#aang looking angry....still baby

[awritessomething]

Can I request a Dallas Liu's Zuko angst? The reader tries helping Zuko, and his anger gets the best of him, causing the reader to run away. He chases after her after realizing his mistake. Fluff at the end, please and thank you!

𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 | dallas liu!zuko x fem!reader

Requests Masterlist

𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 | Zuko is trying to train. His aim is off, so his girlfriend tries to give him unwanted advice.

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 | angst, pre-established relationship, zuko accidentally burns her, pet names (baby, love), fluff at the end.

I wrote this yesterday and it didn’t save. Anyways I have no motivation and I just got broken up with so mb on slow updates

Zuko was a man who was never too good at controlling his anger. He took it out on most people around him, yet he did his very best not to take it out on his girlfriend. She was the only person who he believed was truly just there to love him.

On a particularly hard day after Aang got away once again, Zuko was training on the ship. He was struggling with his aim which was rare. He had been going for hours and hours. He looked exhausted. Y/N walked over to him.

Her hand lightly touched his arm. He gave a grunt of acknowledgment. She sighed from the lack of recognition, but she still took it.

“Zuko, love, take a break,” she whispered. His bicep flexed under her hand, showing his annoyance. “Just for a minute. If you’re just angry then you wont be able to get it.”

Zuko glared at her and took in a sharp inhale as he tried to calm himself down for a second. He showed no interest whatsoever in stopping. Her hand slid down his arm to touch his hand.

“Five minutes, Zuko. It’ll hel-”

“Stop it. I don’t need your help! You’re not a fire bender, so what do you know?” Zuko growled as he yawned his arm away from her. Y/N winced and stumbled backwards, looking down at her wrist. “Just… go and sip tea with my uncle or something.”

Y/N stayed silent and then nodded, walking away quickly. She was holding onto her wrist. She did indeed go and drink tea with Zukos uncle. He was a good man. Zuko was out on the deck of the ship for a few more hours. His mind was filled with thoughts of Y/N at this point though.

He took a seat on the side of the ship where there was a small spot to sit. He looked down at his hands. They were shaking. Zuko thought back to the way he talked to Y/N earlier and he dropped his head into his hands. Total guilt.

Zuko thought back to what had been said. He thought of the quiet insults that he had muttered afterwards. Then he thought of the pained look on her face. He had no clue what had happened to make her look that way.

A few short moments later, Zuko left his seat and walked over to where he knew that she would likely be. He knocked lightly on the door before going in. It only took a few seconds for his eyes to land on her. She was sitting on a small couch, her knees pulled up to her chest and a book rested in her hands.

“Y/N?” Zuko said her name cautiously as he walked over to her. She glanced up and gave him a small smile. “Hey, I’m sorry about earlier.” His voice was quieter than normal.

“Hm? Oh, no. I understand. Its fine.”

“Come on, Y/N. I’m sorry,” he kneeled in front of her and took the book from her hands. Zuko set it aside and then held onto her hands. She pulled her hands away. Zuko frowned. “I didn’t mean to yell. I was just frustrated.”

“I know, Zuko. Its fine,” she said again and gave him another smile. He could see that she was partially lying and it pained him. His hand moved slightly and pushed up her sleeve. After she had left Zuko alone, she had put on a sweater. He looked at her wrist, then up at her.

“Did I do that, baby?” Zuko asked, mortified at the burn mark that spread from the start of her wrist to the middle of her forearm. She pulled her arm away.

“Yeah. Its nothing though. I’m fine. Stop asking.” She yanked her hand away, unhappy with his pestering. He nodded.

“Come on. Please?” he begged for her forgiveness. Y/N sighed and then reached out with her non burnt hand and then touched his cheek. She gave him a smile. A bigger smile than before. “Is that a yes, love?”

“Of course. Its not like I can stay mad at you,” she gave him a kiss on the forehead. He nodded and then stood up. He put out his hand for her, she took it. Zuko brought her to his quarters where he did his best to bandage her wound. He was no medic. “You know its not that big of a deal, right?” Y/N asked as she looked at him. He was standing between her legs as she was sitting on his bed. He was very focused.

“I feel bad,” he muttered. He brought her newly bandages wrist to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to the middle. She laughed.

The next day, Zuko was back doing his practices with his aim. Y/N was sitting at the side, silently watching him. When she noticed that his anger was getting to him again, she stood up and walked to him.

“Calm down, love. Come on, sit with me for a minute?” Y/N asked, lightly touching his arm again. His fingers flexed, but this time he nodded and lowered his hands. They sat together, her head resting on his shoulder. Next time he tried, he got it down.

[muffinlance]

Baby Zuko (13 year old) being babysat by the Gaang straight after rescue (kidnapping) off the Wani?

Going with “only Zuko is aged down” and, to avoid just writing Little Zuko v the World again, “instead of Uncle Iroh, he sails out under the auspices of Uncle Zhao <3”

- - -

Fire Nation jail cells were everything Sokka ever imagined, if by ‘imagined’ he meant ‘had nightmares of’. And it was really inappropriate, and not a thought he’d ever share with Katara, but the longer they were down here the more his thoughts kept roaming back around to I’m glad mom was never in one of these.

There was rust, but not in any strategically important, make-it-easier-to-break-out places. Water dripping, but not in his cell where he would have been getting really close to wanting to lick it off a wall. Guards, but at the far end of the cell block, where they refused to interact with his witty banter and/or attempts to lure them into grappling-through-the-bars range. The only one who ever got close enough to grab was the tiny semi-feverish child who, given the huge fresh sorta oozy burn wound over half his face, Sokka was going to go ahead and classify as not the best hostage material. 

Unlike the son of Chief Hakoda, his waterbending daughter, and—

“How’s Appa?” Aang, who was another tiny child, who was the Avatar, who was arguably the reason Sokka and his little sister were in this mess but Sokka was still wrapping his head around the Avatar part, said. Said after wooshing towards the bars, and then wooshing again in a way that made him not hit the bars, and then he was holding them and leaning as far as he could through which was almost but not quite enough for him to slip through entirely.

“Fine,” the kid who’d gotten on the bad side of his own country croaked. Sokka did not get the impression he was allowed to talk much, outside of the prisoner block. The kid’s face was twisted into even more of a scowl than just the burned-on one. “He’s too fast for the catapult operators. Zhao said he’s going to keelhaul them if they keep missing, but when I yelled at him about it—”

The kid stopped mid-sentence in that sort of horrifying way he did sometimes. And then he set down his tray and gave them all their slop, which they got once a day, and which contained all the water they were getting, too. Something about Katara’s extremely ineffective waterbending had the big bad Fire Nation spooked. 

“Thank you,” his little sister said, her own voice a rasp-croak that pained Sokka a lot more than the random Fire Nation brat’s. 

The kid scowled harder, which was his general reaction to any gratitude from them. 

“So,” Sokka croaked his own croak. “About helping us with that escape…”

“I’M NOT,” the kid shouted, and then the guards turned to look at them all, and then he hunched in on himself and re-evaluated his volume decisions. “I’m not helping you escape.”

“Why not?” asked Aang, bless him.

“Because,” the kid said, which is usually as much of a reply as they get before he stormed off. But today he added, even if it was really hard to hear: “Because I want to go home.”

“So,” Sokka said, “did you get that on the ship or at home?” And he waved at his own face, like the subtle genius he was. 

Ah. There was the storming away.

“You forgot our bowls!” Sokka called after him.

“Keep them,” the kid shouted back, and left Sokka alone with a metal spoon and a Fire Nation lock.

- - - 

The lock was a bad idea, actually. It would have taken way too long to file the spoon down against the floor so it would fit, not to mention made way too much noise. Also: Sokka did not actually know how to pick a lock.

The screw slots on the hinges, on the other hand…

- - -

“What?” the kid got out, all sleepy-confused, before Sokka was shoving a literal sock in his mouth and tossing him over a shoulder and running as quickly and quietly as he could with a very angry sack of potatoes bouncing on his back. 

“Go go go go,” Sokka said, as he vaulted the rail into the saddle waiting below.

“Yip yip!” said Aang.

The catapult didn’t even come close to hitting them, in the darkness. Sokka kind of really felt bad for the operator team and their future date with the hull, but there was only so much saddle space, and there was an upper age limit on the Fire Nation soldiers he was willing to pardon no-questions-asked.

“Let me go!” shouted their squirmy new friend, as Katara held him around the middle, because otherwise he’d have thrown himself into the ocean an alarming number of times by now. 

“Nu-huh,” Sokka said, patting the kid’s angry little head, right on its ridiculous little ponytail. Which was nothing at all like his own extremely masculine wolf tail. “You’re our prisoner. Relax, and enjoy the improved living conditions.”

“My father isn’t going to pay for me,” the kid said back, with a glower. 

“...Please, please don’t tell me that Zhao guy was your dad.”

“What? No,” the kid said. 

And then he opened his mouth again, and Sokka’s world got both way more complicated and way more simple.

[captain-azoren]

Zuko doesn't hate Azula because she abused him. She isn't his abuser, Ozai is, and Zuko has never been scared of her or been reduced to tears by her, no matter how mean she's been to him. Hell, if she really WAS his abuser, she would have actually tormented him while he was back in the Fire Nation instead of being as chill with her brother as she was.

No, Zuko hates Azula out of envy. He always has and he still does to an extent. Zuko indicates as much when he compares Aang to Azula while he has him in Siege of the North.

"You're like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a firebending protege, and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky; he says I was lucky to be born. I need don't need luck, though. I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight, and that's made me strong. That's made me who I am."

