you shrugged, "y’know, for next time."

"Yeah, for next time. Okay." Miles wavered. Miles stood there in front of you for a few seconds before slowly trekking around your room with his head down and his hands still in his pockets, like he was pondering something. Your eyes followed him from point A to point B.

"Miles..." you tried, but he didn’t hear you, so you called for him again.

"Hm?" He perked up.

"You okay?"

"Me?" he asked, pointing to himself. The expression on his face genuinely looked like he didn’t know if you were trying to get his attention or not, although he was the only person in the room you could be talking to.

"Yeah, you," you crooned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He cleared his throat to avoid another voice crack. "Yeah, I mean, I'm great. Why-why do you ask?"

"Mmm… I don't know. You just seem a little on edge."

The way Miles fidgeted with his fingers and his inability to keep eye contact with you were telltale signs that he was not, in fact, great like he said he was, and the look on your face let him know that you were losing patience and he couldn’t keep stalling the situation. So he sighed, "Y/N… there's something I need to tell you."

You took a deep breath. “…okay.”

The onslaught of spiraling thoughts returned with a punch to the gut. What could Miles need to say so badly that it made him this nervous? Your heart pounded in erratic beats; a sudden shortness of breath caused you to plop down onto your bed, looking up at Miles standing before you. You weren't stupid; you knew what was happening. Miles was pretty cliche with his advances, but you never imagined he would come to your home in the dead of night and say, "There's something I need to tell you." Like they do in the movies.

You get ‘em how you lose ‘em, I guess.

You should have known from the moment he said your name when you helped him into your room. You felt that he was off, like you were telepathic or something. Your mother once told you that you and Miles were “the perfect pair” because you read each other so well. "It's a good trait to have in a relationship," she said. "If you know when your partner is feeling off, you can find a way to help, even when they feel like they can’t ask for it." But now that you were in that moment, you didn't want to read him the way you could because, right then, you knew what you were reading wasn’t going to have a happy ending.

Your lingering gaze on him was a little intimidating. So much so that Miles had forgotten the lines he was going to deliver to you. The ones he replayed and revised in his head from the moment he stepped off the train to when he landed on your fire escape

"Well..." he stammered. "Uh, um…" Miles dropped his shoulders, blew out a deep breath, and rubbed his face.

How am I supposed to do this? He thought.

Miles lightly trod toward your bed, seating himself next to you; his weight caused a dip in the mattress, resulting in you bouncing on the surface.

"There are pictures of us out there, Y/N," he began. "Of me and you swinging. The most recent one was on Tuesday; that was four days ago."

"Okay, so then we won’t swing together anymore." you offered.

Miles clicked his tongue and shook his head, saying, "No, Y/N, you don’t get it. It's too risky."

"That's never been a problem before."

"If they recognize you just by your backpack—" Miles didn’t even want to think of the possibilities. "Look, I don't want you to get into trouble. It's too dangerous. If your parents or mine—"

"I can handle it!" you argued.

"It's not about handling it," he hissed. "It's about keeping you safe!" The look on his face was frantic; it portrayed the true image of fear and uncertainty. "And you won't be safe if you're with me." He whispered. The shift in Miles’ body language from then to now showed you that he was serious about his decision. The eye contact between the two of you was too intense for you to hold all at once.

Then a knock, knock, knock sounded at your door. You and Miles jolted at the sudden noise. "Y/N?" It was your mother. She slowly opened the door, peeking through it as it widened more.

"Yes, mommy?" you ask innocently, lying on your bed with your ankles crossed and your phone resting in your hands.

"Is everything okay? I thought I heard arguing coming from here."

"Oh, no. That was my show." You shook your head. "Although there were people outside arguing a minute ago, I don't know."

"Okay, well, close your window before you go to bed, okay?" She replied, turning out of the room. "And why are you in the dark?" You shrugged your shoulders. "Weirdo," she called you, as she shut the door in its entirety.

You waited a couple of seconds for your mother's footsteps to fade before calling out for him. "Miles?" you whispered.

"I'm here." You turned your head in the direction of his voice. He reappeared on your windowsill.

“Who gets to decide that, Miles?"

"What?"

"Who gets to decide whether I'm safe with you or not?" but you didn’t get a reply that time. There was no point in dragging this out longer than it needed to. Normally you wouldn't be so stubborn with him, but you knew once Miles stepped out of your window, he wouldn’t be yours anymore. You moved to the side of your bed closest to the window, closest to Miles, and reached for his fingers, nervously toying with them.

“You want to break up?” you whispered. Unable to say the words and look at him at the same time.

"Yes." With that answer, your eyes met Miles's. "I mean, NO, I don't want to break up, but.. GAH!" He tried to come up with some sort of bluff to soften the blow, but he couldn't bring himself to be dishonest with you at that moment. "Yes." But he couldn’t even look you in the eye when he said it.

Your eyes darted around his features as tears welled up in your eyes, swallowing the lump in your throat. You felt a cold rush flush through your chest—a dull ache that caused your heart to physically hurt. It was like the opposite of the flutter you felt in your tummy when... before...

It’s done. It's over.

You let his fingers slip out of your hold, leaving them to dangle between the two of you. Miles could feel the sadness radiating off of you. He couldn’t bring himself to look at you because he hated the idea of being the cause of your pain.

"I'm sorry, Y/N," he sniffled.

"Okay," you said monotonously. Miles watched as you got up from your bed and headed toward your door, opening it and then closing it behind you.

And with that, you were gone.

This is what he wanted, right?

…

Miles thwiped, swung, and released in aggressive cycles across the city. He didn't really have a destination in mind, but he knew he couldn’t go home yet. Memories and shared moments between the two of you reflected themselves off the glass of the skyscrapers as they played through his mind. The sound of your laugh and whispered "I love yous" flooded his ears, drowning out the noise from below.

Miles understood the sacrifices that came with being Spider-Man; he had experienced them once before. However, he had never experienced the pain of losing a loved one by choice. He had never experienced heartbreak like this before. Regret started to settle in as it hit him that he'd just hurt the one person he vowed to always protect, and that was a decision he’d have to live with.

Miles thwiped, swung, and released. thwiped, swung, and released.

Maybe in another universe, he thought.

#miles morales #spiderman across the spiderverse #spiderman into the spiderverse #miles morales x reader #miles morales x you #miles morales imagine #miles morales drabble #miles 1610 #earth 1610 miles morales x reader #spiderverse x reader #spiderverse x y/n #earth 42 miles morales x reader #x reader #miles 42 #earth 42 miles morales x black!reader #miles morales x black!reader #streambeabadoobee4clearskin

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hanadoesstuffwrong · 2 months

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Thinking abt the air nomads:

What if, after the war, once the dust has settled a little, Aang goes back to travelling, hoping that maybe he can find at least some trace of surviving airbenders. As an added bonus, he gets to do more of the exploring and wandering that he had to put on hold.

Toph goes with him ofc. She only just got a taste of real freedom and it was overshadowed by ever-present impending doom. While she's on speaking terms with her parents, she isnt quite ready to be back under their roof on a permanent basis. The rest of the gaang have their individual homes and responsibilities that they get back to, though they join for the odd field trip or adventure when they can.

So anyway, they're touring all over the world and over the years they notice just how displaced so many people have become. EK citizens who barely escaped the blaze but lost everything; FN military now decommissioned with no idea how to carry on; people looking for a new start in the hard-won peace. Maybe it starts with Toph heading back to Earth Rumble, where a group of young runaways scrounge for cheap fights to make a little money.

At each turn they find more and more people with no homes to return to and no family to protect them; runaways escaping the roles the war forced them into. Gradually, Aang and Toph start to see that they aren't so different from themselves. They just want a new start.

So they decide to give them one. They clean up the temples and set up villages in the surrounding areas (helps to be master earthbenders), where people can arrive and stay as long as they need. Travellers and refugees pass through in droves, sometimes choosing to stay and rebuild their lives there, sometimes continuing in their wandering with a guarantee that they'll always have a place to return to should they have the need.

Over time, the lemurs grow in number and even some flying bison calfs (hybrids with a relative species maybe?), can be seen in the skies. Whenever the founders visit, it isn't the same but Aang feels a little more at home.

The first time someone asks Aang to teach him his philosophies, and expresses his desire to become a monk, how can he refuse? Maybe it's a former soldier, somebody who's done terrible things, looking for a path to redemption. So Aang teaches him, and then he teaches others. And though they may not be airbenders, they are as earnest and faithful as any nun or monk Aang knew before. The temples become filled with new faces: Firebenders, Earthbenders, Waterbenders and non-benders all wearing Air nomad orange and yellow.

