#katara shoulders too many burdens

[safereturn]

let me hold your hand (and dance around the flames)

Another Ember Island Players Fic Word Count: 1956 Zutara one-shot Read on ao3

Zuko is sure his shame will consume him, obliterate him, turn him to ashes and blow him away in the wind. The only evidence of his existence will be that awful play and the wake of destruction caused by his own implosion.

And yet, it pales in comparison to the anger flowing off the water bender walking beside him. Fearing retribution, he keeps his gaze steadily ahead, focusing on the trio walking in front of them. Sokka, Suki, and Toph chatter about their portrayal; Toph lets out a roar that sends Sokka yelping into Suki’s side. Suki laughs so hard she snorts and slaps Sokka’s back as his cheeks tinge red. 

Zuko bites back a snarky comment. It’s simply propaganda, the events told with the inevitable agenda of a Fire Nation playwright, but at least they were written as comic reliefs. 

They weren’t failures and traitors. 

As they approach his family’s old vacation home, Katara’s sandal gets caught in the transition of cobblestone to sand. She loses her balance, but just as Zuko reaches a steadying arm out toward her, she rights herself on her own. Aang huffs behind him. 

Not to mention the resentment radiating off the young Avatar. Aang all but limps toward the house like a wounded puppy, head tucked into his chest. 

Katara pulls away from the group and storms off toward shore, back stiff, fists tight. Zuko slows to a stop as he watches her. She marches on to the beach, right where the tide stops overlapping the sand, and slumps to the ground, knees to her chest. 

The rest of the group carries on into the house. Aang sends one last glare at Zuko, then runs up the stairs and slams the door behind him, rattling the frame and sending an explosion of sound that evacuates nearby cicada-crickets from the trees. 

Zuko feels his chest constrict at the thought of following them inside the house. He isn’t claustrophobic–years spent at sea on a Fire Navy cruiser in close quarters with his crew desensitized him to any fears of being too enclosed. But there was a sort of heat burning under his skin. He was restless and itchy. Like if he walked into that house, he would explode, bringing the walls down around him in a terrible blaze.

Zuko glances over to the silhouette of Katara sitting in the sand again, still hunched, gently swaying back and forth with the tide. He’d seen her move like this once before, flying high over the ocean on Appa, the rain coming down around them. 

After confronting her mother’s killer, Katara had been near catatonic. They’d walked away from the quaking old man, but the further they got, the more she had withdrawn. Zuko had helped her climb onto Appa’s back, and she collapsed onto the saddle and stared blankly ahead. She might have been crying, but the rain had cast everything in a haze. As if it were all a dream. And then, like a child being comforted by a mother, she rocked herself side to side. 

She hadn’t spoken to him until they landed back at camp, and Katara had thrown her arms around him and granted him forgiveness. He remembers the warmth of her body against his, it had spread through his chest and she gave him a gentle squeeze before letting him go.

Zuko decides he would rather drown at her hand than suffocate amongst childhood memories. He approaches her as one would approach an injured turtle duck, softly and with no sudden movements.

“Go to bed, Aang.” Katara’s words are thick, tinged with finality that left no room for argument. It doesn’t escape him how maternal she sounds, as if she were scolding a petulant child. 

“It’s me,” he says. Katara peeks at him over her shoulder, then looks out toward the ocean. “I can go further down the shore if you want to be alone,” he offers, “but I’d rather not be in the house right now.”

He watches her shoulders rise as she fills her lungs with a long breath. Then, slowly, she places a hand on the sand beside her and gives it a pat. 

“You can stay.” She sounds tired now, but her tone is softer than her previous chiding. 

He sits cross legged beside her, sitting a little closer than intended, his shoulder brushing against hers. Zuko’s nerves were raw, his fingers had been trembling since the end of the first act. The gentle warmth of Katara’s arm against his was like an anchor, grounding him, giving him something to brace against. She doesn’t acknowledge it, she simply sways into him, then back, her chin resting atop her knees. 

“I’m sorry about tonight,” Zuko says. “That wasn’t a good play.”

Katara raises an eyebrow. “You didn’t write the play, Zuko.”

“No.” He grabs a handful of sand, it’s clumpy and coarse, still damp. Zuko squeezes it in his hand, then lets it crumble between his fingers. He does it again. “I'm just– sorry. I’m sorry you had to relive that. Relive me.”

She’s examining him. Zuko doesn’t dare make eye contact, but his skin prickles at the heat of her gaze on his face. It travels down his arms, to his hands, until she’s watching the grains of sand trickle between his fingertips. 

Again, he feels too large. He waits for his skin to burst open. 

“That wasn’t you on that stage, Zuko.”

“It was all the things I’ve done. All the ways I’ve hurt people.” 

How much good would he have to do to counter balance all the bad? Terrorizing citizens for any knowledge about the Avatar, burning down villages…

The Catacombs under Ba Sing Se.

The look of terror on Katara’s face, the smell of burning flesh, the cry that tore itself from her lips as she fought to get to Aang, fought to get them to the surface, fought against Azula, fought against him.

The look of anguish on Uncle’s face as he fought to keep Aang and Katara safe. 

Zuko chokes on a shuddering breath. His skin burns, his chest burns, his eyes burn.

“I’ve hurt so many people.”

So much blood.

Katara grasps his hand, grains of sand gently chafing against skin as she twines their fingers together. “Stop,” she whispers. “That was not you on that stage.”

His mind stutters, trying to pull himself from the memories. Katara squeezes his hand once and brushes her thumb over his knuckles. Back and forth. He sucks in a breath, then lets it whoosh out of his lungs. The tension in his shoulders drops. 

“You have done more than enough, Zuko.”

Enough. 

If there is wetness on his cheeks, Katara doesn’t mention it. She simply keeps rubbing soothing circles in his skin with her thumb. They watch the waves crash over the horizon.

 “Maybe I should apologize to Aang,” Zuko says, thinking of Aang’s glare. 

He can feel her deflate next to him, slumping into herself. Katara presses her face into her knees and heaves a sigh.

“He’s not angry with you,” she mumbles.  

“You didn’t see the look he gave me.”

Katara shakes her head and with a shrug says, “He’s angry with me. We had a fight at intermission.”

“What could he possibly be mad at you for?” Zuko saw the way Aang looked at Katara. He worshiped the ground she walked on, what could she have done that was so bad? And why would Aang take it out on him?

“It’s complicated.”

Zuko huffs. It’s not quite a laugh. “Try me.”

Katara gives him an uncertain look, then turns her gaze back to the ocean. Just when Zuko thinks she’ll ignore him, her voice breaks over the sound of the waves.

“Aang had… a hard time distinguishing between the play and reality. Ever since we met we’ve been really close. For months it was just me, Sokka, and Aang. And then Toph joined and it was the four of us. I always trusted them with my life, but it felt like Aang was on my side when Sokka and Toph pushed me too hard. He helped me through some pretty bad things, and I helped him, too.

“I found him in an iceberg, so I was possessive , I guess. He was going to save the world. My world. And I would have done anything–” Karata’s voice cuts off, followed by a frenetic breath. The waves wash higher on the shore, in time with her quick breaths. The water sweeps against their feet.

“I would have done anything to make him happy. He’s my best friend and of course I love him, but what he wants...” Katara heaves a shuddering breath. And then another. Her next words come quickly, garbled. “It’s too much. I’m trying to win a war, and so is he! But I can’t–I feel like I can’t even breathe.”

And then Katara makes an awful sound, a low whine cut off by a choked gasp. And then, even worse, she’s apologizing .

“I’m sorry,” she breathes, pulling her hand from his and swiping under her eyes. “This is stupid, just like that ridiculous actress.” Her hands leave behind grains of white sand on her cheeks. 

And for the first time, Katara looks defeated. Not even nine months ago, in a much colder continent, with her family's lives at stake and only a water whip to protect them did she look so small. She had built herself up with fury, indignation. She made up for what she didn’t know in determination. 

Now, with her eyes squeezed shut and shoulders hunched, there was nothing she could fight to make this hurt go away.

Zuko is at a loss for how to comfort her, and he hates himself for it. She so effortlessly brought him from the edge of panic. Forgave him when he was the face of everything that was taken from her. 

He thinks of her arms thrown around his neck. Her thumb brushing circles into his hand.  

And he does what he should’ve done when Katara sat numbly in Appa’s saddle. Zuko pulls Katara into his side, tucks her head into his shoulder, and hugs her. He winds his arms around her back, and sways her gently, his chin tucked over top of her head. Katara lets out a whimper, and then her arms circle around his waist. She buries her face into the crook where Zuko’s neck meets his shoulder. 

For a moment, all there is is the roar of the waves and his stiffness. He doesn’t want to jostle her, spook her. But her fists clench handfuls of his shirt and she is shaking, chest heaving with silent sobs. 

Zuko thinks of his mother and turtle duck bites and cries met with warm arms and soothing whispers. And he sways her, side to side, soothing a hand down her hair. She smells of sea salt and the old bath oils left in the wet room.

“Okay,” he says into her hair, “okay.”

It’s not okay. Zuko knows what it’s like to collapse under the weight of expectation, knows what it’s like to choke on the disappointment of others, knows the taste of desperation. It had almost killed him, back in that apartment in Ba Sing Se. And when he’d made it back to the Fire Nation on the basis of Aang’s murder, there were times he wished the fever had taken him. 

So much pain.

“Nothing like the actress,” he says. There is wetness and sand and shuddering breaths against his neck. “You are strong, this is strength.”

Katara takes a deep breath. Then another.

The waves wash back out to the ocean and quiet to a lull.

“You’ve given more than enough."

[juune-moon]

Unspoken Element

As the evening sun dipped below the horizon, casting the palace in a warm, amber glow, Zuko found Katara in the garden. She stood by a small pond, her reflection rippling in the water as the last rays of light danced across the surface. The air was thick with the scent of blooming jasmine, the night just beginning to cool after the heat of the day.

Zuko hesitated for a moment, watching her, the way her hair fell softly around her shoulders, the way her fingers traced patterns in the air as if she were bending water without even realizing it. He had seen her so many times before, in battle, in moments of quiet, but tonight, something was different. The weight of unspoken words hung between them, heavy with the tension that had been building over the past months.

“Katara,” he finally said, his voice low, almost a whisper.

She turned to face him, her blue eyes catching the fading light, holding his gaze in a way that made his breath hitch. There was a vulnerability in her eyes that mirrored his own, a shared understanding of the burdens they carried, the scars left by a war that had taken too much from both of them.

“Zuko,” she replied, her voice soft but firm, as if she was testing the strength of his name on her lips.

