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#Toph: COME BACK WITH A WARRANT
muffinlance · 1 year
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Prompt: Aang didn't know Zuko was raising a baby dragon
Aang tilts his head. He doesn’t lower his staff, because—because Zuko, but he doesn’t try hitting him again, either. At least, not anywhere near his chestplate, which the other boy is very suddenly defending like there’s a second Avatar inside.
“Do you… have something in there?” Aang asks.
“NO!” shouts Zuko, who definitely has something inside his armor. It makes a kind of scrabbly-paws-on-metal sound and then—
“Do you have a dragon in there?” Aang squeals. 
And maybe in retrospect he should have thought more before bouncing towards the fiery teenager, but in Aang’s defense there is the cutest, tiniest, fluffiest little maned dragon head he’s ever seen trying to peek out of Zuko’s neckline. And anyway, the other boy is way too busy backpedaling and trying to push the dragon’s snout back inside to Capture the Avatar, so. So Aang absolutely shoves a hand at the dragon’s nose for it to smell him, because that’s how you greet them—
—Or is that praying mantis-dogs?—
And then there is a Fire Prince squawking and shoving him away, which is definitely not a bending move, but not before a little lizard tongue tickles Aang’s hand which is so cute.
“Uh,” says Sokka, lowering his club. “I. I am not actually sure how I’m supposed to be reacting, here.”
“We’re fighting,” snarls Zuko, who is cupping protective hands over the dragon, and definitely not fighting. The dragon has wormed one stubby little leg and an adorably oversized wing out, and seems enthusiastically set on more. 
Which is the point where Zuko’s uncle finally catches up to them, at his usual leisurely pace. If he wasn’t with Zuko, Aang would maybe think that the older man wasn’t all that invested in catching him.
“Nephew, do you…” And then he catches sight of the dragon.
Zuko pales.
“Hello, Uncle Backup,” says Sokka, grabbing Aang and Katara’s arms. “And that’s our cue to go go go.”
Zuko chases them. Because he’s Zuko.
Zuko… gets ahead of them. Which is not very chase-y?
Zuko vaults into Appa’s saddle ahead of them and holds his hands up as Katara threatens him with a hovering stream of water. He… doesn’t seem to be leaving, or attacking, and his uncle is running after them way faster than Aang is used to, so. Yip-yip?
Katara and Sokka sit down, once Zuko’s uncle looks very small under them. Zuko keeps his hands up. The baby dragon is flapping its free wing appreciatively in the rushing air. And chirruping really cutely.
“So,” says Sokka, slowly. “You… needed a ride?”
“I don’t—” Zuko starts to shout, before lowering his volume, even if his tone is exactly the same. “I don’t need a ride.”
“Uh-huh,” says Sokka, even more slowly. 
Zuko continues to keep his hands up. His dragon is trying to squirm the rest of the way free, and has decided that gnawing at his chest plate is the way to do this. It’s making pretty good progress against the black and red paint. The metal, not so much.
Aang keeps glancing back from Appa’s head. “You, um,” he says, suddenly realizing that You seemed scared will probably just lead to more shouting. And fire. Which there has been a really noticeable lack of, and Aang kind of wants to encourage that. 
“Did your uncle not know about the dragon?” he asks, instead.
“Uncle is the Dragon of the West,” Zuko says, more quietly than Aang has ever heard him say anything. And also like it’s a full explanation. But judging by the equally confused looks on Katara and Sokka’s faces, this isn’t just another thing he’s missed during the past hundred years. 
The baby dragon huffs at its lack of progress. And flops, like an over-cooked and very dejected noodle, against Zuko’s chest. 
Zuko swallows. And stops glaring at any of them, because he’s no longer meeting their eyes. He lowers his hands, slowly, and works a shoulder strap free. It’s enough for the dragon to puddle limply down into his lap, where it curls into a very alert spring. 
“Do you know how someone gets the title dragon?” Zuko says. “By killing a dragon. Uncle thought he killed the last two. And father was—he was so mad, not that uncle killed the last, but that he killed two. That he didn’t leave some glory for the rest of our family.”
Sokka clears his throat, after the obligatory awkward silence. “Your family is… kind of messed up, huh?” 
“What was your first clue,” says the Fire Prince, his scarred face deadpan.
His very prominently scarred face.
Oh. 
Katara crosses her arms. Which makes her look grumpier, but she’s not able to bend as quickly like that, so Aang knows she’s feeling less going-to-waterwhip-you grumpy and more prove-me-wrong grumpy. 
“If killing it would be so glorious,” she asks, “why haven’t you?”
“It— She— She’s just a child. It wouldn’t be honorable,” Zuko says, straightening his back.
“Uh-huh,” says Sokka.
But Aang. Aang grins. “Hey! I’m a child, too!”
The Fire Prince groans, and drops his face into his knees. His dragon climbs up onto his head and, using his ponytail approximately like a tree branch, stretches both her wings out, and lifts her little nose to the wind.
(You can also read this and other prompts on AO3.)
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blindbeta · 3 years
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Trope Discussion: The Blind Prophet / Blind Seer
This covers blind seers, prophets, clairvoyant characters, etc. Anyone who can see or predict the future, usually through seeing visions. This trope is extremely common. It also has roots in classical mythologies, religion, and literature. It is not necessarily bad on its own, but the way it is used in fiction and it’s popularity with non-blind writers makes it an uncomfortable trope for me much of the time.
I understand that not everyone will agree with me, but I think some of my suggestions can be helpful because this post offers potential ways to make this trope better for those who wish to use it.
I neglected to include it in my post about Things I Want to See More Of / Less Of in Blind Characters, but it is still something I want to discuss. I thought it warranted its own post. To get an idea of my thoughts on this trope, I don’t think it is so much harmful on its own, such as the cure trope, but rather I feel it is over-used and used in ways that contribute to ideas I find harmful. In the case of this trope, the ideas I find harmful refers mainly to the idea that blind characters need something extra or special that is designed to make up for their blindness.
The blind prophet or blind seer is something people seem to assign to their blind characters because it feels right. I would like writers to consider why this is, ways to avoid problems associated with it, and ways to be more intentional with how they design blind characters in the future. To clarify, I’m not saying you should never write a blind character who can see or predict the future. I’m not even saying this is best left up to blind writers. I’m saying I want writers to be aware and have more intent when they use this trope. Hopefully this post can help people do that.
I often receive asks or messages about blind characters who can see the future. A few common characteristics include:
1. this blind prophet is the only blind character
2. this blind character is the only person in the story who can see the future
3. this blind prophet is always totally blind - I have only received one message in which the blind prophet in question had some vision in one eye
4. seeing the future is portrayed as making up for or otherwise replacing the character’s lack of vision (again, the trope is almost always about a totally blind character)
So, in other words, this trope can be used for writers to make up for blindness, whether that means actually giving the character sight through their visions or making up for it emotionally. For example: “This character is blind, which is sad, but that’s okay because they can see even more than we can! They’re special!”
Let’s break it down.
Discussion: 1. this blind prophet is the only blind character
Why is this a problem? First, I think we are well beyond having only one blind character in our stories. Sometimes having one blind character feels as if the writer believes having more than one would be unrealistic. Sometimes it also feels frustrating to explain over and over that affirming stereotypes can often be avoided by simply having several blind characters. Unfortunately it often feels like a struggle to get writers to consider it. This means the only example of a blind person in the story is one who can see the future, which means they affirm this trope or stereotype for the casual reader.
Second, having the prophet be the only blind character tells readers that blind characters cannot exist without something to make up for their blindness. They can’t even exist in a story without this.
Discussion: 2. this blind character is the only person in the story who can see the future
Why is this a problem? This one is similar to the first one. We have the token blind character who is the only one who needs sensory based powers. Because, remember, the blind character needs to make up for something, apparently.
Why does the blind person always have to be the prophet? Why can’t they be the strong one or the one with teleportation? Why can’t they be, I don’t know, the person with power of attraction or display proficiency with a weapon?
Why do they always have sense based powers? Why not another power? At least a character like Toph is a powerful bender. She can do plenty of things aside from see, plus her adaptation was derived from everyday use of a power she already had rather than a power she was given for the purpose of seeing.
It gets a little disappointing when a blind person’s power is just the ability to — I guess — see? More on that in section 4.
Discussion: 3. this blind prophet is always totally blind - I have only received 2 story ideas in which the blind prophet in question had some vision
Why is this a problem? I’ll try to explain this part as best I can.
There is nothing wrong with having a totally blind character. That is not what I’m getting at here. My issue resides in the idea of seeing the future making up for blindness, and this means, the character usually needs to be totally blind.
I think this is a manifestation of the myth that all or most blind people have no vision at all. This is not true. In fact, the majority of us have some remaining vision. I asked my totally blind friend who said she had only met one other person who was like her.
I think this is also a manifestation of the idea that blindness needs to be made up for. With a special sight power and not with something like flight or technology-based powers. Writers who are consciously or unconsciously accepting this idea need to have a totally blind character. Because if the character has some remaining sight, what needs to be made up for?
Discussion: 4. seeing the future is portrayed as making up for or otherwise replacing the character’s lack of vision (again, the trope is almost always about a totally blind character)
Why is this a problem? I want to stress that these are two separate things. Both problems, but different ones that have roots in ableism.
When I say ‘making up for’, I refer to a blind character being given visions to make up for their lack of actual vision. As I mentioned before, this character, almost always totally blind, needs something to make up for blindness in the narrative. These visions can be brief ideas of the future or actual flashes of light or color. Either way, this character is being given a special kind of “sight” which makes up for their blindness. This can be a way for a sighted audience to feel better, or for the writer to feel as if they have made up for the character’s blindness. This is mostly emotional or mental. The character doesn’t need to actually see anything in order to fulfill this part of the trope.
The second part is about how sometimes the blind prophet can literally replace their blindness with their future visions. For example, they don’t need a cane while using stairs because they can predict when each step is. Or they might not be able to see people’s faces in visions. This erases their blindness. And in this case, why write a blind character at all?
On that note, discussion 3 also comes into play. If you want your character to be totally blind while failing to write them as totally blind, you shouldn’t be writing a totally blind character. In this instance, you probably shouldn’t be writing any blind characters, period, but I do think you would be better off writing a character with some vision instead.
Additionally, back in discussion 2, I said this: [quote] “It gets a little disappointing when a blind person’s power is just the ability to — I guess — see? More on that in section 4.” [End quote]. I wanted to add that having powers that just make up for a lack of sight is boring. I’m bored by it. Does it mean it can never be made interesting? Of course it can be interesting. However, that would require more work than some writers are putting in when this trope is used.
How to Avoid Some Problems
Problem 1: this blind prophet is the only blind character
To avoid: add more blind characters, specifically ones who cannot predict the future.
I generally advise adding at least 1 extra blind character, but for big tropes like this my happy area is 2 to 3 extra. You should have at least 2 to 3 blind characters in total to avoid both tokenism and this problem specifically. This means, if you have 1 blind character who can see the future, you should have at least 2 who cannot. This is the minimum.
The point is to expose readers to characters who do not follow the tropes they are probably used to and may even think are representative of blind people in general.
Problem 2: this blind character is the only person in the story who can see the future
To avoid: Set out to have characters who can see the future and who are specifically not blind. Also, have characters who are blind who cannot see the future.
I think, if you want a bunch of prophets in your story, this is a good way to go. You could also simply not have any blind prophets, but it depends on the story you are telling and if you have a bunch of prophet characters, you might wish to include a blind character among them.
For an ask relevant to this point, go here.
Problem 3: this blind prophet is always totally blind - I have only received 2 story ideas in which the blind prophet in question had some vision
To avoid: Create characters who are prophets with residual sight.
This problem is very much connected to problem 4, but I wanted to mention it just in case. It is not as much of an issue on it’s own.
Problem 4: seeing the future is portrayed as making up for or otherwise replacing the character’s lack of vision (again, the trope is almost always about a totally blind character)
To avoid: Don’t erase the character’s blindness with visions. Don’t give them visions as a way of making up for not being able to see at all / well. Don’t connect their powers to their blindness. The idea of [quote] “My character can’t see so what if they could - gasp - see in an extra special way” [end quote] is not that creative. Also see problem 3.
Additional thoughts:
Consider giving blind characters powers that don’t involve sight, at least not in such a direct way. Whether you have a blind prophet character or not. Perhaps another alternative could be giving them several powers.
I would like blind characters to have more unique powers, because I see this trope often. It would be fun to see something different or for this trope to be subverted somehow.
Again, I want more awareness and more intent from writers. Not necessarily complete avoidance of this trope. Would I like to come across it less? Yes. But there is still hope for it.
I hope this helps.
-BlindBeta
I also offer sensitivity readings. See my pinned post for more information.
Edit: @stealthetrees Yes I think it would still apply. Think of this type of character as also being totally blind.
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tea-and-la · 3 years
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“Katara is Hot-Headed”
.... okay, so i’ve seen this ICE cold take enough time to warrant a formal post. i’ve seen and strongly agree with the posts i’ve seen that refute this, like @shewhotellsstories post here. but unfortunately, this sentiment is still something that’s widely accepted in the atla fandom. it’s no surprise that “katara is hotheaded” is the common argument for “why zutara doesn't work.” and while it’s more than irritating that zutara antis love to align them in ways that are only negative in nature, i’m not going to get into that. i’m going to focus on katara. 
one of the key defining aspects of katara’s personality is her patience. she is unwavering in her faith of aang (through their numerous supportive talks), as well as her encouragement of her friends when they need it (ex. toph in the runaway and sokka in sokka’s master.) but most notably? let’s talk about the desert episode because this is where katara’s patience really shines. 
there are a lot of things going on in that episode. aang is dealing with grief from the loss of appa and lashes out at both toph and katara while also intermittently flying away from the group. what would a “hot headed” or quick-tempered person do in this situation? let’s look at some of the dialogue: 
aang: [Enraged.] How could you let them take Appa?! ‌ Why didn't you stop them‌?!
toph: [Defensively.] I couldn't! The library was sinking! You guys were still inside and-
aang: [Snaps at Toph in a harsh way.] You just didn't care! You never liked Appa! You wanted him gone!
aang looks extremely furious at Toph as Katara walks over to him. She puts her hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down.
katara: We're all concerned, but we can't afford to be fighting now.
in that dialogue, katara inserts herself in to mediate. she recognizes that he’s in a dark place, and she sees past the harshness of his words to see that they come from a place of hurt, not malice. she reacts with empathy and understanding. 
a quick-tempered person would not have responded in this way.
the majority of this episode, katara is essentially the leader of the group. it’s swelteringly hot, which is enough for any hot headed person to get irritated, but she doesn’t. 
toph: Katara, can I have some more water?
katara: Okay, but we've got to try to conserve it.
sokka: [As he points to his mouth.] We're drinking your bending water. [He tries to define the taste of the water, smacking his lips. Disgustedly he exclaims.] You used this on the swamp guy! Urch!
toph: It does taste swampy.
katara: [Sad tone.] I'm sorry, it's all we have.
in this scene, even momo complains about the taste of the water, the only water they have. and katara’s response was to apologize for something she can’t control. 
after this point, she has to lead toph through the sand, while sokka is high on cactus juice and aang is upset. instead of getting frustrated, she tries to inspire hope into them all: 
aang: [Hopelessly.] What's the difference? We won't survive without Appa. We all know it.
katara: [Encouraging.] Come on, Aang. We can do this if we work together. Right Toph?
toph: As far as I can feel, we're trapped in a giant bowl of sand pudding. I got nothin'.
katara: [Hopeful.] Sokka? Any ideas how to find Ba Sing Se?
