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sokkastyles · 4 years

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I was talking about this to my cousin, and I feel like there's this misconception in fandom (especially for this who don't ship) that zuko and katara yell at each other a lot even as friends. Post TSR, I can't think of a single moment where either of them have lost their temper at the other?

Yeah, honestly, when people say that all they would do is yell at each other I just have to laugh because that’s literally the opposite of what we see of them on screen.

I mean, we’ve seen them argue, but never without any reason, and they actually manage to work it out in a healthy way and their relationship becomes stronger as a result. And that’s actually a sign of a healthy couple. If you’re afraid to disagree with your significant other or you can’t resolve fights in a healthy way then that isn’t a good thing. Obviously you don’t want to argue all the time, but no relationship is going to be always without conflict. The key is in whether you’re able to resolve it, and I’d argue that Zuko and Katara actually provide one of the best examples of that.

And the anti discourse around this annoys me in particular for two reasons. One, people insist that a strong female character has to be tempered, and because Katara is a character who does get angry and lose her temper and feels things very strongly, people feel like she needs a man to hold her back. Which she does not.

As for Zuko, because he’s an abuse victim people act like he’s too damaged to have a healthy relationship and he would just not be able to control himself emotionally, which is also false because he had like, a whole arc of learning to control his temper and changing himself and getting rid of toxic behaviors. Like, that happened in the show.

The one scene I can think of after “The Southern Raiders” where Zuko loses his temper at Katara is in “The Ember Island Players.”

This kinda turned into a meta about that episode so whoops.

Zuko complains about his portrayal in the play and Katara teases him, and he shouts at her but it’s without any of the volatile nature of some of the ways he took his anger out on others before.

He doesn’t seem like he’s really angry at her, and look at her face. Look at how much fun she’s having! Katara, the girl who worried about being seen as too serious. Look at how natural she is with him. It comes across more as good-natured ribbing (dare I say...flirting?) on both their ends, even though both of them are upset about their portrayals. Katara isn’t fazed by his dramatic reaction and he’s immediately forced to eat his words. Which I think is an important aspect of Zuko’s arc of learning to control his temper and realizing that he doesn’t need to take everything personally. He’s forced to live with his own embarrassment, which fits with the theme of learning humility. We’ve seen him do the same thing several times after joining the gaang, where he initially gets angry but then makes a conscious effort not to overreact. Which isn’t always easy, but he’s trying.

And part of it is also that he feels safe with her, despite his long face. He knows that she’s not really being mean. Katara can be mean even to people she loves, but she’s transparent with her emotions.

Contrast that with the way Zuko was with Mai, who he could never figure out. Mai always encouraged Zuko not to show his emotions and he predictably exploded because he was feeling things and he didn’t know what she was feeling or what she wanted from him.

This episode is actually another really good example of how well Zuko and Katara do get along and are able to resolve conflict even in a situation where both of them are upset and dealing with their own individual issues. Even though she made fun of him for it before, Katara is empathetic when she realizes what is really behind his anger, which is that he misses Iroh and feels guilty about the way he treated him.

And it shows how well she knows him. She knows that he can sometimes do hurtful things that he regrets later, but she also knows that he loves Iroh. She knows this because this mirrors her relationship with Zuko. I mean, the relationships literally echo each other in this episode. She’s been in Iroh’s position, he hurt her and then sought her forgiveness (and she was also there when he betrayed Iroh. She is in a position both to understand and know that his regret is sincere and to reassure him that he can get Iroh’s forgiveness, as she also forgave him. That’s why she’s the one to comfort him outside Iroh’s tent a few episodes later.

It’s also kinda funny that they are so close in this scene because the scene right before this one is the zutara crystal caves parody. They go from moving away from each other, embarrassed at the idea of being a couple, to very close in a matter of minutes. The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

This is also right after Aang walks out in a huff, because of the whole stage zutara thing. Like? I wasn’t supposed to ship them here?

Aang and Katara argue this entire episode, and when Katara tries to comfort him about his anger at his portrayal in the play, he takes it out on her.

Katara: Relax, Aang. They're not accurate portrayals. It's not like I'm a preachy crybaby who can't resist giving overemotional speeches about hope all the time. [Everyone looks at her.] What?

Aang: [Turns around and sits down. Sarcastically.] Yeah, that's not you at all.

I remember having a really visceral bad reaction to the way Katara is treated in this episode that I couldn’t really articulate, and at the time I didn’t realize how much it had to do with shipping because I had no idea what the fandom was like when I was watching the show. I described it to a friend as Katara being treated like “the girl” of the group. Even though there are two other girls present, Toph is one of the boys, and Suki is in an established relationship with Sokka so she’s not a threat. But Katara is Aang’s love interest, and their relationship status is uncertain, so she’s treated like a source of conflict for Aang. I was able to pick up on this even though I didn’t feel particularly negatively towards the Kataang relationship at the time, but in hindsight this treatment of Katara is so tied with Kataang that it’s hard to avoid negative associations with the ship itself.

Katara spends a lot of time this episode trying to comfort Aang, who spends most of the episode angry at her for things she didn’t do and can’t help. She also has to deal with seeing a version of herself onscreen that is racist and misogynistic, but who is there to comfort her? Aang, Sokka, and Zuko all get upset about their portrayals, and are allowed to vent and be comforted, but Katara is punished for it and then told that she is like that, and mocked. She has to comfort Zuko, too, but at least she gets to mock him as well and give him a little bit of what she has to put up with. And he’s not the one who yells at her while she’s trying to comfort him, that would be Aang.

If this episode was supposed to be anti zutara and pro kataang, it certainly did a poor job indeed. Even in this scene where they all look at her and fall silent when she says she’s not a sappy crybaby, and it’s supposed to be a joke because “haha, women are irrational, amirite?,” and then Aang responds sarcastically, the blocking clearly places Aang and Katara in opposition to each other, with Aang facing away from her and Zuko between them and the closest person in the group to Katara. The intent was obviously to make the audience worry for Aang that Katara won’t reciprocate, but it actually makes Katara and Zuko look like the more appealing relationship if you are looking at it from Katara’s perspective.

And then Katara and Zuko spend the rest of the finale getting closer while Katara and Aang argue and then wordlessly play kissy face in the last two seconds of the show.

#zuko #katara #zutara #anti kataang #anti maiko #ember island players

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passable-talent · 4 years

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May I please request a zuko fix where the reader is a huge flower buff (like knows the meanings and names) and is more graceful and peaceful rather than a fighter despite being a fire bender and zuko thinks she doesn't care or take the war seriously and when zuko joins the gang he doesn't see how much she contributes until he sees her taking care of everyone one night and questions the others and learns she in fact is a fierce fighter and he takes her up on a challenge to see for himself

playful fight? where there’s a lil pride involved? but there’s also a lot of pining? hmmmmm

also I love/hate writing fight scenes bc they’re SO FUN but also I’m such a perfectionist (and actually a martial artist so like... I see flaws u know?) that I actually have to get up and act them out and that’s time consuming but also a good workout so whatever ? I guess

you would not believe the amount of flower research in both the avatar and real world I did before going into this ask

this is too much to preface a story with gd I’m annoying but I hope u don’t mind that I was gender nonspecific. It’s a thing with me since there’s like never any male readers on tumblr. so even though you kinda asked for female reader I made it gender nonspecific because that’s what I do I hope it’s ok

anyway here we go!!

Zuko simply did not understand.

The house where his family vacationed was big and beautiful, and a good place to hide until Sozin’s comet. What he never had noticed, until now, were the flowers growing all around the courtyard and the path to the beach. Over the years of disregard, the more exotic flowers had died and been replaced by native life, taking over much more than the flowerbeds he barely remembered the staff taking care of. There were fire lilies, those he recognized, but there were many other flowers that he had never bothered to learn the name of.

Y/N knew all of their names.

He didn’t understand you. He couldn’t figure you out. You were of the fire nation, and a bender, but he had never seen you fight. All you did, as far as he could tell, was pull the others away from danger, settle fights, and tend to flowers that seemed perfectly capable of survival all on their own. It’s not that it bothered him, but it did, because you seemed so absolutely noncommital. Nonchalant. Indifferent. How had another citizen of the fire nation come to the realization that the fire nation was evil, and gathered up the courage to join the avatar, and yet didn’t seem to care about the war at all?

When he’d first met you, he thought you didn’t have much use to the team at all. He thought you just another kid caught up in the war, like the others that were at the western air temple after the day of black sun. But after the brief battle with Azula, he came to see your worth.

“If only we had some Aloe,” you’d murmured as you passed him, on your way to Sokka’s side after he had complained of a sunburn, riding all day on Appa’s back.

“Can we get some?” Katara asked, leaning against the side of Appa’s saddle.

“No,” you replied, “too far away. It only grows near the Si Wong desert, and we definitely can’t go there right now.”

“So what can we do?” asked Katara again, and you shrugged, settling down beside Sokka, on his right while Toph clutched onto his left arm.

“The medical treatment for burns in the fire nation are less advanced then you’d expect. But there’s a few plants that can be soothing- even if not as much as Aloe. If there’s any banana leaf nearby our destination, that may help.” Zuko, though he’d remained silent, cocked an eyebrow in surprise. Medicinal knowledge of plants- that seemed extremely useful, especially given the group’s nomadic behavior. He briefly wished that you had been around while his uncle had had his quarrel with the white jade bush.

More so, though, in the following days he began to see your similarities to Katara- you were kind, and caring, and you made sure that the group was taken care of. You sat through worries and soothed fears the best you could, and that was admirable. You almost reminded him of his mother.

One question was left on his mind. If you were a fire bender- why did Aang need him to teach him firebending?

After you had gone to bed one night, he sat around a fire with Aang, Sokka, and Toph to pose that very question.

“Is it because they’re not a very strong bender? I’ve never even seen them use firebending, they must not be that good.”

“Oh, no,” Sokka said, “they’re actually really good. Probably better than you.” He laughed a bit after his words, earning a punch in the rib cage from Toph, which made Zuko think that Sokka was only trying to tease.

“Really?” He asked, looking to Aang, whose information he’d trust.

“Yeah,” Aang said, “they’re good. But they didn’t want to teach me- said that they didn’t have enough formal training. I think they just didn’t want to be that violent. They’re a pacifist, like me.”

“I could see that,” Zuko said, gazing into the fire. In his fingers he twirled an orange cyclamen, which you had given him before you’d gone to bed. When he’d asked why, you had responded that ‘it was a flower without meaning*, and the color reminded you of him’. He didn’t know what to do with it now, though, before he went to bed. He didn’t want to toss it in the fire, as that felt too heartless, but he knew it was dying now that it was picked. So, when he stood to return to his room for the night, he crouched by one of the overgrown flowerbeds and propped it up in the soil.

Maybe, from its turmoil, it would grow roots and live. Or maybe it would die surrounded by the beauty of the other flowers.

After spending all night wondering the true extent of your prowess, when morning came Zuko decided to find out.

“Spar me,” he said, catching you alone in the courtyard. “I need to be reminded what it’s like to fight a fire bender, and I’ve been told you’re quite good.” You let a little quirk of a smile onto your lips and turned to face him, tilting your head.

“You sure? What if it hurts your pride?” He shook his head, expression stoic as ever.

“It won’t. Either I’ll beat you or I’ll learn.” You took off an outer layer you’d been wearing and, carrying it, made your way toward the beach.

