#but at least Katara and Zuko are both teens when they meet

[claireclaymore]

People had to see a real 12 kid boy and 14 teenager girl to understand how weird is they date with that age

[synergysilhouette]

Making Netflix's ATLA an AU instead of a strict remake: some changes I'd make to Book 1

It's my personal opinion that since ATLA was great as-is, it didn't need a remake (even if it is underrated). But if Netflix was gonna make one anyway, I'd prefer they made it an AU and make significant changes without marketing this as "this is exactly like the show you enjoyed as kids/teens." (Note: Possibly controversial changes below)

Sexism against male waterbenders because of Kuruk--Due to what is viewed as a "failure" on Kuruk's part to properly manage his duties as avatar and his spiritual corruption, male waterbenders are believed to lack the necessarily gentleness and spirituality in order to bend properly, with combat or healing. Given how Harun was removed (at least from season 1), he could've been rewritten as a waterbender here, with Pakku as his uncle, who still holds onto tradition, even if it holds him back. He's still knowledgeable and teaches Katara and Aang, but does so in secret, with Katara inspiring Harun to learn as well. Eventually when he's found out, he and Harun are banished from the tribe (because beliefs can't be changed in a day or two).

More focus on the Water Tribe--The idea is supposed to be that waterbenders were wiped out, but I do like the idea that we still explore aspects of Water Tribe culture, as well as making the territory larger. Given the fact that most of book 1 takes place in different regions and the Netflix remake kinda condensed things, I do want more episodes to take place in WT territory. Kyoshi Island for example is an EK territory, but is also close to the Southern Air Temple and the Southern Water Tribe, so their culture could be shown as more mixed, maybe even with some hidden waterbenders there. Another (albeit controversial) idea could be introducing Bumi in book 2 before introducing Toph, given that Omashu and Gaoling aren't super far from Each other. We could also introduce Hama here to share more of the SWT culture and introduce the concept of bloodbending much earlier so it's a conflict for Katara throughout the whole series. Perhaps maybe even adapt "The Swamp" episode in this season, since I'm not entirely sure it'll be made in the next season.

Ozai's psychology is explored more--In both the OG show and the remake, he's presented as the pinnacle of evil at a first glance, but that's not completely true. Just like everyone else, he's complex, with his evil being brought about by his upbringing. He isn't trying to rule just because; he truly sees it as his divine right, which makes his persuasiveness that much more powerful. He isn't quite as aggressive and relies more on his manipulation and charisma. As such, he's good and making people fear him, love him, and second-guess themselves. The remake had Zhao and Azula take him for a joke, tbh. I'd also make him more acrobatic and agile like Azula rather than just a hard-hitter, and he essentially tells Zuko the half-truth of Ursa's banishment, making it seemed like she killed Azulon and was planning on killing Ozai and Iroh next so that she could have the throne. In reality, Azulon died of natural causes, but Ozai made it appear as though he was murdered in order to frame Ursa. When she confronted him, he banished her and told her to stay gone in order to stop influencing their children. In fact, keeping with her storyline in the comics, Ursa does change her appearance, and Zuko meets with her several times throughout the series (removing the amnesia stuff here).

Lu Ten is alive (for a while)--Something I'd enjoy seeing for a minute would be evil Iroh. Let's say Ozai managed to best him in an agni kai for the throne (inspiring Zuko to do this to Azula later on), and Iroh volunteers to go with Zuko on his journey with the hopes of turning him against his father. With time, he develops affection for his nephew and becomes a better father than Ozai was. He believes Lu Ten won't be a threat to Ozai since he now has the throne, but Ozai sends him to help with the Siege of Ba Sing Se, where he ultimately loses his life. This puts Iroh at the crossroads of destiny like Zuko, but he chooses to defend Team Avatar instead. During his imprisonment in the Fire Nation, Iroh tries to calm the turmoil in Zuko's heart, which confuses Zuko due to Iroh's previous speeches and proverbs about power and triumph over his enemies. And I'd also make a rather odd change: both Lu Ten and Iroh are skilled in chi blocking. I definitely feel like Iroh would be well-versed in the art and teach it to his son.

More emphasis on Avatar Roku and Sozin's friendship. Seeing how Roku is Aang's past life and his friendship with Sozin was part of what led to the Hundred Year War, it should definitely take more precedence outside of book 3.

Iroh is Aang's first firebending teacher--This is super weird, I know, but if we're not gonna have Jeong Jeong, I like the idea that while evil (at first), Iroh is still super wise, and does give Aang a few tips on firebending, which he tries on his own, but lacking guidance he burns Katara (or Sokka; it'd feed into his insecurities as a non-bender if he gets hurt and Katara heals him).

Sokka/Zuko and Katara/Azula rivalry--I remember a video once explaining how Sokka and Katara are parallels of Zuko and Azula, given that their mom was gone at an early age and their father influenced them greatly. The big brother wants his father's love and is insecure, while the little sister seems more powerful and has issues regarding her mom. The big difference is that Ozai was a manipulative father while Hakoda was compassionate. Zuko wouldn't take Sokka seriously at first since he's a non-bender, highlighting Sokka's concern of being useless, and his growth would make Zuko feel more insecure in turn. Eventually when Zuko joins the team, they often work together. Azula is rational and a prodigy while Katara is emotional and still learning, but Katara gains confidence while Azula loses it. Just like Zuko, Katara sees it as her mission to stop Azula and sees the pain she goes through. I would also gives Azula a bit more frustrated moments to highlight her youth; a lot of people say she's beyond redemption despite only being 14 and the victim of growing up in an emotionally abusive household.

[miyamorana]

Miya’s 2023 Fanfic Recs Part 2

Here are all the cool, complete fics I’ve read this year. Separated into 5 posts because there’s nearly a hundred of them.

PART 2: OTHER ANIMES AND CARTOONS (20)

Avatar the Last Airbender (1)

Fullmetal Alchemist (1)

Haikyuu!! (13)

Jujutsu Kaisen (2)

Sk8 the Infinity (1)

Voltron: Legendary Defender (2)

Part 1: Boku no Hero Academia (33) Part 3: Television (16) Part 4: Video Games, Movies and Books (16) Part 5: Crossovers (11)

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender Title: hey, isn’t this easy Author: WitchofEndor Pairing: Sokka/Zuko, Aang/Katara Rating: Teen Word Count: 20,649 Summary: Zuko doesn’t have time to deal with pressure for an arranged marriage, especially since he isn’t even sure he likes women that way. (A realisation that has absolutely nothing to do with Ambassador Sokka - shut up, Suki.) Katara and Aang have broken up again, and the Northern Water Tribe are pushing for a match between the North and South. Which leads Zuko and Katara to develop a genius, foolproof, only slightly drunken plan: they can pretend to date for the length of Katara’s stay in the palace, giving them both a brief reprieve from political pressures on their love lives. What could go wrong?

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist Title: Serenade Author: akaparalian Pairing: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang Rating: General Word Count: 3,271 Summary: There’s no hurry to return to reality tonight, Roy thinks, laying his cheek against Ed’s head. For now, it feels just right to stay like this — the two of them, alone together, with a promise of forever ringing in both of their heads.

Fandom: Haikyuu!! Title:Strings Attached Author: pancakewars Pairing: Semi Eita/Tendou Satori Rating: Explicit Word Count: 6,128 Summary: Tendou doesn’t know whether Eita considers them friends after he accidentally spikes a ball at Eita’s face, but their arrangement sure as hell has benefits.

Fandom: Haikyuu!! Title: no matter what they tell you Author: Slumber Pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu Rating: Teen Word Count: 9,817 Summary: “But how do you know when it’s real or not?” Atsumu presses Hinata, frowning. “What if you’re not in love, what if you’re just infatuated?” “Hah!” Osamu says from the kitchen. “Like that’s ever stopped you from accepting someone’s confession when they’re the only ones who’ve rung your Love Alarm!” “You don’t know if feelings can develop from that!” Atsumu argues, turning to the rest of the table to see if anyone would back him up on this. “Love’s about chances, right?” In a world where an app that can tell you when someone loves you, all Atsumu wants is to be told he’s in love with someone who loves him back.

Fandom: Haikyuu!! Title: eventually you’ll see Author: Slumber Pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu Rating: Teen (Part 2 is Explicit) Word Count: 3,251 Series: Part 1 of atsuhina age swap au (Words: 23,415 - Works: 2) Summary: There is no way out of this. Atsumu’s in line for a postgame meet-and-greet like one of those idol fans, only it’s for volleyball players so is that worse? better?, clutching a HINATA 21 jersey so it could get signed. He’d hesitated, ya know? Thought maybe, oh, what if he’d picked Iizuna’s jersey instead, he’s on the team and actually a setter, even, wouldn’t that have made more sense? In which high schooler Atsumu develops a crush on pro volleyball player Hinata.

Fandom: Haikyuu!! Title: glitter & gold Author: comehomenezumi Pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu Rating: General Word Count: 10,331 Summary: What I saw on the stage that night was something no one else could see. You know what that means, right? Your color is gold, Atsumu-san. Even the fates think of you as their star. Miya Atsumu is a rising star among idols—at least, that’s what Natsu told Shoyo as she begged him to take her to his concert when her friend bailed. As Shoyo gazes upon the stage that night, eyes drawn to the glimmering golden trail Atsumu leaves behind with each step he takes, Shoyo comes to realize that his soulmate and Miya Atsumu are one and the same.

Fandom: Haikyuu!! Title: Sleeping Together (in the euphemistic sense) Author: Esselle Pairing: Kageyama Tobio/Ushijima Wakatoshi Rating: Explicit Word Count: 5,341 Summary: “Kageyama Tobio,” Wakatoshi said. In the seat across from him, his setter looked up from where he’d been glaring at the menu. “I should inform you—I invited you to dinner in order to seduce you.” “Oh,” Kageyama said. He folded the menu to give Wakatoshi his full attention. It reminded Wakatoshi of the moments just before he decided who to toss to during a game. “Thank you for telling me.” – No one is more surprised than Ushijima and Kageyama to realize that they are, in fact, dating.

Fandom: Haikyuu!! Title: Better Late Than Never Author: Esselle Pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio/Sugawara Koushi Rating: Explicit Word Count: 8,054 Series: Part 1 of Better Late Than Never (Words: 22,620 - Works: 5) Summary: ’ “Excuse me,” Shouyou says, sounding frustrated. “When exactly did Kageyama get all sexy?” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Tobio demands. “You used to be all weird and awkward and now you’re like all—guh and unnngh and stuff!” “I have never made either of those sounds in my life,” Tobio deadpans. “Yes, you have,” Koushi says. Tobio scowls. ’ – Four years after Koushi graduates, two years after he and Tobio started putting together the puzzle that is their relationship, the last piece finally falls into place.

Fandom: Haikyuu!! Title: First, Last Author: boomturkey Pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi Rating: Explicit Word Count: 8,199 Summary: Atsumu and Sakusa find out that Hinata has been telling little white lies about how experienced he is. They are determined to find something they can finally be first at when it comes to Hinata.

Fandom: Haikyuu!! Title: A Time Like Eternity Starts To Move Author: hgowff Pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu Rating: Mature Word Count: 14,432 Summary: With the death of their parents, Shouyou gave up his future career to focus on looking after Natsu. Years later, Onigiri Miya Sendai is opening up and Niiyama Girls Volleyball Club has a pair of new coaches, one being a burned out V League pro trying to find his love of volleyball once more.

Fandom: Haikyuu!! Title: when you smile Author: Slumber Pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu Rating: Explicit Word Count: 2,443 Summary:

“Beach volleyball?” Atsumu echoes, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah,” another guy says, nodding toward the first guy who spoke. “You can pair up with Hinata over here. You don’t need to know how to play—he needs the training, anyway.”

In a world where Inarizaki never faced Karasuno at the Interhigh, Atsumu and Hinata run into each other at a beach in Okinawa, and a summer fling ensues.

Fandom: Haikyuu!!Title: Beach House Author: spideywhiteys  Pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu Rating: Explicit Word Count: 7669 Summary: Atsumu falls in love with Shouyou the same way he falls in love with volleyball. Immediately, suddenly, and obsessively. It just takes him a lot longer to accept, especially in a world where loving a man could end his career.

So he loves in secret, in the remote quiet of his head and over the long distance separating him and Hinata Shouyou, a man who probably doesn’t think of Atsumu at all. He dreams of a future he’s not sure he can ever have.

Or: Atsumu pines for five years.

Fandom: Haikyuu!!Title: royal regalia Author: celestialshellfish Pairing: Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru Rating: Explicit Word Count: 2,939 Summary: Oikawa cannot believe this shit.

Okay, okay. Actually, he can. Because Kageyama Tobio is the exact type of clueless jock to show up to a wedding in an Adidas tracksuit.

Fandom: Haikyuu!!Title: Atsumu’s Courtship for Dummies Author: spideywhiteys Pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 1,604 Summary: Secret Prince Atsumu has been running from responsibility for a while now. Since leaving Inarizaki, he’s grown as a person—as a Prince. But before he can admit to himself that he’s ready to return, he needs to admit his feelings to someone who matters a little more.

Fandom: Haikyuu!!Title: i’ll promise you a moment Author: spideywhiteys Pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 2929 Summary: Soulmates are….weird, Shouyou thinks. It’s not really like in the movies at all.

Fandom: Jujutsu Kaisen Title: My Cute Student Needs Help... And I'm A Hands-On Teacher! Author: benicemurphy Pairing: Fushiguro Megumi/Gojo Satoru Rating: Explicit Word Count: 5,089 Summary:  Three times Gojo tries to teach Megumi a lesson, and one time Megumi nails it on the first try.

Fandom: Jujutsu KaisenTitle: when heaven’s a mindset away Author: bitadori (mochirou) Pairing: Itadori Yuuji/Sukuna | Ryoumen Sukuna Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3445 Summary: Itadori wakes up in Sukuna’s domain after passing out from fever. But the curse is nowhere to be found, leaving the entire room unnervingly silent. So where the hell is he?

Fandom: Sk8 the Infinity Title: Serious Author: benicemurphy Pairing: Hasegawa Langa/Shindo Ainosuke Rating: Teen Word Count: 3,007 Summary:  Nanako comes home early from a trip and is very surprised by what she finds there.

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Title: Observations in Xenobotany Author: akaparalian Pairing: Keith/Shiro Rating: Teen Word Count: 8,333 Summary: Shiro and Keith take an impromptu vacation mission to a lush planet with a reputation for hospitality, and over a decade of mutual pining finally comes to a head.

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Title: In the Stolen Silence of Sunset Author:breakaway71 Pairings: Keith/Lance, Acxa/Veronica Rating: General Word Count: 634 Summary: A moment shared with a friend, years after the war.

