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kawaiichibiart · 2 days

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I was going to talk about them together, but I want to develop more stuff for Sun!Spirit Yue before I talked about her, so I'll just talk about Moon!Spirit Zuko for now (:

While Agni is seen as the Fire Nation's main/biggest spirit, they hold Tui and La to a high standard. They're also important to them. Because it's a Nation made up of islands, of course they'll take spirits that would affect them seriously, they're not all morons like Zhao.

When Zuko was born, Ozai noticed he lacked the spark in his eyes that firebenders had. He was ready to toss him over the wall until Ursa and some sages talked him out of it. He gave his newborn son until the next morning to gain the spark. If he didn't, they would get rid of him.

Once he left, the sages told Ursa that being born when he was, the chances of Zuko being a bender were slim to none. They also noted how his breath felt irregular, as if he was struggling to breath. And ultimately told her that she should say her goodbyes because that baby was not going to make it through the night.

And so, Ursa began to pray. She prayed for the spirits to answer her. To save her son. Give him a chance at life. And she did this for hours until exhaustion caught up with her and she fell asleep. Certain that when she would wake up, her baby boy would feel cold in her arms. And if he was still alive, he'd lack that spark and she'd still lose him.

So imagine everyone's surprised when they wake up to Ursa's cry and rush to her room. And they see her and her son. Ursa has yet to notice them, but they're all looking at Zuko. Alive and hair turned a silvery gray.

One of the sages announces that Zuko had been blessed by Tui. The moon had blessed him. And Ozai is less than pleased. He demanda Zuko be thrown out anyways, as he had said Zuko had to have the spark in the morning. But Azulon was able to override his decision. This had to be a sign. A sign that the tides would turn in their favor. That they would have bountiful feasts. They had the sun AND the moon on their side now. Why else would the moon bless Zuko?

Because of this, Ozai doesn't treat Zuko like his son. He pretends he's a bastard, and that Ursa had slept with a Watertribe Savage behind his back. When Azula is born and shows signs of being a firebender, he dotes on her and claims she's his only child. Which leads to a rather conflicting environment for her to grow up in. She's constantly told Zuko is and isn't her brother. That he's a Savage's bastard child and that he is his father's son. She's a prodigy and he was blessed by a spirit upon his first night of being born. She started bending at a really young age and he had to further prove how much of a bastard he was when he began to waterbend.

So Azula and Zuko have a weird relationship. One parent acknowledges both as their children and the other only acknowledges one. One of them was prodigious firebender and the other was a blessed waterbender. Ursa tries to get them to spend time together and Ozai keep trying to keep them apart.

And then comes the day Ozai decides to present Azula to his father and ask him to be his heir (and the next Firelord). He doesn't bother to present Zuko, and later on, admits he saw no need to present the boy. Why would the Fire Nation ever accept a waterbender as their FIRELord? Azulon is enraged by his son's disregard for the moon's blessing and tells him to leave. He'd inform him of his punishment in the morning.

While they aren't sure where they stand in terms of being related, Azuka still tells Zuko what she overheard. And asks if he had any idea what the punishment could be. The best they could come up with is Ozai taking Iroh's place and continuing the siege of Ba Sing Se. However, they never got to find out, because Ozai had lied to Ursa and told her Azulon ordered him to kill Zuko. She didn't believe him, knowing he didn't care for him. And he knew that, which is why he then told her he would have Zuko killed if she didn't help him kill Azulon and leave. Leave and give up her children. He wished he didn't have to keep Zuko, but too many people would notice the blessed prince if he was absent. And so, Ursa killed Azulon and fled into the night after saying what she believed would be her final goodbyes to her children.

Ozai immediately named Azula his heir and continued to ignore Zuko. He had him moved into the servants area. He claimed what he always did, that he was a bastard. A child born out of wedlock. That Zuko isn't his real son. And everyone knows this isn't true, but none of them dare say anything. They stay quiet and do their best to keep Zuko away from Ozai.