“Good way to think about it,” you said, laying down your jacket on a stone just outside the entryway. But as you straightened back up you planted your forward foot and flashed your other foot up and across, sending an arc of flame toward the prince. He quickly noticed that the game had begun and diverted the flame to his left, sliding his foot into a strong stance before punching flames toward you. By this time you had completed your spin and dove out of the path of his fire, rolling onto your feet and into a tight stance, your hands at your chest. You took them to your left, then swung them to your right to add momentum to your spin, lifting your feet from the ground for a round kick that sent another arc of flame toward him. He dove forward to get out of the way, getting closer to you, and sweeping one of your feet out from under you. You landed on your back, your fall cushioned as much as it could have been, and he pinned you down by hovering over you.

“You’re impressive,“ he said, and you gave him a look somewhere between pleading and fondness. His moment’s hesitation allowed you to swing your foot and use both its momentum and a shove from your elbows to flip him onto his back, your two foremost fingers creating a fire dagger at his throat, not close enough to threaten. This was only sparring, after all.

“Have you forgotten the rules of a match? It’s not over until the opponent yields.” He smiled, slightly, as he looked up at you.

“I yield.” You chuckled and stood up, giving him a hand to right him on his feet as well.

“You have more honor than I,” you told him, knowing that you only won thanks to trickery. A slight laugh rumbled from his chest and he tossed your jacket toward you again.

“How I’d love for my father to hear you say that.”

*a cyclamen a flower that, when given, expresses sincere feelings of admiration and romance. y/n was cheeky

-🦌 Roe

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sokkas-honour · 4 years

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dream boy: part 3 - sokka x reader

pairing: sokka x fem!reader

request: part 3 was requested by @missmorosis

wc: 2.7k

notes: i’m terribly sorry if it may seemed a bit rushed or not exactly consistent but i personally liked the way it ended. also this is the final part, i might make an epilogue if i actually finish everything i need to do.

part one | part one 1/2 | part two

sokka wasn’t able to see you until monday, purposefully ignoring all the texts from yours friends, not wanting to know if sokka actually told them what had happened or if he had decided to keep it to himself, either way, you were better off just staying off your phone until school started. you only unlocked your phone to text zuko back and even then you didn't always have the courage to do so.

you had made sure to wake up early in order to not cross paths with the watertribe boy, his sibling or just any of your friends until you absolutely had to, preferring to simply distance yourself from the others. of course you couldn't avoid them forever, you had over half of your classes with at least one of them, two of those being with sokka, the guy who you especially didn't want to see, history and gym. gym would be easy to avoid him in, you had become acquaintances with this lovely girl called jin, whom you also shared your math class with, you could just spend the whole period with her and avoid him. your real problem was going to be history. your teacher, mister kuzon, had informed the class that there would be a group project on any cultural aspect from the water tribe, and he had chosen the groups. the chance of you actually being paired with sokka was miniscule but the universe hadn’t seemed to be going easy on you lately.

and much to your dismay, the universe was in fact against you. when your history teacher’s voice had posted the groups, your heart had started racing as you approached the board to see the pairs, your heart was racing in fear and it dropped when you saw the name y/n next to sokka.

after being asked to sit next to your partner to get started, you stayed silent as you plopped down on the chair next to the boy who you were still trying to avoid, staying silent and keeping your eyes in front of you.

“are you going to work with me or is it going to be a silent treatment the whole time.” he questioned, turning to face you, arm hooked around the back of his chair as he looked at you desperately for any sign of you acknowledging his presence.

“i was thinking we could talk about the differences in the cuisine in the north and south.” you mumbled, chin on your hand as you kept your gaze on the board in front of you, ignoring the boy who was still searching for an answer.

“yeah, sounds good.” sokka sighed, giving up on receiving a straight answer from you. he turned back in his seat, disappointment radiating off of him, making you bite your lip in guilt. you shot him a glance from the corner of your eye as you saw him discreetly take his phone out to open the notes app but before you could see what he was typing he turned to face you, catching you right in the act.

“uh, saturday at your place?�� seemed like the only logical way out of the embarrassing situation you had just walked into, still not breaking the staring between the two of you. you felt your heart speed up a bit at the extended eye contact, not having looked into his blue eyes in awhile, the last time being before you stormed out of his house after your confession.

“sounds good.” he offered you a small smile, happy to see that your attempt at a cold shoulder was somewhat backfiring, knowing that you couldn't avoid him forever. he let the stare linger a bit before turning his attention back to his phone and you quickly snapped back to your notes taken during the class. thanking yourself for not letting the stupid smile heat your cheeks up, now all you had to do was finish the class with a not so uncomfortable silence between the two of you.

the bell didn't take too long to ring before you had to move onto your next class which was the one you detested the most, science. courage surged through you as you waved goodbye to sokka, earning a bright smile back from the boy before you dashed out of the class. to anyone, that might have seemed rather pointless that you felt as proud as you did, a wave goodbye was considered an act of politeness, but that had been the first time you had really addressed sokka in any way since the unplanned confession. he had probably realised that as well, giving a reason for the sudden bright smile on his features.

you practically sprinted towards your science classroom, holding your books tightly to your chest to not let them fly out of your grip. you hoped zuko was already there, knowing he’d want to hear the rather big step you’d just taken in repairing your friendship with your childhood friend. you were surprised that the thought of slowly getting over him in order to just be friends had slipped your mind, remembering that this morning you didn't want anything to have to do with him for the rest of your life, wanting to just stay away from him to not ignite anything in you, but you were slowly realising it was ridiculous to throw away the friendship for your unrequited crush. you two may not be as close as before but you could still stay friends, you could still hangout with him without feeling like your heart was shattering every moment you’d meet his beautiful ocean eyes.

“zuko!” you called for him as soon as you spotted the back of his black haired head, whipping his head around to greet you with a grin, happy that you weren't ignoring him like he thought you might, considering your answers to his texts were rather sporadic and vague.

“happy to see you’re alive y/n.” he joked as soon as you caught up with him, both of you walking at the same height as you entered the room, taking a seat next to each other as you always did, even when the two of you werent as close as you were now.

“i think i’m ready to fully start moving on.” you announced, taking a deep breath before letting him know of your future plans, determination in yours eyes and tone as you felt set to move on from your crush.

“really? i'm surprised it didn't take longer.” his eyes grew a bit at your proclamation, not expecting to hear you say those words this early, thinking he’d have to see you distance yourself from everyone for weeks but it only took a day or two, making him slightly septic at how long you would actually last with your new resolution but nonetheless he was proud of you.

“yeah well i’m kind of stuck with sokka for a history project and i figured might as well start moving on from him. i still want to be friends with him.” you explained, taking your science homework out so you were prepared whenever the teacher would come on in.

“i’m proud of you y/n, its very mature of you.” he placed his hand on your shoulder, sincerity in his tone lifting your spirits up at the thought of repairing whatever damage you might’ve caused and the thought of the damage you were avoiding by taking action now instead of later.

saturday rolled around and you had managed to have some sort of small talk with sokka during your classes, still deciding to spend your lunch period with jin instead of your usual friends but it was a start to where you thought you would be saturday after you left. you had stopped eating with your friends a little over a week ago, opting to spend time with the lovely girl from your math class. you had had trouble sleeping friday night, scared of going to sokka’s house and falling back to where you started, back to square one, back in love with a friend who was already taken by a lovely girl.

your feet felt rather heavy as you walked down the familiar path to his house, bag with a your notebook and history course around your shoulder as you retraced the steps you had followed almost everyday during that particular summer, always going to sokka’s house to entertain yourself while school was out.

you first lingered in the air above the door for a couple of seconds, taking a deeo breath in to calm your nerves before you finally knocked. it didnt take long before it was opened, sokka with an eager smile on his lips was who greeted you behind the door.

“finally, you shouldve been here an hour ago!” he lamented jokingly as he moved out of the way to let you in, causing you to roll your eyes at how dramatic your friend was.

“sokka, im five minutes late.” you deadpanned, hastily taking your shoes off, leaning against a nearby wall for support.

“exactly!” he exclaimed, his voice cracking slightly and suddenly you felt as though nothing ever happened, as if your feelings had never come to make you want to change whatever relationship you had with him, simply feeling as though the two of you were just friends.

“really sokka? dont you reme,ber when i waited an hour for you outside in the freezing cold in the woods so we could make a campfire together? or that time where we were late in eight grade because someone accidentally put on ripped pants? or-”

“alright i get it.” he held his hands up in defeat at your inquisitive look, knowing you were only joking around with him to make him feel slightly guilty for all the times he had been late.

“my dad made seaweed noodles for us to eat while we work, hope thats okay.” shoving his hands in his pockets, waiting to see you reaction at the mention of one of your favorite dishes that he’d always insist his father to make you whenever you’d come by.

“no way!” you dashed into the kitchen, leaving sokka by himself at the entrance, surprised at how fast the two of you had seemed to ease back into things and some part of it seemed to good to be true but he was happy to have you back.

“wait for me!” he called for you, spending slightly to join you. a reminiscent smile on his lips as he watched you excitedly poor yourself a bowl, knowing where everything in the hous ewas from it practically being a second home for you during all those years.

“you’ll have to say thank you to hakoda.” you told him as you eyed the noodles, your stomach rumbling as you brought it to the table, it had been too long since you had eaten his father’s cooking.

“y/n, you havent even eaten it yet, how do you know its good?” he laughed as he watched you carefully bring the bowl to the dinner table, trying to get to it as fast as you could but still making sure to not let any of the broth spill out.

“because your dad’s seaweed noodles are the best!” you defended your previous statements, taking a seat as you waited for sokka to make his own bowl and bring chopsticks for the both of you. the watertribe boy nodded, slightly mocking you in his own playful way. while you waited for him to rejoin you, you took out the notebook you used for your history notes and grabbed a pen that was sitting on the table.

you scribbled down the title of your project and tapped your pen, impatient waiting to be able to dig into your steaming hot dish.

“have any ideas for the presentation?” sokka startled you slightly, coming from behind you to lean over your shoulde to see if you had written anything but he was met with a blank page.

“no, now get me my chopsticks idioy.” you shoved his head away, earning a protestful ‘hey’ from him as your brought your hand back to wram themselvbes on the bowl.

“here.” he placed the chopsticks next to the bowl before making his way around the table to sit in front of you, slowly blowing on his soup to cool it down.

“took you long enough.” you teased before you grabbed them to pick up some of the noodles, cooling them off with your breath before shoving some of it into your mouth. sokka started laughing at how quickly you engulfed the noodles that his father had spent the morning making.

you flipped him off, not caring at how ‘unlady like’ you might’ve looked but it had been forever since you had tasted his father’s seaweed noodles, during winter it was a staple food for whenever you would spend the night but since the weather had gotten warmer and you had grown more distant, it had been a hot minute since you had a traditional dish of the southern water tribe, something you’d most definitely use in your comparison of the different cuisines.

“before we start, i wanted to talk to you about something.” sokka brought his hand down, deciding not to eat just yet but rather address the elephant in the room.

“yeah?” you knew where this was going so you finished chewing what was in your mouth and swallowed, keeping your eyes on the food as you wiated for sokka’s question.

“so where do we stand, us? i mean two days ago you stormed off, after weeks of us not actually talking and now it feels like everything is fine. i just want to make sure that you’re okay.” you took a deep breath in, knowing this was coming, knowing you had to confront your feelings upfront now and not just push whatever you were feeling down, hoping it didnt blow over one day.