[ssreeder]

okay so this is leekie (hiiii) and here’s my comment bc ao3 is being a bitch and cut me off:

SREEDYYHY MY LOVE I MISSED YOU *picks you up and shakes you around like I’m making a cocktail using fancy bar equipment*

ZUKO MY BBY HES ALIVE AND WELL

n o. sokka my love Do Not tempt fate you and zuko WILL BE BOTH SAFE AND HAPPY AND ALIVE AT THE SAME TIME you’re probably just going to suffer a bit more before that happens…

ahh sokka with his achy hands.. we don’t want our boy getting arthritis before he’s even 18 </3

YAY sokka’s getting his insatiable appetite back, nature truly is healing (even tho ZUKO YOUR FUCKING MORON EAT YOUR STEW)

dad-chief and fatherlord buddies lmao

ohoho shen with his fire nation knowledge about fire nation hair and fire nation intimacy ;)))

“the teen was incredibly skilled at concealing his emotions” my oh my how we have Evolved from dramatic ass zuko in the show.. it’s depressing.

okay I’m interested in knowing about how you’re depicting cultural differences actually. like hakoda thinks that zuko looking him in the eye is a sign of respect bc that’s swt culture, but (at least I thought) isn’t it respectful to not look authority in the eye?? in which case, absolutely fucking iconic that zuko is being a defiant little shit and hakoda is like “what a polite young man :)”

“that’s why we risked it all” OHOHO WE DO LOVE A SNEAKY LITTLE TITLE REFERENCE

okay wait I lowkey love the zuko and shen dynamic it’s legendary

lmao not hakoda finding out katara purposefully got herself imprisoned

“why are you arguing with me?”

“because you are fucking stupid”

way to make a new friend zuko <3

OH NOOO SHEN DONT ASK WHY ZUKO KNOW WHAT THE CAPTAINS QUARTERS LOOK LIKE I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD

nooooo katara your father is very much being a father to your very much not dead brother don’t be saaaaaad

bruh imagine if jet had been allowed in the war meeting that would’ve been an entire fucking mess omg

why is reho talking about sex it feels so wrong bc he’s such an innocent little fool.. omG ACE REHO??? i love this for him

oh no jet trauma :((

FUCK we’re gonna have a zukka and jet confrontation aren’t we

*moment of silence for boots*

yeahhh we’re getting a zukka and get confrontation.

ik this is going to evolve into a Bad argument but it’s hilarious that zuko of all people is the one lecturing sokka about having a short temper (also, something something taking on each other’s traits parallels something something)

wheezing at jet discovering that zuko is the blue spirit omfg FUCKING HELL REHO DONT SPILL THE BEANS ABOUT ZUKO BEING A PRINCE DO YOU ACTUALLY HAVE DISHSOAP FOR BRAINS

holy shit reho whyyyyyyy

ah yes sokka when if doubt, tackle the love of your life so that you can annoy them into expressing their trauma

I swear to fucking god sreeder if you having zuko run away from the camp I will hunt you down

jet. jfc. this boy. needs to be put on a leash.

also FUCK the dai li, the dai li can EAT SHIT

ALSO jet and ara parallels???? earth kingdom nonbenders with immense trauma who send a message to an evil big boss man to tattle on where zuko is hiding????

LEEKIE!!!!

*hoping I make a delicious cocktail*

Ughhhh Zuko is starting to feel better which means some of his dramatic flare may return….

Haha Zuko & Shen have a weird dynamic of “I fucking hate you” but “we get along for brief moments”

Everyone thinks Zuko in Zhaos quarters is all depressing & yeah it kind of is but I’m pretttttyyy sure it’s only because he and Iroh had tea there many times. lol

Yay for ace Reho he deserves nice things sometimes.

Yeahhhhhhhhh…. Confrontation is on the horizon, so you see it? I see it.

(Something something you’re onto something like always)

Zuko is a flight risk, someone tie him to something, ignore his trauma. Lock him down.

*claps* omggg yessss!! Ara & Jet parallels all day, they are two peas in a pod and 85% of the readers HATE that pod.

Love you very much sorry it took me a million years to get back to you. <3

[firelxdykatara]

Katara x Aang :3c

are you trying to get me in trouble

-cough-

no but in all honesty, my genuine feelings about kataang boil down to three major points: 1. it's boring, and does not jive thematically with either of their character arcs, to the point of, 2. actively hampering character development on both sides, and 3. katara deserved better.

points expanded under the cut. (please, if you're a kataang shipper and you see this, just keep scrolling. i've tagged it appropriately and put the bulk under a cut and at this point that's literally all i can do lmfao.)

send me a ship and get my (brutally) honest opinion!

1. It's Boring: This is the most subjective point on the list (I mean, in fairness, it's all subjective, but I have evidence from the show and post-canonical materials to support my other points; this one is just preference), but there's just... nothing to kataang. It's cute (when it's not actively aggravating), and... that's about it. It's not even that I dislike friends-to-lovers as a shipping trope (though it's not my overall preference), because there are a lot of friends-to-lovers couples that I do ship (kanej comes to mind, also will/elizabeth from potc, karolsen from supergirl, romione and hinny from hp, among others), but one thing that I think all of those couples have that kataang doesn't is that both sides of the pairing are teens or adults when they get together, with teen/adult dynamics and issues and stories to deal with, rather than one half being a teenager and the other being literally prepubescent.

And don't get me wrong, I have no problem with age gap ships in general. And as far as atla goes, Katara, at 14, has the same age difference from Zuko (16) as Aang has from her, and it's never stopped me--because both Katara and Zuko are well into puberty when they meet and I have no problem picturing them being into one another and growing together as they enter adulthood. Aang, on the other hand, is a child. And he acts like it. Which wouldn't be a problem, if the show weren't expecting me to believe he is a) ready for a romantic relationship, and b) ready for one specifically with Katara, who is not only older and far more mature but is specifically cast as his caretaker in a very maternal role for the entire show's run.

This show asks me to believe that a teenage girl well into adolescence is going to be attracted to and develop romantic feelings for a pre-adolescent child--and it asks me to believe this while showing us otherwise that Katara's type is actually older boys with fabulous hair and angsty pasts in all of her other potential romantic dalliances--and then enter into a relationship with him, all while ignoring the elephant in the room that is the fact that she was basically acting like his mother for the entire series to that point. (Something that is heavily lampshaded earlier in the very same season.) That just stretches the bounds of credulity way too far for me, especially when there's no evidence that Katara herself would get anything out of their romantic relationship.

There's nothing there for me to sink my teeth into. No delicious development, no parallels where they help each other grow, no internal conflicts that they have to work through together, nothing. Certainly no reason for me to actually believe Katara feels (or would grow to feel) anything for him other than the platonic affection of a caretaker. I can easily believe she loves him dearly, as a friend and quasi-little-brother, but I just can't see that developing naturally into romantic love--not the way it's presented in the show.

And even if they did manage to at least make the development of Katara's feelings believable, unless they changed something fundamental about the nature of their relationship, it'd still be boring, so.

2. It Actively Hampers Their Character Development--On Both Sides: I've written before (extensively lol im so sorry) about how kataang is actively detrimental to Katara and to Aang. In short (because ye gods this post is already getting long enough), Katara is narratively harmed by being shoved into a relationship that completely ignores her stated feelings--a relationship that had been presented as a one-sided puppylove crush for the vast majority of the series--and it inhibits her growth as a character in ways that become far more obvious in the comics and lok, where the very same creative forces that lead to her beginning a relationship with Aang in the first place reduce her to 'the Avatar's girl' and very little else, all the way through to the end of LoK (where she is a Healer and the Avatar's wife and, again, very little else).

As for Aang:

As to how this relationship is detrimental to Aang (other than the comics and LoK nonsense)? Just take a look at book 2, when he’s trying to learn Earthbending from Toph. Katara constantly coddles him. Much of the time, she’s afraid to be anything other than gentle and understanding with Aang--partly because of her fear that if she pushes him too far, he’ll run away. (Which he does, several times.) But sometimes, what Aang needs to grow is a sharp kick in the slats, which Toph was more than willing to provide--and which worked. Katara was great for teaching Aang to waterbend, but he needed more than that to grow as a person. And he can’t get that while he’s in a relationship with someone who will apologize for getting upset when he was very explicitly neglecting her.

In addition, it is pointed out by Guru Pathik at the end of Book 2 that one of Aang's chakras is blocked by his attachment to Katara. Aang takes this to mean (incorrectly) that he has to stop loving her in order to become fully realized as an Avatar, but this is actually part of the problem--because the issue isn't that he is in love with Katara, it's that he's possessively attached to her. He believes himself entitled to her love in return, rather than selflessly loving someone regardless of whether or not they return that affection. (This is obvious come the EIP episode, where Aang demands to know why he and Katara aren't in a relationship already--because he kissed her without asking [or even checking to see if she'd be ok with kissing him], which he phrases as mutual even though it very much was not, and he gets angry and violates her boundaries when she says that she is confused and doesn't want to think about it right then.)

It is his attachment to Katara--the need for her to return his love, the belief that she will and it is only a matter of time before he gets what he wants--that he was supposed to let go of, not his feelings for her in general. Unfortunately, while he pays lipservice to doing this (far too late for it to be useful--if he'd stayed with the Guru for five more minutes and unlocked his chakra there, that battle would've gone very differently), he almost immediately backtracks on that development come book 3, and there isn't another single whisper of Aang maybe growing up and moving past his one-sided and possessive crush and realizing that even if Katara doesn't feel the same way, it doesn't mean she loves him less or that their friendship is less important.

What really needed to happen, for Aang to grow as a person and become fully realized as an Avatar, was for him to grow up. To realize that his feelings were not of paramount importance, and that even if he was in love with Katara, he was not entitled to her love in return. He should have been able to move past his need for her to love him back, in order to get past that stumbling block, unlock his chakras, and regain the Avatar State in time to face the Firelord. But he didn't. As a result, they had to find some other way to just give him the Avatar State (a well-placed rock) and the means to defeat Ozai without killing him (the deus ex lionturtle) and his entire character arc just fell apart in the third act rather than reaching a satisfying conclusion.

3. Katara Deserved Better: This really ties into how her romantic relationship with Aang hampered her own development, but I'm still bitter enough about it that it gets its own bullet-point. And the biggest single reason I could never ship kataang--the thing that would've turned me off even if there were substance and a halfway decent storyline for them--is the fact that Aang kisses her without her consent (for the second time) in Ember Island Players, Katara gets angry at him and storms off, and then..... she walks out onto the balcony to make out with him.

With nothing to bridge that gap.

It's bad enough that a show aimed at children had a scene where the child protagonist kissed the object of his affections without her consent when she didn't want him to (made explicit by her angry reaction)--and this is absolutely an issue when the show is aimed at children and it may well be the first experience they've had with consent issues portrayed in media--but this moment is never addressed again. Katara just decides--completely off-screen--that she does love him Really and walks out to make out with him in the epilogue. There's no conversation, no apology for violating her boundaries, no discussion of why that was wrong or any indication that Aang understands what he did and why it upset her. They don't have a single one-on-one interaction between that kiss and the epilogue, and the only other time they are on screen together, Aang yells at her and storms off.

So, even leaving the comics and lok aside, Katara deserved much better from her own romantic plotline. In fact, she deserved to have one, rather than simply being the oblivious object of Aang's affections, given a couple moments where she blushes but otherwise remains completely ignorant of his feelings (she looks shocked and upset when he kisses her prior to the invasion, and then she completely forgets that even happened because she's confused as to what Aang is even talking about during EIP until he brings it up; that's not the behavior of a fourteen-year-old girl who was kissed by someone she was developing romantic feelings for), before the epilogue where it becomes clear that she figured all of that out off-screen and had feelings for him after all.

She's a main character, not a side-character written in solely to give one of the mains a love interest. She deserved a romantic plotline of her own. (She could have had one with someone else, with very few changes made to what was actually on-screen prior to the epilogue, but that's another conversation entirely.) She deserved to have her feelings considered at all important by the person she was going to be paired with in the end, rather than having him just assume she felt the same way and then get mad at her for never giving any indication of it when he'd never asked about her feelings to begin with. She deseserved agency in her own romantic narrative, and she just didn't get that with Aang.

So yeah, at the end of the day, my biggest issue with kataang is that it involved doing Katara dirty, and she's my favorite character and she deserved so much better damnit.

[zutarawasrobbed]

So Zutara happens. Then what? War over, everyone else returns to their homes and loved ones while Aang wanders the world alone burying what's left of his culture before dying of depression next to Monk Gyatso's skeleton? Kataang's narrative purpose is to show that Aang can have belonging, bring back his people, have a life beyond being the Avatar. Without it, there's no happy ending. This could be avoided if they set up another romance for Aang after letting Katara go but they didnt.

Okay, so there is a lot to address here, and honestly, I had a hard time knowing where to begin because wow...

First of all, all I see here is how Aang feels. Why is it that whenever anyone discusses Kataang, it's all about Aang and his feelings? Even in the show, it's only ever really shown from his side and what he wants, not Katara. Does Katara have a say? Is Katara’s only purpose in life to be an airbending baby maker? Does Katara's very existence hinge on her being Aang's girlfriend? What about how she feels? What about what she wants? What about her happiness? Or is Aang's happiness all that matters, and Katara should just deal with it?

Now for the culture argument. I want to point out that no genocide is ever really successful in wiping out an entire group of people. Air nomads are literally nomads meaning they move around a lot. It's in the name. This means that there are most definitely other airbenders out there hiding too afraid to come out until after the war is over. But, let's say we go with all the airbenders are dead narrative, then it makes even less sense for Kataang to happen because that means the entirety of the future of one nation depends on how many airbending babies Katara pops out. So this plan is stupid. But Aang is 12, so this plan might make sense in his brain. However, as he grows up, he would come to the obvious realization that if he wants to bring back the airbenders he needs to make a lot of babies with a lot of different women, so monogamy makes no sense and Katara would likely not be down for her boyfriend/husband "planting his seed" in every willing woman given that she's from the water tribes where family units are central to her culture.

Another thing Aang is 12, he'll survive not getting his first crush to date him. We all have at some point or another experienced heartbreak over someone who didn't like us back. We get sad for a bit and then move on. That's life. I also speak from experience as someone who was in a relatioship at 12 that no one should date at that age, and it is extremely unlikely you will end up together in the end. My relationship lasted a grand total of three months, and it is by far the dumbest decision I ever made. I was an idiot, he was an idiot, we were both idiots not ready for a relationship like all 12-year-olds are. So the idea that Aang and Katara would even last beyond a few months is ridiculous and unrealistic. In fact, the idea of me still being with that same person makes me visibly cringe because it was very unhealthy for a multitude of reasons I am still recovering from emotionally. If I was still with him, I would not be in the amazing relationship I am in now. Every relationship contains lessons that help us grow, and we keep with us when entering another relatioship. Sometimes we grow in relationships, and we realize we aren't right for each other, and that's okay. That's life. It goes on. That said, I know some people do get together at that young age and end up happily married. I know two people from my high school personally who got together at 14, got married a year after high school, and just had their first baby. But, the likelihood of that happening is extremely slim. On that note, relationships are hard work and require a certain amount of maturity. The maturity gap between Katara and Aang is vast, with Katara having the mental age of at least 25 and Aang still having the mental age of 12. It's unbalanced. 

