#i can just imagine how happy zuko would have been

[ladyloveandjustice]

So I have no stake in ships in Avatar the Last Airbender, I do not have any real ships for the show. But when I was looking in Katara's tag for art and stuff, I saw this reoccuring claim that Katara always supported Aang with his problems and feelings, but that Aang never supported her back with hers.

And I don't care about the ships, but I do really like the friendships in Avatar, and that bothers me. It's a slight on Aang, but also on Katara (implying she wouldn't stand up for herself and break it off if a friend was all take and no give, which doesn't fit her personality at all.)

Aang does support Katara whenever he gets the chance, which is unfortunately few and far between because Katara seems to have a hard time leaning on the people she cares about and talking in depth about her own trauma and feelings about it, though she will do so when she literally doesn't care what the person thinks about her (and both times she opened up to Zuko about her Mom initially were her lashing out at him and not caring what he thought about her in return).

This would be something that would need to be addressed for a romantic relationship between them to truly work, and I imagine it would be part of the journey of finding a way to stay together, but it's very much not Aang's fault. And as I said, when he gets a chance to support her she does. Since I just recently rewatched most of the series, have a list of those times!

-His first time being supportive of her is literally a half hour after they first meet. As soon as she tells him about wanting more waterbending experience, he enthusiastically offers to fly all the way to the north pole so they can find her a master. And this very clearly means a lot to her.

-I don't think Aang knew how supportive of her he was being here, but there's the "I haven't done this since I was a kid" "You still are a kid!' exchange. As much as people accuse Aang of seeing Katara as his Mom (he's literally the one character who doesn't express that he does in The Runaway btw and I think that's for a reason) their first interaction establishes that he sees her as a kid, just like him, and think she should have fun like a kid does. This must have been huge for Katara, who'd been forced to take on adult responsibilities at a young age, who resented having to hold the family together, who thought her childhood was over. Aang helped her have fun and be the kid she is, and he'll continue to do so.

-When she lost her mother's necklace (And Zuko subsequently stole it) he was very concerned for her feelings and seemed to immediately understand the weight of that loss, due to his own experiences with loss. Not only did he make her a new necklace to wear as a way to comfort her, as soon as he saw Zuko had it he said "you're giving that back to me" and risked being hit by Zuko in his attempts to grab it. Then he gave it back to her and she was ecstatic!

-He was so supportive of her during the waterbending scroll episode it's actually ridiculous, despite how she lashed out at him. It's unclear if he actually understood she was upset or if this was just his unwavering respect for her coming out, but when she was upset that he learned the first move faster than her he said "well you didn't have such a great teacher!" and it clearly makes her feel better for a bit. He immediately forgives her for lashing out at him, doesn't judge her at all for stealing the waterbending scroll, or for accidentally dragging them into trouble. He, in fact, goes out of the way to reassure her, looking happy at the chance to work together and reminding her they need two waterbenders. And he appreciates her joke at the end (he's just straight up being simp (affectionate) there, and I get it).

-When Pakku won't teach her he immediately denounces him as wrong and unfair and is willing to sacrifice his own education (which he needs to save the world) because he won't stand for it. He remains upset about it even after Katara persuades him, tries to secretly show her what Pakku taught him, and cheers her on when she fights him.

-When she's crying over Jet's death, he's the first one to notice and reach out to her, putting his hand gently on her shoulder and drawing her into a hug (that becomes a group hug). She smiles and clearly feels comforted. They probably talked about it offscreen too (but this cannot be shown as they would need to directly acknowledge his death to do so)

-He's pretty much always praising her as a teacher, and when she grumbles about him not calling her Sifu, he goes out of his way to call her that.

-He notices that she's mad at her Dad and asks her about it, but she deflects

-He looks really sad when he has to remind her she has to take off her mother's necklace for their Fire Nation disguises, again it's something he very much seems to empathize with her about, he understands the weight of what it means to her.

-He not only doesn't judge her for lying during the Painted Lady saga, but praises her and enthusiastically helps her commit ecoterrorism.

-Both he and Sokka move to comfort her when she's crying after the bloodbending fiasco. Most of the comforting of her happens offscreen, which I do think is a shame, and a contrast to how Aang is handled- but it's more of a "he's the main character" thing, since the same happens for Sokka as well (I'm sure Katara and Aang talked to him about Yue's death and at least tried to comfort him, but we don't get to see that).

-He was trying to support her during the Southern Raiders ep, whether you believe he did it well or not, both according to his beliefs and cultural values and by trying to emulate the ways she's talked HIM down from revenge and hatred in the past. He specifically brings up those two incidents- losing his people and losing Appa- where she stepped in to keep him from losing himself to rage. As this post notes, he also specifically echoes her phrasing from when she was urging him not to lose himself to the Avatar state (she says "watching you be in that much rage and pain is really scary" and he echoes "you're feeling unbelievable pain and rage" while talking to her in this ep.)

It's not just the air nomads he's trying to emulate here, but her. Just like Katara doesn't want to see him consumed by hatred and pain, he wants the same for her. His concern is not for her mother's killer, but for her, he fears this will hurt her, just like her concern was always for him and how this would hurt him in those times he was raging.

He wants to do for her what she did for him. But, Katara is not him. She is not someone who will be talked down by someone else when she is grieving, angry, and looking for revenge. Nobody can stop her when she sets her mind to it. She needs to wrestle with whether to kill him and she needs to come to her own conclusions, because she's the only one that can stop her. And Aang realizes that. He says it's a journey she'll have to take on her own, that she needs to face him doesn't stand in her way.

(I wonder if it kind of hurt, deep down, that he couldn't reach her the way she always reached him. I wonder if he felt upset that he couldn't find the right words like she did for him. But I don't think there were any right words. She needed him to step back. It was her choice to make. So he did.)

And in the end, he was correct that she didn't want to do it. She did choose that based on her own feelings and values.

His assumption Katara not killing the guy = forgiveness is definitely him just kind of applying his assumptions and values, but when she says she doesn't forgive him, he doesn't like, judge her or anything that we can see.

So yeah, quite a few examples! It can feel lopsided because more attention is paid to Aang and Katara's personality affects things.

Katara is both open about her emotions and not. She's someone who will look after other's feelings but not really discuss her own pain with people she cares about, until it all builds up and bursts out.

And it's not surprising she's most concerned about Aang, if my friend had recently (from his perspective) survived a genocide where he lost everyone he loved and was now tasked with saving the world at twelve years old, I'd be pretty worried about him and want to support him too! Aang goes through a lot by virtue of being the protagonist, he has the most pressure on him, he's routinely in the most danger, he literally dies for a few minutes. It's not surprising Katara has more opportunities to comfort him, but he unfailingly supports her in any of her problems of goals (when they're not murder) when he can.

I do think there's some missed opportunities to explore Katara and develop their relationship, but it doesn't make Aang a bad, unsupportive friend, or Katara his Mom and not his peer.

[jettingtothemoon]

Daughter of the Spirits; chapter 12

➳ pairing: zuko x f!reader ➳ genre: a retelling of the show from season 2 onwards with a heavy focus and expansion on zuko’s story (canon divergent) ➳ warnings: violence, swearing, smut (underaged if your age of consent is above 16), spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen the show ➳ word count: 3570 ➳ rating: 18+ ➳ summary: In which y/n comes across the fire nation prince during her stay in Ba Sing Se. ➳ tags: @harmlessoffering, @lammello (i’m sorry if i’m forgetting anyone, lmk if i am or if you want to be added)

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

A New Start

The western air temple, that is where Zuko was sure the avatar would go. It was the nearest place for them to regroup and recuperate. They would be safe there. Well, as safe as they could be. So, the western air temple was where you went.

“We should be careful. They, uh, they probably won’t be very happy to see me,” Zuko stated as he prepared the ropes, making sure they were tight enough for you to safely climb down into the temple.

“You’ve been chasing after them for the better half of a year now, but they haven’t seen you since Ba Sing Se. It was Azula who tried to kill the avatar, not you. I’m sure they’ll be able to find it in their hearts to give you a second chance.”

“Well,” his tone was almost high in guilt as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, “I might have hired an assassin to hunt him down when I found out he was still alive.”

“Zuko!” you yelled, scowling at him.

He hushed you, clearly afraid that someone nearby might hear you, and avoided your angry gaze. “I know, I know. It was a bad idea but it was before I… before I decided to be good.”

You sucked in a deep breath, held it for a few moments and dispelled your anger with a long exhale. A was a trick your mother had taught you when you were young, one that always helped you keep a cool head. It was a teaching Zuko could certainly learn from as well.

Zuko was quick to descend into the temple after that, tugging on the rope when he reached the bottom to let you know it was safe for you to follow. He seemed lost in thought when you landed beside him, the sound of your feet hitting the floor hadn’t even caused him to glance your way.

Then came the sound of a beast, a sound the both of you recognised all too well. Zuko grabbed you and jumped back, making sure to conceal you both as the avatar’s bison flew overhead. He narrowed his eyes before gesturing to a staircase behind you both. “Come on, up here.”

It didn’t take you long to realise that Zuko had been here before, likely on his search for the avatar, which meant the last time he had visited this temple was with his uncle by his side. You could only imagine how strange it must have felt for him to have been here now, still in search of the avatar but this time as a friend.

Zuko insisted you took a moment to rest before seeking out the avatar and his friends. He joked and said the two of you would need all your energy if they turned hostile and chased you away but you knew what was really troubling him.

He, Prince Zuko, was nervous. Nervous of how they were going to react when they found him. Nervous of how he would speak to them. He wasn’t the most sociable person, as you both knew, and he wanted it to be perfect. He wanted to be sure he wouldn’t say the wrong thing, especially when he knew that he was the last person any of them would want to see.

When he was ready and had finished practising his introduction to a nearby toad — much to your own amusement — he took a deep breath and slumped to the ground.

With a soft smile, you sat down in front of him. “It’ll be fine. Just speak from the heart, tell them that you want to help — that we want to help. He’ll need someone to teach him firebending and I doubt he’s got too many options. They’ll come around.”

“Yeah, okay. Speak from the heart. I can do that.” He smiled back at you and pulled himself to his feet with a newfound determination. At the very least, having you by his side helped boost his confidence.

You approached the flying bison as it came to land, frowning just a little when the two of you had gone unnoticed and the avatar and his friends began to climb off on the other side.

“Oh, and you’re gonna love the all-day echo chamber!” the avatar exclaimed, clearly excited to show his friends around one of his people’s temples.

Just hearing his voice almost made you excited too but the looming fear that the conversation you were about to have wouldn’t go well was weighing too heavily on your chest. Zuko only wanted to help, you only hoped they would understand that. At least they had no reason to doubt you, other than the fact that you were once again approaching them by Zuko’s side, but you had tried to help them back in Ba Sing Se. Surely they would remember that.

“I think that’ll have to wait,” the young girl whom you remembered to be called Toph spoke, clearly noticing your presence with her earthbending.

The bison moved aside, revealing both you and Zuko, who raised his hand with a smile. “Hello, Zuko here.”

All four of the group adopted a defensive stance with angry scowls on their faces, clearly expecting you and Zuko to attack. To try and show them you came in peace, you both stood at their mercy, neither of you raising your arms to fight.

“Hey, we heard you guys flying around down there so we just thought we’d wait for you here.”

The bison was the only one to move, roaring loudly before licking Zuko from his feet to the top of his head.

You chuckled as you watched the creature’s clear display of affection. “Looks like someone remembers you.”

When the bison licked his face again, the avatar finally lowered his staff with wide eyes. Not that you could blame them for their confusion since there was no way they could have known it was Zuko who had freed the bison back at Lake Laogai..

Zuko rubbed the slobber from his face as he spoke, “I know you must be surprised to see me here.”

The watertribe boy, Sokka, frowned. “Not really since you followed us all over the world.”

Awkwardly, Zuko looked away. “Right… Well, uh, anyway, what I wanted to tell you about is that I’ve changed… and I, uh, I’m good now and well, I think I should join your group,” he looked at you and corrected himself, “we should join your group. Oh, and I can teach firebending… to you.”

The four of them only grew more confused, their eyes flicking between you and Zuko. They seemed to be thinking but they had still not let down their guard. Getting them to trust either of you, especially Zuko, was going to be no easy task.

“See… I, uh—”

“You wanna what now?” Toph cut him off with far too much anger residing in her soft features, her jaw almost clenching as she made it clear she thought what Zuko was saying to be crazy.

“You can’t possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you? I mean how stupid do you think we are?” Katara snapped before turning her attention to you, “And you? You may have tried to help us back in Ba Sing Se but even now you’re still with him? Don’t you remember all the things he’s done?”

Sokka chimed in next, he too wishing to say his peace, “Yeah, all he’s ever done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang!”

“I’ve done some good things!” Zuko cut in, trying his hardest to defend himself, “I mean, I could have stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free. That’s something.”

The bison licked him once again, proving to them all that he at least approved of Zuko being there.

“Appa does seem to like him,” Toph concluded and finally began to let down her guard.

“He probably just covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him,” Sokka shrugged, “I’m not buying it!”

You went to speak, hoping that you would be able to sway them, but Zuko beat you to it.

“I can understand why you wouldn’t trust me and I know I’ve made some mistakes in the past—”

“Like when you attacked our village?”

“Or when you stole my mother’s necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?”

The watertribe siblings both stepped forward as they hurled their accusations at him. Zuko had told you that he had hurt them and that they would not be likely to trust him but he hadn’t given all the details. Hearing directly from them some of the horrible things he had done somehow didn’t surprise you but it still hurt to think that he was capable of such things before. He wasn’t that person anymore though and you knew that, you just needed to convince the rest of them of that too.

“Look, I admit I’ve done some awful things,” he confessed and pushed a frustrated hand through his hair, “I was wrong to try and capture you and I’m sorry that I attacked the Water Tribe… and I never should have sent that Fire Nation assassin after you…”

You seemed to realise it before he had because Zuko kept rambling about how he had wronged them and was trying to make things right but all four of them had grown angry once again. They clearly didn’t know that he was the one who sent the assassin after them, not until now.

“Wait!” Sokka cut in again, reaching for his boomerang, “You sent combustion man after us?”

Zuko seemed startled as he realised he had only made things worse but knew that all he could do now was come clean and hope they would eventually come around to the idea of him helping them.

“Well, that’s not his name but—”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to insult your friend!” Sokka remarked with a roll of his eyes, looking about ready to pounce.

“He’s not my friend!” Zuko snapped, clearly growing frustrated that they were still being so hostile toward him when he was all but wearing his heart on his sleeve. Not that you could blame them, in their shoes you would have felt the same.

Toph pointed an accusing finger at him with a scowl. “That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!”

Seeming to notice that the avatar was the only one not shouting at him, Zuko sighed and asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything? You once said you thought we could be friends. You know I have good in me.”

Without a word, Aang looked at his friends who all shook their heads with a frown. Then, he cast his eyes to you, someone he himself had seen as an ally once. You pleaded with him without words, silently begging him to give the two of you a chance.

Finally, he spoke, “There’s no way we can trust you after everything you’ve done. We’ll never let you join us!”

Your heart sank in your chest but you were nowhere near as crushed as Zuko. It was his actions that had brought him to this point. All his mistakes and bad decisions leading up to yet another rejection. It only hurt more this time because for once, he really was trying to do the right thing.

“You need to get out of here. Both of you.” Katara glowered at the both of you, her eyes two steely daggers.

Somewhat ready to admit defeat, you moved to place a hand on Zuko’s shoulder to urge him to leave. The two of you would be able to make a difference elsewhere, you were sure of it. Even if the avatar was refusing your help. Before your gentle touch could reach him, however, he burst again and began moving forwards as he flung his frustrated arms in the air.

“I’m trying to explain that I’m not that person anymore!” he cried out, trying one last time to convince them of his sincerity.

The four of them readied themselves once again, clearly taking his frustration as a sign of aggression. Once again, you couldn’t blame them. His notorious temper was getting the better of him again — a temper they had only seen before a fight.

“Either you leave, or we attack,” Sokka exclaimed, once again threatening Zuko.

The prince bowed his head before kneeling before them. “If you won’t accept me as a friend, then maybe you’ll take me as a prisoner.”

“Zuko…” you spoke with a soft breath, worried but also warmed by what he was willing to give up to help them.

“No! We won’t!” With a swing of her arm, Katara sent a force of water flying towards Zuko, knocking him back.

You ran to his side, kneeling in the puddle to help the drenched prince up.

“Get out of here and don’t come back!And if we ever see you again, well, we better not see you again!”

Dejected, he let you help him to his feet and shrugged you off, bowing his head as he walked away.

Before following him, you looked at the four of them, your eyes finally falling on the avatar as you spoke, “I know it might be hard to believe but he really is just trying to help.”

They didn’t utter a word as you followed after him, walking in silence as you left the western air temple.

You couldn’t blame them for their lack of trust in him, or you for that matter, but it still hurt to see Zuko so downtrodden. Finally, he decided to do what is right only to be ridiculed and chased away.

“Ugh, I can’t believe how stupid I am!” he began as he paced up and down, speaking more to himself than you, “I mean, what was I thinking? Telling them I sent an assassin after them? Why didn’t I just say Azula did that? They would have believed that! Stupid!” He groaned again and fell to his knees with a thud.

“You told them the truth, Zuko. That’s all you could have done. You tried and that’s better than not trying at all,” you tried to reassure him but he only flopped down onto his back, letting his hair spill out across the ground.

You sighed and moved to lay beside him, both of you watching the leaves sway in the canopy above. “Your uncle would be proud, you know.”

He turned his head towards you and waited until his eyes met yours before speaking, “You think so?”