“if im being honest sokka, i like you, still, but i want us to be friends. im happy to see that suki makes you happy, but it might take some time for me to get over you so we might not ever be as close as before for my own sake but im willing to try my hardest to fix anything i mightve broken in the last couple of weeks. because i love having you as a friend and no matter how much it wouldve hurt to be with you before, i still missed my best friend.” you slowly lifted your head up, pouring out what was your mind without any filter, letting him know where you stood, sincerity written on your features as you wiated to see sokka’s reaction.

“that sounds good, whatever works for you. just happy i dont have to lose my oldest friend” he finally answered after silence settled between the two of you, letting your words settle and let him process your new confession.

you smiled back and then the two of you turned your attention back to the noodles, the two of you practically inhaling the food as the only sound was the muching of the seaweed and the slurping of the soup. a nice moment shared between two friends.

“you know, theres still girl that i just know you’d like.” sokka was the first to speak up, a small tease in his tone as he tried to set you up right after you told him you were trying to move on from him.

“sokka.” you threatened, not wanting him to go down whatever road he was about go down to, you finding it to be the wrong moment to bring this up.

“i’m just saying i have yue’s number if you want it!” he recoiled on his claim, but made sure to name drop the girl he supposedly thought was perfect for you. blood rushed to your cheeks at the mention of his ex girlfriend from middle school, rmebering how beautiful you thought the white haired girl was and how you had a small crush on her while they were dating.

the boy in front of you simply laughed, feeling content at where he now stood with his friend since kindergarten. he was your dream boy, but maybe not in the way you first thought. he was the boy of your dreams but not all dreams need to be romantic.

general taglist: @draqondance @biqherosix @sunnypluto @butterfly-skinnylegend @staygoldsquatchling02 @yuesallura

atla taglist: @welovediaaxx @ilovespideyyy @missmorosis

sokka taglist: @firelady-jay

#atla x reader #sokka x reader #avatar the last airbender imagine #avatar the last airbender x reader #zuko x reader #atla sokka x reader #sokka #atla sokka imagine #sokka imagine #sokka x you #atla zuko x reader #gaang x reader #prince zuko #zuko

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theotherace · 3 years

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What was the dunebabies childhood like? I remember you saying Taang won't be bad parents, how does the dunebabies see their mom and dad? Did they have a permanent place to stay?

The kids' most permanent home is Appa's saddle, because travelling both kinda comes with Aang's job and is in both of their natures. He does travel alone, too, if whatever conflict he's been called to solve or look at is too dangerous to take the kids or if it's a quick, close-by thing, but mostly, where one Beifong is, the rest can be found easily. Which doesn't mean, of course, that they have no place they'd call home outside of that. They visit their grandparents a lot, and every kid has their own room at their house. They stay at the Air Temples (and most often the Southern) regularly. Aang and Toph have friends in all four nations that always have a bed over (and, in Zuko's case, probably an entire palace wing). So no, the family doesn't technically have a permanent place to stay at, but they have a lot of ... well, homes, all over the world.

The kids don't mind the travelling, for the most part. Kavi and Bumi love absolutely every second of it, and Tenzin, while he enjoys visiting his grandparents and having all his stuff in one place, also couldn't really do without it. Asha and Norbu don't resent their parents for the travelling, but it's also not a decision they'd have made for themselves. They treasure the experiences they make and wouldn't have wanted to miss them, but they do better when staying at just one place. Less stress. They enjoy life more when it's a little more predictable.

(And now a cut, because this got so long. Thanks for the ask, by the way! Feel free to send me more, haha.)

Bumi probably has the least idealized view of his parents growing up. He's the oldest, a lot of things still have to be figured out with him, and they're lucky he's a responsible kid by nature and not a big trouble maker at all, because he'd definitely have had ample opportunity to screw around. He babysits his siblings when Aang and Toph need to be away for an afternoon (they don't leave him alone with them much longer than that, though), and while he admires them both greatly, all the great things they've done, he also realizes pretty early on that ... well, ... they're people. And people make mistakes and people aren't perfect. His expectations of them aren't as high as his siblings', I think. He loves them very much, but they can be scatter-brained and impulsive at times, and he probably wishes that weren't the case. He loves living all over the world. He doesn't appreciate the planlessness of it all.

Norbu admires both his parents greatly. He loves hearing their stories, he loves watching them bend and learning from them, and he's an absolute Momma's boy who follows Toph around whenever he can. His parents are a source of inspiration for him, people who took destiny into their own hands, who endlessly support him and his dreams. Plus, they saved the world once and continue doing so all the time. Yeah, they're pretty awesome. He's the boy who goes around bragging about his parents. He's an easy kid to handle, not very demanding, easily satisfied, he likes being left alone with his projects every now and again, and I think that probably colours his perceptions of them greatly. Attention having to be divided by five doesn't bother the boy who doesn't like receiving too much of it, anyway. If he needs some extra time with either of his parents, he's not afraid to ask for it, and they usually give it to him as quickly as they can.

Tenzin looks up to especially his father. He loves Toph, too, of course, but growing up, he really just wants to be like Aang. Unfortunately for him, he is not the most naturally talented bender, and Aang, who things always came easy to and who is otherwise only really teaching Norbu at this point, who picks up quickly on things, and helps out with Bumi, who is unconventional but talented, and Asha, who bends just like her mother, isn't quite equipped to handle that. He tries, of course. They both try. But Tenzin is a stubborn kid, and there's ultimately only so many times you can hear: "We all learn at our own pace" before exploding because it feels like you're not moving at all. Tenzin admires his parents, but he also resents them, especially as a teen, because it feels like they're not trying at all, it feels like they're holding him back (when really, they're keeping him from running himself ragged), it feels like they don't want him to achieve his dreams and goals like they always preach. He'd have benefited greatly and definitely needed more attention than they were realistically able to give him. Their relationship suffers greatly when he's in his teens, because they don't quite know how to reach him and he makes it seem like he doesn't want to be reached in the first place. Ultimately, he makes the decision to move to the Northern Air Temple when he's sixteen, and while Aang and Toph aren't necessarily excited about him leaving (feels like they're losing him), he does get their blessing as long as he writes at least once a month. And this move does them all a lot of good. Tenzin isn't only surrounded by insufferably talented benders anymore, he can more fully immerse himself in his culture, and there are teachers around who aren't his father, who can help him improve in ways Aang and Toph couldn't. They talk it all out, eventually, and he knows they always tried their best with all of them, but he's never quite as close to them as he was as a kid or as his twin still is, and he's closer to Toph as an adult than to Aang. Doesn't change that he loves them, though.

Asha grows from a tiny admirer of her parents into a somewhat moody teenager deeply annoyed by the fact that all people ever want from her is to ask about her parents. She's a social butterfly, she likes to make friends, and it's disheartening when every third new buddy she makes actually is just curious about Mom and Dad and doesn't care about her at all. She absolutely vibes with Aang and she loves Toph, no questions asks, but she wishes they were just two randos sometimes. Life would be easier then. It's maddening, and for a while, it definitely builds some resentment, which is talked out after a lot of cold shoulders and silent treatments. Other than that, she's pretty cool with her parents. Sure, they're annoying sometimes, and sure, it would be nice if they didn't have to divide their attention by five kids and the rest of the world, but they're both annoyingly supportive (trying to rebel doesn't go well when Mom's like: Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Let me get your brothers, we'll make a family day out of it), and while she understands Tenzin's plight a little better than Norbu does, she still doesn't really ... get it. She doesn't think her parents are perfect, but she knows they'd do anything for all of them, because I really think that's something Aang and Toph would tell and try to show their kids all the time.

Kavi has it best in terms of attention. He's the baby with quite an age gap between himself and all his siblings (twelve years younger than Bumi, seven/eight years younger than the twins and Asha), so everybody's always looking after him, Mom, Dad, and all the big siblings. He's a Momma's boy like Norbu and admires his father almost as much as Tenzin does, at least as a kid, and he enjoys hanging out with the both of them like no twelve-year-old should. They've learned a lot about being parents by the time he comes around, they've raised four kids before him, after all, and even if every kid is different, he absolutely benefits from that. They're more relaxed with him. They know what's okay and what isn't. Relaxed is a fairly good word to describe his relationship with them, honestly. He loves them and they love him and he knows he can always fall back on them and they know that he's a good kid who they can trust to make good decisions.

So ... conclusion of all this, is that I think Aang and Toph would try to give their children to best childhood possible, and sometimes, they mess up while doing that. Kavi and Norbu probably come closest to calling them perfect. Tenzin always knows they love him, but sometimes, love isn't quite enough. Sometimes, you do your best and your best isn't enough. And I think that's something Aang and Toph would have to realize, especially with Tenzin, but really with all of their kids. Some things they just can't give them, and that's okay, but I think they'd struggle a bit with admitting to themselves that maybe somebody else could help their kid better in this situation than they can.

The dunebabies have a good childhood, filled with lots of adventure and lots of love and lots of imperfections, and they maintain a good relationship with their parents throughout their lives, even if there are some ups and (occasionally very low) downs.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #my asks #toph #aang #taang #dunebabies #oc bumi #oc norbu #oc tenzin #oc asha #oc kavi

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milf-lover42 · 4 years

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Bellatrix and Azula are the same character, change my mind

As most people can tell, Bellatrix Lestrange is my all time favorite character. I might get new favorites every time I watch a new show, and they all share a general similarity (let’s face it… I have a type, and if you’re reading this here on tumblr dot com… you do too, don’t lie). However, no character has ever come close to beating Bellatrix for top spot. And then I watched A:TLA for the first time a few weeks ago. I didn’t watch it as a kid, I was just young enough (2003 babeyy) that I wasn’t watching tv when it was on. Azula is obviously my favorite from this show, and is also the only character to ever come close to Bellatrix’ spot in my heart. But thinking about this and all the headcanons that people have made for the Black family dynamic… it seems like a pretty straightforward connection. Azula is essentially just a young Bellatrix.

Almost all of these Black family headcanons have been taken from fanfictions I have read over the years, and so the credit goes to their respective authors. Many overlap so I cannot pinpoint each author to each one, and it has been a while since reading some of them. Most notable of these would be Glass Silence by Zarrene Moss. There are many more fantastic stories I have drawn from but I couldn’t remember every fanfiction I’ve read to pick out each detail. For all the Azula stuff, I am drawing from Hello Future Me’s video on Youtube “The Psychology of Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender”. If you want to spend an hour watching that I highly recommend it. Basically none of this is mine, I’m just using the headcanons and research of others to tie Bellatrix to Azula.

Let’s start with their family dynamics. Bellatrix is the oldest of the Black sisters, and has no brother. Although not stated in canon, (because apparently she’s too minor a character to deserve a backstory) it is presumed that all the duties of a male heir fell to her in a way. Marry young and marry a rich pureblood, carry on the family name and power, and secure a high social standing. Pureblood society is extremely archaic, if the treatment of muggle-borns is anything to go by, so we can safely assume that they are a very patriarchal society. Cygnus and Druella Black almost certainly wanted a son to carry on their name, especially given Walburga and Orion had both Sirius and Regulus. We can also assume that they weren’t exactly the kindest parents. At best, Druella was a silent wife subjected to abuse from her husband and ultimately was unable to keep her children safe; at worst she actively joined Cygnus in abusing their children. Each of the sisters have a unique way of dealing with this.

