#about how when katara is mean to sokka she thinks she is 'punching up' in the same way zuko treats azula
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How conscious do you think Katara of Sokka's pile of neurosis surrounding her safety, their father, or the tribe in general?
Basically, how well do you think Katara understands her brother?
[thinks about my own incredibly weird, callous, prodigious, neurotic brother] does anyone truly understand their brother?
just kidding. sort of. i mean, this is a really difficult question to answer, because as i've already stated, sokka doesn't actually understand himself. and katara doesn't really understand other people very well in general. she has a deep, presiding love for humanity that accords her warmth and nobility, but she also has a pretty rigid way of conceptualizing any sort of moral quandary (she is in the eighth grade) and often misinterprets people's motivations and subconscious desires. (very dorothea brooke core)
for example, in "the painted lady," when katara says, "oh, sokka, you really do have a heart!" she's only partially joking, right? like she genuinely doesn't understand how he can be so "cold" and callous." she doesn't understand his point of view at all, she thinks he just doesn't care. and sokka could probably do a better job of explaining his point of view, granted, but i also understand why he's given up trying to reason with her, because she does not listen to him unless they are in grave danger (at which point she forgets that he is her stupid annoying brother and places all her faith in him lol).
so we, as an attentive audience, know that sokka cares about the wellbeing of impoverished villages destroyed by the fire nation, because we remember the first couple episodes wherein he was prepared to die defending his impoverished village that was destroyed by the fire nation, and we also remember his promise to prioritize katara's safety over the war at large, so we are not surprised when he says, "you need me and i'll never turn my back on you" (the sokka thesis statement). but katara doesn't really understand how much she means to sokka, or how sokka thinks, or how sokka sees himself, or how sokka sees their father, or anything beyond what sokka is willing to show her regarding his psyche, which is ultimately very little.
and it's not katara's fault, to be clear. katara is not a bad sister for not attempting to plumb the depths of sokka's twisted mind. even if she wanted to (which, who would tbh. don't look at me) sokka does not let her. being vulnerable with her (truly vulnerable, not just "i can't make things fly around woe is me") would go against sokka's core programming. protecting katara doesn't just mean protecting her physically (dying for her, attacking anyone who hurts her even if it's aang and he really didn't mean to, etc.) but also emotionally – protecting her innocence, her naïveté, her idealism.
like he'll say shit like "optimism and wonder are cringe and you're a loser for having love in your heart," but it's still so flippant, it's clear that he doesn't consider "provoking/annoying her" and "protecting her" to be mutually exclusive (frankly, anyone who doesn't succumb to the urge to provoke their siblings is simply not human and cannot be trusted) and has no problem criticizing her when he thinks that she's wrong for whatever reason, but he also avoids being vulnerable with her and uses flippancy and deflection to mask his more honest feelings most of the time.
notice how he basically completely shuts down in "the southern raiders," how even though he is standing there the entire time katara and aang are arguing, he says exactly one sentence and lets aang say literally everything else. notice how in the pilot he calls her a freak for waterbending instead of communicating either jealousy that she can do something he can't or fear that her ability will get her killed (again, it's probably a combination of both, but does he even understand that? probably not. because he refuses to introspect). which is why "you need me and i'll never turn my back on you" or even his admission in "sokka's master" that he feels insecure about being a nonbender shocks her so much.
katara and sokka's codependency is mutual, and they love each other a lot. while sokka isn't katara's first priority and entire identity the way katara is for sokka, when sokka is spirited away in "the winter solstice," katara basically shuts down, clings to his boomerang with a blanket around her shoulders and refuses to move from the spot he was taken until he gets back, and when sokka is gone for the day in "sokka's master," she spends the whole day waiting for him to return. and like, both of these take place in the span of no longer than a single day. but as much as they love and need each other, they also do not really understand each other, or themselves.
i would say that sokka understands katara better than katara understands sokka, but sokka also just understands people better than katara does, so that's not really surprising. for example, he knows that she would not benefit from killing yon rha before katara realizes it (and unlike aang, he is not a pacifist). but he does have some blindspots, like how he doesn't understand why she wouldn't want to see hakoda in ba sing se (he interprets it as a purely selfless act, which it just isn't), but again, that's more of a daddy issues blindspot than a sister issues blindspot. they also just have very different worldviews. katara primarily cares about individuals whereas sokka primarily sees systems (with the necessary caveat that he still prioritizes his family), katara sees the best in people whereas sokka sees the worst in people, katara misses the forest for the trees whereas sokka misses the trees for the forest yada yada.
but what's important to understand fundamentally is that katara and sokka have both been dehumanized by the fn imperialist project (true of every atla character, btw) and so their lack of self-knowledge stems from the formative trauma of cultural genocide. those gaps in understanding originate from the roles they have been forced to inhabit, and since sokka's entire identity revolves around what he can and must sacrifice for katara, it's understandable that katara would be unable to acknowledge or even recognize that.
