#Helping Zuko figure out his identity might be important too.

[lovelivingmydreams]

Paper Flowers: The Prince’s Enemy

You liked it so I made more of it!

Part 1 over here. Enjoy!

You sit in your room relaxing before dinner. Homework’s done and social media isn’t going to check in on itself. You are replying to a post one of your friends placed on their wall when a notification pops up. ‘Thomas Sanders just posted a new video’.

You smile as you finish your message and click the notification. Thomas is one of your favorite creators. And it’s insane what he can do in six seconds.

The first thing you notice is that it is a return of the prince character. It makes you smile.

Who doesn’t love a real life Disney prince?

“Stop you fiend!” the prince declares, standing in what looks like an old concrete building, which probably was meant to create the illusion of an old fortress.

Then the angle shifts and… Wait that’s not one of Thomas’ friends playing a villain. That’s Thomas wearing a black hoodie with the hood up to mimic a cloak and black eye shadow to make him look more threatening. Which is a tall order for the human cinnamon bun.

“Prince Dude! My arch nemesis!” villain Thomas growls.

Then the prince comes back into view. He looks shocked.

“Wait…” he dramatically brings a hand to his chest. “I’m your arch nemesis?” he asks... Why does he sound so emotional?

Villain Thomas comes back into view and looks… Flustered? What?

“Sorry… I didn’t mean to assume…”

Wait. This is… This is like someone calling their SO boyfriend or girlfriend for the first time. OMG this is the cutest!

“No!” Prince rushes as he comes back into view. “I just didn’t…” he sighs and shakes his head. “Shall we?” He asks as he raises his sword ready to continue their battle.

Villain Thomas comes back into view and smirks as he raises his own weapon and nods.

“Prepare to die!” He declares letting out a battle cry. The camera shows Prince again who lets out a war cry of his own, charging in.

And that’s the end. You smile to yourself as you leave a like. You’re curious what other fanders think of this new character. Will he ever come back? You hope so.

“Roman it’s so nice of you to include Anxiety in the fun!” Patton cheered when he found out about the new villain character.

Virgil rolled his eyes. Of course Princey was getting praised. Not that it would occur to Patton how hard it’d been for Virgil to agree to let Thomas use his aesthetic, his identity, to create a new character. Or that his heart was racing at the thought of how much the fans would probably hate it.

“Think nothing of it Patton. I merely had the idea for a nemesis, and figured that if Thomas played the character himself it would minimize speculation of the fans on any hidden meaning behind the skits. They are almost more eager to see Thomas find a partner than I am, and none of our friends need that kind of attention on them. So when it came to picking out a look, Anxiety’s… Style, seemed fitting. That’s all,” Roman explained, surprising Virgil.

Roman was passing up on the chance to bask in the praise? Praise he deserved, maybe… A little. Virgil knew that this whole thing was an olive branch from the Prince to him.

And honestly it was kind of a fun skit. Thomas had a lot of fun making it… But here Roman was, downplaying his good intentions and how thoughtful he’d been about it. He’d asked Virgil’s permission to do this. He never asked Logan or Patton to use their looks for the dad or the teacher character.

“Speaking off the raisin cookie… Anxiety!” Roman called. Virgil looked up from where he was sulking against the kitchen counter.

“What?” he scowled.

“I have a few more skit ideas you’ll probably want to criticize. Let’s get that over with shall we?” Roman suggested casually as he headed to his room.

Virgil made a point to sigh and roll his eyes in annoyance, grumbling under his breath as he usually would. Patton might not pay enough attention to him to notice anything amiss, but Virgil was pretty sure Logan would ask questions if the two of them started to act too different.

He entered the fanciful side’s room and took a look around. It was a nice place honestly. Both similar and opposite to his room somehow.

“Soooo… How did you like the skit?” Roman asked eagerly.

Virgil shrugged. “It was alright. Thomas really enjoyed it,” he allowed.

Roman grinned, happy he got some sort of positive feedback from the usually more sullen side.

“And um… It was really cool of you… What you said to Patton. You didn’t have to. You deserved some sort of, like, praise I guess, even if he didn’t know the real reason why you did,” Virgil muttered then.

Roman’s eyes widened. Did Anxiety just… Praise him? He hadn’t expected that. He’d corrected Patton because he didn’t want Anxiety to think that he was using their truce to earn extra brownie points with the fatherly side.

“Thank you Anxiety,” Roman bowed.

“Don’t mention it,” Virgil shrugged awkwardly.

There was a silence. Neither knew for sure how to continue from this point. Their interactions usually ended with one of them storming out of the room.

“Um… Want to watch some tv until Thomas checks up on the comments?” Roman suggested.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Virgil nodded.

Roman gestured to the couch and they sat down as far away from each other as possible.

Virgil chuckled as he realized Roman had put on Avatar.

“Is there a problem? Mr. moodbender?” Roman asked tensely. Clearly ready to call of the truce if Virgil criticized the show.

The anxious man shook his head. “No. Just surprised you’re not putting on Disney,”

Roman rolled his eyes. “I can love things that aren’t Disney, scorned king,” he huffed.

Virgil nodded, Princey had a point.

They both mouthed along to the opening narration and smirked at each other while the intro music played.

“So… What other things do you like Princey?” Virgil started casually.

Roman blinked in surprise, happy surprise that is. Anxiety was clearly making an effort, showing interest in making this truce evolve to a friendship. It was nice, to know that he was not the only one invested in this.

“Well it should come as no surprise to you that I adore all things musical.”

Virgil looked around to all the playbills and smirked. “I would’ve never guessed,” he teased getting a pillow to the face, though it was clearly in good humor.

“Sush!” Roman chuckled.

“Anyway. As I was saying…” Roman proceeded to talk about his favorite artists, some of which Virgil admitted to liking as well and Virgil, in return talked about his favorites as well.

“Oh wait…” Virgil suddenly interrupted as his attention was caught by the screen. Momo had entered the story.

“This is the part where I got respect for this show,” Virgil divulged.

“Why’s that?” Roman wondered.

“Well, on the one hand you have the first time you realize that Zuko isn’t bad. Cause he spares the commanders life. And on the other, the show literally looked at their demographic and said: you kids can handle some genocide. Here is an actual body, confirmed to belong to a character our protagonist cared about,” Virgil explained. “They don’t look down on the kids that watch the show. And they made that clear, very fast. I respect that.”

Roman thought about that, and he could see Anxiety’s point.

“Yes, I suppose they didn’t hide their vision for the show at all,” he nodded.

They continued watching the episode in comfortable silence, both silently noting that they’d moved closer together during their conversation, now only leaving enough distance for both of them to still keep their personal bubble intact.

“I guess it’s been an hour now…” Virgil muttered as the end credits played. Roman nodded as he paused the tv. Thomas would soon give in and see if anyone had reacted to his recent post.

“It’ll be alright. Worst case scenario, they don’t like it and we don’t bring the character back,” Roman assured the younger aspect. “I’d be a little disappointed, because I have tons of ideas for your character. But we’ll think of something else,” he assured Virgil, not willing to give up on his plan to make Anxiety feel more wanted in some way because of one hypothetical set back.

“What if people stop following Thomas because…”

“Anxiety, we’ve posted videos of much lower quality than this one and they didn’t make people run for the hills,” Roman countered.

Virgil nodded but curled in on himself anyway. Roman sighed.

“Things are as they are, we can’t change them now so we might as well face the music. Alright?”

Virgil took in a deep breath and nodded. That made sense.

“Okay. Let's do this,” he sighed.

Roman smiled and nodded as they watched Tomas ‘casually’ check notifications.

Oh no, Virgil thought as he could feel the way Thomas' heart skipped a beat when he saw all the likes and shares popping up.

“Comments!!!” Roman cheered.

And indeed. The Fanders had left several comments already. Some keyboardsmashes, some big eyed or hearteyed emoji's. Some one word exclamations like ‘Adorable’, ‘wholesome’ and even ‘perfection’.

Virgil couldn't help smiling as Thomas' excitement grew. He was about to be outed, he knew it.

But he didn't care that much right now.

Because someone demanded Thomas make more vines with his villain character. And another joked that they should call Disney because they found the new big hit Disney Channel show.

He couldn't stop himself from letting out a soft sound of excitement as he played with the sleeves of his hoodie to release some energy. He wanted to jump up and down and scream, Thomas was so happy.

“By Hermes' Sandals! Anxiety! Your eyeshadow!” Roman exclaimed. He'd heard his fellow side’s uncontainable  excitement and had looked up, unable to pass up the chance to see the closed off side smile. He had not been ready for this. The layer of white foundation seemed to be less thick revealing it was hiding freckles underneath. That was not the most important part though. The usually black, smudged eyeshadow was brilliant and sparkly and a royal purple.

Anxiety blushed upon being caught but didn’t really stop smiling.

“Yeah, that happens when Thomas gets really excited. Don't make it a big deal,” he shrugged. Roman nodded, understanding that Anxiety meant to ask him not to mention it to the others.