Andromeda handled it by running away, completely rebelling. She fell in love with Ted Tonks, a muggle-born. I doubt this in itself was an act of rebellion, I think she simply realized how stupid blood supremacy was after speaking to him. Once she fell in love it’s clear she wanted to break away from her family so that she could marry him. Clearly her parents knew, and it’s likely she told them herself. Given Ted was a muggleborn I can’t imagine her parents reacting with a simple, “No he is beneath you, we forbid it.” They probably acted harshly in an attempt to make it stick in her head that the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black would not associate with m*dbloods. Either she ran away or was kicked out, but either way she stayed with Ted and didn’t listen to her parents.

Narcissa shut off and blocked all her emotions. Obviously as an adult she actively practices the same beliefs her parents did, but as a teenager I don’t see this as being who she was. As an adult she is very cold and unemotional. The only person she truly cares about is her son, Draco. She cares about Bella still, she just doesn’t show it because she wasn’t allowed to as a child. As for her feelings toward Lucius... it is unclear. Depending on where you stand, she either could have been forced into a marriage with him, or they were in love as teenagers and got lucky enough that their parents arranged for them to marry each other. My personal opinion is they were forced. I think Lucius was supposed to be married to Andy but when she ran away, the Blacks had to hold up their end of the deal with the Malfoy’s and so Narcissa was married off to him. She embodies the whole “Ice Queen” personality. In order to cope with the trauma and her unwanted marriage, she just blocked all emotion to keep herself sane, only showing it for Draco.

And then we come to Bellatrix. Bellatrix, who had too many expectations to live up to, so many roles to fill, and no positive reinforcement from parents who just abused her if she messed up. She felt everything. She was the oldest and cared greatly for her younger sisters, and probably did her best to take any of the abuse that was going to be given to Narcissa or Andromeda. She used herself as their shield because they were the most important thing to her. Even after joining Voldemort and going insane she makes it very clear how she feels about Narcissa. Bellatrix would follow Voldemort's orders to the ends of the Earth, but the second she is asked to trust Snape, she says that Voldemort has made an error in judgement. Cissa wants to go to him and ask him to keep Draco safe, but Bellatrix advises against this. Only when her sister is in potential danger does Bellatrix doubt her master. Even at the height of her insanity her sister is the most important thing to her. We can assume as a child she felt the same for Andy. In fact in my opinion she never really stopped caring about her until Azkaban, I think she pretended to hate her when she came out about Ted Tonks, but only did so so that Andy would run away and live her life with the man she loved. She was safer away from their parents anyway. It didn’t matter if Bellatrix thought negatively about muggle-borns; she just wanted her sister to be safe. After going insane however, she truly seems to hate Ted for being a muggle-born, and she kills their half-blood daughter Nymphadora.

In order to cope with the trauma of her childhood Bellatrix used all of those emotions as fuel for her magic. She is an incredibly powerful witch and is massively intelligent (although why she didn’t just use Legilimens on the Golden Trio will baffle me forever… it would have been so simple…). However because of this coping mechanism, she is driven insane. It’s not instant, in fact it probably took years (probably that stint in Azkaban, lads) for the insanity to fully develop and take hold. All of that exposure to Dementors would have forced her to relive the trauma of her childhood over and over, while taking away the happy memories of her sisters.

Bellatrix was given a support system to break away from her family. Now it’s not a good or healthy one, but it is one nonetheless. After being treated so poorly by her parents, and forced into a marriage with Rodolphus, she needed freedom. When Tom Riddle comes along and praises her skill and offers her a spot as his best lieutenant? Of course she’s going to take that. Finally some recognition, and a good amount of safety. Not to mention missions and tasks given to her and others to her husband that mean she doesn’t have to be around him. Bellatrix was mistreated by her father and mother, but probably always wanted her father’s recognition. Her mother probably preferred Narcissa because she could be groomed into the perfect pureblood wife. Bellatrix latched onto Voldemort to gain recognition, praise, and power. But I can imagine as a teenager, having a complete breakdown at least once, especially after being told she’d be married off to Rodolphus. Demolishing her room with magic, windows breaking, personal items being thrown either by hand or by magic, and screaming and crying at the end. Very similar to Azula’s breakdown in her final scene.

Now we come to Princess Azula. She has an older brother, Zuko, but is always given the limelight. She receives a ceremonial headpiece that she is always seen wearing, but Zuko does not. He might be the boy, but he isn’t expected to take the crown. Azula is even named after her grandfather Azulon, who was Firelord. She was always expected to be the next Firelord over Zuko. Her future was never her own. She is a firebending prodigy, always showing off her skills, whereas Zuko falls behind. She is favored by her father Ozai for sure, but she is never truly praised. She is simply a means to an end to him. She was always expected to be the best. Although it isn’t shown in the TV series, in the A:TLA comics Ursa and Ozia’s relationship is depicted as abusive. He cuts her off from her family saying that he is all she will need.

There are theories as to whether or not Azula has a Machievellian personality type, or ASPD or NPD that could have been a root cause of her diminishing sanity, and after looking into those they seem very plausible. She lacks empathy, she emotionally manipulates everyone, and she has a messed up sense of right and wrong. Altruism just doesn’t make sense to her, and emotions are not genuine, simply stories made to get your way. Ursa rewards empathy, love and trust, which is why she clearly favors Zuko. But Ozai rewards power, cunning, and loyalty. They are complete opposites so it is not possible to please both of them. If she has any of these mental disorders it would be impossible to please her mother, so she focused on making her father proud. But Ozai never really shows any level of praise towards her, so she constantly tries to better herself. If she isn’t perfect, she’s failed.

At the end of A:TLA, Ozai forces her to stay behind in the Fire Nation. He says it’s because they need a Firelord because he will be leaving. Azula is disappointed to not partake in the final battle, but it’s what her father wants, so she obeys. However, he only leaves her so that he can become the supreme leader of everyone, or “Phoenix King”. Azula doesn’t really get a promotion, just a fancy name. In the finale, she is shown as her mental state quickly deteriorates. Her perfect image is gone, her hair is not up, her makeup undone, and she is paranoid that everyone is out to get her. This is the beginning of her breakdown. When she is unable to put her hair up by herself, she cuts her bangs. Her hair is all of a sudden asymmetrical, which is unheard of. She then starts to hallucinate. By the time she fights Zuko and Katara she is extremely unstable, and the fact that she can actually still bend is incredible, because it requires control of your emotions. She instead manages to use her emotions to fuel her bending. At the end when she is defeated, she finally breaks. Her bending is out of control, and she is left screaming and crying.

Azula never had anyone take her under their wing and give her the recognition she craved. Zuko had Iroh. Bellatrix had Voldemort. If Azula had been introduced to someone like Voldemort she would have gone down the same path as Bellatrix. Likewise, if Bellatrix hadn’t been introduced to Voldemort she would have ended up broken just like Azula. Their stories aren’t identical obviously, but there are some strong parallels that place them together, so I can see them as the same person with different outcomes to their story.

Does this stupidly long character analysis have any significant purpose? Nah, not at all. But like… I’m clearly right so… yeah.

#bellatrix black #bellatrix lestrange #azula #princess azula #azula deserved better #A:TLA #A:TLA azula #bellatrix black lestrange #druella black #cygnus black #narcissa malfoy #andromeda tonks #guys im not crazy i swear #i just feel passionately about these characters #bellamione

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mxxnslayers-daughter-a · 5 years

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AU where Kisara leaves with Iroh and Zuko

Pre Season 1

After the Agni Kai, Zuko is given 24 hours to get medical treatment for his burn, collect supplies and leave.

Kisara and Zhao get into a fight over what just happened.

“What do you mean he deserved it, dad he’s a CHILD!”

“He was supposed to be the future king, he should know better. If he was my child he would have gotten worse.”

Kisara runs away that night, sneaking onto the ship meant to take Zuko to see.

Zuko’s early séries hot headedness/Kisara’s loyalty to the Fire Nation was too much for eachother. A relationship is never able to fully form but they seem to like eachother.

“I GAVE UP SO MUCH TO BE WITH YOU. LET ME DO THIS FOR YOU!”

“I never ASKED you to come with me!”

Season 1

Any time they run into Zhao, He tries to talk Kisara into coming home

He never uses “I miss you” though. Instead he always says “Your Mother/Brother misses you.”

Kisara is good buddies with a lot of the men on the ship. Learning lots of sea shanties and drinking games

When Zhao tries to kill Zuko, she comes onto his ship. Trying to find ANY signs of his guilt.

The two have some type of closure though before Seige of the North.

Including the two saying I love you to eachother for the first time in years.

Enzi goes MIA or gets killed in the Seige

Kisara still thinks Aang killed Zhao though...

Season 2

Kisara’s still not over what happened on the North Pole, actually pretty shaken by it.

She’s known the price of War before. Known that it means death and destruction, but this is perhaps the first time she’s seen the Fire Nation lose.

She’s silent the whole time on the dingy to the spa. Zuko and Kisara fight a few times as Zuko thinks she needs to “suck it up.”

Things seem calm for a bit. Until Azula shows up.

Now they’re on the run from the Fire Nation? Oh no.

Around this time, Kisara stops using Nation based slurs atleast towards people of the Earth Kingdom.

Zuko leaves Kisara and Iroh.

Iroh and Kisara have a heart to heart talking about Death and the spirits.

Kisara apologizes for Lu Ten, confessing she knew Zhao was involved with his death.

Iroh knew. He forgives her on behalf of her father.

When Zuko returns he apologizes. The two become instant friends again (especially since they have something more important to worry about: Iroh getting attacked by Azula.)

In Ba Sing Se Kisara even helps him get ready for his “date”.

Kisara’s still not over the idea of Aang killing Zhao though. The anger is eating at her and she wants revenge.

Eventually Iroh sits her down and talks the sense into her.

When the finale happens though and she has a chance to go home? She acts like she never had this moment.

Season 3

On the boat back to the Fire Nation, Kisara and Zuko have a moment talking about the future.

Kisara gives her blessing for Zuko to pursue Mai

Even if she still has feelings for Zuko.

Kisara will always love Zuko, even if it’s just a friendly love.

Kisara enters the Alagaratnam manor and it’s just... different.

The gardens are still well maintained, but any of the koi fish have been removed (fact in any universe).

Zarafien just cries holding her daughter for the first time in years.

Everyone is crying honestly.

Zarafien refuses to talk about Kisara being gone.

If anything she refers to it as Kisara’s “Time Abroad”.

Zarafien basically makes sure Kisara is never out of someone’s sight.

“I’ve only just gotten you back! I can’t risk losing you too.”

Of course Zuko doesn’t tell her when he leaves to join team Avatar.

She feels antsy though, and leaves the Fire Nation. Finding Iroh and setting up camp with the White Lotus

Her and Jeong Jeong get along well.

“So. You’re the one dad called a crack pot? Suddenly things make sense.”

He’s like a grandpa to her (actually is her grandpa in the Verse where Zarafien is Jeong Jeong’s Daughter).

While she might not have seen it, in the Ember Island Players production she is portrayed as a subservient airhead. Her relationship with Zuko portrayed similar to Stan and Francine Smith From American Dad.

When the Gaang/Zuko finds them. Kisara just has a wild grin on her face.

“Did you honestly think you could get rid of me?”

Also in regards to “life changing field trips” has a pretty witty remark.

“Honey, believe me. I went on a 3 year long life changing field trip” or something like that.

When Zuko becomes Fire Lord she’s front and center providing her support.

Post Series

As part of her character development has to do with realizing the flaw in the education system, Zuko puts her in charge of Education.

Perhaps they get together? Finally having their happily ever after.

I like the idea of Aang guiding Kisara through the Spirit World if it’s possible to visit her papa. Letting even just his crazed spirit see her as this powerful woman who has grown so much without him.