Sokka and Momo lie side by side on their backs, arms and legs stretched out. Sokka smiles blissfully.
she does get annoyed, but she doesn’t direct that frustration at any of them, unlike a quick tempered person would do.
katara: [Grabs her head in annoyance.] Ugh ... We're getting out of this desert, and we're going to do it together! Aang, get up. Everybody, hold hands. We can do this. We have to.
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the point of these excerpts isn’t to say that anyone else in the gaang is horrible. i just wanted to point out the moments when she could’ve gotten frustrated and lashed out, but didn’t. not once. 
patience and quick temperedness are antonyms of each other. and imo, the fact that so much of katara’s character is defined by her patience (even outside of this specific episode) and nurturing (for over 80% of the show)  is enough to refute her “hotheadedness.” especially, when the other members of the gaang are allowed to be upset and/or angry on occasion and their dispositions/temperaments are not immediately associated with hotheadedness. maybe unpack why that is. 
let’s take the instance when she and toph argue in the chase. first of all, this episode is characterized by all of the members of the gaang being sleep deprived (i.e. not in their normal states), so their attitudes should be taken with a grain of salt. (what humans do you know that are happy-go-lucky when they haven’t slept enough?)
 anyway, the episode starts with katara attempting to lightly hint to toph about  group dynamics. 
katara: So Toph, usually when setting up camp, we try to divide up the work.
toph: [Shrugging casually.] Hey, don't worry about me. I'm good to go.
katara: Well, actually what I'm trying to say is, [Holds arms out in gesture.] some of us might fetch water, while someone else might set up the fire pit, or put up the tent. [Momo flies over to her, dropping several berries he had collected into her hands.] Even Momo does his fair share.
toph: [Breezily.] Katara, I'm fine. I can carry my own weight. I don't need a fire, [Pats bag.] I've already collected my own food and look, [Earthbends a rock tent over her.] my tent's all set up.
katara: [Slightly irritated.] Well, that's great for you, but we still need to finish 
toph: [Angered.] I don't understand what's the problem here!
katara: Waves her hand dismissively and walks away.] Never mind.
from the above excerpt, she drops the issue and doesn’t lash out. later, she even goes back and tries to make amends with toph. she even tries smiling before she heads over there.
Cuts to Katara, who sets down a jug of water. She looks over at Toph, sitting comfortably beneath her earth tent. Her dull expression changes to one of slight happiness. She approaches Toph who is eating some sort of food item.
katara: [Rubs back of head sheepishly.] Hey Toph, I wanted to apologize for earlier. I think we're all just a little tired and getting on each other's nerves.
toph: [Casually.] Yeah, you do seem pretty tired.
katara: [Growing disgusted.] I meant all of us.
Cuts to shot of inside Toph's earth tent as she lazily tosses the food item onto the ground and lays her head down to rest.
toph: Well, good night.
katara: [Slightly irked.] Good night.
none of her mannerisms and word choices are characteristic of someone with a temper. despite toph’s slight unintentional antagonistic remarks, katara doesn’t react. 
later, after they managed to evade the azula’s tank train for the night, they land appa. and katara tries, again:
toph: [Leaping off Appa and lying on the ground, relieved.] Ah, land sweet land! [Rises and says cheerfully.] See you guys in the morning!
katara: Actually, can you help us unload?
toph: [Points a finger at Katara in irritation.] Look! I didn't ask you to help unload my stuff! [Turns and begins walking away.] I'm carrying my own weight.
katara: [Angrily.] That's not the point. [Approaches Toph.] Ever since you joined us, you've been nothing but selfish and unhelpful!
toph: [Enraged.] What? Look here, sugar queen, [Points finger at Katara.] I gave up everything I had so that I could teach Aang earthbending. So don't you talk to me about being selfish!
the only times when katara reacts in anger that could be perceived as impulsive, is when she is insulted by Pakku and when Sokka suggests that she leave the Fire Nation town without helping. Both of these are hardly instances of hotheadedness, and moreso a reflection of who she is as a character: someone who doesn’t turn her back on people who needs her and someone who fights injustice. 
why would we call katara hotheaded for not settling for being antagonized by a misogynistic asshole? she was a trailblazer in that scene and it meant so much to the little girls of the Northern Water Tribe. similarly, why would we call her hotheaded for not being able to turn away from people who are in need? after all, that’s a core part of her character’s trauma: feeling of survivor’s guilt that there was something she could’ve done to save her mom. it’s part of why she has to act to help others. her passion isn’t synonymous with hotheadedness. 
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atlabeth · 3 years
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transferred part 20 - atla smau
part 19 | masterlist | epilogue
summary: trying to run from your past is hard, but falling for your brother’s roommate is even harder. little do you know that he’s falling for you as well.
a/n: me when i have to write more than 5 words in a series thats supposed to be a smau
anywho! basically the last chapter?? which is crazy?? filled with heartfelt emotions and the moment that you've all been waiting for, it's a wild ride. so strap in and enjoy. the epilogue will be posted later today so i can finally wrap this series up!! and dont worry theres a super long sappy authors note on the epilogue. LETS GET INTO IT
wc: 2.3k
warning(s): cursing, mentions of alcohol, hurt/comfort, one suggestive comment, mentions of toxic relationships, reader talking about her self sabotaging behavior and burnout, Bad Coping Methods (dont disappear kids)
-
“You haven’t seen her?” Zuko sighed as the same words he had heard on repeat for the past hour played through his ears again. “It’s alright, thank you. Have a good night.”
He shook his head at his friends, their defeated expressions mirroring his own as he leaned against the kitchen island. He ran an exhausted hand through his hair, and he couldn’t help but think of the countless times you had done it for him.
“Your sister doesn’t play when it comes to theatrics,” Aang lamented as he plopped on the couch next to Sokka.
“Tell me about it,” he muttered. “I mean, she doesn’t pull stuff like this. Sometimes she went over the top when she was younger, staying out a little too late or doing something stupid, but she never just… she never just tried to disappear like this. I.. I guess she was too worried about Katara and me to do anything like that, but still.” He knocked back the rest of the seltzer and tossed the can on the table — alcohol was tempting, but none of them wanted to be any less than completely aware tonight.
“We all knew she was hurting,” Sokka continued. “Not even she could be fine after everything that happened with Hahn, especially the day after, but I— I guess I thought that she would open up before just dropping off the radar completely!
“No news from the girls,” Aang announced, prompting a collective sigh from the other two boys. “I gotta give it to her, she’s been very thorough with this.”
“Of course she has. It’s classic Y/N — she can disappear without a trace, sure, but she can’t put enough effort into picking up some supplies for my project on her way home.” It was a lame attempt to lighten the mood, and though he got a weak chuckle out of Aang, it was radio silence on Zuko’s part.
“Hey, buddy.” It didn’t snap him out of his reverie, and Sokka seriously contemplated throwing his empty soda can at him. “You okay?”
“She didn’t even say anything to me,” he finally murmured, eyes trained on his phone screen. “She said she would tell me if she was having a hard time, but she didn’t say anything to me. Just suffered in silence until it got so bad she just up and left. She just… left. Without a single word to anyone. To me.”
Aang’s eyes softened and he let out a loose exhale. “Zuko, she didn’t mean to hurt you — I know that much. She’s just been under a lot of stress lately, and… I guess it didn’t manifest in the best way.”
“Stress...” he muttered, trying to piece it together. There was something nagging at the back of his skull, something on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn’t get it. “And you guys are sure she hasn’t put anything anywhere? No texts that you missed, nothing?”
“Believe me,” Sokka said. “I’ve refreshed her pages a thousand times by now. It’s radio silence on her side. God, I wish I was more invasive and put like, a tracking device on her car or something! For all we know, she could be back to Kyoshi.”
Kyoshi. Stress. This whole thing, your disappearing act.
And suddenly, it clicked.
Zuko stood up abruptly, nearly knocking over the stool in the process and warranting puzzled looks from both of his friends as he grabbed his keys off the table and practically ran to the door.
“Zuko, where are you going?” Aang questioned.
He tugged the door open and shot a glance back at them, tension having noticeably dissolved from his shoulders.
“I know where she is.”
-
Zuko tapped idly against the steering wheel, once again glancing down at his phone screen but to no avail. His relationship with you had become infinitely more complicated since the kiss through fault of both of them — he supposed that was what happened when two people who didn’t know how to talk about their emotions caught feelings for each other. Zuko was very skilled at sticking his foot in his mouth whenever he tried to talk about anything like this, and
But you had accepted his offer to talk on the way home, so that meant something.
He had originally suggested just talking on the way home like he had proposed earlier, but you had a different idea. ‘Trust me,’ you had told him. ‘It has a good track record with making people feel better.’
Your proposition was a wildflower field on the outskirts of the city, just out of the way that someone would go en route to the university. Far enough from the city to emanate an aura of peace, but close enough to be a feasible trip.
“I found this place when I was missing home,” you smiled as he parked the car. “I love it here, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I just feel homesick for Kyoshi. You passed a field like this on the way into town, and when I stumbled here, it just kinda felt like fate. So now whenever I’m stressed, or overwhelmed, or just need a break, I come out here. And I think this is the perfect place to talk about… well, whatever’s going on with us.”
“Sounds good.” He returned the sentiment then cleared his throat. “As long as we don’t go in there. I can admire it from afar, but just looking at that field is making my skin itch.”
You laughed and nodded amiably. “Deal.”
-
One hand was splayed against your chest, the other trailing lazy circles with the pads of your fingers against the metal as you gazed up at the sky. You had the best and only seat of the view, the flora drifting softly in the night breeze as the stars twinkled from above.
You didn’t know what you were thinking, being here. The past couple of weeks had just been… crushing you. It was like your heart was stuck in a vice and no matter what you did, it just got tighter and tighter.
You had been treating everyone you knew horribly, but you couldn’t stop. It felt like a game — how terribly could you act towards them until they snapped too? Until your friends, your siblings, Zuko, recognized that they had made a mistake by trying to help you?
And you didn’t know what it was about today, but… something inside of you just broke after that morning with your roommates. So you did what you were best at, and you ran. Skipped class, skipped work, just drove around aimlessly until even that was starting to feel like too much of a trap.
And then you ended up here.
It would’ve been laughable if you weren’t on the verge of breaking down.
You had been here, just laying on the hood of your car parked a few feet away from the field on an off road path, for the better part of an hour. If you were going to drown underneath the weight of your thoughts, it was better to do it alone.
But as you heard the crunching of gravel underneath car tires, your eyes instinctively shot towards the noise — so much for being alone — and you sat up. Your brows furrowed in recognition, you knew that car, and it felt like your heart was going to beat out of your chest when Zuko stepped out.
“You remembered,” you breathed after a moment of silence. “You’re here.”
“Always.” He said it so obviously, so easily — why wouldn’t he remember? Why wouldn’t he be here?
You scooted over to make space on the hood and patted the space next to you softly, pulling your knees up to your chest in a moment of shame as he walked around to the front and pushed himself up next to you. What were you going to say to him? What could you say?
“I’m sorry,” you said out of the blue, your words pouring out of you like an emotional waterfall. “I’m sorry for just— for just leaving, I know it was stupid and I know they’re all probably worried out of their minds, but I couldn’t do it, Zuko. I-it was like I was trapped, and I know it was irrational, but I had to get out of there—”
“You didn’t have to,” he said quietly, effectively stopping your rant. “If you really had to get out, you could’ve at least said something to one of us. I don’t know what things were like back at Kyoshi, but here— here, you can’t throw yourself back onto the knife every time something goes wrong, because— you just can’t do that anymore.”
“I’m not mad, believe me, I’m relieved that you’re okay. I just..” he sighed and glanced up at the night sky, the light of the moon illuminating his features as he faced you once more. “I know you’ve felt alone before, but you’re not. You have Katara, and Sokka, Suki, Toph— you have me, Y/N! And I’m not going anywhere, trust me, but— but you can’t keep doing this to yourself, because they care about you, and I care about you.”
You swallowed the lump in your throat and chose to concentrate on the hood of the car, tapping your fingers against the metal as a way to use up your nervous energy. “You’re… you’re right,” you said after a long moment of silence, the beginnings of a mirthless smile on your lips.
“After that night at the party, I just— I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. There was a part of me that just wanted to lock myself in my room and never come out, but I— I told myself I was better than that, and I refused to let myself fall back onto any of it. So I worked. I took extra shifts, I helped out my professors, I did anything and everything I could to try and keep my mind off of Hahn. But I wasn’t helping anything, I was just… I was destroying myself. It was just like you said. I was a candle burning at both ends but still convinced that I was doing the right thing, and eventually.. I just couldn’t take it anymore. So I ran.”
“And— there’s always been this… this voice in my head that pops up after things in my life are going good, and it tells me that something is going to go wrong. A-and it tells me that if I’m the one that ruins it, then I don’t have to ask myself what I did wrong, if I could’ve stopped it from happening— if it’s inevitable, then I should be the one to ruin it. It’s how most of my relationships ended, and— well, the only thing it’s succeeded in is making me miserable.”
You don’t even notice your hands are shaking until you feel Zuko placing his own over yours — a simple gesture asking an unsaid question, one you answer by intertwining his fingers with your own.
“That same voice popped up again once I started getting close to you,” you admitted quietly. “And this whole time, I’ve been so terrified of falling that I never considered you would catch me. But I’m tired, Zuko. I’m tired of constantly looking over the edge.”
As you turned your head to meet his eyes again, your breath caught in your throat at his close proximity. You were sure that no matter how much time you spent with him, your heart would never stop beating out of your chest for Zuko.
“I will always be there to catch you,” he affirmed softly. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
And just like before, he brought his hand to the side of your face and tenderly brushed a loose strand of hair behind your ear. His hand, slightly calloused but emanating comfort all the same, lingered on your cheek for a moment before he posed the question.
“Can I kiss you?”