He felt a sense of accomplishment well up inside him. Surely Anxiety had known there was a good chance Thomas would get excited upon seeing the responses to the skit. If he wanted it to be a secret he could've excused himself and hid in his room until the effect wore off. But he hadn't. He'd stayed and taken the risk of being seen. Roman wondered what he’d said or done to make the hooded man want to open up like that. Maybe he’ll ask, some other time.

“Anyway, good job Roman. Seems you’re stuck with me,” Virgil winked as he got up, pulling his hood over his face so he could hide his state until he got to his room.

“Princey , is stuck with the hooded fiend,” Roman corrected. “but I don’t think he minds. And neither do I,” he added while he basked in the glow of the complement.

Virgil felt his smile widen just a bit as he saw how happy Roman was with all this.

Once you gave him a chance he wasn't that annoying.

Virgil had found himself going from wanting someone to not hate him, to wanting Roman to like him over the course of their conversation. Their truce had been tense and awkward up until now. But even so, it had been going surprisingly well. Virgil could tell Roman was looking out for him. By distracting the others when Virgil felt cornered by example. And Virgil had tried to help Princey out as well. Making him go to bed, trying to push Thomas towards creating more content and trying his hardest not to be too, well, mean about actually posting it. And when he sensed Roman was getting overwhelmed by the spotlight he took the attention away from him too.

And now he had shown Roman that he was right. There was more to him than just anxiety. Sometimes he was bright, bouncy and sparkling excitement.

“It suits you by the way,” Roman added, janking Virgil back to the present.

Virgil froze for a second finding he had his hand on the door handle. “Um… thanks, see ya later,” he muttered before rushing out.

He was about to enter his room when he heard someone else call out to him.

“Anxiety kiddo, are you and Roman finished?” The question was friendly enough in and of itself, but as always Patton sounded tense when talking to him which set Virgil on edge. He wasn't that scary right? What did he do to make Patton so scared to be around him?

Sure he was trying to make them keep some distance. But he was going for cautious, not this.

He didn't know what he'd done and he wasn't willing to risk repeating it, so he kept was careful about keeping enough distance between himself and the resident dad as a rule. Now he had an extra reason though.

Virgil nodded, not looking up. Patton's precense might make him nervous in a less fun way, but a comment that called his character adorable flashed through his mind and set loose another swarm of butterflies. Easily overpowering the unease in the hallway. He was definitely still sparkly.

And if Patton saw, he'd ask about it. And Virgil would have to explain, trapping both of them in this conversation far longer than either wanted. Worse what if seeing evidence of a less broody side of him made Patton feel like he had to make an effort? He'd already managed to make Princey feel like he had to be kind to him. And sure that might be turning into something genuine, but that didn't mean things would work out so well for the others.

Another door opened. “Padre! There you are! I was just about to come looking for you. I had the most marvelous idea!” Virgil chanced a glance at the hallway and saw Roman drag a surprised Patton into his room. The prince locked eyes with him for a second and gave him a reassuring smile and a wink.

Virgil nodded, sending Roman a grateful half-smile, before entering his room.

Virgil had spent mostly all of Thomas' happiest moments in his room. Partly to hide his secret, first from J and Rem who'd probably tease him about it, and now from  Thomas' golden three who would never take him serious again if they knew. Or well, two of them, Roman knew now…

Anyway, there was another reason. His room was very nice to be in when excitement dominated Virgil's functions.

It was the same, but lighter. The curtains were open, the clock was no longer a maddening reminder of the never ceasing passage of time, and the spider webs sparkled with dewdrops. Virgil took in a deep breath, even the air was more breathable.

What was it he wanted to scream about again?

Right.

He let himself belly flop onto his bed and screamed.

The fanders liked it! And more importantly, Roman might actually be his fried now. He could relate to the villain character right now. Were they friends? They had each other’s back, had bonded over common interests, shared a secret…

Would Roman consider them friends?

Maybe he was getting ahead of himself due to the butterflies. But it was definitely going that way.

Virgil turned around in his bed and looked up at the ceiling with a smile.

This was different than with Janus and Remus. They’d grown up together, they had to tolerate each other. But this was… Some sort of proof that he was likable. Roman didn’t have to hang out with him. He’d seen something in him and chosen to give him a chance.

He didn’t have to complement him, but he did and he didn’t turn it on himself right away as he tended to do.

Remus and Janus were… They just tended to trigger him more often than not. Not on purpose, he knew that, but he’d started having his meals upstairs for a reason.

He shook of that thought. It wasn’t important, he’d catch up with them later today or something. He was sure they’d have some things to say about the video. Maybe some of them would even be genuinely nice.

He smiled to himself. Look at him being optimistic.

Chapter 3: Green eyed jealousy

He was curious though, what he’d find around the river bend.

@selenechris

[vulcan-highblood]

(Blue) Spirited Away

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender Pairing(s): Gen Chapter: 3/? Words: 4k Summary:  Prince Zuko wasn’t able to escape the Northern Water Tribe after the disastrous conclusion to the Siege of the North. However, Aang is more than happy to invite his old pal, the Blue Spirit, to join him and his friends on the first leg of their journey to the Earth Kingdom.

(An AU where Aang never learned the true identity of the Blue Spirit, Zuko is desperate, and Spirits enjoy interfering in the lives of mortals)

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

Read it on AO3

Chapter 3: Lost and Looking

Aang couldn’t believe it. The warriors really hadn’t been joking when they’d said that the Blue Mask Guy could disappear like a polar bear dog! He’d been right there, and Aang had turned around for a second, and he was gone! Just like when Blue Mask Guy had rescued him from that Fire Nation fortress, he remembered. The guy had been wobbling really bad after getting hit in the head (mask?) by an arrow, but he’d managed to stagger to his feet and Aang had dragged both of them to safety. He’d set the guy down on the ground, put his back to the guy for a second just to look in his robes to see if he still had frozen frogs (he did), and when he’d turned back around the guy was gone.  

Part of Aang had started to wonder if he’d ever been there to begin with. And now he was at the North Pole! But why? “Hey!!” he shouted, “Mask guy?” He didn’t even know his name!  “Masky?” Aang shouted, using the wind to carry his voice a little farther. “Blue Mask Guy?” Why was the guy’s mask so familiar, though? He recognized the guy, now, of course, the two swords and the way he moved so fast and quiet was hard to mistake. But the mask itself was familiar too… if only he had paid better attention during the spirit tales at the temples…

But no, he realized with a frown, that wasn’t where he’d seen that mask before. Where… oh! He remembered then, where he’d seen it. He’d gone to see a play with Bumi, they thought they’d bought tickets for a theatre troupe performing Clash of the Earth Masters, but when they’d arrived, it had turned out that they’d been given the time for Love Amongst the Dragons instead. Despite the goofy sounding title, Bumi and Aang had been pleased to discover there was a lot of intrigue, excitement, amazing stunts, battles, and really cool dragon costumes! The antagonist of the play, The Dark Water Spirit, had worn a blue and white mask almost identical to the one worn by the blue mask guy. In the play, the blue-masked spirit had been an antagonist, a trickster who had fooled the Dragon Emperor into binding himself to a mortal form.  A spirit who fooled dragons rather than facing them head on… it made sense, then, that this guy had chosen a guise like that to break into a Fire Nation stronghold, since the Fire Nation was the home of the dragons. But why was he in the North Pole? There were no dragons here, were there? There certainly shouldn’t be, Aang couldn’t imagine that the cold dry weather would be very good for their scales. Kuzon’s dragon sure hadn’t liked the cold air up high, preferring to fly closer to the surface than Appa. 

Of course, he’d figured out quickly that most people couldn’t fly as high as he and Appa could when he’d first taken Bumi for a ride. He hadn’t understood at the time why Monk Gyatso had cautioned him about flying too high, but then Bumi got sick. That was when he’d learned that airbenders naturally drew the air to their lungs when they went too high, but other benders - especially earthbenders - didn’t have that ability, and going too high could make them really sick. Of course, he’d apologized to Bumi after the incident, and Bumi had felt better soon, but it was a lesson he remembered, and meant that he’d kept a close eye on Sokka and Katara whenever they had to fly too high, and he tried to keep that time limited. Now that he thought about it, maybe that was why Kuzon’s dragon hadn’t gone as high, since Dragons were the original firebenders, much in the way that Air Bison were the original airbenders. But the sun was high up in the air, and it seemed to do just fine. 

Waving the thought aside, Aang refocused. So the guy was wearing the mask of a water spirit antagonist to the Dragon Emperor. That probably meant something, right? Maybe he was fighting the Fire Lord, too! He had sure been helpful once before. It still didn’t answer why he had come to the North Pole, but then, they hadn’t been expecting the Ocean to fight back. Maybe he’d come to help fight the Fire Nation here, too? 