In any version where they get their Happily Ever After Iroh does their wedding ceremony.

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bellatrixobsessed1 · 6 years

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Wan High Weeping (Part 45)

Zuko handed his chip to Iroh, the old man smiled warmly. “One month, Zuko. You should be proud of yourself.” He handed the chip back. “Jasmine or ginger?”

“Whatever you think would taste the best.” Zuko replied, knowing very well that the man would brew up every type of tea if he had the chance. Especially since he was brewing it in celebration of him having been newly cleared for outpatient. He watched Iroh bring down his special tea set and his higher end herbal mixes. “You don’t have to do that uncle. I’ve only been a month clean.”

“A month clean is more to celebrate than a year clean.”

Zuko furrowed his brows.

“It gets easier and easier over time. I’ve always thought that it was the first few months that counted the most. Those are the months where you have to truly fight and restrain yourself.” He set the cups out on the table. “So let’s celebrate the strength in that.”

Zuko picked up one of the cups. They had a red class make with a filigree trim of gold that resembled the powerful scales of a dragon. Genuine gold, according to his uncle. That genuine gold trim was inlaid with genuine ruby, table cut. He was almost afraid to pick it up, let he shatter it. He was almost certain that the glasses were the most expensive things his uncle owned, next to the matching teapot; a thing that depicted an dragon unfurling its shimmery wings and puffing out a breath of metallic fire.

It would be at least an hour before the tea would be served. Only Iroh could draw it out that meticulously. But that had to be the reason why his tea was particularly wonderful, with the ability to make him feel wholly cleansed by the last sip. Some months ago he would have been rushing the man, telling him to hurry it up as it was just tea and he had things to attend. Today he was glad for the length of preparation. “Uncle, I have something to talk to you about.”

“Anything.” Iroh replied.

“I love it here, you know I do.” He paused. “And I know I just got back…”

Iroh moved his tea kettle to the stove. “Yes?”

“But I ran into Azula and she said that she was living with mother.”

Iroh smiled. “And you want to go stay with her for a while.”

Zuko nodded. Though he was worried at the prospect of staying with Azula again. “How far away does she live?”

“Not very far at all.”Iroh replied. “You could walk there, if you really wanted to.” He turned away from the kettle. “Would you like to bring some tea to your mother and sister?”

It sounded like a plan to him.

.oOo.

“Teo, this is my mother.” Azula introduced.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Kasai!” He greeted.

“Ursa is fine, dear.” She smiled. “How did you meet my daughter?”

“Well, there was this one time--I think it was last year--when she threatened to push me out of my wheelchair. You know, typical love at first sight things.”

Azula resisted the urge to slap her hand against her forehead. “Keep sharing stories like that and I will push you out of your wheelchair.” She mumbled.

Ursa sighed. “Well I’m glad that the two of you have moved passed that.” Azula supposed that she appreciated her mother’s efforts to not accuse her of being difficult to care for. “She has been treating you well lately?”

Teo curled his hand around hers. “Yeah, she’s been great.”

Ursa moved into the pantry and pulled out some homemade pastries. She offered them to Teo. “Thank you for being there for her when I wasn’t.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“If you want to give some to your father for raising such a gentlemen, I’d appreciate it.”

Azula couldn’t tell whose face was more flushed, her’s or Teo’s.

“I can do that.” He took the tin.

Ursa turned to Azula. “I have some for Katara and her family as well.”

“I’ll try to remember.” Azula replied. She ought to remember, it would likely do Katara well to have some kind of a treat the monday after her trial. Based upon the silent treatment she was given by both TyLee and Katara, she was willing to bet that it was in full swing.

“Alright, well I have a sequel to work on. If you two need anything, give me a call. And let me know if you plan on going anywhere.”

Azula fights back a frown, Ozai had never made her report where she was going. “I was just planning on going around the block.” Between practice and therapy sessions, she hadn’t exactly gotten to explore the neighborhood. That was her plan for the day, the venture would be more pleasant with some company.

As soon as she stepped outside, she regretted it. She didn’t realize that the forecast had called for snow. She drew her hood over her head. It was a light fluffy sort of snowfall, the kind that clung to her lashes and the wool of her gloves, but only for a second before they melted away. The ground already had a light dusting of the stuff; it glittered trees and set the windshields of cars shimmering.

“Your mom is a nice lady.”

“She’s trying.” Azula replied. Though trying was an understatement. The woman was doing everything in her power to make Azula feel at home. It was almost suffocating, especially when put up against the lack of affection Ozai had shown her. Yet it was as comforting as it was overbearing. She no longer outright dreaded breakfast. She wasn’t comfortable, by any means, but she wasn’t going to great lengths to avoid it either.

It also didn��t horrify her to bring back a lackluster report card. Ursa insisted that her collection of B’s was perfectly acceptable. Azula disagreed vehemently, agitated that she had let them slip that far. Granted Xi River was in the process of discussing accommodations in light of her transfer, her abuse, and her suicide attempt. Even so, she didn’t want a pity grade.

It was a hassle to do so, but she left those thoughts on the back burner for the time; she had promised Teo a real date. In her mind, she flipped subjects to something lighter--her teammates were as awful on the court as they had claimed, but they treated her well. She both hated and loved to admit that Yue had been right, they paid very little attention to her body. Shoko in particular seemed to put all of her attention on simply not getting a volleyball to the face.

“I have my first game next weekend.” The words were accented by small misty puffs that drifted skyward. “Are you going to come?”

“Of course I’ll come. What time does it start?”

“It starts at seven.” She replied. “I would be there by six.” Actually she would be there by five if someone had invited her to a game, but she couldn’t imagine Teo wanting to arrive that early.

“I’ll see if Katara and TyLee want to come.” He came to a stop. “This is pretty nice.”

She wasn’t sure if he was talking about the pond and its snow-speckled cattails or the faded white gazebo overlooking it. She wheels him toward it, only to find that its only entrance had stairs. She hadn’t seen him look so disappointed in a while. With a deep sigh she attempted to lift him out of the chair. She supposed that she could handle carrying him for that short distance. She set him down on the bench built into the gazebo, facing the water. The effort left her terribly winded but his eyes had such a twinkle. She sat herself down to catch her breath. After a few moments, he pulled out his camera. At first only capturing the pond and the snowfall. Eventually he grew board of this and slung his arm around her.

Her cheeks are rosy with the cold. She cold no longer feel her nose. But she let him snap the picture anyhow.

He snatched up her phone and took a second. How wonderful, she would never have to worry about forgetting the time she almost froze her ass off in a gazebo. She shivered. With her phone back in her hands, she took off her gloves to send Katara a quick text, asking her to let her know how the trial had gone. That alone, left her hands a shade of pink. She shivered with more force.

“You don’t do too well in the cold do you?”

“I have no idea why you’d say such a thing.” She muttered through chattering teeth.

“Do you want to head back to your place?”

She didn’t spare it a second thought. She scooped Teo back up and put him in his wheelchair. They hadn’t gotten very far at all, in their walk. She supposed that she would have to explore the place in the spring, or at the very least, on a warmer winter day.

“Whose car is that?” Teo asked.

“I’m not sure, maybe one of mother’s friends.” Using a makeshift ramp, she helped Teo get onto the porch and pulled the door open. Hot air was pleasant on her skin. The smell of herbs was twice as potent as it was prior to her walk. She hung her coat and hat up and made her way into the kitchen, Teo in tow.

“Uncle?”

“Good evening, niece.” He greeted. “If I would have known you’d have a guest, I would have brought a fifth teacup.” “It’s fine, uncle. Teo and I can share.” She was trembling and desperate for something to warm her. So much so that she almost didn’t ask him what he was doing there.

“I came to drop your brother off.” He filled her cup and handed it to her. “I hope that you will make things easy for him.”

“He wants to live here?” But of course he did, their mother meant the world to him. It was going to be strange to be in his company again. It had been so long. She brought the teacup to her lips, savoring the heat that rolled off of the liquid and onto her tongue.

Azula heard a drawn out beep and Ursa stood. “The two of you made it back just on time for dinner.” Iroh followed her into the kitchen, no doubt to give she and Zuko some bonding time.

“Sweet.” Teo smiled.

Azula still didn’t share his sentiments. Two weeks into her new meal plan and it still left her feeling privately ashamed and without the comfort of being able to rid herself of it. For an uncountable amount of times, she reminded herself that the purging didn’t do anything anyways. She swept a curtain of hair out of her face and offered the teacup to Teo. She had taken care to leave it half full.

“Thanks.”

She nodded.

.oOo.

Zuko knew that he would be seeing Azula soon, his mother had told him that much. He hadn’t expected to see her enter, hand in hand with Teo. The last he recalled, she was mocking the boy for his condition. And yet, she had helped him get comfortable at the table’s end, she was sharing her drink with him. It would seem that he had missed a lot where Azula was concerned. Every time she spoke it became more apparent. Granted, she was still much quieter than usual--perhaps it was because he had showed up unannounced.

Physically she was different too. His brief and somewhat distant glance at her in the rehab facility hadn’t been enough time to process it. Since then she had put on a little more weight and it occurred to him that, that was why he hadn’t recognized her right away. He felt bad for thinking so, even if she’d never hear it.

And her hair, had it been dyed when he first re-encountered her? He could have sworn that it was fully black. But now her hair faded from its natural hue to a deep crimson to a vivid read. It had been trimmed nicely and framed her face well.

She was wearing makeup again, winging her eyeliner in the way he was use to seeing her wear it.

The clothing she wore was different as well; stylistically it was the same, but it was much baggier. He didn’t know if he should attribute this to insecurities or to the cold.

All in all, she was well put together, as usual. It wasn’t fair that her life could be in such disarray that she needed therapy, and that she could still look as sharp as ever. He wondered if he should vocalize his thoughts but decided against it, not knowing how she would take it. Instead he pulled his chip out of his pocket and set it on the table. “I got my red chip today. Picked it up really early this morning.”

“Your red chip?” Azula asked.

“I’ve been clean for a month.”

“I thought that you were admitted in October.”

“I had a relapse.” He replied reluctantly. As soon as he said it, his stomach heaved. He had just given her a huge opening. He was lucky his mother was still out of earshot, he didn’t want to give her another thing to get teary eyed over.

.oOo.

He relapsed.

Azula supposed that she wasn’t surprised, he hadn’t had many people to support him. She almost felt bad for having people to hold her hand when he had no one until now and most people considered her to be the more unapproachable and unlovable of the two.

She could see it on his face that he thought she was going to hold his confession over him for years to come. But she had nothing to say. She was a pound or two away from having a relapse of her own. “Did you have to go through it alone? The withdrawl, I mean?”

“No, I had Hahn.”

“Hahn?”

“He’s two years clean and he likes to drop by to help newcomers.”

She didn’t know where to carry the conversation from there and a hush fell over them. Zuko rested his arm on the table, it still bore signs of abuse. Pockmarks accented the length of his forearm and she was almost certain that those scars would remain.

Aside from that, he seemed to be in a much better state. His hair was clean, his face was well-shaved again. He no longer had the look of a man in times of famine. His eyes stood out the most. They were focused and had a spark to them.

His eyes had life.

It didn’t occur to her just how haunting and hollow his appearance had diminished until, the old Zuko resurfaced. She picked up the chip. “One month.” She wondered if bulimics got special chips.

Zuko smiled, he seemed so proud. He had well and earned his right to be so. She flicked the coin back to him. He caught it and returned it to his pocket.

