#azula would simply not watch it

[hitemwiththeoop]

i kinda just want someone to write a fanfic about the gaang reacting to the live action, if you want to make it canonesque like, doing it like it was another play like the one at ember island,,,imagine

aang getting angry because he didn't get to kiss katara at the cave and instead they make her more interested in jet and he begins saying things like I BET IF YOU HAD BEEN WITH HIM IN THE CAVE YOU WOULD'VE KISSED HIM. katara angry at her characterization like WHY DON'T I SPEAK UP??? I WOULD'VE THROWN HANDS and to sokka WHY DID THEY MAKE YOU ACT LIKE THE MORE MATURE ONE BETWEEN US, I HAD TO WASH YOUR SOCKS BACK AT THE VILLAGE. everyone absolutely confused at the fact yue was a spirit fox. Zuko criticizing himself ozai and azula like wth and why do i have drawings of the avatars and a journal about them, they make me look so obsessed, and sokka like, actually, i think that was spot on. suki and sokka cringing at the scene where she stared at him shirtless and him getting angry because they didn't make him dress up like a girl

[dreadsuitsamus]

nsfw, fem!reader, breeding and ozai being ozai

Guarding the former Fire Lord, even with his inability to bend anymore, is daunting. Though a prisoner, Ozai is still intimidating and dangerous, those muscles not simply for display. There aren't many guards willing to take on the task of keeping a watchful eye on him for even a single shift, let alone during all of their working hours. Your bravery and resilience is rewarded with handsome payment, though by now, you'd do it for free! There are certain... benefits that have come with your position.

"Ah, ah— Mm! My Lord, oh, yes...!" You throw your head back onto Ozai's pillows, his time spent as a political advisor to his son having offered him a nicer cell than a typical prisoner would have, thanks to the leverage he still holds over the young man. Ozai has your limber legs spread wide against the mattress, your toes touching the headboard as the man above you plows into you with vigor, his cock reaching places inside of you that you never knew existed before fate brought you directly to him.

Ozai hisses, his grip tightening around your ankles. "That's it... Take it. Take my cock, my power, my all. You'll give me a new heir, one that will be perfect, one that won't fail me like the others! You'll do this for your King, without fail!" He spits out, the excited luster of his ideals getting him off as much as the way your slickened walls grip his shaft and beg to be filled once again, as he has every night for several months now. Whether you're on duty or sneaking into his chamber, you take your Lord's seed and humbly await the night you'll fall pregnant and kick his plans into gear. He cannot bend fire anymore, but his theory rests on your firebending abilities and his genetics to create a child that can bend, and be the very best.

Zuko was a failure from the very beginning, and Azula's demise must surely stem from her mother, a woman never loyal to the Fire Nation and Ozai himself. This heir will be the one to make him proud.

"Breed me, my Lord! It is my duty, my destiny to bear your child! Together, we shall restore your honor, your legacy, with our children."

Ozai's grin is maniacal, his laugh sinister as he lowers himself to speak directly into your ear. "You're getting ahead of yourself, aren't you? You've yet to give me one heir, let alone multiple!"

"The solstice is nearly upon us." You pant, a mewling whimper breaking your concentration as your Lord twists your nipples that will one day feed his child and help him to become strong.

"And...?" Ozai's strong fingers squeeze the sensitive buds harder, grinning at how pleasurable you find his pain to be.

"T-There will be no better time to fall pregnant, my King. Our child will be strong, guided by the stars to take back what is yours!"

"Oh, really? So do you suggest I'm wasting my time now then?" Ozai begins to pull away, only slipping out a mere fraction of his slick-coated dick before your fingers, small and soft and so breakable like the rest of you, are threading into his hair. Amused, Ozai pauses with a raised brow and cocky smirk on his lips. "What's this, hm?"

"My Lord— My love." You breathe out, sneaky legs snaking around his trim waist to summon him back into his fully-seated position. "Please..."

"Please what?" He hisses, those strong arms slipping around your waist tightly in what's nearly a darling embrace, though he still remains only partially inside of your cunt. "Are you simply here tonight as my whore?"

"For you, I am anything." Your chest heaves, beads of sweat prickling you from head to toe. "The mother of your proper heir, the one that sees to your exemplary care... Your courtesan, your lover... Your wife, if you'd have me."

Ozai's large hand, one you'd still not fear even with his power intact, comes to rest at the side of your face. "Provide me a firstborn son that can firebend, and then we'll discuss a permanent relationship."

Your much smaller hand covers his, hopeful tears welling in your eyes. "I won't let you down, Phoenix King Ozai."

"See to it that you don't." Ozai's lips capture yours in a rare kiss, and he again rocks his hips to yours, soon filling you to the brim with seed that takes, settling deep into your womb to create the child that will swell your belly with his pride.

[jettingtothemoon]

Daughter of the Spirits; chapter 11

➳ pairing: zuko x f!reader ➳ genre: a retelling of the show from season 2 onwards with a heavy focus and expansion on zuko’s story (canon divergent) ➳ warnings: violence, swearing, smut (underaged if your age of consent is above 16), spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen the show ➳ word count: 3537 ➳ rating: 18+ ➳ summary: In which y/n comes across the fire nation prince during her stay in Ba Sing Se. ➳ tags: @harmlessoffering, @lammello (i’m sorry if i’m forgetting anyone, lmk if i am or if you want to be added)

Chapters: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,

The Invasion

You found out from Mai and Ty Lee that there had been another war meeting — one Zuko hadn’t been invited to. He was furious, of course.

For the first time in years, he was finally starting to feel like a prince again. What with all the servants at his beck and call, insisting he take the palanquin when traversing the city, even if he was only out on an errand with you. People were by his side day and night, making sure he had everything he needed. It was exactly how it should have been, even if it was quite the adjustment for you both, yet he had still been excluded by his father.

He had told you about his banishment. How he had spoken up at a war meeting and disgraced his father, leading to the agni kai where he had to fight the very man that was supposed to protect him. The man who scarred and banished his own child.

Only this morning was he happy and smiling, simply enjoying the time he got to spend with you. Now, however, he sat staring out of the window, watching as the clouds passed over the moon in silent contemplation.

“Zuko,” you said his name and yet, he didn't move. Didn’t even flinch. It was as if he hadn’t even heard you, only you knew he had.

"Zuko," you tried again, this time wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

Wordlessly, he leaned into you. His scowl never once left his face but he was at least trying to control his temper for you, allowing himself to fall into your embrace.

"It's just a war meeting. I bet they're full of old, boring men."

Your attempt at amusing him seemed to fail as he leaned away from you and back against the window. "They're important. All the best advisors and the entire royal family attend. Even Azula is going."

"Just another reason that it won't be fun, Azula will be there."

Now that got a chuckle. A small one, but a chuckle nonetheless.

"Stop worrying about it and come to bed."

He hummed, turning away from the window and towards you. He wasn't happy and he probably wouldn't be for a while, but at least he could relax with you. Even when things weren’t going his way.

The next day, you sat with Zuko as you made a cup of jasmine tea. He sulked beside you with a frown on his face, thinking about the meeting that was about to start without him. You could tell how badly he wanted to be there, even if he did keep shrugging it off when you tried to comfort him. You thought making some tea would help but it only seemed to sour his mood further and you soon realised it was because he was missing his uncle.

You missed Iroh too. You had wanted to go and visit him but Zuko forbade you, expressing how dangerous it would be if you did. Azula had found out when he went to see him and if anyone were to find out you were visiting a traitor of the Fire Nation you would be hauled away and thrown into a cell of your own before either of you could do anything to stop it.

It pained you to think of the old man sitting in a dark, grimey cell. More so when the smell of jasmine tea reminded you as much of him now as it did your mother.

“Prince Zuko,” your attention was drawn to a servant as he entered the room with a bow, “Everyone’s waiting for you.”

Zuko looked from you to the man who now knelt at the floor with furrowed brows before getting up from where he sat. “What?”

“The high admirals, high generals, the war ministers, and the princess have all arrived. You’re the only person missing,” the servant explained, his eyes lifting to look at the prince as he spoke.

You stood beside Zuko with a heavily beating chest as he asked, “So my dad wants me at the meeting?”

The servant bowed again. “The Firelord said he would not start until you have arrived, sir.”

With a full smile, Zuko turned to you and, although he was going to a meeting where they would likely discuss the deaths of even more people you loved and knew, you couldn’t help but feel happy for him. This was all he’d ever wanted — to be accepted by his father. To be loved and wanted. For his opinions to matter. That alone brought you hope because if he could sway his father or even some of the generals, perhaps he could help save lives on both sides of the war.

You, along with Mai, waited outside the meeting for him, both anxious to hear how it went. She had offered to come with you so that you would not be alone in the palace for too long since she knew just how daunting that could be. Besides, she was still Zuko’s friend too, just as she was now yours.

When he finally emerged, Mai was the first to ask, “So? How did it go?”

“When I got to the meeting, everyone welcomed me. My father had saved me a seat, he wanted me next to him. I was literally at his right hand.”

His words almost sent a chill down your spine as you thought of the worst — that rather than Zuko swaying the Firelord’s mind about the war, that it would be his father who would sway him. You knew better than that, though, and as much was confirmed when you were met with nothing but a troubled expression on Zuko’s face.

“That’s wonderful,” Mai grinned, “You must be happy.”

The three of you stopped in front of a large tapestry, one displaying a large portrait of Firelord Ozai. You placed a reassuring hand on Zuko’s shoulder as he looked up at it and exchanged a worried glance with Mai.

“During the meeting I was the perfect prince,” he concluded, “The son my father wanted… but I wasn’t me.”

You ran your hand down his arm and slotted it into his, giving it a gentle squeeze. For a moment, he squeezed it back, but then tugged his hand free and began to walk away, leaving both you and Mai behind.

She sighed and became the one placing a gentle hand on your shoulder. “Give him time. This was a good thing, he’ll realise that soon.”

You hummed although you did not agree. The only good thing was that Zuko was starting to realise who he was and that the man he was wasn’t the man his father wanted him to be. He was not ruthless and cold. He was kind and strong and so many other things his father would never be. He was better than him and finally, you thought he was beginning to realise that.

When you returned to your room, you found him writing a letter.

“What are you doing?” you questioned, wondering what he was up to.

“Writing to Mai. I at least owe her a goodbye.”

“Goodbye?” you asked, your brows furrowed.

He hummed. “We’re leaving. I… This isn’t who I am. Not anymore. An invasion has begun, we can slip away in the chaos but I have to do something first.”

Whatever he had in mind, whether he just wanted to leave and find your parents or maybe, just maybe, hunt down and join the avatar, you knew you were going with him. After all the time that had passed since you left Ba Sing Se, he was finally ready to accept who he was. He was finally going to do the right thing.

He passed you the brush when he was finished, allowing you to write your apologies and goodbyes to your newfound friends. You addressed both Mai and Ty Lee directly, wishing them well and hoping you would not come to face them on opposite sides of the battlefield. The two of you then signed the letter and Zuko left to take it to her home, putting it someplace where she would see it long after the two of you were gone.

After he returned, as you collected what little things you owned, he knelt before a portrait of his mother and closed his eyes. “I know I’ve made some bad choices, but today I’m gonna set things right.”

He picked up his swords and a small bag of provisions, turning to the lighter side of himself once again, and pulled his hood up to conceal his face.

You stepped forward and pulled him into your arms, pressing a kiss to his lips as your thumb stroked the side of his face. “It’s going to be okay, you know. You’re doing the right thing.”

He smiled and leaned into your touch. “I know.”

He led you quickly through the palace and down underground. You could hear the fighting up above as you moved through the tunnels and Zuko explained that during the eclipse today, no one would be able to Firebend. It was the perfect time for an attack and, along with the invasion forces, would surely be the avatar. He had a plan and that plan was to join them, to help the avatar finally put an end to this war.

But he had to confront his father first and what better time was there to do that than when he had no bending?