Notice he doesn't talk about how cruel she was towards him. Zuko covets the strength, the skill, the adoration, and the "love" from Ozai that Azula has. He believes it's unfair how she was lucky to be born a prodigy and how it all comes easy to her while he is made to struggle and suffer because he wasn't born so lucky. Zuko copes by telling himself that his struggle gives him a strength Azula doesn't have, without ever considering she may have her own struggles.

Even after he defects and rejects Ozai, Zuko can't help but resent Azula for being stronger than him, and instead of getting over those feelings, he looks forward to finally overcoming his sister who had always been the superior bender.

What's more, Iroh gets Zuko to learn lightning redirection by telling him it's something Azula doesn't know how to do, so there's that.

As much abuse as Zuko has been through because of Ozai, his anger and hatred towards Azula ultimately is for negative and misguided reasons which, unfortunately, I don't think Bryke or the show in general actually realize are toxic. Zuko is a victim, but he still has a victim complex and an inferiority complex that, while understandable, isn't excusable, yet the show ends up vindicating this toxic behavior anyway.

Zuko isn't some poor little baby that was tortured by his mean, cruel sister. He was a competitive hothead who was pitted against his sister by their abusive father and became bitter and angry when he could never get the better of her. It's not his fault, it's not her fault, but he isn't her victim in this scenario, and his hatred towards Azula is not justifiable the way it should be towards Ozai. What he actually hates her for isn't for any act of malice towards him, but for what she is and what she has.

Not to say Azula makes it easy. She's unapologetic about being superior and will rub Zuko's face in it, but Ozai made them rivals, and if Zuko insisted on fighting her and being her enemy every step of the way then she has little reason to pull her punches. I don't believe Azula was smug about being better than Zuko if he wasn't also as confrontational and belligerent as he is, always trying to prove himself better than her out if spite.

When Zuko finally has all that he thinks he wants in the first half of Book 3, when they aren't enemies, they actually get along.

[the-air-nomad]

Saw that requests were open and was wondering if you could do a yandere Katara x Aang prompt. I like the idea of Katara being really possessive with Aang.

Aang is 21 years old and Katara is 23 years old

After the kiss in Ba Sing Se, Katara and Aang's relationship had progressed very quickly. Katara absolutely adored Aang but his fans exasperated her to the point where she wondered if Aang would still love her if she killed a few stupid girls. During that year she had received a series of insults that had made her lose her cool and take out her temper on poor Aang. Of course, she knew she was older than Aang, but there was only a 2 year difference! That didn't make her too old for him! The worst part was that Aang just chose to ignore them and made no move to really reject them. Katara sometimes thought he liked all the attention he was getting. That led to tonight's argument. Katara and Aang had to attend a party organized by King Kuei. Everything was perfect until a noble girl, who had more paint on her face than they had on the walls of their guest room from Katara's point of view, decided to make advances on Aang right in front of her. The girl, named Gye Shen, had come to their table and started thanking Aang for everything he had done for the world while running her fingers over his chest. Katara had started giving them death glares. Seeing his girlfriend's condition, Aang tried to get away from Gye but fell off the chair and landed on the floor. Gye pretended to help him only to stumble, with the courtesy and talent of an Ember Island actor, and land on top of him. Katara angrily stood up and pulled Gye off her boyfriend by pulling her hair. The girl started screaming and crying and people started looking at them. Aang stood up and tried to calm the noble but Katara got even more angry. She punched her boyfriend in the face and left, starting to cry.

Aang was stuck for a moment and then left to find his girlfriend. Now he had actually committed it! He frantically searched for her for half an hour. He had already started to lose his mind. If she had suffered something bad? He returned to the ballroom and started looking for her there as well. Maybe she had calmed down and turned to look for him. Suddenly the king of Kuei put his hand on his shoulder making him jump and turn around. But when he noticed that Katara had not come to him, he was disappointed.

Kuei : How is Master Katara feeling?

Aang: She's angry, I think. But why are you asking?

Kuei: Bosco and I found her vomiting in the garden, so we asked the guards to accompany her to the royal doctor's office.

Aang quickly flew to the doctor's office, more worried than ever. Katara had a very good immunity, she hadn't gotten sick since the storm! As soon as he arrived at his destination, he went inside, slamming the door. The doctor looked at him angrily but then put on a professional mask. Aang ignored him completely and went to the bed where Katara was sitting.

Aang: Katara, are you okay?

Katara: Oh! Now you care about how I feel?!

Aang: I'm sorry! You know I don't care about that girl! The only girl I care about is you my dear! Please forgive me!

Katara: then prove it! I swear on my mother's necklace that if you get close to another girl, you won't see us again!

Aang: us?

Katara: yes Aang, us. I was planning to tell you after the party.

Katara gently places her hand on her stomach. Aang's breathing stops and tears begin to flow freely. He takes Katara in bridal style and starts spinning with her, making watery giggles.He puts her down gently and sits on his knees in front of her, resting his head on her belly.

Aang: This is the best day of my entire life! We will be parents! We will create a new life! It's magical!

Katara sighs and strokes his head.

Katara: maybe now that we're having a baby, those desperate little girls will give up their cheap seduction tactics.

Aang: who cares! Katara, we're going to have a baby! Stay! we will have a child and we are not married! Sokka is going to kill me!

Aang pulls out a beautifully crafted bracelet and rubs the back of his head suddenly shyly.

Aang: To be honest, I was waiting for the perfect moment to propose. I know it's not a necklace, but I thought you wanted to keep your mother's. I made it and I hope you will like it! So, do you want to be my girl forever?

Katara: only if you want to be my boy forever!

Aang: I couldn't dream of anything else.

I think I wrote a little too much and that Katara is not exactly what you wanted, but I hope you will like it.

Although I do not own the characters from avatar the last airbender, this work belongs to me! I sincerely hope you liked it. please rate it and leave a comment! follow me to see my next posts! Don’t forget that the request are open💖💖💨 

You can buy me a coffe if you want:  buymeacoffee.com/TheAirNomad

[ssreeder]

How I believe random cryptic references with Sokka™ will go:

"Sticks can be a powerful weapon."

Or

"We should sleep in the trees."

Or

Katara: "You don't find cleaning Appa's feet disgusting anymore?"

Sokka: "Nothing compared to guts, I'll survive it."

Katara: "What?"

Sokka: "What?"

Or

Sokka: "Oh, this place reminds me of the time I was hiding under the floorboards with a half dead Zuko."

Or

*people wondering why Sokka and Zuko know how to steal from angry rhino mothers*

Or

Sokka standing over two dead FN soldiers: "Works even better without the sneezing!"

Or

Katara: "Sokka, I'm sure we can trust that earth kingdom girl, she seems nice!"

Sokka: "No, she looks like a traitor."

Or

"I can't believe I still have my shoes, it's been a week!"

Or

*after a nightly escape*

"This was faster than expected, and we didn't even have to carry anyone."

Or

Aang: "Aww those baby rhinos look so cute, they'd make adorable pets!"

Sokka: "Oh absolutely not."

[maikingsenseofit]

On Mai and the cracks in her facade with Azula

Hello lovely Maikos and Mai enjoyers! Today I saw a post come up in my dash about Mai and her fear of Azula - which seems to be quite a contentious topic in the tags I search.

Fundamentally I agree with one poster that said: Mai might not be necessarily afraid of Azula, but Azula exerts fear and manipulation to control her and Ty Lee. There is a distinction between the two - especially considering the power dynamic between Princess Azula and her friends who essentially act as minions. And Mai knows that she must comply with Azula’s orders otherwise she will face the consequences. The consequences being death at worst or spending the rest of your life rotting away in prison at best. Whether this is due to Azula’s position or an outcome of betraying the ruler (or to be ruler) of the fire nation - the consequences remain the same.

Which is why I don’t understand the argument that because Mai wasn’t afraid of Azula - her line and her actions in the Boiling Rock don’t have much weight. Because when she says “I love Zuko more than I fear you” this is directly after Azula says “My question is why? Why would you do this? You know the consequences. So Mai, despite knowing that betraying Azula means death or life in prison - chooses to do so out of her love of Zuko. Mai’s character arc is partially about overcoming her fear from Azula or abuse from her parents, (although I don’t understand why it’s so contentious). But It’s also overcoming her apathy and her willingness to let someone choose decide her fate for her.

I’m not that much of a wordsmith so I will quote from this author’s brilliant meta on what that means:

Mai decides that who she loves is more important than what Azula wants. Ty Lee decides that what she wants, for Mai to be safe, is more important than what Azula wants. These two spent most of the series under Azula’s thumb, having their insecurities and fatal flaws exploited and pushed to do things they didn’t want to do to make Azula happy. But they overcame their internal struggles and get to chose love in the end.  -nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice

And she was willing to die for that. But the point of todays meta is to address a post that came up in my dashboard:

i’ve seen the argument that mai only dares to do this when azula isn’t around, but then why doesn’t she exercise this agency in other cases where azula can’t see what she’s doing? why not show a flicker of worry for her brother when fighting katara and sokka (while azula is occupied with aang)? why not look down, momentarily tensed, when ty lee teases her about zuko, and azula isn’t even looking in her direction? why not show compassion for the people of ba sing se?

if mai is apathetic and repressed as a result of trauma, or she’s putting it on due to a fear of azula, then show us that this is her response, and not the real her. show us the cracks in the facade. show us the choices she makes when she has the freedom to choose. -burstofiridescent

And what better than to demonstrate this visually?

Mai showing that even though she is following Azula’s orders - she does not agree with this and is forced to oblige Azula in leaving Zuko while they are on their date.

Mai showing that she’s visibly upset and uncomfortable with the trade - she isn’t happily complying with Azula’s orders about her baby brother. She’s even shown as angry - but is forced to listen to Azula, which is why she conspicuously uses “Princess Azula” - referring to her title for the first time. But of course, Azula doesn’t notice this.