and then again, even beyond the inherent tragedy of their situation, no fourteen year old little sister really understands the neuroses and contradictions and lamentations of her older brother. even if he wore his heart on his sleeve she wouldn't understand him, because katara does encounter plenty of people who are far more obvious about their intentions and she doesn't really understand them either. but she means well. and that's what matters <3
#the-wright#asks#katara&sokka#katara#sokka#analysis#i think the person who understands sokka the best is toph actually#at least by the end of the show#god i love katara so much#calling her dorothea brooke core made me rly emotional? lol#like she doesnt really understand but it doesnt matter because she loves she so deeply and cares so much!!!!#her enduring faith and love and sense of justice for her fellow man........ oh boy :'')#also i have a post in my drafts that i never published bc i still havent really figured out how to phrase it#about how when katara is mean to sokka she thinks she is 'punching up' in the same way zuko treats azula#i have a lot of drafts...#anyway. theyre insane or whatever
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Do you think Zuko was being hypocritical in TSR when he confronted Katara? I read a post saying that even though he acts humble about not deserving the Gaang's trust, he still feels entitled to Katara's trust, which makes him a hypocrite. Idk, what do you think?
No, it doesn't make him a hypocrite, because there is a difference between being humble and self-flagellating, just as there is a difference between being entitled to someone's feelings and trying to figure out why they feel the way they do and offering to help.
And Zuko has come a long way in both respects, because at the beginning of the series he was both entitled and carried a huge amount of self-loathing. But his actions here show that he's learned more healthy behaviors, because even though he does start to give in to his own guilt, he doesn't just accept it when Katara makes a mean remark. What she says in response to him saying he doesn't deserve praise, "yeah, no kidding," is rather cruel because Zuko's remark comes from genuine guilt and a desire to atone, as well as that struggle with his own self esteem that he's had for a long time due to his history of abuse.
Katara doesn't know that, and of course her feelings of hurt are understandable, but at the same time, that doesn't mean Zuko needs to just take mean remarks directed at him, especially being kicked when he's already down. That kind of behavior is neither healthy for Zuko nor Katara. As I said above, it's healthy for Zuko to stand up for himself and develop relationships where he feels like he can do that after his history of abuse (and the fact that he feels like he can highlights the difference between his relationship with the gaang and with Azula/Ozai.)
But it also is healthy for Katara that Zuko wants to find out why she is acting this way, and guesses that it has something to do with her own hurt. Of course he is angry about her mean remarks, but he very quickly figures out that her distrust of him comes from feeling personally hurt by him, and owns up to it.
Let's look at the context, because it isn't just that one remark from Katara that clues Zuko in to what's going on with her.
Aang: Wow, camping ... it really seems like old times again, doesn't it?
Zuko: [Jokingly.] If you really want it to feel like old times, I could, uh ... chase you around a while and try to capture you. [He smiles and the rest of the group laughs, except for Katara.]
Katara: [Sarcastically.] Ha, ha.
This tidbit from the transcript is super interesting, because I didn't catch Katara's sarcastic "ha ha" at Zuko's joke. This isn't the first time she has responded sarcastically to Zuko's jokes, but her reaction to this particular joke is interesting. Because Zuko is joking about how he had hurt them before. Zuko's delivery is rather shy, like he's not sure if it's too soon, but then the joke lands...for everyone except Katara.
Because Katara doesn't just distrust Zuko, her feelings come from seeing him "change" before. She is genuinely hurt by Zuko's joke, because she's still not convinced he might actually decide to chase them again for real. Then the scene continues with the rest of the gaang praising Zuko, oblivious to Katara's feelings.
Sokka: [Holding up his cup.] To Zuko! Who knew after all those times he tried to snuff us out, today he'd be our hero?
Team Avatar: [Everybody except Katara holds up their cups.] Hear! Hear! [Aang nudges him with his elbow, before Toph lightly punches him.]
Zuko: [Smiling.] I'm touched. [Stops smiling.] I don't deserve this.
Katara: [Angrily.] Yeah, no kidding. [Walks away.]
Sokka: What's with her?
Zuko: I wish I knew. [Follows her.]Cuts to shot of the entire campsite.
Sokka: [Voice-over.] What's with him?
Again, everyone praises Zuko except Katara. Then Zuko says his thing and again looks shy and a little guilty for being praised (because abused kid) and Katara makes her comment and walks off. In the show, Zuko does look angry and defensive when Katara says what she says, but notice his response when Sokka says "what's with her?" Zuko says "I wish I knew." He doesn't say, "I don't know why she's acting so irrational" or something that would otherwise imply that her feelings are not valid. He says quite seriously that he wants to know what is wrong. Because at that point he probably already has an idea that it has to do with what happened between the both of then in the caves. And he goes to confront her, because he knows that this is something that they need to hash out between the two of them.