He took a step closer, his heart pounding in his chest, each beat echoing in his ears. They had been through so much together—fought side by side, saved each other more times than he could count. But this…this was different. This was a step neither of them had dared take before.

“I…” He struggled to find the words, his usual confidence faltering in the face of what he felt. “I don’t know how to do this.”

Katara’s lips curved into a small, almost sad smile. “Neither do I,” she admitted, the honesty in her voice breaking down the last of his defenses.

Without thinking, Zuko closed the distance between them, his hand reaching out to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. The touch was electric, a spark that ignited something deep within both of them. Katara’s breath caught, her eyes fluttering shut for a brief moment as she leaned into his touch.

“I’ve wanted to tell you,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion, “for so long…”

Katara opened her eyes, the intensity in her gaze almost too much to bear. “Then show me,” she whispered, her voice barely audible but filled with a longing that mirrored his own.

Zuko didn’t need any more encouragement. He cupped her face in his hands, his thumb tracing the curve of her cheek, and then, with a tenderness that belied the fire burning inside him, he leaned in and kissed her.

The kiss was slow at first, hesitant, as if they were both afraid of what this might mean. But as their lips met, something shifted. The dam holding back their emotions broke, and the kiss deepened, becoming more urgent, more desperate, as if they were trying to make up for all the time they had spent denying what they felt.

Katara’s hands found their way to his chest, clutching at the fabric of his robes as she pressed herself closer to him. Zuko responded in kind, one arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her against him, while the other tangled in her hair. The world around them seemed to disappear, leaving only the two of them, caught in a moment they had both been too afraid to hope for.

When they finally broke apart, both of them were breathing heavily, their foreheads resting against each other as they tried to regain their composure. Zuko could feel the rapid beat of Katara’s heart against his chest, matching his own.

“This changes… everything,” Katara said, her voice trembling slightly.

“I know,” Zuko replied, his voice steady despite the whirlwind of emotions inside him. “But I’m so tired of caring.”

Katara looked up at him, her eyes searching his. Whatever she saw there must have been enough because she nodded, a single tear slipping down her cheek.

“I know what you mean,” she whispered with a sardonic chuckle.

And with that, they kissed again, sealing their unspoken promises in the fading light of the garden, their hearts finally in sync with the undeniable truth they could no longer ignore.

[broadwaybalogna]

[Zutara] oneshot! In which Zuko starts taking meds and faces the effects :/

Zuko did not want medication. He had spent years of his life telling himself that very fact. From the moment his mother left to now, ten years later, he was sure he would never need to take something to change his feelings.

But too many nights spent crying on Katara’s shoulder seemed to argue otherwise.

Katara’s quiet pleas for Zuko to try medication or therapy didn’t go ignored by the ladder, he was just so adamant about not needing them. He didn’t understand what burden he was placing on Katara by doing so until later. On top of having a job and working the house, she was Zuko’s own personal therapist. Not that she ever complained, she would never try to make Zuko go back to bottling up his emotions like he had for years before. Zuko recognized all the effort she put into to make herself a safe space for Zuko, and he thoroughly appreciated it.

It took him longer than it should’ve to recognize that Katara herself was also suffering from her own problems. She went to therapy weekly, still coping with the tragic loss of her mother from a few years earlier. Not knowing how to handle her emotions, she signed up to get a therapist after saving money for a few months. Her therapist seemed to help her a lot, although she often came out of the building her sessions were housed in teary eyed and solemn. Zuko could see the change in her everyday demeanor, however.

They had originally bonded over the loss of their mothers, as weird as it may seem. They had found comfort in knowing that another person understood their pain on a level they didn’t necessarily know if even their siblings did.

Zuko was extremely proud of Katara’s improvement, but that didn’t mean that she still wasn’t struggling. He understood she was having some inner familial issues, but not much more than that. He heard her light cries at night in their shared bathroom before bed. When confronted about it, she would change the subject.

Zuko didn’t realize until recently that Katara felt she would be putting too much on Zuko’s plate if she mentioned the problems to him. And after some self evaluating, Zuko realized she wasn’t wrong.

Knowing that Katara was keeping her problems to herself because her own spouse didn’t have the capacity to help her is what pushed Zuko to finally go to the doctors and get a prescription.

The process wasn’t as daunting as he thought it would be. Yes, he had to open up all his doors and inner thoughts to a person who he did not know on any form of a personal basis, and it mentally drained him to an extreme, but it wasn’t a horrible experience.

When he came home with his new prescription, Katara gave him a long hug and quick kiss on the cheek. She was proud at him for taking the first step to getting better.

He started taking his meds for two weeks before his problems started arising. The first week was just 25mg as his doctor wanted to ease him into the usual 50mg. After the first week, he started the 50mg dosage.

He didn’t realize at first, but he began going to bed later than he usually would. He would toss and turn to a much longer extent than before, and even though his eyes were heavy and his body was tired, his mind seemed to race with excitement over unnecessary topics.

He didn’t understand what was occurring until it was 1am and he had been trying to fall asleep for two hours. He gently cupped Katara between his arms and spooned her until he finally relaxed, her sweet smell of lavender shampoo etching itself into his mind.

When he awoke, Katara was facing him, combing her hands through his hair in an attempt to soothe him. Instead of falling asleep in this circumstance like he normally would, he found himself gaining more and more consciousness. He reduced the problem to ‘rising with the sun’.

The next night, he found himself in the same situation as the last, tossing and turning but feeling unable to get comfortable no matter what position he was in.

”Zuko, are you alright?” Katara asked, groggily.

”I-“ Zuko started, taking a moment to think, “yeah, don’t worry about it.”

”Are you sure? You were like this last night too.”

”It’s fine, I guess I’m just stressed over work.” Zuko rolled into his back and stared at the ceiling.

”Hey,” Katara said, grabbing Zuko’s shoulder and pulling him to he was facing her. She lightly cupped his face in one of her hands as she examined his eyes. “You can talk to me, you know that, right? You’re never inconveniencing me when you do.” Her voice was slightly raspy, layered with sleepiness, but her words sent a surge of emotions through Zuko.

”I know you’re dealing with a lot,” Zuko sighed, “I don’t want to add more onto your plate.”

Katara took a deep breath in. “That’s family stuff. It happens annually. You can’t be a part of my family without some sick drama,” she rolled her eyes, “You and me? That’s right now, this moment. Nothing else is coming between us and proper beauty sleep,” she let out a soft chuckle. Zuko did the same.

He sighed, knowing that Katara had won. “It might be something to do with that medication,” he finally admitted, “It did say something about sleep problems.” Katara hummed.

”You have been a little more active during the night,” she deducted.

”I feel like I’m being plagued with thoughts about my life. Where I am, why I’m here, how to continue.”

Katara sucked in a sharp breath.

”Not like that,” Zuko quickly clarified. “Just— how to continue working myself? Where do I go in life from here? How do I improve myself? Do I even want to?” He mumbled the last question to himself a bit more, slightly hoping Katara hadn’t heard him.

Katara took a long moment to think. Zuko thought for a moment she had fallen asleep. His thoughts dispersed when she took another deep breath in before talking. Her voice was low, and if it weren’t for the silence of the world around them, he doubt he would’ve been able to hear her otherwise.

”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.”

Zuko took a long moment to think about her words. He wanted so badly to be more than the kid who’s mom left and dad never treated him well. He didn’t want people to think of him as that person when they saw him. He wanted to be more.

Zuko nodded in understanding. Katara grabbed the back of his head and gently pushed it down so she could kiss his forehead.

”We’ll call your doctor tomorrow, they’ll know where to go from here. In the meantime, Sleep when you can, dear, I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise.”

Zuko smiled and cuddled up to her, his head in her chest. Katara combed her hands through his hair until she eventually fell asleep. He didn’t fall asleep until later that night, but knowing that Katara was there for him, no matter what, certainly helped his efforts.

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Rose Quartz Propaganda

"We saw her character arc in reverse!! We first saw all the good she did and then learned of her terrible actions in the past. If her story was told the other way around, it would have been a great redemption arc. Yes, she did some terrible things, but she had no choice. She did everything she could to stop the colonization of earth peacefully buy nothing worked. Blue and yellow diamond just didn't listen to her and when they did, THEY were the ones who made the zoo and shit. Rose wanted to free them but couldn't get to them after the war! And with the corruption, there's no way she could have known that'd happen. There's so many things she wanted to do but just couldn't. And with spinel, yes it was shitty to leave her alone for so long, but again, between running her court, running the rebellion, dealing with earth, she likely wasn't a very high priority and like with the zoo, there was no way to get to her after the war since the galaxy warp was destroyed. And don't forget, she was practically a child around this time. You're saying you didn't do any stupid, selfish, or harmful things as a kid? She learned from her experiences and grew, we just saw that growth in reverse, leaving us as viewers with a poor perception of her."

"Rose Quartz is Steven Universe’s dead mom. Initially, she’s set up as sort of an ethereal perfect figure who everyone misses and compares him to. Later we get to see more of her backstory and discover that she’s actually like, a person, with flaws, who has done some bad things, but she did those bad things largely in the course of trying to escape an abusive home life and save the people and planet that she fell in love with. It’s very clear that despite her flaws she was trying to do the right thing and that she deeply cared about others. Unfortunately, a woman who was not a Perfect Martyr was way too much for the Steven Universe fandom to handle. She pretty much set off the wave of SU crit blogs because these people were furious either that she had taken violent measures to solve her problems, that she hadn’t taken violent enough measures to solve her problems, or both somehow. Lots of “Why didn’t she just murder her abusive parental figures?” Lots of “She was evil for having a baby even though she knew she’d die in childbirth!” Lots of “She should’ve been able to protect everyone from a magic nuclear weapon with the power of love somehow.” Lots of “She shouldn’t have rebelled (even though not rebelling would’ve meant the destruction of Earth) because her abusers retaliated and that’s her fault.” LOTS of people drawing her as stick thin even though she was fat in the show. People treated her like she was on the same level or even worse than her abusive parental figures who were also the main villains of the show. It was unbearable to witness."

Katara Propaganda

"She's smart. She's powerful. She an eco-terrorist. She's got the ability to grow as a person. She's a victim of misogynistic fans who codify her as an annoying bitch (sadly not affectionate) cause she's the "mom character." And that's all she will ever be is "The mom character." She bested Azula and could blood bend your ass but won't cause she's chosen not to be a monster! But she's the annoying mom instead."