“Wow, you guys are tense.” Teo remarked. She had to ponder upon what his relationship with his brother might have been like.

“So, when did you and Azula become friends?”

“Friendship happened some time in September. Dating started...actually that’s kind of unclear, it just kind of happened.” Teo replied.

“He’s your…?”

“Yes, perhaps you should get one.”

“For your information, I already did.”

“You got back with Mai, already?” Azula asked. It brought a dull ache to her heart to think of Mai. The girl hadn’t spoken to her in ages and the thought of reaching out...that window had well and passed.

“No.” Zuko replied. “We were talking about boyfriends. I said that I got one of those.”

“It’s Hahn isn’t it?” His face flushed and Azula smirked. “It is Hahn.”

She tried not to think about where that was going to leave Mai.

.oOo.

Zuko smiled to himself, dinner had gone so much better than he thought it would. Speaking to Azula became surprisingly pleasant after some of the awkwardness cleared. She, him, uncle, and mother--aside from the absence of a father, it was like a real family dinner. If things with Ozai hadn’t been so rough and recent, he might have made a joke about Teo filling in for their father. But Ozai was one subject Zuko couldn’t seem to make light of. And Azula? She didn’t bring the man up at all. In fact, she still hadn’t reveal anything at all about what had led to her living with their mother.

Altho, hesitantly, she was eating again. A full and regular meal at that. She made no mention of this either and he felt like he’d be pushing boundaries to ask.

He would chalk it up to Ozai simply forcing her to fast. That would explain, at least a little, how she ended up at the table with he, mother, and uncle.

After a while, she pushed a mostly empty plate to the side and announced that she was going to be taking Teo home. It was getting late and she had a two hour commute going both ways.

Now it was just he, uncle and mother.

“Do you want me to get your things from the car?” Iroh offered.

“Please.” Zuko replied.

“While he does that, I can show you to your room.” Ursa spoke. “I didn’t realize you were coming, otherwise I would have gotten you things to decorate with, like I did for Azula.”

“It’s okay.” He was just glad to be in her care again.

“Tomorrow we can go to the store and pick up a few things.”

That sounded good to him. She led him around the mansion. It was a lovely place with a much warmer and more inviting ambiance than Ozai could have ever hoped to create. With the conversation and his thoughts in a calmer, quieter place, it registered that Ursa had soft music playing in the background. The Chinese harp and a Chinese zither welcomed him to his new life.

The wallpaper was as floral as her garden. Winter plants, hung in pots by every window. She led him passed Azula’s room. It was as tidy and organized as ever. He noticed that she was displaying her medals and trophies again. Her favorite volleyball, was propped against her dresser.

He didn’t know how he was going to decorate his room yet. A few rock band posters couldn’t hurt. He’d probably place the tea set Iroh gifted to him on his dresser. Other than that, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. He’d probably just collect things to decorate with over time.

“Are you disappointed in me?” He asked.

Ursa came to an abrupt halt. “Why would you think that? I haven’t done anything to make you feel that way, did I?”

“No.” Zuko replied. “But I feel like having a heroin addict for a son, isn’t something to be proud of.”

“Oh, Zuko.” She took him into a hug. The kind he had longed for since the divorce. The kind that made him feel like he was worth the world. “I’m going to tell you what I told Azula.” She paused. “I’m not disappointed in you, I’m disappointed in your father for driving you to this. I’m furious actually. The court gave you to him, thinking that he’d give you a better life. I let him take you because I thought that he could provide for you better than I would.”

“Living on the streets with you, would have been safer than living with him.” Zuko agreed. “Maybe not for Azula, but…”

“Zuko.” She spoke firmly. “There’s a reason I’m fighting for custody over her. I’ll leave it to her to tell you about that, but Ozai was no good for her either. I need the two of you to support each other. If the two of us can work things out with her, your father will have that much less in his favor.”

.oOo.

Teo beckoned her inside. It was already 10:33. She rolled her eyes, “I can’t go in before you, you need me to hold the door, remember.”

“Let me at least pretend to be a gentleman.”

She took hold of the outer glass door and allowed him to pass. The inner door stood open on its own. “Now you can be a gentleman.”

“Urge gone.” He replied, wheeling himself the rest of the way in.

“Incredible.” She muttered under her breath. She hadn’t the time to come inside anyhow. “I have to get going.”

“How long is your drive?” Teo’s father asked.

“Two hours.”

“That is way too late to be driving!” The man declared. “You know, tired driving is as dangerous as drunk driving…”

“Dad!” Teo cut him off. “Do you want to spend the night, Azula?”

Azula sighed. Well, she was living with her mother now, she might as well give her something classically motherly to worry about. She sent the woman a text, telling her that she would be spending the night at Teo’s house.

“Our picture already got likes.” Teo remarked once they were in his bedroom.

“You posted that!?”

“You didn’t say not to.”

Fair point. She still didn’t like it.

“Who’s Nagako?”

“She sits with me at lunch.” Azula replied. She opened up her phone’s internet browser. She hadn’t logged into any of her social media pages since her attempt. She hadn’t anyone to talk to. It shouldn’t have been a shock to find new friend requests, it should have been something she was used to. Once upon a time, she had received them daily. She approved Katara, Nagako, and her volleyball team. “This guy seems like a creep, I should block him.”

Teo, still looking down at his phone, replied, “yeah.”

She hit the block button.

It took him a few moments. “Hey! Unblock me!”

Her smirk only faded when a message notification popped up. Really, it would do her well to leave it unread. But she was curious. Curious and unwilling to look like a coward. She unblocked Teo before clicking it.

The message was much simpler than she would have thought. ‘Please don’t sue me.’ He was typing again. ‘My parents will kick my ass.’

All the more reason to go through with the lawsuit.

“Who is it?”

“Chan.”

“What does he want?”

Azula shrugged. “Mercy.”

Her fingers hovered over the phone’s keyboard. ‘I’ll kick your ass myself.’ Against her better judgement, she hit send.

‘So will I. I’ve been doing a pretty good job of kicking my own ass, actually.’

She had a response at the ready, but he started typing again.

‘Can we talk.’

‘We’re talking now.’ She replied before he could begin again.

‘In person?’

‘That sounds like a perfectly horrible idea.’

Another message popped up. Clicking on that one would have been a worse idea still. He was going to have her head for it, but she blocked her father anyhow. The action left her feeling exposed and uneasy.

‘Please.’ Chan persisted. ‘You can bring that Ryoko chick, she looks perfectly terrifying.’

Azula looked to Teo, “you up for a little...adventure tomorrow?”

“Are you asking me if I want to talk to Chan with you?”

“Come or don’t come, I’m rather curious.”

“Fine, I’ll go with.”

She turned her attention back to her phone. ‘12:00. If you aren’t there at exactly 12:00, you won’t be seeing me.’

.oOo.

Zuko stretched and yawned. The scent of pancakes tickled his nose. It took him a moment to recall that he was in a new bed. A more comfortable one with a foam mattress and a collection of push pillows. The sun streamed through his windows as brightly as winter would allow.

“Did Azula ever come home?” Zuko asked, upon finding only his mother at the table.

“She spent the night at Teo’s.” Ursa answered. “Syrup?”

Zuko took the syrup and poured a generous amount over his pancakes. The smell of coffee adds a friendly tang to the morning. He couldn’t fathom why he hadn’t thought of finding and living with his mother earlier.

It might have saved him from a trip to rehab.

But then, he had started using heroin before his eighteenth birthday. Even so, he can’t bring himself to wholly regret having started his use. He didn’t think that finding Ursa would have been possible without. Even if that was the case, he wouldn’t have met Hahn.

“These are really good!” Zuko commented. He couldn’t recall the last time he had eaten homemade pancakes. Tastes like the would surely keep him away from heroine. He liked to think so anyways.

“Thank you.” Ursa smiled. “I thought that it would be too late to ever cook for my children again.”

His phone flashed, he picked it up, eager for good morning wishes from uncle or Hahn. Instead Mai’s name glared from the screen. He considered letting it pile on top of all of the other messages from her, he had missed while in rehab.

.oOo.

Chan stuffed his hands into his pockets. He wasn’t looking forward to this one at all. The trial had good and ruined his Saturday, he might as well end the weekend on a sour note. The only good news was that Jet’s collection of outbursts had essentially sealed his fate. But he didn’t condemn himself without collateral damage. The man went on a good tangent about how Chan had, had a good hand in Ruon’s demise. How his parties were trashy and perfect for people like Jet. He had asked Chan if he considered how many other people had been assaulted at his parties, people who didn’t and would never come forward. It turned his stomach.

And turned it twice over when Jet stated that he had enjoyed hitting Ruon where it hurt. Thrice over when Jet stated that he had laid some unwanted moves on Ruon, just to see him squirm.

The boy was vile through and through, and not the kind that could be helped. Chan had to guess that the boy didn’t want to change.

It was his final words that followed him. “Punch me as much as you want, you killed him too.”

He had, hadn’t he? Ruon was dead because everything had been a joke or a party to Chan. It was easier that way, until it wasn’t.

He could have pulled Jet off of Katara and made something of himself. It could have been an eye-opener, but it was easier to remain blind.

Ruon killed himself because he had a friend who was def to his problems.

He killed Ruon just as much as Jet had.

He had almost done Azula the same.

Hell, he probably had Teo teetering close to the edge and Katara as well.

It was frigid and nippy as hell but he made his way down to the beach. She hadn’t told him where to meet her. She didn’t need to. He wandered to the volleyball court, the season had already formed sparkling crystals on the net.

12:00 turned into 12:01 and 12:01 turned into 12:02.

He should have asked for a location.

“You better make this worth my while.” He jumped at the sound of her voice. “You know that I hate this weather.” She was buried beneath so many layers, it was hard to forget. He did try to forget, however, the day he had taken her ice skating and she bundled herself up in much the same way.

“You said 12:00.” He commented lamely.

“Yes, you needed to be here by 12:00. I get to take my time.” Her voice dripped with venom and hate and he was beginning to regret extending the invitation. “Katara told me that you got out of your last trail without repercussion. Why shouldn’t I change that?” She folded her arms over her chest.

It was hard to gauge her expression beneath her layers of hoods. He didn’t need to see it to know that she was unshakably pissed. The biting cold wasn’t doing him any favors. “Do you want to go to a restaurant or something?”

Wrong move.

“What, so you can make more fat jokes?”

Completely wrong move.

“Do you think I’m as dull as you?”

He looked to Teo for help. He knew he wouldn’t get it based on that shit eating grin the boy was wearing.

“I just thought that you’d want to go somewhere warmer.”

“Not necessary, this conversation is going to be quick.” Azula replied. “I believe that it’s already almost over.

He groaned, he was going to have to swallow his pride. “Okay, look, I was an asshole.”

“You speak as though you aren’t still.”

The girl was merciless. He supposed that it was nice to see fire back on her tongue, he just wished it wasn’t lashing at him. Still, he knew that the lashes were well earned, he had been one of the people to kill the flame in the first place.

“I’m trying to fix that.”

“You’re trying to save yourself from another trial.”

“I don’t want to be like him.” Chan insisted. “Did Teo give you this big of a hassle when you apologized to him!?”

“Kiss my ass, Chan.”

Teo’s snickering didn’t do Chan’s temper any favors.

“I’m trying!” He sputtered. “And it is not working.”

“Clearly.” Teo snorted.