When he finally came to a halt before a large, reinforced door, you felt your heart in your throat. How would Ozai react to the news of his son’s betrayal? Would he try to kill him then and there? Or perhaps he would simply try to imprison you both? Either way, you were prepared. You would use your bending — all of your bending — to fight. You were fighting for yourself. You were fighting for your family. You were fighting for Zuko.

You held his hand, squeezing it in reassurance as you had done time and time before.

“I’m ready to face you,” he spoke, as though his father could hear him through the door.

He did not protest as you walked to the door with him, nor did he ask you to remain behind as he walked inside. As dangerous as what he was about to do was, he trusted that you would be safe by his side, and that he would be safe by yours. Whatever was going to happen, you were going to do it together.

“Prince Zuko,” his father addressed him with a frown and lowered his cup of tea, “What are you doing here?”

Zuko walked towards his father, with you standing only a few paces behind. This was his moment and you wanted him to have it but if he needed you, you would be there to fight by his side.

“I’m here to tell the truth,” Zuko declared from where he stood, staring his father down.

The firelord furrowed his brows and signalled for his guards to leave, his eyes only once flickering from Zuko to you. “Telling the truth during the middle of an eclipse? This should be interesting.”

Zuko only spoke again when the guards were gone, the strong doors sliding shut behind them, “First of all, in Ba Sing Se it was Azula who took down the avatar, not me.”

“Why would she lie to me about that?” Ozai questioned.

“Because the avatar is not dead,” Zuko explained, “He survived.”

“What?” Only then did the firelord’s expression change. What was a calm and collected leader suddenly turned into an angry father. One who was clearly afraid of what the avatar could do if he was still alive.

“In fact, he’s probably leading this invasion. He could be on his way here right now.” For a moment, it almost seemed as though Zuko was warning his father, as though he had not really turned his back on him. He was still his father, after all, but you knew him better than that. He was changed and he was here for one thing and one thing only, to bid his father farewell.

“Get out!” the firelord snapped with a wave of his hand, anger boiling up in him, “Get out of my sight right now if you know what’s good for you.”

Although the firelord’s temper was continuing to grow, Zuko remained calm. From where you stood behind him, you could almost hear the satisfaction in his voice as he spoke, “That’s another thing. I’m not taking orders from you anymore.”

His father’s brows crossed in rage and you adopted a defensive stance as he began to walk towards Zuko. “You will obey me or this defiant breath will be your last!”

The prince unsheathed his swords, standing ready to fight his father as he demanded, “Think again. I am going to speak my mind and you are going to listen.”

To both of your surprise, the firelord sat back down as though he was ready to hear whatever Zuko had to say. The two of you still stood at the ready, prepared for a fight. You closed your eyes for a moment, focusing on the ground beneath you. You could feel the echoing rumble of machines coming from the surface, another sign of the battle above.

“For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me,” Zuko admitted, casting his eyes to the ground, “To accept me. I thought it was my honour that I wanted but really I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn,” he pointed at Ozai with the end of his blade, “My father who challenged me, a thirteen year old boy to an agni kai. How can you possibly justify a duel with a child?”

It was like a weight off your own chest to hear him finally letting go of all that had burdened him, telling his father just how he felt after all he had done to him.

The firelord only scowled, looking at Zuko as though he was nothing but the dirt under his shoe as he spat, “It was to teach you respect!”

“It was cruel and it was wrong!”

“Then you’ve learnt nothing. This girl,” he gestured to you, “Has only made you weaker than you already were.”

“No! I’ve learned everything, and I’ve had to learn on my own. Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilisation in history, and somehow the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the world. What an amazing lie that was, the people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don’t see our greatness, they hate us! And we deserve it. We’ve created an era of fear in the world and if we don’t want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness.”

The firelord laughed out loud, mocking his son even now. “Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn’t he?”

There was a brief pause and Zuko smiled, actually smiled, in the face of his father’s taunts. “Yes, he has.”

“And this girl? She stands with you now, is she not of the Fire Nation too? Another traitor turned by your uncle’s tricks?”

Now it was you who stifled a laugh. “A traitor? Zuko isn’t a traitor and neither is his uncle. You are the one who betrayed the Fire Nation, you even betrayed your own blood because you’re so blinded by power you can’t see the bigger picture. My name is y/n and my parents were from the Northern Watertribe. They left their home and raised me in the Earth Kingdom to fight against your army! Even now, they fight against your cruelty, and now we do too!”

“You foolish girl,” Ozai glared at you with fire in his eyes, “What could you possibly do to stop me?”

“After we leave here today,” Zuko interrupted, answering his father’s question for the both of you, “We’re going to free uncle Iroh from his prison, and I’m gonna beg for his forgiveness. He’s the one who’s been a real father to me.”

The firelord only laughed again. “That’s just beautiful, maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure.”

“But I’ve come to an even more important decision,” he continued, ignoring his father completely, “I’m going to join the avatar and I’m going to help him defeat you.”

“Really?” Ozai smirked, “since you’re a full blown traitor now and you want me gone, why wait? I’m powerless, you’ve got your swords, why don’t you just do it now?”

“Because I know my own destiny. Taking you down is the avatar’s destiny,” he sheathed his swords and, although a part of you wanted nothing more than to strike him down now, you were in agreement with Zuko. It was not your place, “Goodbye.”

As Zuko turned and began to walk towards you again, ready to leave his father behind once and for all, the bitter man began to hurl more insults at his son, calling him a coward for confronting him during an eclipse when neither of them had their bending.

“If you have any real courage, you’ll stick around until the sun comes up. Don’t you want to know what happened to your mother?”

Those words stood Zuko in his tracks, even when you looked at him with pleading eyes. There was no time for this, the sun would be back soon and the two of you stood no chance against his father at his full power.

Without a second thought, the prince turned back around and demanded to know what happened the night his mother disappeared.

“My father, firelord Azulon, commanded me to do the unthinkable… to you, my own son, and I was going to do it. Your mother found out and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne and she proposed a plan. A plan in which I would become firelord and your life would be spared.”

It was awful, entirely diabolical, to think that a father would even consider murdering his own child but knowing what else the firelord had put Zuko through, somehow you weren’t at all surprised. It seemed in his very nature. You wondered what Zuko’s mother ever saw in the man.

“Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished.”

“So she’s alive...”

Cautiously, you moved to Zuko’s side, hoping to console him as tears began to spill across his face.

“Perhaps,” Ozai all but shrugged before raising his tone once again, “Now I realise that banishment is far too merciful a punishment for treason. Your penalty will be far steeper.”

In a flash, the firelord was moving, forming a stance you had only seen once before. The sun was back and he was drawing on its power to call lightning down. Lightning that he intended to use to put an end to his traitorous son once and for all.

“Zuko!” you cried, realising you had already missed your window to create a wall between the two of you and Ozai to block the attack.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as you ran towards Zuko only to see him do the impossible. He redirected the lighting, sending it crashing back down on his father who was thrown into the air at the force.

He grabbed your hand and ran, pulling you out of the bunker before his father could get back to his feet. As you ran out onto the streets, you saw what looked to be the avatar launching an assault on the Fire Nation airships, giving his friends enough time to retreat. “Look!”

“Do you think you can get up there?”

You furrowed your brows. There was a chance that with your bending you could reach the airships and help the avatar but you weren’t sure if you could get there in time. They were fleeing, after all, they weren’t going to stick around for long. Besides, you had more important things to do.

“Maybe,” you shrugged, “but I’m not leaving you. Let’s go get your uncle.”

With a determined smirk, he led you into the prison. He ran so fast that he seemed to miss the cowering guards and singed walls.

“Uncle!” he cried out when he reached Iroh’s cell but his uncle was already gone. The bars to his prison cell were broken and battered, blasted through from the inside. Iroh had already escaped.

Zuko was quick to run to one of the guards, interrogating him about what happened in a matter of seconds, only to be told what you already knew. Iroh had escaped, busted himself out before you had had the chance to get to him. He was long gone now, all you could do was get out of there yourselves.

“Zuko, we have to go. We’ll find Iroh again, I promise, but right now we need to leave!”

Although disappointed, he nodded and followed you back outside.

Chapters: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,

[zutaranation]

Wishing for the Netflix Live Action Avatar series to be bad and jumping to conclusions based on one-off interview comments isn't it. This show is reclaiming its culture inspiration and being led by a majority POC cast and crew, so the hope for its downfall is icky to me.

I've discussed this on Twitter a lot, but not on here. I find it incredibly frustrating that people seem to be wishing for the live action Netflix version of Avatar to fail. This fandom is so dead set on commiserating and hating that they're damning the show before it even comes out and they see a single second of it based on a few lines from interviews taken out of context.

The watering down of sexism from Sokka could be done in just such a way that translates better to a live action format. It makes sense for Sokka to be sexist in a way that believes in rigid gender roles, but still appreciates the roles women perform. In the cartoon, he was more disparaging of women's roles in general. I think this would be a suitable change that still addresses sexism.

The change of Katara's role in regards to sexism I welcome as a breath of fresh air if it's done how I expect. Katara was portrayed as motherly, and I hope that stays, but her motherliness was seen as nagging, annoying, and a bad thing. She can keep these traits, but be appreciated and not depreciated every second and seen as a bore. She is also a child and deserves to be viewed with the same depth and appreciation as the others.

The Game of Thrones comment also makes sense. This is a show primarily for older audiences who grew up watching Avatar. GOT is a popular, beloved fantasy drama series. Many people who watched ATLA as adults compare the appeal of Avatar to GOT. The comment does not mean that the show is going to have sex scenes and SA scenes. It means it's going to appeal to that sort of audience, which makes complete sense for a fantasy live action series. The head runner of the live action show also stressed that the integrity of the show and its characters remaining intact was pivotal to their depiction. So, striking a balance between making this something fresh and interesting in its new medium, but staying faithful to the original should actually be seen as a promising aspect for the series, not something detrimental. I'm so hackneyed by this fandom's obsession with dragging everything down.

Azula having a bow and arrow is badass. Zuko had the dual swords. I have no idea why anyone is mad about this. It's cool. Her coming in early in an 8-episode series makes sense. She's the best villain in the show, she SHOULD get more screentime. It's not like Toph where her Book 2 introduction is concurrent with the pacing of the plot. I also hope Zuko is on the gaang's side for the entirety of Book 3. I always thought that would have made more sense, gave us better friendship building moments, and improved pacing. This criticism confuses me.

And, the thing about Aang not going off on side quests is simply logical. Of course Aang can't be mentioning side quests and frivolous detours like riding on the sea eel (sorry I forget its proper term rn lol) because the way the show is being adapted does not have any time to show these kinds of filler episode scenes. It's being reimagined as a mini series drama with 8 episodes. It makes no sense to subdivide these episodes to include filler moments, so of course Aang needs to be more plot driven becasue there's less breakdown in the episodes because there are less of them. It doesn't negate his childlike eagerness and faithfullness to his original portrayal. It could also serve as an enhancement where this 20-year-old series fell short, despite its successes.

This is a reimagining, otherwise there's no point. A carbon copy would be absurd and terrible for anyone to watch. Wishing a show to fail that was created by an almost entirely POC cast reclaiming the show's culture is so icky to me and I think it's a disservice to this fandom. I'm hoping for the best and being cautiously optimistic. Of course, things could go sour, but why expect it? Why not hype the show up instead of aspire for its failure? Especially in the Zutara fandom, we should be better than this. There is so much opportunity for this series to correct the problems our fandom at large has been complaining about for years and years.

For the bulk of the fandom, including casual and nostalgic fans, they don't know the horrors of the behind the scenes nonsense Bryke, the two white guys who created ATLA caused. So they're crapping on this version left and right because Bryke left. Bryke didn't even create these characters' depth. They didn't write the intricacies of the beloved episodes or develop the characters the way people are so found of. That was the other writers. Bryke wanted Toph to be a boy and have a love triangle with Aang and Katara. They also wanted Azula to be a boy. They wanted Iroh to betray Zuko and be pro-Ozai at the end of the show and Zuko have to choose between Iroh and the fate of the world. The other writers changed this. Look at the mess they made of LoK without the input of the other writers when they were writing entirely on their own in Legend of Korra book one. Their removal is a chance of further improvement.