Aang always feared that it would be his responsibility to have airbender children, and the idea of forcing that on someone he loved terrified him. Maybe that's why he waited so long before acting on his feelings for his best friend, his travelling companion, his fellow-village builder and temple-restorer. How could they have a truly happy relationship with this pressure hanging over them? He wishes he could be content with the new way of things that he and his friends have created. But he knows that he can't be the last airbender forever...

Nobody knows why some children can bend the elements and others can't. Is it blood? Is it blessing? Is it the land in which you're born? Or is it the simple allocation of fates decided by the values and norms you're raised believing in? Is it enough to be surrounded by the culture and beliefs of the Air Nomads? Nobody knows...

All they know is that nobody sees it coming when the six-year-old daughter of two non-bender villagers from the Earth Kingdom and Northern Water Tribe sends herself flying twelve feet into the air with a sneeze.

#oops it became a taang au how did that happen #i just think it wld be neat if the air nomads worked more like irl monks/nuns #not necessarily celibate but still made up of people who choose to follow the way of life #instead of the iffy implications of all monks/nuns having no choice because they were born airbenders #i dunno it's iffy to me #taang #my posts #atla #atla headcanon #do we need to rewatch Ice Age 2 ppl??#repopulation is not a good reason for two people to be together!#avatar: the last airbender #i do also think that given them being nomads the fire nation probably want able to wipe the air nomads out completely #bu they just had to survive in hiding/ in a very diluted form #maybe like the sun warriors do #airbender!Ty Lee my beloved #also wld reflect the themes of unity vs division well if there were more than just airbenders among the air nomads #like how a waterbender can be a ruler of the Fire Nation or a Firebender can run a tea shop in the Earth Kingdom #toph x aang #edited cos someone got upset at my introduction and while i reckon they were willfully misreading i didnt want anyone to misconstrue #to clarify -> any child of aang's wld be an air nomad but there's no guarantee they wld be an airbender #esp if he had a child with an earth or waterbender #and we see how this had a negative effect in canon #hope that clears things up xx

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prying-pandora666 · 4 months

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Imagine If Zuko Had…

Just imagine if Zuko had messed up. Imagine he had acted just a little too much like Ozai and recognized his mistake.

Imagine if in response, he abdicated the throne in disgrace and ran off to live in the woods alone. Completely isolated.

His relationship with his wife? Failed. His daughter? Estranged. His uncle, sisters, mother, etc? All gone from his life.

He spent years of his adult life into old age alone in the woods away from anyone who cared about him and ashamed of how terribly he had failed as Fire Lord.

Would anyone consider this a good ending for Zuko? Let alone a happy one? Would Zuko cracking jokes or saying he’s fine this way convince you? Or would it seem like he’s trying to justify the way he’s wasted his life in solitude and disgrace?

If that all sounds horribly unfair to you, then why is it okay for Toph?

Because Toph Did…

Toph in ATLA has a very clear motivation for running away from home and joining Aang’s group. Her family stifled her and kept her isolated from the world. All she longed for was freedom and for a family that loved and accepted her as she was.

In the comics, she extrapolates upon this further, talking about how traumatizing it was to be captured in a tiny metal cage. How much she feared being forced to be something she’s not, being imprisoned and having more pressure and pain applied to her to try to change her by force. And worst of all, she feared becoming like her parents and passing on that same pressure and pain to others.

So why in the world was her fate in LOK the very thing she feared most?

As Police Chief, her very role is locking people away and trying to force them to behave differently. At times applying pressure and pain to force conformity. Imprisonment is an inextricable part of her job.

And she betrays her own convictions this way to what end?

Her relationships all fall apart and her daughters feel neglected due to the demands of the job. Toph finds herself re-enacting exactly what she told Zuko hurt her most about her parents: “They gave me everything except their love”.

Only to eventually find herself in a situation where she must choose between the stifling rules of her job or throw her daughter into this same system of punishment to try and change her by force. So she chooses her daughter, selectively not applying the law; an act of corruption and nepotism. As such, she resigns in disgrace, ashamed of her actions.

She is estranged from both of her daughters. She is alone and isolated. She lives in the swamp like a hermit. Away from the world. With no one to accept her as she is.

How in the world does anyone justify this as a fair or happy ending for Toph? When I see people celebrating cop Toph or swamp Toph, making memes about how badass she is or calling other fans idiots for pointing out how terrible of a writing choice this is for her character, it really makes me wonder if these fans don’t really care about Toph as a character at all beyond the aesthetics of how cool she can be.

And that makes me really sad because the same is clearly not true for characters like Zuko.

Entire dissertations are written about Zuko’s wants and needs vs his experiences in the world.

When it comes to Toph? She gets boiled down to “she likes to knock heads and boss other people around.”

Even by Bryke themselves.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #Zuko #Toph #Toph Beifong #lok #legend of korra

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cienie-isengardu · 12 days

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Sokka's sexism

Sokka’s sexism from the earliest episodes is an interesting case, because the Southern Water Tribe, at least from what was presented to us on screen, doesn’t seem to operate that much on gender roles? Especially when compared to the Northern Water Tribe?

I mean, yeah, warriors (men) went to war, while women, children and the elders stayed at home. But as Hama’s story shows, when Fire Nation attacked Southern Water Tribe, both female and male benders were fighting against invaders arm to arm and it seems like they were the actual first line of defense there, not the non-bender warriors.

In contrast, during siege of North Pole, in the final of Book 1: Water, we don’t see any female bender helping defend their home except Katara, who was involved in protecting Aang when he was in Spirit World.

Since all the waterbenders were captured from the Southern Tribe, it makes sense that non-bender warriors stepped in and got involved with war, while the kids and elders were left under women’s care.

Another example comes from “a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery and trust”, known as ice dodging. As Bato explained, it is a rite of passage for young Water Tribe members and in their village “done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs.” When a child turns 14, their father was supposed to take them to ice dodging, so they could earn their mark. Though the episode itself was focused on Sokka’s ceremony, Bato never specified it as something that boys alone should do and not only Katara (girl) but also Aang (outsider) is allowed to take part in the ritual. Once Sokka proved himself, everyone of their group got a mark, as a sign they passed the test. Interesting thing to note, since Bato did not specify it is a rite of passage for boys alone, it suggests girls were expected to know how to sail in boats of the Southern Water Tribe. Of course, again, war didn’t allow to continue this tradition as men (Hakoda, in case of Sokka & Katara) left to fight against Fire Nation.

Later, when Sokka and Katara reunited with their father, Hakoda did not try to send away Katara nor relegate her to just a medic job during the invasion. In Northern Water Tribe episodes, we learned that teaching for waterbenders there was defined by gender - women were allowed to learn only how to heal, while men how to use their bending in fight. Hakoda, nor Bato nor other of their warriors even for a moment questioned Katara’s presence on the battlefield nor the presence of women in the ranks of their allies like a blind, 12 years old Toph or the female water benders from Swamps or female(?) soldier from Earth Kingdom

And during battle, Katara did not fight in rank with other soldiers, she first alone secured Appa during submarine attack, then alongside her brother and father took down guardhouses - Hakoda himself told her and Sokka to attack one when he took down the other one

showing how much he trusted his 15 years old son and 14 years old daughter while ordering them attack on Fire Nation adult soldiers hidden in well guarder place.

Later, when Hakoda got seriously injured and Sokka temporary took the command of their forces, we could see that Hakoda relied on Katara to follow his troops and not ever once tried to send her back “to safety” or argued she should leave him behind, as often it happens with heroic (male) figures. Quite the opposite. When Katara offered him to “wait here if you want”, Hakoda firmly said “I want to press forward with the others”, which meant his daughter needed to come with him directly into an already ongoing fight (even if they stayed more at the rear of their army, they were still on battlefield).

She and her brother, alongside with the youngest members of Invasion, were forced to flee on Appa once the battle was lost, but no other adult woman was included. During Zuko’s coronation, when all war prisoners were released, in the background we could again see the female character(s) from Swamps.

And let's not forget how impressive Hakoda was by Suki when she single-handedly captured the warden at Boiling Rock prison and did not try to stop her from fighting against Ty Lee alongside Zuko and Sokka against Azula.