Furthermore, the idea that Aang's happiness depends on Katara being with him means that his other relationships pale in comparison to his crush. It also makes him kind of pathetic if he's gonna end up "dying of depression next to Monk Gyatso's skeleton" as you so eloquently put it if he doesn't get with Katara. Also, it makes the connections he has with the others in the gaang worthless, especially his friendship with Katara. Because that means Aang doesn't really care about being in Katara's life if it isn't in the way, he wants it. It makes their friendship conditional, with no value because there was always an ulterior motive, and in his mind, it was always just a means to an end. That just makes him a selfish dick.

The argument that Aang is alone without Katara is dumb. He has Toph, Sokka, Suki, Katara, and Zuko. Plus, I don't know if you know this, but you can make more friends than the ones you made in your teens. You don't just stop making friends after a certain age. You continue to meet people and form connections. And given how charismatic Aang is, he's gonna make a ton of more friends and have the opportunity to form new bonds, including romantic ones as well. Furthermore, as a 12-year-old, Aang should be allowed to expand his circle around the world because he is the Avatar, and he is going to need to make new friends because his main ones aren't always gonna be available. Moreover, the idea of Aang being alone without Katara implies that Aang will only ever have katara at his side and cut ties with everyone else and expect her to do the same.

The idea that to have a happy ending Aang must get into a romantic relationship makes no sense. What about Toph? She didn't have a romantic relationship in the end, and she was perfectly happy. Because she's 12 and knows life doesn't depend on being in a romantic relationship all of the time. Furthermore, on the topic of Toph, I would like to bring up another argument you made about Aang not developing other potential love interests because he does. Toph is one of them. In season 2, we are introduced to Toph by way of a vision that is pretty romantic and used as a common trope in both modern and ancient literature. We also see their compatibility in the way they are naturally with each other. Aang wants to be a kid and have fun. With Toph, he can do that. But, he also has someone who won't let him shirk his responsibilities when they matter most. They match and balance each other in their personalities, and we see some possible romantic development in both seasons 2 and 3. Another potential love interest we are introduced to is On Ji in season 3, episode 2, "The Headband," where we see her have an obvious crush on "Kuzon" (Aang.) But what's appealing about this pairing is that she doesn't know he's the Avatar, meaning she genuinely likes him for who he is without the glitz and glamour. Which I personally find adorable. Side note, I am aware that "the headband" is supposed to be a hallmark "kataang" episode. However, I would be remiss if I did not point out that this episode actually proves the "Katara doesn't treat/see Aang as a son" argument wrong. Because in that same episode, before the dance scene, Katara literally pretends to be Aang's pregnant mother.

Moreover, Aang is not without purpose outside of being the Avatar. The very notion is ridiculous. Yes, he has to rebuild his nation, he's a symbol of peace, but he is also a person who wants friends and a family, which he has found in the gaang. He also has the purpose of being a kid, which now he can be contingent on him meeting his obligations as the Avatar.

Lastly, I would like to reiterate that not only is Aang 12 and a child, the rest of the gaang are too. Granted, Aang is by far the least mature as he grew up in a time without war and has not had to a childhood with the effects of war the other members of the gaang have throughout their lives. But, in regards to Zutara, I personally do not see them getting together immediately after the war, they both have responsibilities to their respective nations. Katara, in rebuilding her tribe and Zuko in redefining the Fire Nation. Therefore, it would take years just to find some stability. But that doesn't mean they don't keep in touch. We know out of everyone in the gang, Zuko and Katara are closest to each other. They both share a bond with each other no one can match. You might be tempted to argue that Aang is closest to Katara and her best friend, but that is pretty debatable because both Aang and Katara have more positive interactions with other gaang members than they do with each other. For instance, if I had to choose out of everyone in the Gaang who Katara's best friend was, aside from Zuko, I would be tied between Toph and Suki. But, given Suki is not part of the gaang long enough to really expand on her relationships with the others beside Sokka, Toph would be my answer. That said, after the war, everyone would keep in touch with each other. They are all friends for life regardless of romantic relationships. Therefore, the gaang would most definitely be keeping in touch with each other, not just Zuko and Katara. But over the years as they grow, I can see Zuko and Katara growing closer and building on that strong foundation to form a strong and healthy romantic relationship.

[mellowdreamer]

HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO VERSE.

this is a modern bending vigilante/hero au featuring zukka, mailee, yueki and a lot of hijinks!

the gaang are all 16-19 here, because while bruce wayne apparently has no problem with it, i’m not comfortable with having vigilantes who haven’t yet gone through puberty.

the avatar world is just one big city, and each of the nations/cities are different suburbs of the city.

kyoshi island, ember island, and boiling rock are small islands off of the city, similar to singapore’s sentosa island.

the city (republic city? i dunno, get back to me on this one) is full of heroes, vigilantes and villains alike. the fire nation is a criminal empire intent on taking over the city. the avatar is a hero who works to keep the balance of heroes and villains in the city, and stop the entire city from becoming a war zone. 

however, the avatar disappeared 100 years ago, and no one was chosen to take up the mantle since. in the avatar’s absence, the fire nation was able to begin its quest to take over the city.

the heroes of the southern water tribe that were left after the various raids have left the southern water suburb on a mission to defeat the fire nation or die.

hakoda, alias chief, left his two young children in charge of their territory, despite them being a) children and b) relatively untrained.

katara, alias painted lady, is the only waterbender left in the southern water tribe. sokka, alias captain boomerang, is the only trained combat hero left in the southern water tribe. all those remaining are either children or incapable of fighting.

side tangent: when sokka does well, he calls himself “grand marshal boomerang” and when he does badly, he calls himself “private boomerang”. thank you to the crimily for coming up with this one!!

one night, when katara and sokka are out on patrol, they get chased by fire nation goons into the ice off of the southern harbour. there, they get into a fight over sokka’s sexist remarks and katara’s yelling having attracted the fire nation goons, and katara’s waterbending gets out of control. she breaks open an iceberg, only to find someone in there.

the two siblings approach the iceberg and break the person out. they are shocked to find a young boy in the unmistakable uniform of the avatar, resting next to a creature they’ve never seen before.

they wake the boy up, to find that his name is aang and he’s the next avatar. and that he has no idea of the fire nation’s quest to conquer the entire city, or the fact that the air nomads – heroes that didn’t resign to just one area of the city – hadn’t been seen for the same hundred years that he must’ve spent in the iceberg.

katara and a reluctant sokka take aang back to the apartment building where the remaining southern water suburb residents have been living and introduce him to everyone.

later that night, the three go out on patrol together. it’s a quiet night, and sokka thinks they might actually get through it without any incidents, until they find a woman being mugged.

sokka and katara are about to intervene, but aang takes down both thugs in a matter of seconds. aang, ignoring the slack jawed shock of his friends, asks if they could go penguin sledding. katara goes to agree, but is cut off by the shout of “MY HONOUR” from a nearby rooftop.

zuko, alias dragon prince, runs from the rooftop before they could find him. his father ozai, alias firelord, had sent him and his uncle iroh – formerly dragon of the west, now retired – to find the avatar. zuko had been banished from the fire nation territory years ago, after speaking up about a plan that would’ve cost them a whole division of goons and refusing to fight his father in an agni kai.

the kyoshi warriors are similar to the birds of prey or the amazons; they’re an all-female crime-fighting unit not directly associated with any of the kingdoms or nations. suki is their leader, and they don’t have secret identities like the other heroes.

iroh, bumi, piandao, jeong-jeong and p*kku are all retired heroes and a part of the order of the white lotus.

toph is the blind bandit and a hero, albeit a less morally structured and ‘good’ hero than the avatar, the painted lady, and captain boomerang. she was a part of the underground fighting ring ‘earth rumble’ when the gaang infiltrated the ring looking for intel and convinced her that her powers could be used for something better than beating bitches blue and making bank while doing it.

azula is firebolt, and she is as brilliant as she is terrifying. she’s arguably more feared than the firelord, mainly because she’s the one who frequents other areas and actually goes on missions. ozai just sits on his stupid throne and yells at people and manipulates his children like the little bitch he is.

mai and ty lee are azula’s sidekicks, and are known as blade and tightrope respectively. also: they’re lesbians, harold.

yue is a part of the northern water tribe’s group of heroes, alongside her family. they tried to marry her off to hahn and have her trained in healing instead of fighting, but she rebelled and threatened to go out on her own, so they relented. yue’s hero alias is tui, but she will be called sailor moon at least three times.

jet and his freedom fighters are a group of anti-heroes who aren’t afraid to hurt innocent people in their pursue of ‘justice’.

zhao is a villain who works for the firelord, under the alias admiral, and he’s an asshole. using the yuyan archers, he manages to capture aang and takes him to a fire nation stronghold. zuko finds out about this, and not wanting admiral asshole to get the upper hand, dresses as the blue spirit for the first time to rescue aang.

during the siege of the north, zhao “kills” yue. she fakes her own death and disappears into hiding until the final battle, in which she kills zhao because it’s what she deserves.

the gaang know that yue is alive, because she’s nice enough to not do them like that, but they have to keep up appearances. because of this, sokka amps up the heartbreak and clings to suki a lot. that’s why a lot of outsiders begin to think that sokka dated yue and is dating suki, though in reality yue and suki are dating each other.

zuko and iroh, after the siege of the north and a trap set by azula, disappear into hiding and decide to take refuge in ba sing se, knowing that the fire nation wouldn’t think to look for them there.

ba sing se is a section of the city that has been fenced off in order to prevent an influx of heroes and villains. the dai li, who keep a tight grip on the suburb and ensure that the residents don’t know of the war raging outside the walls, are a group of “heroes”.

of course, the fence does nothing to prevent zuko and iroh, the gaang, and later azula, mai and ty lee from entering ba sing se and turning it into their own warzone.

iroh fulfils his dream of finally owning a tea shop and zuko, when not working in the tea shop, spends his nights lingering in the shadows of ba sing se as the blue spirit.

sokka, desperate for a warm drink and something to do while the others do their bending training, wanders into the jasmine dragon one afternoon and is served by “lee”.

neither know the other’s civilian identity, so there’s no shady business, just pining over the cute customer/server. sokka strikes a conversion and the two begin flirting chatting. it’s going really well, and you can almost see the romance blooming.

and then in walks azula, flanked by mai and ty lee, all in costume.

sokka and zuko both leap up from their seats and into fighting stances. both are confused as to why the other jumped up, and then azula calls zuko brother and it clicks in sokka’s mind.

he starts yelling at zuko for a lot of things, including yue’s “death” which is how zuko realises who he is. zuko starts yelling back because he’s only once met a fight he didn’t like. in the background of this argument, iroh is trying to fight azula, mai and ty lee to varying degrees of success.

it’s funny that i say degrees, because this is when azula sets fire to the jasmine dragon. iroh grabs the two dumbass arguing teens and shoves them outside as he too runs, telling zuko to meet at their rendezvous point at sunrise.

azula, mai and ty lee chase after zuko and sokka (who are still arguing as they run from the three girls). mai and ty lee don’t want to chase them, because zuko has always been better to them than azula, but defying azula would be a death sentence.

sokka pulls zuko into a building for coverage, and because azula is azula, she summons the dai li and has them surround the building. there would be no leaving without confronting the dai li, and thus zuko and sokka are trapped.

sokka confronts zuko and basically asks how he could justify the fire nation’s villainy, how he could support a monster who’s killing hundreds of people. zuko defends his father blindly because he’s been raised to believe that his father is right, that his father has to be right, and this southern water scum is wrong. but zuko’s losing his grip on the argument and is becoming more and more hysterical but sokka is so calm, so sure of himself, and the dam finally breaks.

zuko crumples to the ground in tears, and now sokka’s gotta deal with this because ozai is a shitface and has been brainwashing his son for years and wow fuck the fire nation.

mai and ty lee, having taken down the dai li, burst in to find zuko crying his eyes out in sokka’s arms. they teasingly ask if they’re interrupting something and laugh as zuko next to sprints out of the building, sokka hot on his heels.

this is the last straw for zuko, who defects from the fire nation, hangs up his dragon prince uniform and fully becomes the blue spirit, a hero who works with the gaang to eventually take down the fire nation.

also, at some stage zuko rescues a turtleduck that got stuck up a tree. don’t ask me how this happens.

[tickly-tufts]

Belonging

inspired by suggestions from @damecosquillas + this post which i realized fit zuko both ways

i was also itching for OT3 content, so yes this is a suzukka or zukki fic

---

“Hey, we’re celebrating! Why don’t you join us?” Sokka peered into Zuko’s room. While everyone else had been catching up around the campfire, Zuko had quietly snuck away. 

“I’m not really sure that I should...” Zuko was seated on the edge of his bed. Sokka glanced down, spotting a picture of Iroh, then made up his mind about sticking around.

“Of course you should! You were at the Boiling Rock! There’s no way things would’ve worked without you.” Sokka invited himself to sit beside Zuko, pleasantly surprised when he wasn’t pushed away.

They went back and forth for a few moments, as Sokka insisted Zuko return, only to meet resistance. It didn’t escape his notice that there was no food nearby, meaning Zuko hadn’t even grabbed dinner before making his exit. There was no tension between the two of them; only concern combating insecurity. However, just when Sokka was sure they’d reached a stalemate, a third presence made itself known.

“So this is where you went,” Suki mused aloud, striding into the room with casual curiosity. “Kind of isolated, isn’t it?”

A pit formed in Sokka’s stomach.

It was true that the room was tucked away, far from the temple center, where the others were gathered. Zuko had been assigned to it for that very reason, though now that they’d bonded, Sokka felt guilty. It was just a bit too lonely for his liking, and he wondered if it was contributing to Zuko’s hesitation.

“You should sleep closer to the group,” he decided, then backtracked when Zuko simply stared. “Uh, assuming that’s alright with you... Obviously.”

Getting a quick read on the situation, Suki seized control before Zuko could turn him down. Not even batting an eye, she joined them on the bed, sandwiching Zuko in the middle.

“Wha-?!” Zuko looked alarmed, gawking like she'd just proclaimed herself Avatar Kyoshi.

“For the record, I forgive you for my village. The damage wasn’t permanent, and the jailbreak earned you some points.” She leaned back on her hands, completely at ease, as if Zuko were no stranger to her than Sokka. It was as confusing as it was comforting, and Zuko relaxed ever so slightly.

“Thank you,” he breathed out. “I’m glad it was salvageable. I’m not sure what that has to do with... this, though.” He made a vague gesture with his hands, leaving his exact meaning open to interpretation.

“You don’t think you belong with us, right?” Suki cut right to the heart of the matter. “You’re prepared to fight with us, maybe even die for us, but you don’t think you’re welcome as a friend.”

“I...” Zuko sounded uncomfortable. “You all look so happy already. I’m just here to teach Aang firebending... and try to make up for my past mistakes.” He reached up to rub the back of his head. “I know Katara definitely doesn’t want me there.”

“She’ll get over it,” Sokka said with a scowl. “Anyway, I want you there.”