Sokka's reaction is also meant to be funny, but I've talked a lot before about how Katara feels hurt by Sokka not understanding her feelings, and frequently gets frustrated by him because of that. The camera focuses directly on Katara's hurt face when Sokka is praising Zuko, and then Sokka acts like he has no idea why Katara reacted the way she did, and acts flippantly like there is something wrong with her, in contrast to Zuko saying he wants to know what is wrong. Then Sokka humorously repeats his comment about Zuko when he walks off, which also underlines that this is a conflict between Katara and Zuko that only the two of them can work out.
I know Zuko also gets flack for what he says when he confronts her in the next scene, but again, he's allowed to be angry and hurt when Katara is deliberately trying to get that reaction from him, and quickly understands why she feels that way towards him, and his expression when she tells him explicitly that she wants to trust him, but he betrayed her, is one of admission of guilt. But then he offers to help, and doesn't stop trying to help even after she rejects his help.
Of course, he looks hurt, but again, he is allowed to be, and the fact that he still tries to help her and resolve things between them shows a difference between entitlement and genuinely wanting to repair the relationship. If Zuko were entitled to her kindness or trust, he would not try to repair things after she told him there was nothing she could do. He'd act like she was just acting irrational and ignore it like everyone else does, or hope that she'd come around eventually, or offer her things without really trying to get to the bottom of her hurt feelings.
Moreover, continuing to rehash a conflict that has already been resolved in canon and imply that Zuko's feelings towards Katara are not sincere also implies that Katara's forgiveness of him is not sincere. Is Katara a hypocrite for deciding to trust and forgive Zuko? Or is it a repeated theme of the series that people are allowed to change and grow, and that growth is necessary in order to be a better person?
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New beginnings.
chapter 0.3
They all finally left the little village. Each of them a bit quiet then when they originally arrived ,but unlike a sad atmosphere it once was now one of peace. They had learned and now they needed time to process things.
Venti seemed to be looking down on the clouds Appa was flying over. Stretching her Hand as if she wants to touch the cloud. Occasionally Katara would ask some questions to the girl and so Would venti.
Aang was flying Appa in his train of thoughts. No one disturbed him. Everyone gave him time to collect his thought. He was the one who seemed to be affected by this the most.
Katara was sewing her clothes that sokka had torn and Sokka. Well... He was looking at venti ever too curious
"So what magic trick can you do?" Sokka finally asked venti. "In your songs you talked about a magice carpet. Do you have it with you." He beamed
"What magic trick do you want me to show you? And no That was just a song, Sokka ,but I can make a carpet fly." Venti pulled her hand back from the clouds and faced the boy with a smile.
"Awesome! how about something that can help with fighting. Can you something like that?" Sokka continued to make some punching sounds in the air.
"Here let me show you." Venti stood up on appa's little mat. Katara leaving her sewing behind and Aang letting go of appa's ropes to look at the girl.
Venti walked over to just about the edge and extended her arms out to the clouds.
"The clouds are made out of air and water. If I can put it under extreme pressure." She put her hand in a stiff and powerful bending position.
Everyone watched as a piece of cloud flouted and placed itself on her hand. She seemed to have a look of struggling as her eyebrows were together and her hand slightly shaking.
Everyone watched as the cloud spun itself in a fast speed before completing stopping and evaporating away. But something was left. It seemed like a ice shard. No more than the size of a tooth pic.
" You can create ice." Venti fished her sentence as she held the ice pick on her hand.
"Wow cool!" Aang walked over to get a closer look. So did Katara.
"How did you do that. Isn't that water bending?" Katar questioned as she took the pick from Venti to investigate further, Aang following around as Katara held it.
" That's it?" Sokka replied bored.
"What do you mean sokka. Venti just did some water bending but she's an Airbender." Aang defended her.
"Well it's not water bending to say. I'm not the Avatar. But water does have some elements of Air and hence why I am control a small part of it." Venti explained to them.
"Wait." Katara opened her water cap to bend a small ball of water out. "Can you bend this?"
Venti extended her fingers out focused on the ball of water that katara was holding.
"Let go in 3...2...1."
Katara let go of any bending she was still holding on her water ball. The water splashed into appa's carpet.
If someone like Aang was not paying attention they would fail to miss just the little droplet of water that still stayed and hovered in the air for a second longer than the rest.
"Ha, nope not a water bender." Venti Chuckled.
"What else do you know?" Aang asked enthusiasticly.
Venti held her hand in a thinking motion as if she was in deep thought. "I can sand bend, but that's not special. Every Airbender can do that."
"Have you meet other Airbenders?" Aang asked again innocently curious about the other Airbenders that mangaered to escape the mass murder of almost all Airbenders.
"Yeah I have! There's Malan. She's great you'd love her she's like an earth bender but with air. She uses the air and surrounds rocks with it and bends it." Venti chuckled at the memory "I remember her using that technique to prove she was an 'earthbender' after the firenation got suspicious as to why there was wind on a sunny hot day."
Venti continued to laugh with tears prickling from her eyes. Noticing how Aang had a somber smile on his face as he looked at her laugh.
"I'm sorry Aang."
"Don't be. I'm actually happy to know that I'm not the last Airbender." Aang crossed his leg to sit down on the carpet with a happy smile on his face.