Understandably, we have no idea how the Southern Water Tribe and its culture looked like before the war, even arguably, the characters themselves may not have a clear idea due to growing up in dire times. But my point is, Hakoda and Bato, the two main adult Southern Water Tribe’s warriors that Avatar: The Last Airbender allowed us to know more about, have never shown any direct sexism toward Katara or other female characters. And though Sokka was the oldest boy at their village, there is no reason to think women did not hunt in absence of men, because one person would not be able to provide for a whole community 24/7. Also, as Hama proved, the Southern Water Tribe’s waterbenders were capable of fighting and their gender did not play any vital role the way it happened in their sister tribe at North Pole.

Of course, Fire Nation’s repeated attacks affected residents of South Pole and their living conditions but from the little bits the show gave us, I think it is correct to assume if Sokka grew up with Hakoda around to guide him as he should, his behavior would be different from the sexism and dismissive attitude toward Katara or Kyoshi Warriors. For one, logically thinking Southern Water Tribe’s warriors need to do all the cooking, sewing and keeping their camp clean all on their own during war so it is not a “girly job” but a vital part of a warriors skills to survive and ensure their equipment is in the best condition. But Sokka doesn’t know it, because there is no one to teach him the importance of those skills. All Sokka had was father’s farewell words to cling to - and I’m not sure if Hakoda truly expected his son to be able to protect Katara and the village in his absence, or he just tried to make Sokka feel a bit less depressed about being left behind. You know, by giving him purpose and a Big Important Job to focus on and to feel needed and trusted.

Which leads me to think that Sokka’s sexism is not rooted in Southern Water Tribe’s culture itself, but in his own insecurity and pressure of being the oldest boy in the village. If girls could be warriors - and be better than him - it would put into question all his self-worth, purpose and the trust given by father. Once Sokka met Kyoshi Warriors and later all the skilled girls, it challenged him on a very personal level, but he accepted the truth and moved on and alongside, finally became a true warrior and a man.

And I find it indeed an interesting case, as Sokka’s sexism and dismissal of girls is not necessarily stemming from the culture he is part of, but rather is the effect of not knowing said culture & pre-war history of his Tribe. And of course, from his own insecurity.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #sokka #hakoda #just some thoughts #because bato and hakoda seems pretty okay toward katara and include her in rite of passage for sokka and invasion battle #like her age and gender doesn't matter #with dad and dad's friend (bato) like that where comes sokka's dismissal?#so i guess this is about sokka's insecurity and growing up without father to guide him #good suki straighten sokka up pretty quickly #i'm pretty sure SWT has some sense of gender roles but not so strict take like northern water tribe #no arranged marriages and no true aristocracy and waterbenders being fighters and so on #sokka though lives in destroyed by war tribe to understand yet what was done to his community i guess?

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shanastoryteller · 1 year

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Happy Birthday! I was wondering what is next for Zuko, Azula, and the Gaang in the Banished Azula verse?

a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

If she becomes Fire Lady, then there's literally no reason to go home and deal with her parents' disappointment and anger. She'll be very busy helping run a country, or whatever.

"I accept," Toph says.

Zuko sputters.

"Relax, it's not like they're going to accept me as Fire Lady," Sokka says cheerfully as he claps Zuko on the shoulder. "You might as well marry Toph. She can play at being a proper leader until the council pisses her off and then she'll snap their spine in half like a toothpick."

Azula nods approvingly. Even Katara looks contemplative.

"I don't need a Fire Lady, it's fine," he tries.

Uncle raises a bushy eyebrow and everyone else just looks very disappointed.

"Fine, whatever, I'll marry Toph, stop looking at me like that," he grumbles.

Azula turns to Katara, "Do you want to get married at the same time? We can make a big political metaphor out of it."

"I can officiate!" Aang says excitedly.

"I'll be the best man," Sokka says, "for both weddings, it'll be great."

Zuko pinches the bridge of his nose. He knows Sokka gets like this when he doesn't have a project, but he thought he'd have more than a week after overthrowing his father to find something to occupy him.

#prompt answers #prompts are closed #asks #hecatemorrigan13 #atla

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atlabeth · 24 days

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everything happens for a reason part 22 - zuko x fem!reader

I've been waiting on you

part 21 | masterlist | part 23

a/n: UHHH happy one year anniversary of me not updating!! i missed it by a day but honestly that's very in character. i kind of have no excuse for taking a year long break from this. lol. all i can really say is i lost all my avatar inspo and got really into a bunch of other things and poor little ehfar got left in the corner abandoned!!! but i could never abandon this it's my baby and even if it takes me 1000 years to finish it i will finish it. it's kind of embarrassing that it took so long for this to come out and it's a short filler chapter like who do i think i am.... but everyone is happy and on the beach and yn finally gets some clothes of her own after spending like 7 chapters in prison clothes. anyways enjoy (three more chapters left what?? will it take me 3 years who knows)

wc: 4.8k

warning(s): yn and zuko talk about their pasts and what theyve been through but overall this is a very fluffy chapter

chapter title from seasons (waiting on you) by future islands

The days after their arrival back to the island passed by with relative ease.

Y/N practiced waterbending with Katara and Aang so she could work on getting the hang of it again. She’d been close to mastery before Ba Sing Se, and her muscle memory was stronger than she realized, but prison and the months without her bending had weakened her. Zuko continued working with Aang on his firebending under the looming deadline of the comet.

Sokka and Suki trained with each other too, working on their hand to hand and sword fighting, and Y/N would occasionally join in to stay sharp on what Suki had taught her back in prison. Her time without her bending made her realize how much she relied solely on it, and she never wanted to feel defenseless again.

They continued to share stories every night over a campfire. They all had plenty to talk about after everything they’d been through, especially when Zuko had been against them for half the time, Suki was leading the Kyoshi Warriors, and Y/N was stuck behind bars.

And of course, Zuko and Y/N spent as much time together as they possibly could. They were practically attached at the hip—sitting together at meals, watching one another bend on their breaks, training against each other the way they used to, exploring the island together, just being with each other. After everything they’d been through, Y/N thought they deserved it.

Eventually though, it was decided that they had to leave. Being in Fire Nation territory, even in the middle of nowhere, was risky. They were running out of food and supplies in general, and the possibility that Fire Nation ships would still somehow discover them weighed on their minds. They couldn’t afford to get caught so far into their mission, especially with the traitor prince of the Fire Nation on their side.

Zuko’s idea, however, was possibly even riskier.

“Ember Island?” Y/N asked hesitantly. “That’s… bold.”

“We’re already being bold by staying in Fire Nation territory,” Zuko said. “We’re safe from Azula for now, but it’s only a matter of time before she somehow finds us again.” He shrugged. “My family’s vacation home is the last spot anyone will think to look.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Sokka said. “It’ll be nice to not fight for our lives for a minute before we make the final push.”

Aang adjusted his hold on the reins—they’d already packed up Appa and started flying before Zuko proposed his idea—and shrugged. “I’m okay with it. Zuko and I will be able to keep training, and you all can relax in an actual house.”

“And we’ll be able to go to the beach!” Toph exclaimed. “I’ve been meaning to work on my sandbending. And,” she grinned, “I’m betting none of you have heard of sandball fights.”

“We’re really getting ourselves into something,” Katara said dryly.

Y/N smiled and she leaned into Zuko’s side. He wrapped his arm around her immediately and pulled her closer.

“I’ve always wondered what Ember Island was like,” Y/N mused. “I was always so jealous when you and Azula got to go there on vacation every summer and I was stuck at the palace.”

“You weren’t missing much,” Zuko said wryly. “Yeah, there’s beaches, but mostly it was just unbearably hot.” He frowned. “My father still made me do work even when we were supposed to be on vacation. I’ve done a lot of swordfighting here.”

“I missed you,” she said, and she knew that she would never get tired of seeing Zuko’s cheeks flush red.

“Really?” he asked. “Even then?”

“Especially then,” she clarified. “It wasn’t like I had much going on for me there. The palace was extremely boring without you.”

“Spirits, you guys are gross,” Sokka groaned as he looked out at the sky. “Suki and I haven’t been like this, have we?”

Katara chuckled. “You definitely have. You could barely stay off of each other when you got back from the Boiling Rock.”

“Just imagine what they were like when they first got back together,” Zuko said with a frown.

“Neither of you can say anything,” Toph asserted. “I can hear both of your heartbeats shoot up every time you’re around Y/N and Suki.”