You nodded, and his lips captured your own immediately. You reciprocated with an almost desperate fervor and— and it just felt so right. You had grown so accustomed to the constant warmth he carried with him that it had become a part of you, he had become a part of you, and now a life without Zuko was just unimaginable.
He was right — he already was there to catch you, each and every time. Giving you endless rides when your car broke down, sitting through the world’s most boring anthro projects, letting you bare your soul to him, telling you it was all going to be okay when nothing felt okay, and managing to find you when you had gone out of your way to not be found. And all of it— it all made you realize.
You didn’t want to keep running. And you didn’t have to. Not anymore.
Zuko pulled away and pressed his forehead to yours, breathing slightly labored as the two of you sat in comfortable silence. That is, until you broke it.
“So,” you started, a nervous chuckle following. “Are we… are we a thing now?”
You could tell that caught him by surprise by the laugh that escaped him, a sound of unfiltered joy. “I’d say that we are.”
You could feel the heat rushing to your cheeks once more as he slid off of the hood of the car and held out his hand, an offering you took happily. “We should get home,” he said, somewhat reluctantly. “It’s past midnight, and—” Zuko glanced at his phone and grimaced. “They’re all still worried out of their minds.”
“Right,” you muttered. “I’m gonna get the lecture of my life from Sokka and Katara.”
“Probably,” he chuckled. “But they’re just doing their job as concerned siblings.” He pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead and glanced back at his own car. “I’ll see you back at the apartment?”
You nodded, an uncontrollable smile pulling at your lips. “Thank you, Zuko. For this, and— for everything.”
He returned the sentiment, golden eyes filled with adoration.
“Always.”
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if your name is crossed out it means i can’t tag you!
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atla: @marianne1806
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songbookff · 3 years
Text
Next of Kin
For @toastweasel. 
There is only one person that Lin can trust: Saikhan.  LoK, season 1, missing scene. 
Or in my Kyalin Spirits Universe, this would be called “Kindred Spirits”. 
The healer left the room and made his way directly down the hall to where he had asked Assistant Chief Saikhan to wait. A petite woman had joined the metal bender, looking extremely anxious. As soon as the healer was within earshot, the woman asked, “Is she ok? How bad is it? Does she still have her bending?”
“This is Chief Beifong’s personal assistant, Tani,” said Saikhan, putting his hand on his shoulder to calm the younger woman down, although he was just as anxious to find out the answers to her questions.
“Assistant Chief,” the healer gave a small incline of his head as a greeting. “I am Healer Yan-Ting. Chief Beifong is resting now and is in stable condition. I was wondering if her family was here so I could update them.”
Tani shook her head. “No family. Just us. How severe were her injuries?”
“I’m afraid for privacy reasons, I must speak to her next of kin. She is still unconscious and cannot verbally provide permission to relay her medical status to anyone else. Even to the police, I’m afraid. Not without a warrant,” answered Healer Yan-Ting diplomatically. Saikhan let out a sigh of frustration but nodded at the healer that he understood.
At least he knew that Lin was going to survive her encounter with Amon’s people. From what Tenzin had told them, Amon had not been present and although they had both been injured, they had not lost their bending. The Avatar’s friends had gotten them out of the Sato compound alive although Lin had fallen unconscious after boarding the ship on the way to the hospital.
Tani was digging in her oversized bag now and produced a large manilla envelop. She rested it on the counter of the nurse’s station and shuffled through several pages to pull out the document she was looking for. Handing it over to the Healer, she said, “Chief Beifong’s next of kin is Assistant Chief Saikhan. Here is the paperwork with her signature. I have everything on file.”
“What?” asked Saikhan, taken aback by the statement.
Not that he had ever given much thought as to who Lin’s next of kin was listed as. Obviously, when she had first been on the force, it had been her mother. When Chief Toph left, he knew that Tenzin had been listed because he had to call him after a car accident once. Lin had been fine, but they had to alert him to drive her home. After their breakup, he had never thought about it.
But him? Why on earth would she list him?
Healer Yan-Ting glanced over the paper Tani had produced, nodded, and then began to address him. “Assistant Chief, if you could come with me, I will be happy to update you.”
As the healer motioned for Saikhan to follow him, Tani moved too, which caused Healer Yan-Ting to hesitate. Saikhan shut that down quickly. “I give permission for Tani to join us.”
This seemed to satisfy him and the three moved into a small office space down the hall. Healer Yan-Ting offered them both a chair, but only Tani accepted. She sat in a straight back wooden chair, clutching the file folder to her chest. Lin had done well finding her. Saikhan had thought she was a little too young with Lin had hired her, but Tani had risen to every occasion and was the most dependable assistant in the office.
“As I said before, Chief Beifong is in stable condition and we have chosen to leave her in the unconscious state so that her body is able to heal itself. She suffered several broken ribs and a fractured radius. Luckily, her metal armor protected her against any lacerations, but she will have severe bruising.”
“If it’s just some broken bones, why keep her unconscious?” asked Tani before Saikhan could even think of a follow up question.
“We have some concerns about a concussion and possible internal bleeding. Honestly, at this point it is just a precaution.”
“And she may try to leave if you wake her up?” Saikhan asked, half jesting. He was just relieved that Lin would recover from her encounter with the Equalists. They had work to do. So many of their metalbending force had been captured.
Healer Yan-Ting did smile at this. “There was a note in her file that she may not be cooperative.”
“Thank you, Healer.”
Six hours later, Saikhan shifted uncomfortably in a stuffed chair. He was half asleep, but it was impossible to find a position to actually get any sleep in. He needed to take Lin’s statement when she woke. And, although he would never admit it out loud, he was worried about her.
“You look like shit.”
The sound of her voice nearly startled him out of his chair. Lin’s eyes were open, but her head still laid back on the pillows. Gathering himself, he replied, “You should look in a mirror.”
She made a little humph noise and closed her eyes for a few moments. Saikhan leaned forward, his hands clasped together. “What happened, Lin?”
“I miscalculated.” The anger and guilt in her voice pierced Saikhan’s heart. There was no way she would be this honest with anyone else. He was seeing the other side of the Chief. “I need you to do something for me.”
Her eyes were open now. Saikhan stared into green. “Whatever you need, Chief.”
“You aren’t going to like it.” Lin slowly sat up, wincing as her body moved. “I’m trusting you and I need you to trust me.”
“Of course.”
“I will be turning in my letter of resignation as soon as you leave this room.” Lin held up her hand to stop him from interrupting. “They will make you Chief. I need you to accept it without question.”
There was something in her gaze, that he knew this wasn’t the Chief of Police was asking of her Assistant. Lin was asking her friend; she was asking her next of kin. There was something that she wasn’t telling him, but she had asked him to trust her. And Saikhan always trusted Lin Beifong above all others.
“If that’s what you want…”
“This next part is important, Saikhan.” Lin leaned towards him and Saikhan left his seat to attend to her bed side. “You must do as they say. You have to play along. They will make you Chief and you have to follow their rules.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, confused. “Who is they?”
“The Council. Specifically, Tarrlock.”
“What? He’s been calling for your resignation!” exclaimed Saikhan.
Lin’s gaze held steady. “And I’m going to give it to him. Don’t trust them, Saikhan. Just do what they say. There is something bigger at play here and until I figure out what it is, you have to keep the city safe. The only way to do that is to play along. Keep my officers safe; keep yourself safe. Let me do my job.”
His first instinct was to argue. This was an outrageous plan; one he knew would end badly. Or it would all work perfectly. Lin was taking everything that had happened in the arena and to her officers to heart. Saikhan knew she felt like it was all her fault, but that wasn’t fair. No one could have foreseen any of this.
But if anyone could get them out of this mess and save the city, it was Lin Beifong. So he would do as she asked.
“Can I trust you, Saikhan?”
“Until the end, my friend.”
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twinkle-toph · 2 years
Note
TWINKLES :D
#7. "Where does it hurt?" for Kantoph :)
STITCHERTON :D
I hope you like this quick thing lol :)
--
#7, Kantoph: "Where does it hurt?"
“Fuck.”
Toph’s jaw clenched just as her fist balled up a random and hopefully unimportant sheet of paper that sat previously unbothered on her desk and the sound of droplets of sweat falling there vibrated through the metal. With each second that passed, she wondered what the hell was wrong with her. The pain in her stomach that was a cross between a cramp and what she could only describe as a stabbing sensation was disabling her from getting any kind of work done and she very badly wanted it to end.
When the bout of pain finally ebbed after the longest minute or so of her life, she huffed the hair out of her face, wiped the embarrassing amount of sweat on her forehead away, and resumed the recording of a transcribed police report that she had been half-listening to. While it played, she thought about what she had eaten the night before and remembered that she might have had one too many fire flakes with her mashed potatoes, so she attributed the pain to indigestion. Plus, she might have been cramping because she overexerted herself with Kanto, too.
She felt herself smirk at the thought of them the night prior, then returned to trying to self-diagnose herself.
Where was all her sweating coming from? As she fished for a rag in one of her desk’s cabinets, she thought about how she wasn’t one to sweat so much. Sure, if it was warranted, she’d sweat a normal amount, but she wouldn’t be able to fill buckets with her sweat on a regular day.
Toph groaned, pulling her headphones off for the millionth time in the past hour when she felt Kanto’s footsteps approach her office door. Before he could even open his mouth after he walked into the room, she said, “Am I ever going to be able to work today?”
“Hello to you too, dearest,” he said sarcastically, shutting the door and leaning against it.
“What do you want,” she said – not asked – in a straight tone, aggravation evident in her voice.
Kanto walked up to her desk and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. “We have to talk to the rookies about onboarding.”
She let her head fall against her desk and she groaned even louder. “Why do we have to do that? Can’t any of the detectives do it? They’re good at talking and training, aren’t they?”
“They could, I suppose,” he said, trying hard to not laugh at her. “But you’re kind of the chief, and I’m kind of the deputy chief, so… there’s that.”
“But the chief doesn’t feel well, so the deputy chief shouldn’t make the chief do chiefly things today.”
Immediately, Toph could feel the pace of his heart increase as he rounded her desk and rubbed his hand on her back. “What’s wrong?”
She lifted her head off the desk slowly, suddenly feeling the weight of it, and sat back against her chair with a shrug. “It’s nothing, surely. Last night’s food probably didn’t sit well.”
There was some silence, one that she knew was caused by Kanto deciding whether or not he wanted to believe her. “How long have you been feeling like this?”
“Early this morning, I guess?”
“I think you should–”
“Would you relax, you worrywart?” Toph rolled her eyes, pushing herself away from the desk and up out of her chair. “I’m fi– fuck me.”
Kanto’s arm was around her waist immediately, steadying her. She felt like her insides were being chewed and chopped up at the same time and she was holding back the strong urge she had to scream. He let her squeeze his hand. “You were saying, Chief?”
“Shut up.”
“What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”
At this point, she felt like her whole body hurt, but she said, “It’s my stomach. And my head. It just– get me to–”
“Katara? Way ahead of you,” he said, gathering her up in his arms and sprinting out of the office. She would have complained at how he was handling her right then, but the pain she was feeling was so grave that she could not help but press her face into his shoulder and bite down on her lip as he shouted instructions to her third-in-command about taking over their duties for the time being. With that, he ran off in the direction of Katara’s clinic in the city.
Despite the clinic being fairly near the station – just about a block and a half away – she felt like it was hours before Kanto set her down onto an examination bed at Katara’s instruction. Toph could hear her friend asking her questions as the pain slowly ceased and she replied to them as best as she could while it finally dissipated.
Finally, after assessing her, Katara cleared her throat and asked, “Are… you okay with Kanto being in here?”
Toph felt worry wash over her and she half-sat up on the examination bed, leaning on her elbows as she wordlessly nodded in response to the question. “What’s wrong with me?”
She felt Kanto slip his warm hand into hers as Katara cleared her throat once more. “It looks like you’re about twelve, maybe thirteen weeks pregnant.”
“Come again?”
“Uh. You. Pregnant. Twelve weeks. Congratulations?”
“Oh.”
Kanto mumbled at her side. “Shit.”
Toph’s heart sunk at that and Katara seemed to have sensed the energy shift in the room, giving her friend a comforting pat on the knee, uttering something about grabbing a box of tea to prevent the pain, and slipping out of the room.
Her eyes were burning a bit and she blinked away the unshed tears, willing them to go back where they came from, and she turned her head toward him. She noticed he was still holding her hand. “How ‘bout that.”
“I’ll say,” he agreed, finally letting her hand go to pace around the room for a few seconds. “What are– what’s your plan here, Toph?”
She didn’t know. She had no idea because she didn’t plan for this. She wasn’t ready to be a mother and she sure as hell wasn’t ready to do it all alone. Things were going well at work, she didn’t feel stressed for the first time in a while, and she was having fun with someone that she was slowly but surely catching feelings for. She wasn’t ready for any of that to disappear, and pregnancy would complicate things for her in all of those areas.
Toph buried her head in her hands. “Damn good question.”
He approached her again and gently grabbed her wrists, moving them away from her face so he could take a look at her. “Whatever you decide, I’m with you. Okay? I am with you.”
“Spirits,” she breathed out, both in relief because of what he’d just said, and fear. “This wasn’t supposed to happen, Kanto. It wasn’t.”
“Hey,” his fingers tipped her head up. “You and I weren’t supposed to happen. But we did. So what’s a little badgermole going to do? Hm? We can handle it.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah,” he reassured. “You and I? We’re going to kill the whole working parent thing.”
She couldn’t help but smile at that as she pulled a hand away from him and placed it onto her flat stomach, which would no longer be that way in a few months. Having a kid with Hotshot didn’t sound horrible. In fact, it sounded… nice.
Her hand, then, was covered by Kanto’s as he leaned in to press a soft, quick kiss to her lips. “We’ve got this.”
And they did.
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theclockworkmonk · 3 years
Text
Author Self-Interview
tagged by @cats-and-metersticks
Name: There might be a day where I answer that, but not today.
Where do you post: AO3 and fanfiction.net. I've also tried to make an account on SIYE, but it always glitches out. I don't really see a reason to not post to multiple sites, so if there are other fanfic sites I should get an account on let me know.