With a tender smile tugging at the corners of your lips, you reached up to cup his cheek, smoothing your thumb across his skin. “I know so.”

He smiled back and pressed his forehead to yours, sinking into the warmth of your touch.

“I just… I don’t know what to do now. I can’t go home, not that I want to, and I can’t face my father alone. Not when it’s Aang’s destiny to stop him.”

You pulled back and sat up, stretching your limbs before rising to your feet. “We’ll find those that we’ve lost. We’ll find your uncle and then go search for my parents. If we can help anyone suffering at the hands of the Fire Nation along the way then we will. We don’t have to confront your father head on to make a difference.”

Zuko hummed and closed his eyes only for them to jolt back open when you lightly kicked his side.

“Well, come on then. If we’re going to be fighting firebenders I should at least know some basic moves.”

He crossed his brows and began to sit up, looking at you questioningly. “You want me to teach you?”

You only grinned. “Well, who else is going to?”

“Hmm, since you already know how to hold a flame I think we can start off with some basic techniques.” He returned your smile and stood before you, adopting a stance you had seen him use time and time again.

Standing opposite him, you tried your best to mimic his stance. He circled you, eyes scanning for any flaws, and nudged your knee forward, forcing you into a slightly lower squat. When he came back into sight again, he crossed his arms and hummed in approval.

“Good. Now, take a deep breath in. It is this breath that becomes the energy you need to extend from your body, creating fire.” He returned to his position and demonstrated, taking in a deep breath before punching a fist out in front of him. With a burst, flames shot from his fist, flickering around his knuckles and flew through the air beside you.

You steeled your expression and strengthened your stance, determined to learn at least some control over the element you feared most. As Zuko had done before you, you sucked in a deep breath, focusing on how it felt as it travelled through you. It was similar to the breath you had taken earlier to dispel your anger and you could feel the energy tingle under your skin as you focused it into your fist which curled at your side.

The prince watched on intently, moving to the side as you closed your eyes. When they opened again, you pushed your fist forward through the air with great force and, to your surprise, nailed the move first time.

Zuko clapped, applauding you as he stated, “You’re a natural.”

As the hours passed by, you were relieved to have managed to provide a good distraction for Zuko as he taught you move after move, honing your firebending skills. By the time the sun began to set and the cold night air closed in, you felt much more confident that you would be able to divert attacks from other firebenders by using their own flames against them.

You found some food for the night and made a small fire to keep you warm before cuddling up under a makeshift tent. Although you were worried Zuko would find it hard to sleep with so much still on his mind, you were relieved to find that teaching you had worn him out. His soft breaths hit your ear as he slept with one arm slung around you, holding you close.

The two of you slept for a while before you felt Zuko stirring beside you, sitting up slightly as he called out, “Who’s there?”

You sat up beside him, eyes peering through the darkness to see who or what was out amongst the trees. Before you could do anything though, Zuko pulled you behind him and sprung into action, conjuring a flame as he yelled, “Stay back!”

“It’s me!” a voice you recognised called out only just too late as the girl bended a wall in front of her to block Zuko’s attack.

Both yours and Zuko’s eyes widened when she stumbled back with a yelp, falling to the ground. “You burned my feet!”

Zuko was up before you. “I’m sorry, it was a mistake,” he protested as he began rushing towards her.

Toph backed up, crawling across the ground as she hurled boulders at Zuko. “Get away from me!”

“Let me help you! I’m sorry!” He tried again but the young earthbender only continued to flee.

You were finally on your feet as she yelled at him to get off of her and with one final move of offence, raised a pillar from the ground, sending Zuko flying. You were at his side in a second, already noticing he was hurt as he continued to yell after the girl.

“I didn’t know it was you!” he winced and grabbed his likely already bruising side, “Come back!”

With a cry of anguish he fell to his back and yelled at the world, “Why am I so bad at being good?”

You hushed him and pulled his head into your lap, already running your fingers through his hair. “It’s okay, she’ll be okay. Katara is a healer like me, she’ll be able to help Toph.”

He groaned and sat back up, holding in a sob of pain as he clutched again at his side. “I know, it’s just all I ever seem to do is make things worse.”

You squeezed his shoulder and moved to untie his shirt, reaching over for your waterskin as you pulled it open. The bruise was about as bad as you had expected from such a forceful impact. His skin was turning a dark shade of purple and was littered with painful scrapes and scratches. He sucked in a breath as you placed your hands against his skin, water already swirling around your fingers.

“Shhh,” you hushed him and smiled slightly as he visibly relaxed while the pain began to subside. It had been a while since you had been able to use your healing, what with having been in the Fire Nation for so long, but it felt good to be doing something to help someone again. You couldn’t relieve all of Zuko’s pain, but you could at least heal his physical wounds.

When you finished and whisked the water back into your waterskin, he pulled your hands back to him, placing them on his skin once again, and leaned forward until his head rested against your shoulder.

“They hate me,” he mumbled.

“They just don’t know you. Not the way I do.”

You smiled softly when he looked back up again, his amber eyes searching for refuge in your own. You were the only person who had ever looked at him like that, he realised. The only person to look at him with such tenderness in their eyes — such pure, unbridled love.

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

[m1ckeyb3rry]

── THE GLASS PRINCESS // FIVE

Series Synopsis: You wake up in a strange room with no memories, broken glass at your bedside, and a prince named Zuko as your only chance at figuring out who you really are.

Chapter Synopsis: You visit Ember Island with Jia-Li and grow closer with her and her brother. Everything comes to a head, though, when a party on the island goes wrong.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Zuko x Reader

Chapter Word Count: 7.4k

Content Warnings: complicated relationships (strangers to friends to lovers to enemies to strangers to lovers to enemies to lovers), amnesia, alternate universe, lots of secrets and lying and mystery

A/N: would you guys believe if i said i thought we’d already know reader’s real identity this many words into the fic?? anyways enjoy the fun times while they last folks because trust it will be getting angsty at some point probably

Dear Zuko,

I’m sorry for whatever I did that made you angry with me. Please forgive me. I don’t want you to be upset.

Sincerely, Ursa

P.S. Destroying Chan’s house was wrong, but since it was him, I won’t chide you. Jia-Li and I also participated a bit, so it would be hypocritical, anyways.

P.P.S. I’m not friends with Ruon-Jian anymore. 

Though you had been at sea for quite a bit of time now, you still had not grown bored of staring at the ocean. Jia-Li had sat back down under the shade of the silk canopy a while ago, eating a bowl full of ice cream and watching you in amusement as you stood at the prow and peered down into the water.

“It’s so beautiful,” you said.

“You’ve said that like a hundred times,” Jia-Li teased you.

“I know, I just…I just can't get over it. I’ve never seen anything quite so blue,” you said, though this was somewhat a lie. That blue from your memories, it resembled this water in depth, though not in texture — the water was clear and lucid, whereas the blue you remembered was harsh and matte.

“I guess I should be glad that you’re enjoying yourself already! Just think about it — you haven’t even gotten to Ember Island yet, and you’re having so much fun. Imagine how much better it’ll be once you’re there!” Jia-Li said.

“I can’t wait,” you said dreamily. “As long as we can go swimming, I’ll be happy.”

“Of course,” she said. “We’ll swim every day! My brother wrote to me, he said that the tides have been forgiving this season. Maybe I can convince him to teach you how to ride the flying dolphin fish. He always shoos me away whenever I ask, but it’s impossible to hate you, Ursa, so he’ll definitely say yes.”

You had been growing accustomed to that name. It still felt like an alias at times, but it was a familiar one, said around you so often that you barely even hesitated before responding to it.

“It’s fine if he doesn’t,” you said. “Though it would be nice to learn something like that…”

“Maybe you should ask him!” Jia-Li said. “There’s no way he can refuse then!”

“I wouldn’t want to be imposing,” you said immediately, shaking your head. “He shouldn’t have to do something just because he’s too guilty to say no.”

“No, I was more thinking along the lines of ‘you’re pretty and he doesn’t say no to pretty girls’, actually,” she said. “He’ll be happy to oblige you, but if it’s a request from his little sister, he’s likely to say no just to be contrary.”

“We’ll see,” you said after ruminating on it for a second. “Also, thank you for the compliment.”

“It’s just the truth,” Jia-Li said. “But since we’re on the subject — I know you don’t have memories, so you can’t answer about your past life, but what about recently? Have you had a crush on someone before?”

“A crush?” you said.

“Yeah! I mean, have you ever liked anyone?” she said.

“I like a lot of people,” you said. “For example, you and Ty Lee.”

“No, silly, not in that way. I mean liking someone romantically,” Jia-Li elaborated. “I know a few of the boys in the Royal Fire Academy for Boys have been talking about you, so I was just curious.”

“Oh!” you said, covering your face with your hands so that she could not see the embarrassment blooming on it. “I didn’t know that they were.”

“Sure, of course they are! They talk about a lot of us, so it makes sense, and anyways I wasn’t lying when I said you’re pretty. They’re all too scared to actually talk to you, but I’m sure that if you went to the market alone and met one of them, they’d propose on the spot,” she said.

The academies for girls and boys had separate campuses, but they were run conjointly, so that your breaks aligned and your events were held in tandem. Though you tended to avoid attending sporting matches, you had gone to one or two in your time as a student, so you supposed that must’ve been when you had become a viable prospect for whatever nonsense Jia-Li was spouting.

“I don’t talk to any boys,” you pointed out. “Even if any of them like me, I don’t know them, so I can’t say I like them back.”

“You talk to the prince a lot,” she said.

“What?” you said.

“Did you really think I didn’t notice how often you send letters to him via Bian?” she chided. You coughed uncomfortably.

“Um, well, he is my benefactor, so I have to keep him updated with my day-to-day activities,” you said. “It’s, er, part of my scholarship, you know.”

It was not, but Jia-Li seemed to buy the lie readily enough, nodding sagely, though not without a dramatic pout.

“That does check out, but it’s not nearly as exciting as a secret love affair or letters written out of pining and sent with longing, stamped with your heart’s greatest desire for a man that can never be your own!” she said.

“Sorry?” you said. “I don’t think any of that fits the situation, though.”

She sighed. “It’s okay.”

“What about you? Do you have any crushes?” you said, recognizing that this was the logical next step in the conversation. Jia-Li blushed and looked at the wooden paneling of the deck, using her fingers to twirl the hair which escaped her ponytail to frame her face.

“Yes,” she said. “Kind of. But it’s someone who I shouldn’t like, and who would never like me back, so I’ve never said anything.”

“Who?” you said. “Your family is pretty influential, isn’t it? I can’t imagine most anyone rejecting you. Unless you like Prince Zuko and are projecting your ‘heart’s greatest desire for a man that can never be your own’ onto me?”

“No way!” Jia-Li said. “It’s more complicated than him being of a higher ranking than me.”

“Then what is it?” you said.

“He’s my brother’s best friend!” she said, all in a rush, her entire face in flames at the confession.

“Oh,” you said, cringing in empathy. “I see. He would not approve?”

“Definitely not,” she said. “But there’s something worse than him not approving: marrying this boy would mean having Kaho as a sister-in-law!”

“Oh, Agni,” you said, slapping your palm against your forehead. How had you forgotten? It was the only reason Jia-Li was somewhat exempt from Kaho’s reign of terror, despite her association with you: her brother and Kaho’s were best friends. But if she liked Kaho’s brother, then what would that mean?

“That’s the scenario,” she said. “And to top it all off, he’s notoriously popular with girls. He probably wouldn’t even look at me twice. I’ll always just be Ruon-Jian’s annoying little sister to him.”

“I doubt that that’s true,” you said as you approached the docks. “Really, Jia-Li, I don’t think that's the case. You said his family will be on Ember Island at the same time as us?”

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “Although Kaho mentioned not being able to come — something about volunteering as a scribe for some official meeting that the Fire Lord will be hosting over the weekend.”

“Perfect! That’ll be our goal, then,” you said.

“Huh?” she said.

“We’re going to get you noticed by your crush! Who cares about the consequences? Kaho and your brother can just deal with it, and if they have something to say, then they can talk to me,” you said.

“That’s nice of you to offer, but what would you even do?” Jia-Li said.

“I don’t know,” you said. “Talk to them, I guess. Kaho already doesn’t like me, so it’s not a tragedy if she hates me more, and I don’t know your brother that well, so if he and I don’t get along after that kind of conversation, it won’t be a great loss.”

“Do you really think we can do something like that?” she said.

“We have to try,” you said. “You deserve it, Jia-Li.”

“Thank you,” she said, swallowing. “You’re a really good friend, Ursa. If you ever change your mind and decide you do like Prince Zuko after all, just let me know—”

“Jia-Li!” you warned her, though the threat fell flat, as she only laughed in return.

Jia-Li’s home on Ember Island was close to the docks, and it was right on the water. She told you as you walked up the seashell-lined path that that stretch of sand was actually a private beach that belonged to her family, so you wouldn’t have to worry about anyone bothering you while you were there.

“Sometimes my brother goes to the bigger beach a little ways away, though,” she said. “They like seeing other people our age and hanging out with them and whatnot.”

“Maybe when I’m a little more confident, we can try it,” you said. “For now, I’m just glad we have our own space where I don’t have to be worried about embarrassing myself in case I drown or something.”

“I wouldn’t let you drown,” Jia-Li said. “But I’m fine with that plan. It’s not like I have some huge desire to be on a massively crowded beach with the others, so it’s not heartbreaking for me if we just stay here the whole time.”

“Now, now, not the whole time,” you said. “We have to leave the house at some point so we can meet this guy you like!”

“I’m still not so sure about that,” she said, pulling out a key from her pocket and using it to unlock the front door. “Now hush, I don’t need my brother overhearing us. We can talk more later tonight or something.”

“On it,” you said, pretending to seal your lips shut. She rolled her eyes before motioning you after her. Carefully, you stepped into the grand foyer, scuffing your shoes on the welcome mat to rid them of the sand. Jia-Li smiled in approval, presumably at your politeness, and you smiled back at her.

“Mother, father!” Jia-Li shouted. “Ruon-Jian! Ursa and I are here!”

Jia-Li’s mother peeked her head around the corner, nodding demurely at the two of you, though it was deeper and more reverent when it came to you. She looked exactly like Jia-Li, only a little older, her features aged, the cut of her face sharper.

“It is good to meet you,” she said. Her voice was musical and quiet, carefully controlled — it was the culmination of years of training as the wife of a high-ranking Fire Nation official. It was what you and Jia-Li and Kaho and Ty Lee would one day sound like, once you had graduated from the academy and were ready to enter society properly.

“And you as well, madam,” you said, clasping your hands, bowing your head slightly. “Thank you for welcoming me into your home. It is greatly appreciated.”

“You are so polite,” Jia-Li’s mother said, the slightest traces of happiness flickering over her face. “I am glad Jia-Li has such an exemplary friend to look up to.”

“Nice to see you, too, mother,” Jia-Li said. Her mother laughed, opening her arms.

“Come here, then,” she said. Jia-Li brightened, racing into her mother’s arms and hugging her. You looked away, feeling like you were intruding on the moment and wishing you had your own mother to embrace like that.

“Where’s father?” Jia-Li said. Her mother sighed.

“He and Admiral Chan were called back to the palace for some important meeting, so they’re not on the island for the moment,” she said.

“It must be the meeting Kaho is scribing for,” you said.

“Most likely,” Jia-Li said. “Do you think he’ll be able to come back before I leave for the academy again? I haven’t seen him in so long.”

“I’m not sure, darling,” her mother said. “If he is still in the capital by the time your boat leaves the docks, I will send him a message to stay in the capital and receive you before he returns.”

“Thank you,” she said. “What about Ruon-Jian? Where is he?”

“Oh, that boy, he’s being as troublesome as ever. I believe he’s locked in his room at the moment. Ruon-Jian! Please come downstairs and say hello to your sister and her friend!” her mother said. It was strange — even yelling, she sounded soft and polite, which should not have made sense but somehow did.

“Why?” a deep, grumbling voice said. There were heavy footsteps on the stairs, evidence that Jia-Li’s brother was on his way but wasn’t exactly happy about it. “I don’t wanna meet Jia-Li and her stupid friend — woah.”

Her brother was tall and willowy, with shaggy brown hair that fell into his face, giving him an effortlessly cool appearance. His eyes were the same color as Jia-Li’s, but that was about where their similarities ended. If you had seen him outside, without introduction, you wouldn’t have been able to guess that they were siblings in the first place.

“This is Ruon-Jian,” Jia-Li said when it became obvious that her brother wasn’t going to introduce himself. He was far too busy staring at something, his jaw dropped and his eyebrows raised, though when Jia-Li spoke, he was able to pull himself together, running his hand through his hair and then smirking.

“That’s right,” he said. “The name’s Ruon-Jian.”

“That’s what I just said,” Jia-Li said.

“What about you?” he said. You looked from side to side, wondering who he was talking to, and then you realized it was you, which meant that the thing he had been staring at was also…

“Ursa,” you said. “I’m Ursa.”

You weren’t sure how you felt about the attention. Maybe you liked it, or maybe you didn’t. It was strange and fluttering and unfamiliar in the pit of your stomach, and behind your back, you wrung your hands nervously.

“Ursa,” he said. “Great name. It’s as pretty as you are.”

“Um, I guess if I knew who my parents were, I’d pass along the compliment,” you said.

“Wicked,” he said. “So, what are you doing on Ember Island?”

“She’s my friend, idiot. My roommate from the academy,” Jia-Li said.

“Shh, Jia-Li, I’m trying to get to know her better! Stop talking and interrupting her,” Ruon-Jian said. You exchanged bewildered looks with Jia-Li’s mother, while at your side, Jia-Li fumed, the air shimmering from the heat she gave off as a Firebender.