"if i have to hear ONE MORE *touches necklace* joke i’m gonna mcfreaking lose it"

"despite being one of the most well-written feminist characters of children’s TV, the fandom decides to define her based on her very realistic 14-year-old girl flaws. Ignoring her complex independent arcs and motivations, people love justifying their hatred towards her based on her one line directed at Sokka that he didn’t love his mother as much as she did. Which, if we’re being nitpicky, isn’t so harsh given that it was Katara who shouldered most of the burden of her death, as well as Sokka’s admittance that he doesn’t even remember his mother. Not to mention that ALL the characters make selfish mistakes given the fact that they’re all aged 12-15??? (Aang hiding Katara and Sokka’s father’s letter, anyone???) She really is an elegant breakthrough of the typical female character molds of “girl who is badass” and “girl with a crush on the mc who sits on the sidelines” and it’s so frustrating to see her get the most hate out of the Gaang"

Mabel Pines Propaganda

"[insert "i am 12 years old" comic]"

"You probably already know about this but back when the series was airing people were really pissed at Mabel because she was supposedly selfish. Yeah ok guys asking for a fucking megaphone to help a merman find his family was TOTALLY unreasonable. Dipper giving up one (1) "date" with a girl way older than him to save Mabel's pet was SO not worth it. (This is sarcasm btw. Side note a lot of these have to do with Dipper's crush on Wendy which is a whole other discussion.) And then there's the big one. Mabel causing Weirdmageddon. What people fail to realize with this is that 1) she was extremely stressed when she handed Bill the rift 2) she was tricked by Bill, a being that is A MASTER AT TRICKING PEOPLE, into thinking that she was being handed a magic solution to what felt like the end of the world to her, and 3) she was TWELVE. Not to pull out the "she is literally neurodivergent and a minor" card but do you really expect a 12 year old who's just been told that she's gonna have to face a big and difficult transition WITHOUT her brother who's been there for her all her life to make a rational decision? Y'all seriously fell for Bill's empty words in Sock Opera. Absolute bufoons. You would not survive Weirdmageddon."

"Oh wow, a preteen girl under extreme distress acts like a preteen girl under extreme distress. Whoda thunk?"

[overdevelopedglasses]

Alright I'm trying to get over myself and actually start sharing my original stuff (le gasp!).

Welcome to Essence.

I'm writing it to be a video game series but it can easily be adapted into anything.

Essence is a world of energized spirits, fantastical powers, but with a story of found family and usurping destiny. The best way to describe it is: a mix of Xenoblade Chronicles and Yakuza/RGG.

Let's start at a good spot. The characters. I'll keep this post updated as they get updated

For today, let's introduce the main party of 6! Feel free to send asks about them, as this is the Very Bare Bones stuff.

Lily Carnell (she/her):

17-20 years old. Lily is the main protagonist of the series. She's a kind-hearted girl but also doesn't take shit from anyone. She is very clever, is a good leader, and adheres to her beliefs, but sometimes her emotions can get the better of her. She is really confident in herself, until things start becoming unclear, and then her doubts crawl in. She has a lot of self doubt in many aspects of herself, especially as she's assigned the role of the world's hero.

Background Inspirations: Shionne (tales of arise), Kazuma Kiryu (yakuza 5 specifically)

Personality Inspirations: Phoenix wright (aa3 specifically), Wonder-Red (The Wonderful 101), Noctis (post crystal dive, FFXV)

Character Songs: The Fighter, Superman, Stab Unjust

Battle Themes Inspo: My Own Style, Cornered, Hopes and Dreams

William Paladi (he/him):

19-22 years old. As Lily's older cousin, William is a stoic man, trying to play tough and emotionless. He wants to be a sturdy pillar for Lily to lean on. He shoulders a lot of burdens and emotions but bottles them up until they implode. Underneath it all, he cares for Lily and the rest of the team, but also yearns for his goals to be fulfilled.

Background Inspirations: Taiga Saejima, Dunban (Xenoblade)

Personality Inspirations: Dunban, Testu Tachibana, Gladious (FFXV), angy Roy Mustang

Character Songs: Shield of the King

Battle Theme Inspo: Unstoppable, The Blazing Tactician

Alex Russel (he/him):

17-19 years old. Alex is very smart, but also steadfast and honest. He's Lily's best friend, and is often her voice of reason. Despite his origins and newfound discoveries, he chooses to stand by the people he loves.

Background Inspirations: none as of yet....

Personality Inspirations: Prompto (FFXV), Reyn (Xenoblade), Apollo Justice (AA4 specific), Nanba (LaD)

Character Songs: Blood, Sound of My Heart

Battle Theme Inspo: In A Trance, Devil Trigger

Percival "Percy" Ignaza (he/him)

18-20 years old. Percival is a suave man, confident to a fault, almost. To those close to him, he's a big nerd and is very chaotic. His mysteries draw people in, and he quickly sees the world as a vain and hollow place. Selfish people is all he's known. That is, until he encounters Lily.

Background Inspirations: Percival De Rolo (CR), Miles Edgeworth

Personality Inspirations: Ignis (FFXV), Akiyama (Yakuza 4-6), Han Solo (OG Star Wars)

Character Songs: Bang!, Darkness before the Dawn, Traveler's Song

Battle Theme Inspo: I need to find one soon ack

Robin Vasili (she/her)

18-20 years old. Robin is the heir to the throne of a nation-state. She's well-respected, but doesn't fancy herself in the role of ruler. She considers herself too hot-headed and improper for that role. In fact, she's a bit confused that she's the chosen heir, when her older sibling is right there and is more than willing to lead. So she runs to get a taste of life away from her duties, and crosses paths with the team.

Background Inspirations: Melia (Xenoblade), Dohalim (Tales of Arise)

Personality Inspirations: Saeko (LaD), Katara (A:TLA)

Character Songs: none yet...

Battle Theme Inspo: The Flower of Chivalry, Fatal Blooms in the Moonlight

Enzo Wilson (they/them)

16-18 years old. Outwardly, Enzo is very quiet and their appearance is very intimidating. Spend some time with them however, and you'll find they're a huge softie. Taking after their older brother, they act like papa bear to the rest of the cast. But, they still have their grudges, and their issues...

Background Inspirations: Higashi (Judgment)

Personality Inspirations: Ichiban (LaD), Sig (Puyo Puyo), Caduceus Clay (CR)

Character Songs: Brokenbrow, A Reason to Fight

Battle Theme Inspo: also doesn't have any yet

[northerngoshawk]

2023 Year-End Fic Round Up

many thanks to @itsmoonpeaches and @chocomd for the tags

oh boi i have not written a lick of a word since starting college again but here goes nothing

Words written (published or not, WIPs totally count too!): 149,165. probably have more due to wips that i started (but didn't finish) last year but for now i'll go with this number

Smut scenes written (if applicable): 0

New things I tried:

dabbled a lil in the Spiderverse fandom with my drabble a thin thread of trust, broken

tried my hand at a more romantically inclined fic premise with a love worth fighting for, my kataang forbidden lovers au

tried my hand at integrating Chinese culture a lot more into the ATLA world with Pangu, my kataang week fic written for the Injured prompt

other than that, there wasn't that much i experimented with. it felt a bit like the same old, same old

Fic I spent the most time on: definitely a love worth fighting for. twas a multi-chap with 6 chapters, with the word count ranging anywhere from 2k to 6k words? maybe even more. but not only did i want to portray the romance, i also wanted to flesh out the worldbuilding, develop other relationships b/w characters in this au, and so on. thus, this fic was warranted to be the one i spent the most time on

Fic I spent the least time on: a thin thread of trust, broken. it was really just a drabble from Thoughts i was having about Across the Spiderverse, specifically about Gwen and her relationship with her friends and Miles and also as a response to the unwarranted Gwen hate that she got post-movie something something misogyny something something redemption not being necessary for her because she was just a teen caught in a horrible situation but i digress

Favourite thing I wrote: oof idk. i think i really love how Pangu turned out, mostly because that was my first really deep dive into trying to integrate Chinese culture into the ATLA world. i know the premise of the fic was for kataang week, but my intention here was to delve deeper into the loneliness and burden Aang would inevitably feel in being the Avatar, and how it's always Katara (and his other friends) who help carry that burden with him. i think the story of Pangu really helps act as that parallel to Aang, but where the giant in the story was alone and eventually perished under the weight of his burden, Aang's friends help shoulder that weight with him and help him live.

Favourite thing I read: i'll be honest, i haven't really read a lot of fics recently, but one that does stand out for me is @chocomd's Enough, a kataang hanahaki fic, and its sequel The Deal. the writing between these two fics is incredibly gorgeous and haunting, managing to capture a kind of horrific beauty in both the hanahaki that afflicted Katara and the hope-turned-horror of Aang's eventual deal with... well, you'd have to read these fics to find out.

Writing goals for next year:

i'll probably take a sharp right turn from ATLA for now and head off towards writing fic for Genshin. i don't really have any good ideas for ATLA for now, which probably means i need a change of pace and to discover new material to work with. i'll probably come back to ATLA someday, but right now, between school and impending work and my hyperfixation on Genshin, i just can't find anything to work with.

in a similar vein above, i'm probably gonna take a break from romance and introspection and try my hand at action and adventure. unlike most of the Genshin fandom, i don't really ship anyone with anyone, and i also don't care about what the fandom thinks - i'm happy in my own little corner. i also recently read Six of Crows and i think it's high-time i try and conduct my own kind of plot. maybe through a mafia au? dungeon au? apocalypse? spy? who knows

even though i'm looking to eventually turn to Genshin, i do wanna finish up my pending Demon Slayer AU fic The Last Wind-Breather. i kinda want it to be a series of fics in the world, but for now i think i'll finish up the 2nd chapter and then come back to this au from time to time, write whatever comes to mind.

aaaand with that being said, i should probably at least get a chapter or two out for see the sky and sea (and remember me). started this fic in 2022, but even then i want to tie up my loose ends, give these fics the endings they deserve

Tagging (no pressure): @flameohotwife @benwvatt @shameaboutthedilettantism @coyotelemon and anyone else who wants to join in, feel free to!

[voidaxolotl]

I see everyone putting up opinions on the new live action Avatar: The Last Airbender so, might as well put mine up too!

Spoiler warning, my good friends! So be cautious!

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Bottom line is, I do enjoy the show, it’s better then the live action movie but I feel no where close to the original show. But lets be fair, bringing back ATLA in retelling the same story as a live action WOULD be hard. It’s all stuff we’ve seen before and lets be honest most of the people watching the live action know the story of the Gaang like the back of our hand. Those in charge had to find a way to give us the characters and story we love while making it entertaining for us still, and while a good amount of us would have been fine with the script basically being the same (this HAS been done in a couple animations to live action things) they had to account for the many more who wouldn’t actually watch the whole series because of it being the same. So, new story(ish) and changing the characters around. So lets talk characters!