[pshbites]

LOVE ON AiR: 16. YAP CENTRAL EP.136: did social media ruin relationships?

WARNiNGS » profanity, mentions of d wording, sexual jokes, crying, ynhoon teasing, yn never being safe

wc: 3.1k

episode desc - enjoy your stay today in yap central! as we’ve done the whole cycle, todays episode is a deeper one! we open up with a positive impact we’ve seen on each other. then we go right in with how our presence on social media has affected our relationships. following that up we keep the theme of the deeper episode and go over the influence social media has on us and how we view ourselves. we end the episode off by saying one thing we’ve noticed about one another as we’ve grown and how we think it affects the friendship. the episode ends off on a bittersweet note but we hope you enjoyed your stay today in yap central!

*the 6 of you are seated in your assigned seats. jungwon adjusts the soundboard and riki tests the mic out, then giving him a thumbs up. sunoo sets his mic up a little closer to pick up his audio and looks to the camera, setting his phone down*

sunoo: it’s been so long since we sat in here

giselle: i know like two weeks right?

yn: i think almost three *you say, adjusting your outfit as well as your seating position. riki scoots over so you have more room.*

jungwon: i mean it counts as like a summer break since we didn’t really take one.

kat: good point. you know guys do you guys remember those um fuck what were they called

riki: it would help if you gave a description

kat: shut up im thinking

*the rest of you stare at kat in silence until jungwon breaks the silence to laugh, the rest of you following suit*

jungwon: im sorry it’s just what could it be that has you thinking that long

giselle: she’s using everything in that little brain come on now!

*giselles comment makes the rest of you laugh even harder, kat laughing as well*

kat: i can’t even think of it nevermind

yn: it’s okay babe you’ll find it later.

riki: i have to say these costumes are amazing actually. might be my favorite theme

giselle: you know riki you’ve been hating a lot less recently.

jungwon: i was gonna say that too, he’s a bit nicer

riki: what can i say, finally holding my deal for the new year’s resolution

yn: watch now that we said this he’s gonna be doing some fucked up shit by the time the episode comes out

*a text box pops up on the screen saying “he in fact did do some fucked up shit during the editing process of the episode - jungwon” then disappears after a couple seconds.*

riki: you have no faith in me

yn: simply stating the facts

jungwon: you guys ready for me to sign in?

kat: go for it man *she nods at jungwon who smiles back. jungwon adjusts himself and looks to the camera*

jungwon: beep beep! you’ve arrived in yap central i am your host today, jungwon or aang. starting from my far left we have.

kat: toph

riki: zuko

yn: katara!

giselle: azula

sunoo: appa!! *he shows off his fuzzy appa bucket hat, earning a smile from all of you*

yn: sunoo i love you please don’t die

*sunoo looks at you in horror as the others burst out laughing*

jungwon: anyways.. *nervous laugh* the cycle is complete so today is a deep episode!

giselle: oh my god last time i literally bawled on my way home

kat: won you always pick the most brutal questions

sunoo: i cannot believe you asked us if the younger versions of ourselves would like the us now. like that is so ugh

riki: look at the way he’s smiling i think it’s something torturing again

*jungwon grins evilly at everyone making the rest of you groan in both discomfort and agony.*

jungwon: starting with my first question! what is a positive impact you have noticed on each of us. let’s start with sunoo. you guys don’t have to go one at a time just build it up.

sunoo: okay well.. lay it on me. *he looks to the rest of you, nervously, then shocked at who speaks up first*

riki: you laugh a lot more

*giselles eyes widened as riki spoke, the rest of you sharing the same reaction. everyone stayed quiet so riki could talk.*

riki: like when we were in highschool you always seemed to be bothered, or like you just never really were happy. and i think when we started doing this and you started tiktok you’ve been a lot happier

yn: i was honestly gonna say the same thing. you seem happier when we go out sunoo, like you want to be there.

sunoo: i feel a lot happier, honestly it sounds stupid but doing this with you guys does make me really happy.

kat: i agree. i mean i really wouldn’t trade it for anything.

giselle: awww look at us having our moment!

*both you and sunoo giggle at giselles comment, jungwon nodding to giselle, signaling she’s next*

kat: giselle, you don’t really care what people have to say about you anymore.

jungwon: ahhhh i was gonna say that

kat: like you seem so much more confident now than you did before.

giselle: when though? because i feel like i just started feeling like this overnight.

yn: if i were to pinpoint a time frame id say when you broke up with [BLEEP]

sunoo: no i COMPLETELY agree, like there’s a brightness to you now.

giselle: aw thank you guys *she pouted then smiled*

jungwon: guys please be nice to me.

riki: you’ve always been a natural born leader. i just think you’ve always been positive.

yn: i agree but there’s like a glow to him now

kat: oh my god are you pregnant?

*everyone looks at kat then bursts out laughing. some of you stop but jungwon and giselle can’t stop laughing.*

sunoo: oh my god it has something to do with who gave you that bracelet

jungwon: sunoo seriously *his cheeks turn pink, hand now covering the friendship bracelet*

giselle: oooo who made it for you?

jungwon: it was a mutual swap

yn: mutual swap.. or she gave you that wap?

*the others start laughing again, jungwon as well. riki daps you up*

riki: that was a bar

jungwon: i’m not admitting anything.. on camera.

everyone: OOOOOOOO

jungwon: next! go flame yn!!

yn: not fair, we weren’t even done with you

jungwon: don’t care, you’re not as closed off as you used to be

riki: oh my god yeah, when we were kids you were so shy

yn: really? i feel like im still in my little shell

kat: no i get what they mean. i mean even when i met you, you were really shy.

yn: thank you?

riki: i think jungwon means it in the way that you’re more open to meeting others now. like you enjoy being a people person

yn: ahhh, i see now. i guess the podcast really helped with that. like seeing people say how they enjoy my little bits and just things like that. it sounds conceited but it almost made me feel like people actually valued me? you know.

giselle: i get it, it doesn’t sound conceited babe

yn: okay i don’t like this much attention

giselle: this sounds weird to say but riki has gotten nicer atleast to us

kat: yeah i see

riki: die

sunoo: glad to know you haven’t changed..

jungwon: guess someone doesn’t wanna open up today

riki: oh would you look at that! it’s kats turn!!

yn: i think kats tells us a lot more now. like before you never really told us anything about yourself.

kat: i just have trust issues, it was nothing personal.

giselle: it’s true it took her so long to open up to me

riki: i honestly think the podcast brought out the best in us. surprisingly enough

jungwon: i see what you mean. maybe another way to put it is that we realized how much closer the camera brought us

giselle: or this friendship is just a ploy for jungwon to make more money off of us

*everyone laughs*

sunoo: we’re such coworkers

yn: heard it here first!! giselle hates her friends

giselle: can you stop with that *laughs*

yn: oh i’ll drag it through the mud

giselle: then i’ll drag yn[BLEEP] through the mud

*everyone laughs even harder now, you side eyeing giselle.*

sunoo: she kinda got you there

yn: let’s move on?

jungwon: speaking of relationships. *you glare jungwon down as he chuckles a little, looking at his phone once more.* how do you guys think social media affected your relationships and how do you think social media just influences how you view yourself. you can answer it in any order.

sunoo: i feel like having a presence on social media just makes having a relationship so much harder.

giselle: it kinda does, like people just expect for you to lay out your entire lives on social media.

jungwon: i think it depends on what kind of person you’re with, it’s almost like that person has to be up to your fans standards you know.

yn: i think there’s some people who can be normal about it but at the same time you have to be okay with everyone knowing everything about you.

kat: yeah but then it just shows that people online think that we don’t deserve privacy. it’s fucked up like they’re borderline stalking us you know?

*riki glanced at you as kat spoke, noticing how you stiffened at the word stalking*

riki: a lot of people aren’t okay online, it’s weird. like being so obsessed with someone to the point of finding out their personal information

giselle: if that ever happened to any of us i really don’t know what i would do.

jungwon: i think i honestly would try to sue you know. you have to be a certain level of fucked to do something like that.

yn: yeah, i agree it’s so weird.

kat: i kinda don’t wanna sound like a pick me

riki: just say it, you won’t sound like one.

kat: it’s so much harder being a girl with a social media presence.

sunoo: the fact that you had to hesitate to even say that says everything

jungwon: i really don’t get it either, like i’ve seen both women and men do the same things online and sometimes the guy is worse than the girl and yet it’s always the girl getting attacked and harassed.

giselle: i think it’s because people just view girls as easy targets almost. like a girl could do something completely normal and the internet would spin it to make her a villain

yn: it’s disgusting really, no one really ever really wants to side with a girl.

jungwon: do the comments still get you guys? i mean i know it was really bad in the beginning

kat: actually no i remember when it got bad. it got bad that episode where [BLEEP]

*jungwon and giselle glance at each other then start laughing*

giselle: remind me to edit that out.

yn: honestly no, the comments don’t bother as much anymore. after a while i realized that they’re just saying this because they have nothing else to talk about so i just stopped looking.

kat: i agree, it gets better when you just stop reading the comments all together.

riki: god please take periods away from women and give it all to me.

*you and kat give riki a look then burst out laughing, sunoo jungwon and giselle following that.*

sunoo: can’t stay serious for a second

riki: i would never joke about women in pain

*jungwon and kat keep laughing as riki goes on, unable to take him seriously*

yn: going back to the original question i just think it’s hard, like seeing people overstep a boundary or intrude on your life and just be okay with it

sunoo: and people just say oh well you asked for this um? no i didn’t actually i just wanted post skincare videos

*jungwon snorts, causing a chain reaction for everyone else to laugh*

kat: im glad we haven’t cried in this episode yet.

giselle: oh my god don’t jinx it he still has two more questions

jungwon: you might cry at this next one *kat sends a look to jungwon and he gives her an evil smile* my next question is what changes have we seen in one another as we’ve grown up together. it can be good or bad.

riki: jungwons lost it this is so similar to the first question

yn: i feel like he means overall

jungwon: thank you! atleast someon listens to me

yn: *you look around shocked and confused* oh my god.. did you guys hear that? was that a ghost?

*jungwon stares at you as everyone else laughs at your joke*

sunoo: so are we gonna go around in a circle?

jungwon: no how about.. the person sitting across from you. like riki sits across from giselle so they can say it about each other

kat: wait i wanna start

sunoo: this is too much pressure

kat: *she stares at sunoo and smiles warmly* sunoo i admire your love for us. like i don’t know you always support all of us no matter what and i feel like as we’ve grown closer you just have so much love to give

giselle: that’s so adorable

riki: sunoo i love your videos please don’t die

sunoo: STOP WITH THAT JOKE *he turns to look at kat* thank you kat i love you. i have to say sometimes i feel like you don’t tell us everything but it’s okay, just because we’re your friends doesn’t mean we have to know everything about you. i just want you to know that we’ll always listen no matter what.

*kat stares at sunoo as he smiles at her, then looks down when she feels tears welling up in her eyes. riki looks at giselle and jungwon panicked as they pass him the box of tissues.*

yn: aw babe *you frown looking at her as she lifts her head up to see tears streaming down her cheeks*

sunoo: wait i didn’t mean to make you cry

kat: it’s okay i jinxed myself

*everyone laughs slightly, still worried about her. sunoo moves his mic and gets up to hug kat. they stay like that for a few seconds until he lets go, patting her head. he says something but the mic can’t pick it up then walks back to his seat.*

kat: it’s not that i don’t want there was just a time where i felt like no one really care you know?

jungwon: you’re not obligated to tell us everything, but we care more than you think even if we have weird ways of showing it. *he glares at riki who only throws his hands up*

*the rest of you laugh at riki’s reaction and even kat lets out a chuckle after wiping her tears*

kat: to the viewers watching.. this never happened i am mysterious and batman doesn’t cry

giselle: nurse.. she’s out again

riki: okay giselle! lay it on me! *claps his hands together*

giselle: you use being mean as a cover up you actually care a lot about what people think but you use being rude or mean as a shield.