Mai and Ty Lee when they first hear about the hostage situation. As you can see, “Mai’s usually stoic face has turned into a frown. Ty Lee, expresses visible concern that her friend is going to lead a dangerous transaction” -avatarsymbolism

A brilliant example of a crack in Mai’s facade. And a couple more things - when Mai doesn’t follow Azula’s orders - when Azula isn’t there - it still doesn’t mean she’s not afraid of the consequences of someone telling Azula what happened. But remember that Ty Lee is the only other person to witness Mai’s acts of defiance. And Mai knows Ty Lee wouldn’t tell Azula. Her fear of Azula doesn’t outweigh betraying her friend.And Ty Lee and Mai have been proven to be friends. They trust each other and bond over companionship whilst being bound to Azula. Which is why it’s so much more poignant when both Mai and Ty Lee finally take a stand against Azula.

The only other time where Mai defies Azula is at the Beach - where everyone was emotionally vulnerable but also Zuko is there.

The point of this meta isn’t to make an explicit judgment about whether or not Mai was truly afraid of Azula herself. But Mai is definitely shown complying to Azula’s wishes out of a fear and acknowledgment of the consequences of betraying her.

We truly do see Mai’s apathy being established as an outcome her relationship with her parents and Azula. The real Mai, the cracks in the facade, are shown throughout the cartoon in small but poignant ways. She sees how Mai acts when she is outside of Azula’s clutches and the only person to witness it is her actual friend Ty Lee. Apathy and repressing herself are coping mechanisms Mai had to adopt.

And while mai wasn’t forced into joining Azula because let’s face it she was bored and needed an escape from Omashu - she knew of the consequences of backing out/failing to comply with Azula’s wishes once she had joined. Azula demonstrates the additional leverage she has over Mai by making her focal to the hostage situation. That Mai’s needs are always below Azula’s wants. But there is a tangible distinction between how Mai acts on her own volition and how Mai acts when she’s in Azula’s presence and has to oblige her wishes.

Thank you @warriorfaeriequeen for inspiring this!

[flameohotwife]

2022 Writing Year in Review

Yeah, I know it's 2023 already. I'm just now finding a smidge of time to get to the asks/ask games/etc. that I've gotten bc the holidays have been so busy. Thank you @benwvatt and @chocomd for the tag!

1. Number of stories posted to Ao3: 13! one of those was started in 2021 though with the last chapter of it posted in 2022, so 12 fics (+ one chapter) written entirely in 2022

2. Word count this year: 105,816 according to ao3

3. Fandoms I wrote for: Avatar: The Last Airbender/Avatar: Legend of Korra (which I tag most of my adult kataang stories as, especially if they include cloud-babies or spice, to be safe, even though I know it is between the two series. But tagging adult kataang as only AtLA seems to invite the pedo-accusations, despite the fact that we KNOW Aang and Katara grew up and had babies together which means they did the deed at least a few times, but ya know... that's a rant for another day.)

4. Pairings: Aang/Katara

5. Stories with the most:

Kudos: Unspoken, Undeniable (rated T)

Bookmarks: Growing Pains (rated E)

Comment threads: UU and then GP, because they are both multi-chap stories. After that, though, it was Free as the Wind (rated T) which is still *technically* 2 chapters although I only decided to split it in two at the last minute since it was so long for ease of reading. It is more of a one-shot in my head still.

Word count: UU, definitely, at 44,409 (51,354 if you include the epilogue)

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): Probably UU, because it was the first ever intentional multi-chap that I planned out, wrote out, and finished, all in the span of this year!

7.   Work I’m least proud of (and why): Probably Silence and Sparrowkeets (rated T). I wrote it for kataang week theme quiet moments/healing, and while I still do like a lot of elements of the story that I incorporated, it just falls a little flat for me for some reason.

8.   Share or describe a favorite review you received: Some of my favorite reviews this year have been from @kataangisforlovers and @chocomd, because they always manage to see the underlying themes I'm pulling in or the things about the AtLA world that I'm trying to expose (often having to do with canon racism). I cannot express how much I have valued their input, both on ao3 comments and behind the scenes.

9.   A time when writing was really, really hard: omg, so many times. I have had a harder time separating from my daily life stressors in order to immerse myself in my writing. Part of that has been guilt over what I *could* be accomplishing instead of writing. And I have been more productive irl. There were also a few times where fandom drama really felt like it was imploding and I wasn't sure I *wanted* to write anymore. And interaction has definitely been lower this year. Overall though I still have things to say about kataang and their relationship and their family and Aang and Katara as individuals with a lot of trauma, so I keep writing when I can.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: Absolutely hands down the entire second chapter of Free as the Wind. I've said it before, but I did not ever want to go there as an author. It's been done so many times and there are too many cultural elements that I was afraid of misusing or appropriating or being accidentally insensitive about. So I did NOT want to write that ever ever ever. But once I started with the "sneaking off" prompt, thinking it was going to be a sweet and probably a little spicy little one-shot, the characters took me in an entirely different direction and I wound up writing myself into a corner where that was the only way out. I'm still half waiting for an angry comment or dm one day, telling me how I messed it up.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:  It's long, but I love this mashup of dialogue and introspection from chapter 5 of UU:

“I could sense them still looking at us,” he explained in a whisper. He turned them out of the palace walkway and they continued down the streets of the Inner Ring and out towards their home. “I’m sorry if that was too much, I just wanted…”

“No, it wasn’t too much at all,” she interrupted, trying desperately to quell… whatever it was that was making her body tingle and her heart race and her mind spin. She felt her heart dropping down to the soles of her feet at the realization that this was all for the press. You need to get your feelings back under control, she scolded herself. This was pretend and you know it. “I didn’t realize they were still watching us—good catch.”

“Earthbending,” he said simply and shrugged.

“I know,” she said, feeling incredibly awkward. How was she going to go back to being just his friend when they were alone, now? To go back to not expecting him to kiss her hair or wrap his arm around her or press his body so deliciously against hers… 

They finished their walk back to the house in silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was different. She wasn’t sure where they stood or what he was thinking, and she was afraid to ask. He walked her to her door, and things started to feel almost normal again when he leaned down for a hug. “Thanks again, Katara. For everything,” he murmured in her ear. She shivered.

“Anytime, Aang. Goodnight,” she said as she walked into her room and closed the door. She exhaled heavily and pressed her forehead against the ornate wood, not knowing that Aang was doing the exact same thing on the other side.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year: I think I learned to show more, and to be more descriptive of the scenery and surroundings. I'm still working on it, but I think I did better than last year!

13. How do you hope to grow next year: I hope to be able to add more metaphor, symbolism, and overall meaning into said descriptions. I am also hoping to branch out and write out of my comfort zone a bit (maybe something that is not kataang/aang/katara centric? Maybe original fiction? WHO KNOWS). I was hoping to use fic-writing to kind of run the rust off the rails of my writing skills and get back to writing original fiction or creative non-fiction, which had been my life's dream and something I studied for a bit in school, but that takes a kind of bravery and vulnerability I'm not sure I have in me, yet.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

@coyotelemon was my beta for UU and absolutely pushed me to grow in ways I could not have without her help. The number of times she had to write "PAINT MOAR" in the comments of my googledoc because I had completely left out the details, and the number of ideas she came up with when I was stuck show the sheer impact she had on this work, and I could not have done it without her <3

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: Absolutely. Ties That Bind (rated G), my Katara Week piece for the prompt "Katara and her family" included a lot of elements of parenting and connecting with family that I have experienced in my own life. But pieces of my life show up in all areas of my writing.

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: I don't think I have any *new* wisdom. Just keep reading, keep writing, and keep experimenting with those elements you love from your favorite stories. Don't be afraid to research and take risks. And find your people who will help you and cheer you on when you're feeling discouraged.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: I'd really like to write that kataang/cloud-babies mixed race fic. I have bits and pieces, but as I've stated before what's really holding me back is research. Fingers crossed!

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read: I know it's 2023 now, but if you're so inclined... @coyotelemon, @shameaboutthedilettantism, @anervoussapphic, @itsmoonpeaches, @juicypersimmon, @cats-and-metersticks, @northerngoshawk... or anyone else who wants to do it!

[mapsareforbraindeads]

Yo!! Prepare for a Saeko infodump.

So, Saeko is the second oldest kid, definitely the smartest, and absolutely L’s fave. Misa’s favorite is [obviously] Loe, but L basically treats Saeko like he’s an only child 🧍‍♀️.

Also, Saeko knows sign language but he has hearing aids! He’s deaf if I didn’t mention that, lolz.

As for him being the smartest kid and most similar in resemblance to L, he’s also very awkward. Not good at conversation at all, and he gets bullied a lot. And Misuyo would always be the one to beat up the bullies. Between the kids, Misuyo was the fighter for sure.

Saeko’s interests include but are not limited to: pharmacology [WOO! He’s a pharmacology baby and his sister is a toxicology baby!! It’s like the two halves fit together or smth], biology, and history. He’s a major nerd, and if you don’t stop him, he’ll infodump about anything. He’s very nice in general though.

Oh, and he’s pan just like his mother! But his love interest, if he has one, will be a self interest of me. Not sorry :(.

He’s also very clumsy bro. But in a cute way. I love him so much…

—-

Random HC BUT-

He met someone once and the person stuck their hand out for a handshake and he didn’t know what to do so he dapped the person up. Keiko has it on video.

—

Oh, yeah! Here’s Saeko’s relationship with each of his siblings:

Misuyo: They’re good w/ each other. Misuyo beats up anybody who messes with Saeko, and Misuyo gives Saeko life advice [mostly just advice on how to fix his rizz, yeah, Misuyo probably called himself the “Rizzard of Oz” at one point. I know it’s cringe, that’s why it’s funny.] Saeko probably tutored Misuyo in like.. every subject, at one point.