Zuko scowled, Sokka’s face flushed, and Suki and Y/N just smiled at each other.

“So Ember Island is a yes?” Aang asked. When everyone nodded in agreement, he looked at Zuko. “I’m in need of your navigation skills, Sifu Hotman.”

He groaned. “I told you to stop calling me that.”

“I know,” Aang said cheerfully.

Zuko just sighed, and he kissed Y/N on the cheek before he moved to sit next to Aang. She smiled, and she let her hand hang over the side of the saddle.

“...I guess it is nice not seeing you two argue all the time,” Sokka said after a moment.

“It’s nice that you two aren’t moping around all the time either,” Toph added. “That was kind of annoying.”

“Imagine how I felt,” Y/N said, though it was absent minded as her gaze stayed on Zuko.

“I don’t have to imagine it,” Toph said. “You were very clearly mopey.”

“And when you weren’t mopey, you were angry,” Suki contributed. “You said you were imagining Zuko’s face whenever I taught you new moves at the Boiling Rock. You beat him up a lot there.”

Sokka and Toph laughed, but it was a moment before she said anything. It took Katara saying her name for her to turn back around, and when Y/N did, she blinked for a moment. “What?”

Katara chuckled, glancing at Zuko before she looked back at her. “We’re just glad you’re back.”

Her expression instantly brightened as she smiled. “I’m glad to be back.”

It didn’t take long for them to arrive at Ember Island—and if it did, Y/N was far too busy conversing with her friends and watching Zuko for it to matter. She grimaced as she slid off of Appa, one hand taking Zuko’s and the other wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.

“Spirits,” she mumbled, “I thought I was used to Fire Nation heat by now.”

“Me too,” Sokka groaned. “But this is already worse than all the other places we’ve been to.”

“Ember Island’s always been like this,” Zuko said. “The good news is that it’s Ember Island. There’s plenty of beaches—we’ve even got our own private one.”

“Good for practicing waterbending,” Katara said with a glance at Aang.

“Good for practicing all kinds of bending,” Zuko said. “You’re gonna need to practice your firebending every day if you want to stand a chance against my father. We’re running out of time and you’re nowhere close to being a master.”

Aang frowned. “Way to bring down the mood, Zuko.”

“I’m being realistic!” he defended. “You can’t just end one hundred years of war with some good luck and an optimistic mindset!”

Sokka shrugged. “It’s worked for us so far.”

Zuko opened his mouth to say something that would definitely cause an argument. Before he could, Y/N laughed, looping her arm through his and tugging him along.

“Come on,” she said. “Show us around.”

Zuko sighed, though his show of annoyance was negated as he pulled Y/N closer. “Fine. It is about time I’ve brought you here.”

“Ugh.” Toph kicked at the sand with her foot. “I think Zuko’s just brought us along on his couples vacation.”

“Oh, quiet,” she joked. “We’ve earned it.”

Toph stuck her tongue out. “Doesn’t mean we can’t complain about it.”

Y/N chuckled as they walked together, the rest of the group trailing behind them.

“Spirits, Zuko,” Sokka marveled when they stepped inside the house. “This is huge.”

“It is the summer home of the royal family,” he said dryly. “My father never settles for anything less than perfection. It also gave us more room to avoid each other when he was causing arguments.”

“I can’t imagine that happened a lot,” Katara said sarcastically.

“Never,” Zuko agreed with the same tone. “He almost burned down the place a few times.”

Aang frowned. “Sounds like a great guy.”

“I know you’re not a violence guy, but if there’s anyone you’d enjoy fighting, it’s my dad,” Zuko muttered.

“I’ll do it for the good of the world,” Aang said. “Not because I’ll enjoy it.”

Zuko grimaced and opened his mouth to say something, but Y/N interrupted once more before they could devolve into this conversation again.

“Like Sokka said, this place is huge.” She placed a hand on Zuko’s arm. “Will we have our own rooms?”

Zuko’s brows creased a bit, but he nodded after a moment. “Yeah. There should be enough for all of us.”

“Suki and I can share,” Sokka said, stretching his arms out casually to reach one around Suki. She laughed and leaned her head against his chest, and he looked far too pleased with himself. “Tryna make up for lost time, y’know?”

“Gross,” Toph scoffed. “I’ll take my own room, please.”

Aang glanced at Katara for a moment before he cleared his throat and nodded at Zuko. “Yeah. Me too.”

Katara was too busy looking at a mask sitting on a mantle. She picked it up and glanced back at Zuko. “What is this from?”

“One of my mother’s favorite plays,” he said. “She was an actress before she married my father, and every time we came here, we’d always go see some shows. They gave her the mask of the lead character after the end of one production a few years ago, as thanks for her patronage.”

“Oh, we should definitely go see a play while we’re here!” Y/N exclaimed. “I got my hands on some old play scripts when I was still working in the palace, and the other servants and I would spend hours reenacting our favorite parts.” She chuckled. “It would be nice to see actual actors do it.”

“We should be able to carve out some time for that,” Zuko said. “Between all the training, of course.”

“You are such a downer,” Aang groaned.

“I’m seeing the full picture!” he defended. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do—just because we’re at our vacation home doesn’t mean we’re on vacation.”

“After all this is over, we definitely deserve a vacation,” Sokka muttered. “Before all the rebuilding and restructuring and relegislating starts…” The smile fell from his face. “Wow. We’re never gonna get a vacation.”

“Oh, perk up, ponytail,” Toph said. “We’re going to end the endless war and defeat the undefeatable Fire Lord. If we want to take a vacation, no one can really stop us.”

The smile reappeared with surprising quickness. “That’s true!”

Zuko laughed softly. “Your rooms should be on the first floor. You can explore and divide the rooms yourselves. I,” he looked at Y/N, “want to show you something.”

She smiled as Zuko pulled her closer with an arm around her shoulder and made for the stairs, leaving a rapidly growing argument over room selection in their wake.

“Do you think they’ll have decided by the time we get back down?” Zuko asked.

Y/N shrugged. “This is the first time they’re sleeping in rooms instead of camping on the ground in… Spirits. Since Ba Sing Se, I think. I wouldn’t be surprised if they go at it all night.”

He chuckled as they stopped in front of a room, and Zuko pushed open the door so they could walk in together.

“This was my room whenever we came here,” he said. “I figured we could share it.”

“This is the height of luxury,” Y/N commented, stepping out of Zuko’s embrace to run her hand over the sheets. Her lips quirked into a smile. “I can’t believe you slept on a bed like this every night.”

“You’re telling me they don’t have this kind of stuff in the North?” Zuko asked wryly.

“No,” she chuckled, “definitely not. We were more focused on not freezing.”

“Well, we’re more focused on pointless displays of luxury,” he said, “so you’re not too far off.”

Zuko ignited the tip of his finger and began lighting candles around the room, and Y/N glanced at him with amusement as she sat down on the bed.

“Mood lighting,” he explained with the sliver of a smile. “I think we deserve some time alone after the past few days.”

She pressed a hand to her chest. “You know the way straight to my heart.”

Once he was done he sat down next to her, and Y/N intertwined their hands together and pulled him down so they were laying on their backs. She rested her head on Zuko’s chest and he moved his arm around her to keep her close, tracing lazy circles on her shoulder.

“Wonderful mattress,” she sighed. “So this was what you were up to while I was sewing clothes and doing endless loads of laundry.”

“I thought about you a lot more than you probably think,” Zuko said. She turned her head a bit to look at him, slightly surprised, and he shrugged. “Honestly? When we were kids, I thought about you pretty much constantly. My father always told me not to talk to servants, but I didn’t see you as anything other than my friend. You were… kind of my only normal friend.”

“Well, you were kind of my only friend, period. All the other servants were way older—they just felt like a different version of my mom.” Y/N’s gaze rose to the ceiling. “I wonder how they’re all doing.”

“They should be okay,” Zuko said. “No one really caused as much trouble as we did.”

Y/N laughed as her gaze flitted around the room, taking in all the details. A portrait of the royal family hung on the wall, while a much smaller, lone portrait of Zuko sat on a desk in the corner. He didn’t look very happy, but she couldn’t imagine sitting for that many paintings as a child was fun. What looked to be a half-finished message sat on the desk, the ends of the scroll rolling up and obscuring most of the inked letters. A neat stack of towels and blankets were on top of a clothing chest in the other corner, and she chuckled a bit. In her experience of doing his laundry in their youth, it seemed to be something he still hadn’t grown out of.

