#so... FAMILY! :'D

[seyaryminamoto]

Stepping into AU territory, what if Zuko had a childhood friend his own age? The son of some noble or general or bureaucrat perhaps?

One from before his exile?

What kind of arc would they have had and how do you think it would have affected Zuko's arc?

Uuuuh... well. On one hand, I'd appreciate that because I hate the fact that Zuko seems to have zero connections with his nation beyond his family. And no, Mai doesn't count, let alone Ty Lee, because they were Azula's friends first, ergo, he only knows them because of his sister: connections through his family.

So on paper, I'd like for Zuko to have a friend from the Fire Nation that maybe was a strong connection for him.

If it was a positive friendship, it would be interesting to see Zuko grappling with the reality of all his worldview changes upon returning home in Book 3... to find that his best friend is still in the same mindset of believing the Fire Nation's rhetoric. This could make Zuko a more active character throughout Book 3, and it would enhance the whole "he's got everything he wants now, but is it REALLY what he wants anymore?!" theme they were going for with him here. So that would have been interesting for sure, and there'd be two possibilities: either Zuko reforms this fellow, or he fails to, and they might have a depressing friends-to-enemies arc where Zuko has to fight his friend and defeat him (hooopefully with more compassion than he showed his sister, I dunno :'D).

There's also the possibility of the "friendship" being negative, which means toxic, which means not really friends but fake friends? Zuko and this guy could've had a competitive, unpleasant dynamic all along that then gets worse once Zuko comes home a hero and MAYBE this guy is scheming to try and get one over Zuko...? It would be a very unpleasant thing but it would serve to show how the Fire Nation's society in itself is corrupted and it's nearly impossible to tell who's friend or foe. This guy could be a social climber who simultaneously wants to put Zuko down and humiliate him and endear himself to Ozai by doing so? I dunno, this could be a bit of a stretch, but it's also a way to take that concept forward.

As for the final possibility... a friend who joins him on his journey? :'D as in, a fan-favorite concept with mild AUs that follow the same path but you add whoever to the exiled prince (or princess)'s journey? I... don't really vibe much with that. Iroh's already there as a mentor figure. A second character involved here would just clutter the situation and either wear on Zuko further (if the guy is, say, a comic relief type who makes his life a mess along with Iroh), or just... not provide much to the story other than needless drama? So, in this specific scenario, I wouldn't be too interested, personally, in exploring this route. Would be a little odd, imo.

All this being said, interesting things can be done by giving Zuko some more basic social graces, or just making it clear that his status means people will want to use him for connections or to improve their own status through him. It's, if anything, quite strange that canon decided to make him the biggest loner of all time, whose only friends in life apparently were his mother and uncle, and maaaaaybe if you squint Mai and Ty Lee but even that's not something pre-banishment, or at least, doesn't really look like they were particularly close in Zuko Alone. It makes the sudden turn of the finale, where Zuko is universally beloved and people are ready to die for him, while his sister is completely abandoned, feel a little less contrived. The whole concept that Azula was loved by randos and Zuko was not has never made any sense to me, because we have zero evidence of that. Zuko absolutely had more people on his corner, beats me why or how, and the story somehow wants to convince us of the opposite. So... I'd be perfectly happy for some of the story's themes (Zuko knows how to be friends with someone, Azula doesn't) to be enforced further with an OC like this one, who could show us that Zuko CAN be a good friend. Would be a change of pace that makes the guy a little less disagreeable for me, who knows? :'D

[stargirl230]

thanks for the light

I was just trying to figure out how procreate works but then the op brainworms got to me and 35 hours later here we are! can you tell I miss home-cooked meals :')

(no reposts; reblogs appreciated)

[aerequets]

(part 1)

(short comic) (you can otherwise search 'spy x pta' on my profile)

MY GOODNESS. it's been a hot minute since i posted the first part and i guess i just couldn't SHUT UP because this is FOURTEEN PAGES LONG. FOURTEEN. you can even see some pages where the linework is slightly different because i drew it like 6-ish weeks ago, that's how long this has been cooking. drawing in general has been hard lately because of time constraints, BUT i am so happy i finished this. this is like my fav project even tho it isnt as popular, but who cares!!!!! POPULAR IN MY HEART

[orions-aether]

adaine punching her dad to death "guess what bitch I'm strong now" adaine punching her dad to death "you never have to be afraid of being weak again" adaine punching her dad to death "your father hurt you and he hurt your sister and no matter what anybody fucking thinks about it guess what he never gets to hurt anybody ever again" adaine punching her dad to death ADAINE PUNCHING HER DAD TO DEATH

[tizzymcwizzy]

for anyone that doesn't know, i recently started school again! (that's why ive been so mia) so ill be posting class projects whenever i finish them,,, this was a figure drawing assignment :)

you can get a print of this here!

[soulanine]

those aus where luffy is ten years younger

[chinelacanta]

i like to think that ever since they met it was mutually ON SIGHT bullying <3

they’re both losers (said with love)

[zorangezest]

shattered glass

[thecmaly]

adoptbduction

-

more windbreaker comics

[sysig]

Permission to headbutt: Granted (Patreon)

[k4pp4-8]

FUNK TROLLS SAVE ME

[teenytraveler]

just another lazy Sunday afternoon

[clonehighdoublehelix]

OH, THE CLONED HUMANITY!!

He was too young, too beautiful for this life. Like a candle in a blimp…

We must be strong in his memory and welcome his replacements:

I love the cartoon about the angsty teenage clones being raised by an amoral scientist and his doting robot assistant.

[unhappy-sometimes]

First Date

I really want them to have an actual date where they do things that actually look fun

Hope that makes sense

[sualne]

catching up

[zu-is-here]

During the post dark cream arc where Cross was pregnant with Aim, is it possible for Aim to mive and kick while in the soul…? And if so is it painful for Cross+

continuing @clownyclowns' comic's topic <3