Keiko: These two!! Keiko spends a lot of time teasing Saeko and laughing at him. Keiko actually joined in on the bullying Saeko went through because she wanted to fit in, once actually. They made up, though, but Keiko is still a bit rude to Saeko sometimes. Keiko is rude to everyone doe.

Loe: Pretty alright. They don’t talk much, but since they have shared interests, they mess around with literal poison a lot. Saeko is probably the only one in the family who has ever agreed to doing matching cosplay with Loe, actually. Wait… Yeah, they were Junko and Mukuro for Halloween once. They just look it, they look it so much.

Chō and Minato, I’ll put in one category: Saeko doesn’t have much shared interest with them, or much of a dynamic with them, but sometimes, late at night, Saeko tells them stories about what life was like when Misuyo was alive. It just makes Minato angry that she never got to meet Misuyo, but Chō appreciated it a bit more.

—-

That’s all I have for rn… If you have any hcs for them, just tell me broski… <3

first of all, THANK YOU FOR THE SAEKO DUMP! i love him sm!! now, thoughts.

the Angst that happened with loe combined with the fact that you mentioned that she and saeko probably played around with poisons… i can only IMAGINE how saeko could’ve blamed himself for what happened.

his dynamic with keiko is also super interesting to me! it seems like the most “stereotypical” sibling dynamic between all of them so far, but that just has me more interested, honestly.

and as always, i’m thinking about saeko’s relationship with L. every time i think about the favoritism, i imagine it similarly to aang and tenzin in legend of korra, just not as blatant and a bit more subtle.

NOW, i have a prompt for you this time. do the lawmane kids ever meet the successors?? if so, what are some of their dynamics? i’m currently thinking about saeko and near interacting and i may be a bit obsessed. also if you’ve made picrews of them, please share them with me 🙏🙏🙏

[thousandyearphantombunker]

What the hell did people want Steven to do? Kill the diamonds? Yeah sure bro that's a great idea hey um what happens after he kills the pseudo religious being of godlike power? The issues on home world are systemic and run deep killing the diamonds would be horrible idea- yes they are dictators but you can't fix the issues fascism causes by just killing the leader and in some cases you make everything worse, i might not buy whites redemption (she went from genuinely terrifying matriarch and cruel to a blushy 'i must atone mess?) but steven was not a selfish idiot who forgives other people's abusers on their behalf, if another war started earth would be screwed, the solution to the problem wasn't as simple as kill the bad guy- to everyone who complains that diamonds will just start killing again- steven is taking active effort to make sure that never happens! I get why people are angry the diamonds get away with abusing pink, being dictators and still have power in home world- it feels like a major injustice but the bigger picture flat out shows that steven isn't being selfish for maintaining his moral purity (and even if he was I would defend him, the same way i do with aang and batman). While I have my complaints about the ending (mainly how white diamond was written) and hate how pink went from morally grey/questionable to evil hate sink, the fact that the secondary crystal gems, and lars and the off colors were basically irrelevant in the finale, but I will fight anyone who says the only way to solve complicated issues in the world is to 'kill the bad guys!' and that when fighting against racism or abusers or fascists etc the only correct way to deal with the problem is kill the people who are racist or abusive or fascist- some of you people are so focused on 'justice' or 'fairness' that you neglect everything's else like if I applied your logic to the real world we could just forget things like protecting basic rights or fixing systemic elements of social injustice etc, I genuinely hate the diamonds (especially white) and the og shows finale as a whole but steven is not an abuse apologist- he's a diplomat who uses violence as a last resort, there is a ton of other issues with su but God can we look at the ending with nuance? It sucked ass with the pacing and the fusion designs were pretty bad but it wasn't endorsing abuse apologism- Steven was focused on the bigger picture while I have my issues with him as a character sometimes I can say he was being noble here and was not a whiny piss baby, pussyfooting around something he 'needed' to do. The show was never about good killing evil and our 'moral duty' to do so, it was a show with anti war messages with a few botched aesops and wonky art, there's actual shit to complain about with steven universe but Everytime I hear all the comments about how toh made up for steven universe's sins or about how batman and aang are selfish etc it drives me insane,like I could point out so many unfortunate implications in su that are actually bad but y'all focus on the least problematic shit in the show and accuse of Rebecca Sugar a bisexual jew married to a black man of being a nazi apologist! You claim toh made up for the sins of Steven universe and laugh at the 'jab' the show made at Steven universe but there's a few things that don't hold up Dana is friends with Sugar (it is definitely not a jab) and the shows while they have similarities should not be compared, they are fundamentally different shows, like the stuff they do have in common (developing several characters that end up having no real effect on the finale or plot, badly written main antagonists etc) still don't justify the comparison yes they are filled to the brim with lgbt characters and are fantasy shows but one is magical girl/boy space opera about self love the other is a dark fantasy comedy that is about inclusion and coping with disabilities/trauma and while they have overlap they are not the same.

[atla-fandom-confessions]

ok here’s my sokka is Izumi’s father theory (which is entirely made up and has almost no basis in canon):

• Zuko goes to visit the sun earth kingdom but his airship disappears in a storm and doesn’t reach its destination

• his friends search everywhere for him but only find the wreckage of the airship drifting out on the open ocean

• everyone mourns Zuko, including his widow Mai and best friend Sokka, but they realize they can’t tell anyone yet because the fire nation will collapse into chaos if it gets out that the Fire lord is dead and a new war might even start

• Iroh goes to look for Azula who is off living her best post-therapy life in the earth kingdom but she’s not easy to find

• meanwhile it’s getting harder to play Weekend at Bernie’s with Zuko when they don’t even have his body so Sokka proposes to Mai that she fake being pregnant so that when Zuko’s death becomes public, they’ll still be able to prevent a revolution since there’s an heir to the throne on the way

• Mai tells him that things aren’t going to be that easy because the Fire Sages will want to perform rituals and stuff while she’s supposedly pregnant and they’ll catch on quickly that she’s lying

• it becomes obvious that Mai has to actually be pregnant for the plan to work which makes things a little awkward and angsty

• through process of elimination she and Sokka decide that he is the only option because Aang is off looking for Azula with Iroh and they can’t risk bringing another person in on their plan

• also since Sokka is a nonbender the odds of the baby being a firebender is higher than it would be if Aang (or Haru) were the father, but since he’s water tribe they might be doomed as soon as the baby arrives so the plan is only buying about nine months of time

• with no other options they decide to go through with it and sleep together

• it’s really awkward obviously but they’ve been growing closer emotionally since Zuko’s death and they both feel guilty for enjoying their night together

• for the sake of thoroughness they try for a month and the awkwardness goes away and their feelings for each other start to come out

• one night Sokka tells Mai that he thinks he’s a terrible friend because even though he’s heartbroken over Zuko’s death, he doesn’t regret that the two of them have gotten closer

• Mai reveals that she found out she was pregnant a few weeks ago and kisses him and their relationship stops becoming purely practical

• Sokka stays close to her throughout the pregnancy and everyone outside of the gaang thinks that he’s just being extra supportive to his best friend’s widow

• (which he is…but he’s also sleeping with her and sound everything he would as the father)

• the baby comes eventually and Sokka arranges an escape plan for himself and Mai and the baby because once someone notices that the baby has water tribe features, they’ll be in huge trouble

• the baby comes out resembling her mother almost entirely with fair skin and golden eyes…everyone assumes that she is Zuko’s daughter, even though the Fire Sages say that she’s not a firebender

• Sokka and Mai are trying to decide if they should stay now and pretend Izumi is the rightful Firelord because Azula has refused to take the throne even as regent

• suddenly Zuko shows up out of nowhere and reveals that he was shipwrecked at an air temple and stayed there for months to learn how to unlock his chakras from Guru Pathik so he could finally bend lightning

• Sokka and Mai are shocked and angry at him but they don’t see any other choice besides letting things return to their natural course…and they have to pretend that nothing happened between them at all which is the hardest part

• Zuko is overjoyed that he has a daughter and Mai goes back to being Zuko’s Fire Lady, forcing herself to become the stoic and dutiful noble woman she used to be as a little girl especially because now that Zuko has unlocked his chakras, he’s more aloof than before

• Sokka tries to talk to her but she tells him that they have to move on with their lives and he reluctantly agrees and leaves the Fire Nation

• he and Mai never speak of it ever again, and Mai keeps the truth from Zuko because she knows he’d treat Izumi differently and probably hate her and Sokka too…also she’s still mad at him for staying at the air temple for so long without telling her

• ten years pass and Sokka gets married and has his own family while Mai tries to take her own advice by finding small joys in her life as Fire Lady, most of which are with Izumi

• one day Mai finds her daughter crying by the turtleduck pond and asks what’s wrong and why she isn’t with her tutor

• Izumi wants to know about her father and Mai tells her that Zuko is currently in his office

• Izumi gets angry for a second and yells at her mom to stop lying and tell the truth for once, then she bends some of the water in the pond and demands to know who/where her “real” father is

• Mai explains what happened and tells Izumi that she’s sorry but no one can never know

• years later, Sokka comes to visit and Izumi notices the way that he looks wistfully at her and Mai and decides to keep the secret too

x

[ialmostdos]

[avrelia]

Airbending and death of cultures

I keep going back to thinking about airbending and Air Nomads in the Avatar: The Last Airbender, and it’s subsequent stories in the Universe. There was a post that stipulated that the absence of other airbenders and information of Air Nomads in AtLA was the sign of bad writing. Which really made me angry, because – how are you even watching if you misinterpret the show so profoundly? Little kids, the show’s main audience, understand what “the last airbender” means, but not adults.