Most popular multi-chapter fic:
My multi-chapter with the highest number of Kudos/favs is The Morning After, my "hangover episode" of ATLA that I started back in 2013 and only finished last year. (Tokka, Kataang, Maiko)
My multi-chapter with the highest ratio of kudos to hits is The One with the Photograph, my first ever HP fic, so I guess I peaked early. I originally wrote it as a one-shot, but that spiraled into three follow-up chapters connected to the central idea. (Hinny)
Most popular one-shot:
By number of Kudos/favs, it's Desire and Will, in which Zuko, trying to get Aang to let loose with his firebending, asks the seemingly random question "Have you ever kissed a girl?" Most of the story is Katara's rambling, panicking internal monologue. (Kataang)
By ratio of kudos to hits, it's actually Fool in the Rain, which is pretty funny and probably just highlights that this isn't a great metric. It's a short songfic I through out one afternoon back in 2014, both as a way to try out songfics (I haven't done another one since), and to fix one of the MANY things I hated about The Promise (I've since accepted that the Gene Yang comics are beyond saving with fix-it fics so instead I just ignore them). (Maiko)
Favourite story you’ve written so far: "The Morning After" will always be special to me, just because it's the longest, so it proves to myself that I'm capable of finishing a project of that scope, even if I did drop it for six years, and that's a good source of inspiration to my ADHD brain.
I also really like "The Other Runaway," simply because I think it's unique. With the show being done for 13 years, basically everything that could be written about it has been written, multiple times. But I had never seen anyone make that connection between Aang and Toph, how they're kindred spirits in a way. (Kataang, Aang/Toph friendship)
Fic you were nervous to post: .....I don't think any of them? I haven't ever really written about anything serious enough to warrant people getting upset. There's no heavy topics. I mostly write comedy, so even if people hate it, there's not really material for them to leave a long, scathing comment about WHY they hate it. They either find it funny, or they don't.
How do you choose your titles: I don't think about it too hard, to be honest. I usually pick it immediately before posting, just picking a word or phrase that appears in the text that's emblematic of what the work is about.
Do you outline: The only time I've written a full, structured outline is for "The Morning After." I had to, it's a murder mystery so you need to plan out the planting and payoff of the clues. With everything else, I make notes, but nothing as organized as an actual outline.
Complete fics: All of them except three:
"Out of the Mouths of Babes," an ongoing fic that spiraled from a prompt from @clarensjoy's Hinny Fic Fest last May. The penultimate chapter is written and being beta'd
There's also two works that I posted one chapter of in 2014 and then immediately abandoned, "Baby Brother," which was supposed to be a series about Ozai and Iroh's childhood, and "The Siren," an HTTYD fic that has kind of been rendered obsolete by now.
Do you accept prompts: I'll take part in prompt events if they pull me in, but I won't force it if nothing comes to me. And I have WAY too many ideas that I'll probably never be able to get to to accept random prompts on tumblr
Upcoming story you’re most excited to write: I've been meaning to revisit "Baby Brother," and there's more thematically connected multi-chapters in the same vein as "The One with the Photograph" and "Overprotective" I have ideas for
Stories you’re most excited to read: Most of the stories I've been into are on long hiatuses right now, so I won't post about them to put pressure on the writers. I have been meaning to read "Not from Others" by @floreatcastellumposts, but I know that once I start I likely won't be able to stop until I finish the whole thing in one day, so I've hesitated taking that plunge lol
Thanks for the tag! tagging @a-d-curtis, @theresthesnitch, @flameohotwife, @starlingflight, @shameaboutthedilettantism, @f0xfordcomma, @northerngoshawk
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luimnigh · 3 years
Text
So, I’m just gonna go through the Reddit AMA that happened today (December 2nd 2020), and compile the answered questions that I personally find interesting
Taking part in this AMA was Eddy Rivas, RWBY co-writer; Eugene C. Myers, write of After the Fall, Before the Dawn and Fairy Tales of Remnant; and Violet Tobacco, illustrator on Fairy Tales of Remnant. 
(Not all questions and answers are repeated here verbatim, if you want to check the exact wording, please use the link above.)
This is gonna be long, so I’ll place a cut here:
Eddy Answers:
JNPR Birthdays: Someday. They’d rather reserve that information for the show or other materials, but they felt it was well past due to learn RWBY’s birthday. 
Who is the girl in the photo in Theodore’s office?: “That’s something we’ll come back to later.”
Mercury Thoughts: He’s reserving them for later in the Volume, though he does find some people’s takes on his character “interesting”, but can’t say why just yet. 
Thoughts on the Em/Merc/Hazel dynamic:  “As for the Merc/Em/Hazel dynamic, moooooore to come. I've always enjoyed that little trio in the midst of these bananas villains.”
Are we ever gonna get an origin for Dust, even a biased one?: “Yes, more than likely.”
Are Ghira and Kali’s bands in each other’s colours “wedding bands”, and is this a faunus/huntsman tradition? (The asker also notes that Tai has a red armband):  “Different cultures/kingdoms have different ways of expressing their bonds to other people, and there's not even really a set standard for that across the board. Most often it comes to incorporating it on their clothes/person in some way, usually through color.”
Do the Gods have actual names, or are they only known by their titles as God of Light and God of Darkness?: “Certainly the Two Brothers might have other things that they are known by!”
Does the women who first followed the Infinite Man have a name as well? “Ozpin was choosing in the re-telling of that story to keep those things pretty general/vague -- more than likely to keep it from being perceived by the audience as truth.”
Things created by the Staff of Creation have no ontological inertia: a created object will disappear once the Staff is used again.
The Grimm in Before The Dawn were attracted to the amped Auras because “large flare-ups of Aura (the soul, which goes hand in hand with emotions) would read similarly to the emotions that Grimm are naturally drawn to.”
Remnant Holidays: “There are certainly different holidays in Remnant, many of them similar to our own. This is the kind of thing we always want to save for the screen or other materials if we can help it!”
Semblance Rules: “Semblances can basically be anything, we just make sure there is some kind of check on it -- take Tock, for instance, who could become invulnerable but it's going to lead to her Aura breaking. I wouldn't say there's a hard and fast rule against a Semblance being transformative, but it certainly would be uncommon.”
It seems Ironwood did issue an arrest warrant for Robyn, but the Council offered her safe passage to Atlas and Schnee Manor, in order to put Ironwood off-balance. 
Is Nicholas Schnee dead or is he still alive?: “Yes.”
Production of the 2D shorts on various Fairy Tales has been impacted by the pandemic, but more details are “hopefully coming soon”.
Sage is not connected to the AceOps, despite being based on an Aesop. There are more characters based on Aesops besides them. 
Beacon’s Academic Year: “It's fairly similar to our own semesters.”
The events of the books will impact the main series, but they want to fit them in in such a way that non-readers won’t feel like they’re missing out.
Will we ever find out more about Summer/how she died?: “It certainly seems like a pretty important thing for the show to touch on :)”
RWBY’s favourite fairytales: “We'll get to this.”
Eddy says we will learn more characters’ sexualities. 
Will We Ever See Roman Again?:  “I will say that Roman is a very fun character who has obviously made an impact on everybody. There will always be a desire to go back to that well.”
Aura would block a Lightsaber.
Cinder did not get any of the Spring Maiden’s power when she used her arm on Raven.
Is there is a link between semblance and magic?: “Yes.”
Are the Gods All-Powerful?: “This is a tough question to answer, but a very good one. I think it's something we'll actually learn more about... later.”
THE GOD OF LIGHT ALONE MADE ALL FOUR RELICS.
Eugene Answers:
At one point, Eugene, not knowing the ships of the fandom, named a location “Arkos”. His editor had to tell him why he couldn’t use it.
What inspired you to choose memory erasing and telepathy for Yatsu and Fox respectively?: “For Fox, it came about honestly because he had never spoken on the show, and I wanted to provide a canon reason for it, and then it just opened up so many interesting possibilities. For Yatsu, it probably started as I thought about Edward and Augustus and what might fit in thematically; and again, it fits in with Yatsu's more meditative nature, and I like the fact that his Semblance isn't based on physical strength.”
“”From my perspective, it was very important to me to not contradict anything in the series past or future, help expand on things that haven't been covered in the show yet, and help lay the foundation for things that may appear in later volumes. The RWBY writing team is terrific to collaborate with, answering all the questions I had as much as they could, and of course they review, approve, and correct anything needed to fit the show's continuity and its tone.”
Does the Chill have a physical form?: “I envisioned the Chill as being incorporeal, living in the shadows.”
Can you save someone from the Chill?: “You could save someone from possession, if you acted quickly.“
The books tell us Coco has an older brother, Toma; and a younger brother, Mate; as well as a third brother, Van. Eugene confirms Van to be younger than Coco.
He wishes he could have spent more time on Scarlet and Sage.
Favourite OC: Rumpole. Favourite Show Character: Penny
Fox’s Personality: “People often compare him a bit to Toph, who is my favorite Avatar character, so I think that influenced his character. Plus, the voice in your head would have to be the one that says things you shouldn't say aloud. That's Fox.”
If he gets to make a third novel, it would be SSSN-focused.
“I believe it took SSSN several months to reach Vacuo from Haven, partially because they weren't in any hurry, and it's a long way. And then the main events of BtD take place a month or so after AtF.” 
Before the Dawn takes place before Volume 8.
Violet Answers:
What are some of your artistic inspirations?: “Arthur Rackham was the biggest inspiration throughout. The grungy, rough nature of his work was very helpful in merging my style with something more traditional to match the fairytale feel needed for this book.“ 
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bellatrixobsessed1 · 2 years
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The Crystal Affix
Goretober Day 6: Crystal Gore Fandom: Avatar The Last Airbender Ship: Eventual Azutara Summary: The gaang take Zuko, Azula, and Iroh in after things go very amiss in the crystal catacombs. Azula’s critical wounds leave Zuko confused and conflicted. Note: I liked this prompt so it gets two entries. This is another one that is more of a demo for a possible future fic. 
Specific warnings: Major Injury & Wound Cauterization 
Azula closes her eyes and forces them open again, really there is nothing left to do. Her back gapes open and gushing. She isn’t even sure that she knows what has happened to her. One moment she was fine and the next...there is so much blood and it runs warmly, freely down her back. 
She isn’t one to cry, especially not in front of enemies but it hurts, oh spirits it hurts.
And she knows, she just knows that they are going to leave her here to die. Brother and uncle and the Avatar, all of them. They all have a distaste for her and Long Feng has solved a problem for them, no blood on their hands. 
Her cheek scrapes against the ground below, she is faint and her vision is growing dark. She thinks that if she closes her eyes for too long she simply won’t open them again. And maybe that would be a good thing all things considered. 
She feels nauseous, like she will throw up at any moment. It comes with that queasy, dizzy feeling. “Zuzu?” She calls out. And so quietly that she isn’t sure that he had heard her at all. That anyone had heard her. 
“I can’t just let her die!” She hears. 
She tries to manage a smile. In spite of everything, he is choosing to help her after all. He is choosing honor and his nation...or something like that...she isn’t sure. She can’t think straight. Not right now. 
The sound of footsteps coming closer, several pairs at that, puts a pounding in her head. “Zuzu?” She asks again. 
“Yeah, I’m here.” He sounds cold. Impassive. For once it is hard to tell how he feels and maybe that is because he isn’t sure himself. Likely he is torn between sadness and pity and relief and delight. He won’t have to deal with her anymore. He can be the favorite. 
“Are you going to let me die?” Even if she wanted to she can’t get her voice much higher than a whisper.
“We’re not going to let you die.” Katara declares. But we should, she doesn’t finish but Azula knows that she is thinking it. They all are.
“What are we going to do?” Aang asks. “We don’t have any needles and thread. We don’t have any bandages either.”
“The hole is too big to just close.” Zuko mentions. “It’s like we’d need to find extra skin or something.”
She feels another woozy wave of nausea. Spirits, she is glad that she can’t actually see the wound. She can only feel it and she feels as though the entirety of her back has been cut away. She shivers. She feels so cold. So cold and so hot at the same time. Her head hurts…
“Maybe we can seal it up with a crystal?” Zuko suggests. 
“A crystal?” Aang asks. 
“We can try to cauterize the wound or weld the crystal to her skin and Katara can use her waterbending to heal it as we go.”
Azula cringes. To cauterize a wound, she has thought about it time and time again. The prospect that she may very well need to resort to that for her own survival. But something this big? She grits her teeth. The panic takes her in full. It seizes her just long enough to miss the rest of the conversation. Just long enough for her to not register that they have retreated back and returned with a crystal. She hears the sound of rock sliding on rock and it occurs to her that Aang is polishing the crystal, smoothing and rounding it to fit the hole in her back. She nearly throws up a second time. 
Maybe they think that she is already out cold, maybe they had forgotten in their haste, perhaps they think it would be better to just do it, or perhaps they just don’t care--whatever it is, they don’t give her any sort of warning. No indication that they are going to affix the jewel to her back. 
The feeling, Agni it is searing. White hot and unparalleled. She cries out sharply. They all flinch, whoever is holding the crystal jerks and she cries out again, louder still. This time there is no jarring jerk. Her tears are flowing freely now, her sobs choked and unrestrained. She thinks that it is plenty warranted given the circumstances.
She squeezes her eyes shut. The crackle of a fire fills her ears and she knows that it is coming. She can already feel it. She senses the blade before it so much as grazes her skin. She feels the heat radiating from it.
“I don’t want to die, Zuzu. Please don’t let me die.” She whispers. But, Agni, she thinks that she will. And when he finally brings that red hot blade to her back she very much does want to. She wants nothing more than to let the darkness take her so she doesn’t have to feel that white hot, searing pain anymore. 
He lifts the blade only to bring it down again a little ways to the left. 
“No.” She whimpers. “No, no.” 
He pauses. But only to let Katara bring water to her back, a temporary pseudo relief. “Bite down on this.” Zuko places the bunched up cloth--she thinks that it might be part of her shirt--into her mouth. 
It is the only warning she gets. 
It muffles her screams as she bites down hard. Her fists clench tightly to the point of drawing blood. 
And when the blade comes away again she spits the cloth out and shakes her head. Zuko picks up the cloth, set to put it back in place.“No, Zuzu, stop it.” She says shakily. “Stop it, I don’t want to do this.”
“You told me that you didn’t want to die.” He replies firmly, grimly, before pressing the red hot blade to her back again. 
“I changed my mind, Zuzu. I changed my mind.” She chokes out. 
He ignores her.
He puts the cloth back into her mouth. 
She thinks that he is probably enjoying this. 
Relishing in it. 
So why does it sound like he is crying too?
Spirits, she has never endurded anything worse and probably never will again.
So when the blackness comes with its vengeance, she doesn’t resist it. She lets it pull her under. She welcomes it with open arms. 
.oOo.
Her shrieks still echo in his ears, shrill and haunting. He has never heard her scream like that before, cry like that…
He has never heard anyone scream like that.
It has been three days now and she hasn’t awoken. He isn’t sure which he dreads more; Azula never waking again or what she will do when...if she does wake up. He can’t imagine that she will take well to being on the back of a bison, fleeing from a serious defeat with her political foes for companionship. 
He cradles her limp body in his arms. She is so pale. She looks so small, has she always been small? Has her face always looked so soft, so young? He doesn’t remember that. Had he ever actually looked? 