“We want you there," Suki corrected. “And I’m willing to bet we’re not the only ones.”

When Zuko still appeared conflicted, Sokka rolled his eyes, poking him in the ribs.

“What’s it gonna take to convince-” Sokka paused. “...you?” he finished questioningly. “Sorry, but did you just squeak?”

Zuko’s blush confirmed it before he could answer.

“Does this mean what I think it means?” Suki dug her fingers into his side. Zuko practically threw himself against Sokka in his scramble to get away.

He froze when a familiar hand wrapped around his bicep.

It only took a second for Suki and Sokka to make eye contact, and even less time for them to spring into action. They both claimed a limb, then shoved Zuko backwards, pinning his wrists to the wall before each sitting on a leg.

“Wahait! Hohohold on! Dohohohon’t!” Zuko was giggling before they even touched him. When two different hands descended on his torso, he had no hope of resisting.

“Ahahahahah! S-Stohohohop thahahat!” He squirmed as Suki scratched under his arm. Sokka, meanwhile, revisited his ribs, massaging his fingers into the soft spaces. “Eheheheek!” he squeaked again, desperately twisting this way and that. Unfortunately for him, he could find no relief. His tormentors were as methodical as they were wicked.

“His ribs just might be the worst,” Sokka observed as Zuko cackled.

“You think so?” Suki gave them a squeeze, and Zuko nearly cracked his skull against the wall. “Oh! Be careful!” she instantly reacted, stopping to check the back of his head. She pet his hair lightly once she was reassured. “You know, I remember you being more bald.”

“Right?” Sokka exclaimed. “Toph got on my case for saying he had a ponytail. How was I supposed to know about your haircut?!”

“Um, I’m sorry?” Zuko seemed baffled.

“Yeah, you better be,” Sokka snarked, tickling his neck in retaliation. It was more to tease him than out of genuine spite, but Sokka still smirked when Zuko shrank back with a squeal.

Suki watched the exchange with open amusement, then decided to get back in on the fun. Zuko startled when he felt his shirt lifting, flinching violently at the first touch of nails.

“We could probably go back outside now... or we could see how ticklish you really are.” Suki tilted her head, a dangerous glint in her eye. “What do you think we should do, Zuko?”

Zuko didn’t need to look up to know he was doomed.

---

Chief Hakoda didn’t know what to expect when he turned the corner, but it certainly wasn’t what he found. It had taken a fair bit of wandering to even locate the right room, and he’d started running once he was close enough to hear screaming. Immediately, he braced himself for the worst, which made the reality even more jarring.

He could only gape from the doorway as his son blew a raspberry against the Fire prince’s stomach.

“MEHEHERCY! PLEHEHEHEHEASE!” the prince practically shrieked, shaking helplessly in the Kyoshi girl’s hold. Judging by the color of his face, they’d been at this for awhile, and suddenly remembering why he was there, Hakoda cleared his throat.

The three teens all jumped, whipping to face him in record time. Sokka smiled sheepishly upon recognizing him, while the prince turned right back around, mortified. The Kyoshi girl glanced at the prince, then released his arms, kindly tugging his shirt down as she helped him sit up. None of them said a word as Hakoda stepped closer.

“So... the others were wondering why you’d all disappeared.” Hakoda crossed his arms, watching them thoughtfully. “I decided to volunteer, especially since Katara was getting... worried.” The prince looked down. Sokka squeezed his wrist. Hakoda filed the interaction away for later.

“Sorry about that,” the Kyoshi girl chimed in. “We got a bit distracted, but we can head back with you now.” Taking the lead, she stood up first, then grabbed the prince by the arm. 

Sokka followed suit, doing the same on the other side. Hakoda nearly laughed when they hoisted him down the hall. For a moment, the prince looked ready to protest, before ultimately sighing and accepting his fate. 

Following a few paces behind the trio, Hakoda recognized right then that he had nothing to worry about. Not when it came to the prince’s loyalties at least. His son’s love life, however, may have been another matter.

[ao3feed-zukka]

It Happened On A Tuesday

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/32DWpBW

by HoneysuckleAndThorns

It has been said that when the time came, one day you would look into a mirror and see someone else. Not just anyone else, but your soulmate. Agni would show you your soulmate, your soulmate would see you too, and the two of you would be reunited. It was a beautiful, sacred affair, to find your other half in your lifetime. A time when you needed the other the most.

Zuko couldn't agree less. Zuko would greatly appreciate it if someone would explain to him why the idea of meeting his soulmate when he least expected it was supposed to be a good thing! It sounded like the worst thing that could ever happen to him! He didn't want to be 'known'. He didn't want to be 'found'. He didn't want to meet his soulmate period. End of discussion. No thank you, come back never. Go bother someone else.

There was just one problem Zuko hadn't considered. Why did Sokka have to be so handsome??

Words: 6701, Chapters: 1/2, Language: English

Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Zuko (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar), Mentioned-, Azula (Avatar), Mai (Avatar), Ty Lee (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar), Katara (Avatar), Aang (Avatar), Suki (Avatar), Yue (Avatar), Toph Beifong

Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Mentioned- - Relationship, Aang/Katara (Avatar), Suki/Yue (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, influenced by a story in a different fandom, Anxious Zuko (Avatar), azula is trying, she is a good sister, Bad Parent Ursa (Avatar), Bad Parent Ozai (Avatar), no surprise there, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Meet-Cute, But also, they're both hot messes, zuko is trying, he gathers his wise council of lesbians, Zuko works at his uncles tea shop, Toph regularly beats up the customers, Zuko finds it funny, he just doesn't know who she is yet, Sokka has a scholarship for waterpolo, cause why not, he and Suki share the braincell to be water polo captain, Zuko is regularly having a crisis, Zuko bruises like a peach, tea fixes everything

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/32DWpBW

[jaxsteamblog]

Jealousy

Click here to read the entire fic on AO3

The next day, Katara and Zuko enjoyed their private access to one of the family spring bath rooms. The bath had that velvety feel that came with mineral rich water, and there was a thread of something more potent in the cloudy liquid, but it was ultimately comparable to tap water when ranked against her oasis. 

Feeling rejuvenated, and tingling with anxious glee about their interview being broadcast, they decided to take a risk and see some sights. As Zuko contemplated his itchy bandages for his face, Katara yanked a woven hat over his head instead. The wide brim cast enough of a shadow over his face to keep quick glances from noticing his scar.

“Is this really enough?” He asked as he settled into the wheelchair.

“Trust me, people are terribly afraid of invalids. They think it’s contagious.” Katara assured him.

“Hmm.” Zuko intoned, thinking back to plenty of instances in his life after the scarring.

The Misty Palms Oasis was an ancient marvel and had housed a multitude of communities in its history. Prior to the Hundred Year War, there had been some religious commune that acted as a healing sanctuary. At some point, that became commercialized, as the oasis could never be coaxed into sustainable farmland. The oasis turned into a bustling trading hub; the perfect stop to long, desert trade routes. 

The war disrupted that, as it had many things, and the desert brigands that had once been excluded from its respite took their claim. 

Avatar Aang had calmed a lot of the more unsavory traits of the oasis, but it never regained its previous, lofty reputation. 

Ivory tiled plazas marked out the spots for wealthy people, and hosted the simulacra of a spiritual well. But pockmarked about the sand dunes and low bone white walls were shabbier buildings. They collected tourists and travellers like the piles of red sand that made their wooden walls sag. 

Katara threaded away from those places, knowing that their small manners would invite the attention of merchants more easily than the curiosity of the more wealthy around. 

Still, certain walkways could not be avoided. 

The joyful sounds of some tavern spilled out in the morning air, and Katara yanked Zuko’s wheelchair back as the sound was followed by a stumbling body.

The man offered distracted apologies and Katara kept her head down as she navigated past him.

“Wait, Katara?” The man asked.

The breath in her lungs turned into helium and as she turned, it felt like she almost lifted off her feet.

“Jet?” She asked in return. 

Despite the setting and the noise, Jet was not inebriated; at least not so soon in the day. Whatever had made him laugh inside, or else propelled him out into the street, it lingered in his smile. 

“I had heard rumors, but I didn’t think I’d see a queen out here in the desert.” Jet said, walking closer. 

His skin had darkened, and Katara assumed he had been in Misty Palms for some time. He had not followed her, this was not intentional.

She didn’t know if that made things better or worse.

Zuko, still in the chair behind her, cleared his throat.

“I’m with a client.” Katara said haltingly. 

Jet peered past her and Katara shifted her weight to the side. He didn’t seem very interested.

“Can you settle a bet for me?” He asked as he lazily slid his gaze back to her.

“What?” 

“Are you really dating the Fire Lord’s son?”

Katara felt her mind stop. 

“We were just watching the interview and you looked so stiff.” Jet explained to fill her silence. “It just didn’t match the Katara I knew.”

“Well I’m not that person anymore.” Katara said quickly.

“Oh, I’m not so sure.” Jet said with a laugh. “The Katara I knew would absolutely be in the middle of nowhere, helping out someone everyone else has probably called a lost cause.” 

“You don’t know me.” Katara replied.

“I’d like to.”

“I am dating Zuko.” She stated quickly. “I just don’t like cameras.”

“I guess Longshot owes me some money now.” Jet said with a shrug.

“You thought…” Katara, confused, couldn’t find the rest of her question.

“Like I said, the Katara I knew has a thing for lost causes.” Jet answered.

“You weren’t-.” She cut herself off. “You’re not mad?”

Jet shook his head. 

“You’re not the only one who changed.” He said softly. “Peacetime wasn’t hospitable to old Jet.”

“Well.” Katara fumbled through her thoughts. “I’m glad.”

“Me too.” Jet cracked a larger smile and swung his arms in a stretch. “I’ll let you get back to your healing. I think you’re probably nicer to him with your bending than you were to me.”

He winked, changing the meaning of his tone, and Katara sputtered as he walked away.

Jet had guessed it was Zuko in the chair. Of course he had.

“Let’s go.” Katara muttered, turning around and shoving the chair forward.

“You sure you didn’t want to catch up some more?” Zuko muttered back.

She snorted, feeling her mood shift.

“Are you jealous?” She asked.

“Of course not.” Zuko snapped.

“Have you even been jealous before?” 

“I’m not jealous.”

Despite his claim, Zuko was peevish during their outing. He complained about the heat, the crowds, and the lack of mobility when trying to access various sites and shops. Katara tried to jostle him out of it, modeling increasingly ridiculous outfits and accessories. 

But her own nerves thinned her patience, and by lunch she was just as tired and irritated. 

When they made it back to their room, Katara darted immediately into the bedroom. Thin lines of sand had collected in her joints and ends of her clothes. She shed the fabric, but the sweat and sand clung to her like another outfit.

The shower stall was separate from the large, whirlpool bath, but it took up almost as much space. Tiled in sea green glass, Katara relished the cool ripple under her feet. Craving coolness, she stood under the spray instead of waiting for the water to heat. 

The bathroom door opened, and Katara kept from looking through the clear glass door as Zuko stepped in. 

His heat fogged the glass as he approached, making her aversion easier. 

“So Jet seemed happy to see you.” Zuko began. He was trying to sound neutral, or conversational, but it was like he had forgotten how to make that inflection with his voice. 

“Of course, I won him some money.” Katara said. 

“Did he look any different?” 

“He looked more like a guy closer to his thirties than his teens, yeah.” 

“Mmmm.” 

They were both quiet, and Katara started to thread her fingers through her hair. 

“I’m not jealous of him.” Zuko repeated. Katara didn’t reply and focused on plucking free a tangle. 

“I am jealous of his freedom.” He finished.

“What?” Katara looked up at the shower head, still unable to see Zuko through the condensation. 

“You know him. Maybe not what he’s been up to in the meantime, but you have a history. You could catch up over a coffee and it wouldn’t be this lecture of pain and trauma. 

“And just the fact that you could go out with him in the first place. But I have to be disguised just to go anywhere with you in public.” His sentences spewed out like steam from a boiling kettle, but it chilled Katara.

“History doesn’t always make things easier.” Katara said. “You can keep a lot of assumptions about people.” 

“Fine, even if it wasn’t him, wouldn’t you rather be with someone you can actually date?” Zuko asked.

“We date.” Katara protested.

“Barely. I think we-”

“We what?”

“I’ve never told you what that night was like for me. When I met the Painted Lady.”

They were quiet again and Katara let her hands fall down by her sides.

“Ever since that night, I was fascinated by Waterbenders. I spent months looking for the pretender, but only heard rumors. And even after the war ended, every time I met a Waterbender that was around the right age, I wondered. 

“By the time I met Sokka, I had given up. But then he told me about being in the war, about you being a Waterbender, and it shook everything up. I had to meet you. And when I did, I wanted you to be her so badly.” Zuko finally said. 

“Why? Love at first sight?” Katara questioned.

“Yes.” Zuko answered readily. 

“Spirits, how terrible would it have been if I wasn’t the same person?” Katara asked, slightly bitter and slightly unnerved. 

“You don’t understand, it’s because I fell in love with you at first sight. And I wanted some destiny to intervene.” Zuko said. 

“Oh.”

“And so now there’s two of you. There’s always been two Kataras. And I wonder if you and I are just meant to be a fairy tale.” Zuko said. “That’s what I’m jealous of. His freedom of being more rooted in reality.”

“I prefer the fairy tale.” Katara said, trying to sound prim but achieving something more acidic. “Plus, the ending is much better than the practical.”

“What’s that?”

“‘’And they lived happily ever after.’”

“Ah.” Zuko paused and she heard him chuckle to himself. “Got room in there?”

“I think I can manage.” Katara replied, assuredly sounding coy.

They could use the ever after to figure out the rest of their story, she was certainly in no rush.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44

[crashingmeteorz]

more jinjetsongko headcanons because i’m still quarantining so what the heck else am i gonna do.

shout out to @azenkii for coming up with this and supporting my nonsense. also considering calling them the ba sing se bimbos, please share your thoughts.

so like. it’s pretty clear song can handle herself, and even as they’re getting rid of the body, jet is telling her about their group and what they’re doing. song’s in shock, because murder’s not something she’s ever done (but something her mother has always prepared her to do), and so she just is kinda like “yeah, okay, i’ll join, whatever, but does the smell of death ever leave your nostrils or does it stay there forever?”

“it fades,” he tells her happily, slinging an arm around her shoulders, “but don’t worry - you’ll get used to it.”

zuko wants to punch jet in his stupid handsome face because they can’t have the girl he STOLE FROM in their stupid gang but he can’t TELL ANYONE so he’s just bitter about it until song reassures him that it’s okay, he’s forgiven.

despite her capacity for violence, song does not Vibe With It, so she ends up acting as a lookout most of the time. there are other drugs, ones that just put people to sleep for a while instead of killing them, and she tends to use those on any suspicious parties.

if she’s ever in a serious bind, though, she carries a set of needles hidden up her sleeve. just because she’s the least Down with Murder doesn’t mean she isn’t down with it at all. she’s not a freaking narc.

jin previously was Not Down with Murder but when you hide a dead body you have to very quickly Get Down with Murder or Get Gone, so she gets down with it. everything else about her friends (arsonist, terrorist, deadly apothecary) quickly becomes categorized as extremely normal because otherwise her brain would explode.

best asset is her knowledge of the city, and the fact that she can get information from anyone, anywhere. she’s got more street smarts than any of the “country bumpkins” as she affectionately calls her friends, and she puts this skill to good use.

she wants to be able to fight, too, and since both zuko and jet wield dual weapons, that’s how she learns.