“She’s right,” you said. “I’m her roommate back at school. She’s one of my greatest friends.”

“Sick,” he said.

“I don’t think I am,” you said, puzzled.

“It’s slang,” Jia-Li said.

“I understand,” you said, although you didn’t, not fully. This way of speaking was entirely foreign to you, but you figured that if you had Jia-Li with you to translate, you’d probably be alright.

“Who’s your family, Ursa?” Ruon-Jian said.

“I don’t have one,” you said.

“Word?” he said.

“He’s asking if that’s the truth,” Jia-Li whispered. “It’s like saying ‘really?’”

“It is the truth,” you said. “I have no memories. I am the girl that the royal family sponsored to study at the academy after I was rescued from the Earth Kingdom.”

“No way!” Ruon-Jian said. “That’s so cool!”

“Not really,” Jia-Li said. “She doesn’t remember anything. Including her family. Idiot.”

“If I could forget you, I’d do so in a heartbeat,” Ruon-Jian said.

“Well, I’d do the same!” Jia-Li snapped. You cleared your throat.

“I’m just grateful to Prince Zuko for saving me and ensuring my future,” you said. “He, and the rest of the royal family, are likely the reason I’m still alive and standing before you today.”

“Word,” Ruon-Jian said.

“I am not lying this time, either,” you affirmed.

“No, that was more of an expression of agreement,” Jia-Li said.

“I am a little confused,” you said. “But I shall trust you on this one, Jia-Li.”

“Do you have plans for the week?” Ruon-Jian said.

“Jia-Li is going to teach me to swim,” you said, beaming at Jia-Li, who gave you a high-five in return. “Beyond that, no, not really.”

“We were going to ask you if you could teach her to ride the flying dolphin fish,” Jia-Li said. “I know you’d never teach me, but—”

“Definitely!” Ruon-Jian said, cutting Jia-Li off. “I’ll teach you anything you want, Ursa.”

Heat rushed into your face, and you bit your lower lip, shifting from foot to foot nervously. Glancing at Jia-Li, who shrugged, you trained your attention on the ground instead of looking at Ruon-Jian when you responded.

“I think that that would be fun,” you said.

“We’ll get started tomorrow,” he said.

“Ruon-Jian, usually I’m joking when I say it, but you really are an idiot! How can you teach her to ride flying dolphin fish if she doesn’t even know how to swim?” Jia-Li said.

“The day after tomorrow, then!” Ruon-Jian declared. “See you around, Ursa!”

With that, he bounded back upstairs, taking the steps two at a time, leaving you, Jia-Li, and her mother standing in the foyer, somehow even more confused than before.

The next day was somehow sunnier and brighter than the previous, which was a relief, as it was the day you were supposed to learn to swim. At present, you were wearing one of Jia-Li’s sets of swimming clothes, your towel spread out on the sand as you looked at the ocean with furrowed brows.

“You ready?” Jia-Li said.

“I think so,” you said.

“Let’s go!” she said. Without waiting for you, she charged into the water, flopping onto her stomach once it was deep enough for her to do so. Not even taking a second to think, you sprinted in after her, and when the water rose to the level of your thighs, you didn’t second-guess yourself. Using your legs to push off, you dove into the water, jetting through it, forcing your eyes open and laughing soundlessly as you wove amongst the flowing bubbles and colorful fish that decorated the ocean.

It was many seconds later that you pushed your way to the surface, taking a deep breath, your legs churning the water so that you stayed afloat. Some ways away, Jia-Li had done the same, though she was busily scanning the shore for where you might be.

“Jia-Li!” you called out. “Over here!”

“Ursa!” she said, clapping her hands in delight. “I guess you do know how to swim!”

“I guess so!” you said, overcome with a rush of euphoria at the weightless feeling the water afforded you. Jia-Li paddled over to where you were treading, doing the same beside you so that you two could talk.

“That means you can learn to ride the flying dolphin fish sooner rather than later,” she said slyly. You lowered your eyes.

“Maybe,” you said.

“I knew it!” she squealed. “You have a crush on my brother!”

“No!” you said, far too quickly to sound convincing. “I mean. No.”

“You do!” Jia-Li said. “I can’t understand why you’d ever have a crush on him, but I guess there’s really someone out there for everyone.”

“I don’t even know him,” you said. “Sure, he’s cool and all, but I don’t know the first thing about who he is as a person. How can I say for certain that I have a crush or anything?”

“That’s why you have to get to know him,” Jia-Li said, poking you in the forehead. “Right?”

“True,” you said. “Then I can tell you for certain how I feel. What about you, though?”

“What about me?” she said innocently.

“When will I get to meet this mysterious crush of yours? You can hardly expect to pursue him if you never even go to see him!” you said. She splashed you with water.

“I’m not about to just go visit his house for no reason! It would be weird,” she said.

“Maybe a little bit,” you said. “But there has to be a way for you to accidentally run into him! And when I say accidentally, of course it won’t be an accident at all, but it’ll appear to be one.”

“Just forget about it,” Jia-Li said. “It’s not a big deal. If it’s meant to be, something will come up.”

“If that’s what you want,” you said. “But you have to promise me that if something comes up, as you say it will, you’ll really try your hardest.”

“Okay,” Jia-Li said in determination. “If there is some opportunity for me to talk to him, I’ll do it.”

“That’s the way!” you said. “Now, let’s race. I want to see how fast I am, too.”

“First one to that bit of driftwood wins?” Jia-Li said, pointing at a smoothed-over log floating in the distance.

“You’re on,” you said. “Three, two — hey, I didn’t say go yet! Jia-Li!”

You could not remember ever having as much fun as you did during that time on Ember Island. You and Jia-Li spent hours lazing around on the beach or swimming in the water, eating whatever her family’s chef prepared for you, drinking fruit juice that was sometimes sweet, sometimes sour, oftentimes both. At night, you would stay up until the moon was high in the sky, giggling and exchanging secrets and stories, making fun of your classmates and the boys in the Royal Academy for Boys.

“You know, one of them has a shrine dedicated to Kaho,” Jia-Li told you one night. You howled with laughter.

“No!” you said.

“Yes, he really does! He found a portrait of her and leaves money and food in front of it every week,” she said.

“You’re making that up,” you said.

“Nope, I found out during one of the sporting matches,” she said. “I was a little disgusted, but now that I see the humor in it, I confess I’m entirely amused by the entire thing.”

You would sleep late into the day, sometimes missing the morning entirely and only waking up for the afternoons. Jia-Li’s mother never scolded you two for it, saying that she was happy you were catching up on your rest, since dark circles were not comely on a woman or something along those lines.

Sometimes, Ruon-Jian would spend a few minutes with you both, but for the most part, he was off with Chan, his best friend and Kaho’s older brother. When he was with you, he was usually sitting at your side, making fun of his sister and complimenting you all at once. And even though you barely knew him, you had to admit that it was nice to have someone paying such close attention to you for once, treating you as if you were worthy of his time and entirely normal, the way he was, instead of tiptoeing around you and your lost memories.

“You ready, Ursa?” Ruon-Jian said, plopping down on the bench beside you as you and Jia-Li ate breakfast — or was it lunch, at this point?

“For what, Ruon-Jian?” you said, batting your eyelashes at him. From across the table, Jia-Li pretended to gag.

He elbowed you in the side. “To learn to ride flying dolphin fish, of course!”

“Yes!” you said, shooting to your feet. “I thought you’d forgotten!”

“How could I forget about you?” he said. “The currents just haven’t been right for a beginner recently. You should’ve seen how badly Chan wiped out the other day!”

You glanced at Jia-Li. She mimed falling over, and you gave her a discreet thumbs up.

“You didn’t fall, though, did you?” you said. Ruon-Jian beamed and flexed his arms.

“’Course not. I’m way better than Chan,” he bragged.

“Very impressive. Then there must be no one in the Fire Nation more equipped to teach me,” you said.

“Not a single person,” he agreed.

“I can’t bear to watch any more of this,” Jia-Li muttered to no one in particular. “You guys have fun. I’m going to collect our clothes so that they can get washed, Ursa.”

She left without another word, though as she walked away, you thought you caught her saying something about how you could do better. Ignoring it, you followed after Ruon-Jian towards the beach behind his house, struggling to keep up with his brisk stride.

“There’s a pod of flying dolphin fish that visits our beach pretty regularly,” he said. “We should be able to catch a ride there.”

“Okay,” you said. “Is it safe?”

“We’ll ride the same one, so I can look after you, but on the whole, flying dolphin fish are very docile, so as long as the waves are gentle, it’s fine,” he said. “That’s why I’ve been waiting to take you out.”

“That sounds good,” you said. He whistled.

“That’s how we call them. Now, we just have to wait until they come,” he said, pulling you forward to stand beside him.

“Then what?” you said.

“It’s a surprise,” he said. “Just kidding! Then we swim out and find the friendliest one and get on.”

It took a few minutes, but eventually, in the distance, there were splashes. Ruon-Jian whooped in delight, grabbing your hand and dragging you after him before you could protest.

“They were fast today!” he said. “Let’s go before they decide to leave again!”

Ruon-Jian was a little faster than you at swimming, though you had been faster than Jia-Li. You didn’t feel insulted, though; he spent much of his time in the ocean, so it was to be expected that he was better than both you and his sister alike. The end result was that he reached the flying dolphin fish before you, and had already mounted one by the time you swam up to its side.

“How do I get on?” you said.

“You don’t,” he said, using his legs to hold onto the body of the flying dolphin fish and then bending over to pull you out of the water and set you in front of him.

“Thanks,” you said, suddenly very aware of how close he was to you, how he held onto your waist and rested his chin on your shoulder.

“Just rest your hands on its head,” he said. “Like that. Good job! I’ll do all the steering and stuff with my legs, so don’t worry about that for now. All you have to do is focus on your balance.”

“Got it,” you said.

“Then let’s get going!” he said, clicking at the flying dolphin fish, which took off with a push of its powerful tail, propelling itself through the water. Its speed was breathtaking, and as the wind rushed against your face, tears gathered in your eyes, tears of joy and freedom and also of regret. When was the last time you had felt like this? When was the last time you had been so happy? Why didn’t you endeavor to be so more often?

Suddenly, the flying dolphin fish took off into the air, and then you were soaring. Everything faded away, the rest of the world and Ruon-Jian and the flying dolphin fish and even you. It was all nothing. You were all nothing. There was only the sky and the sea and the smell of salt on the wind, blue taking over your vision and almost, for a second, reminding you of something else.

Then you were slamming back into the water, the flying dolphin fish not even slowing its pace as it went from air to ocean. The spray that hit your face from the impact was enough to wake you up from the daze, and you were reminded of where you were and who you were and what you were doing.

“That was so fun,” you said as you and Ruon-Jian re-entered the house, still dripping with saltwater despite the towels wrapped around you both.

“It’s sick, right? I knew you’d like it,” Ruon-Jian said. “Speaking of things you might like…my friend Chan is holding a party later tonight. You wanna come?”

You perked up at the name Chan, knowing he was none other than the object of Jia-Li’s affections.

“Yes, but only if Jia-Li can come, too,” you said.

“Aw, no way! Chan never leaves her alone, and I don’t want my best friend bothering my little sister. It’s so odd!” he said.

“It’ll be really lonely for me to be at a party where I don’t even know anyone,” you said with a small frown.

“That’s fair,” he said.

“And she’s my friend, so it’ll be more fun for me if she’s there,” you continued. “That’s why I’ll only go if she can, too.”

“Okay, okay,” Ruon-Jian said. “Fine. She can come, too.”

“Yay! Thank you so much!” you said, clapping. “It’s going to be so much fun.”

“Sure will be,” he said. “You should go get ready, though. There’ll be a lot of influential people there, so you should try to look your best.”

“Of course,” you said. “See you soon!”

Luckily, Jia-Li had been right in assuming that you and her would be the same size. You had been wearing her clothes for the entire vacation, and tonight was no different, as she picked out something nice for you to put on for the party.

“Ursa, I’m convinced you’re a miracle worker,” Jia-Li said, shaking her head. “Seriously! How is it that you managed to get us invited to one of Chan’s parties? They’re super selective.”

“Simple. Your brother invited me, and I told him I’d only go if you could, too. He was initially a bit reluctant, since he seemed to think Chan wouldn’t leave you alone, but he came around,” you said.

“You’re the best,” she said.

“I honestly might’ve just said no from the get go, but I heard that Chan was hosting, and I knew we had to attend. This is literally the sign you were waiting for!” you said. “What are the odds that your brother would invite me to a party hosted by the man of your dreams?”

“Pretty high, considering he thinks you’re really attractive and the so-called man of my dreams is his best friend,” Jia-Li said. “But I know what you’re saying, and I agree. Enough about that, though. The only thing left is for us to do our best to look amazing!”

Because Ruon-Jian and Chan were best friends, you arrived at the party before anyone else so that you could help Chan set up. His house was enormous, according to Ruon-Jian, and he had said it would be greatly appreciated if you all could lend a hand. With a meaningful look at Jia-Li, you had accepted.

“I made sure that Chan knew what food you like, Ursa, so that he could serve it,” Ruon-Jian said, his arm tossed around your shoulders. “I want you to have the best time!”

“Aren’t you so romantic, brother?” Jia-Li said dryly.

“Thank you, Ruon-Jian,” you said.

“Anytime,” he said with a smirk.

“Ruon-Jian!” a tall, muscular boy said as he opened the door to the mansion. “I thought you’d never get here.”

“Jia-Li took forever getting ready, dude,” Ruon-Jian said. “By the way, Chan, this is Ursa. And Ursa, this is Chan.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” you said.

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Chan said. “Did you say Jia-Li? Is she here?”

“I am,” Jia-Li from where she was hiding behind you and Ruon-Jian. “Hi, Chan.”

“Jia-Li! It’s been ages since I saw you last. How have you been?” Chan said, yanking her by the arm and into the house.

“Quit flirting with my sister!” Ruon-Jian shouted, though he went ignored by both Chan and Jia-Li. You patted him on the arm.

“It’s okay,” you said. “She doesn’t seem upset about it, so you shouldn’t be, either.”

“It’s just so freaky,” he said with a shudder. “Jia-Li’s my baby sister. She shouldn’t have guys interested in her, let alone guys that have been my best friend since I could count.”

“She’s grown up now,” you said. “She can make her own decisions. You should just support her.”

“If you think that’s what’s best,” he said reluctantly. “You’re pretty mature, you know.”

“It’s funny, I feel like I’ve heard that before, though I don’t quite recall who might’ve said such a thing,” you said. “It doesn’t matter; either way, thank you.”

Jia-Li and Chan were too busy talking with each other, and Ruon-Jian was too busy fixing his hair in the mirror, so the brunt of the party set up fell to you. You didn’t mind, though, liking the act of working, and you were so efficient that everything was ready right around dusk.

“The place looks great, Ursa,” Ruon-Jian said when you rejoined him in front of the mirror.

“Your hair does, too, so you can stop fiddling with it,” you said. He pulled you in by the waist, flashing a peace sign in the mirror.

“Don’t we look so good together?” he said. “It’s like…like you were meant to stand beside me.”

“I suppose so,” you said, though you weren’t sure if you would go so far as to say all that. Still, it was nice to know that someone thought you belonged with them, so when he began to lean in, you did not move away.

Right when his lips were about to brush against yours, there was a knock on the door. He drew back in irritation.

“Who is here this early?” he said. “Whatever. Where were we again?”

The moment was ruined, though, so you pretended to be preoccupied with straightening your clothes, your head tilted downwards so that he could not even catch your eye.

“These are some really punctual party guests,” you said. “No one else is here yet.”

“Yeah, punctual’s one word for it,” Ruon-Jian said, clearly taking the hint you had given him and hopefully not being too miffed about it. “Wait, it’s that group we invited when we were on the beach earlier! Should’ve known they’d be the type.”

“On the — Ty Lee?” you said.

The first one to enter, Ty Lee turned in search of whoever had said her name. When she noticed you standing beside Ruon-Jian, one of his arms still around your waist, your posture clearly still set towards him, her jaw dropped.

“Ursa?” she said. “What are you doing here?”

“I feel like that’s a question I should be asking you,” you said as she cartwheeled over to drag you away from Ruon-Jian and into a hug so tight you temporarily stopped breathing.

“We were just hanging out on the beach when we got invited to come by Chan and Ruon-Jian!” she said. “I can’t believe you’re here, too.”

“Ruon-Jian is Jia-Li’s older brother, and he’s best friends with Chan, so I think that my presence is a little more explicable than yours,” you said. “When you say we, though, who do you mean?”

“Me, Mai, Azula, and Zuko!” Ty Lee said, pointing at each of them in turn. Mai was sitting by a painting, glaring whenever someone tried to approach her, and the girl who must’ve been the infamous Princess Azula was talking to Chan while Jia-Li stood behind her, ostensibly shoved out of the way so that the princess could have her turn talking to the host.

As for Zuko, he was still awkwardly standing by the doorframe, though when he glanced over at you, his eyes widened. At first, relief filled them, but when he noticed your proximity to Ruon-Jian, a strange sort of malcontent settled over his expression.

“Zuko!” you said as he stormed over to you. Ty Lee looked at him and then back at you before promptly dashing over to Mai’s side, the only one who didn’t get glared at for daring to go near her. “What are you—?”

“Who is he?” he said.

“The name’s Ruon-Jian, dude,” Ruon-Jian said, holding out his hand for Zuko to shake. Zuko looked at it disdainfully before scoffing and then returning his gaze to you.