“I can practically see little Zuko running in here after a day at the beach,” she mused. “The ends of his clothes singed from fighting with Azula, his hair drenched from swimming, getting sand all over the sheets.”

“I wasn’t that messy of a child,” he complained. “I… I did come home with my clothes singed a couple times, though.”

She chuckled. “I know. My mother had to fix a lot of your outfits because of it.”

“It’s not my fault that ‘hide and blast’ was her idea of fun!” he defended.

“Hide and blast?”

“One person hides, the other person searches. By… blasting fire everywhere.” Zuko shook his head. “I don’t know all kids around the Fire Nation were as crazy as us or if Azula invented it herself.”

“...Yeah,” Y/N said with a slight laugh. “We definitely didn’t play that in my village.”

“Of course you didn’t,” he said. “None of you were firebenders.”

“I was the only waterbender in the village though,” she said. “There were a couple other earthbender kids, but it made me feel so special. We would always play together and try to mix our bending together.” A small yet wistful smile tugged at her lips. “That feels like forever ago, though.”

“I know what you mean,” Zuko murmured. “I was banished three years ago, but a lifetime has changed since then.”

“For the better?” Y/N murmured.

She could feel Zuko nod. “Definitely.”

Their door was then pushed open more, and Suki poked her head in through the gap. A grin appeared on her face at their closeness.

“I see the lovebirds are making themselves at home,” she mused.

Y/N laughed as she sat up, pulling Zuko with her. She smiled at the sight of his flushed cheeks. “We’re trying.”

“We believe in knocking here in the Fire Nation,” Zuko grumbled.

“The door was open,” Suki said cheerfully. “And I’d like to steal your girl for an afternoon outing.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “What for?”

“Well, I’d like to explore the island some, and I figure we’re the lowest profile out of our whole group,” she said. “We’ve also missed out on some shopping while we were stuck in prison—we’ve gotta get our hands on some Fire Nation clothes.”

Y/N’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea! Leya’s dress is beautiful, but Earth Kingdom clothing sticks out a bit more than I want.”

“And I’m in literal prison clothes,” Suki said. “The sooner we’re in red, the better.”

“That’s… probably smart,” Zuko amended. “There’s some gold pieces in my bag. It should be more than enough for both of you.”

“Are you sure?” Y/N frowned. “You don’t have to—”

“You think I didn’t take a bunch of money from the palace before I left?” Zuko asked wryly. “Don’t worry about it.”

Suki’s smile grew. “Just call it reparations.”

Zuko huffed a laugh, but Y/N cut him off as she pulled him in for a kiss.

“You’ll be alright while we’re gone?”

“Of course,” he said. “This is my home, after all. If anything, I should be asking you that.”

“I’ve got the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors with me,” Y/N said. “If anyone decides to mess with us, it’s going to be their problem—not ours.”

Suki laughed and gestured with her head, and Y/N stood up and started walking backwards. “I’ll see you later—try to have some fun here.”

“I don’t have fun,” he called out as she was walking out, and she just shook her head with a smile.

“You’re really dating a ball of sunshine there, aren’t you?” Suki joked.

Y/N bit back her growing smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The rest of the day went by in a breeze.

Y/N and Suki spent a few hours in town, chatting and shopping and even doing some reconnaissance at the end, just to make sure they were truly undercover at the vacation home. Doing rookie spy work with a Kyoshi Warrior was surprisingly just as fun as the shopping part—and after what she and Zuko did to free her village, it was surprisingly easy.

The sun was still high in the sky when they got back, dressed head to toe in Fire Nation finery. Zuko and Aang were in the midst of training when the two of them went around back to find their friends, and when he saw Y/N, his fire died out and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

(“Yeah,” Zuko had stammered when she asked his opinion, “You look really good.”

“Thanks,” she said, and she felt the heat rush to her cheeks. “I feel pretty good.”

“Fire Nation clothes suit you,” he said, and he pulled her into a kiss. “It’s about time you’ve gotten some.”

“Technically, I wore them for a few months,” she said wryly. “Prison clothes and all.”

Zuko scoffed. “That doesn’t count.”

“And I wore them for most of my childhood,” she mused. “Servant clothes and all.”

“That counts even less!” he insisted.

“But thank you,” Y/N finally said with a smile. “I was hoping you would like them.”

It was an effort to bite back her joy every time Zuko would sneak a look at her while they continued their training.)

The rest of the day was just mostly spent getting used to everything. The last time the vacation home had been occupied was when Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee visited, so a lot of adjustments needed to be made.

Katara insisted on washing all the sheets, and Y/N decided to join in because of her waterbending—Aang wanted to talk with Katara, Zuko wanted to be with Y/N, Toph wanted to ask him a bunch of questions about Ember Island, and Sokka didn’t want to be left out, so soon enough, the seven of them were all sitting on the steps of the house doing laundry and telling stories.

Soon enough, the sun had set and the house had been cleaned what felt like ten times over. Everyone had retired to their own devices except for Y/N and Zuko, who were walking along the shore arm in arm.

“I think I like beaches,” she mused. “The nearest ocean had no beach back home, and all we had in the North was ice. You Fire Nation folk are lucky.”

Zuko chuckled. “I don’t know if it’s luck. We’re just one big island with a lot of humidity.”

“Still,” she leaned her head on his shoulder, “it’s nice. We should visit here together once all this is over.”

“Of course,” he nodded. “I know I’m going to be the Fire Lord if all goes well, but there’s going to be a lot of diplomacy trips.” She felt his eyes on her. “You can join me on all of them.”

“Of course,” she repeated. “The Fire Lord’s Earth Kingdom-born, waterbending girlfriend will be so welcome.”

“If you’ve learned one thing through all of this, it should be that I don’t care what anyone thinks when it comes to you,” Zuko said. “I want you there with me. You want to be there with me. That’s reason enough.”

Y/N chuckled, and she ran her thumb over Zuko’s knuckles. His hands housed callouses, borne from hundreds of hours of explosive firebending and sword-fighting and years of life on the road. She always wondered how hands that treated her so softly, that revered her, were so capable of violence.

“I know there’s going to be a lot of expectations for us,” she said. “Especially once you take the throne. But I— I’d like to take things as slow as we can.”

“Of course.” Zuko squeezed her hand, his brows creasing. “I don’t care what anyone says or wants or expects. I love you, Y/N—we’ll go at our own pace.”

“It’s just because we’ve spent the past year trying to kill each other,” Y/N said with a nervous laugh. “If we could spend this next year being in love with each other, that would be really great.”

That actually got a laugh out of Zuko, and he gestured with his head towards the sand. When they sat down, he pulled her into his side. They fit perfectly together.

“Don’t worry,” he murmured. “I think we’ve already gotten a headstart on that.”

“Good,” she said.

Y/N sighed as she moved closer into Zuko’s embrace, his warmth a shield from the cool night breeze. She’d always run cold, and having a personal hearth made things much easier.

“I wish we didn’t have to go through so much to end up with each other,” she murmured.

“Believe me,” Zuko sighed, “I know.”

“But my mother always told me that everything happens for a reason,” Y/N said. “And… I guess she’s right. Because I don’t think we would be here if all this hadn’t happened.” Something inside of her twisted, and though she tried to suppress it, the words came out before she could really think about it. “And sometimes I— I wonder why I’m still here.”

He frowned slightly, allowing a short glance down at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… you know what I’ve had to go through to get here. My village, the palace, the North, this journey with Aang, the capital prison, the Boiling Rock…” she shook her head. “Countless others have died or gotten hurt trying to protect me or save me. Our group— we were the first ones ever to escape from the Boiling Rock. So why do I get to be here? Why is my father gone, but I’m still here? I don’t deserve it more than he did. I certainly don’t deserve it more than Yue. So… I don’t know. Sometimes I just can’t understand why I’m the one that got to make it when so many others haven’t.”

“Don’t say that,” Zuko urged.

“It’s not the way you think,” Y/N said honestly. “It just feels like we’ve beaten every single odd.”

“Maybe we have,” he said, “but it’s certainly not out of luck, or chance.” Zuko took her hand and intertwined their fingers together, giving her hand a squeeze. “You fought every step of the way to get here—a lot of the time, you were fighting against me. You’ve earned every good thing you’ve gotten, Y/N, and I think I might spend the rest of my life trying to be someone worthy of you.”

“Zuko,” she lamented, “you already are.”