He grits his teeth and cringes. 
Agni, they are all just kids.
He is just a kid. 
He touches his fingers to his scar. Kids and they’ve already faced mortality, perhaps more than once. 
Kids and they’re already scarred and damaged. 
Kids and they’ve already seen things that a seasoned soldier might faint upon seeing. 
Kids and they’ve already held or watched dying loved ones… Zuko thinks that he is doing both right now. For Agni’s sake they used a crystal to patch her up. A damn crystal, it’s a miracle that they have managed to keep it clean and infection free.
“This is my fault.” He mutters.
“You’re fault?” Toph asks. “Geez, I know that you’ve got some issues but, how can you think that this is your fault?”
“I wanted her to...not exist, just disappear.” Agni he thought it so many times he isn’t sure why he can’t just say that he, on occasions, had hoped that she would just die. “I...I wanted this.” 
“Man, if thoughts could kill, I’d have killed you at least eight times now.” Sokka waves his hand. “Katara probably would have killed you about eighteen times.”
“I don’t think that you wanted that, Zuko.” Katara crosses her arms. He is surprised to hear her saying anything even remotely comforting, she has been cold since he, uncle, and Azula joined them. Cold and untrusting with good reason. He can only imagine the ice that Azula will endure if she ever opens her eyes. 
“We hate each other.” Zuko grumbles. 
“You must not hate her that much if you practically begged us to bring her with us.” Sokka quirks a brow. 
“She would have left me to die.”
“I don’t think that that’s true.” Aang says. Zuko watches uncle take the reigns. Uncle hasn’t spoken to him since he’d chosen Azula over him prior to watching Long Feng drive a sharp crystal into her back. A backstab for a backstab, the words echo in his mind alongside her screams. 
Zuko clutches his head. 
“Are you listening to him?” Katara half-whines. 
Zuko clears his throat. “Yeah, I...sorry. I’m just…”
“You’re stressed.” Aang nods. “We’ve been through a lot.” 
And they’re going to keep going through it. “I don’t know how much more I can take. Everything I do it just doesn’t work. I was going to change and then I let Azula talk me into betraying uncle and going back to father…” And he’d be there now, sailing right back to the man who’d burned his face had Azula not been partially impaled. 
“Well you’re here now.” Toph shrugs. “And we have to deal with you. Sprits, if I have to listen to another set of siblings bickering I think that I’ll run off into the forest and never return.” 
Sokka laughs but Zuko isn’t in such good spirits. Azula stirs in his arms, a gentle reminder that there is going to be more struggle ahead, more confusion and confliction. 
.oOo. 
Azula’s stomach drops, she doesn’t know where she is. She doesn’t like not knowing where she is. “Mai? TyLee?” Her head still pounds, she is still dizzy. She sees several slumbering bodies but none of them resemble her friends. “Where are Mai and TyLee?” But who is she asking they are all asleep and…
She winces. Her back is burning. Her back, dear Agni, her back! 
She is dizzy all over again as the memories come back to her. By all accounts she should be dead. Maybe she is dead. Maybe the bodies she is looking at are as dead as her own. But one of them stirs. Her heart skips a beat. 
She is too weak for a fight. 
“Azula?” There is confusion in the voice. Katara’s she thinks. “Azula, are you awake?”
It certainly doesn’t feel like it but she nods anyways. “Where am I?” She should be in a Fire Nation vessel, on her way home to the palace’s best doctors, in the most comfortable bed, with clean bandages and…
“The Dai Li have taken over Ba Sing Se, we had to get out of there and…”
Her brows furrow. “You took me with you? Why would you…?’
“Because Zuko asked us to.” She replies stiffly. Curtly. 
“Why would he?”
Katara shrugs, “I told him that you weren’t our problem and to let Long Feng have you.” 
“You didn’t say that.” Sokka grumbles from his sleeping bag. “She didn’t say that. She’s too nice.”
Katara folds her arms across her chest. “Okay, so I didn’t say that. But don’t think for a second that I trust you or Zuko. I’m just not comfortable letting someone die.” 
Azula swallows. Just how close had she come? “Am I...going to be alright?”
“You’re awake aren’t you?” 
She nods. But that doesn’t mean that she is going to be okay. “For now.” She tries to extend just as much coldness. Her voice doesn’t have much of a punch, rattled and out of sorts as she is. Spirits, she is so tired. 
Tired.
Dizzy. 
She feels her body pitch forward and, to her surprise, Katara catches her, saving her from a good faceplant. 
“Go back to sleep, Azula, I don’t think that you’re ready to be awake yet.”
She isn’t sure that she will ever be particularly ready to wake up to these circumstances. She will have to do it some time, just not right now. Not when she is still trembling and weak. Not when she is nearly certain that her body is still in a state of shock.
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nadisabug · 3 years
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Fictober 2020-Day 11
Pranks
Prompt: "I told you so"
Fandom: ATLA Pairing: established Sokka x reader Warnings: language A/N: This is just a short, sweet thing with Sokka. The next few days are with Sokka too so I hope you guys enjoy some good ol’ Sokka.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I warned in a sing song voice.
Sokka was sneaking through the camp, a bucket of water in his hands. I watched as he slowly crept towards Zuko, stopping when he heard my voice. I smiled at him from the opposite side of the camp, propped up by my hands.
"Shh!" He hissed quietly. He looked back over to Zuko, worried. "No one will know it was me with a group with three waterbenders," he proclaimed proudly. "The perfect prank to initiate our new member."
I looked back to the sleeping Zuko. I bit back a smile when I saw one of his eyes open. "Your funeral," I shrugged and laid back down in my sleeping bag.
I closed my eyes and listened to his slow footsteps start up again.
Then, I heard many things. First, Zuko's shout. Then, the whoosh of flames. Last, the splashing of water. After that, there was a beat of silence, then Sokka began screaming.
"You set me on fire!"
"You threw water all over me!" Zuko bit back quickly.
I sighed and sat up, surveying the scene. Zuko was soaked, his hair comically drooping into his eyes. Sokka's arm bands were aflame and he was waving them wildly. Quickly, I waterbended the water off of Zuko and used it to put out the fire on Sokka.
I heard Toph stir beside me and I looked to her. "Go back to sleep, its just the idiots." She nodded sleepily and rolled over. Katara, on the other hand, slept right through it. I got up, realizing I was the one who had to settle this down.
"Okay, okay," I waved my hands and stepped in between them. "Listen up. Zuko's dry now. Right?"
"I mean, yeah," he replied grumpily. “Now I am.”
"And Sokka, you learned you lesson not to mess with a sleeping firebender?"
"You call that a lesson?!" He held out his arm to me. It was a sickly red and starting to blister. "He nearly took my arms off!"
The two boys began bickering again, so I grabbed the collar of Sokka's shirt and hauled him toward the stream we were camped by.
"Zuko," I called behind me. "Go back to bed!" Zuko grumbled a few things, but complied, rolling back over to go to sleep.
"Hey, watch the merchandise," Sokka whined.
I pulled him to sit down next to the stream with me and began to heal his arms. Once I was done I looked at him triumphantly.
"Don't say it," he warned, leaning close to me.
"I told you so," I chirped happily, giggling when Sokka's face soured. "Oh come on love, you can't say that wasn't warranted."
"I am just waiting for you to finish healing my wounds," Sokka muttered, a sly smile on his face.
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "But I-"
"I need a kiss to get better," he cut me off, smiling even wider at his lame joke.
Despite the stupidity of it, I found myself laughing. I leaned over and pressed a kiss to his now healed arm.
"You know, I think Zuko got my face with those flames," Sokka said, moving closer.
"Oh? Pray do tell where did he get?" I reciprocated, scooching closer to him too.
"Right here," he said softly, then leaned in to kiss me. I kissed him back, closing my eyes and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. Before we could get lost in each other's embrace, a voice snapped us out of our trance.
"You know he's not going to learn shit if you stick your tongue in his mouth every time he fucks up," Zuko called out, half joking.
"He's right you know," I laughed, pulling away from Sokka.
"Yeah, but if you only kiss me when I don't fuck up I'll never get kissed and that's a sad life," Sokka replied dramatically.
"Oh, how could I be so cruel as to deny my handsome boyfriend affection," I mirrored his drama.
"Can you guys move further away? I am close to vomiting," Zuko groaned.
We laughed, but complied, deciding to go on a walk until the others woke up.
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I've got some atla HC I've been thinking about and yall
Gaang actually takes zuko as their prisoner when he offers himself up at the Western air temples
Toph uses her metal bending to restrain him. And even though aang and toph disagree, sokka and katara won't budge on the matter
Zuko is only set free to teach aang firebending, as soon as it's over he's back in. One false move and katara is onto him. They go to the sun warriors and get back. The idea of leaving them alone doesn't sit well with katara but it's what aang needs.
They get back. He's back in chains.
The boiling rock happens. When they get back, sokka let's up but katara doesn't budge. Either he is restrained or she will freeze his hands.
So back in chains he goes.
Hakoda is both surprised and disappointed in his daughters relentless heartlessness, but zuko is quick to explain that the mistrust is warranted and she can feel that way, sir, and thank you though, sir. Because hakoda is the first father figure he's come across since uncle iroh and he doesn't want to make a bad impression.
Later that night, as the others have retired for bed, zuko hears shuffling from behind him, he turns and sees hakodas tall, dark figure looming over him and in a moment of panic shoots out a flame - quickly blocked by a slab of earth that rises in front of him.
Toph.
Zuko apologizes profusely, if this man is anything like his own father he has hell coming. But hakoda holds a hand out to him, stopping his apologies before resting it on his shoulder.
It's alright son. Toph, kid, can you get those off. Toph smiles softly and snaps her fingers, the manacles drop.
'But, what about katara'
'i talked to her kid. Shes still upset but at least she's agreed to be civil.'
Zuko watches the older man warily, his hand still on his shoulder.
Hakoda smiles kindly, 'come on, son, let's get you some warm soup'
Like
Can you imagine how terrified zuko would be of hakoda?? The first proper father figure, while he's the son of the enemy whom his daughter hates more than anything. Also hakoda is the best dad.
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the-yellowturtle · 3 years
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The Curious Case of Master Katara (Pt.3)
Summary:  In the sixth year of Fire Lord Zuko’s reign, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe is assassinated. (OR: Katara Becomes the Painted Lady! AU)
Chapter Summary: Sokka reacts to Katara’s passing. 
Part 1 (Toph), Part 2 (Toph & Gran Gran), AO3 Story Link, & special thanks to @levitatingbiscuits for enabling this :)
The Surprising Origins of the Squiggle Meme
Xin Jizhe
Omashu Times News Reporter
You’ve seen it. Your mom has seen it. Spirits, even your pet fire-ferret has probably seen it! The latest comparison meme that’s often paired with the caption, “Ink Brush Painting is My Passion” is everywhere! However, the origins of the painting are much more heartfelt than you could have ever imagined.
The physical copy of the painting is currently hosted in the Caldera City Art Museum as part of the “Heroes of the Hundred Year War” collection. According to the museum’s website, it was painted by Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe as an outline for the paintings that would appear in his picture book about his younger sister, Master Katara, who had been assassinated by extremists in 106 AG. The paintings used in the published copy of the story are also available for viewing in the Caldera City Art Museum.
(Fun Fact: The official versions were painted by his wife, Suki of Kyoshi Island. Yes! That Suki! The one and only President Suki that fought for Kyoshi Island’s right to self-determination, and became the third president!).
Anyway, back to the matter at hand! Sokka reportedly decided to publish the picture book about his sister as a reaction to the growing popularity of a woodblock print that depicted Master Katara in her last moments. Sokka wanted the world to remember his sister as she was living, not a romanticized image of her death.
Try to see this touching meme in real life before the collection ends this spring.
___
When Sokka hears from one of the shaken villagers that after being shot Katara vanished into thin air, he gets an inkling about where she really is. When another local presents the pendant of Katara’s necklace to him, the sinking feeling in his gut tells him that his suspicions may be correct. And when he gazes up at the full moon later that night, he knows for certain.
Katara is gone.
He doesn’t need to travel to the Spirit World to know this. It has happened before. Before his very own eyes and between his very own arms. Some people are not destined to rejoin the earth; some are destined to be among the Spirits. He can only hope that she didn’t suffer too much in her last moments; that it was quick.
When he looks up at the moon, up at Yue, he pleads, “Please take care of her for me.”
Yue is probably far too busy being a beautiful celestial goddess to listen every time he talks to her, but he thinks she’s listening this time. She has to be.
___
Sokka was in the Southern Water Tribe on break from his studies in Ba Sing Se when word came that something had happened to Katara in the Fire Nation. Something that had warranted a personal letter from the Fire Lord, and had turned Zuko’s normally pristine penmanship into a barely decipherable mess. Katara was missing.
Truthfully, at the beginning of the letter Sokka was not worried at all. Zuko had a knack for worrying and exaggerating, and Sokka was certain that Katara would be back from wherever she had wandered off to before he could even set sail for the Fire Nation. Katara had probably found some wayward child or koala-sheep that needed assistance along the way, and she was so caught up in being benevolent that she forgot to hawk Zuko.
But then his dad and him had gotten to the part of the letter that informed them eyewitnesses were claiming that Katara had been attacked. That someone had shot her with an arrow. That they had watched her be struck, fall back into the river, and never rise again. That Katara was missing. That Katara might be dead.
It took more than one person to restrain him from immediately running off to the Fire Nation. Not that dad was any help, frozen, rereading the words over and over and over again. Katara might be dead .
When preparing to depart from the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka had promised his family that he would bring Katara home safely. That he would find out what happened.
He only manages to keep one of his promises. And it’s the one he cared for the least. When his dad and Gran Gran meet him at port, red-eyed and bags heavy, they know with one glance at Sokka’s face.
“She’s gone,” Gran Gran states, gripping his arm.
Sokka presses the carved pendant into his father’s hand. “She is.”
___
At first, it’s easy to pretend. With all the international guests and foreign dignitaries flocking to the Southern Water Tribe to personally pay their respects, it’s easy to slip into the role of being just Sokka. There are people to accommodate and details to smooth over. The South needs a planner, so Sokka becomes the mastermind.
It becomes a mask he slips on and off. One moment he is only Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, the next he is Katara’s brother. When it becomes too much, one of their friends is there to comfort him or one of the guests is there to exasperate him. It’s easy at first; ignoring that nothing is ever going to be the same.
All things must come to an end, however, and the funeral is the same. The world must continue onwards, and gradually all of their friends return to where they are needed. When it’s only Gran Gran, dad, and him left, that's when the cracks begin to show.