“He’s Jia-Li’s older brother,” you said.

“Right,” Zuko said sardonically. “That’s why the two of you are so close.”

“I’ve been staying at his house the whole time I’ve been on Ember Island, so yeah, it’s probably a contributing factor,” you said.

“I’m gonna go get some food, Ursa. There are some freaky vibes here right now that I don’t really approve of,” Ruon-Jian said, inching away.

“Do you like him?” Zuko said. You blinked, taken aback by the direct question. In his letters, he was so kind and tactful, so you had come to associate him with that sort of language. The elegance with which he wrote, the careful concern he always showed for whatever you said — all of it had caused a fondness for him to grow in you.

“He’s just my friend’s older brother,” you said. The way he was speaking now was as if he was accusing you and you had to defend yourself or face judgment, but what crime had you even committed in the first place? “He taught me to ride flying dolphin fish and invited me to the party. That’s all.”

“Of course,” he said. “He’s so cool, with his dumb hair and clothes and flying dolphin fish, so of course you like him. No surprise there.”

“Are you angry?” you said. “Why?”

“Am I angry?” he said. “No!”

“You sound a little angry,” you said meekly. “I just wanted to make sure.”

“Why would it even matter to you?” he said.

“I don’t know?” you said. “I was only asking.”

“Don’t ask questions for no reason, especially when you don’t care about the answer in the first place,” he said.

“But that’s not the case. I did care about the answer, or else I wouldn’t have asked,” you said.

“Well, next time, just ask that boyfriend of yours,” he said.

“Ruon-Jian?” you said.

“Yes?” Ruon-Jian said, appearing out of nowhere. “Here, this is for you.”

“You have such horrible timing,” you said under your breath, accepting the plate he handed you. “Zuko, have you eaten anything yet? There’s a lot of really good food out. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

“It’s all Ursa’s favorites!” Ruon-Jian said. “I made sure of it myself.”

“Oh, yeah?” Zuko said with a sneer. “What the hell do you know about her, anyways?”

“Yo, chill, dude,” Ruon-Jian said, holding his hands in the air. “Who even are you? I probably know more than you! Her and I are really close, you see.”

It was probably the worst thing he could’ve said. Zuko’s face darkened, and then, before any of you knew it, he was grabbing Ruon-Jian by the collar and throwing him into a nearby vase. You jumped at the noise before rushing over to help Ruon-Jian stand.

“I’m fine,” Ruon-Jian said, waving you off as he staggered to his feet. “What is your problem, dude?”

“Stay away from her,” Zuko said.

“Who are you to say that?” you said. “My benefactor? That doesn’t mean you get to control my life, Zuko! Why does it matter to you who I’m hanging out with? He’s from a perfectly respectable family, so it’s not like it’ll reflect badly on you. I don’t get what the big deal is!”

“Seriously?” Zuko said. “You think I care what family he’s from? Do what you want! It doesn’t matter to me. It’s what you’ll do anyways, so why should I try to stop you?”

“What happened?” you said. “Why has your opinion of me lowered so thoroughly? What have I done to offend you so greatly? I know that you are angry, and I know it is because of me, but I cannot understand why!”

“There’s a lot of things you can’t understand,” he said.

“I heard a crash, is everyone — who broke my nana’s vase?” Chan shrieked as he came back into the main room. Ruon-Jian pointed at Zuko. “You! I’ve had enough of you, alright? Get out of my party!”

“I was just leaving,” Zuko said, though not without one last glare at all of you.

“See you around, loser!” Ruon-Jian said.

“Jia-Li’s right,” you said as Mai, Ty Lee, and Princess Azula excused themselves as well. “You really are an idiot. Do you know who that was?”

“Some jealous loser?” Ruon-Jian said. You opened your mouth to argue before deflating, knowing that there was no point.

“Just forget about it. Let’s try to enjoy ourselves for the rest of the party,” you said.

Some time later, there was a knock on the door. Chan opened it, and then his face fell.

“Hello, Chan,” a voice that could only be Princess Azula’s said. “Thanks for inviting us earlier, but I have some unfortunate news to share.”

“The party’s over,” Zuko said, and then all four of them were in the room, sending bursts of fire everywhere, kicking the tables in half, swinging from the chandeliers and slicing up the paintings.

“What is going on?” Jia-Li shouted, covering her head with her hands.

“I have no idea,” you said. “Hey, what are you guys doing?”

Chan screamed as Mai threw a set of knives into a pair of antique paintings on the walls and the chandelier came crashing to the ground under Ty Lee’s weight. Jia-Li pulled you out of the way of a stray lick of blue fire from Azula, and you buried your face in your hands.

“This was a pretty terrible party,” Ty Lee said, dropping lightly to her feet in front of you. “You could say we’re showing our appreciation as guests!”

“By destroying his house?” you said as Zuko kicked an entire pillar in half.

“Yep! Wanna join?” Ty Lee said.

“No!” you and Jia-Li said in unison.

“To each their own!” Ty Lee said before springing away.

“Well…” Jia-Li said. “It would feel nice.”

“What? Why?” you said.

“I thought Chan was confessing to me on the balcony earlier, but it turns out that even though he does like me, he wants to live a free and unburdened life, without the commitment of having a girlfriend. He told me that the best he could offer me is a long-term arrangement in which he does what he wants and then spends some time with me whenever I’m on the island,” Jia-Li said.

“That’s horrible,” you said.

“And while I was out there, he told me that Ruon-Jian invited Mai and Ty Lee because he thought they were hot and he wanted a chance with them,” she continued. “So there’s that.”

You scowled, and even though you hadn’t been betrayed, it felt as if you had been. Naturally, you held no claim on Ruon-Jian, but the entire reason you had grown close to him in the first place was because you liked being someone’s priority. If you weren’t even that, then what was the point?

“Jia-Li,” you said. “Since it’s the prince and princess in charge of the destruction, you could consider it a royal order.”

“You could,” Jia-Li said, a grin creeping onto her face.

“And as students of the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, we are duty-bound to follow all royal orders,” you said.

“That we are,” she said.

“I think that means we have to participate,” you said.

“I think you’re right, Ursa,” she said.

“Of course, it’s not because we’re angry at Ruon-Jian or Chan or anything,” you said.

“Definitely not,” she agreed. “We’re just following in the prince and princess’s example.”

“That’s exactly correct,” you said. “After all, what are we but their humble and obedient servants?”

“Nothing, indeed!” Jia-Li said brightly. “All hail the royal family!”

With that, she ignited her hands and placed them right on a portrait of Chan as a child. You cheered before taking a steak knife and using it to cut up the curtains, tossing them into the fire she had started as kindling.

“I’m glad we’re friends, Ursa,” Jia-Li said.

“Yeah, I’m glad we’re friends, too.”

Ursa,

It wasn’t anything you did. I’m sorry; I was upset about something unrelated and took it out on you. You have no need to ask for my forgiveness — if anyone should be doing that, it’s me. Please, please forgive me for being so angry. I promise that I will make it up to you the next time we meet.

Yours, Zuko

P.S. I did not think that you and Jia-Li would join in, but I can’t say that I’m disappointed.

P.P.S. Ruon-Jian is ugly and his hair is terrible. You don’t need to be friends with him, anyways.

[waiitwotworkshop]

*ahem* gaang headcanons? very specifically, transfem zuko headcanons?

YAYY

Zuko goes by Lin and everyone thinks that’s her new name so they try not to deadname her, so when anyone refers to her as zuko they all cringe and try to defend her. Only for her to be like ‘idk why you guys kept calling me Lin, we’re not in public”

Zuko is sm more sensitive abt her hair. She is crying inside when she cuts it off at the end of s1 when it starts growing back in she’s so happy. It grows back a little wavy and it’s such a cute cut that makes her look feminine even w short hair.

Somehow attracts guys while working at the tea shop. This includes jet (ugh) but ultimately they don’t go further than some weird flirting which is actually just insulting each other. Jin still has a crush on her but she doesn’t go on a date with her because iroh just assumes she’s straight(it’s debatable)

Sokka rlly likes girls who can beat him up so naturally he gets a crush. This hot girl is mean to him but sometimes laughs at his jokes he’s absolutely falling for her. And he loves to treat her delicately even though she can clearly handle herself. This is where we get into some divergence from canon (other than the obvious lmao) canon zuko would not want someone to treat him so fragile but Sokka does it so lovingly that she can’t help but love it. Like ‘omg a puddle let me carry you over it so you don’t get mud on your shoes :3’ just being such a gentleman and zuko is so in love with it because she’s never been treated so gently. Ugh just imagine him being so lovesick over zuko, like ‘yes darling, anything u say darling ^^’ this is basically canon do u see the way he treats suki lol. I just love the thought of this grumpy loser doing a complete switch when it comes to zuko.

She wouldn’t go back to the firenation with Azula because she /can’t/ her father would definitely not accept her like this so this is a hypothetical but she would hate being expected to be Mai’s bf again. And she tries to give her a seashell bc she thinks it’s nice and /she’s/ a girl and likes it so why the hell doesn’t Mai like it too. She’s definitely jealous of the girls getting attention so her and azula r just pissed together.

Zuko is 10x more nervous around katara bc she desperately wants them to be friends. She just thinks back to how Azula made friends so easily and how zuko was so bad at it/didn’t want to hang out with guys that she just tagged along like a loser. She’s so desperate to finally make her own friend that she also tags along to wherever katara is and cringes at herself every time they interact. When suki joins the gaang and three of them hang out she’s secretly ecstatic.

I will literally go on abt trans girl zuko forever I’m so happy to have an excuse to talk abt her someone please ask me more

[breached-containment-script]

So the scarring discourse is still going.

No, characters keeping scars does not automatically equate to that being torture porn. In this context, fans clearly intend it in a way that says "even if you end up with physical marks, it doesn't diminish you". Or is Aang getting scarred torture porn too? Or do you think things like Mortal Engines movie shrinking the female lead's facial damage to a minimum "spared her of physical trauma"? No, it was afraid of depicting something deemed "ugly" and it's a huge disservice to real people who look like she was described in the book.

The topic was not handled super well in ATLA. Katara's wounds got healed leaving no trace on her, on her psyche nor on how she views Aang which is not just unrealistic, but you can literally feel in the show Katara having to go "no Aang it's ok, I'm fine, you don't have to beat yourself up over it, I'm healed, let it go Aang, it's not your fault," it is too much. It would have been much stronger had the burns left some mark, even a tiny one, because then Aang's reluctance to practice firebending would have made more sense and all characters would have gotten a more solid demonstration that the Avatar can be dangerous too. It would have been a wakeup call to Katara that Aang isn't a completely harmless kid she can always shield and protect. That's character development! This would have been a more powerful moment in the progression of their relationship, especially after they sort it out and Aang learns safe firebending later on, because they'd have a more real problem to overcome rather than just Aang's guilt.

Again, show didn't frame things too cleverly - there's no heightened moment of perhaps Katara being extremely happy that she discovered a part of her lost Southern waterbending heritage (just remember her behaviour with Hama, there's none of that here). The show just removes her wounds, she's confused about the ability, and this leads to Jeong Jeong making a point about how fire is wild and destructive. The whole segment ends with removing the source of the problem (wounds) and is about how evil fire is. Aang ends up being traumatized anyway, he isn't less traumatized because Katara's wounds didn't scar.

The point is - Katara gets nothing character-building out of this event, even though it made her cry and cradle her arms for several minutes on screen. Because of this her burns could be considered torture-porn (slightly). Her discovering healing abilities is not a reward she got exclusively because she suffered the burns, she could have discovered it by accidentally hurting herself, or healing someone else. Imagine if Aang hurt himself by being reckless and Katara discovering she could heal him? What she should have gotten out of specifically being burned by Aang, is a changed view of him. I don't mean her viewing him negatively, but taking a step back and both learning they should be more careful. Who said zutara stans want Katara getting scarred by Aang in order to make Aang a villain in this? He literally cannot be a villain here, he made a big mistake by being careless. It's got nothing to do with zutara. It's not helpful to misinterpret some storytelling tools that have nothing to do with shipping, just to prevent them from creating some later story hooks which could potentially be used in shipping a NOTP. Heck, Katara getting scarred could even be used (with skilled writing) in shipping her with Aang - like zutara fans use Katara being angry at Zuko and expecting him to demonstrate that he wouldn't betray or hurt them again.

And if you have a distaste for two happy friendly characters hurting each other on accident, that's fine, but well I have a scar on my arm from my brother's scratch that happened on accident. These things happen and stories shouldn't be scared of portraying it, especially if later on they show how to make ammends and overcome the problem. I'm not saying "Katara should definitely have kept her scars!!!" I am showing narrative weak points and suggestions how things could have been done differently, what benefits it could have had character-wise and what that might have changed.

[five-rivers]

Just One Day (Chapter 1)

During times like this, Iroh glimpses what Zuko could have been if Lu Ten lived.  

It’s easy, almost painfully so, for Iroh to see what he himself would have been.  He wouldn’t have had any reason to change, after all, and he had already been old by the time he’d breached the walls of Ba Sing Se.  But for Zuko?  That’s harder.  

Zuko had been a child, still forming, still being formed, when Lu Ten died.  Zuko’s training would have taken a very different path, if he had been allowed to remain a mere cousin to the crown prince.  

Looking at what could have been for Zuko is like looking into a kaleidoscope.  Even within the confines of the royal house, there are a thousand paths Zuko could have walked.  A diplomat, a priest, a soldier, a scholar, an artist, an advisor.  A spy.  An assassin.

It’s the way Zuko pours himself out of the ventilation shaft, utilizing a economy of motion that could be called graceful that does it.  The utter silence of his movements, the color of his clothes, the brightness in his eyes…  Yes.  Iroh sees what Zuko might have been.  What he might have been used for, in another world.  What even Iroh himself might have been encouraged.

But if Iroh would imagine that world, he might as well imagine any of the dozen others that have crossed his mind over the years.  That countless myriad of what-ifs set on him like a spirit plague.  If he imagines that world, he could instead picture kinder ones.  Ones where the war was over, where Zuko was happy.  

It was immaterial.  What mattered was the here and now.  Here and now, Zuko is none of those things.  Zuko is an exile, a desperate one, chasing after a rapidly narrowing beam of hope that had more in common with the lure of an angler-shark than anything good.

“Uncle?” asks Zuko, voice quiet and rough.  Burnt.

“My apologies, Nephew,” says Iroh.  “You must forgive an old man his woolgathering.”

Zuko’s pinched expression says that no, he doesn’t have to do that and probably won’t.  “You have to focus if-- if we’re doing this.  You can’t be distracted when Zhao is looking over your shoulder.”  His tone is angry.  At least, that is how most people would interpret it.

“It’s alright, it’s alright, I’ve made sure we’re alone.  We’re as safe as we can be.  In the meantime, food!  And more importantly, tea.”

Zuko scrunches his face into an expression that is both delightfully teenage and undoubtedly painful.  His face is covered in bruises and small cuts.  “Uncle…”

“You may wrinkle your nose, Prince Zuko, but every person in the world has at least one virtue, and Admiral Zhao’s is excellent taste in tea.”  He smiles as he sits down and reaches for the pot.  “Although, I am sorry to say that his virtue is a very lonely one.”

Sadly, this does not get the laugh Iroh was hoping for.  Zuko’s scowl may, however, become slightly less pronounced.  He also, once Iroh sits down, falls on the food like a starving man.  He might very well be.  Iroh’s position on the ship and in Admiral Zhao’s retinue has the unfortunate requirement of being in Zhao’s presence, or that of his trusted subordinates, most of the day.  This means that he cannot help his nephew nearly as much as he would like.  

So.  It is, in fact, very likely that this is Zuko’s first meal today.

Although, Zuko is quite capable of theft, when it serves his purposes and sense of honor.  Maybe he is just being a teenager.  Teenagers are hungry.  

Iroh would ask, but he doubts he would receive an honest answer, either way.  

Then, Zuko stops, mid-bite.  “Uncle,” he says around a dumpling, “have you eaten?”

Then again, Iroh is, perhaps, not a bastion of honesty himself.  “Of course!”  He pats his stomach.  “Have you ever known me to miss a free meal?”

Zuko squints at this, then looks back down at his food.  He doesn’t start eating again.  

“Do you ever…” he starts, before pursing his lips together.  

“Yes?” prompts Iroh, hopefully.  

“Do you ever wish,” says Zuko, quickly, the words tumbling over each other, crowding to get out of his mouth, “that you were someone else?”  He freezes, then, jaw clenched tightly, as if he fears that he has spoken out of turn.  

“No,” says Iroh, glad that, at least, this is a familiar fear.  “No.  Prince Zuko, I do not regret my decision to be with you.”

“That’s not what I mean,” says Zuko, clearly frustrated but keeping his voice at a near whisper.  “I mean…  Do you ever wish that you weren’t-- That you didn’t--  That you were a, I don’t know, a poet, or a priest, or a-- a normal person.  Somewhere.  Someone who didn’t… didn’t have to…”  He shrugged.

Iroh blinks.  Not a fear, then, perhaps.  Well, if Zuko wants to stop his hunt, to disappear from the eye of the Fire Nation and more importantly the Fire Lord, Iroh will do his best to make that happen, and with a glad heart.  Although, it would have been far more convenient if Zuko had his change of heart before he snuck onto this ship…

“I suppose all men do so at times, especially men of power.  Otherwise, why would there be so many stories of kings and lords in disguise?  Why would there be actors, or the masks of the Fire Festival?  I confess, even I have, hm, occasionally pretended to be someone who is not Prince Iroh of the Fire Nation, General and Dragon of the West.”  He paused.  “Do you wish for such a thing, Nephew?” best to not use his title and remind him of the responsibilities attached to it.