*sunoo gasps, the rest of you stare in silence because giselle is 100% right*

riki: okay cut the cameras

jungwon: i mean she’s not wrong

riki: if you wanted me to cry it’s not gonna happen

giselle: i know

riki: i hate you guys

sunoo: yeah sure you do

riki: well, since you want a taste of your own medicine *riki clears his throat* you shouldn’t get into another relationship, atleast until you evaluate how you act during them.

giselle: excuse me?

jungwon: weird ass time to admit your feelings

riki: you’re a weirdo that’s not how i meant it

yn: well then how did you mean it

kat: i’m curious

riki: every time i've seen you get into a relationship you just stop acting like yourself. you’re less confident and it’s almost as if you change yourself to please the guy you’re with. I just don’t like seeing any of my friends like that.

*all of you stare in silence at giselle, the air feeling heavy as she pushes her mic away and mumbles something to jungwon then ups and leaves.*

yn: um. is she okay?

jungwon: she needs a second

riki: was it something i said?

jungwon: it’ll be okay, she just said she needs a second.

sunoo: she’ll be okay guys, let’s move on yeah?

yn: okay well.. jungwon i think you bottle a lot of things up, intentional or not.

jungwon: *he sighs, crossing his arms* it’s not intentional i just think you guys have too many worries on your own plates to worry about mine.

kat: even if we have a lot going on that’ll never stop us from wanting to know what’s going on won

jungwon: i know i guess it’s just hard? to admit i need help?

sunoo: there’s never anything wrong with that

jungwon: thanks guys

riki: yeah yeah

jungwon: okay yn, im glad you like yourself more

kat: um

riki: wow!

sunoo: that is certainly a statement

yn: excuse me??

jungwon: no i worded that terribly

*the 5 of you burst out laughing at jungwons poor word choice. within this time giselle walks back in, closing the door slightly. the mics can’t pick it up but riki mouths “im sorry” to her. causing her to shake her head and smile. “it’s good” she mouths back making him smile back.*

jungwon: what i mean to say is that you’re more confident now. not just about yourself but your videos too. i’m glad to see this change in you

yn: thank you won, it means a lot

jungwon: of course

giselle: well this was certainly an episode

yn: one of us always ends up crying

sunoo: that sadist probably likes it too

jungwon: woah? the term isn’t sadist

*the rest of you laugh*

sunoo: let’s have a group hug! everyone up on your feet

*sunoo stands up, kat and giselle following suit. you and jungwon stand up and riki groans, then reluctantly stands up. the 6 of you huddle around one another and go for a group hug. the mics can’t pick up your voices but the recording has slight shuffling and giggles from you 6. after a couple seconds you pull apart and sit back down in your respective seats.*

giselle: i love you guys

kat: me too

sunoo: me three

jungwon: me four

yn: me five

*everyone looks at riki who only rolls his eyes*

riki: me six..

jungwon: well guys hope you enjoyed your stay in yap central we hope you didn’t cry too much. i have been your host jungwon and please make sure to check out our links in this description and like, share, subscribe, and comment! till next time!!

previous masterlist next

AUTHORS NOTE » lol UMMMMMMM sorry guys i didnt realize how long it had been without an update WE ARE SO BACK THO

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[specialagentlokitty]

Zuko x reader - the right side

Hi! I just recently discovered your blog and I’ve been loving your writing so much! I would like to request a part two to your Zuko x Reader - The Right Side. It’s so well done and I’m curious to see what happens after Zuko and the reader reconnect :) - Anon💜

Part two:

He slowly stood up and stepped out from the group, he looked at you, and you stared at him intently. It made him shiver the way you looked at him.

Your gaze was so full of fury, hatred, sadness, betrayal.

So many things Zuko thought he would never see in your eyes again, he never thought it would ever be directed at him.

“Why are you here?” You spat.

“I’m here to help, I swear. I want to teach Aang Fire bending.” He said

You scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest as you carried on gazing at him.

Zuko gulped a little as he dared to take a small step forward, and then another.

He kept going until you kicked your leg out, sending a line of fire directly in his path which he barely managed to dodge.

“(Y/N) don’t!” Aang rushed out.

You turned to Aang, frowning heavily but you lowered your hands and took a few steps towards the avatar.

You were furious with Zuko, and they all knew it.

“Go calm down.” Katara whispered.

“Come on, I’ll come with you.” Toph said.

She led you a way from everyone and Zuko watched in sadness as you left.

“She hates me…” he mumbled.

“She doesn’t hate you, she just needs time, that’s all.” Katara smiled.

“Yeah, (Y/N) can’t hate anyone, trust me!” Aang beamed.

Zuko looked over at them then turned to Sokka who gave a small shrug.

“I’ll be honest, she could hate you. You nearly killed her, betrayed her and just left her. She’s pretty mad man.”

“Sokka!” Katara hissed.

“No, no. I need to hear the truth.” Zuko said softly.

Zuko left, and for the rest of the night no one saw him, or you or Toph.

The earth bender came back before you, saying that you decided to head back to your room last night and she decided to go to bed, but she hadn’t heard from you since then.

Everything went to hell pretty quickly, from the killer Zuko hired showing up, and Azula appearing out of nowhere you guys had to fight for your lives to get out.

And you decided to sit up with Aang away from the fire Prince.

“Just talk to him.” Aang spoke softly.

“Not a chance.”

“(Y/N) he’s really trying. He feels bad for what he did and he wants to apologise, the first step to moving forward is to forgive.”

“I love you Aang, but you’re to oblivious to how to world works. It’s all good and well to pretend everything can be fixed with a simply apology but it can’t.”

Aang sighed, turning to look at you.

“You’re right, it can’t. But it’s a start, right? It will be great to be able to take some of that weight from your shoulders and throw it away. No one says you have to talk to him after that, you just have to hear him out.”

“I’m sorry Aang, but no.”

Even as you guys landed, he tried to keep convincing you to talk to Zuko, but you weren’t having it.

Sokka and Toph had asked asked you to just listen to what Zuko had to say, though Toph’s only reason was so she didn’t have to hear him complaining about it anymore.

Katara came over and sat next to you on the rock you had perched yourself on.

“If you’re here to tell me to forgive Zuko don’t bother.”

“I’m not.”

You turned to her slightly shocked.

“I understand why you’re angry, why you don’t want to talk to him or forgive him. You don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“Thanks Katara.” You smiled.

She nodded and left, and you carried on looking out over the horizon.

Someone else sat next to you and immediately you stood up and started to walk away.

“Please! I’ll do anything! Just let me explain!” He begged.

“You want me to listen to you? Fine. I challenge you to an Agni kai.” You snapped.

“No!” Aang yelled.

The trio rushed over, trying to stop what was about to happen.

“If that’s what you want then okay. I accept.” Zuko nodded.

No one could stop this, they knew the rules, they couldn’t stop it, they couldn’t help either of you, they just had to watch it play out.

And they knew there was only so many outcomes.

Either you hurt Zuko bad enough for him to feel your pain, or you would be so blinded but your anger for him you would try your best to kill him.

You and Zuko stood opposite each other, and you stripped yourself of Iroh’s cloak before handing it to Katara to look after.

“Please go easy.” She whispered.

Saying nothing, you stepped back in front of Zuko, and he just stared at you.

You threw the first attack, pushing your hands forward to create a massive surge of flames straight at the Prince.

He easily deflected your attack, and carried on standing there, so you attacked again.

Kicking your leg in the air you sent attack after attack after attack.

All of which he deflected.

“Fight me you coward!” You yelled.

“No.”

You yelled and ran over to him, attempting to punch him but he dodged it, and so you tried to knock his legs from under him, but he dodged that as well.

“Fight me!”

“No! I won’t hurt you!” He yelled.

Zuko breathed heavily as he dodged your attacks.

Usually you were so well coordinated, you thought your attacks out carefully that you were able to knock him down easily.

But this time you were so blinded by your emotions that you were just attacking blindly, you were messy and desperate.

“Why won’t you fight me!?”

“Because I refuse to hurt you!”

Zuko grabbed your arm as you lunged at him, spinning you around so you were behind him and let go.

You stumbled a few steps and turned around.

You were heaving for air, hands on your knees as your eyes locked with his.

“Why not? You already have, May as well finish the job right?” You sneered.

“N..no.. no that’s not what I want…”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes as you turned around and started to walk away.

“Fine.”

Zuko sighed with relief, as did everyone else.

The battle was over, Zuko never once threw an attack, and you had finally called it off as you started to walk away.

In a split second, you spun around, kicking your leg up in the air, you sent a rope of fire at Zuko.

He barely managed to dodge it thanks to everyone calling his name, and he fell to the floor.

Running over, you took a deep breath and stared down at him as you stood above him.

Slowly you raised your hand towards the sky, crackling sounding at the tips of your fingers, and blue lightening started to build up.

“(Y/N) NO!” Sokka yelled.

“DONT!” Aang and Katara begged.

Toph tried to put up a wall between you and the Prince but she couldn’t, you were stood right over him, and she couldn’t put the earth between you both.

Zuko looked between you and the lightening in pure horror.

For you to do this it meant that you were sound of mind, you knew what you were doing, and you knew exactly what it was you were about to do as well.

As you stared at Zuko, you could register the fear in his eyes, the fear and regret.

The same thing you felt on that night he had attacked you, the pure fear running through your veins.

You had promised yourself you would never hurt anyone, you swore to yourself that you would protect people and keep them safe.

“If you want to do this… then that’s okay…” Zuko whispered.

You pointed your other hand at him, the charge was nearly finished.

Zuko gave you a sad and broken smile.

“Tell uncle I’m sorry…”

He closed his eyes and something in your snapped.

There was a loud crash, and everyone slowly opened their eyes to see what horror waited before them.

The trees in front of you had been blow down, a small fire in the centre where the blast was aimed.

You had fallen to your knees over Zuko.

He was still pinned below you, your knees rested on the dirt and you had your head cast down.

Zuko flinched when he felt something fall on his face, and he opened his eyes when he felt it again.

His eyes gazed up at yours, watching as the tears slowly slipped free as you stared at him in pure horror.

His heart pounded in his chest, his breathing was ragged and he was shaking.

Your tears fell on his face as you slowly fell to the side, resting your hands in your knees as you bowed your head down to hide your face.

“I’m.. I’m a monster…” you chocked out.

You swore you’d never hurt anyone, you’d protect people and keep them safe.

And out of pure, unresolved emotion you nearly killed Zuko.

You nearly killed a person.

A person you once trusted with your very life, a person who you had grown up with and whom you loved with your whole heart.

And he nearly died by your very hand.

Slowly Zuko sat up, turned to look behind him at what was left of the trees before he turned to you.

He reached out and hesitated, then finally reached out fully, placing his hand on your head before he quickly pulled you into him.

You wrapped your arms around Zuko, all the hatred and anger you felt was gone, you were scared, upset, ashamed.

Your fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt as you cried into his shoulder.

He held you tightly against his chest, burying his face into your neck as he let a few tears slip free.

Aang and Katara ushered Sokka and Toph away, leaving the pair of you alone.

The worst of it was over now, whatever happened now was up to whatever you and Zuko decided to do about what had happened on that night

[sleepyzukka]

I’m gonna be real, I think the writers simply didn’t want to give Azula a good ending or a good relationship with any of her family due to misogyny and ableism. I mean how hard was it to make her and her brother get along for at least a few minutes? So many ATLA characters had potential to be really good and they fucked them over because of how normalized it is to hate women and pity and praise men for the exact same thing women are hated for.

I’ve seen better dynamics between Zuko and Azula in FANFICTION than in the actual show or comics.

It’s like, you can give them moments of actually being siblings and STILL give them a complicated relationship and have Zuko feel inferior to Azula.