Starting with Sokka

They made Sokka more of a “big brother” protector instead of a “sexiest warrior” protector. (Heck, we can even see a couple girls in his “army” in Wolf cove) Probably because he learned he needs as many able bodies as he can with all the “men” leaving, he learned what Pokko learned in episode 8.

But I do miss seeing our boy humiliated by Sukki, their new relationship feels like a watered down version of the original, with Sukki being more like a diet Sukki. She’s not the same kind of girlboss who flips over and teaches Sokka, instead Sokka is an awkward turtle duck who gets pinned while stretching and is spooked off.

We get a more intimate training scene which I think was cute, but we miss out on “This dojo is for Kyoshi Warriors only” and “I would be honored if you taught me” (as well as Sokka in uniform, miss that) I can’t hate the new Sokka, he’s compassionate and protective to his sister, he hides how much he loves Momo until episode 7 (god that hug he gives that stupid lemur-), and most of all being the one in charge of his village is brought up more and feels more heavy on his shoulders then in the original which I like. He was left in charge at a young age but the original didn’t dwell on it, while this one has shown us more impact of it (his talk with Yue (both as a fox and in person), his talk with the Mechanist, ever argument between him and Katara) he also feels more in the “big brother” role which I enjoy. Yes, I miss our original sarcastic strategist, but I feel like they’re laying more groundwork and background for all of Sokka’s brilliance

“Its a war balloon”… “it doesn’t look like its for battle just transportation”….. “Because I made it”

Like- YES! Show off more of our boys brain and need to protect! Show us how deep his shoulders drop due to the wait his father dropped on them! Show us his knowledge of anything being used as a weapon!

We don’t get to see how he interacts with Jet, or ribs against Zuko, or much of his planning which I’m quite peeved about, but them showing me Sokka geeking over inventions and acknowledging both his achievements and burdens does make it a bit easier to take in this new version.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Vicarious (Part 19)

“You need to talk to us, Sokka.” Katara insists. “I really wish that you would. I know that you feel like you have to be strong and tough for the rest of the group but you can let us do the hard work every now and again.” 

Azula forces herself to nod along, to say that she knows. But she doesn’t. Perhaps Sokka doesn’t have to be strong and unbreakable all the time but she does. If she isn’t she won’t stand a chance. Not when so many people crave her downfall. They want to see her break–they need to see her break. She is not a threat when she is shattered. 

“I made you some soup.” Aang puts the bowl on the dresser. 

“Thank you.”  Azula mutters. 

“You feeling any better?” Toph asks. 

“I guess, maybe.” She supposes that it is a relief to know that she has more than three days to get everything done and that Hakoda will share the burden. But that doesn’t stop her from feeling like a failure. She should have been able to handle the task. Fourteen year old her would have been able to. Fourteen year old her would be terribly disappointed in her, disappointed and embarrassed by what she has become. “I should have been able to handle it.” 

“Dad gave you a lot to handle at once.” Katara frowns and crosses her arms. “I told him over and over again that this would happen.” 

“He just wants me to be successful.” She hopes with all of her soul that Ozai had only wanted the same for her. 

“He gets way too invested sometimes and sets his expectations way too high.”

Aang puts a hand on the waterbender’s shoulder. “It’s alright, he wasn’t trying to put pressure on Sokka.”

“I should have been able to handle it.” Azula repeats. 

Zuko shakes his head. “That was a lot of work for one person. I’m the fire lord and even I don’t have to deal with that much work on my own. I have Mai and a whole team of advisors to help me out.”

“Well good for you.” She grumbles. She clears her throat. “I mean that is good for you.” She glances across the room to where Sokka sits. He hasn’t had the chance to scold her for breaking down like that. He hasn’t spoken to her at all since it had happened and for some reason that makes her stomach squirm.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Sokka.” Zuko says. “Trust me, it’s not pleasant.” 

Azula rubs her hands over her face. Agni, she really doesn’t want to take life advice from Zuzu of all people. 

She has sunk to such a deep low. 

“No one is meant to take on that much at once. It isn’t your fault.” It is the first sentence that Sokka has uttered and it draws quite a bit of attention. She catches something flicker across Zuko’s face. Something that could be understanding or maybe, for once, empathy. 

“Ozai was really good at giving people way more than they could handle.” Zuko says. “It hurts a lot.” He looks over at Sokka. “A real lot.” 

Azula’s tummy flutters twice over. 

She, for just a moment, dances with the notion that she truly had been given a task that was beyond what anyone could reasonably handle, that she isn’t not simply a waste of potential. 

She swallows. “Right. Thanks.” 

Katara pats his hand. “Alright then, we’ll let you enjoy your soup and some quiet time.”

“I should have helped you.” Sokka mentions after everyone else has left. “I wish that you would have asked…” 

“Katara already said that.”

“Yeah, but she was saying it to me. I’m saying it to you.” 

Azula stares into her soup with knit brows and a pinched expression. The bowl warms her palms and the steam wafting up from it heats her throat. 

“You can ask me if you need something.” He smiles. She hadn’t realized that she was capable of looking so inviting and approachable. Not until Sokka had put that expression her face. By all means, she looks like a friendly person. Maybe in another life–one where she had been allowed to be a child. One where she was loved and cherished. “I think that you want to ask for something.” Sokka observes.

“Why would you think that?” 

“You look upset.” He replies simply. 

“There’s nothing you can do about it.” She mumbles. He can’t get her, her childhood back. He can’t make her feel loved. Or maybe it is that she is just too afraid to let him try. She had so many life plans and not a single one of them involved dating a someone from the Water Tribes. None of them involved dating anyone at all. It had simply been an idea that she had toyed with for a night or two on Ember Island when real life had been a touch removed. 

“I don’t think that, that’s true.” Sokka pushes. He takes her hand. “At the very least, I can help you with the Republic City Project.”

“Your father told me to take a break.”

“And you will be!” He declares. “I’ll be doing the rest of the work. I’m  not going to lie, after stepping away from the project, I’ve kind of missed it. I’ve had several ideas that I’d love to get put on paper.”

.oOo.

Azula is asleep by the time he looks up from the newly revised and polished blueprints and street layouts. Perhaps it is a bit ambitious but he envisions a future where carts and carriages can be pulled along streets that stand above other streets, that way they can eliminate all of the street congestion. 

He takes the time to create some more detailed notes for Azula–detailed but more precise and to the point, all of those key details that she needs for the speech and pitch that she will be giving on his behalf. 

He is just gathering the papers up and stacking them into an orderly pile when he hears the door open.

“You’re still with him?” Katara tilts her head. 

Sokka nods. “He was getting overwhelmed so I thought that I would…” He gestures to the blueprints. 

“I didn’t know that you knew about architecture.”

“I’ve done my research.” He shrugs. “I enjoy learning about a variety of things and I haven’t had much else to do so I might as well.” 

On the mattress Azula stirs. She rolls over with a sleepy mumble–something like, “who’s there?”--and rubs her eyes. 

“It’s just Katara.” Sokka replies. 

“Oh.” It takes her a moment but she is sitting up and rubbing her eyes again. He tries to picture Azula in her own body, sleepy and rubbing her eyes. A small smile breaks upon his lips. She parts hers and mutters, “what time is it?”

“A little after midnight.” Katara answers. 

“You should go back to sleep.” Sokka adds. She had been sleeping so peacefully. 

“So should you, Azula.” Katara quirks a brow. “Have you gotten even a little sleep?”

Sokka shakes his head. “I’ve been busy.”

“You’re always busy.” Katara notes. “Maybe that’s part of why you’re always so stressed and uptight.”

Azula crosses her arms over her chest. She opens her mouth, remembers herself, and closes it again.

“I’m not trying to be rude. It’s just that…I remember when you, Mai, and TyLee were chasing us. I was so mean to Toph and she just gave up everything to join us. Aang and I had a fight. We were all super cranky and Sokka was willing to sleep on the softest pile of dirt.”

“That’s so sad.” He hears Azula whisper more to herself. “A little pathetic too.” 

It takes every ounce of his self control not to burst out that a man needs to do what a man needs to do. And if that means sleeping in dirt then so be it. Instead he replies. “Sounds like a delight.”

“It’s kind of a fun story to tell in retrospect. Toph called me a ‘sugar’ queen. I told her that it was too bad that she couldn’t see the pretty stars.” 

“That’s just cold.” Sokka chuckles. 

“The point is, you should get some sleep too. Do you ever give yourself time to relax?”

Sokka nods. “I have my spa.”

“But you also firebend every single day. Maybe you should take a day off and actually get to sleep on time.”

“Maybe.” Sokka repeats. 

“Dad said that he would take care of things for Sokka. Between the two of you, I think that Sokka is going to do just fine.”

“But he’s…” 

“Stressed?” Katara asks. “That happens every now and again. We’ll make sure that he’s okay. You need to start taking better care of yourself too.”

“I do take care of myself!” He replies with all of the offense that Azula is probably simmering in from her spot on the mattress.

Katara chuckles. “When was the last time you had a glass of water?”

Sokka clenches his teeth. “Five in the afternoon.” He grumbles. 

Katara quirks a brow. “Exactly.” She takes the teacup from the nightstand, fills it, and passes it to him. “You can’t just work through meals and sleep. You’re a smart person, Azula. You’ll be able to get your work done even if you take some breaks.” 

He knows that tone. He knows it well enough to know that no isn’t an answer. She’ll walk away but she will come to check on him later and if he isn’t in bed he will get a lecture of some sort. “I’ll wrap things up.”

Katara smiles. “I’ll hold you to that.” She pauses in the doorway. “Thank you for taking care of Sokka. Good night you two.” 

“I got a good night.” Azula whispers more to herself. 

“Yeah.” Sokka finds himself a spot on the mattress. “She’s warming up to you.”

“To you.”

“I’m sure that you’ll be able to become a friend when you get your body back. But we should get to bed…” He trails off as a little something occurs to him. “You told me to be in bed by a certain time!” He folds his arms across his chest. 

Azula gives a lazy little shrug and flops back onto the mattress. Again, he finds himself imagining Azula in her own body flopping onto the bed and bundling herself up. He hadn’t realized it, but she is quite adorable. “I was hoping that you could fix my sleeping schedule since you aren’t as inclined to work on my projects as persistently as I would. Not finishing them wouldn’t keep you up at night thinking about them.” 

“What projects have you had, recently?”