"ARG! Enough about this. Venti you do have money right. We can stop by somewhere and get some food real quick." Sokka said as his stomach started rumbling.
"Sure." Venti crawled over to her bag. Searching before she suddenly stops and slowly turns to sokka. Katara scolding him about how they just ate
"I take back what I said..." She hesitantly smiled. "I don't have my money bag." Venti held her head in frustration "Rohan that earthbeding snake."
"NOOO" sokka exaduraded as he slowly slumped down. His growling stomach accompanied him.
"Come one Sokka we can hunt for food like we alway do." Katara set down to pick up her sewing work"
"Yeah and I can also help." Venti said enthusiastic but sokka only replied with hungry groans.
"It's not the same~" he moaned out as he faked cried.
Aang stoop up from the mat to go sit on Appa's head. He turned to face us with a bright and beaming smile. "It's also getting late. We should let Appa rest too."
Aang flew Appa down and they landed in an area that was covered in trees. Once they were down venti and Katara started setting up camp to sleep on.
Sokka was the first to go get fire wood with Aang as Katara was taking out their sleeping bags.
Once sokka was back he threw the fire wood in a pile and slouched into his sleeping back.
"Goodnight you all." He said in a sad and lazy tone
"Sokka the sun is still setting."
"No food, No sokka."
Aang deadplaned at him. He moved to go grab something to start a small fire with so they could get warm before night actually began.
Katara stood up to go fetch some water from the rivers. Leaving Aang ,who was zoned out in the fire, and Venti who was going through her bag.
"So what's the plan, Mr avatar." Venti asked while she was still shuffling through her bag. "You mastered every element or?"
"No." Aang pulled his knees closer to his face.
Venti decided to not say anything and wait until Aang was ready to continue.
"Water is next, then earth and then fire."
Aang said still focused on the flickering flame.
Venti nodded at his answer. "And air."
Aang turned to look at her with a confused face. "What do you mean? "
"I might have not been raised in the temples ,but I do know quite a few things you might not know and hey you might teach me a thing or too."
Katara finally returned from fetching the water. By now the sun had fully set the sky was a deep purple colour.
Katara took a seat next to Aang around the fire while venti was still standing beside Appa.
"Tell me about the temples. I've only heard about them through stories and songs."
Aang seemed to light up at the idea of that.
"Even better we'll take you to the temples."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Katara inturpted. "We need to get you to the northern tribe so you can learn Water bending, remember."
Aang sloched at katara's comment.
"I mean katara's right. We should probably focus on your avatar duty. I can always go visit the temples after." Venti tried to cheer up.
A yawn found itself into venti's mouth.
"I'm gonna join sokka in the dream relm." Venti walked over to her sleeping bag that was on the other side of sokka's bag. Just one meter away from earth other. She patted it down before climbing in to close her eyes.
Leaving Aang and Katara to enjoy the heat from the fire that continued to burn bright.
#x reader#fluff#avatar#angst#avatar aang#aang x airbender reader#aang x reader#katara x aang#atla aang#atla x airbender reader#atla x reader#alta sokka#atla
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The Southern Air Temple
I'm trying to use a read more link to shorten this post a bit, let's see if this works.
So pretty
So I somehow made it to episode three without realising that the old guy is called Iroh. My limited knowledge of this show tells me that he's a main character and I somehow missed that he existed for two episodes. Good job me.
Zuko honey you need to learn to lie. You're supposed to be one of the bad guys - that involves lying!
This Jao guy has been onscreen for like 40 seconds and already I want to punch his face.
Appa has wiggly legs when he flies. That is so cute.
The southern air temple is very blue for an orange-coded nation.
I get the impression that Jao likes the sound of his own voice. Do you think he invited Zuko and Iroh in for a drink just so he could monologue?
Nevermind he was stalling for time.
I like the plinky atmospheric music that plays at the air temple.
"What's wrong?" says the Katara, the girl who's already had two whole monologues to Aang about how changed the temple might be. What do you think is wrong Katara?
Sokka is a good friend.
Katara, on the other hand, is so efficient that she manages to both coddle Aang and assault Sokka in a single move. Also I guess waterbenders are snow benders too. Makes sense. Presumably that means they can bend water in any state? So mist, steam, snow, ice, water, fog?
Appas!!! Baby Appas!!!
Aang's face looks weird here.
The sound effects! They got me. Also the guy on the end has the weirdest skunk beard.
The Giatso guy seems like such a well-rounded person. I want to sit down with him and chat.
Yeah, good point. Aang did survive a century. And good on Katara for acknowledging that.
Airbenders invented pipe organs in this world. I bet they had bagpipes too.
Having a threshold that hoots when you cross it is a nifty security feature.
Is that avatar a waterbender? Can you tell? They look like a water tribe person to me, but is there anything like Aang's tattoos in waterbender culture that Katara saw on the statue?
Poor Sokka, the only normal person on a trip full of inexplicable glowiness and missing meats.