They grew up together, they had the same parents, they were both neglected by one of their parents, in Azula’s case BOTH of her parents.

And personally I feel like Ursa was kind of failing as a mother for Zuko as well but I won’t get TOO into that. She loved him, yes, but that doesn’t mean she truly did any good for him other than preventing him from being killed to be honest. If she genuinely cared for her kids she would have made sure they’d stick together and be there for each other. She would’ve taught him how to actually survive in the fire nation palace.

Ursa could have done so much for Azula as well. Ozai wasn’t present in their lives. In Zuko’s flashbacks, and even in the comic, we see that he is practically nowhere to be found half the time. Who was stopping her from watching Azula train? From complimenting her and giving her praise? From sitting with her by the turtleduck pond? She could have done literally anything with Azula and she chose not to.

Yes, Ursa was a victim but that doesn’t excuse the fact she failed as a mother.

But that’s just my opinion do NOT attack me about this I really don’t care.

[ragzonacamrencruise]

What do you think of an Azutara idea where Azula gets sick and Katara takes care of her?

oooohhhhh it could go smthn like . . . . hmmm . . . okay hear meowt-

***

The time Azula spent in the mental institution only solidified her deteriorating physical condition. Katara knew, that if threatened, Azula could easily take her down with a single blow. But that doesn't hold true when she's literally a walking skeleton, with the constant threat of dismantling and falling in a pile of weak bones.

She won't admit it though. Her bloodcells are fighting for their lives and Katara could practically hear Azula's muscles screaming out in pain when she goes around and performs exceptionally hard katas in the name of training and keeping her body fit.

It's only been two months since Azula was finally allowed out of the institution after two excruciatingly long years of torture with mirrors and chains. She was in no shape to even sit up properly without help when she first arrived.

A weak immune system is only one of the many gifts the institution provided her, along with nail scratches on random places of her body and her unevenly cut hair.

Azula is a morning person, Katara soon comes to find. She wakes up every morning to meditate and practice her katas. She knows it wasn't a luxury she had in the institution so Azula was adamant on continuing it to get back in shape. And Katara was adamant on keeping an eye on her every morning so that she doesn't do anything stupid. Like collapsing on the floor after a spinning kick like she did two days ago, or something like that.

Azula's better now though. She's gained a little weight in these couple of months and is slowly reverting back to her old self again. Colour is back in her face and the barber did an excellent job by cutting her hair in way that the uneven chunks were no longer odd but in place with the rest of her hair precisely. She has her hair up in a top-knot, the rest of it falling freely down her shoulder with her signature strands of hair framing the sides of her face. She looks . . .

Katara struggles to find the exact word to describe Azula as she watches her meditate facing her in an open courtyard built for training and practice.

Different.

Katara settles on that.

Somedays, she even joins her when Azula trained. Simply because she feels the need to get closer to the firebender in case she falls or . . . something Katara wasn't sure about. She just needed to make sure, up close that the princess was okay.

Azula lets out a gentle sneeze and that immediately brings Katara out of her thoughts. She frowns when the firebender lets out a follow up sneeze, but this time stronger than it's predecessor. She sniffs a bit before resuming her disrupted meditation session.

"Your Highness . . ." Katara trails off, worried. She never calls Azula by her name in open spaces like this. She simply cannot when Azula's posture oozes regal elegance. But she's always 'Azula' in her head. Especially during their healing sessions behind closed doors where no one was allowed till the session gets over.

"What?" Azula says softly, still with her eyes closed. Her tone has a hint of annoyance at the disruption to her meditation again, but nothing more.

Katara's face is riddled with worry. "Are you catching a cold?"

Azula scowls. Katara's not sure how she can do that even with her eyes closed. "No. And even if I am, it's no concern of yours."

Katara eyes her suspiciously. These past two months have been hard. Katara's sole job was to break down Azula's walls brick by brick so that the princess would allow herself to be taken care of. Azula's been reluctant in letting Katara do it for her. But Katara, being Katara with her stubborn, adamant self, would take none of the firebender's protests. Azula had given up on day four.

Katara rises up from her seat at the edge of the courtyard to go and plop down right infront of the princess. She runs her eyes over the perfectly chiseled face, looking for anything out of place. However, she gets distracted once with the firebender's full lips, but she steadies her eyes and thoughts, to the task at hand. Focus, Katara . . .

She does find something disturbing, though. "You look pale." She notes. "Have you been eating well?"

If Azula's surprised by Katara's voice sounding so close to her, she doesn't show it on her face. She still has her eyes closed. "Shush! I'm trying to concentrate here, peasant."

Katara's been with Azula long enough to know that that word isn't derogatory anymore. The princess just likes to call her that. Especially after Katara mentioned to her once that she's the daughter of the Southern Water Tribe's chief and the princess just replied, 'I know' with a shrug.

Smiling to herself at the memory, Katara raises her hand to Azula's forehead, intent on checking her temperature. But before her hand could make contact with the pale skin, Azula's jet-like fingers shoot out to her wrist, stopping her ministrations suddenly with a precise grip.

Katara gasps softly at that.

Her eyes are still closed. How did she . . . ?

When she looks up, Azula's dazzling golden eyes are trained directly on her and she feels her face getting warm under the princess's gaze. Her body might be weak; but her eyes still haven't toned down from their sharpness yet. And the waterbender doubts that it ever will. It's still piercing and . . . warm.

No, hot is more like it.

"You should know by now, that invading a fire royalty's personal space without their explicit permission is a crime punishable by solitary confinement for 5 years."

Katara can do nothing but let her lips fall open and shift her eyes between the princess's golden ones, cuz she can't seem to focus on one, cuz they're too damn close.

Then, she finds mirth dancing in those golden orbs and she lets out a sharp breath. "You actually had me there for a second."

Azula lets Katara's wrist out of her grasp and the waterbender immediately misses the warmth the hand provided her with. "I can still have you there for a second. It won't take me a minute to call the guards and let you rot away for 5 years."

Katara's eyes narrow. "You wouldn't do that."

"Wanna bet?"

Katara's eyebrows fall together as she notices Azula's voice getting scratchy. She raises her hand again and this time, the princess lets her, golden orbs watching her intently. She places the back of her palm on her forehead, and then on her neck before letting out a gasp.

"You're burning up!"

"I'm a firebender, peasant. In case you haven't noticed."

Katara wants to face-palm. She really does. But she resists the urge. "Your Highness, you're sick. We need to get you to bed."

Azula's face takes up a 'what-the-fuck' look. "I'm not sick!"

"Yes, you are."

"Move away before I punch you in the face. I need to get back to my training and you're turning out to be a nuisance."

"Your Highness." Katara tries again.

Azula doesn't answer her, closing her eyes and about to rivert back to her meditation. The waterbender rolls her eyes before catching hold of Azula's wrist, tugging it gently. "Come on . . . You know you're sick!"

"Leave me alone."

"Let's go." Katara tugs at her hand again, making a move to stand up. "I'll have the chefs make you some nice, hot, chicken soup with lots of fire-flakes, just the way you like it. Come on."

"No."

"Princess . . ."

"No."

"You're sick!"

"I'm no- a- A- AACHOO!!"

Katara gives her a look and she knows Azula's aware of it, now that her eyes are open from the force of her sneeze. "Your Highness-"

Azula snatches her hand from Katara's grip. "No. No. NO. I'm not sick!"

"You know you are!"

"No, I'm not!!"

"AZULA!!"

The firebender looks at her, stunned. Katara's yell echoes all around the courtyard. Thankfully, no one is there to hear it. Even Katara's a little taken-aback by her own little outburst.

She acts fast, trying not to lose her advantage. "Let's go. Now!" She commands.

She catches hold of Azula's wrist again and this time, the princess follows the waterbender without a word as she makes her way to the royal kitchens.

...

Katara finds herself feeding Azula her soup.

The firebender's neatly tucked inside her bed, leaning against the headboard with the support of a soft pillow. Not a single word was exchanged between them since Katara's outburst in the courtyard that morning.

The servants who popped up to help feed Azula were quickly dismissed by the waterbender who was determined to do the job herself. She avoids Azula's eyes at all costs, as she knows very well that if she ever looks at them, she'll drown.

The princess on the other hand, has no such restrictions as she openly stares at Katara, just as she's feeding her spoonfuls of hot soup. Katara makes sure to blow on them for a bit before placing it on Azula's lips, in case it burns her.

It's silent between them. Katara's well aware of Azula's eyes on her, but she fights like her life depends on it to not look up, and she forces herself to focus on the task at hand.

When the contents of the bowl reduces to only a few more spoonfuls, Azula speaks softly.

"My father used to train me and Zuko."

Katara's hand stills just for a split second, before she resumes her task. She feeds Azula one more spoonful. The firebender swallows it after savouring the taste, then speaks again.

"Zuko and I were not allowed to eat before completing our meditation, katas, training and meditation again, in the morning."

Azula opens her mouth for another spoonful, gulps it down, then continues. "I remember when one day, I hadn't eaten any dinner the previous night as I was mad at Zuko for something stupid he did. So my stomach was growling even before we were through with the first meditation session that morning-" Katara feeds her and Azula drinks the soup hurriedly to complete her story. "I took a chance to ask father if he'll allow us to eat before training that day."

Katara scoops up the last spoonful from the bowl and places the edge of the spoon on Azula's lips as she happily opens her mouth to recieve it. The waterbender then places the empty bowl on the dinner tray kept beside the bed. She bends the water inside the glass on the same tray and turns to Azula. She makes water droplets touch the firebender's lips and around her mouth to clean any soup that might've found their way to her cheeks or chin.

"He told me to silence myself and not speak another word."

Katara frowns as she turns around to the tray again to pick up a hot towel.

"He used the same tone to say my name as you did this morning in the courtyard."

Katara's whole body stills halfway to Azula with the towel in her hand. A pang of guilt grips her heart as tears form in her eyes in a flash. She wills herself to say something. Anything. Apologize. But her throat chokes up and she's unable bring herself to even make a sound as she completes the remaining distance between them slowly to wipe around the lips of the firebender.

She feels Azula's stare on her and yet she busies herself with the task.

"I liked it."

Katara's eyes betray her as they snap up to Azula, wide with shock. The hand wiping Azula's mouth slows down before dropping down to brace themselves on Azula's chest.

"Not in a weird, masochistic way." Azula continues with a soft smile. "I liked it because, you used that same tone to make me do the complete opposite of what my father wanted me to do."

Hot tears leak out from Katara's eyes as they stay helplessly locked on Azula's gentle, golden ones.

"I liked it because, I understood that you genuinely care about my well being and no one has ever done that before. Not even my mother." Azula says, as she rubs the pad of her thumb to wipe the tear on Katara's cheek.

"I liked it because, it showed what my father thinks of me is absolutely immaterial."

Katara blinks, her thoughts racing.

"I liked it because, it made me realise," The princess whispers, fixing her strong gaze on the waterbender, "that I like you . . ."

Katara's eyes widen.

Her mind struggles to wrap the idea around.

Azula likes her.

Azula.

She lets the towel fall from her hand. She doesn't realise what she's doing until she feels Azula's warm breath and an even warmer smile against her lips, pulling her close by the hips.

Katara's hand comes up to hold the firebender's delicate face as she plants her lips on hers again.

And again.

And again.

Until her brain catches up with what she's doing, and the waterbender lets out a raspy little giggle against the full lips that she was distracted by this very morning, overwhelmed with feelings, suddenly shy to look at the princess. "You should be resting, Your Highness." She says, her eyes betraying her to gaze up into those golden pools.

Azula looks at her with such gentleness, Katara feels like she's gonna explode. "Stay with me?"

"Of course."

...

Zuko finds Katara walking into the general meeting room that evening for their daily sessions with the Earth Kingdom officials to negotiate repurcussion terms, with a stupid little smile on her face.

"Someone's in a good mood." He says, eyeing her curiously.

Katara throws him a radiant smile. "Is it that obviou- a- A- AACHOO!!! AACHOOOOO!!!!"