Azula looked horrifically unamused. She looked down at her phone. “I live two hours away, thank you for your hand in that, by the way. I have to get going. Have fun with Usha.”

“Wait!” Chan raked his hands through his hair. “I don’t even like Usha. I only got with her to bother you.”

“Congratulations, it worked for a while. Good to know that it bothered you too.” She hit a button on her car keys and he heard the faint pop of the doors unlocking. She turned around. “While I’m here, I might as well ask why.”

“Why what?”

“Why did you want to bother me?”

“I wanted attention.” He confessed.

“You had it.” Azula scoffed. “I want a real reason.”

And he had none for her. They’d known each other for years. They had been in the same group of friends for years. Until her accident. He knew that Usha had been sitting there nice, pretty, and waiting for Azula to fall so that she could take her place at the top. She told him that much. But him? Where was the appeal for him?

He couldn’t say why, but it had simply been fun. It was one thing to pick on a nerd and a completely new and interesting experience to pick on someone who had toppled painfully down the social ladder. Was that it? Was that really the only reason he had done it?

“I don’t have one.” He admitted.

“I know.”

The snow crunched beneath her feet as she wheeled Teo back up the beach. Between the sand and the ice, it was a task she was struggling with. He reached out. “If anyone’s accidently dumping Teo into the snow, it’s going to be me. You’ve pushed him out of his chair enough.”

She wasn’t missing one chance. “It’s good to have you back.” He tried. It was one final attempt at ass kissing.

“You do not have me back.” She huffed as she fought to free Teo’s wheelchair from a mound of snowy sand. It would be comical if she wasn’t so frustrated and he wasn’t so stressed. “Not even.” Another huff. “Close.” The chair was free.

“I mean that it’s good to hear some of that sass again.” If nothing else, at least he knew that he hadn’t left any permanent damage to her self-worth. “Can I please help you wheel nerdass...Teo back to your car?”

“Nerdass doesn’t want your help.” Teo grumbled.

“Neither do I.”

He watched her help Teo into her car and then she climbed into it for herself. It would seem that things were finally going to catch up to him. She turned her keys and the engine wheezes. She gave it a second go and a third. He wasn’t a lip reader, but he knew her well enough to know that she was silently cursing to herself and to Teo.

“I have a car and jumper cables.” Chan offered.

“Call the tow truck, Teo.”

“Really?” He sputtered. “Now you’re just being difficult.”

“Correct.”

Chan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look. I’m sorry. Do you want to slap me in the face or something? Would that help?”

He didn’t expect her to take him up on his offer. The sting her hand left reminded him exactly why she had been so good at volleyball. “It helped a little.”

“How many slaps will it take to get you to hear me out?” He asked.

“At least one.”

He sucked in a deep breath, “go on.”

She rolled her eyes. “Start jumping my car. We can talk while you do that.”

#Avatar #Azula #Zuko #Iroh #Ursa #Teo #Chan #Mai #TyLee #Katara #Sokka #Suki #Aang #Toph #Ozai #Jet #Fanfiction

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lykegenia · 7 years

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The Things We Hide, Ch. 1

A brand new Zutara AU for your delectation and delight

A soft breeze curled in through the linen curtains of Zuko’s room, the feel of it on his face and wrists not enough to stifle the uncomfortable humidity of the Fire Nation summer. Out in the courtyard, the shade offered by the trees provided welcome relief from the sun, but he doubted he would get to enjoy the turtle-duck pond today. A bead of sweat rolled down his spine as attendants bustled around him in their quiet way, fitting the complicated layers of the ceremonial armour that marked his position as crown prince of the greatest nation in the world. Today of all days, it wouldn’t do to appear as anything less.

“Careful with that,” he snapped as one of the servants fumbled with the lacquered, gold-brushed collar that marked the end of his fitting. The servant – an apprentice, probably – bowed low with a mumbled apology as he handed the piece over to more skilled hands.

After several more minutes of fussing, Zuko’s valet pronounced himself happy with the arrangement of his armour and turned to the cherry-wood box kept on the prince’s dresser. The three-pronged, golden headpiece contained within added the final touch to his image.

“Aren’t you ready yet?” chimed a high voice from the doorway. “They’ll be starting any minute. Imagine the scandal if the crown prince turned up late.”

Zuko glanced in his mirror and scowled at his sister, but said nothing. She was already dressed in her armour, less complicated because she wasn’t officially first in line to the throne, and no doubt that was the reason she had chosen to take time out of her day to needle him.

Azula’s smirk widened. “There’s no need to look like that, Zu-Zu. I’m only looking out for my big brother. Not that I know why everyone’s making such a fuss. It’s just another barbarian come to swear loyalty to Father – whatever the word of a filthy pirate is worth.”

“Chief Hakoda isn’t just another small-time clan leader who’s finally realised what’s good for him,” Zuko growled. Clearly the silent treatment wouldn’t work to get rid of her today. “The Southern Water Navy stopped us from landing larger forces in the Earth Kingdom for over eighty years.”

“And now there’s nothing left of it.” She cocked her head, looking him up and down with a critical eye.

The attendants had finished their work and were tidying away the boxes that protected Zuko’s armour when it wasn’t being worn. Zuko ignored them. He squared his shoulders and walked up to his sister and past her, thankful for the growth spurt that had given him a few extra precious inches in height. She might delight in tormenting him, but over the past year he had grown out of being intimidated. He was the crown prince, even if rumour suggested otherwise, and if it came to Agni Kai, he was certain he wouldn’t make a fool of himself like he might once have done.

As they neared the throne room, the prickly silence between the siblings sloughed away. Whatever rivalries existed within palace walls, they could not be shown to outsiders, especially on a day like today, when the Fire Nation’s appearance of power must be absolute. Despite her contempt, Azula knew as well as anyone the reputation of the proud and violent Southern Water Tribe, who had endured a century of warfare and finally only succumbed thanks to the power of Sozin’s Comet. Even then, there had been heavy casualties; the South’s waterbenders had fought like demons to defend their home, and for that alone, more than one admiral had demanded the complete obliteration of the Southern people.

Zuko gave his mother a brief smile as he settled on the red silk cushion at the Fire Lord’s right hand, wondering how grateful the Southerners would be if they knew it was only through Ursa’s gentle persuasion that the whole lot of them had been spared genocide. His shoulders tensed as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, the rustle of the Fire Lord’s silk robes arranged by attendants into perfect folds around him. With smooth bows, they backed away once their assigned task was completed. Around the room, courtiers who had already been standing for at least an hour bowed to their Fire Lord, and the royal family was ready to receive their prisoners.

Read it on AO3

#zutara #zuko x katara #prince zuko #katara #avatar: the last airbender #a:tla #my writing #avatar fanfiction

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bellatrixobsessed1 · 7 years

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Uliuli Iwi (Part 8)

Kurlok grips Kho-Nhm’s hand with a purpose, it is as if he believed that if he held on tight enough, he could cling onto the boy’s lifeforce too.

“I’ll fix him.” Azula says. She’s lying again, she knows. Lying and making promises she isn’t sure that she can keep are two sides of the same coin. She almost feels as if the latter of the two is worse—at least lying offers no sense of false hope.

Deep down she feels like she can him though, save the whole town too. She only hopes that what she has learned in her travels will be enough. Combined with the spirit energy collected in her pendant, it has to be. If it doesn’t have the power, than the boy and everyone else will be lost.

Just like her Tamzu.

.oOo.

Thunder rumbles faintly in the distance and they haven’t even left the mountain side yet. Azula has sent Katara and Ursa to collect a few herbs form her own garden. To Zuko’s dismay, she instructs him to follow her a little way up the mountain to retrieve some sort of cave flower and a moss that grows on the higher portions of the mountain. He doesn’t fancy following her, but knows that she will not make the journey up the mountainside without him, so he follows reluctantly. They make the accent entirely in silence and enter the cave with a quiet to match its own. Without so much as igniting a flicker, Azula goes deeper into the cave. He stands in the mouth and listens to her scuffle around and before he can light up a fire of his own, she emerges with a flower in hand. He wonders just how many times she had navigated this cave. Offering him no cues, she brushes passed and heads upwards, leaving him to assume that he is supposed to follow. Once again he is taken aback by just how verdant and striking the mountainside is, even in the foreboding of a gathering storm. Distant lightning licks the sky and helps wash the mountain in new hazy hues. A few insects still chirp and buzz, filling the landscape with a calmer aura. As they climb ascend further, Zuko’s steps become more cautious as the stairs grow more unruly and overrun by the jungle. Azula doesn’t even offer him a ‘watch your step’ as he comes to a particularly wide crack.

Finally they come to a place where the slop juts out into a fair sized tier. Hanging from it is a variety of vines, fungi, and mosses. Instead of climbing over this path obstruction, they come to a halt. This is where Azula begins her search. She picks her way through the moss silently, trying to find the healthiest looking patch. That’s when it comes out.

“You seem to know a lot about me don’t you, Zu-Zu? So why don’t you tell me exactly why I became a mystic. Who am I controlling from up here and why am I doing it? Also, while you’re at it, you can tell me who the Tribesman and his son are, since you know so well.” Her delivery is calm but with a dangerous edge as she trails a finger over the mosses. He is afraid to speak, lest he get himself cut.

“Well?” She draws her finger away with a semi-dramatic flair.

“I—”

“You don’t know.” She fills in. “Exactly. So let me tell you.” Once again she bares her back so that he can clearly make out the figures inked delicately on it. Indeed, the mother figure holds a baby, but the baby is still and he can see a wispy entity hovering above it. “I had a child of my own once, Zu-Zu. She is dead.”

His heart tugs at how bluntly she put it out there.

“Do you know why she is dead?”

He doesn’t quite want to.

“She’s dead because she was ill and I couldn’t do anything about it. That’s how her father died. That’s how I should have died too. But for some reason I didn’t. Every single person in that village was killed by a plague that I spread because I didn’t detect it. Every single person but me.” She stopped poking at the grass, her voice hitching on that last statement. “So I decided to save this village to make up for killing the last one. But it doesn’t matter how many people wander into my little cottage…it doesn’t matter how many people I save, nothing can atone killing your own child.”

Her back is to him but he knows that she is crying. She won’t turn around and parade her tears to him, of course, but she can’t subdue or hide them either. Zuko wants to reach out to her, but he doesn’t know how she’ll react, so he remains where he stands, mentally kicking himself for cutting much deeper than he ever thought he could. “You couldn’t have known that you were sick.” He says finally.

“I should have.” Azula replies, but he doesn’t hear her over the sound of thunder echoing over the mountaintop. She finally finds a clump of moss that is to her satisfaction and stashes it away with the flower. Zuko watches her head back in the direction that they had come from.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbles. “I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have said anything if—”

“Of course you wouldn’t have. You’d never do anything to make yourself look bad. Especially not in front of mother.”

Zuko cringes. “I wouldn’t have said any of that regardless, if I knew exactly what it meant to you.”

“Whatever makes you feel better, Zu-Zu.” She shrugs. This time he knows the conversation is over, she probably didn’t want to bring up her lost baby in the first place.

Even so, he knows that there’s more to it than just that.

.oOo.

Night in and night out, Azula stirs and crushes different spices and herbs. Each person in her makeshift tent receives a different treatment. On a piece of parchment, she pens in who had received which remedy and which ones seemed to have an effect. All in all the task had taken some time and required the townsfolk to stop wallowing in their misery and do their part—helping her set up an adequate tent and actually making the commute to see her. So far her success rate has gone as far as either slowing the disease or simply reliving the pain or the symptoms.