"You're making a sound!" I'm calling it now, Katara is no good in a crisis. Also good on me for noticing the hooting threshold. I thought that was just worldbuilding, but turns out it's plot relevant.
Benny Hill chase, lemur edition. Also that's twice Sokka's fallen on his chin this episode.
This Jao guy does asshole so well. Also how is he getting away with talking to two princes like this? These two must be seriously unpopular in whatever court the fire nation has.
So it is a burn scar. And I think losing a duel is why he's exiled?
Time to glow! Honestly, an under-reaction.
That's a lot of avatars. If avatars live normal human lifespans then I feel like this world has been around a lot longer than ours. There are 45 in this picture and that's not counting the ones on the spiral on the floor, and who knows how high this chamber goes. 45 x 80 = 3600 years in one picture.
Sokka gets ragdolled for the third time this episode.
Some not so subtle exposition from Katara. His avatar spirit makes him glow. Last episode it was the desperation of losing the fight with Zuko, this time it's grief. Maybe some anger too? So strong emotion triggers it.
Pretty.
The end credits music plays here, or at least something like it. I'm guessing it's the music associated with firebending?
How have none of these guys singed off their hair yet? Or their clothes? And how many times did they reuse that shot of Zuko getting pushed back?
Fire breakdancing!
Did they reuse the kicking shot too?
What are the win conditions for this duel? Both Zuko and Jao end up on the ground at some point, but Zuko wins? Also does this mean that Jao is now banished from the fire nation? Actually is this taking place in the fire nation? They control the port but is this conquered land?
Serious strength from Iroh. He just pushes Jao back like he's standing on ice. Such a casual flick of the wrist and he goes flying. How?
Raw lines from Iroh here. Serious dad points for the "I told you jinseng is my favourite" joke. In my experience blatant misdirection is about the only way to get teenage boys to accept parental affection.
I'm guessing there was a timeskip between this episode and the last one? Because I don't believe that Katara's speech would have talked Aang out of being glowy if they hadn't had more time than we've seen on screen to bond. A week or two in Appa's saddle maybe?
The lemur speaks English! And somewhere on this temple is a still-functioning orchard/garden.
"we're all that's left of this place" how can he be so happy/calm when he says that? That takes a crazy level of zen.
The whole ending sequence where they're flying away from the beautifully purple-tinted clouds and no words are spoken is so well done. Leaves you with such a contemplative feeling. Also clever. It's Aang and the lemur's home, so it's Aang and the lemur that look back as they leave.
Credits inform me that I have been mispelling Zhao and Gyatso and also that's Jason Isaacs! He is indeed very good at assholes, so excellent casting choice.
Final thoughts
Aang dealt with that whole episode a lot better than I would have. Either going glowy is cathartic and burns through angst or he has superhuman levels of zen, because I can't imagine anyone being still functional after finding out what he did. I'm assuming for Aang the time in the ice felt like a few days at best, so he saw Gyatso alive maybe two or three weeks ago? And now here's his century old skeleton? Also where are the rest of the skeletons? Did the fire nation send cleanup crews? That's a morbid thought.
Having Aang find Gyatso's skeleton specifically? This show doesn't pull punches. Which would have had more impact: Aang finding a room full of unidentifiable airbender skeletons, or Aang finding Gyatso's skeleton specifically?
Zuko is an underdog in his own nation, with only Iroh on his side. Even his crew ratted him out. I have a nasty feeling that Zhao's comments on Zuko's relationship with his father were spot on - why would Zuko have reacted so strongly otherwise? Either Zuko is an unwanted spare, or Zuko is the oldest in line to the throne and his father prefers the younger sibling and is trying to get Zuko killed by sending him on a wild goose chase. Which has turned out to not be so wild after all. Maybe Iroh is with him because they're both the unwanted younger spares? Iroh being the firelord's younger brother, and Zuko being the crown prince's/princess's younger brother?
This was pretty much the first demonstration of firebending's capabilities, and I have to wonder how the war is still going on? How has the fire nation not won yet? These guys have an army of walking flamethrowers that presumably never run out of fuel. Get them to advance in formation while maintaining a rolling wall of flames and they could be unstoppable.
I really liked the music in this episode. The plinky theme of the air temple contrasted with the more aggressive fire bending chanting. And the colours! How the air nation is blue and purple and the fire nation is all reds and oranges. The clouds were particularly enchanting this episode. I know nothing about animation, so I'm just guessing here, but were some of those clouds actual real clouds that got inserted or animated over or however that works?
Something that I'm noticing with this show after only three episodes is how quickly they can establish depth and interest in a character. Gyatso is on screen for maybe a minute in a flashback but I feel like I know him intimately, I know exactly the kind of person he was, and I understand some of why Aang is the person he is too. Zhao hadn't even finished his introductory scene before I wanted to wack him on the head with a shovel. Crazy efficient storytelling.