Zuko's brows fall together. "Katara?"

She looks at him with horror. "Oh, no-"

***

i love this prompt sooo much ahhhhhhhhhh

lemme know what you think omg!!!!

[thetraumaking]

The Accurses Crown

Other chapters

Chapter 11: Payback

As months passed, the sense of debt did nothing but grow. The more you care for her the more she wants to prove herself to you. 

She has seen parents praise and flaunt their children, and their mediocre achievements, as if they were war heroes. She has also noticed how her father had been bringing you more and more to his meetings and war functions. Even her grandfather had sent you on a siege on one of the Earth kingdom’s territories(you of course came back victorious.) 

The two have been shoving new titles and privileges onto you. And knowing full well they can’t simply hand it to you, they have been forcefully sending you out for war so you could earn them. 

Every other week there seems to be a party for your success behind the palace walls. And since no self-respecting noble wears an outfit more than once, each month they have been ordering new and more complex designs. truly a golden age for tailors and designers. 

It was wonderful to see you shine and have the recognition you deserve but the peaceful times where you would train her or cook for her have been sacrificed. Rather than every day, her training sessions with you have decreased to once every five days. 

She missed spending time with you. She missed having you do her hair. She missed your flavourless cooking that was rich in vitamins and minerals. She missed your hands on her head. 

Soon, the little time she would spend with you diminished when she was sent away to the Royal Fire Academy, you couldn’t even send her off(her grandfather had sent you away for yet another mission.)

She missed those moments more when her environment changed. Azula was born and grew up within the palace, with countless servants, large halls, and expensive decor that had years of history. All that was now replaced with cheap replicas and her room -may be the biggest in the student dorm- now thrice smaller. She couldn't even have her meals within her room and was required to be in the dining halls during meal time, surrounded by leeches who wanted to suck up to her. 

Though it is fun watching them try but the ones that did approach her simply could not fully comprehend her greatness. All they knew was that she was the princess, nothing more and nothing less. They didn’t know the fact that she was a bending prodigy or that she had been receiving special training from one of the elite soldiers within the kingdom. 

Once, prior to her attending the academy, she requested from her grandfather if she would be able to accompany you to one of your battles. Her grandfather didn’t allow it, stating that she is far too young and though the battle experience would aid her but the facts still remain, her bending skills leave much to be desired. 

She knows that she isn’t at your level yet. But she also acknowledges that she is ahead of her peers. With just a bit more training, she knows that she will be qualified to attend the war meetings alongside you, gain more experience, and be more skilled than her brother could ever imagine. Someone who is strong enough so that even you would show no shame in relying on. 

So with her goal set in mind, she did her own training. Every day for up to five hours, she trained, and for the remainder of the time she would study war tactics and history books. 

Her everyday life had become a routine, and while being so far away from you was troubling, time seemed to fly by. And before she knew it, she was on her way back to the palace for break. She had no recollection of the events that took place during her school days. The days simply sped past her and there were no memorable moments to look back to. 

She guessed the only lesson she received from the academy was that month-long falconry class. 

Once her ship had docked, Azula was quick to hop off to be greeted by her home. Her servants and guards stood by in a neat formation, all with their heads down, bowing to her. 

She paid them no mind, instead, she searched through the crowd. Her eyes looking for yours yet she couldn’t see you. 

Walking to the nearest servant, she asked for your whereabouts. Were you perhaps on yet another mission? Why weren’t you here with everyone to greet her? To congratulate her for a successful full year at the academy?

The response she got was not to her liking. 

Her jaw clenched as she marched to the training ground as her fists began to steam, releasing small puffs of fire with each swing. She was unaware of the maids that shared worried glances to one another after the burnt footprints that were left behind each of her steps. 

“Y-your Highness before you go to the Major, you must go greet His Majesty-”

“Are you, a lowly commoner, telling me, the princess, what to do?” She turned to the now fearful maid. How dare she? Who does she think she is?

“N-no Your Highness! Please forgive me! It won’t happen again.”

“It better not. Why don’t you make yourself useful and take my luggage to my room?” Before she continued on her route, she spared the maid one final glance. She took a good look at her, “If I find anything missing, I'll hold you responsible.”

With that, she left. 

When she made it to the ground, she made it in time to see you flip her brother. Zuko harshly landed on his back, clearly getting winded. 

The display of her brother getting hurt would have brightened her mood if he didn’t smile up at you. She felt her eyebrow twitch. 

Normally, when something as minuscule as a scraped knee would warrant the water works, he laughed when he got slammed onto the ground. 

She watches you give him a hand, lecturing him about the attack that took place. The softness in your eyes stirred something in her. 

She felt her face get hot, you were reserved for her and her alone, Zuko already has his mother, so why must he feel the need to step in between you? How greedy can he be? 

Her brows furrowed and before she knew it, she had sent a blast of fire towards him. 

Before he could get hit, before her aim could strike true, you pushed him back to the ground. The blast just grazing you before it hit the wall, scorching it black. 

“Ack-Azula!” Zuko yelled out. “What’s wrong with you?! You could have hurt someone!”

“That’s the point.” She glared at him before sending another blast his way. 

Her attack travelled halfway before being countered by another, the collision between the two sent dirt and small debris into the air. She covered her eyes before looking to the one that stopped her fire. 

You took a step closer to her, your sleeve slightly burned from her first attack but otherwise, you were unharmed. “Azula, I don’t know what has upset you but you need to calm down.” Your stance was passive but your tone was stern. 

Azula remained on the offensive, “Why are you protecting him?! Are you choosing him over me?! ME?!” This time she targets her attack on you. 

“Azula calm down, that’s unbecoming!” You dodge to the side, putting distance between you and Zuko. 

Seeing that there is no calming her down, you decided to let her blow some steam off. Ever since she was young, her reactions tend to be explosive and she seemed to be leaning a bit towards the trigger happy side. You were planning on coaching her to get more control over her emotions, a healthy outlet so to speak. Maybe this is the perfect time to work on it 

“Zuko, you did well on your training today, why don’t you go take a bath and enjoy the rest of the day?” You suggested plainly all the while dodging and countering the angry attacks of Azula. 

“B-but Azula—”

“I got her, you have nothing to worry about.” You tried to wave him off. 

Your lack of attention drove her mad. 

“Stop ignoring me!” She sent a bigger blast. Why are you still talking to him when she’s right here in front of you? Look at her! Talk to her!

Pay attention to me!

“… are you sure?” He got up on his feet, shielding his face from the heat and dust.

“You are kind, but rest assured I’ll be fine. We’ll be joining you for dinner later so please get your rest.” You reassured him before ducking down to avoid a blast to the face while making sure he did leave. 

“Huh.” You noticed the slow increase in temperature and the duration of the stray blasts that were still ablaze before sending her an attack of your own. “Dodge it!”

She lets out a frustrated yell before rolling out of the way. Landing on her knees, she punches with two fists, sending two balls of fire at the same time. 

This time, her fire came out lighter in color. Since that one, they became lighter and lighter. But she paid them no mind. 

Her breathing became ragged, and after an hour or so of non stop onslaught of attacks, she fell to her knees. She heard you walk up to her though she was too busy trying to catch her breath. Her hands clutching at the dirt while she’s gasping. 

“You did well, I can tell you’ve been doing your own training.” You praised, stopping just a few steps from her. “The only critique I can give you is that you forgot your breathing, take controlled slow breaths, this way you can fight longer and better. More oxygen to your brain, the better decisive you can be in battle.” You fold your arms over your chest. “Also, when you-”

“Shut up!”

She saw red, how humiliating for her to let you see her in such a state. Zuko must have planned this. Unbecoming. And yet here you are, still with her. She felt shame. 

She didn’t deserve you. 

If only she could show her gratitude to you in some way in some shape or form. Her father and grandfather already showering you with titles and riches, so what can she do? What is something that she has and that only she can do? 

Whenever she gets wounded, you tend to her injuries. If only she could do the same. Maybe if she was stronger, maybe she could… 

Taking a deep breath in, she shot her hand up towards you. 

She expected red but out came blue. 

Not even you expected such a brilliant color. The shock combined with the close proximity did not provide you time to evade the blast. It hit you in the chest. Your supposed high grade body suit that was rumoured to be fireproof melted. The molten fabric fusing with your now blistering skin as you were sent back to the ground. 

You head hitting the ground hard before you were promptly knocked out. 

Azula’s hand shook as her eyes focused on your unconscious form. You lied there in front of her, covered in sweat and dirt, with your chest open and roasted. 

She wanted to run to you, to ask for forgiveness for hurting you. 

But she didn’t. 

She stayed rooted on all fours. Letting out ragged breaths as she lowered her hand to her face. 

She attacked you. She hurt you. And now you, her strong and dependable guardian, looked so vulnerable. So… in need of care. 

Her warm fingers felt her lips. 

She was smiling. 

[bluespiritshonour]

Somethings I noticed:

Katara, Suki and Azula are the only ones who haven't ever expressed any sort of misogynistic sentiment.

Aang would come a close second with minor mishaps here and there.

First, the girls:

Ty Lee, while fighting the Kyoshi Warriors: you're not prettier than we are.

Girl, where did that come from?

Mai has several instances of this when she says the Kyoshi Warriors’ uniforms are too girly (I don't mind her not liking how colourful they are; that's totally different) and later lowkey slut-shaming Ty Lee. And while she's rightfully unimpressed with Zuko's seashell (she's right Zuko, step-up your game) she could easily have countered his “Don't girls like these stuff?” the way Suki did with Sokka’s ideas about gendered generalisation. Also, you must have noticed that Mai's feminine too. She's just dark feminine to Ty Lee's light feminine.

Toph: she has absorbed a lot of toxic masculinity that's for sure. She isn't feminine, she light-heartedly teases Katara for being feminine and Aang too. She does give off the “one of the guys” vibes. You know which ones I'm talking about. “Are we going to watch two little girls fighting?” and later mocking Aang for his passivity.

But it is to be noted that Toph manages to do this without being racist to Aang. She's the one who mocks him the most about his pacifist beliefs (which are cultural to him) and she's kinda misogynistic the way she goes about it. But she's never racist to him. (I guess she is in the comics but fuck the comics). Even when Aang was really really nasty to her when Appa was stolen and she had every right to be mad at him—she wasn't. Given her age and her sheltered upbringing Toph's surprisingly mature. But I digress. Among the comics, I love the Lost Adventures only—and I love the spa day Katara and Toph have both in those comics and in the show. It feels like Toph's healing from that internalised misogyny? My reading of it is that just like girls in real world, Toph derides femininity because it has always been a chain to her. Her parents forced her to confirm so she hates it. But being friends with Katara probably let her heal that part of her. She's still not as feminine as Katara and mind you, nor should she be—let some girls never want to be feminine—it’s fine. But she learns to not to act out of a place of hurt.

Sokka: Sokka's misogyny was literally a plot point and he overcomes it. Also he and Aang have actually done drag and not been mocked for it. It's rare to see in media. The only other example I can think of is Good Omens.

His misogyny also feels kinda surface level (as opposed to Zuko in whom it's less obvious but seems more deeply ingrained).

Also. Zuko never did drag. Shame on him.

Aang: is the least misogynistic of the boys. The only instances I can think of are either kinda vague: when he tells Sokka that “It's nice dress!” It's kinda ambiguous if his tone was mocking or complimentary but it upsets Sokka nonetheless. And when he's upset at being played by a woman in Ember Island Players. The first time I watched it I felt it was OOC. But he was also kind of justified as it was racism and misogyny combined on behalf of the Fire Nation in portraying him that way.

Phew. These were purely my own opinions simply by the virtue of gender expression meaning different things to different people. I might say Mai is actually quite feminine while Toph isn't... But what even is considered masculine or feminine?