“It’s not the way you think,” he echoed wryly. “I’ve loved you since the beginning, and despite everything, you still love me too. You kept giving me chances because you believed in me for some stupid reason. I wouldn’t be where I am without that—without you. I want to be the best version of myself every day so you know you made the right choice.”

Y/N felt the heat rush to her cheeks as she smiled, squeezing his hand back. Nowadays, they were almost always touching in some way. Tonight reminded her why—she never felt more comforted, more at peace, then when she was with Zuko.

“You… kind of just hit my next point,” she said with a nervous chuckle, curling into his side further.

“Don’t tell me it’s more self-doubt,” Zuko said.

“I can’t help it!” she defended. “I— I just have to make sure.”

“Of what?”

“That…” Y/N paused, her mouth suddenly dry. “That I’m still the one you want. Even after all that’s happened. After all that’s going to happen.”

Zuko frowned, and he took her other hand, lacing their fingers together. “Of course. Y/N, it’s always been you. It’s been true forever, even if I haven’t always known it.”

“It’s not going to be easy,” she said softly. “I’m Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom. Your people aren’t just going to accept that, especially with you as their leader.”

Zuko actually laughed at that, and he gave her a sideways smile. Months ago, staring into his hardened eyes used to bring her close to tears. Seeing him smile now, reassuring doubts that seemed so pointless in the face of his love—even after everything, Y/N considered herself the luckiest girl in the world.

“Y/N, we’ve gone across the whole world doing things no one ever has,” Zuko said. “The seven of us are going to end a war that’s been going on for a century. Aang is going to defeat my father, and he shouldn’t even be alive. We’ve beat every single odd against us. I think getting my people to like you will be the easiest thing we have to handle.”

“You think so?” she asked. The tension had dissolved some from her shoulders, her worries dissuading with each honeyed word.

“I know so,” Zuko assured. “I’m gonna have to change the Fire Nation from the ground up. There’s no one else I’d want by my side while I do it. My people will see you the way I do, and they’ll love you just as much.”

Y/N leaned closer and pressed a kiss to his lips. Sometimes she still couldn’t get over the fact that she could just… do that. Just kiss him, just smile with him, just be happy with him. Yue shone down on them as she pulled away, Zuko’s features glowing in the moonlight, and Y/N hoped her friend knew she was so much of the reason she’d gotten here.

Happiness seemed out of reach, out of her cards entirely, for such a long time, and when she had it, it always felt like such a precarious thing. Sometimes she still remembered those days in the tea shop, the night in the catacombs.

But with Zuko finally by her side, it was a tangible thing. Something she deserved. Something she already had.

“We’ll do it all together,” she murmured.

“Together,” Zuko agreed.

And she laid back down on the sand, bringing Zuko with her. He pulled her closer, tucked into his side as he wrapped his arm around her. They laid there in silence, Zuko’s warmth heating her from the inside out, staring up at the starry night sky and reveling in the feeling of just being with each other.

Together.

i'll tag ppl here because it's been uhhhhhh fucking YEAR and everyone's prob forgotten it exists and i also did tag lists while this was coming out but please do not ask to be added bc i dont do them anymore!!

ehfar tags: @chandies-sideblog @zacatecanaaaa @anzanity @randomthingssssss @escapingthoughtsandsecrets @shanksfav @shephard17895 @ilovespideyyy @whats-my-question @selfship-mishaps @ilistentotayswifttocope @i-make-questionable-choices @3leni @thatobsessedreader @lostgreekgod @oriontingz @zerode-unhinged @badpvn @mimi-sanisanidiot @adhdhufflepuff @aquaamethyst96 @hollyismentallyillhelp @holypoetrygarden @islandgayneery @pitrii-petra @jinxed-jk @veras-fanfic-reblogs @cloud-9ine @lucifersidepiece @kiskzawagnerwhore @froggi-00 @eajalova @mrsyixingunicorn10 @xxxxxxdelenaxxxxxx @cafesho @the-natureofme @whoevenfrickinknows @a-bit-late @zukowantshishonourback @settlebackeasy @jemssafespace @wildwallflower24 @calmoistorm @mich1551-blog @inutheangel @sagemastah @avrilh

#zuko x reader #zuko x you #zuko x reader fic #zuko #zuko fic #avatar #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar fic #atla fic #avatar the last airbender fic #atla x reader #avatar x reader #sadie writes #ehfar

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muffinlance · 1 year

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Zuko wakes up from his angst coma after releasing Appa as a sane, rational, and emotionally stable human being

So I keep misreading this as “...after REALIZING Appa is a sane, rational, and emotionally stable…” and I. I cannot be held responsible for my actions.

- - -

“Nephew, I do not believe you are quite so well as you think—”

“I’m fine, Uncle,” said his nephew, who was smiling like this was a good-humored statement, instead of scowling like he was the teenager Iroh knew. “Oh, let’s stop here.”

They stopped. His nephew haggled, with minimum yelling, for an assortment of vegetables and fruits. Perhaps it was time to change tack.

“While I am sure the gesture will be appreciated, this may be a bit sudden. Perhaps we could begin with a note? Sent by courier.” Preferably one that would not be able to tell the recipients just where said note had come from. “I do not believe we are quite on unannounced visiting terms…”

“If they didn’t want people coming to their house, they wouldn’t have put their address on a poster,” said his nephew, who was occasionally capable of catastrophically (in)correct logic.

“Still,” Iroh said, “perhaps in light of past, ahem, acquaintanceships, a more delicate approach may be—”

But Iroh had not been paying enough attention to said addresses. As he realized, when his nephew vaulted over a stone wall, into the courtyard of a modestly appointed upper-ring home.

There was a low rumble, as if of a ten-ton animal pleasantly surprised.

Then much shouting, as if of several children, who did not find ‘pleasant’ to be applicable.

Iroh sighed and, not finding a gate, politely knocked on the stone wall itself.

The Avatar’s earthbender obliged him a moment later, a gap in the wall opening as easily as a shoji door slid.

“Hey, Uncle,” the girl said, with a smile toothier than most predators. “Did you misplace your nephew again?”

“I also have tea again,” said Iroh, lifting up the conciliatory basket he’d only just had time to pack before chasing his nephew’s upbeat attitude out the door.

“Score,” said Miss Beifong, stepping aside.

“Toph!” barked the Water Tribe boy. “We do not double the Fire Nation’s invasion forces!”

Iroh set out a teacup for him, regardless. Miss Beifong helpfully bent a stone table for him to work atop. Overall, this neither lessened nor greatly increased the level of shouting in the courtyard.

“I’m not here for you,” his nephew was saying, with familiar levels of scorn. “Move aside, Avatar.”

“You can’t have him!” said the young Avatar. “I just got him back!”

“Who do you think got him back?”

Iroh let both tea and confusion steep.

“Do you like persimmon-oranges?” asked his nephew, much more hesitantly.

“I… guess?” said the Avatar, before over his head, a great tongue licked the fruit from his nephew’s offering hand. Similarly, the rest of the basket. And then the rest of his nephew, who stared down at his dripping clothes with the same befuddlement with which the Avatar’s group were staring at him.

“Did we all get some kind of crazy fever from the lake water? Or from evil cave mold?” asked the Water Tribe boy. “Is that what this is?”

…That would make more sense than a spiritual fever, perhaps.

#Aang: …You didn’t get ME a gift basket after OUR prison escape #are we even real Break-Out Buddies #Zuko: sorry I can’t hear you over the sound of how awesome your bison is #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla #Zuko #ficlet

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the-badger-mole · 5 days

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What is your NUMBER ONE headcannon for each person in the Gaang (Katara, Zuko, Aang, Toph, Sokka, Suki [and Appa and Momo if you feel so inclined])

Katara: After the war, she goes back to the NWT to train with Yugoda and becomes a master healer as well as a master of the NWT fighting style. From there, she goes back to the Foggy Swamp Tribe and masters their bending style, too. With the help of Sokka, Zuko, and (in some headcanons) Hama, she also rediscovers SWT waterbending and not only masters it, but teaches it to the new benders in the SWT. By the time she leaves the SWT, there has been a school established where all bending styles are available for study. She's one of the few who actually has mastered them all, though.