She runs a hand through her hair, wracking her brain for another mixture. But for the life of her she can’t come up with one. She is nearly certain she has tried everything this jungle and sea had to offer her. She stands up, thinking that there must be something she hasn’t tried.

Azula looks around the small tent, peering into jars and vials of dried botanicals and natural liquids, rummaging through her belongings for older concoctions, and rifling through old scrolls of notes she had taken. Perhaps she is missing something. Something critical at that. Her hand absently strokes the charm around her neck, feeling the roughness of the glittering green crystals that rimmed an other-worldly glass-like material. Set within the glass lies crushed up springs of lavender and sage and a few sand-sized chunks of mineral.

Mineral…

She has an idea. This whole time she has been working with plants. Perhaps adding mineral compounds would do the trick.

.oOo.

“I assume you two were able to find everything.” Azula remarks.

“Yeah, it was no big deal.” Katara replies.

“Your garden was very organized. Lovely as well, I enjoyed the lantanas.” Ursa added. “I remember when you used to help me in the garden…”

Azula nods. “That was a long time ago.” A long time ago before Ozai had decided that she was too good to dirty herself with such things. She wonders how different things would have been if she had stayed with her mother and tended to the royal garden instead. But it was a fleeting wonder, they have more pressing matters. “The rest of the ingredients will be in the jungle.”

She hustles inside and arranges what they’ve already collected, neatly on the table. Ursa steals a peek at her younger daughter. “I’ll stay with her. Someone needs to look after her. And the boy.” She looks at Azula’s son.

“He’s perfectly capable of watching both himself and Kiyi, mother.”

“I don’t doubt that. But I’d like to get to know him and I know Kiyi would like me or Zuko to be here for her.” Ursa answers.

“If that’s what you want to do.” Azula shrugs.

However, this minor debate has given Azula’s son enough time to gather a pack and his nerves and declare that he is coming with them.

Azula looks skyward and sees a thick haze of bloated dark gray clouds. She can tell that they are ready to burst and spray their fury down at any moment. “You are going to stay right in here.” As if to emphasize her point, the sky erupts into a low groaning rumble.

“But I’m ‘perfectly capable’.” He declares.

Azula sighs, she hates when he uses her own words against her. He has already picked up on way too many of her habits. “Capable of watching yourself and babysitting Kiyi—inside the house—while I’m gone.”

He tugs his knapsack further up his shoulder. “I’ve studied your scrolls, I know what to look for.”

“I already have your father out in this storm, I don’t need you—”

Unlike most others he has the guts to interrupt. “I have my father out on the sea and my mother going into the jungle in this storm. I want to do something important during a storm too!” He gives a little stomp.

Azula leans down and places firm hands on his shoulders, “you have no idea how bad this one is going to get.” Her stare is locked in his, her voices as firm as her hold. “You will stay where I tell you to stay.”

His lip quivers and she knows that her tone was too harsh. She hasn’t made him cry in months and she planned on keeping it that way. But she also planned on keeping him out of harm’s reach. All the same, he tears up. “Fine, you can come with us.” Before he can rejoice and revel in his small victory she adds, “but you are staying as close to me as you can until we are standing back in this spot.”

He nods and dashes across the lawn over to where Zuko stands.

“All we have left to find is a shadow lily, a handful of tadpole eggs, and the crabspider.” Azula lists.

“I’m gonna find the spider!” Her son offers enthusiastically.

“I happen to know a pond where the tadpole eggs are plentiful this time of year.” And after, she murmurs to her son, “you can find it. But I’ll catch it.”

He crosses his arms. The first fat droplet of rain splatters on his elbow, he looks up and half-frowns. The expression his not lost on Azula who takes it as an opportunity to say, “you can always go back inside if you don’t like the rain.”

“No way, I can handle a little water! My dad is from the Northern Water Tribe.” He declares for Zuko and Katara to hear.

The next droplet falls and then another.

“We better speed this up.” Azula frowns. She looks towards the coast, hopping that her husband has the same idea. The waters are rough as it is. “We’ll collect the tadpole eggs first, since I know exactly where they are.” She quickens her pace, hoping that Katara and Zuko can keep up. Her son is already paces ahead. “I told you to stay close to me.”

He groans—low enough so that Azula can’t hear him—and comes to a halt. “I’ll meet you by the pond.” He calls and darts away again.

“Should we—” Katara starts.

“Just let him go, it isn’t too far.” Azula gives in.

By the time they reach the pond it is raining in sheets. She can scarcely see her son through the wall of wet. She can see Zuko shivering behind her and must admit that this rain is an unpleasant kind of chilly. It is however, ideal for hunting down this breed of frog, the only problem will be actually catching the eggs before the current rushes them down stream. “You two look upstream,” she takes her son’s hand, “we’ll look down stream.” Azula steps closer to the churning water, squinting to see passed the ripples. She pinches the bridge of her nose, the turbulent conditions very clearly complicated things. At last she sees a cluster, but as she reaches out for them she feels her hair lift and thunder quakes the ground. She fast retracts her hand and fends off a zigzagging bolt. When she looks back into the water, her find has disappears. Her curses are dulled by another burst of thunder, leaving her boy to ask what she had said. “Nothing.” She replies, tugging him away from the unsteady rock he had perched himself on. She sees Katara waving at her from a distance and sees her mouth moving, but cannot make out anything through the wind’s fierce battlecries. She squints as she through the rain as she heaves forward, the wind working completely against her. She grasps her son’s hand tighter. Before she comes within earshot—earshot being relative of course—of Katara, she can see a clump of eggs in her palms. For the first time since they arrived, Azula is thankful that Zuko had brought the waterbender along.

“Do red-backed crabspiders even come out in this weather?” Zuko shouts his question over the weeping of the sky.

“Seldom.” Azula replies. “They usually burrow themselves in fallen coconuts.”

“In other words, we’re going to make a trip to the beach?” He asks.

Azula nods and, in no mood to strain her voice, shouts only one word. “Likely.” She fancies the idea no more pleasant than he.

They troop deeper into the jungle where flora and fauna bloom more densely. Even with the jungle dulled to grey and significantly thick mist furling around their stems, the jungle blooms are vibrant. They display a flashy array of deep blues, passionate purples, and flame-like golds and oranges. Some having petals that fanned out and others that tier upwards and spoon-like. Those are Zuko’s favorites. But right now their goal is to find a sapphire blue flower sprayed with tiny white speckles and a large white disk in the center, where the pollen collects. Unfortunately, the blossom’s telltale white powder is erased by the rainfall.

Zuko reaches for a plum colored blossom with delicate green swirls coiling about the petals. Ursa would like it.

“No!” Azula swats his hand away. “That one is poisonous.” It isn’t deadly, but she doesn’t wish to add rashes and blisters to their list of hindrances.

Naturally, the shadow lily has chosen to root itself right next to the hazard. With careful concentration and a steady, precise hand, Azula uproots the plant, it would have been a flawless execution had the wind not blown the neighboring blossom in the direction of her hand. The plum petal tickles her hand. She frowns and tucks the shadow lily safely away. She looks at her hand for a moment and hopes that she has some leftover ointment to make the itch more bearable as the rash heals itself. She dares to hope even further, that the rain had diluted the poisonous oils that the plant secrets.

“Why did you get to touch it?” Her son asks.

To his amusement she mumbles, “because only I’m allowed to suffer.”

She hears Zuko snort and try to stifle a laugh.

This time she doesn’t take her son’s hand, lest she spread the rash to him. It takes some time but they make it passed the whipping, thrashing branches and through a particularly muddy spot where the pond’s overflow rushes across. Azula can see the beach in full; waves thrice her height slam forcefully against the sand. She can see exactly where the raindrops beat the ground, decently sized pock marks act as battle scars all across the width of the beach.

She cringes.

Her husband is out there.

Or perhaps not, she hopes that he ended his trip early and is safe in their bungalow, or in Hoto’s dwelling. Whatever the case is, she best not dwell on it—from such a distance she is powerless to do anything about it and opts to focus on that which she can control. She sees her boy teetering too close to the battering waves. “You’re tempting the tides.” She says sharply.

“The tides can’t tell me what to do.” He proclaims over their watery roar.

She can’t help but chuckle before saying, “these tides can.” She watches him back away.

Zuko and Katara have already busied themselves with peering into coconuts and flipping them over. From the looks of it, they are making little progress. She starts in the other direction and happens upon a crabspider surprisingly fast. She removes her jar and makes her way behind the coconut, out of the spider’s line of sight. Carefully and swiftly, she covers the coconut’s hole with the jar.

She is preoccupied with the task and isn’t watching her boy. She looks up just in time to see the wave retract and his absence on the shore.

She is bounding down the sand before she even processes what she is doing. She sees the spider escape and lets it go, assuming that Katara or Zuko will retrieve it. Her body meets the water and instantly feels the bite of the frigid current as it mercilessly pulls her under. Her mind is whirring even faster than the ocean itself; she can’t assist her husband, but she’d be dammed if she let the ocean take their son too. The water burns her eyes and the salt burns her throat. Most pressingly, her lungs are on fire too. How can she save her son if she can’t even keep herself alive. She fights against the water with everything she has until her hand locks around his. But she is only strong enough to hold him tight to her. And she holds him as close as she can.

Before she has time to contemplate her fate, Azula finds herself being thrown against the land with a shocking force and winces as the sand scrapes her arm. Through her daze she can see Katara panting, nearly ready to collapse. She briefly wonders just how much effort it took to fight waves of that size. The thought is gone as soon as she feels how heavy her son lies atop her.

She pulls herself up and lays him down face up. She looks for the rise and fall of his chest, she sees it but it is accompanied by a wet gurgle. “No.” She mutters. “No, no.” She cups his head. “I don’t want to lose you like Tamzu.” Despite living so close to it, she knows next to nothing about the sea and how to remove it from a person’s body.

She looks up at Katara with an uncharacteristic helpless and vulnerable demeanor. “Please don’t let my son die.”

.oOo.

The mineral mixture has saved some, but only those whom the illness had only been newly festering in. The ones who it has clung to for a long time are still on nature’s death row and it is making quick executions. Azula grows frustrated. Maybe she needs to call it quits, it is becoming a very real possibility that no herbs nor minerals of this world can cure what the town’s people have come to call, ‘the convulsion cold’.

What she has discovered however, is that the sickness must have come from the sea, for the corpses that the town’s folk neglected to cremate had begun sprouting hideous growths that resembled that of coral. She quickly rid of the body and advised the family not to mention it. She jots this information down on a scroll as well and morbidly ponders what could happen if the disease stopped waiting until the postmortem stage to reveal these growths. She shudders, determined to stop it before it can mutate to that level.

It’s like the sea is punishing these people. She always did loath the sea and its foreboding vast emptiness. The thought looped back in her mind—what if the sea is punishing these people, she thinks. If such is the case maybe the answer is spiritual. Real spiritual, not ridiculous chanting and dancing around a fire. She removes the charm from around her neck and places it before her on the table, peering into its other-worldly glass. She takes in a deep breath only to have it interrupted by an abrupt presence.

Kurlok enters her tent with Kho-Nhm limp in his arms. She didn’t strike the man as one to cry, all the same, he is weeping. “You promised to save him but…I think…” He takes in a shuddering breath.

Azula realizes that she is holding her own, and that her chest is constricting. She knows what he is going to say.

“I think he is dead. My son is dead.”

#azula #zuko #katara #kiyi #ursa #avatar the last airbender #fanfiction

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