It’s in the way that Gran Gran accidentally burns the sea prunes because she thought someone would be watching them when she was turned away. It’s in the way that dad leaves official correspondence from the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom off to the side of his desk because he thought someone else would be looking over them. It’s in the way that Sokka reaches into his pocket and is surprised to find a necklace pendant because sometimes he still thinks that she’s somewhere out there wearing it.
Their family already had cracks, but now they no longer had the glue as well. After their mom passed away, Katara had taken it upon herself to be what everyone had needed. An eight-year old had done everything she possibly could have to fill the gaping hole their mom had left. At twenty-two years old, Sokka still has no idea how she found the strength to do that. But Katara is gone now, and the cracks in their family have transformed into an unmeasurable crevasse.
___
Sokka quickly learns the crevasse encompasses the entire Southern Water Tribe. This becomes abundantly clear one afternoon when three of Katara’s students confront him at the docks.
Akia, the shortest of the three and a refugee from the Northern Water Tribe, speaks first, “Sokka, we have a request.”
“Sure, what’s up?” he responds, setting down his catch.
The three young women exchange glances before Aqpik, from one of the interior clans, says, “We were wondering if you would allow us to enter Master Katara’s private study.”
Sokka freezes. No one in their family has been in there since her passing. “Why would you need to do that?”
“Spring is coming, and that means so are the seasonal waterbending students. We need to be prepared for when they arrive, and Master Katara always kept the lesson plans and personal scrolls in her study,” Akia pleads.
He begins to respond before he’s abruptly cut off by Mirae, a mixed waterbender of Water and Earth descent. “Master Katara fought long and hard to revitalize Southern bending, we can’t let it die with her. We were all so close to being declared masters, and we can continue the tradition in her stead. We need to do this.”
Meeting her determined gaze, Sokka knows immediately that this conversation was only for propriety’s sake; Mirae would most definitely break in if his answer was anything but the one she wanted. It’s a look he had seen so many times on Katara’s very own face. He had been so caught up in remembering Katara as his sister that he had forgotten that she was so much more than that to the South. She was the one who had painstakingly travelled the world to bring back the South’s stolen heritage, and Sokka would never be able to live with himself if he was part of the reason her efforts became in vain.
“Of course, you can,” he replies, “But first there’s something I need to do.”
___
In the Southern Water Tribe, when someone passes away you offer them to the sea along with an assortment of their earthly possessions. The objects that would feel wrong for any other to use are submerged with them, and the objects that would be a shame to waste are passed on to those who need it most. There is no fear surrounding the usage of things the deceased have touched; to use one of their belongings is to honor their memory.
This ceremony is an essential step in the mourning process of the South, but the most important by far is the telling of stories. For it is through stories that a person’s life is truly seen and celebrated. It is through stories that they are remembered and may continue to be remembered generations after they are gone.
Sokka has a feeling that the stories about Katara will be told for so long it will become impossible to discern myth from truth. A part of him is satisfied knowing that others will appreciate the person she was long after he is gone, however, they will never have the privilege of actually knowing Katara. Future generations will hear about the Hundred Year War, the Avatar, and the restoration of Southern Bending, but they will never learn about the time she broke her wrist penguin sledding as an adult . They will remember Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, but they won’t remember Katara.
No, remembering Katara is up to them. It’s up to Sokka and Gran Gran and dad and the rest of the gang to remember who she was. This is why the night after his conversation with the waterbenders, Sokka brings Gran Gran and dad with him to go through Katara’s study. Katara may have been the glue of the family, but this does not mean that Sokka can’t be the rope.
At first, it’s quiet as they work together to sort through the rest of her belongings. Unsurprisingly, she had meticulously organized everything. The waterbending scrolls are divided by style and skill level, the letters by country of origin and sender, even the hanging art is suspended according to the changing of the seasons. Sokka feels antsy just looking at how neat it is.
Dad is the one to break the silence. “She’s always been like this,” he comments, looking around the room, “Even as a toddler, she was extremely insistent on things being returned to their proper place.”
Gran Gran chuckles. “I wouldn’t say always , Hakoda. She could get pretty messy at times.”
“I’m gonna have to disagree, Gran Gran. Even as kids, Katara would only get messy if she had a statement to make. Didn’t like the way I folded my clothes? Then she would throw them about. Didn’t want to go to bed? Then she would refuse to get washed.”
“Ahhh bath time, that was always such an adventure with you two,” Dad smiles.
Sokka scoffs, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I was the best bather! Katara was the one who would get water all over the place”
“Sokka,” Gran Gran grins, patting his shoulder, “You would run around naked and we would have to catch you. In Winter . Thank the Spirits, you never attempted to go outside.”
The conversation goes on like this for hours; the waterbending scrolls forgotten. They laugh and cry and tease and debate. They remember.
When the embers are low and the sun is on the horizon again, Sokka reaches into his pocket and freezes. The pendant.
He hesitates before slowly pulling it out and tracing the carved waves with his finger. “Gran Gran? Dad? Do you think we should have submerged this, too?”
It was often a thin line between deciding what objects were inseparable from the deceased, and what objects the living could not bear to part from. When the time had come to select the belongings for Katara’s funeral, Sokka had found himself unwilling to hand over the necklace. There was no object more symbolic of who Katara was as a person, Sokka was well aware of that. However, for as long as he could remember, Katara had always been there. Even when they were far apart with her scouring the world for Southern waterbending scrolls and him in Ba Sing Se furthering his engineering studies, they had written constantly and made frequent trips to visit each other.
Katara was his sister; she would always be his sister. He knows she is gone, probably gallivanting about the Spirit World with Yue and telling Spirits how to do their jobs, but he needs to hold onto this piece of her. Just for a little bit.
“No,” Gran Gran finally answers, “We shouldn’t have.”  Sokka meets her unwavering gaze. “That necklace has always been worn by women with the conviction to do what was right. Surely, Katara will not be the last.”
___
Gran Gran , Sokka thinks to himself as he watches his daughter from afar flip one of the Northern boys over her shoulder, really was always right. Some parents would probably be concerned that their child is getting into fights during the Winter Solstice celebration, but if Sokka may say so himself, he and Suki are excellent parents and that boy most definitely deserved it.
Sokka’s instincts are proven to be correct when Senna comes to join him and Suki where they are waiting to watch the waterbending performance.
“That was a good throw, sweety. Great form,” Suki compliments, hugging their daughter to her side.
Senna huffs at the reminder of the event and promptly launches into what happened. “Those little tiger-seal shit eaters were saying Yuki shouldn’t have been given the main role because apparently it’s only for girls ,” she rolls her eyes, “So I informed them that eating snow is only for narrow-minded, sexist boys, those fucking iceholes.”
Being interested in architecture and mathematics, people often assume that Senna mostly takes after him in looks and personality. But the focus, fighting and cussing? That was all Suki. And the ferociousness for justice? That was most definitely from Katara.
He likes to think that she would be immensely proud of his daughter, the new owner of her necklace, for never backing down. Sokka certainly was. He’s sure that she would also be overjoyed to know that the storybending performances she had revived were flourishing and that her nephew had worked his butt off to earn one of the main roles. Funnily enough, the role of Katara.
Yuki had been nervous, going over his routine again and again these past few days to make sure it was perfect. He had only managed to calm down when Suki had given him her protective amulet for good luck, and Sokka had reassured him that Aunt Katara would be honored by his performance no matter what.
When the storybending officially begins, Sokka can only beam with pride as he watches his son flawlessly reenact the freeing of the earthbenders. Yuki has certainly come a long way from accidentally splashing his sister to manipulating a stream of water to look like coal soaring through the air. He wishes Katara was alive to see it, but a part of him gets the feeling that she knows.
Sokka is aware that the Painted Lady is out there somewhere running around trying to help those in need, but on nights like this when the moon is bright and the sky is full of lights, he gets this feeling . Even if he can no longer meet her, sometimes it feels like she’s still there.
So when the performance is over, and the kids are finally off to bed, he takes a moment to gaze up at the full moon. “I’m happy, I hope you are, too.”
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bluelady-atla · 4 years
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Zutara Month Day 1
Blue Spirit & Painted Lady
(This is my first time writing fanfiction, so please be kind.)
Katara lays awake in her sleeping bag listening to the sounds of their camp. Toph is snoring loudly as ever, mercifully muffled by her stone tent. Aang's breathing is a slow faint whisper, much like the wind as he sleeps peacefully across from the fire that has now died down to nothing but faint embers. Despite the silence, Katara can not sleep; the one sound missing is the wheezy snoring of her brother, a sound that she has fallen asleep to without fail every night for as long as she can remember. But tonight Sokka sleeps at master Piandao’s Estate as his apprentice. Logically, she knows he’s safe there, and that training under Piandao is just what he needs to take the next step. They had all agreed this morning that he needed a master- but now, as she tries to sleep without the sound of her brothers breathing for the first time in years, she can’t help but feel restless. Deciding that trying to sleep when she’s so wound up is futile, she quietly climbs out of her sleeping bag, careful not to wake her companions. Digging through her bag for supplies, she dons a loose red robe- tied around the waist with a length of coarse rope, and a wide-brimmed straw hat adorned with a sheer shift to make a veil. To complete her look she kneels by the river bank, dipping her fingers in the damp clay and paints her face in red swirls. As The Painted Lady, she rises and stalks off to the city of Shu Jing.
~
Zuko, angrier than ever (and lost without Iroh’s guidance), falls back on the one thing from his travels that made him feel like the good guy; masquerading as the Blue Spirit. In Ba Sing Se it started as a way to blow off steam and keep in fighting shape. He would stalk through the streets of the lower ring at night, keeping to the shadows but looking for a fight. Usually his prey was local thugs and unruly drunks just thrown out of a bar. He didn’t really care who they were, as long as they could put up a good fight. He never killed or maimed, just incapacitated his victims and moved on. One night when he was on the prowl he heard screaming. Following the source of the noise, he found a woman surrounded by 4 men pawing at her and making crude threats. One of the men had her arms pinned behind her back and held a knife to her throat. The other men were rifling through her clothes, digging through her pockets and letting their hands linger. As he came upon this scene, Zuko knew her found his prey for the night. He’s nearly dispatched the 4 men only using his Dao swords when unbenounced, a 5th joins the fray. Where this warrior came from Zuko does not know, but unlike the others he is most certainly a trained warrior. He is faster, stronger and an earth bender. Caught by surprise, Zuko is outmatched- it is hard to block stone, even with dual swords. Cornered and nearly beaten, he uses fire bending to chase the warrior off. He turns to slip away into the shadows when the woman reaches up from when she fell at the beginning of the fight and grabs his wrist. Adrenaline pumping in his veins Zuko freezes, his instincts tell him to flee- she's seen him bend and he needs to leave quickly before any Dai Lee show up, but he doesn't want to hurt a woman who already had a hard night. He slowly turns to face her, expecting to see fear or anger or even disgust. For a long moment she keeps her grip on his wrist, staring into the dark eyes of the mask until finally both her eyes and her grip soften with gratitude. A quiet “Thank you” whispers past her lips and then The Blue Spirit is gone, already melted into the shadows. 
From that night on, whenever Zuko prowled the streets as the Blue Spirit looking for trouble, he would look for muggers and attackers- those harming the innocent. He was chasing the feeling he got when he saw gratitude in the eyes of those he protected. Tonight was no different- he told his father he was going to travel the Fire Nation to see the country he had missed for the past 3 years. During the day he would travel the nation in a palanquin with a royal entourage. At night he would slip away from his guards and look to protect his people as the Blue Spirit. 
Tonight he was in a small town on an island just at the edge of the Fire Nation. Desperately trying to recreate the feeling he felt in Ba Sing Se when he knew he was doing the right thing. As he was slinking through the shadows, looking for anything amiss, he spots a ghostly figure clad in red, enveloped by a personal cloud of fog. He tails them to the local military outpost. He can make out just enough of their figure through the red robe tied off with rope to see that it’s a woman. Though he can’t catch more than a glimpse of her face past her wide hat and veil; only snatches of what looks like swirls of red. Zuko watches as the woman surrounded by mist slips into the compound. He slips in after her, quiet as her unseen shadow. He follows her all the way to the store room, which it appears to take her a little while to find. He watches silently as she gathers a bag full of supplies- dried food, clothes and medicine. When he was younger he would have found stealing from the military an executable offence, but now after everything he has seen and done, he doesn't find it enough to warrant attacking the woman, only enough to make him interested enough to observe a little more. He follows her out, curious where she will lead. Sticking to the rooftops, he hurries after as she makes a bee-line for the worst part of the small town. He watches in awe as she stops before a dilapidated house and pulls out some of the stolen goods from her sack to leave on the doorstep. House after house, she leave a little food here and a fresh set of clothes there, never staying long and always seemingly unaware of her shadow. 
~
Katara stops at an old man sleeping on the side of the street. She had almost missed him, he was so still and so quiet. Swirled in red and fog, she kneels by the man and is digging through her bag of contraband when he starts into a fit of coughing so hard it rattles his whole frame. Quickly she drops the bag and draws a small stream of water from her bending pouch around her hands so that she can heal him and soothe his coughs. She finds fluid pooling in his lungs and remembers hearing about such a sickness. As she bends the liquid from his lungs it causes him to heave even harder as he coughs it up. Once he settles down, she rummages in the bag, looking for the medicine she remembers grabbing back at the military storage. Suddenly, behind her she hears the distinct sound of boots scuffing on the ground. She turns slowly to look at the newcomer and sees a brawny man dressed in Fire Nation military issued uniform. Sitting very still, nearly holding her breath, she prays to Tu that she'll go unnoticed under the cover of her fog, wincing when the old man starts coughing again. 
“Hey you there! Come out where I can see you” calls a rough voice from half a block behind her. Katara bolts, running down the nearest alley freezing a thin sheet of ice behind her from the moisture of the fog she keeps swirling around her. The soldier gives chase, yelling “Stop!” after her and blowing on a whistle around his neck. He slips and falls on the ice Katara left but is soon joined by three other soldiers who help him up. “The thief went that way!” he says. His yell echoes down the alley to Katara. She doesn’t risk a glance back as she keeps running until she finds this alley ends in a dead end with a wall too high for her to climb. If only she had more water on her she could bend herself over the wall. She turns to fight, finding four soldiers advancing on her from the entrance of the dead end. She looks around desperately for something to bend, only having what's left of her bending water after making the fog and healing that man. The soldier from before snarls at her  
“You match the description of someone seen sneaking away from the military base after ransacking the store room. Stealing from the military is an executable offense.” At this the soldier lights their fist full of flames and take a step closer.
Suddenly a fifth figure drops down from the roof above between Katara and the soldiers. She gasps in surprise as the being, covered head to toe in black, turns slightly to look at her, revealing a grinning blue mask staring back at her.