Could some Air Nomads survive? Should they have survived in the story? What their survival would mean for the world and the story? Was Aang lazy in not looking for them? Were the authors lazy?

We confuse survival of persons with the survival of the culture. The people are people – actual human beings, young and old. The culture is comprised with the language, all the beliefs and habits and everyday things, and games and superstitions, and references and songs and jokes, and anecdotes, and spiritual practices, etc… And while a single person is easier to kill, a culture could be killed just as efficiently while there are thriving genetic descendants of the people who carried this culture. There are no statistics of dead cultures, but there are statistics of dead languages – some languages even have a marked time of death – the date of death of the last person who spoke it.

But is airbending a genetic trait, same as a color of skin and eyes or more like a language? Well, we have no confirmation, actually, that it is indeed genetic, or, it being a different world, the laws of genetic inheritance work slightly differently. We have benders born in nonbender families, we have nonbenders born in bender families… It definitely has more to do with the qualities of energy, chi – that allowed Ty Lee’s chi-blocking technique to stop bending for a short time, and energy bending to turn off it completely. And it also has to do with culture and spirituality – otherwise Katara would not be the last waterbender left in her Tribe. Fire Nation was taking away adult waterbenders, but didn’t seem to check for their descendants to assure elimination of waterbending genes, therefore they (almost) successfully killed off the waterbending culture, and while that didn’t prevent baby waterbenders from being born, it had prevented them from developing their talent – we saw it in the very first episode, with Katara. Still, the culture of South Water Tribe survived, but maybe in a couple of generations of culling off all the waterbenders, there would be no waterbenders being born, either.

I said it before, but will repeat myself here: I believe some airbenders survived the initial attack. It is really the only logical conclusion. But then, there were other attacks – since the goal was to kill the possible avatar, and everyone who might hide them. So the surviving airbenders became hunted refugees, whose only real survival tactics would be to hide that they are air nomads. And well, it is hard to keep the culture alive while hiding it from anyone. It is hard to keep your culture alive even if you are not hunted, but just living in a different dominant culture – ask any immigrant. It is much more plausible that the children of the surviving air nomads only had a vague idea about their origins, and grandchildren of the survivors had no clue they were anything but Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation nonbenders.

Could the airbender culture and airbending have survived? Yes, it could. We have many examples of cultures that survived against all odds.

Is it plausible that it didn’t survive? Yes, it is absolutely plausible. We have again many examples of cultures that didn’t survive, and we have only names and scant knowledge left of their existence. Or we have nothing left. Maybe some abandoned settlements, maybe strangely decorated bones… Maybe a couple of unusual pottery shards.

Cultures die.

And it was a deliberate choice from the creators to make it so. I mean, they called their story Avatar: the Last Airbender for a reason – and that reason was that they set out to explore the world where genocide happened and the culture died, and what it means for Aang to be the truly last one of his culture. He is the last one to remember life before the war, and what the world was with the Air Nomads in it. (ok, technically Bumi and Guru Pathik remember that, too, but they are tiny islands in the world that forgot about Air Nomads).

So yes, the information about Air Nomads is scarce, and it is not bad writing. We are meant to feel this scarcity, this loss, this abyss. That empty space created by the deliberate genocide. The pain and discomfort that the empty space causes. The dis-balance. That’s kind of the point: we are meant to feel the pain of this world that had seen so many people killed because other people decided they were too weak to live. That their culture and values were stupid and worthless. The Avatar is meant to keep the world in the balance, but how balance is even possible now? And another, maybe the scariest thought – is that the world forgot what it lost. The world is left to believe that it didn’t even need those values, anyway. So, having Air nomad survivors who are fine and who are airbending stealthily, while might be plausible is a totally different story. And it was a deliberate choice of the creators to tell the story they wanted to tell – where there is one person who can bend four elements and who is also a last person of his culture in a world torn by endless war.

Another moment – we see Aang’s memories in a couple of episodes, I think – Eastern Air Temple and the Storm, and in none of them airbenders are depicted as paragons of perfection, as shining beacons of enlightenment. The boys are mean, fearful, don’t want to play with Aang, not to mention, snotty. The elderly monks are full of self-importance, not wisdom. They are all just humans – no better and no worse than other random denizens of the Avatar world. (and Kyoshi novels build up on that very masterfully, showing in simple strokes Air Nomads as normal people, with specific set of values that could be used in good and bad ways).

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine seeing Ozai’s angels for the first time and being in awe

You’d joined the Avatar and his friends quite early on and had been with them ever since. They’d initially recruited you for protection as despite not being a bender you were a very skilled bodyguard and so you got roped into protecting the avatar. You usually took your job very seriously but sometimes things (or people) could distract you.

Meeting Number One: Ty lee

You’d all arrived at Omashu to see if King Bumi could be Aang’s earthbender teacher only to find the whole city had fallen to the fire nation. In your attempt to free all the citizens a fire nation baby had been separated from his parents and Aang arranged a trade. Bumi for the baby. You had your weapons within your grasp and were toying with them as you waited to see who you would be dealing with in this trade. You heard someone approaching and turned to see three beautiful women. You weren’t sure what you’d been expecting but this was certainly not it. The three walked up in formation and you just stared "wow". "What?" Sokka asked from beside you and you shrugged "nothing....just do you think all fire nation girls look like that?”. Sokka shrugged “I guess?”. “I really need to visit the fire nation then” you whistled and Sokka shook his head at you. Aang started talking and you eagerly watched hoping to find out more about this interesting trio. You soon found out the one on the right was a princess and the one in the middle was called Mai but the other one didn’t have a name yet. You thought they were all pretty cool and then when you saw them fight...you were speechless. The princess Azula went for Aang leaving you and Katara with Mai and the other girl. Katara called she’d deal with Mai and so you got the nameless pink lady. She sprang into action and you were very impressed at how quick and flexible she was. “Wow you’re amazing” you cried as she vaulted over you. The girl smiled slightly “thanks”. You blocked her attack but didn’t bother retaliating, you just wanted to see what she could do. She didn’t disappoint. Soon the girl gave you no other option but to react. You defended yourself keeping out of her way and soon found the pattern she fought in. Sensing the fight was rounding to a close you decided to find out more about her while you could. “So you got a name?” you asked. “Ty lee” she replied and you nodded “figures, pretty name for a pretty girl”. The girl smirked at you and you both jumped to hear Katara yell. Mai had successfully pinned her and was watching you two. “Ty lee what are you doing! Get her”. “I’m trying but she’s...interesting”. You smiled at the compliment and Mai sighed “fine i’ll do it”. You grinned as now both the girls fixed their attention on you before realising that was actually a bad thing. Mai raised her knives and you contemplated your life choices when suddenly Appa appeared and knocked them away from you. You rushed to free Katara and then hopped onto Appa’s back, leaving the trio of cool women behind you.

You managed to find Aang and escape but the trio had certainly left an impression. “Still want to move to the fire nation?” Sokka asked you and you nodded “without a doubt, they were the most interesting women i’ve ever seen!”. Katara turned at the pure excitement in your voice and raised an eyebrow “You’re not serious?”. In reply you just shrugged “hey don’t blame me! Angry powerful women are my weakness” you cried. Sokka nodded “that is true, remember in that fight against June? She was useless”. You smiled at the memory “she was so cool....” you stared off into space and the others all rolled their eyes. “Well be that as it may, you have to find a way to stay strong and ignore them, can you do that?” Katara asked. You nodded “yep, totally” but you weren’t sure.

Meeting Number Two: Azula

A few weeks later you’d recruited an earth bender to teach Aang and everything was going great...then a giant tank began chasing you. You were very fed up at the metal tank following you until it opened up and three women exited. “It’s Mai, Ty lee and Azula!” you cried and Katara looked at you “you know you could try to sound less excited when you say their names, they are trying to kill us”. You smirked “sorry?”. “Who?” Toph asked. “Mai, Ty lee and Azula” you grinned “okay so i’ll start with Ty lee, basically she’s this insanely beautiful acrobat who...”. “Maybe save this for later y/n” Sokka called and you nodded “yep good idea” and fled with the others.

The girls continued to pursue you and even you were losing your excitement at the idea. So when Aang decided to end it by confronting them you agreed. You accompanied Aang to an abandoned town to wait for them but they were taking a while. So, bored, you wandered onto the outskirts kicking rocks to pass the time.

You felt Azula before you saw her. You turned and locked eyes with the princess of the fire nation. “The princess Azula” you smiled “do I bow or is that too formal?”. “It wouldn’t hurt?” she shrugged before sending fire at your head. You dodged it with a laugh “not a talker huh?”. “Why would I waste my breath on the likes of you? A petty thief with no home or money, I do my research and you’re worthless”. Your smile didn’t even waver “awww you’re just saying that because we didn’t get to spend much time together last time...you’ll love me once you get to know me. Ty lee warmed up to me”. “I’m not like Ty lee” she replied and carried on attacking you. You had to agree, Azula was not like Ty lee, she was a lot rougher. Whilst Ty lee had been aiming to immobilise you Azula was aiming to seriously injure you at best. “Certainly not as friendly as Ty lee” you agreed “but that’s okay”. “Where is the avatar?” Azula called. “I’d rather talk about you” you replied “princess of the fire nation, that must be fun, it suits you”. “I know, now tell me where the avatar is or I will kill you” the princess retorted. “No you won’t, if you killed me then you’d never know where he is” you grinned. Azula groaned in frustration and threw a large wave of fire at you, knocking you over. She rushed after it and pinned you down on the floor “still not worried I’ll kill you?” she asked. You looked from the fire she’d conjured in her palm back to her face and smiled “damn those fire nation genes are good...I thought your brother was hot but you’re even better”. For just a second, Azula faltered and you used that second to break out of her grip. You threw Azula off you and scrambled up into a run. She was close behind you when you ran around the corner straight into a fight between Aang and Zuko. “Y/n where have you been?” Aang called while Zuko stared “Azula?”. “Brother” she replied. “Sorry Azula and I were spending some quality time together” you said loudly “but we’re here now”. Azula’s eye twitched and she attacked.