“Well…none.” Azula frowns. “But that’s part of the problem. I feel…usel–like I should be doing something. And then I think about that and thinking about that leads to thinking about other things and then it’s morning.”  

“Do you still do that?” 

Azula nods. 

“Would it help if I spent the night?”

“You’re sleeping on the floor.” She says before immediately grumbling something that sounds like, “oh yeah, that’s right.” And patting the mattress. 

Sokka takes that spot. “What made you change your mind?”

“I don’t want my back to be stiff when I get back to my own body.”

Sokka laughs. “Oh is that it?”

She nods. “What else?”

“I think that you care about my comfort.”

“If I didn’t care about bruising my own skin, I would push you off of this bed.” 

He laughs again and makes himself comfy on the mattress. Once again, Azula fixes a pillow between the two of them. “Good night, Azula.” 

For an extended moment he doesn’t think that she will return the sentiment but, however quietly, she does.

[bookishgalaxies]

I'm back🤸‍♀️

here to request a possible friends to lovers katara x reader based off the prompt “Every time I see your face I go crazy.” “Crazy in a bad way or crazy in a good way?” “Undecided.” maybe it happens during that one play they go to in book 3 i think it was. and readers making a big deal about how everyone sees katara and reader together instead of zuko and her. Just a suggestion though. you can make the setting wherever you want doesn't matter to me. THANK YOU FOR READING !!!!!!!!

I absolutely love this and had to re-watch the episode that you are referencing to (which was amazing bc it’s been a minute since I watched the show) honestly, this was fun to write! 💕💕

“Then Do It.”

pairing: katara x fem!reader

info: oneshot, not proofread

warnings: none

summary: you go with the gang to a play that you all end up hating. The only good part was seeing a certain someone loosen up and laugh a bit.

a/n: I have no words other than please don’t call me cringe, I already know I am.

Watching Zuko and Aang train wasn’t the most entertaining thing in the world. After awhile, even firebending gets really old to watch. The only reason you were out here was because Katara was. She insisted on keeping an eye on the two boys to make sure they didn’t get injured. You tried to tell her they knew what they where doing and that she should go inside and enjoy some shade but she wouldn’t listen. That was Katara, stubborn as ever.

You made yourself a promise that if she was going to sit out here you were at least going to let her get some stuff off her chest. She was always so stressed out and worried about other’s, that stress needed to be relieved. So, you let her talk, spill out all her worries and thoughts. You actually listened to, because you cared, maybe a little too much even.

“Okay, now that you’ve gotten all the doom and gloom out, what’s the first thing you want to do after we win the war?” You asked her

“You’re so sure we’ll win.” She said

“We will, now my question.” You replied

She sat there for a second and thought, then said

“Maybe a nice spa day like the one you, Toph, and I had. Oh, and possibly go to a nice bakery afterwards and get some sweets!” She explained, a smile forming on her face.

“And think about it, we could find a nice pond to spend the day near and just have some good old fun.” You added on.

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” she said, “also scaring Sokka by drenching him in a wave of water.”

You both laughed, imagining her brother’s face after getting completely drenched out of nowhere.

“We have to win the war first though.” Katara stated, dampening the previously light mood.

“I’m telling you Tara, we will, I mean, we have the literal Avatar, who can bend all four elements! Zuko’s father doesn’t stand a chance.” You explained

“Yeah, but Aang’s just a kid, he shouldn’t have the burden of the world on his shoulders.” She sighed

“He shouldn’t, none of us should, but we just do the best we can, and keep going.” You spoke solemnly.

“Maybe after all this is over you’ll get to see my home for the first time.” Katara perked up, speaking of something you had imagined many times.

“I’d really like that! We could go penguins sledding!” You exclaimed

“Yes!” She agreeed.

“Guys, guys, look what me and Suki found!” Sokka cheered as Aang and Zuko walked over to join You, Katara, Sokka, and Suki.

“What is it?” Katara asked

“They made a play! About us!” Sokka exclaimed.

“About us?” Toph asked

“Yup, probably because we are 100% coolio to the max.” Sokka explained.

Suki laughed at the phrase.

“I know that theatre. My mother always made me go watch their plays. Butchered my favorite story every single time.” Zuko piped up from where he was standing next to Aang.

“Is it really a good idea to go to a play right now? We’re in the middle of a war.” Katara pointed out.

“Katara, this is the kind of crazy random stuff we’ve been missing out on!” Sokka protested.

Eventually everyone agreed that they would put on their fire nation attire and attend a play about themselves that evening. You knew Katara was worried that it was a “waste of time.” And you tried to talk to her about other things to keep her brain distracted. She seemed to appreciate it, always giggling and smiling when you made a joke or told a funny story. Good, your plan to de-stress your friend was working. However, you will admit every time she laughed at something you said, it gave you immense butterflies in your stomach. That was probably just nerves about the play though, right?

When you got to the theatre the first thing that happened was Suki, Sokka, and Aang grabbing every snack imaginable before we got to our seats. Then, Toph made a comment about where we were sitting and that she couldn’t pick up anything with her feet. Very understandable complaint since that was her way of sight. Katara promised to explain everything to her, oh how kind she was.

-☾❤︎☽-

The play was definitely something. No one liked how their character’s where portrayed, not even you. While they where accurate to an extent, everything was horribly exaggerated. That was the point of theatre, you knew, but this was too much. When intermission hot, you were more than happy to get out of the theatre and get some air.

You could tell you weren’t the only one who was upset. It wasn’t that you didn’t like how they portrayed you, well, yeah, that was it. You weren’t a bender and the play definitely got that spot on. Except, they made you out to be this weak person who just follows Katara around like a puppy letting her protect you.

That was hardly the case. Sure, you might not be a bender, but you had studied at the university in Ba Sing Se, where you met the gang. You had learned how to make small gadgets there that would help in combat and everyday life. So, being portrayed as helpless just because you couldn’t bend and you were a girl didn’t sit right with you.

Zuko and Aang didn’t seem to happy either.Zuko was more than his usual grumpy and even seemed a little sad. Him and Toph were sitting together, you assumed she would take care of him. Suki and Sokka were attempting to sneak backstage so Sokka could recommend some better jokes as the “dedicated fan” he is. Aang had gone out on the balcony to sulk, or at least that’s what it looked like he was doing when he walked out. Now, where was Katara?

You walked the halls for awhile, and made a full circle back to where everyone had been sitting. Your feelings hadn’t gotten any better. In fact, quite contemplation might have made them worse. You saw Katara walk back in from the balcony where you assumed Aang still was since he didn’t seem to follow. She looked exhausted, yet still somehow had a small smile on her face.

You tried to lift your chin, put on a smile, and pretend like nothing was wrong. She saw right through it the second you told her you had been looking for her. How? How could you be so good at hiding your emotions and yet she was always one step above at sniffing them out? She asked you what was wrong, you told her you didn’t want to burden her with one more thing.

“Y/n, I care about you, a lot, I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know.” She told you

“Katara, do you really think that I’m just the tag along in the group. I hate saying all this because it sounds so pitiful and I don’t mean to but, am I really the weak bender who doesn’t have a use?” You rambled off to her.

“No, absolutely not Y/n, you are a valuable part of our team. You matter so much to the others, especially me. I, personally, don’t know where we would be without you and your handy gadgets and gizmos.” She explained to you

“Really?” You asked

“Yes!” She exclaimed

“I really matter that much to you?” You took a leap of faith with the question.

“Y/n, every time I see your face, I go crazy.” She confessed

“Crazy in a bad way or crazy in a good way?” You chuckled a little as you questioned her.

“Undecided.” She replied

“Oh.” You said, trying you hardest not to sound too disappointed.

“It’s just been so hard with the war to sort out my feelings. I mean, so always get this weird feeling in my stomach when you are around. Also, I find myself wishing you were right beside me all the time. It’s crazy, sometimes, I even just want to lean in and kiss you!” She ended her aggressive ramble.

You were in utter and complete shock. She confessed, this was the moment you had been waiting for ever since you met them in Ba Sing Se. This was it, and now that it was here, you couldn’t think of a single thing to say. So, you blurted out the first thing your brain thought of.

“Then do it.” You said

She did

-☾❤︎☽-

When you two pulled apart the. Rest of the gang was there wide eyed. Of course, the first one to speak up was Sokka.

“Ha, Toph, you owe me five gold coins AND a full statement saying that I, Sokka, was right and you, Toph, were wrong.”

“Wow, I mean, I always saw you guys look at each other funny, but I never guessed,” Aang started “I’m happy for you two.”

“I won’t lie I always thought Katara would end up with Zuko.” Suki admitted

Katara laughed, probably harder than she should have.

“Hey, it’s not that funny.” Zuko said,

“Don’t take offense to Zuko’s mood, he’s always like that, he’s quite pleased with this pairing, and so am I.” Toph explained

“Well, at least one good thing came out of this horrible play.” You jested

“Yeah, and it’s not even over yet.” Sokka replied

—————🌖🌗🌘🌑🌒🌓🌔—————

[angelsunflowers-fanfics]

Request: Hi! i don't know if you are still doing these but if so, could I please have "hi, I need affection" with sokka from avatar the last airbender? thanks!

Genre: Fluff-Angst-Fluff

Fandom: Avatar the last airbender

Linktree

As (y/n)'s eyes creaked open for the first time that day, they could see that the sun had barely risen, so they had absolutely no reason to get the day started quite yet. 

(y/n) took a glance around the room to see Sokka slowly crawling into their bed, but he quickly paused all of his movements the second his eyes locked onto theirs. He was caught red-handed. 

(y/n)’s voice was raw and raspy from just waking up, “Sokka? What are you doing?” 

The water tribe boy almost backtracked out of his plan but remembering the gruesome nightmare he just witnessed before his eyes, he all but dived into the bed to wrap his arms around (y/n). 

Their ears warmed up as Sokka's breath hit the back of their neck. (y/n) wasn't exactly expecting Sokka to spoon them the second they woke up. 

"Hi, I need affection," Sokka whispered. 

“You don’t normally cuddle this early in the morning. What happened?” 

Sokka sighed, defeated. Of course, (y/n) could read him like a book. Sokka groaned lightly, nudging his head further into their shoulder. “I had a nightmare,” He murmured.

(y/n) sighed before they asked, “The same one? Do you want to talk about it?”

Sokka whimpered lightly, biting on his bottom lip to stop himself from crying out. He hasn’t been able to talk to anyone about his nightmares in years. He never wanted to trigger Katara or burden her. “Please,” Sokka whimpered. He took a few deep breaths before he started to recite his nightmare to (y/n) like he had done many times before. “It was the day the fire nation took my mother… But this time they took Katara too, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I was just frozen.” Sokka couldn’t help the tears that slipped down his face, he had learned this far into the relationship to not be ashamed of his feelings, especially the negative ones. 