Everyone was on brand this episode: Katara the bleeding heart, Aang the optimist, Sokka the teenage boy with a practical bent (did they end up restocking on food beyond what the lemur brought?) and Zuko the anger management poster boy. I feel like this was the first time we got a good look at Iroh. He seems an old hand at Zuko wrangling.
The two storylines weren't connected this time like in the last two episodes. A bit jarring, but ok.
Are we getting a new team member? Is the lemur a permanent addition? I hope so.
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How’s it going @juniperhillpatient ?
I just read chapter VII of “The devil You Know”. The chapter was a roller coster and the story is really heating up. Poor Yue…
Was it truly a mere accident that Sokka’s coffin laid on top of Yue’s and Fy Lee”. He is very suspiciously close to many deaths. Toph was killed soon after she found out he and Suki were implicated in (I think it was Chan’s?) death. Speaking of Suki, it’s quite interesting when she protested how her phone wasn’t working, only for Azula to notice that it suddenly began to work again when it came time for Yue’s video to appear. Yue of course being an idvidyal that Suki has a grudge against. Via Sokka. Speaking of Yue, her POV this chapter was a gut punch. As was Katara’s in the beginning.
Also Jets’s POV drew several points about Ty Lee from his perspective. That she was smarter than she initially appeared. And that she six identical sisters. In appearance and voice.
What if Ty Lee hadn’t died at all. What if merely faked her death (by sacrificing one of her sisters) and engineered the call to Azula. Blaming Zuko for something he hadn’t actually done. From Jet’s PoV we know that Ty Lee’s parents wouldn’t actually notice if one of their daughters disappeared. Which may make it easy for Ty Lee to fake her death and switch with one of her sisters. If indeed she is one of the killers. I could just be reading into something that is’t there after all.
One of the killers expressed heartbreak over Azula. And we know that something happened between her and Ty Lee. Maybe enough to push Ty Lee into being a killer? Their’s also Mai, who may have been acting the fool this whole time. Her anger at Azula is readily apparent. My distrust of the two stems from canon. Though their actions are understandable I’ve got a thing about people betraying their friends. So their deeds at the Boiling Rock still leave a bad tastes in my mouth. Minus saving Zuko/Sokka/Suki’s lives of course.
So I like Suki and Sokka for Ghostface. With Mai coming in as a secondary suspicion. And If my theory about Ty Lee faking her death is right, she immediately jumps to #I suspect
In the end scene, where Katara is perving on Azula. Is Azula blacking out like in the first chapter? In which Zuko is taking of Azula in that moment?
And a message for Azula. “Tell your girlfriend important shit! Your brother being accused (supposedly at least) in being a killer definitely qualifies. Also don’t cheat on her”. That’s a bit fucked up. Unless you blacked out for it. Which makes Zuko’s action monumentally more fucked up. But then, every character in this story is a bit screwed in the head. But then, that’s one (though by no means the only) of the reasons we love all the ATLA main crew (Gaang+Dangerous ladies+Yue).
Also, I’m pretty sure Kiyi is Hakoda’s and Ursa’s bastard child. Does Sokka suspect which married women that Hakoda slept with (Ursa?). He’s been a big brother figure to her thus far, so maybe. Out of all the characters, I’m hoping Kiyi lives. Even more so than Azula or Katara (I know, It me saying that!). Also hopeful she doesn’t end up as one of the killers…
I enjoyed the chapter, and am greatly looking forward to next! I want to see this mystery unraveled!
Bestie I wish you could like.....watch my face journey as I read through your speculations because I had a BALL reading this!
I seriously LOVE all the theorizing & I feel like I'm interacting less than usual with readers when it comes to this story because I'm always just like -
"love the theories :))))" but also I literally CANNOT respond with anything to theories without giving away if you're close or way off LMAO
But just know. I feel so validated in putting as much thought as I do into this story (trust me it's a lot lol) & I just get SO excited about seeing the different possibilities when I get messages such as this. Just - AHH !! :)
As for Kiyi - I can go ahead & confirm that she is indeed Ursa & Hakoda's child. I don't consider this a spoiler given it is pretty much confirmed in the latest update. More on how much Sokka knows about this very soon!
Anyway - THANK YOU. Whenever I see notifications from you I get so happy because you are so thoughtful & insightful & so supportive <3
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Avatar:TLA (Part 6)
Request: None
Requested By: Nobody
Pairing: Zuko x reader
Summary: The Fortune Teller
Warnings: none?
A/N: Buckle up boys and girls. This series is gonna be a long one.
Word Count: 5K+ (someone help)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You had landed on a beach, giving Appa a rest. You had set up a tent and a campfire. A big green fish was splashing in and out of the water in the distance.
“Look!” Katara said, pointing at it. The fish continued jumping.
“He’s taunting us.” Sokka declared. “You are so going to be dinner!” He ran over to the tent, grabbed something and began swinging at the water. “Hey, where’s the fishing line?”
“Oh. I didn’t think you would need it, Sokka.” Aang said, holding up an object. Sokka observed it.
“Aw, it’s all tangled.” He complained.