I love Katara and Toph's spa day because Toph learns that being girly wouldn't kill her—but she also doesn't suddenly become Ty Lee levels of feminine either. Some women just don't wanna be feminine. Oftentimes it's because femininity is derided by society itself—and that's something that one needs to heal from, like Toph did with Katara’s friendship—but everytime I've seen a story like that, the girl, upon realising that femininity isn't a bad thing is suddenly hyper-feminine.

Like, can we have them heal from internalised misogyny and still not wanna be feminine—even though they don't consider it bad or embarassing or fickle anymore?

Toph and Katara’s spa days do it perfectly.

When those girls mock Toph and Katara tells her she's pretty, I can't tell you much I loved it. The same feelings toward Suki’s “I am a warrior, but I'm a girl too.”

[blorboazula]

part 2 of this, so more of the "and who knew spitting blue fire during a mental breakdown might cause damage?" AU because some people liked it. I guess cw for more detailed mentions of burn and implied past child neglect. (buy me a coffee)

Katara's not surprised that the room smells like jasmine and bonfire smoke, the princess smells like jasmine and bonfire smoke – not that Katara paid any attention, they simply stood almost close a few times. Like right now. Like right now when she's sitting on the bed, Azula in front of her and patiently watching her.

There's curiosity there, behind the instinctual apprehension, Katara ignores it. She hasn't noticed that there's specks of glimmering, pure gold among the sea of bronze so dark it looks brown sometimes. Any other situation, it'd all feel oddly intimate. Healing has that power sometimes, holding someone's life under your fingertips.

Katara focuses on not showing it on her face: the damage is nearly catastrophic.

Katara has seen terrific burns before, fresh and healed, she grew desensitized to it for her own sake. She never saw internal burns. People aren't meant to survive fire melting the flesh inside them.

No wonder Azula doesn't talk, what's supposed to be delicate vocal chords is a mess of scar tissue. It explains her general lack of firebending, or could be one of the reasons, there's no way Azula is breathing properly when the inside of her throat is narrowed by the tissue.

Katara has assumed the tenseness on her shoulders is from the general stress of her current predicament. She assumed the slight grimace that seemed set on her face has been some sort of discontentment with her situation. But then the water glows around her neck and Azula just relaxes.

All this time, she has been in pain all this time.

Katara pulls the water away, palliative care like this tends to last for a few hours, she can do the same again later the next morning. She doesn't dare poking around, testing if she can make Azula's throat just a little less swollen. She has messed around with a small scar on her thigh, one she doesn't remember why she has, and it has made it hurt and look even worse. She doesn't want to risk what might happen to Azula if she does.

Once the water is back on its pouch, Azula gently touches her own neck. She looks at Katara with what seems like some sort of thank you, or at least as much as a thank you a look can be from a princess like her.

"Do you have any other old scars that still hurt you?" Her hand moves to her shoulder but then she places both, fists tight, on her lap and shakes her head. "I wouldn't... I wouldn't mind." She shakes her head again. "Can I check your wrists then?"

She frowns, but allows. The scars are almost worse than she expected, but they have been somewhat taken care of during the healing process, they're almost faded at this point, not as deep and unattended as the one in her throat. Katara's fingers flex, in her brain, somehow, she imagined the chains leaving imprints where she had wrapped her wrists and forearms.

"Your armor burned you," she whispers. She looks up, Azula looks at her like she's saying yes, obviously. She has seen the armor in a leap of deformed metal. "They didn't check your throat for injuries? If they treated everything else."

A person shouldn't look so... nonchalant about medical neglect.

(Azula looking somewhat surprised by Katara asking if she was in pain flashed in her mind.

When was the last time someone genuinely cared about her well-being?

No surprise you were acting like that.)

"I can do healing sessions a few times a day, keep most of the discomfort away," she hopes Azula hears the I know there's more things bothering you, and I'll make you tell me. "But I can't heal any of it, I'll make everything much worse for you."

She seems impressed enough by the offer of help for the pain, so it's not like she'll demand for healing. In position to demand or not, she looks like the kind that would be quite the inconvenience about it.

Katara eyes her shoulder, one of the burns from that Agni Kai? A training accident or a wound from the war? Or maybe a too-warm hand on her shoulder, paired with honey-leaking words from the forger of a weapon.

"I'll take my leave now," she's almost reluctant at letting go of her warm, soft hands. She does, after a moment. "Tomorrow we'll do it again. Have a good night, your highness."

[broodwolf221]

Mythal as Abused and Abuser

This post is about Mythal and Elgar'nan and is very heavy.

CW: Spousal abuse; child abuse; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; physical abuse; controlling husband; negligence; misogyny; canon slavery; murder

Before anything else—not as in primarily, but literally before, initially—I see Mythal as a victim. Of course, she was one of the Evanuris, one of their leaders in fact, and I won't ignore her complicity in their system of slavery. I find it hard to judge just how guilty she was there, simply because of how Solas talks about her, although he's far from an unbiased source. But that's it's own post and not the one I'm making right now. 

I think Mythal-as-a-victim is a POV that is supported by canon but not entirely confirmed, especially since we don't have a lot to go off of. But considering the way Elgar'nan is described, his wrath, his unchecked passion, and that it was in his stead that Mythal became the one Elvhen would go to for matters of justice, because Elgar'nan's justice was destruction… I think it's not a big leap to say that he could easily be abusive in his interpersonal relationships as well. 

This is where it veers more into headcanon territory. Specifically, I think that Elgar'nan was emotionally abusive and controlling towards Mythal, and negligent towards his children. Possibly he was physically abusive towards her as well, but I don't think so, because as awful as this is to say, he would have had far easier targets to strike with impunity. I wouldn't be surprised if he was sexually abusive, both towards Mythal re: coercion and not accepting “no” and towards any other Elvhen who caught his eye. And I’m not saying this to make him as bad a guy as possible, either—I think it all ties in with systems of control and power. 

Andruil feels like… either like someone he was trying to mold into his image, or someone who was trying to mold herself into his image, wanting her father's love and respect. For those who have watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, I actually see Andruil as quite similar to Azula. Trying to gain her father’s esteem by demonstrating her skill. I have a lot of thoughts about Andruil, but this isn’t a meta post for her, so I’ll leave it here for now.

Dirthamen and Falon’Din he may have viewed as threats as they aged. One could argue that Arlathan would have no misogyny, but whether it's rooted in a cultural sexism or his own perception of everyone being weaker, and especially those the least like him being weaker, I feel like he would see Andruil and Sylaise as less threatening. Same with Ghilan'nain when she comes in. Mythal as well. But either Dirthamen or Falon’Din could theoretically usurp his position and he doesn't strike me as the type to—deliberately quoting Corypheus here—tolerate even an unknowing rival.

(Side note: I know that June might be his child as well, but I tend to assume he’s Sylaise’s husband—mostly based on how the Mythal mosaic looks in DAI, because she is surrounded by four children, not five. Dirthamen, Falon’Din, Andruil, and Sylaise.)

I don’t really see the Evanuris as the first Elvhen, so both Elgar’nan and Mythal had other Elvhen they would have known. Perhaps they grew close based on their individual prowess? I could see Elgar’nan pursuing Mythal based on her power, because a part of him desires it. If he cannot claim her power, then he will at least be certain it is on his side. And with her power and his, they could—and did—make a powerful family that could control Arlathan. Now, it might not have been that explicit and intentional, but I do think that he pursued strength in various ways. Strength and control.

Of course, it is also possible that they were genuinely in love. But I think that, if so, their love would have weakened over time. Mostly because… he kills her. Mythal’s family kills her. No, it didn’t entirely ‘take,’ but the fact remains that they murdered her. Now, she had apparently fought (physically) with Andruil, and her relationship with her other children is more uncertain, and it is entirely possible that something corrupted them. There are a lot of fan theories about this, and I have some of my own: red lyrium, the Blight, something that Andruil brought back from her explorations in the Abyss/the Void…

But the Evanuris did not turn on each other. They only turned on Mythal. This is one of the biggest reasons I think that Elgar’nan was abusive. Because something had to establish the context that caused them all to turn on her, or to stand by and let Elgar’nan/possibly others turn on her. So I think that, over the course of his children’s life, he showed them, through his action and behavior, that he was superior to Mythal. That his will mattered more. That he would have his way.

Elgar’nan had taught their children to fear his wrath. Andruil had her own reasons to hate her mother. The involvement of the rest is uncertain, but they could have followed Elgar’nan in order to save themselves from being his victim, or their family could have been so corrupt and damaged by this point that they actively participated in matricide.

Mythal meets Flemeth, someone who suffered in a way that mirrors her own suffering. They become one being, someone conjoined to the point of being inseparable, and in their fury, in their need for justice—for vengeance—they are abusive towards Morrigan and acting in a chessmaster position over the whole world—and those who are hurt, who have been abused, who have been taught to fear, are also ones who want control over their life. And what better way to control one’s life than to control one’s world?

Whether Flemythal had many daughters or if Morrigan was the first is… uncertain, I think. After all, parts of her grimoire are clearly faked, so it wouldn’t surprise me if all of it is fake: aside from the things she wants Morrrigan to know (such as the ritual that created Kieran and saved the Old God Soul). Now, quick note on that: I think there might have been something outside of the game canon that confirmed the existence of at least one other daughter? But as per the header, don’t tell me. Also it’s kind of moot; whether Flemythal had many daughters or just Morrigan, Morrigan is the only one we know and can examine the relationship she has with Flemythal. 

Flemythal was negligent, emotionally abusive and manipulative, and dumped a lot of incredibly heavy stuff on Morrigan’s lap. She might have had a particular reason that she did this, but whatever her reasoning or justification may have been, it doesn’t excuse her behavior; she was abusive. But considering her reasoning is interesting in terms of her character. Was she trying to prepare Morrigan for a world that she had grown incredibly cynical about? Was she trying, in some way, to protect Morrigan? To teach her to rely on herself and her power and her knowledge only? That everyone else could fail her, could turn on her, could betray her, as Mythal’s family did, as Flemeth’s husband did? 

Or was she refusing to see Morrigan as a person, was she trying to prepare herself an adequate, powerful vessel? Personally I don’t buy into this, mostly because I don’t know that I buy into the ‘vessel’ thing at all, at least not in the way Morrigan learns to fear it. Frankly, I don’t think Flemythal would ever let her truth slip out. Everything about her grimoire was purposeful. It’s a misdirect. But something caused her to behave the way she did towards Morrigan. (Not ‘caused’ like ‘took away her agency to do otherwise,’ because hell no. But ‘caused’ like ‘shaped and contextualized her choices’.)

I don't view her as a villain. An antagonist possibly, and certainly someone with her own goals that are separate from the protagonist’s, although given how those goals align at times—especially in DAO—I hesitate to say she's an antagonist with any certainty. She's an incredibly complex character, wounded and wounding, who suffered a horrible form of betrayal. Because whatever else Elgar'nan was, he was her husband. She trusted him enough to be with him in the first place. So he still betrayed her, betrayed her trust and her hope, and in that betrayal he killed her. And her family let it happen or participated. I would argue that this is one of the worst betrayals that could happen to a person, having not only a spouse but one’s own children turn against them. One’s entire family betray them.

Why wouldn't she be changed by that? How couldn't she be? She's an incredibly sympathetic character. I feel so much for Morrigan because Flemythal made for an awful mother, but I really feel for Flemythal as well. 

This is also why I can't really see her as the Big Bad in DA4. At least, I hope she's not. Narratively, not all characters who have suffered some kind of trauma need to have their ending being about healing from that, I realize this, but she has lived with this and suffered it—and caused others to suffer—for so many decades. Generations upon generations. I want her to face Elgar'nan and to live. Not to be healed with a snap of her fingers, but to have the chance to live for herself, to find her way to some kind of peace. I don't want a punitive justice solution where the only way to deal with a character who has been shown to be abusive is to kill them off, in general but especially when it comes to someone who's abuse seems to stem from having been abused.

Yes, her actions are her own choice and responsibility. Yes, Morrigan deserved so much better. As did Flemeth. As did Mythal. And I would see all of them with the opportunity to heal, rather than sacrificing themselves on the altar of redemption.