Sokka: He is eager to return home after the war. He throws himself into infrastructure and policy revamps, and he almost singlehandedly staves off the soft colonization attempts of the NWT. Under his efforts, the SWT rebuilds and reestablishes parts of its culture that had been lost during the war. With the discovery of oil on SWT land, he is also instrumental in establishing eco minded extraction techniques, and in trade ties with the rest of the world (although he is very much helped by his sister's deep ties with the Fire Lord). It's a surprise to no one when he's chosen to lead the SWT after Hakoda retires.

Toph: She does not become a cop. Instead, she goes back home and takes over the Earth Rumble, taking it from an underground even to a world wide phenomenon. She eventually allows benders of other elements to join, and the Earth Rumble becomes pro bending. She does also establish a metal bending school. In the end, she is wealthier than her parents, but because she couldn't really care less about money, she keeps enough to live at the standard she wants, and gives the rest away to causes that interest her...like the guy who wanted to set the record for the biggest bao bun ever, and needed funding for an oven big enough to cook it. She also establishes a halfway house for runaway teens.

Zuko: During his tenure as Fire Lord, he establishes a robust social services program that includes subsidized healthcare, education, and housing for the lowest income families. Under his reign, the Fire Nation becomes home to some of the earliest pioneers of mental health. At his wife's advice, he also makes paid maternity leave standard across the nation, and includes several programs to help single parents stay afloat. Taking inspiration from the SWT, Zuko makes some changes to how his advisory staff is selected. Instead of choosing from among the nobility, Zuko has the different provinces elect a representative to speak on their behalf. A lot of the nobles hate this, blaming his wife's influence, but the people adore their monarchs and despite their best efforts, there's little the nobles can do except start campaigning in their home provinces. It's not a perfect system, but it does open the door for the Fire Nation to end the monarchy within a couple of generations.

Suki: She continues to lead the Kyoshi Warriors for a few years after the war. She also helps train troops around the world as they pivot from active war service to more local work. She helps establish something like the coast guards for several different countries. Eventually she retires from that to help her husband run the SWT. She and Sokka make a wonderful team as he handles the domestic policies and she handles foreign affairs. She often jokes with her sister in law, Fire Lady Katara that they ended up with the same job.

Aang: I'll go with my most optimistic headcanon for him. He's an okay Avatar. Not great. Not the worst. After the war, he tries to take part in rebuilding efforts around the world, but he finds his help isn't needed much. He turns his attention back to salvaging what's left of the Air Nomad legacy, and discovers that there are actually airbenders still around. A few of them are even interested in learning to live like the Air Nomads. Many of them aren't, though, and after learning how to actually use their powers, they go off and do their own thing. To Aang's shock and dismay, eating meat has no effect on the strength of their bending, He does learn to deal with it and enjoy his time with the air benders who embrace the Air Nomad culture. He does go on to have kids, and he still favors the benders over the nonbenders. Ultimately, his legacy as Avatar boils down to taking Ozai's bending, and that's it.

#atla #headcanons #katara #sokka #toph #suki #aang #anti kataang #zutara #sukka #katara has a statue #she also has hospitals and libraries and schools named for her

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comradekatara · 2 months

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What if Aang and Gyatso ran away together, allowing them to avoid the genocide but still confront Azulon twenty years later after Aang has mastered every element and win the war? 80 years later what would the world look like, and (in this unlikely AU scenario where all the rest of the main cast is still born) how would Sokka, Katara, Toph, Zuko, Azula, etc be different?

I mean it wouldn’t take aang 20 years to master every element he’s literally a prodigy. he mastered all four elements by the time he was 13. but yeah. if gyatso had found him in time. oh man. the inherent tragedy of poor timing, magnified by one hundred years. it’s unclear exactly how long after aang getting frozen sozin’s comet arrived (it was within the same year, but certainly not on the same day, as natla suggests), but it was probably sometime between a few weeks and a few months later. so I don’t think aang would’ve been able to prevent the initial attacks on the four temples, but obviously there would’ve been survivors who weren’t at the temples at the time, since yknow. they’re nomadic (natla also has them conveniently gather for “the great comet festival” as a way to explain why they were all killed at once but like. they weren’t. that’s not how genocide works). and so if aang and gyatso were together, away from the southern air temple, during the attack, that would definitely spur aang to fulfill his responsibilities as the avatar. he’d still feel the same crushing guilt, the ignorance of not heeding the threats of war, the responsibility on his shoulders of repairing his culture and ending an imperialist regime before it’s too late. but obviously, to a far less extreme extent, and with gyatso there to guide him, instead of temporally displaced and utterly dispossessed and bereft of his mentor, with no air nomads (besides appa) left. there would still be air nomads immediately after sozin’s comet, who were eventually captured and executed (or forced to hide and assimilate, hey ty lee’s family) over a century of imperialist conquest and violence. but if aang never time traveled, he would have still defeated sozin at the age of 13 and ended the war under a massive time pressure. roku would still be on his ass trying to get him to correct his mistakes, and aang would still feel the crushing burden of being just one kid tasked with saving the world from disaster.

so based on aang’s lifespan as indicated in lok, the next avatar would be an adult from the southern water tribe by the time the rest of the gaang are kids. and maybe the avatar is kya (im not gonna do the exact math here, because who cares). and kya is tasked with maintaining balance in a world where there are fewer air nomads than there should be, but due to aang’s influence, there are far more than there otherwise would be, as he spent the rest of his life ensuring that the world was a safe place to live in and keeping the rulers of the fire nation in check. and the world has never really forgiven the fire nation for what they did to the air nomads, but the extent of their imperialism was never fully realized because aang stopped sozin before he could oppress and attack more populations. so kya is constantly working with various nations and peoples to maintain balance, but she’s basically just a diplomat because aang did most of the work of putting out fires and now she’s just facilitating and ensuring that the peace he established continues. so she has time to like. start a family. and sokka has a complex about being the nonbending son of the literal avatar (and hakoda’s like “try being the nonbending partner of the literal avatar” but it doesn’t really make him feel better because that’s so obviously not the same) because obviously he can develop a complex about anything (still a much better complex to have than his actual deal, tho, so we’re counting this one as a win) and katara has a complex about having to be the best waterbender ever because her mother is the avatar. and their home life is kind of unstable because their mother doesn’t have a lot of time for them, but she’s still a very loving parent and eventually she takes them on trips with her and they love being able to see the world and help their mother with her diplomatic duties (katara is very justice-oriented, sokka relishes in getting to help kya with the more administrative and bureaucratic side of politics). so it’s better.

katara and sokka meet toph on one of their diplomacy fieldtrips, since the beifong family is incredibly powerful in the earth kingdom, and as much as they try to hide toph’s existence from the world, it’s kind of hard to ignore a whole twelve year old girl in a fancy hanfu just running around your mansion. sokka and toph immediately get along, and she takes him to the earth rumble where he becomes obsessed with the entire spectacle of it. katara finds toph kind of obnoxious, and is glad for them to finally leave gaoling. then of course toph stows away with them, and sokka has to somehow keep that a secret from both katara and kya until the beifongs come aknocking like “did you by any chance KIDNAP OUR DAUGHTER?!?” and toph’s like “NO. I KIDNAPPED MYSELF.” and katara is just so fucking fed up with the whole thing someone please return this tiny aristocrat back to her mansion dear GOD. but ultimately toph is just so cute that she gets her way and kya agrees to show her the world before then returning her to her family (at which point toph assures sokka that she will simply run away again). toph is just so happy to have relative freedom that she doesn’t even mind that katara is [checks notes] bullying her for being blind. and so she kind of just tags along on their travels throughout the earth kingdom. but then, once they go back home, she realizes that there is simply no way that is agreeing to live in the south pole, so she and sokka reach a compromise and she moves in with suki on kyoshi island, who sokka goes to visit all the time.

oh yeah. he obviously knows suki. their introduction is far more formal, what with them actively knowing the avatar will be visiting them in advance, and he doesn’t antagonize her (he also doesn’t need to learn any grand lesson about patriarchy since gender roles were not being reified by colonialism in this world. fwiw) but he still asks her to teach him what she knows (even though he did receive formal training from hakoda as a child, not for any life-threatening purposes, just because it’s a part of their culture) because he’s obsessed with learning every single thing he can about the world. suki finds it really cute that this nepobaby is so humble, and they have a fun time getting to know each other without the threat of war looming over their heads. yue similarly gets to know sokka on a diplomatic trip to the northern water tribe and there’s immediate chemistry and they’re infatuated. but obviously she’s also engaged, which is an issue. since there’s no siege, both hahn and yue survive and eventually get married, which is as tragic for yue as it sounds. eventually yue gets so sick of hahn that the next time she sees sokka she’s just like fuck it and just straight up enters her infidelity era (which is fully morally justified btw). sokka knows that if anyone ever found out that the princess of the northern water tribe was having an affair with the avatar’s son, it would cause an international scandal, so he’s incredibly careful not to do anything that might expose them. and it’s very bittersweet, but it is what it is.