“Not tangled, woven.” Aang explained. He turned. “I made you a necklace, Katara. I thought since you lost your other one.” He held it up and grinned. Your heart melted where you stood. You couldn’t keep the goofy grin off your own face.
“Thanks, Aang.” Katara said, walking up and taking the necklace from his outstretched hands. “I love it.”
“Great, Aang. Maybe instead of saving the world, you can go into the jewelry making business.” Sokka complained.
“I don’t see why I can’t do both.” Aang replied with a shrug. Sokka heard a splash and he looked to the water, the fish still jumping around. He threw the fishing pole, the sharp end landing in the water. The fish jumped over it seconds later.
“Stop taunting me!” He complained, drawing his knife and wandering into the water. You and Aang watched the desperate boy.
“So? How do I look?”
You both turned. Aang blushed upon seeing Katara. You casted the airbender a side glance and smirked.
“You mean all of you? Or just your neck?” He asked, tugging on the collar of his shirt. “I mean, both look great.”
Sokka emerged from the water, holding the fish. It was as big as his torso. “Smoochy, smoochy. Someone’s in loooveee.” He mocked, pretending to kiss the fish, which slapped him in the face with its tail. Sokka dropped it in response and fell backwards into the water.
“I…..well…..” Aang started.
“Stop teasing him, Sokka. Aang’s just a good friend.” She said, walking forward and patting his head. “A sweet little guy. Just like Momo.” She said, petting the lemur’s head as well. You visibly winced.
I bet that hurt, you thought. You knew this was true when Aang let out a very mopey, “thanks.” You frowned and walked forward, picking the kid up in a bone-crushing hug. This only lifted the curve of his frown slightly. You placed him back down just as Sokka walked forward. You looked him over.
“You’re soaked to the bone.” You commented.
“I don’t wanna talk about.” He replied glumly. Then a loud growl was heard. Aang airbended to the top of a large rock to get a better look.
“Someone’s being attacked by a platypus-bear!” He yelled before leaping down to help.
“Oh, hello, there. Nice day, isn’t it?” The man asked calmly. You jumped down as well. Aang, however, didn’t seem at all calm.
“Make noise! He’ll run off!” He advised. Sokka and Katara rushed down.
“No! Play dead! He’ll lose interest!” Sokka countered. The man ducked under another blow.
“Woah! Close one!” He noted. Your eyes widened.
“Run downhill! Then climb a tree!” Katara instructed.
“No! Punch him in the bill!” Sokka shouted.
“Then run in zig-zags!” Aang added. You rolled your eyes. This was getting you nowhere.
“No need. It’s going to be fine.” The man assured. The creature roared again, swinging madly. He took a rather large chunk of bark off a tree. Aang leaped between it and the man. He held out his hands, ready for a fight.
“Woah, there!”
The creature roared again, and rose taller, when it heard a roar behind him. Appa. The platypus-bear laid an egg and crept away. Sokka ran over and picked up the egg, clutching it against his chest.
“Lunch!” He turned to the man. “Lucky for you, we came along.”
“Thanks. But everything was already under control.” The man assured. “Not to worry. Aunt Wu predicted I’d have a safe journey.”
“Aunt who?” Aang asked.
“No. Aunt Wu. She’s the fortuneteller from my village. Awful nice: knowing your future.”
“Wow. It must be. That explains why you were so calm.” Katara noted.
“But the fortuneteller was wrong. You didn’t have a safe journey, you were almost killed!” Sokka butted in.
“But I wasn’t. All right. Have a good one.” The man said, bowing and beginning to walk away. He stopped and turned. “Oh. Aunt Wu said that if I met any travelers, to give them this.” He said, handing Aang a package. He turned and left.
“Maybe we should go see Aunt Wu and learn our fortunes. It could be fun.” Katara offered.
“Oh, come on. Fortunetelling is nonsense.” Sokka said as Aang ripped open the package.
“What do you know? An umbrella!” Aang exclaimed, enthusiastic as he opened it and held it above his head. Just then, a rumble of thunder was heard. It started to rain. Katara rushed under the umbrella with Aang.
“That proves it.” She said.
“No it doesn’t.” You and Sokka said simultaneously.
“You can’t really tell the future.” Sokka said, holding the egg above his head in a pitiful attempt to keep him dry. You bended water over your head to make a shield.
“I guess you’re not really getting wet, then.”
“Katara, it could have just been a precaution. Some people get sick when there’s a storm coming. Maybe that’s how she could tell.”
Sokka somehow slipped and the egg in his hands flew in the air and cracked on his head, the eggshell acting as a hat. You all began walking when Sokka spoke up again.
“Of course she predicted it was going to rain. The sky’s been gray all day.” He said.
“Just admit you might be wrong, and you can come under the umbrella.” Katara offered.
“Look, I’m going to predict the future now. It’s going to keep drizzling.” He said in a mocking tone before crossing his arms. “See?”
Just then, the rain stopped. Everyone looked up at the clear sky. “Man, the universe hates you.” You muttered. Sokka’s shoulders drooped.