~
Continued in Don’t Hurt Her
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seyaryminamoto · 4 years
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With a heart staying obstinate, The pebble can go anywhere it wants. Fragile like sand, it crumbles In a future you can’t even read one letter of.                 … Even in a single cold stone, I’m sure there is a hot passion hidden within. Since it’s going to happen anyway, I want to win In the future that I can’t see anything of.
COUNTDOWN: 4 days to Gladiator’s Seventh Anniversary
The most Toph-centric arc up to date (… possibly the most Toph-centric in the entire story, come to think of it) warranted being as epic as I could possibly make it. It was certainly a tricky one, but I’m proud of the outcome, portraying the duality in Toph’s circumstances this arc.
Seeing as fics are indeed fics, some developments are predictable enough due to how canon developed :’D that Toph would discover metalbending for the first time in the Slate was probably the most obvious thing ever for most readers, but I still found it really exciting to offer Toph a new way to discover metalbending. Her fight against The Storm’s Edge is the biggest challenge she has faced up to date. Never before had her victorious streak been at such risk of breaking… but she pulled through! Last-minute metalbending discovery FTW!
It was honestly unintentional on my part that the outfit I designed for her this time, her flame-retardant clothes, would end up resembling her LOK police officer armor/uniform, but when I realized they were the same colors I actually didn’t mind it one bit xD consider it a very strange way to pay homage to metalbending police officer Toph from canon (?)
Of course, the duality I mentioned above refers to Toph’s rift with Iroh and growing closeness with Azula and Sokka. Her relationship with Iroh was ever so stable and steady… up until the end of Part 1, where Toph unknowingly pushed Zuko to leave the Fire Nation. And the more distance Iroh built between himself and his gladiator, the closer she grew to Azula and Sokka. The rivalry between both teams endures still and it always will, but by now Toph cherishes those two with everything she’s got.
Despite my obvious grievances with his character, I didn’t want to portray Iroh at his worst in this arc: instead, I chose the moment where he finally comes back to his senses and rushes to the Slate to find Toph. And I’m pretty happy I chose to do that because I don’t think I’ve ever drawn a better Iroh than this one XD his despair as he watched his estranged partner fighting impossible odds was a good subject to portray. And of course, Toph hugging both Azula and Sokka was a must. There were some really dark moments for Toph in this arc, but the power of friendship prevailed somehow :’D
Lastly, the song I linked this time around has become my actual Toph theme song in Gladiator, no contest. And… that’s that for today! I hope you guys will enjoy tomorrow’s entry too!
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atlabeth · 3 years
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transferred part eight - atla smau
TRANSFERRED - zuko x fem!reader
masterlist | part 7 | part 9 
summary: trying to run from your past is hard, but falling for your brother’s roommate is even harder. little do you know he’s falling for you as well. 
wc: 4.5k 
warning(s): alcohol, gross guys, cursing, ppl getting drunk, suggestive themes, some pining, y/n being dumb of ass
a/n: i’ve been in a weird place with my writing so that’s why this took longer, it was a combination of writers block and lacking confidence in my writing so sdkjfhs. also for the ending? im sorry. but also im not 
taglist:  @ourbestfriend-mishacollins @lil-lex1 @xxshad0wxb1rdxx @zuko-is-the-sun @akiris @irohs-teapot @thatarthistorynerd @charlenasaxen @minninugget @marvel-ousnesss @count-thotticus @what-ye-egg @furblrwurblr @thesstuff @mariachiii @ietss @dizzy-miss-lizzieeeeee @xbarrjallenx @tommy-braccoli @dreamsluvrr @floofybread​ 
~~~~~~
“SOKKA, WE HAVE TO LEAVE IN FIFTEEN MINUTES! NOW OPEN THE DOOR OR I WILL BREAK IT DOWN MYSELF!” You banged your fist against the door for what felt like the hundredth time, and it seemed to finally work. The door swung open and your brother came out holding his hands up placatingly. You had to give it to him, his hair looked good, but with all the time he had spent styling it in there you would be disappointed if it wasn’t a masterpiece.
“Calm down, Y/N! You just don’t appreciate the art that goes into this,” he said with an exaggerated gesture to himself. You rolled your eyes and pushed past him, closing and locking the door behind him to make sure that no one would disturb you while you got ready. One downside to rooming with all boys was that no one knew how to knock, so you had to be extremely vigilant in making sure that no one walked in on you. 
You had spent a majority of your time picking out the perfect outfit for tonight after you and Zuko had gotten home. It was harder than you thought it was going to be to find something that said, ‘I’m available but not too available, I’m approachable but not too approachable, and also this is hot’, but after a lot of rifling through your closet you decided on a black backless top and navy blue jeans, something that looked good but did not warrant all the time spent searching. 
It didn’t take nearly as long to do your hair and makeup, maybe because you were rapidly running out of time, but you decided to just go with a simple look that brought out your eye color and what you usually did for parties for your hair. 
You nearly stabbed yourself in the eye with your mascara wand when you heard banging on the door. “Y/N, WE HAVE TO LEAVE IN FIVE MINUTES! NOW OPEN THE DOOR OR I WILL BREAK IT DOWN MYSELF!”
“Sokka, if you’re gonna yell at me then BE ORIGINAL!” You called back as you finished your eyes up. You shoved all the products back into your makeup bag then checked your hair one last time before leaving the bathroom. 
“How do I look, boys?” You walked into the kitchen and grabbed your purse off the island, testing the waters with the heels you had decided to wear last minute. They were only a couple inches but it had been a while since you wore them, and you would prefer if you didn’t fall over in front of every hot person at this party. 
Sokka followed you into the kitchen after nearly getting hit by the door, his tone somehow exasperated already. “You look fine. Now can we please get going? It’s one thing to be fashionably late, but we can’t be LATE late.”
“I love the heels, Y/N,” Aang gave you a grin and two thumbs up which you returned. 
When you looked to Zuko for his reaction, you were surprised to see a faint blush dusting his cheeks and his eyes wider than usual as they lingered on you. “You look- um- wow. You look great. Are you sure you won’t get cold?”
You felt your face heat up and you smiled, subconsciously tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “I guess I can just borrow your jacket if I need to,” you teased with a wink as you walked past him. “Come on Sokka, I’ll race you for shotgun!” 
“Oh, that is so cheap—!” Before you knew it, the two of you were sprinting out the door, pushing each other 
“Pick your jaw up off the floor, Zuko,” Aang said jokingly once you were out of the apartment, the distant yells of you and your brother bouncing through the hallway. “Y’know, you could probably make a move tonight. I think she’s into you!” 
“I- that’s not- I wasn’t- we’re just friends!” Zuko stammered as he picked up his keys from the table, finally snapping out of his stupor.
“Whatever you say, Sifu Hotman!” 
“I don’t— it’s not like that!”
~~~~~~
It was a quick ride over to the apartment with Sokka’s instructions — who had somehow beat you to the car winning shotgun (you blamed your heels) — and soon you were in front of Apartment B29 knocking on the door. A man about your age opened the door, and you blinked in surprise as you were hit by the wave of noise coming from inside. Sokka pushed past you and did a very complicated handshake with the guy before clapping him on the back. 
“Kento, how are ya doin’? I brought my roommates with me, is that cool?”
“Of course, man! The more the merrier!” Sokka grinned and high-fived him and the four of you moved inside, all of your senses assaulted by a barrage of.. everything. 
It was a surprisingly active party in a surprisingly big place, but you supposed that had to be the case for someone to throw something this size. Your eyes immediately started drifting around, searching for your friends that had arrived before you, and you started tugging on Aang’s shirt and pointing. “There they are! Come on!” 
You practically dragged the poor boy behind you as your brother and Zuko followed behind in a less forced way, and you barreled into Suki, each knocking the air out of each other with the strength of your hugs.
“You’re here!” Suki looked at your outfit and whistled. “And you look fantastic? This is the Y/N that I have been missing!”
You laughed and pulled away from her, giving one armed hugs to both Katara and Toph before settling in while everyone else greeted each other. “Gotta make a good first impression on BSSU guys, right?” 
“Oh, I think you already have,” Katara smirked, her eyes flicking over to Zuko for a second before training back on you. 
You furrowed your brows, about to question Katara further, when Suki gasped and grabbed your hand. 
“Oh, speaking of guys! There are a couple guys in my psych class tht are here that I think you’d really be into. Come on!” Suki started pulling you away and you looked back at the rest of the group with an amused expression before giving in and running away with her. 
Katara groaned, looking at Toph with desperation that she couldn’t see. “That girl is hopeless. How am I supposed to do my matchmaking if she’s trying to set her up with random guys?” 
“Guess you’ll either have to try harder or let it go, sugar queen.” 
“You know I’m not letting this go.” Katara could’ve kept going on about it, but thankfully for Toph, Aang slung his arm around Katara’s shoulder and kissed her on the cheek. 
“Come on, Katara! Let’s start this party off right.” The two of them grinned at each other and went off to the midst of everyone, no doubt to dance together. 
“Zuko? You there?” Toph questioned.
“Yeah?” Parties were very much not Zuko’s thing, so he didn’t exactly know what he was going to do now that everyone had split up.
Toph elbowed him and started walking through the crowd, Zuko following hurriedly after her as he rubbed his shoulder. “What was that for?”
“It’s how I show affection.” Toph grabbed onto his hand so that she wouldn’t run into everything in her way, and continued walking. “Now come on, let’s do something! Sokka’s talking with his boys, Y/N is probably off hitting on some guys while Suki encourages her, and Katara and Aang are doing some dumb couple stuff. Which means that we have to do something.” 
Zuko chuckled and shrugged. “Sure.” Hopefully Suki wasn’t serious about setting you up. Of course, he didn’t like you like that, but you were too good for the kind of guy that you would find at this kind of party. He supposed that he was that kind of guy because he was here, but he was different, right? You wouldn’t see him in that light— 
“Ow! Why’d you do that again?” Zuko was sure he was going to have a bruise if he hung out with Toph for the rest of the night.
“Because I can tell that you’re thinking of something stupid.”
“I am not—
“Zuko, I can’t even see you and I know you’re lying.”  
He was suddenly too distracted to focus on Toph calling him out because he saw you, talking animatedly with a couple of guys and Suki by your side. They all started laughing at whatever you said, and your smile, even from that far away, made his heart flutter. But for some reason, seeing you with those boys made him feel.. annoyed.
He didn’t even realize he was clenching his fists until Toph hit him, albeit softer, on the shoulder. “Lighten up on the grip, sparky!”
“Sorry,” he said, blinking a couple of times. “Let’s keep going.”
This was going to be a long night for Zuko.
~~~~~~
You had separated from the group to get another drink, having already finished your cup in the time it took to tell a couple stories. You pursed your lips and picked a beer up from the cooler, then placed the cap on the edge of the table and slammed down on top of it with your other hand. The bottle cap fell off and you took a sip, pleased that it worked. It was a party trick you had picked up when you first moved to Kyoshi, and though using a bottle opener was loads easier, this was more fun. 
“Nice move.” You turned around, surprised when you heard a voice behind you, nearly spilling your drink in the process. It belonged to a tall, brown haired boy with some interesting eyebrows and a toothpick in his mouth. 
“Thanks.” You smiled lightly and moved to walk away, but he blocked your path. 
“What, do I not get a name?” His words had an air of cockiness to them, and he leaned against the wall next to the table. “I’m Jet.” 
“Ohhhh, you’re Jet.” You took a sip of your drink to mask your grimace and rolled your eyes, already looking around for Suki to get away to. Your sister had told you about her experiences with this guy, and though there was some irony in him hitting on you all these years later, you weren’t into it. “Yeah, no thanks.” 
You started to walk away but he wrapped his hand around your wrist and pulled you back to him, causing you to let out a small yelp. You were already kinda tipsy, so you got much closer than you would’ve liked (being in the same room with him was too close to be fair) and he smirked at you. Now this, this was definitely how you wanted your night to go. 
“Come on darling, just give me a chance. I’m not that bad.” He was attractive, you would admit that, but the way he was acting was a red flag that you weren’t going to miss again. 
“Oh, I’m sure you are.” You tried to pull your wrist out of his grip but he wasn’t budging. You glared up at him and set your jaw. “Do you really want to do this tonight? Because I’ve got time, buddy.”
“I’m just asking a pretty girl for her name, it’s not a crime. Of course, I’ll also go for your number.” He was smooth as ever, unfazed until another voice cut in.
“She said no. Now leave her alone, Jet.” 
You felt his grip loosen on your wrist and you immediately pulled away, looking over to see who had saved you from the fight that you were sure was imminent. Your eyes lit up when you saw that it was Zuko, and you backed over so that you were on his side. You noticed he ever so slightly positioned himself in front of you. 
“Ah.. You two a thing?” The confidence from before was replaced with what looked like anger with a hint of jealousy. 
“No, he’s just a guy that knows what ‘no’ means,” you shot back. Now you wanted to fight, but Zuko took your hand and shook his head. 
“He’s not worth it. Let’s go, Y/N.” He started walking away and you followed, but were unable to resist one more jab at that cocky jerk. 
“I’m not into jerks that fuck over my sister!” You yelled over your shoulder as Zuko pulled you away. The two of you emerged out of the apartment onto the empty balcony, and you inhaled the fresh air. 
“Thanks for that. I think I would’ve started a fight if I stayed there for another second.” You tipped back the rest of your beer and frowned, twirling the bottle between your fingers before setting it on the ground next to you. “God, this sucks. Why am I drinking it again?” 
“Because you’re a broke college kid that wants to get drunk at a party thrown by other broke college kids?” Zuko offered helpfully. 
You hummed in agreement and leaned your back against the railing, pointing your finger at him. “Right on the mark, mister.” 
He smiled as he leaned against the wall, conveniently ignoring the chair right next to him. You figured it was for his ‘cool guy image’, but it was once again doing it for you. “He didn’t hurt you or anything, right?” 
You snorted and shook your head, running a hand through your hair as you looked into the night. The party was still going on strong back inside, but it was nice to get away for a moment, especially with Zuko. “Nah. If he tried anything, he would be the one getting hurt.”
Zuko chuckled, pushing himself up from the wall and walking over to you. Another thing you had noticed from living with him and being his classmate — this boy could not sit still. “I believe that wholeheartedly.” 
“Does Jet have something against you?” You questioned, casting a glance at him. “Because as soon as you showed up, he looked really angry.” 
“We have some.. messy history. Some stuff that happened in high school that he can’t let go.” Zuko stared down at the ground and you nodded, taking that as a sign to not push further.
“It’s like the only guys I attract are douchebags,” you groaned, letting your head fall back to stare at the sky. “But seriously, thank you. You never know how guys like that get when you reject them.”