Filling his lungs with air, Aang yelled once more, “WHERE DID YOU GO?” making a face at his own volume as he did so. It didn’t seem to make a difference, the whole area was silent and still now. Shoulders slumping into a sigh, Aang started to trudge off in a random direction. He still wasn’t exactly sure which way was back to Sokka and Katara, and he should probably climb another building to try and figure that out, but he didn’t really feel like it when he’d just failed twice. He’d hoped to bring the blue mask guy back to Chief Arnook, but instead he’d just brought up more questions. Why had he broken into the place where they were holding all the firebenders, but not take anyone? He didn’t understand what was happening. Maybe he should go back and ask Katara and Sokka if they had any ideas!

He winced at that. He hadn’t exactly told them that he’d been kidnapped while they’d been sick. It hadn’t really seemed important, and then they kept having more adventures after that, and it had slipped his mind. Now he was beginning to regret that, since he had the feeling that Sokka, at least, wouldn’t be happy about being left in the dark on the subject. Still, he didn’t really have a choice. He hadn’t been able to keep Mask Guy around, but maybe Sokka could figure out a way to convince him to stay.

Nodding to himself, Aang scrambled back atop the most sturdy-looking building and swept his eyes across the landscape, this time looking for familiar territory. He thought he recognized an area ahead and to the right, so he decided to head that direction.

~~*~~

How long did it take to tell someone you were leaving? Sokka wondered absently, frowning as his stomach rumbled slightly. He wasn’t hungry. Well okay, yes, he was hungry, he was always hungry, but he didn’t want to be hungry. He was tired, and sad, and now also worried about Aang. Where was he? It was, like, a five minute walk to the reception hall where Chief Arnook was probably coordinating the rebuilding efforts. How in La's name had it taken Aang so long that the sun was starting to sink below the horizon again? Admittedly, they were only a few months on from the North’s Winter Solstice, so the days were pretty short, but Sokka was fairly certain that Aang was supposed to be back by now. 

“All right, that’s it,” he declared, standing and stretching his back out. “You coming, Katara?”

“Coming where?” Katara asked, glancing up from where she’d been going over their supplies and creating tight bundles to pack up their food and other sundries. 

“To find Aang,” Sokka replied. “He’s been gone for hours, and we both know it doesn’t take that long to talk to someone.”

Katara’s eyes widened suddenly as she leapt to her feet. “Zuko!” she spat. “We never saw what happened to him after he left-”

Sokka felt the blood drain from his face at her words. He hadn’t even considered that, he’d sort of assumed that any firebenders left in the city were either in pretty strict confinement or dead. But this was the jerkbender they were talking about. If anyone would find a way to skulk out of this and kidnap Aang while he was at it, it would be Zuko. “Oh man,” he said nervously. “Yeah, we definitely need to go find him.”

Katara nodded firmly, her packing forgotten in light of this new information. “Come on,” she commanded, somehow managing to forget that this whole manhunt had been Sokka’s idea, and who had put her in charge? 

Sighing, knowing by now when to pick his battles (and it certainly wasn’t when Aang was involved), Sokka followed her from the hut and down the street. He hadn’t really had a plan beyond ‘go find Aang,’ though, and it seemed that Katara hadn’t had a plan either, as she slowed to a stop in the middle of the road to glance at him. “Which way?” she asked, frowning as she spun to and fro, examining each side street like it might be hiding the airbender behind any corner.

Sokka considered the question. “Maybe we should just head for the ceremonial hall?” he suggested. “That’s where Aang said he was going, so if we’re going to find a clue, that’s a good place to start -”

“Hey guys! Where are you going? Did you finish packing?”

“WUH!” Sokka did not yelp, he simply… expressed his surprise. Loudly. 

“Aang!” Katara exclaimed, whirling around to face their absentee airbending Avatar. “Where were you? We were just going to look for you!”

“Oh, right,” Aang at least had the decency to look somewhat sheepish at the accusation. “Well, I went to tell the Chief we were leaving, but when I got there, they were talking about this guy in a mask who broke into the firebender prison with his swords, which sounded cool, and they were looking for him, so I offered to help-”

There seemed to be no end to this sentence in sight, so Sokka sighed inwardly and steeled himself for the rest of the run-on, since there seemed no point in trying to interrupt Aang until he’d finished his explanation.

“Because I’m pretty good at finding things, but I didn’t want to bother you guys or Appa, so I just walked around the city for the while, and got a little lost, I think, but that was okay because I found him! He was wearing a blue and white spirit mask and he had two swords and I recognized him!”

Hold on, that was weird. “You recognized the guy with swords and a mask?” Sokka demanded incredulously, not sure how one pulled off something like that. It was a mask, how could you recognize someone whose face was covered?

Aang paused then to take a breath, and suddenly his posture shifted, his shoulders hunching slightly. “Oh yeah, I uh, I never told you guys about what happened when I went to get those frozen frogs,” he said.

Frozen frogs? It took Sokka a moment to realize what Aang was talking about. “The frozen frogs that you put in our mouths?” he demanded incredulously. “Like the frog that gave me this wart?” he added, sticking his tongue out and pointing.

“I keep telling you, Sokka, there’s no wart!” Katara groused, giving him an exasperated look. “We even had Healer Yugoda look at it and she said the same thing!”

“My tongue feels different! I know it’s the frozen frog that did it!” Sokka insisted, though since his tongue was still sticking out, it didn’t look as though Katara or Aang were really able to parse his words. With a sigh, he released the sides of his mouth and pulled his tongue back in. He got no sympathy from these people, none. Why did he even bother?

“So what happened when you got the frozen frogs?” Katara asked Aang.

“Weeeell, I… kinda got captured by the Fire Nation?” Aang said weakly.

“You WHAT?!” Katara shrieked. Sokka was very glad he wasn’t the one facing down that particular yell, his sister had a pair of lungs and she was not shy about using them. “Was it Zuko?” she demanded.

“No, no!” Aang frowned a little, then. “Worse, actually,” he said after a minute. “Even when Zuko manages to capture me, he usually just ties me up with rope and says he’s taking me home. Zhao is worse. He put me in chains and said that they would keep me alive, but just barely,” he shuddered a little, obviously still feeling anxious about what had been said to him.

Sokka tried to imagine keeping Aang tied down and barely alive, and had to suppress a shudder himself. He hated the Fire Nation, especially Zhao. Sokka felt the anger he’d been fighting back surge through him again at the name. Zhao, who had killed the moon spirit -as good as killed Yue. While Sokka found himself suddenly caught up in his anger, though, Katara was focused on the details.

“Wait, so Zhao kidnapped you? And you didn’t tell us?” Her hands were on her hips and she was giving Aang one of her patented looks.

“I was getting frozen frogs!” Aang protested, “Besides, I escaped!”

“How?” Katara demanded. “You just said you were in chains!”

“Yeah, but the guy in the blue mask showed up and cut the chains with his swords! It was awesome,” Aang mused. “I really thought he was going to cut me in half, at first. He’s really scary looking in the mask.”

“Okay, hold on, you lost me,” Sokka cut in. “Who is this guy in the mask?”

“I don’t know,” Aang said, “But he saved me from Zhao, and he fought firebenders with nothing but two swords and a bunch of cool moves.”

Sokka spared a moment to mentally mourn the fact that apparently this guy’s non-bender status was enough to warrant the designation “cool moves,” while Sokka was still relegated to something of an afterthought. Unfair, that’s what this was. Sokka had cool moves, too!

“But then when we were escaping, his mask got hit with an arrow so I had to drag him away,” Aang continued, “And when I looked up, he was suddenly gone! Poof! Like a spirit!”

Like a spirit. Tui and La, Sokka was so tired of these stupid Spirit Tales coming to life around him. First magic water, then the Avatar, getting kidnapped by angry bear spirits in a forest, the girl he liked turning into the moon, and now some masked guy vanishing into thin air? He was so over it. “Okay, so he walked off while you were distracted,” Sokka interrupted. “Not like it’s that hard.” He pointedly ignored the disgruntled look Katara shot in his direction.  “What does this have to do with…” he frowned. “Wait. Are you telling me the same guy who busted you out of Zhao's Fire Nation Prison is here? Now?!”

“Yes!” Aang insisted. “I met him in the abandoned area where the catapult damage hasn’t been repaired yet -  I think he was sleeping, actually,” Aang mused, breaking off mid-sentence as he considered the idea before shaking his head and returning to the topic. “And he was still wearing the mask and had the swords, but he was wearing furs that were more pale, instead of all-black like he did when he broke me out.”

So the guy knew how to disguise himself for different terrain. Sokka found himself feeling impressed despite his instinct to dislike the guy. Maybe he was cool, after all. Not as cool as Sokka, of course, but he’d leave his options open, he guessed. “So what did he do?” Sokka demanded.

“What did he say?” Katara added. 