“Oh, Darling. I’m so sorry. I’m sure it was a very scary thing to witness as a child. And I’m sorry that you’re still getting nightmares about it.” Sokka curled his body even further into (y/n)’s, relishing in their warmth and comfort as they peppered kisses over his head. “We can stay here as long as you need.”

[zutarabender]

@zutaraweek Day 1 - Tradition Read on AO3

---

Katara was burning.

Her body, not used to tropical illnesses, often failed her when visiting the Fire Nation. She seemed to be, quite literally, allergic to it. Sickness didn't prevent her from longing for the wide shores, the evening breeze, and a certain pair of golden eyes. But it happened almost every single time, constantly enough that her friends joked about it. Katara's new Fire Nation tradition, they called it, marked by ritual sneezes and celebrated with mint tea. 

This time was different.

Bedridden, sweating profusely and aching all over, all she could think of was that she wished she would have kept to tradition. Just a cold, a few coughs and an irritable headache. Not this nightmare. She was alone, in that pitiful state between shallow sleep and delirious fever. Alone, and the one person she needed by her side had duties to tend to.

Alone, but when her eyes opened from her restless sleep, she found those very same golden eyes fixed on her.

"Zuko," she blinked. She was propped up with pillows, unable to lie down, but she still felt the need to sit upright. This proved too much for her spinning head, so she fell back again. "What...? why...?"

"Katara, I just-" Zuko cleared his throat. "I was told you were calling for me."

"I..."

Her cheeks burned, and it wasn't the fever. She had a vague memory of sunlight seeping into the room and exhaustion taking over, her dreams hazy and unfocused. Zuko would seep into her mind every time her body or her mind gave out. There was comfort in conjuring his presence - but she'd never meant to do it aloud, or asleep, and she thought of denying it but the words died in her throat. It would be a painful lie. Zuko was still, very still, as if any other breath or word from her could rattle and shatter him.

Katara didn't dare say anything, so eventually, Zuko broke the silence.

"You look awful."

"That's what every woman wants to hear."

There was no sharpness to her croaking voice; Zuko smiled sheepishly, and Katara imitated him. It would be a miracle if she looked any better than she felt, and yet, Zuko looked at her with that boundless devotion that never failed to break her heart and build it anew.

"What is it, Katara?" He asked. "What can I do for you?"

"Can you..." Katara cut herself short. It was a seemingly small thing, but too big a sacrifice for the Fire Lord. Still, she didn't have the willpower to give it up. That burden must fall on his shoulders this time. "Can you stay for a while?"

"Of course." Zuko didn't even hesitate. "As long as you need."

She needed more than she'd ever asked for. There were too many unspoken words between them, and Katara was getting too worn to reign them in. In the back of her mind, there was the nagging notion that the truest cure, the end to her Fire Nation tradition, would be to stay for good.

Zuko started lightly when Katara's hand slipped into his. That small pocket of warmth was so overpowering that any doubt in her mind disappeared without a trace.

"Always?"

Whatever Zuko was frantically searching for in her expression, he must have found it. He settled next to her, the mattress sinking under his weight, and squeezed her hand tighter.

"Always."

[innocentimouto]

Did you know that it’s canon that Jet was katara’s first kiss? I just recently found that out. I wish that the writers showed it on screen. I wonder when the moment was and what the kiss was like.

Yeah, I've heard about it many times. Unfortunately it's used against Jet. Like he forced himself on her or something. But if you could ignore those people, then yeah, I wish that scene would have happened. This does it beautifully.

I’ve stayed out of shipping Jet because people hate on him enough and ship debates is the last place I want to drag him into. But recently I’ve been really getting into Jetara.

Because when you look at “Jet”, he went out of his way to charm her, not Aang. When Aang is the youngest, the one both Sokka and Katara have tried to keep happy their whole time spent with him, Aang is the Avatar, Aang is the most trusting, all of which are extremely obvious to anyone. Even after they found out the truth, he said,

“I want you to understand me, Katara.” And it really did seem like he did. Even if he understood deep down that she wouldn’t. Which was why he lied to her in the first place.

So I actually have different scenarios for how the kiss would go. 

(1) We really should have gotten a scene about Katara talking about her bending and how much it means to her and how it’s a part of her culture that she doesn’t even know how to maintain. Then some of the kids would ask to see her bend because they’ve never seen a waterbender before.

Or to add in another headcanon, Jet is extremely keen on figuring out how to use bending. He instantly knew Iroh was bending when even many people watching never understood that until Zuko spells it out. And he figured that Katara and Aang could bend the water from underground the day he saw them.

So maybe he would give her some advice. Bending is also fueled by emotion and because it means so much to you, treat it as something you love. You don’t need to learn it just to fight.

And she would and she would be so happy from the bottom of her heart because it’s night and she can feel the moon and there are children cheering and clapping and calling her bending beautiful and this is what was stolen from her people, this is the joy she and Sokka should have experienced growing up, this is what her mom and dad should have been able to see from her---

Jet made her feel noticed and in her joy and gratitude she’ll kiss him on the cheek. And it’s too fast and sudden for Jet to play it off confidently so he’s smiling, actually smiling, and she thinks he looks happy without realizing she’s seen him smile plenty of times before.

(2) I think the Gaang stayed there for 2-3 days. Or close to that much. And Sokka would be off sulking, Aang would play with The Duke, and Katara would be around Jet, who would spend time with the younger kids. Katara would just be there for Jet, but then she would totally go into mother mode and start taking care of all these orphans that she sort of forgets she wanted to be around Jet.

And when they finally get a break they’d talk about how it’s so exhausting being the adult but rewarding and they would never let anyone else do it. Jet will thank Katara which is nice since people just expect her to be helpful. Katara may note how the kids adore Jet. And because he’s gotten so comfortable around her and isn’t used to sharing the burden, he’d slip up and admit he believes they only stick around because he’s their only option.

It’d be startling for Katara, because Jet comes off as extremely confident in himself. But it would make her move closer to him and reach for his arm, not shoulder because he’s covered in armor. And she wonders why he never takes it off.

She feels Jet tense under her touch before smiling at her and saying he’s fine, but she knows he’s lying now. So she looks at him and says he’s doing his best. Doing better than she, Sokka, or anyone else she knows has done or would in this situation. That he’s made a home for the orphans when he could have simply fended for himself, that he took on this huge responsibility that must be so hard and scary and exhausting, but he’s here trying his best and his parents would be proud.

And Jet reaches out to touch her cheek and moves closer, not all the way, to let her pull back if she doesn’t want to. His face is soft in way that’s different from when he was with the kids and no one has ever looked at her that way. Katara leans forward and they kiss.

When they pull away, they smile. It’s nice to be seen.

(Thanks for the question! Always happy to talk about these two, ship or not.)

[chiefbeifongcanrailme]

Birthday countdown

Linzin - switched bending / elements

Okay so officially now, it's birthday week! I've started receiving my presents too! Enjoy, 7 days to go!🎂

"You are the last Airbender now. Trust in the universe and it'll all work out."

The Avatar's voice echoed as he took his last breath in his wife's arms. Katara was a mess, Tenzin left the room in tears, Bumi was holding Kya, and Lin? Lin just sat there.

It was unimaginable. Lin was officially the last Airbender.

How did that happen? What she liked to call an ugly twist of fate, the spirits called a fun game of swapping destinies.

And now her issues seemed so meager. Watching him struggle to bend the earth to his will while she could just flow away with the wind. As if Airbending was second nature to her and Earthbending was beyond alien to Tenzin.

She had a legacy to bring forward, but it wasn't hers to carry on. It was Tenzin's. Her Tenzin, her boyfriend who was burdened by this responsibility until the spirits decided to play this cruel game of switcheroo.

All he had to do was master his element, maybe protect the city from silly bad guys, but that was it. The Beifong legacy didn't ask for much and yet, there she was making his life even harder before the switch.

Even though Avatar Aang's legacy had been seemingly split in two between Lin and Tenzin the major burden fell upon the former. They'd decided that Lin was going to take on the noble Beifong legacy and bring back the air nation- since she was the only one capable of doing so, while Tenzin would- well Tenzin had nothing but education to impart among the acolytes. That was all he could do with his share of the legacy.

Of course, now Lin was in a mess. She was literally walking a mile in Tenzin's footsteps. She didn't know where to begin, let alone plan a future. While walking a mile in another's shoe may even work for a former Earthbender, swimming in another's trunks, not so much, because she felt as like she was drowning. It was like she was deep in a tunnel of water with no light at the end or oxygen dissolved for breathing. But drowning in it wasn't an option. All she could do was float and suffocate until...

She sought out Tenzin one night, he was distraught beyond measure, and yet, because it was Lin, he gave her an audience. She asked him the how, the why, and the whats to questions she still couldn't frame. Instead, they ended up holding each other on the bed and crying their miseries into the other's shoulders.

She wanted to know how he would do this, had the legacy not have been split in two. Had he continued being the airbender and her the earthbender. How they could be together and work these issues out. Turns out, he didn't know. He'd never want to find out because any choice he made would lead to sacrificing something he didn't want to.

While not many words were exchanged through the night, what Tenzin said stuck with her. In the end, he would have had to let go of something. But she loved the man too much to let him go through with it, so she was going to do it herself.

Instead of continuing to choke and float, Lin chose to drown that night. And there it was, the light, the end- everything was near. But why were her lungs still grappling for air? The fight was over and yet there was this scrimmage inside her body? Despite herself, she fumbled and scrambled for air. For anything to take her and either suck her in or pull her out.

She was just about to lose consciousness when she felt some air thrust her out. She was levitating under water until her body touched the surface.

Her eyes jerked open and she sat up, wet. She ran her hands over her arms and started to collect her surroundings. It was quiet, it was dark, she was in bed. She realized her clothes were drenched from sweat. She reached out to bend something- whatever she could, air, earth anything, and the metallic toy warped its shape on the table. She exhaled a long sigh of release, finally catching her breath.

She soon realized that Tenzin was seated beside her, he looked spooked. She turned towards him and he pulled her into his arms and started kissing the top of her head.

"You're okay, Lin. It was just a dream. I'm right here." He whispered repeatedly against her hair.

"Yes." Was all her voice could manage.

"Yes, Lin. You're fine." He repeated once again before pulling her face up to his.

"No, I meant- I mean yes." She replied into his beard breathlessly.