“Anything for you.” Zuko’s eyes widened when he realized what he said and he tried to cover it up with a cough, stammering to fix it. “B-because you’re one of my roommates! And my friend! And it’s not like I would just leave one of my friends to fend by themselves especially when they’re drunk—”
“Shhhhhh.” You waved your hand in front of his face, trying to get him to stop. “You, my good sir, talk too much.” You let out a laugh at his expression and mimicked his stance, resting your forearms against the railing and shivering a bit as a gust of wind blew by. “Just.. stand here for a little with me. Appreciate the stars,” you crooned with a flourish of your arm. 
You both stood there in comfortable silence, the sounds of the party raging behind you reduced to mere background noise as you became lost in your surroundings. It was just you, Zuko, and the sky. 
“It’s beautiful,” you mused.
“It is,” he agreed. When you glanced at him, you saw that Zuko’s eyes had never left you. Your face immediately heated up and you averted your gaze with a small smile, self-consciously brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. This time when you shivered you felt something being draped around your shoulders and your eyes widened in surprise when you saw it was Zuko giving you his jacket. You prayed to any god that would listen that he couldn’t see how flushed your cheeks were. 
“What are you doing?” 
“You did say you would borrow mine if you got cold, right?” 
You hummed thoughtfully and slipped your arms into the sleeves, already feeling warmer. Whether it was from not having your whole back exposed or wearing something of Zuko’s though, you didn’t know. “I guess I did.”
When you met his gaze again, it was like some invisible force was stopping you from looking away. All of the sounds of the party faded away, and it was like the world around you had stopped. It was just you and Zuko, and you unconsciously started leaning forward. 
You jumped and nearly screamed when you felt a buzz against your back pocket, letting out a relieved breath when you realized it was only your phone. You pulled out your phone and tried your hardest to look absorbed in it, trying to pretend like you weren’t just about to try and kiss Zuko right then. That moment was completely and wholly ruined. 
“Ugh,” you rolled your eyes as you read the text on your phone and started to walk back inside. “Apparently Aang and Toph have gotten into a debate about… moral relativism? God, I have no idea why they’re talking about that at a party, or who they’re even arguing with, but apparently it’s getting heated. Wanna come with?” 
Zuko chuckled and shook his head. “I think I’ll take a few more moments out here. Parties drain me sometimes.” In truth, he needed a while to process what just happened between the two of you, what he had done. He definitely hadn’t imagined that moment, and he knew he would be thinking of your eyes and how they sparkled in the moonlight for days to come. 
“Ah, I totally get you, man. Take all the time you need, text me if you need anything!” You winked at him and ran back inside, which Zuko reciprocated with a light smile.
~~~~~~
You spent the rest of the night having a great time — drinking more shitty beer with Sokka, dancing with Katara and Toph, singing so badly to the music with Suki that you were amazed they hadn’t kicked you out, and telling stories to anyone who would listen with Aang’s assistance (you two made a great team). The only thing you needed was some time with Zuko - besides the time you spent together out on the balcony you had hardly seen him doing anything that wasn’t hanging on the outside of the party. The not-so-hushed conversations between three drunk girls and the designated driver about it went just as well as one might think. 
“Look how sad he looks! Who comes to a party just to not party?” You caught Zuko’s eye again and waved, which he returned with a smile and a small wave of his own. 
“Zuko does. He’s all ‘look at me! I’m going to show how cool and brooding I am by not doing anything. All the chicks dig it,’” Toph mocked, dropping her voice lower to imitate Zuko. 
“Toph, that is so mean! You can’t even see him.” Suki placed her hands on each side of Toph’s face which Toph immediately slapped away. “You are so beautiful. You are a beautiful blind woman, and we need to dance.” 
“Suki, why are your hands so cold- oh my GOD—” Suki grabbed Toph’s hand and pulled her into the fray, causing you to dissolve into giggles. You grabbed Katara’s shoulder and looked back over at Zuko. 
“He looks so sad, Katara! I can’t stand it!” You stared your sister in the eyes and put your other hand on her shoulder. “I’m gonna ask him to dance. I’m going to pull that beautiful man out of the shadows of his angst and I’m going to make him dance to this trashy pop song with me and bring out his happiness.”
Katara snorted and placed her hand over yours on her shoulder, casting a glance at Zuko as well. “Are you sure? I mean, I’m pretty sure the only reason he’s here is because he has to drive you guys home.”  
“My dear sister, I’m afraid to tell you that you are wrong. No one—” you gestured to yourself. “—can be sad around this.” 
You clapped Katara on the shoulder then pushed your way through the crowd until you got to Zuko, not even giving him a chance to react before you grabbed his hand and started pulling him behind you back into the center of the party. 
“What are you doing?” He yelled, having to raise his voice to be heard over the music and everyone around the two of you. 
“I’m getting you to dance with me!” You grinned, letting go of his hand and facing him once you had gotten far enough in. He looked so out of his element that your eyes softened immediately and you put your hand on his shoulder. 
“Zuko, if you’re uncomfortable then you can tell me and you can go back to what you were doing before. But please, just give this a chance for one minute. I think you’ll have fun.” 
A beat of silence passed before he nodded, and your smile returned. “Y/N, you know I’ve danced before, right?” 
“I don’t doubt it. But you haven’t danced the Y/N way.” The song conveniently changed to an upbeat, commercial pop song, and you gasped. “And this is the perfect song to start with! Come on, just follow my lead!” 
You started to dance like no one was watching, jumping up and down, waving your arms around, and doing some truly ridiculous moves. Zuko stifled a laugh and you beckoned for him to come closer. “Get in on this, man! You promised me one minute, which means one minute of this.” 
Zuko started to inch closer but you grabbed his hand once more and pulled him in, doing all of your moves from before but this time holding onto his hand. You looked so carefree, so happy, that Zuko couldn’t not do this with you. You were right that this wasn’t his scene, but he would do a lot of things if it meant seeing you like this.
Suki ran back to Katara, pulling a disheveled Toph behind her, and she gestured with her head at you and Zuko with a questioning look. “Is Zuko.. dancing? To a trashy pop song?” 
Katara chuckled and nodded. “Yep.” 
“Oh my god, is she wearing his jacket?” 
“Yep.” 
“Zuko doing things at a party and not just brooding in the corner? I think the world’s about to end,” Toph said. 
“I think my sister just has that effect on him, somehow.” Katara sighed happily, looking back at her two friends with a twinkle in her eye. You grabbed onto Zuko’s hands and pulled him closer, swinging your hands back and forth between the two of you as the song changed to a more chill beat. “I haven’t seen him smile this much in ages.” 
You ended up dancing together for a whole lot more than one minute. 
~~~~~~
“I just- I want you guys to know how much I love you. Sokka brought us to this cool ass party, Aang is a ball of literal sunshine, my girls always got my back, and Zuko gave me his jacket because I was cold. Not that I could be cold around you, because you. Are. Hot.” Your words were slightly slurred as you and your friends walked through the parking lot. and your eyes widened as you started taking it off. “Oh shit, do you want this back? I totally forgot that I was wearing it.” 
“No- no, you can keep it! I don’t mind.” Tonight had definitely changed something between you and Zuko. Your time on the balcony together, him giving you his jacket, somehow roping him into dancing like an idiot, and all these compliments that you were just throwing around? His feelings were all over the place, but it was just the party getting to him, right? You two were friends. Nothing else. But the more you flashed that smile at him, the harder it got to convince himself that was all you two were. That it was all he wanted you two to be. 
“Alright, so let me get this straight. Toph and Y/N are coming home with me to our dorm, Zuko is driving the boys back to their apartment, and Suki is abandoning us to get it on with my brother?” Katara questioned, clicking the button on her keys a few times to unlock her car. 
“I’m not abandoning you if I told you about it before we came here!” Suki and Sokka were holding hands, constantly whispering and laughing to each other the entire way out of the apartment. “You know that every party there’s a very real possibility of us going home together.” 
“Yeah, and I try not to think about it,” she said wryly as she helped Toph into the passenger seat. “Make sure they don’t do anything stupid, Zuko?” 
“I can’t make any promises. You know how they are.” 
“Hey! We are two adults in a loving relationship and we are allowed to do whatever we want—” Sokka protested, leaning against Suki for support. 
“We don’t want to hear about that, Sokka! Just— don’t mess up my part of the room, okay? And if you do anything on my bed I will ruin you.” You pointed at him accusingly and Suki gave him a big kiss. 
“Don’t worry, Y/N! It’s all gonna be fine,” Suki grinned at you and poked Sokka’s cheek, and you shook your head. 
“I’m too drunk and too sleep deprived to deal with this,” you grumbled as you climbed into the back seat of Katara’s car, nearly falling over as soon as you sat down. 
“Take care of her, okay?” Zuko muttered to Katara as he walked past her. She mock saluted and grinned. 
“As if I’m capable of anything else.” 
Through the window you could see Aang and Zuko talking about something while you left the parking lot, but you couldn’t hear them. “Whaddya think they’re talking about?” 
“It’s probably nothing,” Katara said with a smile. 
~~~~~~
Soon, you, Katara, and Toph were all back at the dorm, sitting on the floor talking together. It had been a long time since you had gotten some girl time, and no other time was better than after partying your heart out. 
You pulled out your phone and stared at it, tuning out Katara and Toph as they started going on about one of their classes. You had an internal conversation with yourself, then unlocked it and went to your messages. Drunk you was taking control, and drunk you was not the smartest.
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comradekatara · 4 years
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the gaang + sokka’s version of remedial chaos theory
(okay for the uninformed, remedial chaos theory is an episode of the worst best only television show ever made that depicts, from its protagonist’s point of view, what would happen to the group if one individual member were to leave it for a brief while--to pick up a pizza from downstairs. okay now we’re back in.)
REMEDIAL CHAOS THEORY BY SOKKA.
aang goes to get the pizza: with aang out of the room, zuko seizes an opportunity to go back to the kitchen and check in on the soufflé they were making together (mostly zuko contributed to the soufflé and aang said he would airbend it complete “if it needs the help”). the moment zuko leaves the living room, katara makes a joke about his baking that comes across much nastier than she meant it to be. suki dryly comments on the bigotry that underlies that joke. when katara tries to brush the whole thing off, toph backs suki up. sokka tries to deescalate the situation and katara slaps his face. zuko hears the commotion and steps back into the living room just in time to see katara punch a hole through the wall. toph scoffs and earthbends the wall back in shape. katara’s retaliatory move is to drop ice daggers at toph down from the ceiling, but before she can accomplish that, both suki and sokka pull her back. zuko starts crying because this is scary and he doesn’t know what’s wrong. katara says it’s all his fault. now zuko can’t think of anything to do but run out of the apartment screaming aang’s name at the top of his lungs. aang calls back from the bottom of the stairs in the happiest voice possible, “just a sec!” and suddenly everyone stops fighting. well katara gets in one more good kick and then she stops fighting. when aang comes back upstairs with the pizza, katara and toph and suki try to pass it off like nothing happened, but sokka tattles immediately, hoping aang will do an intervention. zuko takes one look at the pizza and its oddly arranged toppings and says, “this pizza looks angry.” the soufflé is flat.
katara goes to get the pizza: toph takes out her vape immediately and passes it around the room. zuko and aang talk proudly about the soufflé they are making together (they could never bring this up in front of katara, who is morally indignant about the consumption of eggs). suki tells a charming story about an orgy she participated in last night and everyone responds supportively, affirming her decisions. toph informs everyone she’s thinking of making katara a hammock for her birthday because dear god does she need it. sokka loosens his tie and unbuttons his top shirt button, feeling unexpectedly, finally, beautifully free. then katara comes back up and promptly complains that some of these pizzas have meat on them, and meat, of course, is murder. 
toph goes to get the pizza: suddenly everyone has a problem they need sokka’s help to resolve. katara drags her feet over to him and says she needs to borrow six thousand dollars to donate to “orphans.” (just... orphans? just orphans, she says.) aang whispers to sokka that he accidentally lost his glider in a fight with a coyote-gecko and he needs to get it back right now. zuko and suki don’t have problems personally, they’re just sitting next to sokka while these conversations happen to him, but after both aang and katara wander off, zuko and suki immediately say which problem they feel warrants more attention. they are, of course, opposite problems. (zuko thinks the orphans need the money; suki feels that aang’s glider is of chief concern.) sokka feels the beginnings of a tension headache. before he can even give either katara or aang an answer, katara walks back up to him and screams at him, claiming he is a monster because he must want all orphans to die. aang wanders onto the fire escape and stares glumly at the open air, wishing he had his glider. when toph stomps back up the stairs, she finds suki consoling aang and zuko writing katara a check while sokka leans his head back and moans in agony. 
suki goes to get the pizza: the dynamic sucks a little, but is otherwise unchanged. katara and zuko bicker over something that doesn’t matter, and aang approaches sokka for advice on something very personal that sokka would prefer not to discuss. with this sucky vibe in place, toph leaves the party and wanders into a strange woman’s apartment down the hall. no one can really blame her for the french exit. when suki returns with the pizza, everyone is kinda bummed out, and when zuko reaches for a slice, katara slaps his hand away and tears well up in his eyes. then they all hear some loud music coming from down the hall and wonder what that’s all about.
sokka goes to get the pizza: when sokka leaves the apartment, suki excuses herself to use the restroom. immediately, everyone starts acting all crazytown bananapants. katara and aang immediately launch into what seems like some kind of telenovela scene with rising romantic music. they begin talking about extremely heavy emotional matters in very loud voices. hoping to distract herself, toph asks zuko a question about calculating the tip. unfortunately the unexpected math question sends zuko into such a panic that he collapses on the floor and begins having an anxiety attack. toph wants to help him, but his reaction is so overwhelming that she just needs a hit of her vape pen first. suki waits to step out of the bathroom until she hears sokka’s keys in the lock. when they both reenter the living room, the room is nothing but a huge cloud of smoke. everyone is very distraught. from the looks of things, toph broke a lamp, probably on purpose. it’s hard to hear oneself think over the loud sound of zuko’s sobbing.
zuko goes to get the pizza: this is the only scenario that would ever happen, because if anyone were to propose to roll a die to see who should perform a chore, zuko would always spring out of his seat to do that chore. the second he is out of the room, for whatever reason, a bunch of old grudges spring to the surface. katara is mad at toph for wandering off during the events of “the chase” (ten years ago). aang says he isn’t mad, exactly, but he is frustrated that suki comes to parties but is always choosing orgies over helping him resolve geopolitical conflicts. suki argues that orgies are vital for world peace too, in their own way, and anyway, it’s not like he’s paying her to do a job. sokka peeks into the kitchen because he’s not sure anyone has looked at that soufflé in a while, and he finds it actively on fire. he puts the fire out, and then, while he’s there, figures he might as well start a new one. he doesn’t know how to make a soufflé but he does shrug and start cracking eggs.
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