“Nothing!” Aang said. “I mean, he looked pretty tired, and once he saw it was me he put his swords away. But when I asked him what he was doing, he didn’t answer. Actually, I don’t think he can talk? But he like, waved his hands at me some, and when I looked around to figure out how to get back to you guys, he disappeared again! Like a spirit!” He leaned forward conspiratorially, “Actually, I think he’s wearing a water spirit’s mask,” he stage-whispered. “I recognized it from a play called Love Amongst the Dragons.”

Setting aside the fact that Aang apparently had terrible taste in theater, Sokka considered this statement. “What water spirit?” he finally asked.

“Uh, the Dark Water Spirit, I think?” Aang said. 

“Huh. I don’t know that one,” Sokka commented. Not that he knew much about any lesser spirits, he was doing good to know of Tui and La. Or Yue and La, now, he guessed. 

“Maybe we could ask Master Pakku!” Katara suggested.

“He’s probably busy…” Sokka began to protest, but Katara was having none of it.

“This is important!” She insisted. “If he’s wearing a water spirit mask, maybe he’s from the water tribes, and that’s why he’s here!”

Aang’s face seemed to say that he was about as convinced as Sokka, which was to say not at all, but he also wasn’t about to argue with Katara.

Sighing, Sokka decided he wasn’t in the mood to argue either. “Fine, fine,” he grumbled under his breath, “Let’s go talk to Master Pakku.”

~~*~~

The old man was getting ridiculous, Pakku reflected wearily. Honestly, it had been barely a day, and already The Grand Lotus was getting antsy, threatening to go out and find his nephew himself. His nephew! The Fire Lord’s Firstborn Son. The Avatar’s pursuer. And, if the stories of the Avatar’s group could be trusted, a singularly unpleasant individual. Why Iroh would be so set on bringing back that horrible child was quite beyond Pakku, it was good riddance as far as he was concerned.

But the old man was getting more anxious as the day dragged on, and Pakku hadn’t managed to find the boy among any of the Fire Nation prisoners… Nor, he’d noted with an equal measure of satisfaction and disappointment, had they found Admiral Zhao, the moon-killer. From what he’d heard, the boy was not an especially competent bender. He wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn the boy had failed to subdue Zhao, and had been lost in the night’s chaos. But the old man refused to believe it, insisting that his nephew was out there, somewhere, and outright refusing to leave until the nephew was found!

Didn’t he know what a risk Pakku was taking even housing one firebender? True, Iroh had clearly acted on their behalf last night, and even more importantly, in favor of the spirits and the balance of the world itself. Normally this would be enough to at least give him the benefit of the doubt, if he weren’t also the Dragon of the West, and that wasn’t exactly something he wanted to advertise. The longer they put off his departure, the more likely they were to be discovered. Pakku couldn’t risk that. 

“Grand Lotus, I urge you to look at this from my perspective,” Pakku said, practically tossing a plate of sea-prunes onto the table as he sat, accepting a steaming cup of kelp tea and sipping it while glaring over the rim of the teacup at Iroh.

“And I urge you to look at it from mine,” Iroh replied, voice calm but resolute. “I cannot in good conscience leave until I am certain of Prince Zuko’s safety.”

“I’ve already given you my word,” Pakku insisted, his sour expression having nothing to do with the sea prune he popped into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully, washing the pickled snack down with another sip of perfectly balanced kelp tea, trying not to feel insulted by the fact that Iroh was somehow better at brewing his own culture’s tea than he was himself. “I will ensure that Zuko is seen safely to the Earth Kingdom, just as I am ensuring you passage.” Although I personally disagree that he has earned this special treatment, considering his reasons for coming here are significantly different from your own, he thought irritably. “I’ve already sent word to our contact in Omashu to be watching for him, precisely for a situation such as this,” he added. 

Iroh simply sipped his own kelp tea, his eyes watching Pakku without so much as a hit of malice, as he simply said, “I am afraid that is not acceptable to me. I must know.”

Pakku set his teacup down in order to pinch the bridge of his nose in what was likely a fruitless attempt to ward off an oncoming headache. “Grand Lotus-”

“Please, Master Pakku,” Iroh interrupted, his voice catching, “I must know. I can’t bear not knowing.”

Pakku had never married, never had children of his own, yet he’d felt his heart tug at the mere sight of Kanna’s necklace worn by Katara, had felt his heart and mind settle at hearing that she still lived. He could not in good conscience deny Iroh the same chance to find his answer, even if that answer turned out to be one different than the one he expected - no, needed - to hear.

Inclining his head slowly, Pakku sighed. “One more day, Iroh. Then we need to start considering… other possibilities.”

“I understand,” Iroh said, his shoulders set in a stubborn way that reminded Pakku unsettlingly of Katara when she had decided the world should be a certain way, and nothing could convince her otherwise. “I am sure  you will find him soon.”

For Iroh’s sake, Pakku hoped that was the case.

[stark-tony]

most recent bookmarks (12/17/20)

* = incomplete

atla

Life in Eden by WitchofEndor

summary: Her daughter is five years old when Ursa realises what she and Ozai have been doing to their children. By each choosing one to bestow with their approval, they’re pitting them against one another. Perhaps Ozai is doing it on purpose, but Ursa isn’t. She resolves to heal the damage she has done.

In which Ursa tries to be a better parent to Azula, and it doesn’t change very much. And then, quite abruptly, it changes everything.

pairings: none

tags: drama

warnings: abuse

absence of heat, excess of destiny by theycallmesuperboy

summary: Sokka is born in the dead of winter with a red dragon curling down the left side of his back.

Zuko is born in the sweltering heat of summer with a sword down his spine.

—

He doesn’t want to talk about it when their gazes turn on him. They make assumptions— is it someone he left behind in the Fire Nation? He looks away when he agrees with them.

Toph brushes past him when they all part ways. She says, “I know you’re lying.”

pairings: zukka

tags: drama

warnings: homophobia

give me a place to stand (and i will move the earth). by flustraaa

summary:  just as a river ebbs and flows, zuko’s found family slowly realises that maybe... just maybe, he was just as much a victim of his father’s hand as they were. literally. (or four moments that they never thought would happen. especially at a party).

pairings: zukka

tags: hurt/comfort

warnings: abuse

hp

The Most Brilliant Idea, or How Sirius Black Accidentally became a Romance Novelist by nothingeverlost

summary:  In which Sirius has a Brilliant Idea, Remus is gainfully employed, James is clueless and Lily is always right.

pairings: wolfstar, jily

tags: fluff, humor

warnings: none

Bring Your Children to Work Day by Glisseo

summary: “Daddy, what are we doing?” asked Al, blinking up at him.

In a split second, Harry made the decision.

“You’re all coming to work with me today,” he said, hoping – as cheers rent the air - that he wouldn’t very much regret it.

pairings: hinny

tags: fluff, humor

warnings: none

Flower War by XxTheDarkLordxX

summary: “So, I was thinking—” Neville cut off, causing Harry to peer up curiously. Neville’s eyes were narrowed on the flower, small frown marring his features. “Oh, how rude.”

“What’s rude? It’s just a flower. Strange, since Malfoy sent it to me. Do you think he was cursed? I mean, it’s not like him to be nice.”

Neville snorted, mouth twitching rapidly. “No, it’s not,” He agreed readily. “Malfoy sending this makes perfect sense though. The flower means, Beauty is your only attraction." - Or... the one where Harry and Draco have a flower war. Their tamest fight yet to date as they trade silent insults, cutting barbs and even a few compliments sprinkled in.

pairings: drarry

tags: fluff, humor

warnings: none

The Importance of Being Sirius by dogsunderfoot (dragondi)

summary: R/S Games 2017 - Day 19 - Team Sirius

Remus Lupin, a simple Literature teacher has to deal with Sirius Black, a History teacher with an unorthodox (and noisy) teaching style.

pairings: wolfstar

tags: fluff, humor

warnings: biphobia

Shelf Awareness by GhostofBambi

summary:  It's too far out of her way and she's wasting so much money, but Lily can't help but return to the bookstore every weekend, where her passion for good literature has, perhaps, been unexpectedly reignited by the messy-haired, pun-making, rather handsome bloke who works there.

pairings: jily

tags: 

warnings: none

bnha

that is just the way by celestialfics

summary:  Shouto has his first sleepover.

pairings: tododeku

tags: fluff

warnings: none

a heart so full by aloneintherain

summary: The baby was so small in Katsuki’s arms. She was bright pink and wrinkly with barely-there tuffs of black hair, staring up at Katsuki with big red eyes.

He stared back, his eyes just as big and just as red as her’s. He wasn’t crying, but he looked like his whole world was being ripped apart and reformed around the child cradled in his arms.

(Bakugou and his thoughts on fatherhood)

pairings: kiribaku

tags: fluff

warnings: none

Ghost of the Father* by tunafishprincess

summary: All for One never expected to die in his battle against All Might, nor did he expect to wake up as a ghost that only his son can see. But no matter. He will raise a new successor, one who can take revenge on All Might and all his ilk.