"Yes, what, Lin?" He asked, rubbing her back.

"Yes, I'll marry you. All we can do is try. I don't want you to make sacrifices." She mumbled as if she had rotely learned this.

"Lin? You don't have to-"

"Your dad said so. It'll all work out in the end. We'll make sacrifices together if we have to. I just don't want to lose you." She pleaded into his chest.

Tenzin pulled her closer and kissed her temple, "I love you." He knew she was frazzled, she'd woken up from a tumultuous nightmare. As he was watching her he'd felt guilty for proposing that evening. As if asking had stressed her out even more.

But Aang spoke to her- somehow. He was grateful for his father looking out for him even now. "Thank you." He whispered to wherever the only other tattooed man he'd known was.

He continued kissing Lin's cheeks and rubbing her back until her breathing evened and she settled down in his arms.

"I love you, Tenzin." She whispered into his chest before sleep consumed her.

[flameohotwife]

Fanfic writer ask game: 5, 7, 12, 37!

Happy fanfic writer appreciation day, friend!!!

5. Share one of your strengths. Northern asked the same question! hahaha I dislike listing my strengths why must you do this to meeee. I said characterization for northern, for you I'll say dialogue. I have a lot of fun writing dialogue, and have been complimented on it before so I think it comes off well, at least for the characters I know the best (Aang and Katara).

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Aang’s grief was ever present. Sometimes it pressed in from all sides, suffocating him. Sometimes it just sat on his shoulder, reminding him through every council meeting that he was alone. The only one wearing orange and yellow. The only one with arrows. The only one. 

He had lost so much; nobody would really blame him if they knew. However, Aang carried his burden quietly, behind a mask of joviality and gentleness. Not that Aang wasn’t jovial and gentle, but so many saw this and forgot about the heavy sadness sitting just under the surface. Only his closest friends could see the slips of his mask. The clenched fists under the table in response to an insensitive comment, the twitch in his eye from losing sleep trying to somehow preserve his lost Nation, the momentary disappearance of his signature grin when a memory of them broke through, reminding him that they should still be here. That it was his fault they were gone. 

This is the beginning of my fic Hopeful Again (rated E), and my biggest Aang's-grief exploration to date. I am proud of it because it really sets the stage and the emotional threshold for the rest of the fic. I poured so much into this fic and I'm still really happy with how this whole fic turned out.

12. Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more? Ooooh this is a good one! Does the whole first half of book 3 count? hahaha. The Awakening, The Headband, and The Painted Lady have SO MUCH good character development that I draw from repeatedly in my writing. I guess, though, if I have to pick just one, I would pick The Serpent's Pass from book 2, because I have written entire FICS based on that scene of Aang and baby Hope and his and katara's conversation afterward, so... hahaha.

37. Talk about your current wips. Oh, friend, there are so many (sobs in open, unfinished google docs). I have 7 open wips at the moment, ranging from zero words of prose/just the base idea to multiple unpublished chapters written. The big one is obviously Unspoken, Undeniable (rated T)--my multi-chapter fake dating kataang AU. I also have the next segment of Explorations (rated E) in the drafting stage, an almost-finished smutty labor induction fic I promised sometime last year, a kainora and katara fic/ficlet idea, the mixed-race cloudbabies fic, awkward museum fic to fulfill a @kataang-prompts idea, and a part 2 to A Noble Predicament (rated T) in which Aiza and Katara meet in person. There are too many to talk about hahaha but I will say that you will definitely like the next chapter of Unspoken, Undeniable when I post it next week, since we'll be getting ready for and going to the birthday ball! I also might need to start differentiating the fic between ffn (rated T) and ao3 (rated M, possibly, for now) because of a couple sentences of implied solo activities... Still nothing explicit so I haven't decided if that is where the line is or not. There WILL be a bonus spice chapter at the end on ao3 that won't be included in the ffn version, but... yeah I don't know, hahaha.

Thank you so much for the ask, choco!

40 questions for fanfic writers

[badgerfrogs]

i don’t have many followers on this blog to answer but if i wrote a zukka au featuring the following, how interested would people be?

- autistic zuko/adhd sokka (i’m on the spectrum and i’d have to do some more research about writing adhd characters but i think there should be more fics with neurodivergent zukka)

- trans zuko (i’m not trans but i’d be sure to research & read about trans experiences & write about zuko being trans respectfully)

- zuko abolishes the fire nation monarchy and moves to the south pole as an ambassador and to be with his friends and with sokka, who’s working as an engineer and co-chief-in-training in the southern water tribe

- !!!!chief-in-training katara!!!! she and sokka split the role so that sokka can do his engineering work & train in the arts and katara can dedicate some of her time to traveling with aang (this co-chief thing also results in plenty of sibling snipery and banter)

- homoerotic sparring practice

- nerd4nerd zukka

- sokka with chronic pain from his leg injury

- plenty of southern water tribe worldbuilding

- it would contain very little conflict/no actually dangerous stakes for characters & relationships because i like writing fluff, if anything it’d be low-stakes drama

- it would probably be mostly one-shots too but in a series, i’m not much one for longfics since im a writing major which takes most of my creative energy and i write fics mostly for fun

- zukka pranks and fun

- white lotus member and cultural liaison to the southern water tribe sokka

- plenty of vacations and the gaang healing from cptsd/the effects of growing up in war

- writer/poet zuko

- katara and zuko sleepovers (they’re like “me and the bestie<3” but they actually are just besties)

- katara loving zuko and sokka but kind of hating zukka at first because she doesn’t want to think about her brother and her best friend kissing (among other things)

- perhaps some love letters?

- reparations and decolonization from the fire nation with the help of zuko

- zuko righting his nation’s wrongs while also not shouldering the burden all alone and getting to heal as well

- zukka sneaking around like teenagers in love

- bakoda (ft. trans bato), mailee, and possibly pianjeong and maybe yueki (i’d have to figure out how to fit it into the canon universe) would certainly make appearances as well, along with the rest of the gaang

- sokka and katara’s family loving zuko and considering him family too

- disgustingly in love zukka

- zuko’s complete and utter inability to lie

- sokka and aang’s brotherhood

- sailing trips and campfires and life in the southern water tribe

- zuko’s little sister kiyi visiting!!

- sokka’s grandpa energy and pai sho mastery

- druk... but in the southern water tribe

- hawky

- jin’s return ft. song

- human heat pack zuko

- southern water tribe kids and communal family!

- sokka’s eternal battle against the spirits

- zuko crying out of happiness when the fire nation trade ships come and he can eat fire flakes again

- zuko and aang competing to be the best sons-in-law

- zuko and sokka’s debilitatingly intense baby fever

- baby izumi in the southern water tribe later on!!! baby izumi & southern water tribe culture!!!

- healthy, supportive relationships and friendships filled with compassion and kindness

- and more!

[that-was-anticlimactic]

i’ll leave the pairing and whether it’s platonic or romantic up to you, but 56. “come back soon” please !! :)

"Come back soon" + platonic suki & aang

Suki shuddered, gasping for air as quietly as she could while she stumbled out of her room at Ozai’s beach house on Ember Island.

She crept past Sokka who was slumped on the couch with Zuko beside him—the two such a tangled mess of intertwined limbs that the only reason she could tell what body part belonged to who was because Sokka’s skin was darker. Normally, she would have smiled and chuckled at the sight, but tonight, it only made the sob pulsing at her throat stronger.

Finally, she made it out of the house, nearly collapsing on the porch. Only then did her emotions get the best of her, and she was crying but she wasn’t crying. It was some odd mixture, some strange sound that she couldn’t quite describe. It went on like that until she was hyperventilating, her hands clawing at her chest, pulling away at the fabric. She felt like she was suffocating.

Nights usually weren’t that hard—it was the day when she flashed back the most. Each time the sun's rays shone down on her, when she heard noises in the market, worse yet when she saw people firebending…

Nights were easier, especially when she could relish in the cool air and look at Yue until she was tired. For whatever reason, after Sokka had told her the tragic tale of Yue’s sacrifice, Suki found herself turning to the moon for comfort—even when she was locked away in Boiling Rock and couldn’t see Her.

Tonight, though, something must have happened. She wasn’t quite sure what it was, but she had woken up in a panic, desperate to escape from… well, there wasn’t anywhere to escape from, but she needed to get out of the house immediately.

She’d never been claustrophobic, but it seemed like the walls were closing in on her, coming closer and closer and closer and—

“Suki?”

She flew to her feet faster than she thought possible. Standing in the doorway was Aang, rubbing his eyes… his suspiciously red eyes.

“Hey,” she croaked, brushing herself off if only to do something with hands so they would stop trembling. “Can’t sleep either?”

Aang shrugged, his heel bouncing restlessly against the ground. “Can I… can I join you?”

“Yeah, sure,” she replied. “Let’s sit.” Slowly, she lowered herself to the ground this time so she was sitting on the edge of the porch, her toes brushing against the sand below.

Aang sat beside her, sniffling.

“Everything okay?” she asked after a minute. While Suki didn’t know Aang nearly as well as Katara or Sokka, she knew him well enough to know that this wasn’t normal. The poor boy always wore his heart on his sleeve, so it wasn’t that hard to notice that something was obviously wrong, but this silence and metaphorical stillness surrounding his demeanor was eerie.

Aang blinked, shoving his feet into the sand and flicking it around. “I don’t know.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“I—I don’t know,” he repeated, narrowing his eyes at the sand and digging his heels into it with more force. “You okay?”

She paused. That wasn’t supposed to happen—she wasn’t prepared for that. Normally, she would’ve brushed it aside—that’s what she was supposed to do, being older than him and all but…

He looked so scared, so exhausted and vulnerable that Suki felt the urge to share, even if it was more watered down than to spare him more grief.

And maybe if she shared with him, he’d feel like he could share with her.

“No,” she chuckled, gripping the edges of the dock so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. “Not really.”

Aang peered at her curiously, tilting his head, as if he were expecting her to lie too. “Oh. What’s… what’s wrong? Is there anything I can do?”

Even when Aang was in the middle of stress and hurt, he still cared for everyone else. It made Suki’s heart break, knowing that the most gentle, caring, compassionate person she’d ever met felt like he had a duty to place everyone else’s happiness above his own.

“Not really, I just… I guess I’ve been having trouble, um…” she trailed off, taking a long, careful breath. “I haven’t been processing my time at, uh, at Boiling Rock well.”

Even saying the name of the place made her shoulders tense and her heart race at a frightening speed.

Simply thinking about the place sent her into an unnatural state of panic. Talking about it was a whole different level of coping that she wasn’t entirely sure she was prepared for.