When Iroh returns from his journey in the Spirit World, it's to his father being dead, Ursa missing, Ozai as the Firelord with Azula as his heir, and Zuko basically disowned and living in the servants quarters. He watches as his nephew fades into the background, as he learns his new place in the palace. He tries to pick up where Ursa left off in terms of helping Zuko and Azula connect as siblings, but Ozai sends her away to a prestigious all girls school and immediately takes over her lessons when she returns, thus making it impossible for the two to bond, and further sinking in the idea that Zuko is, in fact, a Savage's bastard child.

And then comes the day of the war meeting. Iroh enters and sees his nephew serving tea to the men there. Another servant is there as well, hands empty watching as Zuko likely does his first job. They begin to discuss things and how to further advance in the war. And the plan involving the 41st is brought up.

And just like in canon, Zuko speaks up against the plan. Only this time, because he isn't a firebender, because Ozai doesn't acknowledge him as his son, because he's not worthy of it, Ozai doesn't make Zuko fight in an Agni Kai. Why would he forsake a firebending duel so a waterbender could fight in it? Why bother giving him a chance to show his loyalty to the Fire Nation when he clearly doesn't have any. And before everyone in the room, he burns Zuko's face. He warns everyone not to say a word. That no one was to know of Zuko's permanent banishment. If anyone asked, he was simply sent away for protection.

He left, and just as he did, he told Iroh to inform Zuko that he would have until sundown to pack and leave. And Iroh is furious. He doesn't bother acknowledging his brother's words. He just carries Zuko out of the room and packs their bags while some of the servants do what they can to help the young boy.

At sundown, he leaves the palace with Zuko, refusing to let his nephew be banished alone. He's glad one of the servants was able to help him get a ship and a crew that was willing to leave the Fire Nation behind.

The first few weeks of Zuko's banishment were agonizing. From fever induced nightmares to Zuko's sudden fear of fire and needing a flask of water he could play with to calm down, it was a hard time. Iroh held his nephew when he told him he was banished from the Fire Nation with no way to return. While not a waterbender himself, he still taught Zuko. He isn't good, but he can do some things now. He helps Zuko get over his fear of fire and first chance he gets, swears to sends a message to Pakku asking him to train Zuko.

But before he can get that message sent, they're caught up in a storm. It's powerful and knocks them off course by several days. In fact, they're closer to the Southern Water Tribe now. And while, the chances are slim, Iroh decides they should see if any waterbenders survived and would be willing to teach Zuko.

They head towards the SWT when a large beam shoots up in the air. They think nothing of it, Iroh waves it off as likely an old flare, having learned that not all the FN ships had returned from prior raids. Since they were old, chances are they had little to nothing left of use and there was no point in finding it. It was likely that someone animal set it off by mistake.

They arrive and are met the remaining members of the SWT. They're weary of them and as soon as they lower the plank of their ship, one of them (Sokka) charged forwards with a spear.

But before he can even step onto the plank, the snow under him moves and makes him fall. He immediately blames Katara for this, because who else would do it? He charges forwards again and gets disarmed and beaten by one of the soldiers. The only one who's not wearing red, but rather white, only his golden eyes visible.

And then comes the question. Do they have any waterbending masters around?

Why would they ask that? Did they think more waterbenders had been born after the death of his and Katara's mom? Did they suspect she lied and just waited until now to get back at them? They deny having any waterbenders and say that even if they did, they would never tell them.

And that's when Aang shows up, knocking the soldier who had beaten Sokka earlier to the ground. And it's just:

Aang: Looking for me?

Zuko, getting up, hood knocked down, masked lowered: You're a waterbending master? You're just a kid!

Aang:...no? I, I thought you were looking for the Avatar!

Aang: and you're just a teenager!!

Katara: YOU'RE THE AVATAR?!

Meanwhile Sokka is having a crisis because oh sweet Tui and La, he's so pretty- (rip him when he arrives at the North Pole and experiencies it again with Yue)

But Aang still wants to know why they need a waterbending master. He also feels foolish for admitting to being the Avatar and wonders if he can play it off as him pretending when he sees the boy he'd knock over play with a ball of water.