haru and jet’s respective villages were never occupied so they both grow up in pretty normal households. haru is still kind and brave, and jet is still obnoxious (sorry), and katara is still infatuated with both of them, but jet never like. tries to kill sokka or flood a village, and she never helps haru liberate a prison camp, so they kind of just have normal teenage relationships that last for a brief while and then end naturally. of course sokka still cannot stand jet, but it’s purely vibes based so he just chooses to ignore him while katara sews him the ugliest hat you have ever seen in your life. and eventually haru and katara will reconnect when they’re slightly older and get into a more serious relationship. because they’re cute together. also they meet aunt wu and the events of “the fortuneteller” just play out exactly as they do in the episode. idk why but that’s important to me.

as for azula and zuko, they both grew up hearing from their father that “the fire nation was robbed of its glory and humiliated by the avatar, and that one day it is their destiny to take back their honor and finally realize sozin’s vision, restoring their glorious bloodline to the true throne once and for all.” and ursa’s always like “oh well you know your father has fanciful notions because he was descended from the firelords, but that’s a totally outmoded system of government, and ever since avatar aang instated a republic, the quality of life for all of our citizens has improved tenfold. that’s just evidence-based data talking.” so zuko believes ursa, because she’s nicer to him, and azula believes ozai, because he has his claws in her. kya knows that ozai and the rest of the old royal bloodline still pose a threat to the stability of the fire nation and the world at large, so she is always attending to that family just to ensure that they’re not doing anything insane. and sometimes she takes her kids along with her. and well. for one thing, a better-adjusted sokka hanging out with azula (still being abused, albeit to a lesser extent) is kind of just amazing to me. she explains why the fire nation is ontologically superior and that’s why they’re being nerfed by his stupid lib mom and he’s just like “you’re so smart so how are you so stupid.” he’s deeply enthralled by her cognitive dissonance and just her whole deal in general.

meanwhile katara is infatuated with zuko, and ursa, who immediately adores katara because she’s such a cute and friendly girl, is kind of quietly encouraging him to date her, because the waterbending prodigy daughter of the avatar is really an ideal match for her son. and zuko really likes katara too. they get along really well, and they agree on a lot, are both really passionate about similar things, and go on fun little adventures together, and help each other with their bending, and make each other laugh. but every time katara tries to kiss him he interrupts her by being like “does your brother think im cool?” and katara’s just like “what.” until eventually even she realizes that the idea of actually dating this boy is simply impossible. and for a while she’s crushed that the guy she likes is obsessed with her stupid loser brother (can you imagine anything worse. truly. i cannot) but eventually she comes around because she’s always wanted a gay best friend who she can carry around in her pocket. and then she makes him go shopping with her and paint her nails and go to plays and at first he’s like “this feels kind of offensive” but eventually he realizes that even though she IS stereotyping him he actually DOES really like all those things so he’s just like FINE. I GUESS. katara meanwhile is trying to oh so subtly figure out whether or not sokka even knows that zuko exists and sokka is just like “oh yeah he seems nice enough. his sister though. well she fascinates me.” and katara is like “what the fuck nooooo” but then sokka keeps talking and she realizes he’s discussing her like an abnormal psych case study or something he would dissect in a lab and she’s like “oh. okay. thank god he’s not into her. he’s just some kind of freak.”

katara crowns herself queen of the gays and vows to zuko: “i am going to get my brother to fall in love with you if it’s the last thing i do.” but all of katara’s attempts to make zuko attractive to sokka backfire because she’s exclusively making him do things that she finds attractive and sokka simply has the exact opposite taste. he goes to katara like “i don’t know why i never noticed it before, but zuko’s vibes are kind of rancid. he even kind of reminds me of that guy jet who sucked so bad.” and katara’s like FUCCKCKKKKCK. eventually katara is out of options so zuko’s just like “fine i guess i can’t sink any lower..” so he just knocks on sokka’s door and when sokka opens it he just gets on his knees and clasps his hands together and goes “pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease just one chance PLEASE” and sokka is just like “ummmmmmmmm???? lmfao???? okay….” and goes on a very awkward date with zuko where all he does is just answer every single one of zuko’s somewhat invasive questions about his life in the most detached, impersonal way possible and then at 9pm on the dot sokka yawns and is like “wow im so beat…. this is my bedtime so. goodnight” and zuko is just like scribbling down in his little diary “sokka goes to bed at 9pm on the dot every night because he is regimented and responsible…” sokka gets home and katara’s like, eyes all sparkly “how did it goooo???” and sokka’s just like “man. i don’t know how i didn’t see it sooner. i thought azula was a freak, but zuko is just as much of a freak, if not more so! i definitely need to go out with him again. he’s such a fascinating test subject.” and katara is just like “fuck my life why is he like this.” and then goes to zuko and is like “yeah!!! sokka said he had sooooo much fun!! he really wants to see you again!!” and zuko just lights up like “REALLY??!!?” and katara just doesn’t have the heart to tell him the reason.

anyway. katara and sokka travel the globe. katara establishes some water tribe healing centers in other parts of the world, works as a liaison between the air nomads and the southern water tribe, gets back together with haru, goes on countless adventures, and builds a beautiful life for herself. sokka starts attending ba sing se university because he’s sick of people assuming that his diplomacy skills are purely due to nepotism. so he decides to major in polysci so that he can point to his degree as a qualification. but pretty quickly he realizes that polysci is a stupid field of study and everyone in his classes (including the professors) are completely incompetent and have no actual field experience. so he starts taking different classes, shopping around to figure out what it is he really wants to study. turns out that a lot of different subjects interest him, and maybe being a diplomat isn’t his only possible career. he spends a good decade in academia, just contributing research to all kinds of different fields. then he gets sick of academia and goes into engineering. he starts working with an inventor in the earth kingdom (the mechanist) and basically revolutionizes technology. then he’s like “im sick of inventing cars and computers and smartphones and falafel” (his most important invention) so he goes back to his physics research. but then he gets kind of sick of how insufferably arrogant physicists are so he’s like “maybe it’s time to revisit my favorite case studies” and goes back to the fire nation. katara tags along purely for damage control.

sokka, katara, zuko, and azula are all having dinner together. azula was eventually able to extricate herself from ozai’s abuse and moved to a more rural part of the country to heal. she got really into spiritualism and started working with air nomads taking care of sky bison. zuko moved to a different city in the southern fire nation where he became a herpetologist who primarily works with dragons, and also got really involved in theater. by the time sokka and katara revisit them they are both really happy and thriving. sokka has even read some of zuko’s plays, and has to admit that they’re quite good. which is disappointing, because he was hoping to use them as case studies in his research. at some point during their dinner, zuko’s like “i can’t believe we used to date. i must’ve been so annoying back then, i don’t know how you even put up with me.” and azula’s like “hang on. no. you weren’t dating sokka. i was dating sokka.” and they both stare at each other and then turn to look at sokka for like five minutes of total silence. katara gets so fed up with this that she just bursts out, “NEITHER OF YOU WERE DATING SOKKA. HE WAS USING YOU AS DATA FOR HIS ABNORMAL PSYCH PET PROJECT.” another five minutes of silence. and then azula is just like “oh that actually makes perfect sense. in hindsight that really explains a lot.” and zuko’s like “but kataraaaaa why wouldn’t you TELL meeeee” and katara’s like “well i didn’t want to hurt your feelings and destroy your ego forever. but now that you like. ride dragons for a living i figure that you’ll be fine.” and zuko’s like “yep. haha. im fine! totally fine.” he wasn’t at all living under the illusion that sokka was returning to him after all these years because they were going to reunite and get married and ride his favorite dragon into the sunset forever. his ego definitely isn’t destroyed by this fact at all. he’s sooo good don’t even worry about it. sokka’s just like “well anyway, im very glad that you both seem to be doing a lot better now. that’s really great news. big mazel to you both. okay bye.”

anyway. as for kya, she lives a long and happy life, and is so proud of both her children. she dies at a very old age, completely content. the next avatar is of earth kingdom heritage, of course. and it’s mako :)

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