(plus, the idea of all four of them being dual-weapons wielders is cool and fun so i’m running with it)

she steals away into the small trunk of family heirlooms that sits hidden beneath a floorboard in her building, and procures two sickles her father used during his time on the farm. interestingly, theyre about the same size and weight as the kyoshi warriors’ fans. if jin were to ever find herself amongst the kyoshi warriors, she’d probably fit in. just a thought.

jin, like jet, is unrefined and fights dirty, but it works and gets the job done. zuko fights with honor and fury. song is light on her feet, and her goal is mainly to get the fight over with. all in all, they make a good team.

obviously, iroh and song’s mother adopt them all. jin is the natural favorite, being genuinely likable and funny, and also the most normal. iroh is also still hoping she’ll marry zuko one day, and song’s mother basically sees any teen girls she meets as someone to be Cherished and Protected anyway.

jet is definitely the least favorite but is also Begrudgingly Beloved by the adults. both iroh and song’s mother are too smart to fall for his slick words, but they find his efforts to be charming endearing. plus, they both know boy soldiers when they see them, and it’s hard for them not to want to be a parent to a kid who’s been through so much.

song and her mother love teasing zuko and iroh for their past encounter. song’s usually the one teasing iroh, and he takes it in stride, always offering her free tea and treats and dramatically begging her forgiveness in a way that absolutely makes zuko sweat bullets. song’s mother is the one who teases zuko, but he’s so awkward and weird about it she just ends up feeling bad and giving him an extra serving of dinner, which jin and jet loudly protest.

all three teens have a different version of a backstory for zuko and iroh. they’ve all shared their lives with each other, except for zuko, and no matter how much they pester iroh he insists it’s not his story to tell.

jin works the circus angle for a loooong time, knowing full well he was full of shit when he said he was in the circus, but hoping to make zuko perform increasingly ridiculous stunts so as to vindicate himself. he draws the line at the tightrope, and gets weirdly quiet about it, so she drops it.

jet thinks zuko was in the war, which is how he got his scar. he assumes zuko and iroh are so poor because they didn’t get any sort of compensation for their part in defending the earth kingdom, which is just what he would expect from their “government”, or as jet calls it, The Man.

song assumes zuko got his scar the same way she did, when the fire nation invaded his and iroh’s village and probably took his father away, too. she also assumes this is what’s hardened him to the world, and is glad he seems to be loosening up a bit around his friends.

jin is the closest, believing zuko and iroh to be deserters of the fire nation, but she guesses they’re from the colonies. she also definitely thinks iroh’s earth kingdom (you can’t live in ba sing se and love it THAT MUCH without having a little earth kingdom blood in you. no way no how). she assumes that zuko got his scar for his treachery, that he left the fire nation because he believed it was Evil. secretly, she believes he’s incredibly brave.

after the war, zuko casually mentions that he got his scar from his father.

“your what now?” jin asks in disbelief. my father, zuko tells her. he recounts the war meeting, the agni kai, all of it.

“and your father, the ex-firelord, he did this?” song asks, deadly calm, messing with a few vials of something Very Dangerous and Very Painful.

“the ex-firelord as in the ex-firelord locked up in the capital prison, that guy did that to you?” jet asks, just as calm, sharpening his hooks. zuko says yes, not sure why they’re being so weird.

“we’ll be back later,” jin tells him. “we have to go do something totally unrelated.”

it takes zuko way too long for the penny to drop because by the time he catches up to them they’ve knocked out half the prison guards and are screaming about vengeance.

(secretly, he’s touched, but he wishes he’d learned his lesson because he goes through the same thing with sokka and katara about a month later).

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  masterpost

[chaoticevilbean]

Firebender!Sokka AU

Just a Scene Part 1/?

Pakku and Katara separated from their hug, smiles still firmly in place. Katara opened her mouth to continue their conversation, but snapped it shut as a realization hit her.

“Where’s Sokka,” she asked, her head swiveling to look for the other. Pakku’s brow furrowed as the waterbending master came to the same thought. The boy hadn’t come over, despite his sister’s exclamation at the sight of her old teacher and now grandfather.

“He’s over there, Sugar Queen,” Toph pointed from where she stood by Zuko and Suki. All three seemed at least slightly confused and waiting for some sort of explanation. Katara glanced over at where Toph pointed, seeing her brother speaking with the masters, and strode over to the rest of the team. It would be better to clarify the situation now instead of waiting.

Master Pakku did not walk over to another person. He did not call after his student and granddaughter. He did not move in any way besides turning to face the other adults. His mind was reeling at the sight before him.

Sokka was speaking to Piandao with more respect than the waterbender had ever seen the boy use. He spoke in a similar manner to Jeong Jeong, but he was also looser with the former admiral, occasionally nudging the man on the shoulder in a playful way. Bumi did not receive any formality or the respect he might elicit as a king. Instead, the royal threw his arm around Sokka, and even from his distanced position, Pakku could hear the terrible jokes his colleague was interjecting with. All four of the people were acting friendly with each other, and Sokka fit in with them like the winning move in a game of Pai Sho.

Pakku had heard about the other masters’ experiences with the Avatar and his friends. He had shared his own at the same meeting. He would’ve joined the group if it had just been the strange behaviors. He was not in any way prepared for when Jeong Jeong threw a fireball at Sokka’s head and the teen caught it, laughing like it was an inside joke.

His grandson… his Water Tribe grandson… was a firebender. A strong one if he could catch such a close attack with the ease he did. And had he not been informed from the others about the firebender of non-Fire Nation heritage? The very same men now conversing as though there had been no fire, no strangeness to the situation. His grandson, the very same he had passed off as an annoyance; who he’d assumed was as idiotic as his actions; who was cocky and was cut from the very mission he’d joined despite having a team to protect; that very same boy was one of the most powerful, if not the most, powerful firebender in the world.

And the boy hadn’t even greeted Pakku in passing. He’d simply joined the other elders and struck up easy conversation. It hit home in him more than learning that he’d attacked his granddaughter. More than finding out that Kanna had left him and married another. It somehow even hit harder than realizing he had driven his love further away by not fighting for what she’d believed in so passionately. Sokka had no reason to greet the waterbender. When had Pakku been anything but brusque with him? Shown any interest in the boy or his life? He’d ignored him for Katara and her strong bending.

It seemed Pakku was destined to keep driving his family away.

~_~_~_~_~_~

Sokka wasn’t paying attention to his sister’s reunion with her teacher. He knew she’d missed the grouchy old man despite the fact that he was, well, grouchy. Sokka could now understand it better himself, having missed Jeong Jeong after their group had had to flee. So he gave the two space and instead moved over to greet his friends and masters.

“Master Piandao,” he greeted, bowing to his mentors, “Master Jeong Jeong… Bumi.” For the last man, he changed the bow to that of the Earth Kingdom, beaming at the King as he did so. It really was just for show when it came to the royal.

The bows were instantly returned, despite the superior positions of the elders not demanding it. Jeong Jeong rose swiftly from his, making intense eye contact as he did. Sokka remained calm, remembering the first time he’d been subject to the almost-glare.

“Is there something you need, Master Jeong Jeong?” he tried. It was apparently the wrong move as the deserter’s gaze hardened sharply.

“You’re injured.”

“No…”

“Then why did you call me by name?” Sokka frowned before the question clicked.

“You seriously think I’m injured just because I didn’t call you J2?”

“J2,” Piandao repeated, a grin forming quickly at the nickname.

“We can discuss my questionable naming skills later,” the younger firebender intervened before the conversation could wander. “Now is the time to discuss what is going on and what is going to happen before we try to avoid dying tomorrow.”

“When did you develop aangxiety?” Bumi asked as he threw his arm across the teen’s shoulders. A few chuckles escaped before he could stop them, not that he was trying that hard.

“I’ve always had anxiety. Then I got a little airhead and suddenly I can’t go a day with aangst.”

“Agni, there’s two of them,” Piandao muttered, running a hand down his face. Jeong Jeong let out a huff of amusement at the duo, who were giggling at the puns. “What is it you wished to talk about, Sokka?” the master swordsman continued, now making his own attempt at changing the subject. The Water Tribe warrior raised an eyebrow at the mock pain in his master’s expression but obliged the man.

“I wanted to discuss what you’re all doing together, as well as the plan for Sozin’s Comet. Both Aang and Momo,” Sokka directed that last part at Bumi, “have disappeared. We know that Aang will likely show up when the Comet comes to fight the Firelord, but we don’t have a solid plan. Until Zuko informed us of Ozai’s plan to wipe out the Earth Kingdom, Aang was going to wait for the Comet to pass before he fought.”

“So our intel was correct,” Jeong Jeong stated solemnly. “Ozai plans to destroy the other nations as his grandfather destroyed the Air Nomads.”

“It will be easier to thwart the plan if Aang handles the Loserlord,” Bumi earned himself a couple of snickers at that, “and we have these kids to help.”

“I believe it would be best to discuss this with the other masters.”

“There are more of you?” Sokka asked curiously, wondering what other old people had gathered.

“There are a few, but only one will likely be available with all of our preparations. General Iroh, the Dragon of the West.” The teen nodded at that. It fit with what he had seen of the group's apparent association.

“I’ll go get the others and then you can lead us to your camp. I’m guessing you’re going to take back Ba Sing Se?”

“Yes. We will wait,” Piandao told his former pupil. Sokka bowed once more to the trio before hurrying back to his team. He passed Pakku again, surprised that the old man had not joined his companions seeing as Katara was no longer speaking to him. He ignored the thought in favor of addressing his friends.

“Gaang, pack up quickly. We’re gonna head to the old people camp and plan for tomorrow. Do any of you want to forgo the meeting?”

“I’m coming and you can’t stop me,” Toph stated firmly. Sokka nodded and looked to the others.

“I’ll sit this one out,” Suki said. “I think I’d be better with helping preparations.”

“I’ll sit out, too,” Katara added, drawing surprised faces from her comrades. “I don’t think I’ll be much help with the planning.”

“Alright. Zuko?”

“I don’t know. I’m not one for planning but I know more about the Fire Nation.”

“Well, your uncle is here, and he’ll be at the meeting.” The prince startled slightly at the comment, likely remembering their parting. He’d never mentioned the terms they ended on, but the group assumed they weren’t good ones.

“I’ll go,” Zuko finally decided. “But I might leave.”

“Understandable. I’ll keep that in mind. Now put the gear away and we’ll head out.” The team split up seamlessly, heading to do the jobs they each unspokenly had. The only ones who didn’t move to join were Toph and Sokka, the latter because the earthbender had latched onto his arm.

“Not so fast, Snoozles.”

“What’s the matter, Toph?” Sokka studied his younger companion. For the first time in a long while, she appeared uncertain or uneasy. The firebender couldn’t figure out which.

“Why don’t you like your grandfather?” she inquired quietly. It was so uncharacteristic of her and, coupled with the weird question, caused the young chief to pause.

“My grandfather? Both my grandfathers are dead,” he informed the girl before him.

“Pakku’s marrying your Gran-Gran, at least according to Katara.”

“Oh.” He paused again. “I don’t… not like Pakku. It’s just that I don’t really have anything to talk to him about. He’s closer to Katara than me.”

“But you ignored him.”

“He was talking to Katara.” Toph opened her mouth to continue, but Sokka cut her off, feeling the conversation was going nowhere. “Is this all you were concerned about? Because he’s a good man, if still a little sexist. And I have no problems with him. So let’s help the others and then we can head out. If you’re still worried, talk to him on the way over.” The preteen huffed, blowing her bangs to the side as she turned on her heel and stomped away. Sokka sighed as he went over to pack up his tent and help Katara with the sleeping roll. He would definitely need to watch how he acted around his apparent-grandfather.

~_~_~_~_~_~

The Gaang were at the large camp where the Order of the White Lotus, the group that the masters belonged to, had set up for the taking back of Ba Sing Se. Suki and Katara quickly left to lead Appa to a safe place and begin aiding in the preparations. Zuko and Toph noticeably pressed closer to Sokka, drawing comfort from the father of the group. He noticed their tension and discreetly started rolling his tile, knowing that the motion would likely only draw attention from his teammates. Predictably, the flanking duo relaxed at the sight of the round piece of wood. Sokka would need to paint it again after the meeting.

Piandao walked off to wake up Iroh, who had taken an early night, while the others entered a large tent with a table and exactly eight chairs within, one on each end and three on either side. A map was weighted on the wooden surface, several Pai Sho tiles marking different spots of the world. Jeong Jeong and Bumi sat on the right side of the table with Pakku across from them, a seat saved for Piandao next to the waterbender. Sokka moved to sit near Jeong Jeong but found Toph pushing Zuko into the chair. Upon moving to sit across from the prince, Sokka was shoved out of the way by Toph, who smirked as she made herself a rock stool.

“Toph, from the bottom of my heart, why?” She smirked more.

“You’re forgetting that I’m nobility. I know how we’re supposed to be seated, Snoozles.”

“Yeah, I do, too,” he retorted. “The most important people go on either end, and the ones on their right are the second most important. But I’m not the highest in position. Zuko is.”

“Zuko’s a prince,” Toph smiled smugly. “And I’m a lady.”

“Exactly. So why did you reverse our positions?”

“You are absolutely right. I’ll fix that for you.” With a stomp, the stool was pushed back into the ground and Toph stalked over to Zuko. She tugged him up and dragged him over to the other side of the table, pressing him into the chair she’d just vacated. With yet another smirk, she sat in his old seat, feet once again propped up.

“Toph, I’m not higher than a lady, and definitely not a prince.”

“Oh really?” Sokka did not like that look. “Remember when you and Katara told us about the Southern Water Tribe’s hierarchy? Well, I do. Actually really interesting to learn about the Water Tribe since no one ever thought to teach me. You’re going to teach me more when Loserlord’s dead. Anyways, you and Katara are royalty by your Tribe’s standards. You’re the children of the Chief. Only, Katara told us something after you left to meditate.”

“She didn’t,” the firebender groaned out, throwing his head back in annoyance.

“She did,” the little earthbender responded proudly. “You, Snoozles, are the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, which means you not only outrank me, but also everyone else here including our resident prince.”

Sokka didn’t attempt to fight it at that point. He simply sat down at the head of the table between his two friends, resigned to just accept Toph’s unusual behavior. Normally, she would take any opportunity to be the one in charge, but here she was, pushing the lead onto the older kid.

“Sokka, are you really the Chief?” Pakku’s questions caught three adolescents off guard, Zuko having been fully invested in seeing who would win the argument.