Oh...

OHHH!!!

He was looking for master for himself!! Well, he made the offer to Katara, he could make it to this new kid as well. And so he does. The boy, Zuko as they learn from the older looking man who called him that, hesitates before agreeing. He leaves, saying he was going to get Appa, it'd be faster and more fun that way. But before he can, Katara says she's also going with him. To make sure nothing happens of course!! Of course.

He gets Appa and returns, happy to see Zuko and Katara seem to be getting along and talking about finally learning to bend from a master waterbender. The two of them and Sokka (who's reluctantly joining them) get on Appa.

The older man from before introduces himself as Iroh, Zuko's uncle. He thanks Aang for helping his nephew and let's him know that they'll be tailing them from a distance. Zuko has a map where Iroh had marked neutral ports they would dock at if they ever needed anything. Once they reach the NP, Iroh will lead the FN ship towards the Earth Kingdom and head towards Ba Sing Se. He'd appreciate it if he helped his nephew get there once they finished.

And the four head off. It's awkward and tense for a while before Katara asks Aang about being the Avatar and he tells them his story. How he never wanted to be the Avatar. But because he doesn't want to get further into it, he deflects her question to ask Zuko about being a waterbender and if he's from the Fire Nation.

And they learn, that not only was Zuko from the Fire Nation, he was the prince once. He told them how his mother had told him about his blessing, how surprising it was that Tui answered her prayers. How the man who was supposed to be his father claimed to only have one child, his younger sister and how as soon as the old Firelord, his grandfather, died, he immediately removed Zuko from the line of succession and moved him into the servants quarters.

He learned very early on that his father hated him and he hated him more once Zuko began to bend. How he'd tell him he was weak for being afraid of his own element after he almost drowned and frozen the water around him in his panic and managed to climb out. He wasn't allowed to bend so he always did it in secret and only really began to do so when he got banished. They had originally been planning on heading to the Northern Water Tribe so he could finally get proper bending lessons.

It certainly did explain his appearance anyways.

And now for some bullet notes:

Zuko doesn't go through his redemption arc in this AU. Because Ozai's made his stance perfectly clear, Zuko knows there's no point in trying.

For a while, Katara and Sokka think Zuko is the child of a waterbender and a FN soldier.

Ozai knows he can't actually disown Zuko, considering his blessing was made public. But he can send him away for safety, the public doesn't have to know he was injured already and might die from his injuries and will never return.

Katara and Zuko become friends a lot earlier. They bond over not having a master to teach them and having to teach themselves.

Azula's memories of Zuko definitely conflict with what Ozai tells her. She has memories of her mother with a silver haired boy by the turtleduck pond, urging her to join them. She remembers her mom insisting the boy was her brother. But...he looked so different.

Because his hair stands out so much, Zuko tends to hide it. Whether it's a hood, a scarf, so long as it's hidden.

Ozai ordered Zhao to see to it Zuko was actually dead. When news reaches them that the Avatar has returned, he tells him to capture him and bring him back to the FN, so Zhao is the one chasing Team Avatar.

Sokka joining reluctantly is all because of Gran Gran, who told him to go so he could keep an eye on the three. He's basically their babysitter and he's not really happy about it (he gets over it).

Because he spent some years living and learning from the palace servants, Zuko will help Katara do chores, which endears him to her enough to be claimed as her new best friend.

I'm going to leave there for now, next time I update about this AU hopefully I have a lot to say about Sun!Spirit Yue (:

#zuko #seeing how much i had to write for zuko #and knowing yue only had a fraction of what i had written for him #can you see why i decided to wait until i developed more info for her before sharing anything?#it doesn't seem fair that i give zuko an essay and yue an excerpt :/#this au focuses on both of them she should get this treatment as well #and she will i swear to fucking god #also potentially debating yueki and zukka or yuezukki (:#because ideally i find a way to keep her and zuko alive #but do we go two gay as hell ships or fuck yeah polyamory?#....part of me also wonders if i already wrote about this au....oh well (:#sun spirit yue moon spirit zuko au

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