“I… I have, uncle.”  He looks up, alarm clear on his face.  “Not permanently!  Not forever!  Not-- Not even for very long!  But sometimes…”  He looks down again, a blush spreading across skin that is alternately pale, scarred, burned, bruised, and scraped.  “I wish,” he says, very quietly indeed, “I could be someone else, anyone else, just for a day.”

In that moment, Iroh can see all the things that Zuko wishes not to be, not to have.  He wishes not to hurt, not to be hurt, not to have this weight upon him, not to have this duty, not to be banished, not to be so far from home, not to be part of this war, not to have these memories, this history, not to be betrayed over and over again.

Although, that is probably not the way Zuko is thinking about it.

“But just for a day,” says Zuko.  He swallows.  “Just for a day.  I know my duty, Uncle.  I love our people.  It’s my honor to serve them.”

Ah.  Perhaps Zuko is not, quite, ready to run away with him to become nameless, faceless Earth Kingdom peasants, then.  Well, Iroh always knew this was going to be, how should he put it, a work in progress.  Or, no, that probably wasn’t the best way to put that.  He’d have to think on it.  

Metaphors took a lot of work that the youth of today just didn’t appreciate.

Iroh put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder and squeezed it as tightly as he dared.  “I understand, Prince Zuko,” he said.  “But I hope that someday, the spirits will grant your wish.”

Zuko blinked hard, then went back to inhaling his meal.  A few minutes later, he was climbing - practically levitating - his way back up into the vents.  

Iroh leaned back, sighing.  They really shouldn’t make those things as big as they did.  

.

Zuko crawled to the bend in the ventilation shaft that he’d been sleeping in while Zhao sailed north.  It was near the showers, so while it was unpleasantly damp, it was warm and he could sometimes overhear the officers talking.  

He curled up, tucking in his knees and pillowing his head on the small bag of necessities he’d been able to put together.  He should sleep.  He needed to sleep.  

But to sleep, he’d have to forget all the stupid things he had said to his uncle.  What had he been thinking?  Ugh.  He’d hit something, if that wouldn’t give away his position and therefore his presence.  

Well.  It might not, at that.  Ships were noisy.  Still.  

Still.  

Still, he hadn’t been lying.  But he knew better than to just say things like that.  That’s what got him exiled in the first place.  

He forcefully closed his eyes.  He would sleep.  He had to be rested, to break into the north pole and capture the Avatar.  

.

The sun slowly rose over the arctic horizon, waking all of the fleet’s firebenders, even if for only a moment, depending on their shift.  In his stateroom, Admiral Zhao woke slowly, and called for his aides to brief him.  Decks below, General Iroh, already awake, ran through a set of katas he had not yet taught his nephew.  In a ventilation duct near the officer’s showers, a teenage firebender gasped, coming awake all at once.  But this teenager wasn’t Prince Zuko.  Prince Zuko wasn’t on the ship.  Prince Zuko wasn’t anywhere.  

In the ventilation duct, Kuzon of Hing Wa sat up.  

.

(The moral of the story is ‘don’t make wishes when you’re in a spirit tale.’)

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine getting Azula a present for her birthday

The first thing you noticed when your family returned to the fire nation was how serious everyone was. You’d been born in a fire nation colony so had little experience with the capital of your nation. Your parents were high born but even they’d relaxed in the colonies and allowed you to have a mostly normal life. However once Ozai declared your parent’s mission over and summoned them back to the capital that all ended. Rules patroling you seemed to spring from everywhere. Don’t wear your hair fully down, don’t meet the eye of anyone who ranks higher than you, bow from the floor to all members of the royal family...the list was endless! Due to your parent’s being very well respected you were introduced to Azula and she took you into her group. Part of you wondered if she only did it to please her father or because you were considered an oddity here in the capital but as time went on you didn’t think either was the case. Everyone here was very strict or distant and even Azula’s closest friends didn’t know her very well. Mai seemed to tolerate her mainly because of her titles and brother. Ty lee, while seemingly fond of Azula, obviously didn’t try getting closer to her than necessary. That wasn’t how friendships worked in your town and you were determined not to pick up this capital custom. So you put time and effort into all three of the girls and made progress with each. You’d go shopping with Ty lee, discuss popular and obscure theology with Mai and help Azula think through her battle strategies. Azula was the one who reacted the strongest to your attention and friendship. She began spending more time with you alone, seeking you out regularly and inviting you to events where even Mai and Ty lee weren’t permitted to go. You found yourself drawn to Azula because she seemed like the one who could most do with a friend. Mai had Zuko, Ty lee seemed content flitting from numerous different people but Azula didn’t really have anyone.

So you continued nurturing your friendship and when Azula’s birthday came around you set out to get her the most meaningful present you could to let her know she was cared for. You were very excited with your choice of present and rushed into the palace, the box you’d spent hours wrapping and unwapping until it was perfect, held tightly in your hands. “Good morning” you smiled finding Mai, Ty lee and Zuko in the royal wing. “Good morning” Ty lee beamed back but Zuko and Mai just nodded not being morning people. Mai noticed your present first. “What’s that?” she asked and you smiled “Azula’s present!”. They all looked at you confused and Zuko spoke first “why are you buying my sister a present?”. “Because it’s her birthday” you explained but that didn’t seem to help, they all still stared at you blankly. “It’s her birthday so I got her a birthday present...is that not something you do in the capital?”. “No but it sounds very sweet” Ty lee grinned. Mai shrugged “I would like presents every year just for being born but I can’t say I understand the logic”. Zuko nodded but you shrugged “ow well, hopefully Azula will enjoy it anyway”. “You’re still going to give it to her”? Zuko asked shocked and you paused “well why wouldn’t I?”. “She might think it’s weird considering you only give people presents when you’re...”. Mai hit Zuko’s arm before he could finish and shook her head. You stared confused “if you’re what?”. “It doesn’t matter” Mai said quickly “Zuko was thinking of something else, I think Azula’s in her study if you want to see her”. You frowned but Mai and Ty lee smiled at you encouragingly so you shook Zuko’s words from your mind and went to find the birthday girl. 

You knocked on Azula’s door and heard her call come in. “Happy birthday Azula!” you cried as soon as your eyes fell on her. Azula jumped vividly, the  brush she was writing with dragging messily across the page ruining her letter. “I am so sorry” you gaped “can it be saved”. “No it cannot” Azula sighed angrily “please in the future don’t scream just because it’s my birthday”. You nodded “is wishing someone a happy birthday not a thing here either?” you asked “just when I think I’m getting a handle on the capital I mess everything up”. “Birthdays are not a big deal here” Azula nodded “only important ones are given any recognition but I have heard of some places where every single birthday is celebrated. I take it your home town is one such place?”. You nodded smiling at the memory “Yes! Every year you usually have a party or do something special with the people you love most! You eat your favourite foods and someone usually makes a cake, it’s lovely”. Azula nodded her head but looked unconvinced and then her eyes fell on the box in your hand. “And what is this?”Azula asked. “A present” you smile brightly but Azula blushed and looked away for some reason. “For my birthday right?” she asked “this is one of your odd traditions nothing more?”. “Yes” you agreed unsure what else a present could mean “you also give the person whose birthday it is a present, something you think they’ll like and wrap it up nicely for them...can I give it to you?”. Azula was still red but nodded so you placed it down on the desk before stepping away. 

Azula picked it up hesitantly and undid the bow before removing the lid carefully. You watched her face excitedly for any reaction but all Azula did was stare inside. You were dying for a sign however small to know if she loved or hated it but Azula continued to stare until you thought you would burst of anticipation. When you couldn’t contain yourself any longer you sighed “so do you like it? It’s the trinket we saw in that glass store in town”. Azula nodded her head “yes I recognise it...how did you decide on this for me?”. “Well I thought I saw you admiring it when we were there because you kept staring at it but now I’m not sure if you staring at something means you love or hate it”.

Azula remembered the day a few weeks ago when you went into town together and she recalled how you’d mysteriously disappeared before reappearing minutes later. She picked up the small figurine carefully. It was a rose that fit in the palm of her hand made of different orange, red and yellow coloured glass all intricately folded together. When the light hit it looked as if it was on fire and Azula remembered thinking it looked very beautiful and she had the same thought now. 

“So...is it okay?” you asked nervously “If you don’t like it then I can always return it and get you something else?”. “No!” Azula said sharply before she composed herself and rid her face of the emotion she felt underneath. “It is a nice present, I like the colours...” she said awkwardly aware she was blushing “I will keep it, thank you”. The look on your face made Azula’s heart beat faster. You were so happy that she liked the tiny piece of glass and Azula figured if such a small thing could cause you so much happiness maybe it wasn’t such a stupid tradition after all. “I’m so glad you like it” you grinned “I was going to suggest we have a meal or something to celebrate but as that’s probably not a thing here either I’ll leave you to your work. Have a lovely birthday day Princess” you smiled and with a bow to her you disappeared.

Later

All day your gift didn’t leave Azula’s mind. Usually when you gave someone a present it meant you were interested in courting that person. For a second when you entered Azula thought that was what you intended, she thought this was your declaration before she realised what your intention’s really were. As she stared at the small rose she recalled the slight relief she felt realising you didn’t mean to court her but she also felt another feeling, larger and deeper inside herself which she refused to acknowledge. 

Azula placed the rose back in the box and got back to work. A while later a servant let her know that her father was ready for her and she prepared to meet with him. She hesitated to leave the present you gave her and frowned. She saw the servant glance at it and blushed furiously. “Tell my father I will be there soon” she commanded and he scurried away. Azula sighed and lifted the lid off the box once again. The rose was still shining beautifully and Azula hesitated before picking it up and slipping it into her pocket. 

The meeting did not go well. Ozai didn’t mention Azula’s birthday which wasn’t odd but the fact he didn’t even seem aware it was today stung a little considering a girl she knew for only 8 months did. The meeting went from bad to worse as Ozai started snapping at everyone in the room and through it all Azula gently held your rose. It was cold in her palm and she liked the coolness. She carried on with her meeting, holding the rose whenever she needed something positive to focus on, and got through the meeting. 

When Azula was finally dismissed she was relieved and felt the toll it had taken on her. She started back to her study aware she still had work to do but honestly her eyes were tired and her brain hurt. She didn’t want to do any more work and your offer suddenly came into her head. You’d mention something about food...a tradition you’d thought to try before figuring Azula wouldn't want to. Azula thought it over before she found a messenger and dispatched them to go find you.

You arrived at Azula’s apartments in the palace confused. Her note hadn’t said much just that she wanted to see you and to come quickly. So you dutifully dropped your very busy schedule (which concerned lounging and reading in the gardens) and made your way to her door. Two guards let you in and you called out for Azula. “Ah y/n” a voice replied and you turned to see Azula descending the stairs. “Azula” you smiled before remembering the note “is everything okay? Your note just said to come here”. “Everything is fine” Azula assured you “I just...thought we could entertain that custom of yours”. “The meal?” you asked excitedly. Azula nodded looking away to disguise her blush “exactly, what must we do?”. You laughed “we don’t have to attack it like a battle! I have everything planned, I’d already gotten the picnic ready and I still have the spot in the gardens although I do need to decorate it and call the others...if you give me an hour I will have everything ready!”. Azula nodded “that is fine” and with a smile you rushed for the door. Before you could disappear Azula called out to you “ow and y/n there’s no need to disturb the others i’m sure they’re too busy on such short notice”. You paused “are you sure? You’re their friend so i’m sure they’d happily drop whatever they were doing to celebrate your birthday, I mean it only happens once a year”. Azula smiled at the sentiment but shook her head “somehow I doubt they’ll think that way but it doesn’t matter, I will be happy with just the two of us”. Now it was your turn to blush. You nodded and bowed slightly “of course princess” and left the room. 

An hour later Azula made her way to the gardens, following the instructions you’d sent her. She usually avoided the gardens for obvious reasons but she was hoping you’d give her a good memory in the place her mother cherished. You’d said to follow the yellow flowers and so Azula did that until she saw a raised area. There was a small platform with food all arranged along a small table. A small cake perched in the centre with the words “Happy Birthday Azula” frosted on the top. Lanterns hung around the platform and lines of colourful fabric hung from the ceiling of the structure. Cushions were placed on the floor in a seating area and the whole area looked very inviting even if it wasn’t very fire nation. Azula took in the scene for a few seconds before she realised you were there. You were muttering about something as you re-arranged some of the decorations your back to her. “Y/n” she called and you jumped “Azula! I promise I’m almost done I was just trying to work out where to place the balloons”. Azula smiled “there’s balloons too?” looking at the sea of decorations all over the small structure. You paused “why is it too much?”. Azula stepped through the doorway and saw due to the streams of decorations you were practically hidden away from the rest of the garden. Azula liked that idea and surveyed the rest of the platform. The lanterns made the light that passed through them change colour and they chimed nicely in the breeze. The food looked and smelled delicious and the cushions looked very comfortable. “No this is just perfect” Azula smiled. You beamed at her happily and squeezed her arm “I’m so happy you like it! You deserve a special day”. Azula blushed and wasn’t sure how to respond to something like that, especially while you were staring at her just inches away. So Azula just avoided the topic. 

“Shall we begin?” she asked and you nodded. You placed a selection of all the foods (which were all Azula’s favourites of course) on a plate and passed it her before doing the same for yourself. You joined her on the cushions and smiled “so! How was your birthday? What made you decide to indulge me?”. Azula looked down at her food “it was fine...I had a really long war meeting and honestly the thought of doing more work after it was not appealing, so I contacted you. I know it’s not ideal, a whole evening wasted on being frivolous but there’s nothing to do about it now. I’ll just work extra hard tomorrow”. You frowned before looking up at her “it’s your birthday so I think you’re allowed to have a more chilled day just enjoying yourself. Plus you already work so hard anyway, if anyone deserves a rest it’s you”. “Yes but I work hard for a reason, you don’t become the best by being lazy”. You nodded “yes but you’re already the best!” you grinned “so sit back and relax for one evening. The world will still be waiting for you to conquer it tomorrow”. You nudged her shoulder and despite your words going against everything she’d been taught Azula found herself smiling “okay”. 

The two of you chatted while you ate and when you finished you began cutting Azula a piece of cake. She watched the concentration clearly etched on your face fondly. You passed Azula the piece and she took a bite cautiously but she had no reason to. It was wonderful. “This is rather nice y/n what type of cake is it?”. You smiled “it’s based off a red velvet cake because you know fire nation but I also added some spice because I know you like it”. “You made this?” Azula cried and you nodded “yes but it was no bother...i’m just glad you like it”. “I do” Azula agreed “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this silly custom of yours. It is nice to be spoiled”. You nodded grinning “it is! My birthday is in January just so you know”. Azula froze at the thought of having to plan something like this for you when you laughed “don’t worry I was joking, you don’t have to do anything for me”. “Well I doubt I’d be able to match this” Azula said gesturing around her “but I will remember, you have my word”. You smiled blushing but didn’t break your eyes away from her “thank you Azula, I’m really glad I met you”. Azula went red matching you and nodded her head “I am too...although I should be going soon. I have a meeting early tomorrow morning”. You nodded standing “of course, would you like me to walk you back to your room?”. Azula shook her head “that is fine thank you y/n...do you need any help with all the decorations?” she asked hesitantly. You shook your head “no it’s fine, the decorations will take 5 minutes to pack away and i’ll take the spare food to the kitchen...the only thing is the cake, would you like to take it or would you like me to?”. Azula eyed the cake remembering the delicious taste and nodded “I will take it with me”. You packaged it up for her and smiled “well I hope you’ve had a nice birthday”. “I have thank you” Azula nodded “now I must be going”. You nodded and waved as Azula left the gardens. 

Azula walked through the palace to her room your cake in her hands and she felt proud. Her friend had made this to celebrate her birthday. She hadn’t asked you to, you did it because you wanted to do it for her, because you cared for her. Azula stepped inside her room and looked about her. She couldn’t help but realise after all the colourful decorations you’d used just how dull her room was. Despite all of the finery none of the room was really hers. None of the pieces had been bought just for her, they were all things passed down for generations. Azula placed your cake on a table and took your present out of her pocket, running her hand over it softly. Nobody had ever bought her something just because they wanted her to be happy. Azula wondered where to place your present. She didn’t want it out in the open where anyone could see or break it. She couldn’t find anywhere suitable so she changed and got into bed still undecided. She toyed with the figurine remembering the way you’d smiled when she said she liked it. Now safely in her own room alone she recognised she’d been slightly disappointed this was a token of friendship and nothing else. She enjoyed having your attention and liked you most out of all her friends but in a very different way. Still, even if this wasn’t a romantic gesture it was still a gesture of love and such an open un-fire nation one. 

Azula smiled to herself before placing the rose under her pillow where she could hide it but also keep it close to her while she slept. “What a strange day” she muttered to herself but she knew it hadn’t actually been strange, it had been the best birthday she could remember having and it was all because of you.   