“Yeah,” the boy confirmed, settling back as they waited for Piandao and Iroh. “Dad left with the other warriors, so I was made Chief. Gran-Gran’s Chief in Absence.”

“She told me such, but I assumed her son was still leading.”

“That was Dad. He knew that they weren’t going to be back for a long time, so he seceded the position to me. He was following tradition and passing it to me as I was the eldest male and his son. Should’ve just given it to Gran-Gran.”

“But you’re fifteen,” Jeong Jeong interrupted, leaning forward with a glare. “How long ago did you become Chief?”

“It was about four years ago. I was eleven.”

“Wait, you ran a nation at eleven?”

“Not you, too! C’mon Zuko!”

“You ran a nation at eleven! Yet when I came for Aang, you said you were a warrior, not a chief!”

“Why are you all shouting?”

Everyone sitting at the table jerked towards the entrance to the tent, staring in surprise at the duo standing there. Piandao walked in first, sitting between Pakku and Zuko and peering around the prince at his old student. General Iroh entered after, moving to take his place across from Sokka, at the other head of the table.

“Apparently no one but the Gaang knew Sokka’s a king.”

“Toph! Chief, not king!”

“Same thing.” There was a loud thud as the teen’s forehead hit the wood, which was repeated at a lower volume as he began to bang lightly with his skull against the surface. It continued for about thirty seconds with the others staring amusedly at him, before Zuko slid his hand between the two opposing forces. Sokka looked up at his friend with a tiny pout before exhaling and pulling himself upright.

“Whatever, let’s just start this meeting. General Iroh, what are your plans for tomorrow?” The atmosphere snapped into a tenser feel, a seriousness falling over the group.

“Earthbenders will aid in our entrance, with all firebenders directly behind. Once we are within, we masters and the more experience benders will combat those aided by the Comet. All other warriors will begin taking down the lesser threats, such as nonbenders and earthbenders. We assumed your team would have a plan for fighting my brother.” Sokka nodded, lips pursed in concentration as he studied the map. He was able to figure out what most of the pieces marked, and it was with that that his mind worked out a strategy. He began rolling his tile again, something he had stopped when entering the tent. It was a movement done under the table but still visible to his friends.

“There’s going to be an airfleet, correct?” Iroh tipped his head in confirmation at the inquiry. “That means that they can travel far and fast in the relatively short time of the Comet. And they could split up easily to cover more area. It’s a given that Ozai will be there with the fleet. When Aang comes to fight, that will separate them from the ships. We’ll then need to take them out, or else the destruction will be exponentially larger.”

“No one but powerful and loyal Fire Nation engineers ever saw the blueprints,” Piandao commented. “We don’t have the time to get them and figure out how to take them down or find a way around the crew.”

“Why would you- oh, you guys don’t know. Makes sense.”

“What don’t we know?”

“I invented airships. You won’t need to get blueprints, I’ll just go there myself. They’re made of metal, so Toph will need to come as well. A smaller team will be better, so us and maybe one or two more people. That will nullify the fleet and prevent most of the destruction. Someone will need to take out Azula as well. She’ll be controlling the Fire Nation while Ozai makes the attack. I would suggest Zuko for that, as he’s got the best knowledge of the Caldera and Azula’s tactics.”

“Regarding your attack, I think that it would be best if you sent your most powerful earthbenders underground with a strong group of warriors. If you go deep enough, only the Dai Li could possibly sense you and you could make an attack from within the city, forcing the soldiers to fight on two fronts. From what Zuko told me, most of the Dai Li went with Azula. Maybe all of them but it’s better to assume some are there. They could be defeated easily by Bumi, so he definitely should go. If the nonbenders went through the tunnels after the main group, then some of the weaker earthbenders could make separate paths and pop up at different places throughout Ba Sing Se. Not only would that ensure that they aren’t attacked by Dai Li, it would also allow them to sneak up on the nonbenders and any other combatants they might meet. Warn them that some people have been brainwashed. We don’t have a way to figure out who and with the Fire Nation, who knows what they did with that technology.”

“Healers and medics should remain behind for the first ten minutes or so before following the second group underground. That way they won’t be attacked. They should wear something to distinguish them from soldiers. Maybe have them wear white, as it’s not going to be a color that blends in. If they help everyone regardless of the side they’re on, then they also won’t be attacked.”

“When did you have the time to plan this?” Jeong Jeong asked, his tone shocked.

“He’s the Schedule Master,” Toph spoke up in glee. She always loved seeing people on the opposite side of Sokka’s plans.

“Right now, it doesn’t matter when I made the plan. We just need to figure out who will go and where they’ll go to. Toph and I for the airfleet, Aang fighting Ozai, and Zuko with someone else against Azula. Katara can take on the role of both healer and fighter, so she can fit anywhere, and Suki’s a great warrior.”

“Very well.” Iroh moved a few of the markers around, rearranging them to represent the modified plan. A white tile in the Caldera’s location was moved to the center instead of the outer edge and a yellow one was placed on top of a red. Zuko and Aang. Without waiting to see the tile that Iroh would move for himself, Sokka took his white lotus and placed it on the coast of the Earth Kingdom most likely to be attacked.

“I see you kept the tile,” Piandao mused, a proud look in his eyes.

“Yes. You gave it to me, after all.” It came to the boy’s realization that the Order of the White Lotus probably had some special meaning to the tile, especially since they held Pai Sho in such a high regard that even Jeong Jeong had a board.

“Piandao was right to do so,” Bumi stated with a finality that moved them back to the plan.

“The strategies would work, and it is a thought none of us had to include healers in our battle. A fine idea to lessen any causalities on both sides. However, we need to decide on the whereabouts of your team. And we need to discuss the effects the Comet might have on you, given your peculiarity.”

“Katara can go with Zuko. She’ll fight with him and keep him alive. That’s extremely necessary, both because he’s a friend and because he’s next in line. Zuko, you’ll need to take over as fast as possible. The Fire Sages should be there due to Azula’s possible coronation. I don’t really understand how all that works, but if they’re there and you defeat her, you still have the most right to the throne outside of your father and any position held by Azula is rightfully yours. They’ll listen to you if Katara’s there to yell at them.”

“Are you sure we can take my sister? She’s insane and incredibly powerful.”

“Who knows dragon fire? Not her. Who is the only person Lan stays with besides myself? Not her. You are powerful enough to stop her in a fight, and you have the world’s greatest waterbender to aid you if anything goes wrong, which it will. You can do this.”

“Who is Lan?” Sokka, Toph, and Zuko all stared at Pakku for a moment, before their expressions changed. Toph was grinning with mischief, knowing perfectly well how the reactions would go. Zuko became utterly embarrassed as he would have to admit he was special when it came to the little Bluey. Sokka was grinning like Toph, but his was in pride at the thought of showing off his baby. With steady hands, the Spirit-touched boy reached into his shirt and withdrew the complacent being.

What occurred next was hysterical in many different ways. Jeong Jeong tipped over his chair as he jumped back in his seat, and Bumi barely managed to get out of his own before it, too, was knocked over. Piandao fell into Pakku, who caught the man and tilted back as far as he could go. Iroh sat frozen and tense at the end, eyes unbelieving. A huge slew of expletives exploded into the air from various masters, drawing Toph into a cackling fit. Sokka was clutching Lan protectively against his chest, angry at how no one seemed to appreciate his baby, and Zuko was trying to comfort the boy without breaking down into laughter.

Lan, sensing her caretaker’s distress and woken from her nap, wrapped carefully around Sokka’s neck and growled. When the attention was successfully drawn her way, she moved further up into the black hair above her, and hit her small paws against the firebender’s head. It was an action that somehow conveyed “be nice” without any previous knowledge of Lan’s antics.

“You all need to be nicer to my baby,” Sokka pouted, gently tugging said baby into his arms again. “She deserves better.”

[gloves94]

Sunburn [Prince Zuko] 9

Warnings: None   Rating: PG-13   Pairings: Zuko/OC   Summary:  “You have everything you’ve ever wanted.” “No.” He said softly. “Not everything…”  His golden eyes looked at her with a melting intensity she had never witnessed before. “I guess not.” She responded with glassy eyes as tears welled up threatening to break the dam of her eyes.

My fanfiction: M A S T E R L I S T

Later that evening Tsai had returned to where the Avatar gang were spending their nights in. Katara had been tossing around in her sleeping bag complaining about not wanting to be in the healing class because she would've gathered be learning how to fight instead.

"All knowledge is power Katara,"Tsai uttered wisely as her grandfather would've said. She lightly played with her choker necklace at the memory of the man. "You never know, the healing techniques that you learn might actually come in handy in the future." She nodded.

"A difference?" Katara questioned popping her head on her palm with curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah," Aang suddenly commented. "I'm also very curious- how was it that you managed to get past all of those Fire Nation guards at the Pohuai stronghold? He asked.

Tsai lowered her head in an attempt to hide the smirk that slowly inched across her face. She tugged in her arms deeper into her sleeves mischievously.

"I'll keep my secrets," she said with a ghostly smile before turning away from them preparing to sleep. "I'll tell," she said. "But first I have a question," she turned to look at both Aang and Katara once again.

"Why does everybody here hate me?" She asked bluntly.

Aang and Katara exchanged a look of pure confusion.

"In the Water Tribe, I mean." She clarified.

"Tsai," Katara began to explain. "You're Fire Nation. You're their enemy. You're our enemy."

"But why?" She retorted leaning forward as she sat with her legs crossed. "The Fire Nation is and has always been the greatest nation!" She spoke with a sudden bold sense of nationalism. "We bringing our culture and goods to new lands because we want to share our greatness with the world. It would be selfish not to."

"WHAT?" Katara roared furious. Tsai flinched slightly at her explosive reaction. She was not expecting her to react in this way.

"That's what you think the Fire Nation is doing?" She snapped. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted you!" She exited her sleeping back and rose to her feet aggravated. Tsai did the same.

"The Fire Nation took everything away from me! My family, my mother!" She roared. Aang held her back. "Starting this war is just as great of a sacrifice for my nation! It's for the greater good."

"You killed my mother!" She screeched heaving.

Tsai dropped the argument at the accusation. Katara's eyes were wide. Her nostrils were swollen with hatred as her eyes zeroed on the aghast teen before her.

"Can't you see? The Fire Nation has done nothing for the world! Everywhere you go you spread war, hatred, fear, famine, death and pain! You tear families apart. Leave orphan children, widowed wives, wounded soldiers and for what? For greatness?" She spat.

"Katara!" Aang pleaded.

Tsai wasn't going to sit here and take this. She turned away with her jaw clenched and stormed out of the room.

"Tsai! Wait!" Aang called after her. "Where are you going?"

Katara huffed and exhaled a sharp breath before snuggling inside of her sleeping back once again. She punched her pillow angrily a handful of times.

"Tsai means well Katara," Aang said after a moment. "I know it. She's just-" He paused for a moment trying to find the proper words. "The daughter of a Fire Nation governor?"

Aang was quiet at Katara's silent response.

"She's Fire Nation Aang. She's evil. They are all the same. Don't forget."

Xxx

"Is your friend toying with me?" Sokka snapped as he walked back to where they were staying.

"What are you talking about?" Tsai asked confused not in the mood to be dealing with these types of situations.

"I don't understand her. I thought she liked me and now she's telling me to get lost. I don't get it!" He threw his hands up in the air confused. "That's odd," Tsai said. "She told me she really liked you earlier today."

"Is she playing games with me or something like that?"

Yue didn't seem like the type to play these games. And from what she had told Tsai earlier she seemed to genuinely like the Southern Water Tribe boy. She thought for a moment scratching her chin.

"I don't think so," She said not really wanting to engage in conversation in her foul mood after her fight with Katara.

"So what should I do?" He deadpanned.

Was he really asking her for advice?

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Just talk to her. Ask her how she really feels about you."

"Why do I have the feeling you think talking is the solution to everything," he sighed in defeat. "It's probably what my grandpa would've said," she smiled fondly at the memory of the man.

"That is- completely unhelpful," he grumbled and hid his face in his arm.

"Sometimes some things are lost in translation." She says wisely. He looked at her oddly, she suddenly get a sad look on her face. She looked at Sokka one last time before continuing on her trek to nowhere in particular.

Katara was wrong.

The Fire Nation was the greatest nation. The war was well intended. Together all united under one nation the world would thrive. All under the rule of fire.

She thought about her home, Yu Dao. It's history serving as testament of the Fire Nation's greatness. Under Fire Lord Azulon the Fire Nation had made a mecca of industry and commerce out of a nowhere town in the edges of the Earth Kingdom. The city had drowned and blossomed to be one of the most important in the world. That would've never happened without them. So if they were so great...

She looked at a couple who whispered and shied away from her scarring away.

A man walking spit at her feet.

Arnook did not welcome her like a hero would've been welcomed.

If they were so great- why were they so hated?

xxx

"Yue, I need to ask for a favor." Tsai asked the following morning. She hadn't slept in the same room as the Avatar and his friends. Instead she had found comfort outside the doors of the palace simply leaning against the snowy wall and barely sleeping through the cold night. She really hated the weather here.

"Anything," Yue smiled taking her hands in hers. Tsai didn't have time to ask about what had happened with Sokka. It's not like she cared either. She wasn't the nosy type. "I need you to get me an audience with your father."

Moments later Tsai had her audience.

She walked into the meeting room. One which like the entire tribe was made of snow falls which reached the skies. The ceiling was gone allowing for the clear weather and shinning sun to witness their meeting.

"Arnook," she bowed before him in respectful Fire Nation fashion which irked the leader to no end. "You're persistent," he barked.

"What do you want?" He asked impatiently.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tsai of Yu Dao. Yu Dao is-" he interrupted her. "I know what Yu Dao is!"

She paused for a moment. Knowing he would be difficult.

"I've come to you with a challenging question." She scrapped everything she had reserved. "Do you think.." She says slowly. "Do you think the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes will ever be able to work together as one?" She pondered.

"If you have come here to sheathe blood and bring darkness and war to my land I'm afraid that you've come to the wrong place," he threatened approaching her. The soldiers and other officials surrounding him raised their hands and weapons menacingly. A bead of sweat formed in her temple as she look at them. They were at least a dozen of them.

"Listen!" She snapped frustrated. "I did not choose where I was born. My mother is of Earth Kingdom descent, my father Fire Nation. Which makes me half of both. I cannot bend fire or earth-" once again he interrupted her.

"That only makes you a mutt." He said bitterly.

It was then that his eyes darted up in the sky. All of them did. She turned after a moment only to see what looked like black snow snowing above them. The girl had never seen snow before, let alone black one. It took her a moment to realize that it was ash raining above them. Which could only mean one thing.

"You have lead them to us!" Arnook pointed accusingly. "Arrest her!"

"No. I have no idea how they found us!" She denied the dangerous accusation.

Tsai tried running. She tried fighting but before she could move an inch was frozen still to the ground in ice.

xxx

The girl was thrown into jail. She didn't know how long she had been in there. It must've been more than a day. Unbeknown to her Yue pleaded with her father. Pleaded with all of her wish and power to let her out. She tried explaining it was a coincidence and that she believed in the Fire Nation girl's honesty, but Arnook would not see to it.