You and Aang only managed to get out of the encounter with the help of Sokka, Toph and Katara who all showed up to help. Then the tables turned and you had Azula outnumbered. You couldn’t believe the princess of the fire nation had been out-smarted but of course she hadn’t really. She used a distraction and then ran from the scene. You spotted her fleeing down a back street and smiled, the princess of the fire nation was immaculate and you expected nothing less.

Meeting Number Three: Mai

The next time you came into contact with Ozai’s angels was when they infiltrated Ba Sing Sei by dressing up as the Kyoshi warriors. Aang got a vision Katara was in danger and when you approached the earth king to tell him, the fake kyoshi warriors attack but something was familiar about them.

Toph took one of the warriors and you took the other. While you were sparring with your warrior you kept staring at her...something about the girl was very familiar, but you couldn’t place her. "You look really familiar...have we met before?" you asked. "Good eye" the girl grinned before she threw a knife at you. The minute you saw the knife it clicked and you grinned "you’re Mai the hot knife girl!" before realising you’d said that out loud "ow...". Mai raised an eyebrow and carried on attacking you. Mai was just as impressive as Azula and Ty lee but a lot cooler with a drier sense of humour. You admired her choice of weapon the most and found the way she fought with it strangely captivating, so much so you didn’t fight to immobilise her, honestly you didn’t even try as you just wanted to watch her. Toph had won her fight with Ty lee and rushed to help you, mistakenly figuring you were losing. Toph looked for an opening but as both your choices of fight were close combat she couldn’t attack without possibly hitting you. You and Mai dodged around one another but you knew this couldn’t last forever. "I’m sorry but i have to say it, you’re really good with knives" you grinned as you disarmed her. Mai glared "you literally just disarmed me". "Yeah but you’re seriously the closest a person has ever come to stabbing me!". Mai raised an eyebrow "i imagine a lot of people try to stab you?". You laughed in agreement and Toph and Sokka stared. "What are you doing y/n stop flirting and fight her!" Sokka yelled. "Ow right" you smirked getting back into a fighting stance when Azula appeared "this is over”. You dropped your hands as she held a flame to the earth king’s throat and Sokka and Toph followed suit. “Grab them” Azula called. Mai stepped to you as you were closest and grabbed your arms tightly twisting them behind your back. You blushed as she gripped you roughly and looked away. "Seriously y/n?" Sokka asked and Mai noticed rolling her eyes. "Shut up Sokka you’re embarrassing me" you spat when Mai chimed in “actually you’re doing that all on your own”. “Ow come on, you enjoyed that fight too admit it”. Mai paused and you grinned “knew it” and she yanked your arms tighter “quit talking and walk”. “Whatever you say Mai” you grinned and complied.

You couldn’t stop thinking about Mai in your cell and you shook your head in disbelief “they have to be the coolest trio that’s ever existed! Every single one of them is amazing”. Sokka sighed “y/n could you please try to not be in love with our captors?”. “I can’t help it!” you cried “Ty lee was sweet but powerful, Azula was deadly and impressive and Mai was cool and funny, they’re all knockouts”. “Well great how about we try and get their numbers on the way out?” Toph asked metal bending the door down and you grinned “I mean I wouldn’t say no”.

You, Sokka, Toph and the earth king escaped from your cells and looked for Bosco. You found him in the throne room with Mai and Ty lee and paused. Toph took out Ty lee with earth bending and you locked eyes on Mai. No matter your feelings you had to do this so you got into a fighting stance when Mai rolled her eyes. "Just take the bear" she said annoyed and you smirked "thanks Mai!". The earth king ran to Bosco and your group headed for the door but you paused looking at Ty lee trapped in such an uncomfortable position. “Will Ty lee be okay like that?” you asked and Mai nodded “i’ll get her out”. “Y/n” Sokka yelled and you nodded. “Well bye, hope you get out of that soon Ty lee and tell Azula I said goodbye, she gets jealous when I leave her out. Glad I got to finally meet you Mai” you smiled and with a wink you ran away. You heard Mai groan but Ty lee just giggled. “Bye y/n” you heard Ty lee call and the smile was still on your face when you caught up with the others. “Having fun?” Sokka asked and you nodded “I cannot wait until we see them again!”.

You successfully managed to get Katara and Aang out safely and you laid back on Appa contemplating everything. You knew you were on opposite sides but each of the girls was intriguing and redeemable, even Azula who had almost killed Aang was still only a daughter trying to prove herself to her abusive parents. You could sense there were so many layers to each of them and smiled as you leant back on your arms. Hopefully you’d seen them again soon and who knows...maybe when this was all over things could be different. 

____

So this is basically my literal reaction to seeing Ozai’s angels for the first time. I remember watching them all fight and just fell helplessly in love with all 3 of them. Then I read the Kyoshi novels and realised I just have a thing for fire nation women (Rangi is amazing I love her so much and I’d write for her if she and Kyoshi weren’t the best couple ever, I can’t break them up even fictionally). 

[julietwiskey1]

De-Aged Azula AU: Babysitters

The comedic aspect of this AU is definitely the gaang trying to babysit and the raise future ruler of the Fire Nation five-year-old Azula. The gaang is quick to learn that a child like Azula needs near constant supervision. It’s not that they think she tries to be bad and so destructive, it just seems that chaos follows her around the palace. Which begs the question how would people try to watch over Azula?

Here is my take.

Zuko: He would be absolutely awful. Even if Azula is only five and he is sixteen she still knows how to push all of his buttons. His quick temper and impatience means that he is often found getting very angry and walking off or shooting insults right back at her. Most of the time Azula finds this funny, but occasionally Zuko goes to far and she ends up crying (Katara tells her that it is okay to cry sometimes).

Iroh: Somehow is worse than Zuko. His stick of kindly old man does not fool Azula, and she still doesn’t like him. And you know what, he doesn’t like her back. He just sticks around because Zuko begged him for help with Azula and her education. After all what does Zuko know about selecting tutors.

Katara: She can get overly preachy sometimes when interacting with Azula. She tries to undo all of the bad things Azula has learned, and trying to get the child to engage more with her emotions. Katara also has the unfortunate perception of being the “group mom” which leads to the gaang trying to make her Azula’s mom when ever they babysit. This means that they always try to give her Azula when ever Azula misbehaves or is being difficult (which is often).

Sokka: He happens to be a surprisingly good babysitter much to the wonder and amusement of the gaang. Although Katara is not surprised, she never did have the heart to tell him, but the real reason why the village let him try to train their children to be warriors is because it was essentially free day care. So, when he babysits Azula he falls back on old habits and starts trying to train her to be a warrior, which Azula finds supper fun and she tries her best. The rest of the gaang find it disturbing that he is training her to be a child soldier again, but how can they complain when she is so tired that she falls asleep at bed time?

Suki: She is very similar to Sokka in her strategy with Azula. Suki often trains her in the same method she trains her warriors, and becomes quite impressed that she is already at the level she would expect of an eight or nine-year-old. Amongst the training she also gives history lessons on the kyoshi Warriors. Azula appears to idolize her and always seems to gravitate over to her when she is with the rest of the gaang.

Toph: The gaang absolutely refuses to let Toph babysit Azula alone. Toph’s only goal when looking after Azula is to make sure that the little spitfire doesn’t get hurt, beyond that its free game. When they are alone together steeling from the kitchens is inevitable along with some accidental destruction. Toph has becomes Azula master in the art of the prank, but soon the student becomes the master.

Aang: Azula does not like Aang, actually she is terrified of him and refuses to be alone with the boy. After all she knows that he hurt her father, and while she can warm up to the rest of the gaang, she can never seem to relax around him. He only interacts with Azula in a group setting, were he is always trying to do something cool and interesting in an effort to befriend the girl.

Okay so that was my take on how the gaang would babysitting Azula. Let me know what you agree or disagree with. At this time, I don’t know if Mai or Ty Lee would try to babysit child Azula. It might just be too weird for them to see their friend turned enemy the age as they originally met. Do y’all think Mai and Ty Lee would baby sit Azula? Also, I am planning on Ursa showing up again with Kiyi and Ikem, and having Ursa take over as Azula’s main caregiver. But I don’t know if it should be like the search where she had a memory wipe, or if she retained her memory and returned to the palace as soon as possible, what are your thoughts?

[asciendo]

I Have Something to Tell You

Zuko has just started his reign as the new Fire Lord and everything seems to be falling into place. 

That is until Y/N finds out she’s expecting and doesn’t know how to tell Zuko, afraid she’ll ruin the perfect bubble they’ve been living in. 

It’s been five months since the end of the war and since Zuko became Fire Lord. Life was good, the four nations were in harmony under the protection of Aang and you and Zuko were stronger than ever.

Your family was welcomed back in to the Fire Nation so you had your home back, but you spent most of your time with Zuko at the palace.

There were so many close calls during your time with Team Avatar, which made you, and Zuko appreciate and value your relationship even more. Zuko would include you in his important meetings and valued your opinion, you were there for him when he’d question his capabilities to run the Fire Nation, he’d constantly visit your family and you’d wake up to each other every morning.