___

I’m constantly sad Azula never had anyone really love and care for her like Zuko did, she deserved better. But even if someone had shown her affection, based on her sad upbringing, I feel like Azula wouldn’t know how to respond to it because she’s never been shown what love is so I want to shower her in it!!  Hence this story :)

[roseeycreates-blog]

I’ve been getting asks about the Farmer AU, and it's bringing me so much joy! 😂 There are 2 more asks left, so here’s something in the meantime. If you have more questions, just send them my way—it’ll make me truly happy! ANYWAY~

Here are the GAANG KIDS. Can you recognize who's who? 😊🤭

I had fun designing these on Picrew!~ female | male

After dating for a year, Lin decided to officially become Tenzin's girlfriend. Tenzin was over the moon, and his siblings noticed the sudden change in his attitude. They interrogated him until he cracked and confessed about Lin. Kya had an idea and told Tenzin they wanted to meet her. Tenzin hesitantly agreed, knowing his sister well enough to realize there was no stopping her. When the day came, they all met at a coffee shop. To Tenzin's surprise, Kya and Bumi weren't the only ones there—Princess Izumi and Suyin Beifong were also sitting at the table. Tenzin let out a huge sigh, touching his temples, while Lin just smiled at him, trying to calm him down. Lord Zuko's only daughter, Princess Izumi, was in town because, as the future Fire Lord, she needed to be up-to-date on all political meetings and such. Suyin was just bored at home, so she decided to come along. Lin was nervous at first, but seeing Tenzin looking more stressed than her helped her relax. As they settled down, Tenzin let Lin sit first. Bumi teased, "Wow, Tenzin, such a gentleman! You never do that for us." Kya chimed in, "Yeah, what's with the special treatment? You never pulled out a chair for me!" Suyin chimed in, "Seriously, Tenzin, that's a first!" Izumi added with a playful smirk, "Well, I have servants for that, but it's nice to see chivalry isn't dead." They all laughed, and Lin felt herself easing into the conversation. It felt like she had known them forever. Once everyone was comfortable, they asked Lin about her work and where she was from. She explained, "I own a farm outside Republic City. I originally came from Ba Sing Se." Bumi then pointed out, "Hey, weren't you featured in the newspaper recently?" Lin smiled, "Yes, that was me." Suyin asked politely, "Are you a bender by any chance?" Lin shook her head, "No, I'm not." Suyin remarked, "That's surprising. I'm an earth bender and imagine having that element, it would make farming a lot easier." Kya nudged her as Tenzin glared at Suyin. Izumi swiftly changed the subject, "So, Lin, how did you and Tenzin meet? I'm curious… What did you see in him?" Lin and Tenzin were caught off guard by Izumi's question. Lin glanced at Tenzin, who looked slightly insulted but then smiled at her, encouraging her to share the story. Lin took a deep breath and started to explain, "Well, we met for the first time…"

[broadwaybalogna]

Times I’ve inserted myself onto Zuko or Katara and helped myself.

I JUST made a post about self inserting on Katara and also Zuko and how it’s okay. This post will go over times I’ve done it and how I was able to help myself through rough times.

1. An except from “They Say Beauty is Pain”, a fic I wrote surrounding body image and dysmorphia.

”I don’t know. I guess I just…” she struggled to find the words to explain her feelings, “for lack of a better term, wish I liked my body more?”

[…]

”I think there are parts of ourselves that we all fail to understand and accept,” he finally began after a long pause. “I mean, look at me. I have a huge scar on my face but you sit next to me and tell me how beautiful it makes me. […] The same goes for you. […] Whatever you may dislike about yourself, I know I love it more than you could imagine. […] We all have things we’re insecure about, yeah. But I think the opinions that matter most are those closest to us and can best shape us to love ourselves the most. If that even makes sense.”

This entire one-shot was me writing about my experience with my body. As a firm hurt/comfort lover, I had to find a way for Katara (or me) to be comforted. This can go for my readers as well, people who may associate themselves with Katara and also suffer from body image issues can (I hope) read this and feel comforted about themselves.

2. An except from “Sleep When You Can, My Dear (I’ll Be Here When You Wake)” a fic I wrote about taking meds and the effects it can have on a person.

”For a long time, I didn’t know who I was without my trauma. It shaped my entire personality to who I am today. Every piece of me became what it was because of my own suffering. I didn’t know how different I would be if I… healed. The idea of a version of myself that wasn’t who I was in that moment was scary… But I realized, over time, that even though those moments will forever shape who I am as a person, they don’t have to define me. I am not some girl who lost her mother two years ago and goes to therapy for it. I’m more than that. And you’re more than the boy with father issues who needs medication. We improve ourselves each day by living and accepting that we can be better. And I look forward to knowing that the next day, I’ll get new experiences that will shape who I become.”

Guys, I can only write stuff like this by putting myself into the characters shoes. I actually technically inserted myself into BOTH Katara and Zuko to write this. How would I react to someone saying this? How would I comfort my partner (if I had one)?

3. An except from “The Psychology of a Test” which is about finding a balance between school and life.

“Zuko,” Katara finally said, lowering her voice and finally becoming more calm, “I don’t really know much about your relationship with your dad- or school. But it was so nice seeing you actually happy and talking these past few days. It really put things into perspective for me. I realize that I’ve been studying so much all the time, that I never thought about how it affected you. I’m sorry.”

“What? No, don’t be sorry. My relationship with school is.. complicated at best, but in no way is any of it your fault,” he sat up to face Katara, “but I have realized how much more I like being free. I just need to find a balance.”

“Could I- could I help you find it?” Katara asked after a short moment has passed.

“I’d love that.”

Many published authors will say that what they write is based on real experiences they have gone through. Why is it okay for published authors to do this and not fanfiction authors?

Don’t let ANYONE tell you that you can’t write characters to connect with you.

You CAN.

[deimagines]

Her Falling and Her Legacy *Part 3 ( A ATLA and LOK Imagine)

Been away for so long cuz of college. But I am HERE! and I am not leaving! Part 1/2/

General Iroh II arrives at the Air Temple and Zuko has a dream.

Ba Sing Se

100 AG

Y/N smiles happily that her mooncakes have come out perfectly. It was the first time she had made them, and she was proud of how they turned out. She even gave them a little dragon design on it, circling a jasmine flower.  

She took a careful bite to taste the flavors and smiled.  

“Mmh, not bad!” She says to herself and makes a small plate for her and her roommates. She just wished that Zuko would wake up soon. 

After Zuko released the Avatar’s flying bison, he became sick.  

Iroh said that his aura is changing drastically and was the reason for his illness.  

She sighs in worry but puts on a brave face before placing the plate on the kitchen table.  

Iroh took one and tasted it. A smile was presented on his face. A clear sign that he was happy by the taste. “Incredible! You have outdone yourself, Y/N.”  

“Thank you, Iroh. It’s my first time making these.”  

Zuko entered the room and Iroh presented the mooncakes to him.  

“Look, nephew, Y/N made mooncakes. Try one!”  

Zuko looks at the hopeful gaze on Y/N’s face over his uncle’s shoulder and takes one.  

After taking a bite, he hums lightly. “Pretty good.”  

“Really?” She asked, worry washed away.  

“Yeah. Really good, actually.” He takes another bite.  

“Maybe we should add them to the menu of our tea shop.” Iroh suggested.  

“Okay, but only I get to make them, I don’t want anyone stealing my recipe.”  

“Deal!” Iroh finalizes their ‘business’.  

Northern Air Temple

171 AG

Tenzin watched his pupils, yet again, with frustration.  

It had weeks, but he still has ye tot manage to shape them into the ideal air nomads that he and his grandfather had dreamed of for as long as he can remember. After the close call with the bison herd from getting stolen by animal traffickers, if Kai and the other airbenders hadn’t interfered, he had expected they would at least become more serious about their training. 

He winced as another was hit and out of the spinning paddles. 

Not a lot, but at least a little.  

He sighed once again and continued to watch until one certain pupil caught his attention.  

 At least one of them had expected those expectations.  

“Don’t just stand there, Rookie! Be the leaf!” Meelo orders her as he pointed at the gates with his chest puffed up.  

She looks down at him and then back at the paddle with a steady gaze. She watches as they spin and spin and then something just clicks. 

“A leaf. . . I get it.”  

She took her position and started moving her feet and walked onto the course, eyes closed.  

Tenzin watched in tense, nobody had done it the first time with eyes closed before.  

Yet she did the impossible, and moved like Meelo has instructed, like a leaf. But it wasn’t just dodging, it was like she was dancing. Like the leaf, she redirected any impacts that she stumbled upon her way through the grates and let the wind guide her to safety.  

She finally arrived at the other side, unharmed and lowers of hands together.  

The others looked at her with amazement and envy as whispers broke out. 

“Wow.” 

“She’s amazing.”  

“She makes it look so easy.”  

Bai-La was an incredible pupil. The most attentive, the most graceful and hard-working student that he has ever had the closest joy to have. 

Other than the poor man that he had to demonstrate to shave, Bai-La was the only one who willingly volunteered to have her hair shaved. Technically, she asked for a half-shaved look to not lose all of her hair. He hesitated, but she was the only one who volunteered.  

She passed every test and breathing exercises as well as understanding his lectures and stories, excluding.  

If she kept it up, she would be at the same level as his children and Korra.  

And . . . another thought had haunted his mind ever since he saw her eyes.  

Y/N. The girl who would’ve been the Fire Lady.  

Zuko’s first love.  

Though he was not sure if it was just a coincidence, Bai-La's eyes and face were the exact copy of the girl who would’ve been his aunt.  

Everyone knew the story. How Y/N The Gentle fought and aided future Chief Sokka, his would-be wife, Suki and future Chief of Police Toph to stop Fire Lord Ozai’s invasion.  

Only Y/N was sacrificed for the cause.  

His mother once told him of how broken Zuko was when he heard of the news of his beloved’s demise, but he had to remain strong as he was the next Fire Lord. He managed to find happiness in Mai, but even she knew that she couldn’t compete with the girl who had stolen her husband’s heart, their respect for each other is unreal.  

In fact, the now Fire Lord, name, Izumi was half of Y/N’s name, Y/N Izumi, to honor her in memory.  

Which brings him to another situation. 

“Alright everyone, that’s enough for today. We’ll continue tomorrow after our morning meditation.”  

Most of them sighed in relief and even went on their separate ways in groups or alone. Bai-La jumps done and lands on her feet gracefully.  

As she was about to leave, Tenzin stopped her.  

“Just a moment Bai. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”  

“Yes, Sifu Tenzin?” She looks up at him.  

“Follow me.” He says, and they made their way out of the training grounds.  

They reached one of many balconies of the temple and he took out an envelope from his robes.  

“Here.” He hands it to her. “Letters from your family. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise of bringing them here, but the letter that you sent to them was most helpful.”  

Bai-La smiles gratefully and bows to him. “Thank you. These mean more a lot to me than you can think of.” She opens one and immediately begins to read.  

Tenzin nods. “I’m glad. . . there is something else that I need to bring up.”  

“Yes?” She looks back up at him.  

“As you know by now, our situation with the world leaders have been a little. . . strained with the idea of airbenders being back to society.”  

“You mean President Raiko?”  

Tenzin didn’t reply. “Our first impression was not . . .impressive, per say. Two days from now, General Iroh will come visit by to write a report on our activities and how fair we are doing.”  

“You mean spying?” She teases lightly.  

“Yes.” He couldn’t help but to comply with her humor. “But General Iroh is a good man. The one he’s working above him, however.”  

“No need for more explanations.” She raises her hand to stop him. “But I still have yet to understand what it has to do with me?”  

“Well, other than Kai and my brother, you Bai-La have the greatest potential out of all the other airbenders. In fact, you’ve become a sort of prodigy. Which is why I want you to be a representative of the airbenders once the General arrives to build his report.” 

“I don’t know what to say.” She says in surprise. “I am . . .”  

“Just don’t get it to your head.” Tenzin teases as he places a hand on her shoulder. “You should prepare, the General will be here next week.” 

“Yes, and thank you, Sifu Tenzin.” She bows with her fist connected to her palm.  

He returns it and they began to walk away until Bai notices something. 

“Is that an old oven?”  

Tenzin looks over his shoulder and sees a familiar oven that brought up wonderful memories.  

“Why yes, the air acolytes use it, but they’re a little old fashion these days. I used to make cakes with my father here once, Bumi did not like them.” 

“Were they that bad?”  

A secret smile made its way up to the corners of his mouth. “Not exactly.”  

“Well, then, can I use it? I would love to make some mooncakes or some sweetbread.” She had sparkles in her eyes as she explained. 

Tenzin raises an amused brow. “I don’t see why not. Here, let me show you a recipe my father taught me.” 

*** 

Bumi was happily taking a stroll until something fell from the sky.  

His head was suddenly covered in frosting and cake bits. He shouted at the sky in anger, knowing exactly who was responsible. 

“TENZINNNNN!”  

Tenzin and Bai-La looks down from the balcony and they both laugh. They then bow to each other. 

“Your aim is perfect, my bright pupil.”  

“Thanks, Sifu Tenzin.”  

*** 

The Fire Nation.  

The winds brushed his hair wildly as he stood there in the courtyard where the fountain lay, the exact one from Ba Sing Sae. The one where she took him there by accident.  

Cherry blossom petals suddenly fall from the sky. Where did they come from? He doesn’t know. 

“Zuko.”  

His eyes widened and he slowly turned. The wind blowing through his hair as the owner of the voice that had called out to him was full in his sight.  

There she was.  

Young and beautiful as he remembered.  

Her dress was the one she wore on their first date. 

He felt his youth coming back as he suddenly morphs back into the young lad he used to be when they were still together.  

He ran to the other side of the fountain, where she was and crashes her into a hug. She let out a giggle as he twirls her around until he settles her back to the ground. Her head burry on his chest as he hugs her.

“I missed you.” He whispers into her hair.  

“I missed you, too.” She muffles into his chest.  

“This is another dream. Is it?” His tone of content did not waver.  

“I’m afraid so.” She confesses. “But it’ll be over soon.”  

His hold on her tightened at those words. This dream always ended the same way. He begs her to stay longer, but she always says no.  

“Please. Just a little longer. A minute even.”  

“You don’t understand, Zuko. It will be over soon.”  

He frowns, this was different. He pulls away to look down at her. “What will be over soon?” 

She raises a hand to cup his cheek, her thumb caressing the edge of his scar.  

This was different too.  

But he didn’t care, he leans into the touch and grabs it to kiss the palm of her hand.  

“You’ll see.”  

He suddenly wakes up.  

He sat up and looked at the morning sky from his open window.  

It has been days since he arrived at the Fire Nation to protect Izumi. She was reluctant to take the decision, saying that she didn’t need any protection, but he insisted. She has only heard of Zaheer and the Red Lotus, never seen them of what they are capable of.  

His hands clutched the silk duvet as he imprinted the words of his first beloved. 

It’ll be over soon.  

But what did she mean by that? 

*** 

Bai-La sighs as she wipes the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand after setting the last batch of mooncakes on tray. She smiled at her grandmother’s signature design on the treats as fond memories began to unfold. She looks at the ready mooncakes that were packaged in boxes. At the sight of it, there was enough for a whole fleet. Which was what she was going for.  

Ikki was there too, sitting near the baker on a rail of the balcony munching on a cake that Bai had given her. “Mmh! This is the best mooncake I ever tasted.” She pauses. “Don’t tell my mom I said that.”  

Bai only smiles. “I’m glad you like them! It’s my grandmother’s recipe, never changed and never left eaten without a single crumb behind.”  

Ikki looks at the number of mooncakes. “But why are you making so much? Is there a party? Are we having a party? Is it someone’s birthday?”  

“Nope,” Bai answers quickly to cut off any remaining questions that the little girl has. “These are for the Air Acolytes as a thank you for helping us settling in the temple and for the Fleet of the United Republic of Nations as a welcome present.”  

Ikki looks at the many boxes. “That’s a lot of mooncakes.”  

“Ooh!” Meelo made himself known. “Mooncakes! Score!”  

He was about to touch the ones that were already packed but Bai lightly taps his hand with a wooden spoon. “Apbububu- No touchy. Those are for the Air Acolytes and our guests tomorrow.”  

Meelo rubs his hand in dismay, but his mood suddenly changed when a plate of mooncakes was in front of his face. 

“These however are for airbenders.” Bai smiled.  

He gladly takes one and takes a bite. His eyes sparkled as his tastebuds sings his mood. “Whoa! It’s like I’ve been taken to Flavor Heaven!”  

He then takes more and more to stuff in his mouth, but Bai pulls that plate away from him as she laughs. “Hey! Save some for the others, Little Sifu.”  

Little Sifu was a nickname she had given him since she started her training, Meelo didn’t seem to mind since the word Sifu is being used directly to him.  

“Alright, since you two are here. Mind helping give these out till’ dinner time? I’ll put in a good dozen of mooncakes for you once we’re done.”  

“You trade in a hard bargain, lady.” Meelo comes by and takes a few boxes with Ikki.  

“But the temple is so big. How are we gonna take these to everyone by dinner? I’ll be tired from all the walking.”  

“Who says anything about walking?”  

Ikki and Meelo shared a look.  

*** 

An air acolyte was done cleaning the windows, when suddenly, he hears the familiar sounds of wind whistles.  

Before he could look behind, three figures passed by him, and he felt something in his hands. He looked down and was surprised to see a white box in his hands with a sweet aroma coming from it.  

He squinted to the culprit that gave him the box and see Bai-La with the airbending children on air scooters with other boxes balanced on the top of their heads.  

“Thanks for your hard work!” Bai shouted.  

The air acolyte raises a brow but opens the box, nonetheless, he takes out a mooncake and smiles to where the benders headed before taking a bite.  

“Mmh!” 

*** 

Like Bai had hoped, they managed to deliver the mooncakes to every acolyte at the Temple by dinner. Some were surprised but mostly happy by the thoughtful treats.  

Everyone finished their meals and the airbenders were surprised by Bai’s mooncakes waiting for them.  

“So, this is what the commotion was about within the acolytes.” Tenzin said as he takes one.  

“I wanted to thank them for helping us settle in the Air Temple.”  

“How thoughtful.” Pema complements as she takes a mooncake as well. She noticed the design and admired it. “What a lovely touch.” 