Unfortunately, Izuku didn’t seem to get that memo.

pairings: none

tags: humor

warnings: none

mcu

Patient #2252 by TheSoulOfAStrawberry

summary:  When a warehouse comes down on Spider-Man’s head and leaves him with a brain injury, Queens social worker Bianca Browne and Dr Grace Li of NY-Presbytarian Hospital find themselves racing the NYPD to uncover Spidey’s identity and get him help before he can be charged with a litany of crimes.

pairings: none

tags: hurt/comfort

warnings: police brutality

A Lesson in Self-Defense by patrochilles_trash

summary: “Dude, I don’t see the big deal. It’s just some lame self-defense lecture. You could do this stuff in your sleep,” Ned whispered.

He couldn’t figure out why Peter was freaking out so much.

“That’s the problem! I can do this stuff in my sleep,” Peter hissed, resisting the urge to flail his arms in despondence.

“So, why-“ 

“Because I can’t just turn it off, Ned!”

He winced when a few people in front of them turned to see what all the noise was about.

OR

Midtown calls in a self defense instructor, and Peter has a bad feeling.

pairings: none

tags: fluff

warnings: none

[phantoms-lair]

EnergyBending snippets

Takes place late in my Nursery Rhyme/Avatar Zuko Story. Unlike in cannon Zuko’s main focus was bringing back airbenders, so things didn’t go as badly between the group and Wan Shi Tong. Zuko learned Energy Bending rather than about the Day of Black Sun (though that does come in later), but he learned it from a book, so he doesn’t have the confidence Aang had with the Lion Turtle gifting it to them.

~~

“Toph’s asleep.” Aang reported.

Zuko’s breathed out a sigh of relief. He wanted this to be a private conversation and she was the one he was most worried about overhearing. Sure she was brash and forward, but he hadn’t forgotten how sneaky she was capable of being, hiding her second identity from her parents. “Could you wait here too?”

Aang crossed his arms. “Sokka won’t even know I’m there.”

“But I would. And it would feel like I’m ganging up on him, but it has to be his choice and-”

Aang put his hands up. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll stay here.”

“You could always get some lesson plans ready.” Zuko suggested, which had Aang grinning.

Zuko left his tent and went to where Sokka would be standing watch. He was often the last to go to sleep, taking the safety of the group seriously. “Can we talk?”

“I’m not stopping you.” Sokka shrugged.

“I’ve been studying the techniques I learned at Wan Shi Tong’s library. It’s been focusing far more on the Spiritual Side of being an Avatar than I’ve ever done. According to Aang more than any Avatar has done in generations. But I think I’ve got it. I can use energybending to make more airbenders.”

He heard the sharp intake of Sokka’s breath. He understood how important this was. “I just need to put it into action, and the first new airbender...Sokka I want it to be you.”

Sokka crossed his arms, but didn’t respond for a few minutes. "I don't need bending,” He finally said, tersely.

Zuko took a deep breath. "Sokka, you are without a doubt one of the greatest warriors I have ever met. You're clever, adaptive, and pick up new disciplines faster than anyone I've ever seen. If I ever heard anyone suggest you needed to be a bender I'd fight them myself, if everyone one else in our camp didn't beat me to it."  

"You don't need to be a bender, it's more...I need a bender to be you." 

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "And that makes sense how?" 

"We don't have much time before the Day of Black Sun. In that time I need to at least create some new airbenders in case I die. But I need to know this is going to work. And for that I need the first new airbender to be someone who can travel with us. But our path in dangerous and they'd need to be able to defend themselves, and not with a bending they're not used to. I need the first airbender to be a warrior who doesn't have to rely on bending, but who's adaptive enough to be able to incorporate it into what they already do. Who else could that be but you?"

~~

"Katara, can we talk?" 

Katara looked up from breakfast at the serious expression on her brother's face. He looked like he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. "What about?" 

Sokka took a deep breath. "Zuko wants me to become an airbender." 

It took her a moment to process what she'd heard. "Wait, you? Why?" 

"The long story short of it: I'm adaptable and don't need to rely on bending to fight." Sokka plopped down by the fire. "It's weird, you know? I wasn't the biggest fan of your bending back at the South Pole. Then bending got us mixed up in all kinds of weird stuff after we teamed up with Zuko and Iroh, and I was glad I never had to deal with that. But after a while I got, you know, jealous. You and Iroh, and Toph can doo all these amazing things, and Zuko was the flipping Avatar, and here I was just a guy with a boomerang." 

"You know none of us saw you that way, right?" Katara asked, her eyes looking troubled. 

"I know, it's just... I'm afraid the part of me that wants to say yes just wants to feel special, while another part of me is how much I'm afraid I won't be me anymore, and I don't know what to do. I know logically Zuko's right. I'm the best candidate we have right now. But I'm scared."

~~

"Okay, let's do this before I change my mind." 

"No." 

Sokka blinked at Zuko and his instant shut down. "What?" 

"We're not doing this unless you're completely sure. There's too much risk otherwise." 

 Sokka's eyes narrowed. "What risk, you never said anything about risk." 

"Because the risk isn't to you." Zuko snapped, then took a few breaths to calm down. "Consensual energy bending like what I have planned has no real risk. But if you panic and change your mind it becomes a battle of will. Your will has never faltered. Mine has. You could shatter me, Sokka, so excuse me for not wanting to risk that until I know my work is done.”

There was a whole lot to unpack there. Zuko's lack of faith in himself, his utter faith in Sokka (who had to admit he was kind of touched the Avatar had no doubts he would be the one to come off better in a test of wills), or Zuko implying that the risk would be okay, as long as he'd made enough Airbenders to know the cycle wouldn't be broken upon his death. 

 It also helped to know Zuko wasn't so eager that he'd pressure Sokka into it. That took a load off his mind.

~~

"I'm sure." Zuko looked up from his meditation. He didn't have to ask what Sokka meant. 

"I thought about it and I had a lot of concerns about a lot of things, but in the end, I think it came down to your concern. You're right. Letting the cycle stay broken any longer than absolutely necessary is beyond risky. Being the Avatar doesn't protect you from death. I swore I'd do anything I could to help end the war. This wasn't what I was expecting, but I can’t turn away from it." 

Zuko nodded. Duty and Honor were what he understood best.  "Okay. Sit down in front of me. I'm going to need to put my hands on your head and heart to do this. Like I said before, please don't fight me. Also it would help if you focused on Air to give it something to anchor to." Zuko tried to sound wise teacherish, if only to hide how nervous he was about the procedure. 

He placed his hands where he said and bent. It was...like nothing he'd ever done before, it wasn't just pulling on an element, it was raising his awareness. He could suddenly see into Sokka's soul, and see the nodes of chakra that governed it. Sokka's elemental nodes were reasonably balanced with a slight weight towards Water. Not unusual for a non bender and oh hey he could raise Sokka's spiritual awareness and give Aang someone else to talk to. 

Tempting, but no. He'd stick to what he said and no more.

He strengthened the Air Charkra and pulled energy into it. But almost as quickly it drained out. "Sokka, are you focusing on air?" 

"Yeah, I'm thinking of all those dumb temples and everything." 

There was a beat of silence. "Sokka YOU ARE NOT A MONK. Those images mean nothing to you. Don't think about the image of what you think an Airbender should be. What does air mean to you?" 

To him? Sokka was taken aback. Air was...was...Air was wind. It was blowing snowflakes in a blizzard while Gran Gran told them stories of the North Pole. It was the crisp scent of salt as he stood on the shores waiting for his father's boat to return, which could turn sharp as a knife if it wanted. It was the warmth that filled their balloon and let them travel between poles all the way into the Fire Nation. Wind was Home. Wind was Freedom.  

And something in Sokka clicked. He opened his eyes to see an exhausted looking Zuko pulling his hand away, and the others just watching mouths mostly agape, with rocks clinging to Katara’s legs. 

"Will someone tell me what's happening?" Toph grumbled, keeping her hold on Katara. 

 "It was quite the impressive light show, nephew." Iroh observed, stroking his beard. "From both of you." 

"Both? Sokka's jaws worked up and down. Sure Zuko glowing was one thing, with his while Avatar dealy, but him too? 

"Sweetness here tried to grab you away. I may not know what's going on but, I figured that would be bad." Toph explained. 

"It would have." Zuko panted. "But it worked. " He gave Sokka a tried smile. "Congratulations. You're an airbender."

~~

"Hey Zuko, just to be clear. All we're doing is sitting at you families beach house laying low till the Day of Black Sun, right? There's nothing we need to be working on?" 

 Zuko shot Sokka a look. "Well, you need to be working on your airbending forms, otherwise no." Sokka's face had been pure mischief, Katara had caught it too. As had Toph, though she was grinning in a way that made things worse.

"Well I think this is a perfect time for a little Energy Bending practice. More precisely, I think you should take away Katara's waterbending till we're ready to leave." 