In the span of five seconds, a myriad of emotions flashed across Aang’s face: confusion, realization, horror, and guilt.

Guilt—it pained Suki in so many ways, seeing Aang’s innocent (and it wasn’t fair that really, they weren’t so innocent anymore, not after all he’s seen) eyes wide and heavy, carrying not only the burden of the world and the burden of a war he had no part in starting, but also the weight of her own personal grief… it wasn’t fair.

(It never was for them, was it?)

Aang cleared his throat uncertainly. “Oh, I didn’t realize… I didn’t really think about how you felt after that… I was so excited that Sokka and Katara got to see their dad that I…”

Suki held back a wince.

It had stung, watching everyone launch themselves at Hakoda instead of her—even at Sokka and Zuko. And she couldn’t be mad, not really. Hakoda was their dad—of course they’d be worried sick about him, knowing he’d been captured and not having a single clue about where she was (aside from vague taunting from Azula).

It was the curse of being a nonbender, the one hardly anyone knew (and that wasn’t fair—not when Sokka and Hakoda were nonbenders too).

(but even that couldn’t push down the jealousy she felt towards Hakoda—he had been there for a day. She had been there for months. It wasn’t a fair comparison, but that didn’t matter when she was left alone with her thoughts.)

“It’s not your fault,” she said, her voice flat but sincere. “You weren’t even there—there was nothing you could’ve done.”

It was true. The life of one measly Kyoshi Warrior wasn’t worth risking for the sake of the entire world. That’s what it’s like, growing up in war, knowing that your life would never be as important or essential as the movement you were fighting for.

She peered at Aang who was scrunching his nose so intensely it had to be painful. If anyone knew that feeling, that feeling of worthlessness but expected usefulness, it was Aang.

“Hey, quite that,” she gently chastised, lightly placing her hand on his knee. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

Aang wordlessly complied, which honestly worried her even more. Yes, she was glad that Aang ceased the physical anguish he was putting himself through by thinking so long and hard about something out of his hands, but she had expected some sort of fight—some protest or joke relating to how he wasn’t actually in pain.

Just resigned obedience.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, simply sitting side by side. Suki watched the night sky, staring at Yue, hoping to forge any kind of connection with her.

“Suki…” Aang finally said, glaring at the sand surrounding his feet. “Have you ever… have you ever thought about what would happen if you took off? Never look back?”

Yes.

She thought about that a lot, what would happen if she just stopped fighting. What would’ve happened if Aang and Sokka and Katara (and Zuko’s men attacking her village) hadn’t convinced her and her girls not to stay neutral in the war. Suki dreamed about being back on Kyoshi Island, swimming when the unagi was away and practicing applying her makeup, stitching the holes they made in their uniforms with the girls.

Life was easier back then.

“Sometimes,” she replied instead, side eyeing him. “Do you?”

“There are… sometimes, I think it’d be easier,” he admitted, voice small. “I’m tired. And I don’t want to fight anymore.”

“You shouldn’t have to.”

He shrugged choppily. “I’m the Avatar,” was all he said.

“Do you ever wish you weren’t?” Now it was Suki’s turn to ask the question that couldn’t really be answered. She had a feeling she knew what he wanted to say, even without seeing the confliction flash across his face and the way he licked his lips.

“Sometimes,” he eventually said, repeating Suki’s ambiguous answer from minutes earlier.

“I can’t even imagine what being the Avatar is like,” Suki stated, and tentatively, she reached her hand out and gently grabbed ahold of Aang’s nearest one.

She held on loosely enough to allow him to pull away if he wanted, but it seemed like he clung desperately to the contact.

Aang’s hands were soft, which didn’t really surprise her since he was an airbender at heart and all, but she could feel small patches of calluses around his palms. His fingers were long and lean, probably longer than hers.

She tightened her grip and Aang gave her a little squeeze in response.

“I like having you around,” he spoke up after a minute or two of silence. “You’re really nice to everyone, even Zuko and he burned your village down. You’re really strong. I’m glad Sokka was able to find you.”

I am too, she thought.

Then, his words hit her: “you’re really strong”. It was obvious with the way he said it that he didn’t mean her physical strength—that was always her highest praise from everyone back home, even when she got out and travelled a bit more. It was always “you’re really strong for a girl” or “wow, you’re really strong”. Always her physical strength. She knew she was strong, she worked hard to get to where she is, but that isn’t what Aang meant, she could tell.

“Not really,” she confessed quietly. “Sometimes I see Zuko with his arm around Sokka and I just see red and want to get him as far away from Sokka as I can. Or I’ll see him spar with Toph and he’ll bend fire and I want to grab my fan and pin him to a tree. Whenever I’m around him, I smell my village burning to the ground. Whenever he bends, I see…” Suki trailed off, shuddering and using her free hand to swipe at the invisible tears filling her eyes. “I see the sun and it’s burning me and it’s grabbing me and it’s—”

Aang squeezed her hand, and the touch was enough to bring her back to the present away from the boiling island that haunted her—following her around as a ghost, always over her shoulder, always plaguing the back of her mind.

“It’s not Zuko.”

“You don’t have to forgive him yet,” Aang told her. “Forgiveness takes awhile sometimes.”

“I want to forgive him,” she said truthfully. “But I’m not sure if I can forgive his people. Or his sister. Especially not his sister. He is nice, infuriatingly nice. It feels like he shouldn’t be. That’s all I’ve ever known—the firebenders will burn you, the Fire Nation will take everything from you. Maybe he did once. But he isn’t anymore. I just don’t know how to change—if I want to change.”

Aang groaned, leaning forward so that his head was almost pressed against his knees (he still held Suki’s hand). “I wish it all made sense.”

“You can say that again.”

“No, Suki. I don’t want to fight the Fire Nation. Does that make me a bad person?” Aang’s voice broke, but he too did not cry.

Oh.

When Suki peered down at him, he looked so young—he was so young—and to think the entire world expected a twelve year old kid to willingly kill maybe thousands of people (or, thousands more. Sokka told her about what happened at the North Pole. Neither he nor Katara had the heart to tell Aang how many fatalities there were then) and then sit down and fix everything while also being the last Air Nomad alive was… well, when she put it like that, it was disgusting.

“I don’t think it does,” she said, and Aang lifted his head, his big grey eyes staring at his in something akin to disbelief. “You’re a kid.”

“I’m the Avatar—”

“You’re a kid, Aang.”

He shut his mouth, eyebrows scrunched while he pondered what she said. “Am I really?”

Those three words broke her. The helplessness, the exhaustion, the resignation Suki heard made her want to hide him away from the world, wrap him up in an embrace so big that he would be sheltered and protected.

“I think you are. Do you?”

“I don’t know. I want to be. I thought I was.”

He stopped, but Suki nodded at him to continue, if he wanted to.

So, he took a deep breath and continued: “Growing up, the Fire Nation was full of friends and familiar faces. Then, they all became blank. Then Zuko joined us and we danced and he became just as familiar as Kuzon once was. I went to school and saw the kids and they don’t know that they’re wrong. And now we’re here and we walk through town and everyone hates me—they hate the Avatar—but they smile at me when I pass and when I wave to them, they wave back. I don’t know what to do.”

“Well,” Suki began, “this sucks. And here I thought life wasn’t supposed to be this complicated until we were older.” Because she was still processing everything Aang had said and it’s so much and she didn’t know how he did this every day. She didn’t know what else to say, there was nothing that she could say to make things better.

Aang chuckled, it wasn’t as full of life as it usually was, but it was still something.

“Thank you for listening, Suki,” he told her, looking at her earnestly. “I know you don’t think you’re that strong, but you’re the strongest person I know.”

Suki snorted. Opening her mouth to disagree, but he beat her to it.

“No! You are! You’ve been through a lot of really bad things. You were in one of the worst places a person could possibly be, and even though sometimes you can’t look at Zuko without seeing the guy who ordered the destruction of your village or the prison guards that hurt you, but you never hurt him. You still talk to him and eat with him and… I don’t know. It makes me think that maybe something good can come out of all of this.”

I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.

Suki sucked in a breath. “Well, if you really think that—”

“I do!”

She smiled. “Well, then I need you to know that you’re the strongest person I know. I haven’t been around that much, but Sokka tells me stories. He’s told me about how you always make friends with your enemies, or you try to. About how you believed in Toph when no one else did. How you risked the Avatar State for Katara… I don’t know anyone else who could ever do what you do. I’m proud of you.”

That did it.

Aang burst into tears, hunching over as his body wracked with sobs.

Suki didn’t let go of his hand, but she used her unoccupied one to pull Aang into the hug that she longed to give him, holding him tightly and securely.

His free arm found its way around her back, and suddenly Suki felt a couple of tears escape her too. She was never a loud crier, something she was thankful for, but she didn’t pull away when one of the few that fell hit Aang’s skin and for once, she wasn’t scared that he’d notice or hear.

The two of them sat there for what felt like hours, his head buried in her neck and her cheek resting on the top of his head. They clung to each other, wordless and messy and vulnerable and real.

They held each other until Aang’s sobs died down, his voice rough and cracked.

“Thank you,” he croaked.

“Thank you,” she replied.

Then, Aang coughed, a harsh and angry sound.

As much as she didn’t want to, Suki let go of Aang (and his hand) and stood up. “I’m going to get you some water,” she told him before he could worry that he did something wrong. “You sound like you need it.”

Even still, as she started to walk away, Aang’s eyes widened and reached out, grasping her wrist so tightly that his nails were digging into her skin. “Suki…” he began, voice cracking. “I—“ he cut himself off, lips quivering.

Gently, Suki pried his hand off of her. “I’m not leaving, okay?” she whispered, and she meant it.

She felt Aang nod against her chest and she pulled away.

“Come back soon.” He spoke delicately, carefully, but that didn’t prevent the grief from seeping through his words.

Suki bent over enough to give Aang a quick kiss on the top of his head, before crouching so she was at eye level. “I always will.”

When Zuko woke up the next morning, he walked outside to meditate and found Aang and Suki coiled together on the porch, her hand draped protectively over his chest and his hand intertwined with hers.

He woke Sokka up, and the two sat with them, waiting for them to wake up.

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petition to let friends platonically kiss each other’s heads for comfort 2k21

but uhhh if you know me, you know i love the suki and aang friendship potential. so, may i present some platonic suki and aang:)

wow this got so long and so angsty i am so sorry haha!

also sorry it took so long, i uhhh got really busy and didn't have reliable service for a couple weeks! i am working on all of the other prompts as well!

101 ways to say i love you prompts