Bai smiled. “Thank you, it’s my gram-gram's signature.”  

“These are delicious!”  

“I know right!” Ikki was happily eating them.  

Bai sat in her seat as she was being thanked and asked for making mooncakes again from airbenders and acolytes alike. One even asked for the recipe, but she shakes her head.  

“Sorry guys, family secret. My grandmother would haunt me if shared the recipe from outside of the family.”  

The mood in the room changed drastically after hearing the comment.  

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Bai.” Tenzin apologizes. 

The young woman only smiled and shakes her head again. “It is fine, Master Tenzin, it was a long time ago. . .” She fiddles with something that tied around her neck that Ikki seemed to be the only one to notice.  

“What that?”  

Bai pulls it up a bit to show it. It was a half pendant that shined brightly in the light.  

“It’s an heirloom, it belonged to my grandmother once, before she passed away. “  

“Pretty! But where’s the other half?” Ikki tilted her head. 

“I don’t know, my grandmother never really explained it to me.” 

As Bai tries her best explain the mystery, by mere sight of the necklace, Tenzin was suddenly pulled into flashback, a memory that he had almost forgotten.  

When Lord Zuko was telling them the bravery of the only fallen friend during the war.  

Y/N the Gentle.  

The portrait the Fire Nation Palace displays for her honor was made with as much detail as possible, the beautiful smile and kindness showing in her eyes. But what really stuck to young Tenzin the most was the necklace that the young girl was wearing around her neck.  

One that took a similar resemblance to the one that Bai-La has in her hands.  

And if he remembered the tales that Iroh had told him when he became older, Lord Zuko had the intension to marry Y/N after they brought peace to the Four Nations. But that promise was taken away from him when Y/N sacrificed herself to save his uncle and Toph Beifong.  

He frowns at the sight of the necklace as the possibility ran through his mind.  

After dinner, he stood up and announced that he had something to take care of in his study.  

Once there, He rummaged through the bookshelf until he found what he was looking for. He opens it and flips through the pages until he stops at a chapter where the first page shows a picture of the same portrait, he’s seen in the Fire Nation Palace. He takes a small magnifying glass from his desk and moves it around the portrait until it stops to the model’s neck.  

A pendant around the girl’s neck gave him the clue he needed for his question.   

*** 

Tenzin and the acolyte elders watched as General Iroh’s fleet had docked the port on a blimp. The General himself was walking down the ramp and he saluted.  

“Greetings, Tenzin.”  

“General Iroh, it is good to see you.” 

They shake hands.  

“You as well.” 

“I’m sorry you have to be put up with this assignment.”  

“No trouble at all. It’ll be a short visit, but at least me and my men have a time to relax, away from Republic City.”  

“And the President.”  

Iroh smirks. “Especially.”  

They began to walk and catch up, they have not talked since their ordeal with Unalaq. Once they reached the outskirts of the Temple where they were airbenders training on top of the poles. Iroh and Tenzin, and Iroh’s first mate, who was taking reports and writing them down on a clipboard, watched as they all worked through their training, some have fallen but few have managed to stand their ground on top of the poles. 

“As you can see, they have a long way to go until they become proper airbenders.”  

He winces as another pupil falls.  

“Very long. Also, if you have the time, there’s something that I need to discuss with you.”  

“What-” Before Iroh could even finish, a voice call from above. 

“Look out!”  

One of the pupils jumped with a powerful gush of wind by accident and suddenly fell on the General himself with a loud thud.  

“Ow.” Iroh croaks as the pupil gets and apologizes repeatedly and bows many times, knowing who exactly he had dropped on as Iroh turns to his back. 

A gasped was heard from above.  

Suddenly, a sound of soft wind was heard, and a pair of legs was delicately floating down to the ground with airbending and lands in front of Iroh. He looks up to see that it was a woman close to his age. 

The stranger leans and offers her hand.  

“Are you alright?”  

He took it and almost froze when he looked up and caught her eyes with his own. They were so bright and beautiful.  

But his admiration was brief when she tugged his arm up and he snapped out his gaze and stood.  

She was a short woman with long hair, yet the side was shaved off, it was styled in a very delicate way as well as edgy.  

He clears his throat, remembering his manners. “Thank you.”  

She smiled as Tenzin came to her side. 

“Iroh, this is Bai La, one of the freed airbending prisoners from Ba Sing Se and finest pupil in the temple.”  

“Hello.” She bows. But when she straightens her posture back, she moves her hair away from her face when a breeze passes by. 

Iroh then had a look of realization but was able to hide it from the woman before him. A look that Tenzin had predicted.   

“I hope you and your men are hungry. The air acolytes and I prepared a welcome dinner in honor of your visit.”  

“Yes. Thank you.” Iroh could only answer as his mind was plagued with possibilities because of her face.  

“Hey, Bai!” Kai from above calls for her. “I thought we have a bet going on?”  

“Coming!” She turns back to the General. “See you at the dining hall.”  

She then jumps with the help of airbending to set herself back on top of the poles.  

Tenzin finds himself back at Iroh’s side.  

“She’s. . .” He hesitated, yet Tenzin knew already what the Crown Prince was going to say.  

“Yes. Exactly.”  

Iroh had returned from his military training from the Northern Water Tribe. His mother took him on a walk, and they suddenly found themselves in the hall where all his forefathers and mothers portraits hanged, including the heroes of their nation. 

His mother, who suddenly stopped at one specific portrait that which she had mentioned was one of her favorites because of the story behind the person’s cause and bravery.  

Yet, she had surprised Iroh then with a single sentence.  

“You know. . . I used to hate her.”  

Iroh’s eyes widened a bit as his mother confesses.  

“When your grandmother Mai told me of Y/N, I grew angry at your grandfather, wondering why he could ever disrespect the woman who gave birth to me. Whispering her name in his sleep and she cried every time.” 

She closed her eyes and opened them, filled with wisdom, yet despair. “But she explained to me that on the day of Sozin’s Comet, when Y/N was lost, he became a broken man, almost unrecognizable. That’s when I knew that I couldn’t hold on to that anger anymore, especially on a brave woman who gave her life to save the world.” 

Iroh places a hand on his mother’s shoulder. “I‘m sorry you had to go through that, mom. It must’ve taken a great deal of strength to accept it.”  

She smiles and looks up at him. “Thank you, my son.” 

They both continued to look at the portrait. Admiring the woman who could’ve been Fire Lady. 

The general continued to watch Bai as she jumps from one pole to another circling with Kai to see who can stay the longest.  

“But. . .are we even sure?” He asked.  

Tenzin whispers to him. “Look around her neck.” 

Iroh squints and sees what Tenzin is referring to watch for. It was a pendant, broken in half. A pendant he was all too familiar with.  

“We can’t know for sure. Have you talked to her about this?”  

Tenzin looks at Bai with a conflicted gaze. It was clear that she had become his favorite student. He tried to keep all equal feelings for his airbenders but Bai was a kind and bright being that had the potential to become one of the greatest Airbending Masters.  

“I just don’t want to overwhelm her.”  

“You might now have a choice.” Iroh states in a calming manner. “With things going on at Ba Sing Se and the Red Lotus, there might not be a chance to tell her. Or . . . him.” 

Tenzin looks back and watches as Bai laughs to whatever Kai was saying. Lord Zuko was  

“No, there might not be.” He sighs. “I’ll arrange a private meeting with her. Will you join us?”  

Iroh nods as he continues to gaze Bai. “Of course.”  

Tags:

@treestarrrrrrrr @mayxsx @nani-nani-nani @lifesanenigma @letsthedogpackandthecats @evelyn-4034 @serenityhvl @fandomsfanman @shoxji

[almostangrything]

Headcanon time.

Azula definitely suffered from nightmares when she was a kid. Since she was supposed to be perfect, she couldn't show weakness by going to her parents. Her mother didn't like her and her father wouldn't care. So who does she have left? Big brother Zuko.

Imagine a tiny, three-year-old Azula sneaking into Zuko's room, sniffling, with her head barely out from behind the doorway. Zuko isn't happy, because even five-year-olds need their sleep. He thinks she's come to be a menace, but is surprised to hear, "Zu-Zu? I had a nightmare..."

So he lets her in, and hugs her until she calms down. He would do different things to soothe her as well. If her hand were shaking, he'd hold her hands and rub his thumbs in circles on the backs. Trembling and crying meant he'd gently trace down her head, over her face, down her neck, shoulders, and arms with his fingers until she was still. If she was really distraught, He would do something with her hair.

When Azula was around eight, she stopped having really bad nightmares. But strangely, the night after Zuko had been banished, she had a relapse and woke up from a nightmare with tears in her eyes. Her hand was on Zuko's door when she realized that he was gone. So she goes in, sits on his bed, and wraps herself up in the blankets. This continues every so often. She tries to calm herself down the way Zuko would, but she can't do it like her older brother can.

While banished, Zuko finds himself sometimes find himself doing the repetitive motions he'd use to soothe Azula. He doesn't know why, but it's rather soothing for him as well.

When Zuko comes back during season three, Azula has a nightmare. She doesn't want to see Zuko, but she's crying because of her dream. So she goes to his room and opens the door, and very quietly says, "Zu-Zu? I had a nightmare..."

Zuko was not expecting that at all. But he begrudgingly lets her in, taking off his shirt/vest thing and putting it around her shoulders. Holding her close so that she can hear his heartbeat, he asks her to tell him about her dream. Azula tells him that in her dream, she lost everything and became an awful mess. It had felt so real to her, and the worst part that scared her the most was that it seemed entirely feasible. Try as he might, with everything he could think of, he just couldn't calm down his now fourteen-year-old little sister, who was having a panic attack.

So he just holds her and tells that no matter what, she is his little sister, and he is her older brother, and that it has always been that way, and always will be. Azula tries to punch him, but it doesn't do much. As he keeps repeating it, she slowly calms down. Unfortunately, she also feels guilty for needing his help. Zuko reminds her that she's never too old for a hug from her big brother. Azula and Zuko get a good night's sleep for once in their lives.

SIDE NOTE: Sokka taught Zuko how to do the worm. Once, little Azula had had a nightmare where giant worms killed the world, and back then, Zuko had promised her that once he learned how, he'd teach her the worm so that they could blend in. Once Sokka taught him, he found a way to teach Azula.

"C'mon, Azula."

"No."

"I gotta teach you how to do the worm."

"Like the dance?"

"Yeah, so you can blend in when giant worms take over the world."

Cue THREE HOURS of Zuko trying to teach Azula the worm. They become fire-breathing worms.

[atla-confessions]

"that 'Iroh the hypocrite' confession is a lot of words to say you don't understand

The whole point of the "Azula needs to be taken down" is it goes against what Iroh is usually about, thats not Iroh being hypocritical, that is the writers highlighting just how dangerous Azula truly is"

Of course, Iroh's 14 year old niece is so dangerous and severly deep into the propaganda of his nation and the parenting of his abusive younger brother that even he, the one who is mature enough to realize all of the topics mentioned above, is spiritually enlightened and is basically always seeing the good in everyone (proof is his weird idolization of his nephew), can't stop for a second and put himself in the shoes of this child, his own family, in order to at least understand why she is like this. That's not at all a writing that betrays the essence and themes of his character(becoming a good person after doing bad things, seeing the spiritual balance of the world and hence being able to see that people can do both good and wrong and forever trying to offer guidance for those he encounters so that they can be able to lean towards that inherent goodness, hopefully), not at all a flaw in his character, that's just him being once again Perfect and anything that opposes this idea, is definitely wrong and evil, right? Thnx for the good laugh you gave me, hopefully, I'll leave you too a bit better with this educational discussion as you did to me.

"And the sending Zuko to fight Azula has nothing to do with a power struggle between siblings, Azula had no real power, Ozai just named her fire lord to continue to manipulate her, thus Zuko fighting her wouldn't been seen the same as Iroh taking down Ozai"

Oh, so a publicly known traitor going back to his country with the intent to usurp the position of power and governance, that was given to his sister, now the publicly known figure and power of authority due to the fact she's been chosen by the ultimate authority, the phoenix king to be the leader of the nation, and is quite literally the only ruling figure staying in the country and tasked with governing it, somehow, this Traitor vs The Leader of the Nation isn't actually a power struggle being painted in action here? Do enlighten me to what it is, if you can, because I seem to have misunderstood all the politics I've studied.

"And imagine thinking Zuko's never done anything good without "the good guys" givinf him chances, as if The Blue Spirit wasn't wanted by the fire nation from before Aang even wakes up."

Of course, the Blue Spirit must've been a noble hero fighting against the Colonizing Entity and doing heroic deeds, right? I mean, the fire nation wants him captured! Of course he must've been doing something good! Two questions came to my head right now, why and for whom did he do these deeds? All I know about this character is that he does things for his own benefit, things that ultimately did serve the world good such as kidnapping the avatar and brought harm too, such as stealing from people. And guess what, all of these actions came from a place of self interest and personal gain, they didn't come from a moral sense of doing it for other people so who's to say that, perhaps, the Blue Spirit being wanted by the Fire Nation is because he would do things that would once again benefit him, such as infiltrating military groups and centers to acquire knowledge that would aid him in his search for the avatar?

"Try thinking about why things are said rather than what is said"

Believe me, I don't share my thoughts unless I'm positively assured of what I didn't and did understand and I'm always welcome, happy and ready to be proven wrong and be taught what's correct and right. Do you do that too?

X

[djemsostylist]

Toph and Zuko, Headcanon

Generally, I don't ship noncanon ships, but in this case, I'd say this is less of a case of noncanon and more a case of after canon. After all, ignoring LOK (which I'm rather more than happy to do tbh) the last we see of these two they are still children--we don't know what their future holds.

But I want to work within the bounds of canon as much as possible--leaving ATLA as is, and working off character established in canon but working forward.

I talked in another post about the idea that Zuko and Toph would work well together as a adults for a few reasons. Firstly, personally I like the idea of the core six (that is, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph and Zuko) being paired off. I think they went through an experience together that is so singularly unique, it would be hard to ever find another person who could understand it quite the same way. I also think that given a lot of their issues, trust would be hard to achieve.

(More under the cut bc I'm just rambling now lol)

Now, I know in canon Zuko has Mei, but he's 16 and she's familiar. I got the feeling that Mei and Zuko were more of a "it's what you do" couple than one with any sort of lasting power. I'm not saying they didn't love each other--I think they certainly did, but I also think they were very young and they were both going through sort of a big life change. When Zuko gets together with Mei, he's teetering on the edge of trying to find out who he is and what he wants for his life. Mei is very much a person that old Zuko would have been with--she makes sense for him in that life. And I think there is genuine affection between them--but I also think a lot of it is tied up with other feelings. Her best friend's older brother she maybe always had a little crush on, the rebel son, etc. That she does eventually support his choices to change is a good thing, but I don't know that I see their relationship lasting into the future. Zuko still has a long way to go and a lot to handle when he becomes Fire Lord at 16--I think he probably isn't exactly going to be focused on a relationship all that much in the beginning, and frankly, I think Mei needs to to figure out who she is without the context of Zuko and his sister, since her entire life seems to revolve around their family. I could see their relationship sort of slowly backing off until they eventually end things mutually, no hard feelings, just a natural sort of ending to a childhood romance.

For Zuko, I imagine he would then spend most of the rest of his time not in a relationship. He's dealing with a lot with his country and his family and dealing with forgiving and understanding himself--again, I doubt a relationship is the priority. He probably maintains close contact with most of the Gaang--Aang in particular probably makes it a point to come see him, and I can see him and Sokka still having pretty close contact, especially with Sokka stepping up as the future leader of the Southern Water tribe and etc.

Toph, I think, would be dealing with a lot of similar issues to Zuko. Both of them are trying to define what home means--Zuko in the place he grew up that he both recognizes and doesn't, and Toph unable to go back because she isn't sure what she'll find. I imagine Toph spends some time with Aang, Katara, and Sokka, but it's not like she would particularly be comfortable at the poles in ice and snow, and I also think she'd want the chance to explore, to see the world, to find out who she is and what she wants from life. So around a yearish after the end of the world she sort of goes out on her own into the world and starts a sort of long, wandering slow journey. She stops along the way to do various things: sometimes she works, sometimes she helps others, sometimes she just sight sees, sort of goes where whim takes her. She sees most of the Gaang often enough, with how much the others travel, but I'd imagine she hardly ever sees Zuko (as he is busy running a kingdom).

Now we get into deep headcanon territory. I had seen it posited that Sokka invents a version of braille (in a fanfiction I believe, though I'm not sure if the idea started somewhere else, and I honestly can't recall the fanfic), and I like this idea, both because it makes sense for Sokka to do something like this, and also because it gives Toph a way to continue a bit of a relationship with Zuko whilst traveling. So basically for about the next 6 years or so, Toph and Zuko exchange letters while she travels around. They have a lot they can relate on, and talk about family and belonging and guilt and love and etc, as best they can. But they don't see each other much--maybe once or thrice throughout the intervening years, as they both grow up.

Then, when Toph is about 18/19 (making Zuko 22/23) he gets word from Toph that she's in jail and needs a bail out. At this point, he's tired, a little overwhelmed, and he's been a little lonely lately (Aang and Katara are married and still sort of in the honeymoon phase, Sokka is super busy with building a city in the south and all his various projects, Suki is the leader of his secret police so he sees her often but she's also often abroad) and so he basically decides to go get Toph himself. He hasn't seen her in a while, he misses his friend, and he's also more than a little curious as to why she's in jail in the middle of a nowhere town at the ass-end of the Fire Nation.

Toph, for her part, had written both because she hadn't wanted to bug the others and also because Zuko still owes her a Life Changing Field Trip and she's ready to collect. And also because she misses him maybe a little and also she knows he could maybe use a break.