Katara let out a squack of indignation and Zuko just sighed. "Sokka, remember when I explained energy bending can be risky if the other person is unwilling? There is no way she's going to willingly give up her bending even temporarily." Zuko pointed out. 

"I wasn't suggesting we leave her empty handed." Sokka waved them off. "Something like, say, firebending?"  

"Why on Earth do you think I'd willingly become a firebender?" Katara asked heatedly. 

"Because when Zuko was having a hard time getting a grasp on waterbending, you made a claim that you could pick up fire much easier than he did water. I just want to see if it's true. Or do you admit you were empty boasting?"

 Katara glared at him, then marched up to Zuko. "Fire-ize me." 

Zuko sputtered, not expecting that. "Are...are you joking?" 

"Do it!" Katara’s tone left no room to argue.

 Zuko could feel the headache building, but put one hand on Katara's head and the other over her heart. It was honestly far easier than giving Sokka airbending. The water was well entrenched, but her anger was practically singing for fire. "Done. You might want to ask Uncle for lessons, though. He's a better teacher than me." 

She gave a curt nod, then a predatory smile at her brother, then walked off. 

"I can't BELIEVE you got away with that!" Toph was rolling on the ground laughing. 

"Who says he did?" Zuko smirked. "He got his sister pissed at him, then convinced me to give her the power to shoot fire." 

Toph laughed even harder as all the color drained from Sokka's face. "Better throw yourself on the mercy of the Avatar. It's the only chance you got." 

"Nope, even the Avatar knows to pick his battles. The entire fire nation army is one thing, I learned my lesson about little sister bending prodigies with fire. Good luck Sokka." 

~~

It was good to be free Cheif Hakoda thought as he stepped out of the balloon Sokka and the Avatar had rescued him in. They were in the Western Air Temple, apparently. According to to Sokka the Avatar's Uncle, an earthbender, and more importantly Katara was there as well. He saw her before she saw him. She was doing waterbending forms and he just wanted a moment to stop and look at her, to see how much she'd grown... And then a small gout of fire burst from her hands. 

"Sokka, I don't remember your sister being a firebender," Suki commented, staring at the sight.  

"We probably should have mentioned that." Zuko admitted. 

"Hey Katara, guests!" Toph said with a laugh. 

"Guests? Toph who could visit us way up here." Then she turned and saw them. "Dad?" she chocked, before running and squeezing him as hard as she could. 

"I'm here too," Suki joked. 

"Zuko and I May have staged a prison break. At the most high security Fire Nation prison to get him out." Sokka tried to sound casual, but was obviously pleased with himself. 

"Aang wants to point out he was there too." Zuko added. 

"Who's Aang, and why is Katara firebending?" Hakoda felt more confused by the second.  

"Aang is Zuko's Spirit Guide. As for the firebending, I just thought Katara should put her skill where her mouth was. Or rather her lack of skill." Sokka sounded smug. 

"You better be glad I'm so happy Dad's here or you'd be getting a fiery first to the face." 

"Like you could manage more than smoke." 

"If I may." Iroh interrupted. "When your daughter was teaching my nephew waterbending they came across a common problem among Avatars, a difficult grasping the opposing element. Katara made the claim that if she was in his place, she would be much more adept at firebending then he was at water." 

"My nephew learned of energybending, a way to give or take away bending ability, in his quest to bring Air back into the balance. And you son decided to call her months old bluff."

That...sounded like Sokka. "Avatar Zuko, I don't suppose you could set my daughter back to normal?" 

"Certainly sir," Zuko couldn't hide the relief in his voice, but Katara grabbed one of his wrists. 

"Oh no, you're not winning that easily." She warned. 

"Winning? I'm not even in this argument." Zuko protested. 

"I'm not giving up on this till I learn Firebending. Even if the day of Black Sun comes, I’ll be firebending into battle." Katara declared. 

"Okay no." Zuko put his foot down. "First of all we are not giving up one of the few waterbending masters in this fight for your ego. Second, there is no firebending on the Day of Black Sun. That's the whole point of the Day of Black Sun." 