The cell was cold as ice which had her shivering in the corner alone hugging herself in an attempt to retain some of her body's warmth. In her time in jail she felt a terrible headache. One which she felt could've split her forehead in half. Looking out the window she noted that an ominous light as red as her hair crept in. Holding on to her temples in pain she looked out and saw that the full moon had been tinted a color of crimson red blood. She starred eyes wide when she suddenly heard a sudden crash nearby.

Shocked she took cover before a market stall was thrown at the wall making it collapse. Setting her free.

"Well.. That was lucky," she mused as she carefully snuck out of the gaping hole that had been made by the crash. Creeping on her toes she slid down a hill of snow to the streets of the Northern Water tribe with only one objective in her mind. Escaping. She didn't realize where she was falling to and fell into a freezing stream of water. The icy North Pole water felt like a thousand knives nipping at her body from all over.

She had to get out of here fast. As she ran the moon shifted color as the air became colder, the air darker as all color seemed to be drained from the world. She hadn't stopped to wonder just what thing could've thrown such a heavy cart at such a distance when a monstrous creature in the figure of a glowing fish rose from the depth of the waters. It attacked all Fire Nation as it stormed through the village.

She cursed as she avoided it. Noting it was mainly attacking the invading Fire Nation troops that had descended on the Water Tribe's village. If she got near it, it would probably lead to her demise.

Whatever that thing was- She saw fire balls being aimed and fired at the creature which advanced unaffected - whatever was going on - it was not good. There was no time to say goodbye to her friend Yue. To converse with the Avatar. She had to get out.

Tsai continued on her dash towards the docks when she slid around a corner and looking over her shoulder teeth chattering she turned and crashed into something hard. She reached for her head as she tripped over her feet and fell to the ground on her bottom. She looked up and saw a pair of angry eyes glaring daggers at her. Oh, she had crashed into somebody.

"You," the man growled dangerously.

It was that son of a bitch Zhao.

She staggered to her feet but wasn't fast enough. Zhao was fast and his meaty hand claws around her neck with a deathly grip. He had obviously taken the night of the Blue Spirit at the Pohuai Fortress a little too personally.

She coughed struggling to gasp for breath when a third party stumbled upon the scene. Zuko walked into what seemed like the worst surprise of his life. Zhao turned to look at him maliciously.

"One step and I'll make sure your pretty girlfriend has a scar to match yours." He threatened.

Zuko's jaw clenched, he gritted his back molars in anger and frustration. He saw Tsai struggling to breath coughing for breath as her face slowly turned blue. He had to do something. Anything.

"So- tell me, what was your plan? You went in and distracted me and the Blue Spirit did all the dirty work?" He chuckled as he squeezed his grip on the girl's neck. He was holding her up above her feet so that they saw eye to eye. He suddenly dropped her and she gasped and coughed for air the color returning to her face. He turned her and kept a firm grip around her as he slowly retreated out of the scene.

His terrible breath pricked at her skin as he kept his arm wrapped around her body holding her in place.

"It's going to be interesting to find out what could've happened between us that night-" He whispered that and other filth into her ear.

"You're sick!" She growled out at the older man as she struggled against his deathly grip still shivering as she was soaked to the bone.

Zuko was ready to fire. He aimed his hand twitching slightly. His heart was pounding in his rib cage. One wrong move and it was over. He only had one shot before things went South. Zhao continued advancing over a snow bridge. He was going to get away! The girl struggled, her breathing loud as it became harder and harder to breath with every step the admiral gave. It was then that her eyes met his and he saw something familiar in them.

He understood and lowered his hand. Her body was trembling from the cold. Zuko lowered his guard and it was then that he saw offensive. Two silver blades crept our from her long sleeves and in one swift fluid motion she punctured Zhao's arm and Zuko swore he saw the blade go through his hand. The man screamed in pain. She twisted her torso and managed to guide the burning flame in his other arm to the sky missing her by mere inches. She took a sharp breath and ducked with skilled training. She used all the strength in her legs to push away from him. Her body collapsing to the snowy ground. Zhao held his arm put again ready to attack. However lost his footing when she twisted kicking him off his feet smoothly. Without hesitation Zuko stepped in and blasted Zhao away in a fiery dance.

Wounded and miserable the man collapsed to the ground in the middle of the snow bridge.

Massively monstrous blue hands suddenly struck out from the water and clawed at the top surrounding the admiral in a deathly capture. Zuko and Tsai managed to roll away from the monster claws as to their horror witnessed the admiral being dragged away to a watery grave. Tsai glared with eyes narrowed. Zuko was the better person and stretched out his hand in aid. For a second it looked like Zhao was going to take it but the prideful man turned away.

And just like that he was gone. Color returned to the world and it seemed like a glance had returned to the world. Zuko stepped back and saw the red-head shivering a couple of feet away from him. Her teeth chattering. He looked at her and her at him and she couldn't believe how happy she was to see him. To see somebody from home, someone familiar.

"Zuko!" She spoke in a low voice through violent shakes. Now having her she got a good look at his face and noticed the many new scars and wounds that decorated his face. She was about to ask what had happened during her short absence.

"What-" She was left with the words in her mouth when he wrapped his arms around her hugging her in a tight embrace. He almost sighed. Relieved that she was okay. That they had found each other again.

She stood before him sharp hidden blades unsheathed, shocked, shivering, soaked to the coldest bone. It took her a moment of hesitation before hugging him back just as tightly.

"I'm so happy to see you," the words left her mouth before she could process them. She hadn't even realized that she had started to cry. She buried her face on his shoulder. He was warm. He was the piece of home she had been missing. Right now, he was comfort.

"You're freezing," he said taking her hands in his as she retracted her hidden blades. He said nothing. Simply held her icy hands in his and brought them close to his lips breathing a hot air into them slowly warming her back.

She didn't even know why she was crying at this point. She smiled at him endearingly and wiped a stray tear from her. Everything was just too much to handle right now. Way too overwhelming.

"Let's get out of here." He said to her.

She wiped her tears as they escaped the icy tundra.

xxx

They met up with Iroh and Tsai sprinted hard running into his arms hugging him tightly. He hugged her back almost like a missing child and she repeatedly apologized for leaving without saying goodbye. He simply cupped her face with a hand and told her she did the right thing.

"I feel like you're at the crossroads once again Tsai, " Iroh said wisely tucking in both of his hands inside of his sleeves. "I wonder what road you'll take." He said ominously.

She raised an eyebrow confused at his riddle and shook his head.

"Let's just go home," she sighed. "I want to go back to Yu Dao. I think I'm going to be sick." She shivered not wanting to linger in this icy Neverland for another minute.

"Very well." Iroh said understandably. The man insisted on leaving on a makeshift raft boar which the girl refused to get on endlessly. Having been lost at sea for so many dies and almost dying from starvation she refused to put herself through the whole thing again. So instead they stole a slightly larger boat. One from a Water Tribe fisherman.

"They owe me," she grumbled. "That's for throwing me in that cold pit." She said bitterly as she remembered her brief stay in the icy prison cell. She hadn't even done anything!

And so they sailed away. Iroh explained to Tsai everything that had happened. Zhao killing the moon spirit. Yue becoming the moon spirit. The attack. The Avatar becoming one with the same spirit and taking down the fire nation. It had been a loaded day. He reasoned that it was probably the best that she had spent the day in jail for her own safety.

"You're really sure about returning back home?" Iroh asked.

Tsai snapped back into the conversation feeling distraught by her friend Yue's demise into the spirit world. "Sure," She mumbled. "Why not? I don't want to keep on 'getting in the way.'" She glared at a certain scarred prince who looked like he had the worst headache of his life.

"I'm concerned as your status as a traitor to the Fire Nation," Iroh stroked his beard wisely. "But that's a problem for when we arrive back to the mainland," he smiled at her warmly.

"You shouldn't have done that!" Zuko suddenly snapped in a scolding tone. "That stunt at the Pohuai Fortress? What were you thinking!" He sounded almost worried. Tsai misses the slight smirk that is growing on Iroh's face as he looks at them from the side.

"Hey! I freed the Avatar for you! Do you should be thanking me!" She shot back. "If I hadn't done that you'd be sitting in your room right now sulking with your arms crossed over your chest angrily meditating like an idiot."

"I don't sulk!" The other shot back slightly embarrassed and reached for her arm

"Also- may I remind you that Admiral Zhao is disgusting company. Interacting with him was definitely not pleasant," she raised both of her eyebrows eyes holding a little horror in them at the awful memory. It was then that he realized that he was holding on to her lower arm. He raised it up and her sleeves rolled back which exposed her secret weapon. He scrutinized over it looking at the arm braces she wore with the hidden blade mechanism.

Zuko would've never admit it outlaid but this was way more simple than what he had expected. Mind reading, secret bending, being a blood thirsty vampire demon, and super natural powers all came to him in his theories of how Tsai had gotten in an out of the stronghold with such ease.

"I'm glad to see your grandfather's hidden blades are in good hands," Iroh commented with a knowing smile.

"You knew about this Uncle?"

Iroh simply smiled a mischievous glint on his amber eyes.

"My grandfather taught me how to fight," she admitted reaching to touch the sunstone necklace she wore. "But I refuse to unless it's necessary. You see it can be quite deadly."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Zuko asked.

"I guess I didn't want you to think I was... weird." She said looking away slightly embarrassed.

"I....think it's cool," he said sharing the same tone after a moment. "Really?" She turned to look at him beaming. This only caused his cheeks to redden even more.

Iroh chuckled.

Zuko sighed and threw his hands up in the air not wanting to further have this conversation. "I'm tired." He declared.

"Youre not going to chase the Avatar?" Iroh asked.

"No- I'm tired." he repeated as he collapsed on the ship.

"A man needs his rest. Besides, Tsai and I have some much needed catching up to do." Iroh winked in her direction and she winked back.

They certainly did.

xxxx

AN: Your lovely thoughts? Phew and that's the end of Book 1, now onto what's next. Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 were originally one really long chapter so I decided to split them into 2. Also I have the story written until chapter 26 but as I keep editing and rewriting for posting I have made so many changes and I am loving how the story is unfolding.

Much love - G

xxx

FIRST https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/621142853126602752/sunburn-prince-zuko-1

NEXT https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/621293121020608512/sunburn-prince-zuko-10

PREV https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/621256367939993600/sunburn-prince-zuko-8

CHAPTER MASTERLIST

[thisentertaining]

As the Blue Spirit Howls - Chapter 3

STORY SUMMARY:

Zuko was not a good shifter.

Azula could switch between her wolf and human skins between steps. Not Zuko, he needed several minutes before he even started the shift, and that was on a good day. If it had been Azula who Animal Control found in that alley, they would have walked away convinced that their eyes had played a trick on them. There had never been a dog there.

But Zuko’s long transformation would have only revealed his kind to the world. Father may think he has no honor, but he wouldn’t stoop so low as that. Even if that meant being dumped in animal shelter, trapped as much by the 24/7 security cameras as by the cage bars.

He had the worst luck. -

“Come on guys!” Aang said as he lead his friends through the clamoring barks of the shelter. “I want to show you my favorite dog! He’s a sweetheart.”

Aang lead the pair to where a monstrous beast of a dog was growling with raspy barks loud enough to drown out the rest of the shelter. His bright white teeth contrasted against golden eyes and a bright red scar that stretched over the side of his face as he lunged against the cage door.

Sokka laughed nervously. “Did the word ‘sweetheart’ change meaning when I wasn’t looking?”

Chapter 1

Chapter 4

Read on Ao3 

“He’s actually being a pretty good dog.” Katara said as Zuko paused to sniff on a bush right outside the door. Her leash was lightly looped around her wrist, as was Aang’s. The other boy had a death grip on the ugly nylon.

“Maybe hold that judgement after we’ve been walking him more than five seconds, sis.”

The girl scowled at her brother. “You know what I mean! When we say him going crazy in there, I didn’t think he would ever calm down. Especially not this quickly.”

“He’s really a good boy!” Aang said. “Once he calms down at least. He’s just kinda... spirited at first, but look how happy he is to be outside! Now he’s all wags, no growls.”

Zuko flicked an ear and took a longer sniff at the bush. As the first plant directly outside the shelter, it was covered in… messages from other dogs. Fairly typical. Mostly healthy, some fear or aggression but not much. It was a pretty good shelter. You know, assuming you were actually a dog. He wasn’t enjoying his time.

The good thing was, he now had plenty of examples of 'good-dog' behavior to copy. He thought back on what made a 'good dog' that would convince them to take him home. First of all, he couldn’t actually escape. Not pulling on the leash at all would be suspicious (not to mention a test of self-restraint that Zuko knew he could never pass) but he had to make sure not to pull so far that he was actually at risk of escaping.

Second, he had to put away any lingering pride he’d managed to retain. Dogs were… silly. Foolish. They played games and begged for attention and touch and made messes. He hadn’t acted like that since he was a child with his mother. If he’d even done it then. He doubted it though, Father would have disapproved.

He eyed one of the other dogs as they were bundled into the car of a little girl with large, poofy pigtails. The English Bull Terrier pup wiggled happily in her lap as he went on to his forever home, licking the giggling child’s face. Zuko sighed impatiently as the children holding onto his multiple leashes continued to talk instead of actually walk him anywhere. He couldn't act like that. This was going to be impossible.

A new car pulled up as the girl with the bull terrier left. This one was fancy, new, and streamlined. It was the kind of money that almost never darkened the halls of a shelter. Despite himself, Zuko watched with interest, curious at who it was. When the door opened and a familiar scent wafted out, he felt a growl start rumbling at the base of his throat, going steady at the sight of the familiar girl exiting the luxury car.

The teen’s behind him stopped their chatter, Aang kneeling beside him hesitantly and running a soothing hand down his back. “Hey bud, you okay?” He pet Zuko with steady, careful strokes that would have calmed any actual dog quickly, but the beast’s steady growl didn’t falter. “It’s okay boy, you’re okay. You’re okay. Guys do you-“

“What are you doing with Snarly?” A young, feminine voice demanded.

Aang looked up, seeing a short unfamiliar girl in green overalls and a matching headband standing over them. Despite being several inches shorter than the rest of them, she seemed to tower as she crossed her arms and scowled.

“Snarly? Do you mean Blue Spirit?”

The girl scoffed. “That’s a stupid name. Naming a dog after a bar? Can you say ‘lacking imagination’?”

Behind Zuko, Sokka hummed. “Snarly does kinda fit him better.” The boy mused, ruffling the top of his head. The dog snapped at the hand. Nowhere close, but enough that the teen jerked his hand back.

Well. Being a good dog was going great.

“Exactly.” The girl said with a grin as she reached out and pet his head just as Sokka had. The boy made a noise in warning, but for her Zuko simply turned to that his unscarred side was by her searching fingers. “That’s why he’s my favorite. I can always tell where he is.”