So Zuko shows up and Toph is A Woman now and his poor little brain is like, trying desperately to square this information in his mind because of course he knew she wasn't 12 any more but also he wasn't expecting her to look Like That and also Toph can sense you know, everything, and she's trying to be chill also because it's just Zuko only Zuko spent the past 6 years stress working out and also somewhere along the way became A Man but this is fine and everything is fine and they are still friends right?

So Toph convinces him to play hooky for a while and come with her to track down some asshole (working on those details--some person scamming refugees maybe or something with disappearing kids? and she's trying to get to the boss) and Zuko is tired and overwhelmed and also maybe a little bit smitten and he agrees and then they go on the Life Changing Field Trip only this one is the one where they fall in love.

And it's the easiest thing they've ever done and the hardest thing all at once. Because they understand each other and they are determined to be more than their parents and together they heal.

I have so many little headcanons and one shots and larger story arcs bouncing around in my head with all this, and bless @bonesingerofyme-loc for thinking them all through with me.

I have actually written some ficlets, but they are currently pretty rough and disjointed (it's been a while since I've written) and I'm not entirely sure if I want to save them to write into a cohesive story, or tell their story in parts as I am inspired. I sort of have some scene ideas and others being build off prompt lists. I might share disjointed here and then wait to publish on AO3 until I decide what I what to do, but I'm not sure.

I will, however, share the very silly headcanons that Leo and I came up with. My Toko/Zutoph tag will be otp: it's me if you want more of my dumbass thoughts on these two lol. (Like what Toph did to end up in jail and how Sokka got Zuko's wedding invite and wasn't sure who the bride could possibly be and how Aang knew from the beginning but never said bc it wasn't polite or how Toph refuses to let Zuko ask for her parent's permission and he's like, dying slowly over the propriety of it all or how he courts her Properly™ once they are back in the capital and Toph is secretly thrilled or or or. Also Leo may have maybe made some AI adult Toko pics I can share that killed us both lol. )

[oneatlatime]

The Swamp

Random thing I spotted in the opening credits: this Roku (?) silhouette is doing a spinning blade move with airbending, that Azula did with her blue fire while riding the mail system in Return to Omashu. I guess that despite the bending styles being based on different martial arts, borrowing is allowed.

A snippet of blue spirit music plays when that cart carrying the masks passes by. Maybe one second of showtime but the writers and track team put in the effort anyway.

I'm still mad at Zuko for stealing that lady's bird horse, but I'm happy to see that they're looking after it. It even has a blanky.

Those bangs would have done numbers in 2008.

So I'm wishing death on sword guy. Apart from the whole trying to cut off Iroh's feet thing, he can't even do up his shirt right. Zero redeeming features.

I wish I knew how to make gifs to show this, but the way that the diffused lightsource is reflecting off the water peaking through the vegetation of the swamp is incredibly realistic.

Is the sharpening stone the one that usually sits in the indent on the other side of the blade? It would be pretty cool to have a knife with a built in sharpener like that.

Sokka's got a point. How do you "land" on a swamp? Appa will need to break out his sea bison skills.

TIL swamps don't take no for an answer.

HOW are they still ALIVE?!?!

AcTuAlLy Aang it's "where ARE Appa and Momo?"

As someone who has literally had leeches on my elbow, this is not funny.

Also this episode's beat up Sokka quota has already been filled by a tornado, a swamp, and a vampire slug. And we're only 4 minutes in. I feel like this is going to be a rough episode for him.

Look I get that there is no solid land in this swamp, but they could at least move out of the fetid leech-infested water onto a tree root.

Shibari Appa. I ahd to google that.

Momo is a good friend.

Could you imagine what Apppa smells like after landing in the swamp water?

Poor Momo's like "dude. I JUST freed you."

Not everyone can airbend Aang. Some of us would have no option but to cut our way out of the swamp, niceness be damned.

You ever just go FWOMP?

I'm loving these little Appa & Momo scenes.

Did this episode air on Halloween originally? It's really leaning in to the spooky.

And now Appa gets to be a good friend. I love the ear twitch. Have I talked about how cute Appa's ears are?

King of the jungle Appa.

New fear unlocked. Never swimming in seaweed again.

Also kudos to them for sleeping sitting up. I can't do that.

It's neat how all three of their fighting styles are equally effective at freeing them from the vines. No bending superiority here!

How did Cletus and Brandine figure that Appa has six legs from this trail?

No comment. Just thought you'd all appreciate a picture of bowl cut Appa using an alligator as a toothbrush.

Pretty. Swamp wisteria.

This swamp is a dick.

This jumpscare got me. Also, swamp is now a double dick.

And Aang sees some rando. I was expecting Gyatso. Maybe being the avatar makes you immune to swamp dickishness?

If Cletus saw a lemoo at a travelling show once, does that mean that Momo is not the last of his species? Because I've been worrying about that.

This is a pretty cool use of waterbending. Although I don't think 'outboard motor with high manoeuvrability' is a recognised martial arts move.

All the background art in this episode is subtle but very detailed. Another episode I'll be watching on a better quality screen than my little laptop, which makes everything into a green-grey blur.

Sokka was looking for his friends. Katara was looking for her friends. Aang was chasing tail.

Tea party Sokka rocking a midi skirt and thigh high leather boots.

Have to give it to Sokka; they have all been huffing a lot of swamp gas recently. Hallucinating people you think of often after huffing god knows what is a more believable explanation than sentient, dickish swamp. Or it would be, if this wasn't a world where things like the avatar exist.

Looks like I was right about this being a beat up Sokka episode. The number of times swampy has thrown him to the ground, I'm surprised he's still getting up. Also, I think Sokka's voice actor was paid by the scream this episode.

Anyone remember the Absorbaloth?

Are these guys narrating NYOOM noises?

I have to commend the manoeuvrability of these boats.

Not to self: do not piss off a waterbender. They are human deli slicers.

"He's the Avatar. Stuff like that happens to us, a lot." Season 1 in a nutshell.

I applaud this guy's efficiency for styling his hair into a hat.

You guys are really going to go with this guy to a secondary location like 15 seconds after he stopped trying to kill you? Every so often I forget that the Gaang are teens or younger, then something comes along that really reminds me.

Nitpick! Are his socks made out of mud?

This guy has grey eyes like Aang does 50% of the time. I swear Aang has brown eyes in at least half the episodes so far.

More delicious reflections. I wish I could gif this too.

I love the lesson here. The swamp guy's speech about interconnectedness is good, made twice as good by the delivery. Excellent choice of voice actor. Also the bit about the people we've lost still being there hits hard.

A power this useful had better come up again.

Can someone who knows music better than I do tell me if Cletus is on beat? I think not.

New reaction shot!

Why does Sokka repeat "Hugh" so skeptically? What's the joke here?

"He don't eat no bugs. That's people food." This is the kind of stuff I love the most in this show. These seemingly inconsequential, throwaway worldbuilding comments that instantly double the depth of the universe of the show. Every time I get a glimpse of normal people living non-war-torn normal lives I love it.

Scenes like this. PEAK avatar.

That swamp just bitchslapped a bird.

I'd forgotten that Zuko and Iroh were in this episode.

Zuko is well on his way to being forgiven for stealing the horse bird.

Have to wonder why he had a spare set of black clothes lying around though.

Final Thoughts

This episode may well be my new favourite. I like if for the same reasons that I liked Bato of the Water Tribe: it shows us what comparatively normal life is like. Here's a random group of people that might not even know about the war. Looking at them gives us a glimpse of what Aang's pre-war world must have been like, and what the post-war world everyone is fighting to create could be like. It's both nostalgia and hope in one place.

I love that Sokka is still stubbornly anti-supernatural even after travelling for months with the human incarnation of a spirit, being kidnapped by a giant monster panda, and having his crush turn into the moon. Not to mention mega fishman Aang. Although, in a world where the existence of spirits is a scientifically observable fact, isn't believing in the supernatural actually the logical viewpoint?

Apart from that awesome deli slicer waterbending move, Katara did surprisingly little this episode. I think Momo and Appa had more to do.

Spekaing of, I loved having a little side adventure with Momo and Appa. There's enough personality in the animation and voicing of those two characters that they can easily carry dialogue-free scenes. Avatar should do a dialogue free episode with just Appa and Momo going on an adventure. I love their interspecies friendship.

The whole 'we're all connected' thing could have rung hollow if the writers hadn't taken the time to painfully personalise that message for two thirds of the Gaang. In today's arguably too-connected world (thanks internet) the lesson seems obvious, but in a pre-industrial world that's a century into a global war, I bet the connectedness of things is unknown, forgotten, or actively suppressed.

The incredibly short bookends with Zuko and Iroh were (I'm guessing) to establish that Zuko has taken a vigilante turn and that Iroh is inhumanly patient. Neither of those is a surprise. Honestly, if I found myself in that situation, I would react more like Zuko than Iroh. Guess that means I'm a work in progress.

The Storm last season showed that while Aang had a lot to learn, Zuko had a lot to unlearn. Instead of just unlearning incorrect things, it looks like the show is taking it a step farther and progressively stripping Zuko of everything. Zuko isn't one to sit idly by though, so he's fighting back by clinging to harmful things like his pride and learning things he arguably shouldn't, like how to commit theft of bird horses. Although I have no moral objection to stealing that jerk's swords.

This episode didn't have a beat up Sokka quota; it had a beat up everyone quota, physically and sometimes mentally too. Kind of surprised there weren't even bruises. And poor Sokka. The first cut is the deepest.

I'll definitely be rewatching this one.

[peony-pearl]

"someone PLEASE dare me to talk about the writing of Ursa's story from the comics"

This is your sign, child. Tell me all you've got

BLESS YOU!!!!!!!!

A bit of a foreword to anyone reading: I am going to be speaking about the writing of Ursa's trials from the comics in a critical light in the ways that her story was chosen to be written this way. If you find any kind of comfort or catharsis in her story, this post may not be for you. I am not here to be an anti, I am here to look at changes made to a character that I think could have been a lot more interesting if she had been allowed to keep her original backstory.

That being said:

Ursa's story of being plucked out of a happy home to marry 'the bad guy' could be interesting!

My problem with it is the inconsistencies it creates in it's own narrative... and the fact that it's such painful woobification of a woman who was willing to commit a high crime to save her son in the way that her circumstances create an issue where she is nothing but a martyr. It also continues the whole 'good lineage vs bad lineage' idea that completely undermines the power of Zuko's arc.

Ursa, in the comics, is presented to us as this bright eyed hopeful actress, in love with a man named Ikem when Azulon rolls up with Ozai, unlike some earlier lore where she was born into royalty and was the perfect match for Ozai. Now she's subjected to a wretched life which I can only imagine they put her through to make her completely sympathetic, because otherwise she would have been just like the rest of the royal family - EVIL.

Which I really hate that train of thought, but this is a family friendly show and as good as atla does with it's good vs evil nuances, I often remember I have to cut it some slack... but then I get a bit more frustrated because of the whole 'just because it's family friendly means they can simplify things' which I also don't care for but again... eh. I can't be too picky at times. (I was also raised on Gargoyles which did a great job on showing villains in sympathetic moments and heroes having big major flaws so I'm already a little biased)

Regardless; completely rewriting Ursa's backstory to the point that we no longer see her view of the war (or Ikem's! So they're good people!! We promise!) just comes off as almost manipulative and middle-school fanfiction-y. Ursa is a good person to sympathize with because she's being forced into these situations :C

And as such, she's a good person because of Roku!! And so Zuko is a good person because his mom loved him so much!!

And such, they don't have to show any changes on Ursa's part. No moral failings, no her and Zuko butting heads once they reunite to show how much he's grown... his morals come from her and Roku, because Avatar lineage = good.

And that grinds my gears so hard because then just like Ursa, that's robbing Zuko of his autonomy to make bad choices.

When Iroh tells Zuko in The Avatar and the Fire Lord that his legacy is the good and evil within him, it sucks because Zuko's legacy should solely be his own choices (I have my own issues with Zuko's view of the crown). Not the bloodline within him that he can't control. THAT'S A MAJOR POINT OF THE SHOW. People aren't born evil.

and yet Ursa is GOOD because she is Roku's GRANDDAUGHTER. That's really it. Yes, I can understand that she was raised in the moral compass left behind by him. But Ozai is only really good/charming to Ursa right up until their wedding when suddenly he's just EVIL and he's like 'you're MINE now hehehehe' like there's no in between, you just have to show Ursa in this miserable predicament which then also doesn't allow for any interesting development in our Ozai, aka previous big bad which could have been him following his father's orders to marry some woman and maybe he legitimately TRIED to make things work because NO ONE IS BORN EVIL. Ozai is such a shadow of Zuko that he would try to appease his father, and he might take this marriage on in the hopes that it would start building a bridge between them.

And we're not even getting into the fact that we don't learn that Ursa is the Avatar's granddaughter until the final season, JUST IN TIME for Zuko to learn this while he's locked in his self loathing and is utterly directionless. Again, this takes away the importance of his own choices. The boy who started the series completely devoted to returning home, willing to put himself and others through constant danger and misery just to appease his father is given a free ride card of 'oh you're actually good on the inside! Just do the good thing!'

Because he's Ursa's son, the woman who didn't want to marry Ozai because he was so so awful that his bloodline is OBVIOUSLY why Azula is the way she is (ugh).

Like this could work in more fairytale/simpler story settings but atla has gone so far out of it's way to continue to say 'no one is born evil' and 'people can change'; but when it comes down to it, they're really restricting the moral compass.

In the end, Ursa is good and suffered. Ozai is BAD because VILLAIN. (which yes he is but... ugh).

I don't know if I've made sense. I had a more cohesive idea when I wrote those tags but this is more or less my views of Comic!Ursa.

I don't hate her. But I hate that they just kind of shoved her on the misery train and kind of went 'wow that sucks right? This makes you want to see Zuko find her right?'

And then he does and all is well. Because Ursa is a GOOD WOMAN unlike that EVIL OZAI.

[burst-of-iridescent]

“But we were something, don’t you think so? Roaring 20s, tossing pennies in the pool. And if my wishes came true, it would’ve been you…”

- The 1, Taylor Swift

Katara is still waiting for an answer.

Zuko clears his throat and gives it back to her, forcing a smile that feels too-empty, like a painted curve on a hollow mask. Katara doesn’t seem to notice, though. She’s grinning at Zuko, and though more than a decade has passed since they were children laughing in the courtyard of an abandoned summer home, her smile has never lost its joyous, youthful exuberance.

“It looks great.” The words burn on the way out, like lava pouring down his throat. “He’ll love it.”

Her nose wrinkles as she looks down at it. “It’s not how it’s traditionally done, though, a woman giving it to the man-”

“When have you ever cared about tradition?”

Katara laughs, bright and cheerful and just a little mischievous, and Zuko once again thinks of the girl on an Ember Island beach, infinite hope and possibility shining in her eyes. The wishes they had sparked within him in turn, the longing he had nestled into his heart and carried with him every day of his life since, the miracle he should’ve known would be too much to ask for.

“He’ll love it, Katara,” Zuko assures her, and hopes she can’t hear the agony in his voice. “He’ll love anything you give him. He worships you.”

Something flickers across her face then, something that doesn’t entirely match the cheery topaz of the stone that glimmers between her fingers. It’s gone before he can catch it though, wiped away by a tender fondness that makes her face light up.

In the soft light of the moon, she looks so beautiful that it takes everything he has not to fall to his knees and beg her to stay.

Foolish boy, his father’s blood whispers to him, and the edges of his blackened, bitter heart curl up and shrivel like the withered leaves of a dying plant. She loves the Avatar. What could you possibly have to offer, in comparison?

“You really think so?” Katara asks.

Zuko clears his throat. “I know so.”

Katara beams impossibly bright, and then her slender arms are around his neck and her body is pressed against his.

He returns it without hesitation, even though his spiked shoulder plates wedge between them and his robes are drowning him and something in the core of his heart feels like it’s cracking open, splintering, cleaving him apart from the inside out.

He clings to her fiercely, through the damage that even her healing hands will never be able to fix, breathes in the lavender scent of her hair and tries to memorize the precise feel of her in his arms. This is all he will ever have, all that remains to him: a few small pieces of her to tide him through the long, lonely years to come.

She pulls back, and for a second - just a second - he thinks her eyes glimmer, a wet shine that belongs to something other than starlight. But then she blinks and it’s gone, replaced by the perfect picture of incandescent happiness, and he’s left with only the hazy sheen of hopeless wanting, a delusion borne of his own desperate imagination.

Katara’s eyes search his face. “You’ll come, won’t you?” she asks. “Aang will want you there.”

“Of course,” Zuko says, and the next words taste like rust and salt on his tongue. “I wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world.”

He holds it together that night, and the next morning, through the end of the peace summit, through seeing every one of his friends off. He holds it together as he walks numbly through the courtyard where he bled and burned for her, through the rooms she once filled with warmth, to the study he now occupies alone. He holds it together until he finds the bundle of letters at the furthest corner of his desk drawer, dusty now after so many years in the dark, and unfurls the most yellowed and crumpled of them all.

He spends the night on the floor, amidst the ruins of his heart and the letters strewn like autumn leaves around him, and watches each of them go up in smoke.

Katara marries Aang amidst stone and silence, in the way of the Air Nomads, wind whistling through the temple around them. It is only Zuko’s head that reverberates with noise, singing the discordant lullaby of words long since turned to ash.

(Katara, the letter begins, in the eager hand of a 16-year-old boy who has not yet learned how to give up dreaming.

I think I’m in love with you…)