Katara looked pensive for a moment. "Fine. I accept the second reason. But I'm going back to fire right after."

~~~~

I was a little torn on making Sokka a bender becasue, as was said above, he doesn’t need bending by any stretch of the imagination.  But thinking with an in universe perspective, there’s no one else Zuko would pick. He doesn’t have the confidence he’d win a battle of wills if someone tried to turn it on him the way Ozai did Aang, so he had to make sure at the very least the first new airbender was someone he’d trust his soul with. And that is a very short list,

[firenation-turtleducks]

Day 2 - Hidden Identities

This is a continuation of my fic from Day 1. And...more of a “revealed identities” than “hidden identities,” to be honest.

Day 2 of @thirtydaysofzutara

Zuko could hardly believe his ears. He stared at the waterbender, feeling his heart speed up.

A sky bison. Here in the city.

That could only mean the Avatar was here too.

Could this waterbender be the one traveling with him? The one Zuko had fought at the North Pole? No, that wouldn’t make sense—what would she be doing alone, running around in the Lower Ring? Zuko hadn’t seen her with the Avatar or the Water Tribe boy any night she’d been here, and the three of them always traveled together.

(Of course he wouldn’t admit it, but above all, he didn’t want the vigilante waterbender to be the one traveling with the Avatar. She’d become something of a comforting presence to him, another person with a similar short-term goal. He’d taken up the Blue Spirit persona again because he couldn’t stand being nothing more than a tea server—he wanted to be a part of something bigger, doing something more important. And this city was filled with people like the Earth militia in that kid Lee’s village; Zuko couldn’t let them lord over the people here, the people who couldn’t so much as fight back. The waterbender had to feel the same way. They had something in common, and he held onto that.)

“No,” Zuko said eventually. “What have you heard?”

Maybe the Avatar was with the bison. Maybe he was looking for it. Either way, Zuko had to follow this lead. If he had another chance to find the Avatar—to go home…he had to take it.

The waterbender was silent for a beat. “Only that there’s one here,” she said. “I’m worried it might be sold on the black market, and it’s probably the only one left.”

Zuko nodded in acknowledgement. “I’ll help you find it.”

He had a chance. Even after being declared a criminal, he might still have a chance to go home.

“Thank you,” said the waterbender. “Could you meet me back here tomorrow night? We can share what we’ve found out.”

Zuko nodded again, and the waterbender left.

“Don’t thank me yet,” he muttered once she was out of earshot.

…

His uncle was going to be opening a tea house in the Upper Ring.

Zuko’s first reaction was a cold stab of concern. He slammed the door as he left the tea shop and slumped against the wall outside. Everything was going to be ruined—how would he get back to the Lower Ring and find the waterbending vigilante? He and his uncle probably wouldn’t move before tomorrow, but how much could either Zuko or the waterbender figure out in one day? Finding the bison could be his last chance at finding the Avatar. He needed more time.

A slip of paper drifted down from the sky and Zuko picked it up as it fell. His eyes widened as he recognized the drawings on it: the bison and the Avatar.

It’s not just a rumor, he thought. It’s here in this city, and—if flyers are being dropped, who could be dropping them but the Avatar on his glider?

He cast around for the tallest building he could see and climbed it as quickly as he could. His heart pounded. If he could so much as see where the Avatar landed…

The sky was empty. Nothing but clouds as far as the eye could see. A growl built up in Zuko’s throat. He was so close! The Avatar had been in the same city as him for Agni knew how long and he hadn’t even considered it until now!

He had to find that bison. He’d find what he could tonight, then meet up with the waterbender and see what she knew. He didn’t really see another option. Over everything, he needed to get home.

…

After knocking out the Dai Li agent he’d ambushed and interrogated, Zuko made his way to where he’d agreed to meet the waterbender. She was waiting for him when he arrived.

They both said at the same time, “Lake Laogai.”

“You found something on Lake Laogai too?” she asked in a hushed voice. “That’s got to be it. Thank you. Thank you so much. I know I don’t really know you, but this means a lot to me.”

He stomped out the pang of guilt he felt at the realization that he was essentially using her. Lying to her. It wasn’t as if he was going to hurt the stupid bison. He just—he just needed it to locate and capture the Avatar. After that it would be free and happy just like the waterbender apparently wanted.

“It’s nothing.” It wasn’t. “But I don’t think I can help you anymore. I don’t want to get caught up with the Dai Li.” It was a little too late for that, but the waterbender didn’t know that and he didn’t have another excuse. He wanted to get to Lake Laogai long before she did. He couldn’t tell her that he was—what? Stealing the bison? Using it as bait? Whatever he figured out when the time came—so he had to be long gone by the time she showed up. He tried not to feel bad for lying to her.

“Of course,” she whispered. “It’s...really a situation. I wouldn’t ask you to do that.” She paused. “I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be here. But if I don’t see you again...good luck in life.” He thought she gave a quick smile under her mask.

‘Here’? Where, Ba Sing Se? Where else would you go? Why would you leave when you’re doing so much good here?

But he didn’t know how to say that, so he said, “You too.”

She gave a tiny wave as she walked away.

The Dai Li are holding it under Lake Laogai, the Dai Li agent had told him. To the southeast. The entrance is hidden under a few inches of water at the south side of the lake. That’s all I know. Please, believe me, that’s all I know.

Zuko started walking.

…

His plan (if he could really call it a plan), of course, didn’t go as smoothly as he’d hoped. But he was far from surprised by that. Frankly, he’d be more surprised if things did go his way.

As he made his way through the cold, dripping underground corridors, he heard shouts and the rumble of earthbending. Warily, he followed the noise. The Avatar always seemed to attract trouble, and if his bison was here, that was a good enough reason for him to be.

Drawing his swords, he approached a gash in the stone wall torn by an earthbender and ducked through it after catching a glimpse of one of the Avatar’s friends.

Zuko found himself in a cavernous room filled with Dai Li agents, the Avatar’s two Water Tribe friends, an earthbender girl that he recognized from the fight with Azula at the ghost town, and Jet’s two cronies from the ferry. But no Avatar.

And the Dai Li, unfortunately but not unexpectedly, noticed Zuko.

He dodged a barrage of rocks bent at him by the nearest Dai Li agent, then spun and shattered another rock hurtling toward him with a blow from his swords. He leapt at the earthbender to put him on the defensive, slashing at him only to be blocked each time by stones the earthbender kept levitating. Eventually, he landed a blow with the pommel of one sword to the agent’s head and he crumpled.

Only a handful of Dai Li were left standing at this point, now outnumbered. Zuko brandished his swords at them and the Avatar’s friends drew closer to him, facing off the last of the Dai Li. It was strange to be fighting against the same people as the Avatar’s friends, even if he wasn’t fighting on their behalf.

“You’re here!” exclaimed the Water Tribe girl as she stood next to him, not taking her eyes off of the Dai Li. “I can’t believe it—after you said you wouldn’t come! Thank you!”

“What?” How did the…

Oh no.

His heart dropped. She was the waterbending vigilante. And…

“You’re the Avatar’s waterbender.” He’d been so stupid—the waterbender had said she’d go to Lake Laogai today, and what other waterbender would be wandering Ba Sing Se but the one traveling with the Avatar? He’d just been hoping that it wasn’t her, as if hoping could make any difference.

Her brow creased. “What?” She flung an ice dagger to meet a rock sent at her, both shattering on impact. “How do you know I’m traveling with Aang? And—my name’s Katara!”

“How do you know this guy, anyway?” the Water Tribe boy muttered to the waterbender—Katara—as he caught his returning boomerang.

“You’re the Avatar’s waterbender,” Zuko repeated quietly.

Katara warded off another earthbending attack and glared at him. “And? What does…” She trailed off as she gasped. “No...Zuko.”

He fought not to cringe at the amount of poison she put into his name. The one person he thought he might have something in common with and she was his enemy. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

He had to get out of here. His mind whirled. Find the bison—find the Avatar—get away from here and back to the Fire Nation.

Katara swiftly turned her attacks on him and he bolted across the rubble-strewn floor for the gap in the wall. Water slammed into the wall behind him as he ducked out of the way and sprinted down the empty corridor.

…

Two Dai Li agents blocked Katara’s path and sent chunks of stone flying towards her, forcing her to block and engage in another fight.

Aang had mentioned the Blue Spirit helping him escape from Pohuai Stronghold, only for it to turn out to be Zuko trying to capture Aang for himself. Katara had recognized the mask but didn’t think it was related at first. There was more than one Blue Spirit mask, after all.

But when he’d been so shocked that she was the Avatar’s friend, the pieces had started falling into place. How quickly he’d agreed to help her find Appa. How he lied that he wouldn’t be here, then showed up anyway, probably because he was after Aang again. The mask and dual swords.

She’d thought he was a decent person—more than that, a good person, for helping the defenseless people in the Lower Ring. And then he turned out to be the prince of the Fire Nation. Why would he be up to vigilante business in the Lower Ring anyway? She’d bet it was all part of some horrible trick to find Aang, running around interrogating people at swordpoint about him. He probably hadn’t even been helping people at first and just started doing that to get on her good side so that she’d give him information or something. And it had worked! She’d told him about Appa and Lake Laogai—he might’ve figured it out on his own anyway, but she felt so extraordinarily stupid for falling for whatever he was up to! She should’ve at least recognized his voice!

Finally she struck the Dai Li agent she was fighting with her mass of water and sent him sprawling. Around the room, the remaining Dai Li were unconscious or simply not willing or able to stand.

“That was Zuko?” Sokka demanded as the five of them regrouped and Toph opened the door on the far side of the room that Aang and Jet had disappeared through moments before Zuko had shown up. “I’d say I can’t believe he’s here except I can. Maniac’s chased us across the world already.” He looked sideways at her. “But you need to tell us how you knew him when he was Creepy Mask Guy.”

…

I want my honor, I want my throne, I want to go home, Zuko thought. But his uncle was right. This wouldn’t get him anywhere. He had no plan, no way to get the Avatar to the Fire Nation even if he managed to capture him. He didn’t know what he was doing—didn’t know if it was what he even wanted to be doing. But he had to. It was his destiny, his only way home, his only way for things to return to any semblance of normal.

He threw his swords to the ground and roared in frustration.

“Prince Zuko,” said his uncle from behind him, “you have the opportunity to choose between the destiny that has been laid out for you, and the one you can lay out for yourself. The choice is yours, and I hope you are happy with your decision.”

He thought about the destruction the Fire Nation had caused in the Earth Kingdom. He thought of Song’s burn scars, Lee’s missing brother, the refugees desperately flocking to Ba Sing Se. He didn’t want to be a part of what caused that. He didn’t want to be someone who deserved all the hate Katara spoke his name with.

And if he wanted to, all things considered, he didn’t really have the opportunity to return to the Fire Nation now. He was a wanted criminal, with no plan for capturing the Avatar and no way to travel back home.

He strode up to the sky bison and crouched beside one of its shackles, sending a concentrated stream of fire into the lock. It burst in a matter of seconds.

…

Katara couldn’t quite believe it, but there was only one person who could have freed Appa. She and her friends hadn’t gotten to him, and if he was free, Long Feng hadn’t either.

She wondered if, just maybe, not everything Zuko had said and done was a trick.

[avatarsymbolism]

The Waterbender and the Firelord: Katara and Zuko Parallels

Avatar: The Last Airbender has three central characters: Aang, Zuko, and Katara. These three characters share a lot of parallels and connections, and we see each of them interact, develop, and grow during the course of the series.