Everything was going smoothly until the day you found out you were expecting. You weren’t certain at first, you were late and felt sick in the mornings. Zuko was concerned, thinking it was something you ate so sent a doctor to your bed the third consecutive day you were throwing up. When the doctor told you that you were pregnant, you couldn’t talk or move for a good hour. When Zuko came back and saw your shocked state, he rushed to your side immediately. You told him it was food poisoning and had to be kept in bed the rest of the week. He placed a kiss on your forehead then went back to work.

After your week of “food poisoning” was over, you started to think of how to tell Zuko that he was going to be a father. You weren’t sure how he was going to react, as you knew he was still getting used to ruling over a whole nation. You hated keeping secrets from him but you wanted to wait till you were even used to the idea of being a mother. The situation made you distant from Zuko and he was starting to get frustrated with your cold demeanor.

“Hey, do you want to go for a walk after the state dinner tonight?” Zuko asked hopefully one afternoon. It was week two of your cold demeanor towards him and everyday was more stressful than the one before. “No.” you stated as you read by the window in Zuko’s bedroom.

“Figures.” He rolled his eyes as he turned away from you. “What?!” you snapped back, you didn’t know what it was, the hormones maybe, but other than distancing yourself from Zuko, you also found yourself snapping at him more often.

“Nothing.” He said through gritted teeth as he began to leave the room. “No, Zuko, say it!” you slammed your book shut and sat up from your lounging position.

“Nothing! I’m just not surprised with your attitude anymore!” he turned to face you and you could see the frustration in his face.

“Attitude?! Just because I don’t wanna go on walk doesn’t mean I have an attiude, Zuko!”

“It’s not that! You’ve been so—so—“

“So what?” you raised an eyebrow waiting for him to finish his sentence. “CRANKY!”

“Well if I’m so cranky then why would we even go on a walk together, then?” you were standing up now with your hands on your hips.

“Forget it!” Zuko huffed and left the room.

“Agh!” you collapsed on the couch. You hated yourself for acting this way towards him. He didn’t do anything and he certainly did not deserve your attitude. The whole thing was so confusing for you and the truth was, you were scared. You and Zuko were only seventeen and you just won the war. Bringing a baby into the mix now is a whole different ball game that you weren’t sure that either of you were ready for.

That evening at the state dinner, you sulked on a couch in the corner of the courtyard.

“Hi.” Zuko sighed as he sat next to you. “Hi.” You said back but didn’t look at him.

“How are you?”

“I’m bored.” You laid your head on the wall. “I know. Me too.”

“I’m hungry.” You sighed and looked up at him and he huffed then stood up to get you some food.

You were getting impatient until you heard a voice coming from the crowd. “Move! I have to bring food to my cranky girlfriend!”

“Really, Zuko?” you rolled your eyes as he handed you the plate of food. “What’s wrong now?”

“Telling everyone I’m your cranky girlfriend isn’t exactly chivalrous.” You snapped.

“I can’t do anything right with you anymore!” he was whispering so no one else would hear but there was strain in his voice. “I’m gonna go.” you didn’t want to look at him then made your way out to the balcony.

You were so angry with yourself for being this way. This wasn’t you and it made you think about what kind of mother you would be if you couldn’t even comprehend the thought of having a child. Of course you wanted a family with Zuko, but you never expected it would be this soon.

Suddenly, you felt a hand on your shoulder and you turned to see Katara. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just needed some air.” You smiled but you could tell she didn’t believe you. “How are you and Zuko?” she asked.

“Uhm, we’re okay? Why do you ask?” you nervously stared at your feet as she looked at you with a concerned expression.

“Y/N, come on it’s me. You can tell me, I won’t judge I promise.”

“I’m fine! Really, me and Zuko are okay.” She rolled her eyes as you continued to lie. “I heard him talking to Aang, alright?”

“What did he say?”

“He thinks you’re going to leave him.” Your eyes shot wide open, “WHAT?!”

“Yes! That’s why I wanted to ask you first!” Katara raised her arms in relief, as she knew you were finally going to open up to her.

“Oh no, this is all my fault.” Burying your face in your hands, Katara placed her arm around you.

“I’m so awful to him! He’s been nothing but amazing towards me and I was the biggest jerk!” your face was still buried in your hands as Katara watched you with concern.

“What’s going on?”

“Katara...it’s just...” there were tears forming in your eyes as Katara pulled you in for a hug. “It’s okay, I’m sure whatever it is—“

“Katara I’m pregnant.” She froze as soon as the words came out of your mouth. Katara stood there frozen and just staring at your face, then at your stomach. “I know, that’s how I reacted too.” You turned to face the open air as she continued to stare at you with her mouth wide open.

“OH MY GOD CONGRATULATIONS!” She suddenly pulled you into a tight hug.

“Katara it’s not that simple!” there were so many factors that would make having a baby complicated, how young you both were, Zuko just started his reign, and you not knowing the first thing about being a mother.

“Y/N, this is a good thing!” she squeezed your shoulders. “How? I mean...I don’t know how to feel about it yet...” you looked down.

“We’re only seventeen! Zuko just started his reign! I-I don’t know the first thing about being a mother!” you paced back and forth as Katara giggled.

“Why are you laughing?!”

“It’s just...Y/N you’re looking at all the bad things. Yes, we’re all still young but you both won’t have to do it alone. You have all of us! Can you imagine how loved your baby will be?” she smiled and you stopped pacing and looked at her. “Aang is going to flip! Sokka would spend every single day here if he could, and I know I would make the best godmother.” She winked and you laughed.

“But Zuko’s been so worried about how he is as the new Fire Lord...he has a so much on his mind and I’m so scared the baby will just add more stress for him...” you sighed and plopped down on one of the benches.

“He’s going to be happy no matter what. Zuko is going to be a great father and you’re going to be a great mother.” Katara sat next to you and put her arm around your shoulders. “I was so awful to him Katara...”

“It’s completely understandable, you were scared. Heck, I would probably be the same too! But you have to talk to him.”

“I know...thank you. It feels so good to finally tell someone!” you laughed in relief. You’ve been keeping this secret for so long it felt good to tell someone.

“Of course, I’ll always be here for you! But now you have to let Zuko be there for you too.” She smiled sweetly and you knew she was right. The both of you made your way back to the party laughing at the thought of Zuko changing diapers.

As soon as you entered, you spotted him in the middle of conversation with his generals. Your eyes locked on his and he quickly averted his gaze back to his own conversation.

“Good luck.” Katara smiled and left you with your thoughts.

The state dinner was over and you were making your way to Zuko’s bedroom. As you entered you leant by doorway and watched Zuko try to remove his ceremonial robes.

“Let me help you with that.” his body stiffened at the sound of your voice. “I’m fine.” He grumbled but continued to struggle. You sighed then walked over and helped him. “Zuko...I need to tell you something...” you fumbled with your fingers as you sat in front of him. Zuko stopped then sat down in front of you but he was avoiding looking in your direction. There was sadness in his eyes, which confused you at first, but then you remembered what Katara told you about how Zuko thought you were going to break up with him. “Zuko...I’m sorry.” You began and he didn’t react. “I’m sorry for being such a jerk to you these past few days...or weeks.” You rubbed the back of your head sheepishly. “Zuko can you please look at me?”

“Why should I? If you’re going to break up with me just do it.” he said bitterly. “Zuko, I’m not breaking up with you!” You grabbed his face with your palms and he was finally looking at you. His eyes were staring at you intently waiting for you to speak. “It’s just...” tears started to form in your eyes as you began to speak. “Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?” Zuko suddenly looked at you with so much concern that your heart melted knowing that no matter how awful you were to him, he was still the sweetest to you.

“No, no, it’s not that it’s...” you stood up and started pacing back and forth and Zuko watched you in confusion. “The reason why I’ve been such a jerk to you is because....I didn’t know how to tell you and I also didn’t fully, I still don’t actually...uhm...the information hasn’t really sunk in for me either, so whenever I thought about telling you, I still didn’t believe it myself so I didn’t tell you!” the whole thing was making you nervous so you started to ramble. Zuko stared at you with his eyebrow up and head tilted so you knew he was confused.

“W-wait I don’t get it. The reason why you were a jerk to me is because you did something I wouldn’t like?” he asked looking at you with a little bit of fear in his expression. “I didn’t do anything...well I kind of did by not telling you when I should have but I didn’t tell you because I still don’t sort of believe it myself?” Zuko’s expression was still a confused one you didn’t blame him. “So you’re hiding something from me?” you nodded and he huffed. “Is there someone else?” he looked down to the floor. “NO! God no, Zuko there is no one out there for me but you.” you quickly grabbed his face again.

“Then what is it?”

You sighed and turned to face him directly. “Okay, I’m going to tell you what it is now.” You said slowly as if convincing yourself that you were actually going to do it. Zuko stared at you with big eyes in anticipation of what you were going to say. When you still didn’t say it Zuko shot up from his seat and started making his way out the door.

“Zuko!”

“Y/N if you’re just going to keep me guessing the whole night you might as well not tell me!” he stopped by the door but was refusing to face you.

“Zuko...please!”

“If you don’t trust me—“

“ZUKO I’M PREGNANT!” the words finally came out of your mouth as you waited for Zuko to react. He stopped in his steps and slowly turned to look at you. His eyes were huge in shock and his mouth open.

The both of you stared at each other without saying anything until you finally broke the silence. “I know I should have told you! I was just so scared...I mean I don’t know how to be a mother. I’m so sorry for taking out my worries on you by being a jerk and I know how stressed you’ve been being the new Fire Lord and I didn’t want to worry you even more. I’m so so—“ before you could finish, Zuko’s lips were on yours and you fell into each other.

“Y-you’re not mad?” you looked up at him. “I’m mad because you didn’t tell me.” He looked at you with a serious expression and you looked away. “But not about our baby.” He pulled your face to kiss you once more. “Why would I be mad about the start of our family?” he looked deep into your eyes. “I-I don’t know, I guess I thought you’d be scared about it but I guess it was just me.” You buried your face in his chest again.