[balanceoflightanddark]

What if this happened?

Azula and Zuko manage to capture the avatar right after Katara quickly healed him while still in Ba Sing Se. The gaang were forced to leave without Aang, altering the day of black sun plan into a rescue mission.

Until the end of "Day of black sun pt 2", Aang is stuck as Azula's prisoner. As the main character, Aang would still have the most screen time but it gets shared with Azula and he spends the most time with her.

What do you think will happen between them? What could "The Beach" episode look like with Aang in it?

Well, this is an interesting ask.

The first most definite thing I can say is whether or not Azula and Zuko know that Aang is alive. I would wager they would capture his body which might not necessarily be conscious to show that the Avatar is indeed dead. Naturally, this could lead to a nightmarish scenario like at the start of Book 3 where Aang wakes up on a Fire Nation ship, only for it to be under the control of the Fire Nation instead of being captured.

Course, I wouldn't imagine Aang's initial escape attempt being too successful given that he just recovered from being shot in the back. Azula and Zuko would still be able to hold him till he gets to the Fire Nation where Ozai...I doubt Aang is going to be kept in good condition since killing him would just cause the Avatar to reincarnate. Therefore, I could see Ozai keeping him in torturous conditions not unlike what Zhao put him through in Book 1. Alive, but unable to do anything. Might even give Azula the "honor" of watching him since Zuko has returned to become the Crown Prince.

But let's assume that Aang is able to try and make an escape attempt a few times. I mean let's face it, he's not exactly someone who's easy to keep down. I could see Azula wanting to keep his escape attempts under wraps so Ozai's wrath would not directed towards her. Now here's where things get interesting. She starts noticing that Aang is avoiding killing anyone, isn't going into the Avatar State, and overall isn't acting like what the Avatar is expected to act like by the Fire Nation (which we can get some interesting worldbuilding by seeing how they view the Avatar from their perspective).

If we go down this avenue of thought, Azula might assume that putting the Avatar in torturous conditions isn't working since he keeps trying to break out. What she might feel work better is if he was broken mentally so he simply wouldn't have the will to fight. To this end, she might give him better conditions that are less torturous, but she'll try to break him by passing stories about his friends dying or being captured or something. Make it clear that he can escape, but break his will to fight. Maybe have daily "chats" taunting him.

Now here's where things get interesting: Aang won't break. He knows Azula's lying to break him...but in the process, she inadvertently starts letting him know about her upbringing by divulging what her worldview is. Maybe even starts to feel a bit sorry for her than anything. I mean he did feel bad for Zuko even when the latter was trying to kill him, so it's completely in the realm of possibility. Which in turn befuddles Azula since everything she does to break him doesn't work, and she knows he's sympathizing with her.

Which leads to the Ember Island. This could be Azula's last chance at breaking Aang, showing how pathetic he is for sympathizing with a monster and not even attempting to escape when he has a chance. It backfires since Aang knows enough that Azula is NOT a monster, and tells her this. And the reason he doesn't want to escape is because he's afraid that Ozai's going to come after her for letting him escape (which isn't out of the question since Ozai is becoming more and more frustrated with Azula's lack of progress). As badly as he wants to escape, he doesn't want anyone else to suffer on his hands. Not even Azula.

Now here you can go a few routes. For me, Aang would eventually escape once he realizes that Azula won't budge. But he times it during a time where her back is turned, like the Day of the Black Sun so there's a reason for why her security is lax. Or he comes into contact with the rest of the Gaang and he escapes during the Black Sun Invasion so as to make it look like a rescue instead of incompetence on Azula's part. Either way, I do feel that Aang would advocate for mercy on behalf for Azula or at least make sure she doesn't rot someplace after Sozin's Comet. Azula would obviously assume that Aang abandoned her like everyone else, but Aang coming back and telling her the truth would give her a bit of a mental safety net and possibly lead to the road for recovery.

All in all, this was a good ask. You can do a lot with this, either go Azulaang, worldbuild for the Fire Nation, humanize Azula to Aang, maybe cause Aang to form a rift with Zuko or Iroh due to their differing opinions on Azula. You can do something with this given the ideas I just pointed out.

[jasminedragonart]

For those of you wondering I will not nor will i ever be watching the live action atla. This is part of the reason why I'm stopping drawing it. I know that this will take over the fandom, the live action art. And there's nothing wrong with that, but for a while a lot of the live action stuff will drown out the cartoon one and I liked what the cartoon one brought to the table.

In my opinion, as someone who's only seen glimpses of the live action so far, it doesn't look amazing. this is simply my opinion. Some of it looks cool. But I feel like they're taking a lot away from what made the cartoon one special.

Like, momo's design is terrifying. Zuko's scar is too small. In my opinion they should have leaned into the injury instead of away from it. Make him half blind. It would have been interesting. Maybe we could have had some interesting scenes where he can sense the bending as it brushes his face like Toph can.

Azula shouldn't have been in the trailer. I know a lot of fans know about her from the offset now, but as someone who watched this as it was coming out Azula should not be a character until the 2nd season. It was a decision that the writers made and it was a good decision.

The first season is focused on Zuko. It needs to focus on Zuko. We need Zuko as an antagonist so we can see him in comparison to true antagonists. Zuko is tame compared to Azula, Zhao and Ozai. But we still need to see Zuko as a character, as a villain and the sole true villain of the first season to really appreciate how much of a wet noodle he is and why he's being shown so much alongside the main cast.

Suki should have red hair.

There, I said it.

She could dye it. Maybe with berries or some kind of natural dye, (It was definitely possible because they used to dye their hair in the Elizabethan era to look like Queen Elizabeth- a redhead). But I like Suki's red hair. It makes her stand out as a character and it suits her. It's fiery like her passion and her makes her stand out like the dangerous person she is.

Katara looks fine. Aang looks fine. They all look a little older than I would have liked but I understand they want kids who can still look kids for a few seasons so upping the ages will probably be a good idea for that. But, again, cartoons are timeless where live action has a time limit.

Ozai shouldn't exist yet. He's a shadow in the first season for a reason. We need the fear factor.

Overall this looks too serious than what I like about the ATLA series and I know people are going to love it but I won't be one of them.

That's okay though.

If you like it, I'm glad. But I will be turning my art to other endeavours so, if you're looking for atla it will have to be one of my older arts.

[uranium-bender]

Azula and Yue’s lives as spirits.

At this point, not much has changed for yue. She gets back to her lunar duties and to existing simply as the moon spirit. Not much has changed on the outside, but on the inside, she’s tortured. She grieves her short-lived days as a fugitive human waterbender. She feels insanely guilty over azula, over all the lies she told her of who she is (which came clear at the end), at being the reason for azula’s death, and at binding her soul to the spirit world instead of letting her go and forcing her to abandon her humanity and exist as the sun spirit. Alongside her. She knew something horrible was gonna happen as azula taught her how to ask for more and want for more, and she was right, and azula paid the price.

Let’s split their existence into the 2 world. First, the spirit world. Since it’s a free space nothing is holding them apart but their own decisions. Yue is too guilt-ridden and azula is too angry, hurt and betrayed. She’s the one who’s actively setting up their separation, forbidding yue to see or talk to her, even if she would benefit from her knowledge as a fellow girl-turned-spirit. And she deserves to. They both live in the sky, but since the moon rises when the sunsets, they could never cross paths until they want to.

Mighty spirits might interact with azula the sun spirit, but many are too afraid. The sun is too bright, too dangerous, too monstrous. She used to have the moon by her side to reflect her light to the simple spirits, but since she doesn’t have her anymore, she’s bound to be alone. Too distraught by her love’s loneliness, yue finally give in and come weeping and apologising to azula, begging for forgiveness on her knees. Telling only the truth, of every lie she told, of her true feelings regarding her once friend, and during that she let slip how she forced Agni to give up his existence so azula could ascender in his place. (Which azula didn’t know before, she thought she became the sun cuz she’s the best firebender in the world) and it was that last remark which made azula finally accepts yue back. Because where many would see what she had done monstrous and horrible, azula only felt assurance and adoration.

Their existence in the material world is more restricted. It’s harder for them to meet there, but they still try their hardest so be together outside the watchful eyes of other spirits. A solar eclipse their day. Where the entire world go dark and gives azula and yue its back to exist and live together without duties or responsibilities.

Aang, as the avatar and the bridge between man and spirit, is the messenger to the gaang of azula’s ascension to spirithood (which would stop the firelord issue manhunt for her) and the true relationship between azula and yue (which would explain a few things). It was so awkward and he vowed to only tell friends and family, but word still spread. And hear later, human made stories and songs, legends of the legendary love between two princessses, between the moon and the sun.

[lazyveran]

Azutara-Prompt: Azula flirts with Katara during their fight in Ba Sing Se, completely by accident and/or completely oblivious that she she actually did flirt

this was a fun request! thank you!

“Is this all you’ve truly settled for?” The princess’ voice is strange – sharp, mocking, with an inflection that begs its geniality.

Katara grits her teeth. She’s only heard this girl speak twice before – both situations had ended in near failure. It wouldn’t happen again. Whatever she was going to say—

“Think, Water Tribe – what does he offer you?” Fast feet, dancing past her ice shards. “I could give you more – the Fire Nation could give you everything.”

She dared. She dared. “As if I would ever take anything from the likes of you.”

Sharp smiles and fast claws, Katara intercepts a knife of blue fire. Sweat breaks out as flame dissipates into her bending – when had it gotten so humid?

“Come, now.” She pauses, but briefly. They were stood meters away from each other. Katara can hear Aang, clashing with the screams of the Prince. What was— “I could fulfil your every desire.”

What?

Katara blinks. Focus wrenched back to the fire bender. “I don’t—”

It’s too sudden, the way the Princess flits in close, too close, too fast. Katara quickly backpedals. She knows she can’t beat her in hand-to-hand, it would be mad to even try. The cavern is huge, but she can’t leave range of the rivers. A wheel of fire flushes past her head.

It was too hot to even think. Sweat drips from her brow.

“Haven’t you ever thought about it?” The blasted girl continues, close enough now that her voice has quietened. Close enough she can trace the elegant curve of her brow. Katara weaves water in front, breaks off her approach. The Princess smirks. “How divine you would look in red?”

Oh. Oh, there was no way. Katara flings an ice pike the length of her forearm, watches it melt into nothing.

She couldn’t get into her head. She wouldn’t. It shouldn’t work on her—

“Think, Water Tribe. The Avatar pales in comparison. Let me show you.”

She was flirting.

She was flirting.

An ever-so-slightly hysterical feeling rises in her throat. It almost erupts into an ever-so hysterical laugh. To think, the Princess of the Fire Nation was attempting to manipulate her by flirting.

She almost preferred the Prince’s methods of manipulation. At least then she hadn’t been battling a blush.

“I’m never going to be your—” Katara’s voice strangles. Her what, exactly? Did she dare assume? “Trophy wife.” She squeaks, lamely, pathetically, not at all suited for the battle-to-the-death they were locked in.

The Princess suddenly stutters, then slows to a complete halt. A whisper of something in her freakish, golden eyes.

“What?”

There was simply no way. Humiliation burns her throat.

“You— you—!” She flings a sheet of water at the Princess. Fire burns through it, a frazzled girl on the other side. “You dare to propose something like that.”

It could have been comical, really, how the fire bender seems to hiccup.  

“That’s…” She blinks. Then, “Well. Perhaps my words are wasted on Water Tribe stupidity.”

The way she spits the words entirely lacks the ferocity of before. Katara almost drops her defensive stance to gesture, frantic and bemused, at her. What on earth was happening?

“Stupidity?!”

“You clearly aren’t listening to my words.”

Katara wants to scream. “As if I would ever listen to Fire Nation scum.”

The bemused something in the Princess’ eye melts into nothing. Cruel smirk, sharp eyes, blue fire cutting through the rock before her, all return in a blink.

Katara grits her teeth at the renewed assault and pushes the clear, stupid flirting from her mind.