With that said, Katara and Zuko are two very different, but at the same time very similar characters. And, just like with Aang and Zuko in my previous meta, we can look at the parallels between them to see how exactly the thematic parallels between these two characters play out. And, just like last time, I won’t look all the parallels (like this one), since not all the parallels are of thematic significance but, I will look at the really important ones that help tie them together.

That said, I will be doing something a little different this time around. While I’ll mostly be focusing on Katara and Zuko, I’ll bring in a couple of the parallels between Aang and Zuko as well since Katara kind of helps bridge these two characters, and because so much of the Katara/Zuko parallels are parallels between the narrative three and actually help to better develop both Katara and Zuko’s respective story arcs. Thus, it is my hope that. by the end of the meta, both the readers of this meta and myself will have a better understanding of just how this dynamic works. 

So, without further ado, let’s begin!

Just like with Aang and Zuko. we have similarities between Katara and Zuko that have to do with their personalities, as well as their upbringing. In addition to this, a lot of the big thematic parallels between Katara and Zuko occur because of these personality traits--they’re determined, they have a strict sense of morality and judgement, etc. Therefore, just like how Aang can be seen as a version of Zuko who was not groomed by an imperialist society, so too can Katara be viewed as a possible version of Zuko--one who always stayed on the right path, and one who didn’t have moral dilemmas the way Zuko did. 

Personality

In terms of personality. Zuko and Katara are very similar, with Katara even becoming a foil for Zuko in “The Southern Raiders.” 

Both Katara and Zuko are fiercely determined to the point of stubbornness. They can also get very angry when provoked. Usually, these situations end with either Aang or Iroh trying to calm everyone down but, they don’t always succeed. Sometimes, these outbursts can even end with them saying hurtful things that they might not have meant to say, or would later regret.

Similarly, Zuko and Katara both adopt spirit-inspired secret identities, which ties into their stubborn determination in that it’s a strong motivator for their actions. However, what distinguishes them is the reason behind these identities. 

Katara genuinely wanted to help people, and used the “Painted Lady” persona as a means to hide her identity as she did so. This ensured that the Gaang wouldn’t find out about her activities, and also made sure that the villagers in the episode of the same name didn’t find out who or what she really was. 

In contrast, Zuko donned the mask  of the  “Blue Spirit” as a way to hide his identity in order to fulfill his goal of capturing Aang in Book 1, and later to escape poverty by becoming a thief in Book 2.

We also get a nice little parallel where Katara and Zuko have to unmask themselves for Iroh and Aang. Again, the reasons behind these two unmaskings are different, but the parallel is still there. 

Morality 

Another thing that Katara and Zuko have in common is their strong sense of judgement and morality. Here, we see two people that are inherently good and who, despite the cruel world around them, continue to do good--even if one of them was misguided for two and a half seasons. 

I’ve mentioned in the past that one of the things that separates the Avatar protagonists from the Avatar antagonists is that the protagonistsare unable to hurtl, and kill innocents. This is true not just for the narrative three but for the other members of the Gaang as well. 

Even so, this is still a strong theme for Katara and Zuko. Katara refuses to take up Hama’s fight because she sees what Hama is doing as wrong. Likewise, Zuko thought that needlessly sacrificing an entire division of soldiers was morally abhorrent.

And again, here we have two staunchly determined individuals who can be motivated by anger, rage, and a need for revenge. And yet, just like with all our protagonists it doesn’t matter how many times Katara tells herself “I’m going to kill Yon Rha,” or how many times Zuko says “today I’m gong to kill Admiral Zhao” because deep down they are inherently good and have a strong moral compass that doesn’t allow them to take such drastic actions. They simply can’t, and the narrative is totally fine with that. 

Furthermore, it’s this determination and unwillingness to abandon their ethical beliefs that ultimately lets them prevail against their opponents (we even get a really nice camera framing parallel between Katara and Zuko in the process, as well as another parallel which shows Katara and Zuko catching their opponents off guard). 

With that in mind, one of arcs that Zuko goes through has to do with learning that mercy and forgiveness aren’t childish concepts. And, throughout the series, we see Zuko struggling with what he knows is right, and what his nation sees as right. Katara ties into this arc because she, alongside Aang and Iroh, show Zuko  that mercy and forgiveness aren’t in fact childish concepts, and that moving on and forgiveness aren’t mutually exclusive concepts. 

Family 

Now, let’s talk about Katara and Zuko’s respective family dynamics. 

Just like with Aang and Zuko, we see a stark contrast between Katara and Zuko’s upbringing. Katara grew up in a loving family, with her parents supporting and loving both their children. In contrast, Zuko grew up in an abusive household with his father pitting himself against his sister. This could be due to the cultural difference between the Water Tribe which prioritized unity and community, and the Fire Nation which prioritized strength and power.  

There is also another parallel between the overall family dynamics of Katara’s family and Zuko’s family with Hakoda and Ozai being the fathers that haven’t seen their sons in many years, Ursa and Kya sharing the role of the absentee mother, Azula ad Katara as bending prodigies, and Sokka and Zuko as older brothers who feel like they need to prove themselves to their fathers. 

Loss

Speaking of mothers, let’s talk about one of the big themes which, as I’ve mentioned before, is the one theme that ties all three of our central characters together the most: loss. It motivates everyone. It’s what makes it hard for Aang to let go of Katara, and makes him so upset when Appa is kidnapped. It’s what makes Katara so determined to succeed in the war against the Fire Nation, and so angry at Zuko. It’s also what makes Zuko both want to restore his father’s love, and eventually defect. 

Loss is everywhere. 

So, of course, Katara and Zuko parallel each other in that they both lost their mothers to the Fire Nation at a relatively young age. Ursa was banished as part of a deal that would spare Zuko’s life, and Kya sacrificed herself to spare Katara’s life. 

These two events affected who Katara and Zuko became when they grew older. For Katara, it meant becoming fiercely protective, and doing everything in her power to protect the ones she loved and cared about. This is the driving force that makes her protect and vouch for all the people she has saved or tried to save from the people in “Imprisoned” and “The Painted Lady” to Aang, Jet, and Zuko in seasons 2 and 3. In the show’s continuity it’s the parallels between Aang and Kya that really helps push Katara to continue to protect the ones she loves, and consequently to view Zuko as “the face of the enemy,” up to the latter half of Book 3. The consequence of this parallel is that Katara eventually connects her losing her mother to Zuko himself. This eventually culminates with Katara saving Zuko’s life in the finale after he risked his life to save her from Azula in a moment that parallels what happened to her mother.  

Zuko’s story is a little different. He lost three parental figures in the course of the series, and losing these parental figures affected him in different ways. 

First, he lost his father’s love, the one thing he he wanted the most. This is what motivates him to go after Aang, and even to betray his uncle. It’s a destructive driving force that blinded him to his true calling. 

We won’t talk too much about Lu Ten and Iroh, but just know that, like Ursa, Zuko’s losing Lu Ten ties into Zuko’s empathy arc and helps him connect with the people he meets in the Earth Kingdom. In a similar vein, the Kya-Ursa connection is one of the factors that lets Zuko empathize with the people whom his nation views as enemies as well. Iroh also plays into the mix by becoming Zuko’s motivator after he realizes he doesn’t need Ozai’s love. Here, “I want to make Dad proud” transforms into “I want to make Uncle proud.

That said, as mentioned before, Ursa’s influence on Zuko is twofold. On the one hand, it’s what ultimately makes Zuko able to stay true himself by leaving the Fire Nation. But, before this happened, Ursa’s influence on Zuko played out a little differently, with Zuko’s memories of his mother making him nostalgic for how things used to be before his banishment. At this time, staying true to himself was less about being his own person and freeing himself from Ozai’s influence, and more about fulfilling his role as Ozai’s son and heir and returning home. 

Still, the fact remains that as soon as Zuko stopped being blinded by his need to win his father’s approval, his memory of Ursa became a positive motivator, and was the push he needed to join the Gaang 

And, speaking of nostalgia, “North and South” does a great job of not only elaborating on Katara’s “protect all the people” arc and giving it a second conclusion, but it also turns what used to be only a parallel between Aang and Zuko into one that features all three of our central characters. 

This parallel, connects Zuko, Katara, and Aang together even more by showing us just how much they feel they’ve lost, and just how much they want things to return to normal. With Katara and Zuko especially, it demonstrates why their loss is such a potent motivator. It’s what helps them make it through the day, and want to push themselves against the odds. These are characters who lost something that affected them deeply, who want so hard for everything to return to normal, and yet all they can do is try to cope and try to somehow move on from what happened to them. 

Loss and Foils

This brings us to our final group of parallels between Katara and Zuko.

I mentioned already that loss is a powerful motivator for our main characters, and makes them do a lot of the things they do (in fact, a lot of the conversations that Zuko and Katara have focus on loss). I also mentioned the connection between Zuko and Yon Rha, and how this parallel played into Katara’s hatred for Zuko. 

In “The southern Raiders,” we see a version of Katara that we’be never seen, a version of Katara that is so blinded by her need for revenge that one can’t help but draw parallels to Zuko in the first season, and how he was blinded and motivated by his need to regain Ozai’s love.

In fact, the show does us one better by doing just that. 

The story itself resembles the arc of “The Avatar State.” Azula and Zuko give them an offer which revolves around what Katara and Zuko have both lost--Ozai’s love, and Katara’s mom. They agree. Aang, Sokka, and Iroh warn them not to do it, but Katara and Zuko refuse to back down and end up saying things that they might later regret. Both characters end up going through with their plans, with Aang and Iroh giving their reluctant support. The two plots continue from there with the two episodes’ separate conclusions. 

But now for the fun stuff. 

In “The Southern Raiders,” Katara becomes a foil for Zuko by showing us just how far Zuko has come. Where most shows might use this kind of parallel to make the antagonist (or anti-hero, in Zuko’s case) sympathetic to the protagonist or vis versa, TSR does it to highlight just how far Zuko has come from his Book 1 beginnings. In addition to this, it kind of helps Katara walk a mile in Zuko’s shoes in a way, maybe showing her where exactly Zuko was coming. Consequently, this all ties right into the “Zuko learns that mercy isn’t stupid” arc which I mentioned earlier. 

Thus, we get a parallel with Katara and Zuko saying they do not have a choice. This refers to Katara going after Yon Rha, and to Zuko’s need to capture Aang to restore his father’s love. 

We also get another parallel that really helps to drive home just how determined Katara and Zuko were in their respective missions. Here, they are so determined and angry that they refuse to sleep, with Iroh and Zuko having to come along to tell them that they need to rest. 

And finally, in what might be the most creepy of the TSR related parallels, Katara’s look when Zuko confronts her at the start of the episode resembles the twisted expression we see on Zuko in “The Waterbending Scroll” when he has Katara tied up, and that’s just downright scary. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, Katara and Zuko are two similar individuals who go through some very different but, at the same time, very similar experiences. They are fiercely determined, and like many of our characters, they have lost so much.

Their loss is what makes them grow into the people we see in the show, and it’s their determination, combined with their loss, that makes them clash, interact, and grow as characters.