“I’m so sorry you had to deal with this on your own. That must have been terrifying.” He whispered in your hair. “No, it’s my fault, I should have let you be there for me.” You smiled and he kissed you on the forehead. “We’re going to be a great family.” He said and at that moment, you couldn’t be happier.

The next day, the both of you decided to have the gang over for lunch to tell them the news. You told Zuko that Katara knew, he was a little upset at first that he wasn’t the first to know and you understood. You promised he’d be the first to know if anything ever happened with you again and he forgave you.

Zuko sat at the head of the table and you to his left. Uncle Iroh was seated to his right but you haven’t told him yet as well. Katara and Aang arrived first and Katara gave the both of you a knowing look. Sokka and Sukoi came next with Sokka telling everyone he had big news to share. Toph was last as usual saying she was busy throwing melons at strangers.

“Uhm, guys we have something to tell you.” Zuko smiled looking at you while squeezing your hand.

“Wait wait!” Sokka stood up and everyone stared at him. “I think we should start with the most important news first. Don’t we all agree? And I have an announcement!” Sokka started to prance around the table. You started to chuckle and Katara was glaring at him. “Yes, let Zuko talk!” she said with annoyance.

“But I don’t think whatever hot head over there is going to say is more exciting than mine!” Sokka glared back at his sister. “Sokka—“

“No it’s fine, go ahead.” Zuko smirked and you punched him in the shoulder playfully. “What’s your announcement, Sokka?”

“Glad you asked Y/N!” Katara rolled her eyes and slumped to her seat as Sokka grinned from ear to ear.

“I have been declared BOOMERANG MASTER!” Sokka declared while everyone stared at him with amusement. His proud expression quickly dropped and you started to giggle. “WHAT! I am!”

“Who even declared that, Sokka?” Toph teased. “THE BOOMERANG CLUB!” Sokka’s face turned red and the rest of the gang laughed. “There’s a boomerang club?” Aang asked and Sokka sat back down and Suki rubbed his back but she was laughing as well.

“Okay, if that doesn’t excite everyone then I DON’T KNOW WHAT WILL!” Sokka fumed which made everyone laugh harder.

“I’m pregnant.” You announced and Zuko was staring at everyone with a huge grin on his face. Katara was smiling as she already knew, Aang stopped mid drink, Toph yelped, Suki’s eyes were large with excitement and Sokka’s jaw dropped to the table.

“Y-you’re what?” Aang jumped up in excitement as Katara hugged you. “She’s pregnant. I’m going to be a father.” Zuko announced proudly. Aang rushed to hug the both of you while talking about how he’s going to teach your child how to go penguin sledding. Katara started asking you about baby names. Toph was already planning on making a crib for your baby. Sokka was still in shock while Suki whispered to him that she was excited about his boomerang master status.

“OH MY GOD!” Sokka burst out then rushed to hug the both of you telling you guys he’s going to give all the boomerangs he could find to your future baby. You were all so happy to tell the rest of the group and to see their excited reactions. You were looking for Zuko but then saw him hugging Uncle Iroh tightly and you saw tears in his eyes. That moment, you knew you were so lucky to have a child with the best father there could be.

[soopersara]

hi!!! could i ask for [REDACTED] and carrying the world in her heart please? <3

Of course!

[REDACTED] has an actual title, and it's the project that I'm actively working on 5 days a week at the moment. But it's my piece for the Zutara Big Bang, so there's not much more that I'm allowed to say about it beyond the fact that 1) it's Zutara, 2) I'm enjoying the project SO much, and 3) I think it's fairly on-brand with the rest of my writing 😂. The rest will be revealed when posting starts in early September.

Carrying the World in her Heart is the start of an anti-Kataang fic that I was working on for a while before I realized that if I was ever going to do the idea justice, it'd have to be a LONG multichapter fic, and I just don't have time for that right now. Maybe someday. And by anti-Kataang, I mean that Kataang happened, the relationship has weakened significantly over the years, and... y'know. Meeting a certain old friend for the first time in years leads to some major realizations.

I'll put an excerpt of Carrying the World below a cut because it's sort of long:

"Daddy?" Kya's little voice came before Katara had a chance to speak.

"Ky!" Aang brightened and swooped back to the door to pick her up. "How's my little fishy this morning?" He kissed her cheek and swung her back to the ground.

Kya blinked up at him, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Daddy?" She yawned tremendously. "Are we having breakfast outside?"

With a laugh, Aang ruffled her hair. "Not today, baby girl."

"Dad's leaving again," Bumi grumbled, raising his eyes just enough to give his sister a pointed look.

Kya stared disbelievingly at her brother before turning to Katara for confirmation.

Katara's tongue turned to lead in her mouth. She managed a nod. "Daddy has a lot of work to do all over the world." The words were forced, but somehow her voice remained steady.

The flood of tears was immediate, and Katara watched, almost numb, as Aang tried to pry himself out of Kya's grasp, and Bumi stood off to the side, arms folded as he glowered at the ground. She couldn't bring herself to smile when Aang finally passed a screaming, squirming Kya off into her arms and tried to ruffle Bumi's hair. She wasn't angry with him. She couldn't be. Katara knew how important this was to Aang--to the world--but she was just tired.

Bumi ducked away from his father's hand and came to stand by Katara while Aang loaded his supplies into the saddle. Eventually Kya quieted down too, and the three of them watched in silence as Aang waved his last goodbye before snapping the reins and lifting off into the air.

Years ago, Katara would have stood by and watched until Appa was no more than a pale speck over the horizon. Today, she couldn't stand to watch.

"I think we still have a little of that seal jerky your uncle Sokka sent us," Katara said, swinging Kya around to rest on her hip so she could put her other hand on Bumi's shoulder. "Why don't we have a treat along with breakfast this morning?"

Bumi frowned down at the ground but leaned into her side.

Please, Katara begged silently. Please save the hard questions for another day, sweetheart. I don't have the answers you need right now.

"Where is Dad going?" Bumi's question came in an uncharacteristically small voice, and Katara's heart twisted.

"East of Ba Sing Se," she answered, hating the edge of resentment that crept into the words.

Before she could elaborate further, Bumi pulled away, gray eyes--Aang's eyes--brimming with betrayal. "But Mom, that's more than a thousand miles. He'll be gone for months. And he just got home yesterday."

Something clenched inside her. She should say something in Aang's defense, something about his duty to the world. But this wasn't about the world. This was about the Air Nomads. And the only living descendants of that once-great nation were here. With Katara. Left behind once again.

She took a long, steadying breath before she led Bumi back inside, an arm draped around his small shoulders. Something reassuring came out of her mouth, but she couldn't remember the words. She wasn't sure she wanted to. How many times had those words already come? How many more times could she utter them before they lost what little meaning they still carried?

Katara prepared breakfast in a haze. Kya was oddly quiet, hovering close to her leg as though Katara too might vanish if she strayed too far away, and Bumi thumped sullenly around the kitchen, a scowl to rival the sourest politician fixed on his face.

They're lucky to have you, Aang's voice whispered into her ear. Bumi and Kya have the most amazing mother they could ever hope for. She set the teapot down with a little more force than was necessary. That doesn't matter, she screamed back inside her head. It doesn't matter how good a mother I am when my children have to watch their father choose to leave them behind.

"Momma?" Kya settled at Katara's knee, sliding her bowl closer so she didn't have to leave her mother's side. "Daddy's gonna be back in time for us to go to Ember Island, right?"

Katara's heart sank and she squeezed her eyes shut for a second. She should have known better than to make promises for Aang. She should have known better than to give them good news before she had reason to believe it herself.

Bumi scoffed. "Dad's not coming back this summer, Ky." Though he scowled mightily, Katara could still hear the disappointment in his tone, could still read it in his eyes. "We're never going to Ember Island. Get used to it. Dad's always gonna be too busy for us."

Kya's little face crumpled, her piercing blue eyes filling with tears.

The tense ball that had been growing in Katara's chest all morning tightened again. Then it snapped. She couldn't watch her daughter cry anymore. She couldn't stand seeing that wave of bitterness building, constantly building in Bumi every time he mentioned Aang. She couldn't listen to Bumi's clumsy attempts at bringing Kya's hopes back under control. And more than anything else, she couldn't defend Aang anymore. Not this time. Not when he hardly deigned to grant them a day of his precious time. His family. His wife, his son, his daughter. Katara had had enough.

She thought of the white sand of the beaches, the black volcanic rock jutting up in every direction, the pleasant chill of the turquoise sea. She remembered the carefree nights around bonfires in the courtyard, then on the beach after the war was over. She remembered the market teeming with street performers and food vendors--all the foods she'd never tried before those last precious weeks before the comet, all the new songs she'd learned, all the flashes of humanity she'd seen in faces she would have once counted as enemies. She wanted to see it all again. She wanted the sensation of a warm, gentle breeze on bare skin, the feeling of sand between her toes, the sharp scent of the ocean pervading everything around. It had been far too long since she'd known the sort of carefree ease that Ember Island brought over her--it had been too long since she'd seen Zuko. They'd become nearly inseparable in their time on the island--how had she forgotten that? Had her life here really robbed her of even the memories of her best friend? Her hands clenched. There was more to it than even that. Her children had a right to see the place that had such a role in shaping their parents' lives. What right did Aang have to deny them that?

"We're going."

Bumi rolled his eyes. For an eight-year-old, he was already developing a powerful sarcastic streak. "Sure, Mom. Dad always comes back when he says he will."

Katara squared her shoulders. "We aren't going to wait for your father. We're going to Ember Island. Just the three of us." She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her chest. She felt herself smile.