The Avatar and his friends shared a confused glance at that comment before realizing as one that the girl hadn’t looked at them once through the whole conversation. Filmy-white eyes stared over their heads as the girl tucked the previously-unnoticed cane under her arm and knelt to pet Zuko with both hands. “Don’t tell him though.” The girl continued with a wicked grin. “Don’t want him getting a big head.”

Zuko barked in protest, never once halting his continuous rumbling growl.

Aang perked. “Does that mean you’re here to adopt him?”

The girl, Zuko had never gotten her name, frowned with a heavy sign. “No. My parents won’t let me. They’re worried that getting another dog would distract Badger-Mole.”

“Right, right.” Sokka said, “And that is a…”

“He’s my seeing eye dog. And it’s stupid because tons of people with guide dogs have pets too. I even asked the trainers, and they said it’s perfectly fine. He’s trained to work with distractions. But no.” She drug out the word sarcastically. “My parents know better than the professionals.”

“That stinks.” Katara said genuinely.

“Yeah. But whatever. Apparently, he was adopted anyway. Sorry I yelled at you, I know they said that it would be hard to find him an owner so I overreacted. Probably not a great way to convince people to keep a dog.”

“Probably not.” The Avatar laughed. “But it’s okay. We aren’t adopting him though, just fostering so that he can be in a home until someone does come to adopt.”

“We are talking about foster- you know what, I give up.” The eldest boy sighed. “I know we’re getting the dog.”  

The girl scrunched her nose before eventually shrugging. “Fine, as long as he’s out of Long Feng’s grubby hands. That dude gives me the creeps.”

Zuko barked in soft agreement as the other kids laughed.

“Name’s Toph.” The girl introduced herself, sticking a hand out nowhere near the other three.

Katara moved to take and shake the hand. “My name is Sapphire.” She lied. Zuko’s ears perked, recognizing that the name was very different from the one that the others had used for her earlier. If he was to complete his mission, learning their false names could only help.

“Wang,” Sokka added with a useless wave. Zuko committed the false name to memory.  

Aang jumped to his feet to shake her hand. “I’m Kuzon. It’s great to meet you. We’re going to take Spirit-“

“Snarly.”

“For a walk if you want to come with.”

The girl’s head cocked to the side, as though listening to something. After a moment, she simply shrugged. “Why not?”

From behind them, a loud clearing of the throat sounded from the front of the car, where a driver glared at them from behind a window. Toph sighed explosively. “Give me a second, I have to go check in before my busy body parents call the shelter.”

She stomped her way into the building, cane swinging wildly as she grumbled.

The group watched her, Aang’s hands still running down Zuko’s back as the growling petered out. “Awww,” Aang cooed. “Such a good boy.”

“That’s really impressive though.” Katara cut in. “He realized that she was blind and made sure that she could hear him. He must be really smart.”

Sokka made a disagreeing noise. “He probably just realized that she was happy when he was growling, gave him extra treats or pats or whatever and accidentally trained him to growl. Dogs can be taught to do anything these days.”

Zuko was offended. As he wasn't an actual dog, he wasn’t sure he should be.

“It’s still smart.” Katara argued with the passion of a sibling arguing against another. “He’s only been here a week or so and already trained himself to do that? That’s really smart for a dog.”

“Hey, I’m just saying. He’s a dog, he was trained to do a trick. Congratulations, you and Pavlov can compare notes.”

Aang glanced between the pair nervously. “Calm down, we don’t-“

Katara wasn’t listening. Zuko was just hoping that she wouldn’t have the same resources his sister had when angry to sit on. “You are such a-“

“Fight! Fight! Fight Fight! “ Toph chanted as she made her way to the group. She had a leash coiled in her hands, and when Zuko started growling again she managed to find his collar and attach it with little fumbling.

The other teens scrambled to explain their argument, but Zuko was getting tired of waiting. With a loud bark, the wolf started towards one of the walking trails, dragging Sokka, who had somehow wrapped the leash around his wrist enough that his was significantly shorter than the others. The boy yelped.

“Well, guess we’re going.”

“Sorry buddy.” Aang laughed. Zuko flicked an ear towards him but otherwise ignored the apology. He stuck to the cement path running through an open field rather than the wooded paths that called to his wolf blood. It wasn’t because that would be easiest for Toph. Really. He’d barely even noticed that. Really. He just thought that if the path was easier they would talk more and he would get more information out of them.

Really.

That was it.

“So, if you can’t get another dog, why are you at the shelter?” Sokka asked the stranger.

“Volunteering.” The girl answered, “Duh. I’m homeschooled and I was going absolutely insane sitting at home every day. I was sneaking out but,” She shrugged. “I knew eventually that they would realize that those pillows under my blankets weren’t breathing. I threatened to run away for real if they didn’t find a way to let me out of the house sometimes, and so.” She shrugged. “A compromise. For now.”

“That’s cool.” Aang said sunnily. “This is a great shelter, I come here every Tuesday and Thursday to volunteer too! I’m kinda surprised that we hadn’t seen each other before, but I’m usually here a lot earlier.”

That was good information. Wait. Was it though? If Zuko revealed himself or ‘ran away’, he probably wouldn’t come back. But it did mean it was a time that he was alone and out of their house fairly consistently. If Zuko could arrange for someone to go after him at the right time…

He really wished he had anyone he could trust to do that without taking the glory for themselves and leaving him out to dry.

Okay, so that wouldn’t work. But it still would be a good thing to know. This wasn’t going well. He wasn’t getting any good information on his actual targets and- rabbit!

Zuko stood stock still, nostrils flaring as he followed them to see a fluffy furry brown ball chewing at a clump of clover in the corner of the path. He ceased the low rumbling he’s been admitting since Toph joined, going stock still as he crouched into a predatory stance. Ear’s up, head close to the ground, feet carefully placed, Zuko slowly stalked forward towards the entirely unaware prey creature.

A predatory wolf’s blood was running through his veins, begging for the chase and hunt that he had been denied for the weeks he’d spent in a form born in it. He licked his chops, ignoring the babbling distractions behind him as the predator centered on prey.

“Hey!” Aang suddenly yelled behind him with a laugh. “Run Bunny, Run!”

Startled, the rabbit took off. With a growl, Zuko lunged after it, jumping forward on strong, muscular legs. There were a myriad of cried behind him as the group was sent sprawling by the force of his leap, but as the shelter administer had said, he couldn’t exactly drag four people across the yard. Well, he could. He was strong enough. He just wouldn’t be fast enough to catch the rabbit so what was the point?

He stopped after a few steps and whined as the rabbit disappeared into the woods.

Toph, miraculously the only one to keep her footing, laughed uproariously. “Why did you think it was a good idea to make the rabbit run, idiot?”

“Oops.” Aang mumbled from his place on the ground.

Sokka spit out a mouthful of grass. “Well. Are you ready to sign some papers? This seems like a great idea.”

[firelxdykatara]

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

I am indeed!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ah, but here's the rub.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[guiltysecretpasttime]

Adversity

A fanfic story

Overview: Lin and Tenzin are both at the height of their respective careers – she with the Metalbending Police and he with the Air Nation. Questions about their future begin to arise and things come to a head when Lin responded to an emergency call. Would her job take them from each other forever? Eventual HEA. Non-canon compliant, AU. (Notes at the end of the post.)

Chapter 1

Lin was once again pulling a double shift, finishing up this month’s crime stats report that needed to be filed at city hall tomorrow. Aside from having the routine meeting at city hall, tomorrow also marks Lin’s first ninety days as the chief of police.

She lightly rubbed a crick at her neck as she proofread the document.

Having taken over the Republic City Police Department when her mother, the metalbender Toph Beifong, stepped down, Lin Beifong recognized that taking on this responsibility goes beyond upholding the family legacy.

She pushed on, double checking the figures. Hoping that this was enough at least to keep the council contented. While some of the council members saw her growing up, she knew they were going to be fair as in all their dealings. However, the rest of the members were likely to be more difficult with her, with the mistaken notion that they needed to compensate for the perceived bias of the city founders. It also did not help that her mother was not as charismatic as the other founders.

Lin sighed tiredly as she pulled out another case folder; she had her work cut out.

-------------

Tenzin frowned deeply at his bowl, as though the stew his mother prepared offended him greatly.

His sullen mood was out of place amidst the boisterous laughter of his family at the dinner table. On another day, he would have eaten his sea prune stew with gusto. Tonight, he should have done so as well, given that his mother went all out with the dishes as the extended family was present.

Bumi, his eldest brother, arrived two days ago on shore leave. His uncle Sokka, meanwhile, landed at Air Temple island that afternoon, in preparation for tomorrow’s council meeting.

His uncle continued to regal the table with stories, getting more and more exaggerated as the night wore on. His father, the Avatar Aang laughed accordingly at the right moments, encouraging the stories further. Beside Sokka, his wife Suki held his glass upright without skipping a beat as he pounded on the table in emphasis on how heavy the imported cabbages were in the Southern Water Tribe. Tenzin’s sister Kya chatted their aunt’s ear off at her other side.

It was a lovely meal indeed and the company was not so bad either. In fact, Tenzin was looking forward to this family dinner. The week was ending and it was particularly challenging one.

He had a long session with the new Air Acolytes earlier and he had a vague impression that they were not taking him seriously as they would his father. He just wanted to have a relaxing night with the family and Lin.

Granted, Lin was practically family. But it was her that Tenzin was specifically anticipating to spend time with that night. He had a lot of things on his mind but he knew Lin’s presence would help tamp down his worries.

Katara noticed her son’s preoccupation as the dinner went on. Every couple of minutes or so, Tenzin would look up at the doorway, as though expecting someone. As the night went on, his mood turned sour.

Presently, he attempted to stab the sea prune with his spoon.

“Tenzin, dear, would you like a fork?” Katara called out, lightly touching his arm, startling him from his reverie.

“Wha-?” Tenzin was drawn out of his thoughts, as the stew splashed on his robes when the prune slipped from his utensil.

“Fork? Or a knife?” His mother held out a small table knife to him. “Is something bothering you?” Katara had an inkling on what (or rather who) was on his mind. “How was the session today?”

Tenzin shrugged but took the knife. “It was fine, mother.” He wanted to share his misgivings about the air acolytes but did not want his siblings to overhear. “We were able to start and end on time.” Lame as it was, that was the only positive outcome of that meditation session.

“That’s good to hear,” Katara took a bite of her own stew. “They are from the Southern Air Temples, right? How is the restoration going on from their end, did they share anything about it?” She intended to draw him away from his obviously stormy ruminations.

Just as Tenzin was about to respond, Sokka suddenly turned his attention to mother and son. “Heeey – I knew I forgot something! Where’s Lin?”

Tenzin grew uncomfortable as the table went silent, each person looking at him expectantly. He cleared his throat as he loosened his collar. “She’s still at the precinct, I believe.” He did not miss Katara and Aang share a look but he chose not to acknowledge it.

“That young lady is working too hard,” Sokka run his hand at his beard. “On the other hand, look at her sister Suyin, with two kids at the age of twenty-four. I mean, sure they’re both productive, if you get what I mean. Am I right?” He elbowed his wife, looking for affirmation. Suki looked nonplussed. So he leaned to his other side, elbowing Bumi instead, who gave him a thumbs up.

-------------

Finally, at half past eleven in the evening, Lin found herself unlocking the door to the apartment after satisfactorily completing the documents in time for tomorrow’s meeting.

“Tenzin, I’m home.” She called out, as she took off her boots and removed her armor. “I’m sorry I’m late.” She pulled her long black hair from the bun it was in the whole day. “Had to finish up some paper-.” She finally realized she was alone. “Work.”

The dark and empty room puzzled her but she ignored the unease that crept and proceeded to the bathroom to wash her face.

Seeing the empty space where she and Tenzin kept their toothbrushes and toiletries, Lin cursed.

She just realized she forgot something tonight.

-------------

After somewhat successfully averting the disaster called Sokka’s big mouth by introducing dessert, Katara followed her youngest child who excused himself to the patio once dessert was served. She studied his stiff posture as he gazed at the distant lights of Republic City.

“Son, is everything okay with Lin?” Katara was not one to beat around the bush. “She’s not in trouble, is she?”

Tenzin shook his head quietly. “She’s fine, Mother.” He really did not want to discuss his relationship right now.

“Don’t mind Sokka,” Katara plodded on. “He’s just probably excited to hear about more grandchildren within our group. You know how he doted on Iroh when Zuko used to bring him over.” She smiled in recollection how Sokka had pranced around with the toddler on his back, pretending to be a dragon.

“Iroh is just a couple of years younger than me.” Tenzin grumbled, not liking where the conversation was headed.

Katara waved him off. “You were well in your teens by then – a far cry from toddling little Iroh.” Seeing no further comment coming from her companion, she gestured to the side buildings. “Do you want me to call on the Air Acolytes to prepare Oogi tonight? I had them bring him to the barns as I thought you’d be staying overnight. They can easily prepare him for your quick trip back to Republic City though.”

“No, it’s fine.” The tall airbender was starting to hate that word: fine. “Oogi’s probably resting already. And I haven’t decided yet if I’ll stay tonight,” His equanimity would be sorely tested should he see Lin now.  “I can always borrow a glider to get back to the mainland.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” His mother gave him a side hug. “You know your father and I are always here for you and Lin, right?”  She felt him nod. “Don’t stay out too late – it’s a bit chilly these nights.”

-------------

Lin fought with herself as to whether she should drop a call to Air Temple Island at this time. She wanted to speak to Tenzin. Correction: she needed to apologize for forgetting about the family dinner.

Seeing that it was almost midnight with no hint of Tenzin or Oogi in sight, Lin decided to risk waking the household up.

“Pick up, pick up,” Lin murmured as she heard the phone ringing.

-------------

Unbeknownst to her, the raucous cacophony made by a drunk Sokka, Bumi and Kya drowned out other noises within Aang’s house.

Rolling his eyes as he saw Bumi throwing back a large tankard, Tenzin decided to retreat to his bedroom to bid his time before going home to Lin. There was no way he would allow himself to be dragged into Sokka’s drinking game, which was likely to happen should they see him crossing the threshold to glide away. With a highly skilled waterbender in said drinking group, he did not want to take any risks of possibly being pulled into the ocean at this late hour.

-------------

With fatigue eventually overcoming him, Tenzin barely felt the mattress shifting nor did he feel the bed dip with the weight of another person joining him. He sighed sleepily as he curled closer to the source of warmth beside him.

-------------

Note:  Hello to my lone reader! So here’s my trial in creating a Linzin fanfic (cross-posted in archiveofourown too). I’m hesitant to post something online but it felt nice to share it with you. Not sure if this plot has already been done, or if this is a familiar trope already, but just the same I’ll be posting it here as I’ve started to rediscover the fandom recently. I’ve been fascinated by the Linzin pairing and I wanted to give it a shot. There was something very poignant about them and while I’m a sucker for angst, I wanted to try to give it a try to give them a happy ending. This is also non-canon compliant, obviously. Let me know what you think! 😊

==

Other chapters here:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5