“Tell me about it.” He grumbled.
“Not everyone has the gift, Sokka.” Aang commented.
Sokka stopped walking and sighed. Aang, Katara and Appa walked on ahead, Appa shaking himself off, spraying Sokka. You turned around and walked over to him, putting your arm around his shoulder and walking.
~~~~~~~~~
When you entered the village, there was a gate with some ducks quacking noisily. You walked through until you came up to a man by a building. He bowed, gesturing at the door.
“Aunt Wu is expecting you.” He informed.
“Really?” Katara asked, excited. She and Aang walked in with smiles on their faces, while you followed Sokka in. Sokka had a frown on his face, and you held a curious expression. When you entered and the door shut behind you, a girl wearing pink came out. She had her dark hair divided and pulled up into pigtails, though they were in the air, not drooping like normal.
“I’m Meng. I’m Aunt Wu’s assistant.” She spoke. She caught glimpse of Aang and her facial expression changed. “Well, hello there.” She said, her tone flirtatious. You rolled your eyes so far, they almost disappeared in the back of your head.
“Hello.” Aang replied dismissively.
“Can I get you some tea? Or some of Aunt Wu’s special bean-curd puffs?”
You made a face.
“I’ll try a curd puff.” Sokka announced as you all sat down on pillows on the floor. Meng held her hand out to silence Sokka.
“Just a second.” She told him, before leaning down to Aang’s sitting height. “So what’s your name?”
“Aang.” He replied simply. She gasped.
“That rhymes with Meng!”
You groaned and fell backward, rubbing your hands up and down your face. “This is so cringy.” You muttered to yourself. She, however, continued.
“And you’ve got some pretty big ears, don’t you?”
You sat up. “That’s a rude thing to say.” They ignored you.
“I….guess.” Aang replied.
“Don’t be modest. They’re huge!” Sokka interjected. You elbowed him hard in the ribs, earning a yelp. Aang covered his ears, feeling insecure.
“Well, Aang. It’s very nice to meet you. Very nice.”
“Likewise.”
She left, casting the Avatar one last glance. You shuddered, uncomfortable.
“I can’t believe we’re in here in the house of nonsense.” Sokka commented.
“Try to keep an open mind, Sokka.” Katara replied, tired of his attitude. “There are things in this world that just can’t be explained.”
“Like why the world hates us? Why its goal is to make us uncomfortable, and push us down?” You asked. They all stared at you in shock. Katara shook her head, recovering.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to get some insight into your future?” She asked.
“Sure.” You replied. “As long as it’s true, and not a scam.” You said, crossing your arms over your chest. Sokka nodded and copied your action.
“Exactly.”
You heard a voice.
“That’s so romantic. I wonder if my true love will give me a flower.” Meng said, glancing at Aang. She was talking to another helper. Aang must have heard the conversation, because he spoke up.
“Good luck with that.”
The other helped said something else, before Meng shoved her away and walked toward Aang, carrying a platter. She tripped and Aang steadied the dish, his hands atop hers. She blushed and you almost gagged.
“Enjoy your snack.” She said hurriedly, standing up and leaving. Sokka grabbed the platter and shoveled food in his face as fast as he could.
“Welcome, young travelers.” A voice spoke. You all looked up and saw an older woman, wearing yellow robes. Resting on her head was a moon shape, on its side so it looked like a smile, and a circle figure was over it. “Now who’s next?” Getting no response, she added, “don’t be shy.”
Everyone turned to look at Katara. “I guess that’s me.” She said, standing and following the woman around the corner. Sokka had continued to stuff his face.
“Not bad. Not bad.” He complimented. Seeing the strange look the Avatar was sending him, he offered him the platter, making a noise. Aang pushed them gently back into his hands.
“I’m good on puffs.” He admitted. Sokka offered you some, and you denied the offer as well. Sokka shrugged and continued eating.
“So…what do you think they’re talking about back there?” Aang asked, rubbing his head. You shrugged. Sokka swallowed hard.
“Boring stuff, I’m sure. Love.” He started. You held your hand over your mouth to contain the sudden laughter that wanted to burst from your lungs. He continued. “Who she’s gonna marry. How many babies she’s gonna have.” He sipped his tea, as you watched the color drain from Aang’s face.
“Yeah…..dumb stuff like that.” He spoke, non-convincingly. “Well, I gotta find a bathroom.” He said, before running out of the room. Sokka laid down on the unused pillows. You smiled softly and shook your head.
Aang came back a few minutes later, a rather large grin on his face.
“Looks like someone had a pretty good bathroom break.” Sokka noted. You smirked and quirked an eyebrow. Aang looked like he’d been trapped.
“Yeah, when I was in there-”
“I don’t even wanna know.” Sokka cut him off, raising his hand. Aunt Wu came around the corner with Katara.
“Okay. Who’s next?” She asked. Sokka stood and stretched.
“Okay. Let’s get this over with.”
“Your future is full of struggle and anguish.” She told him. “Most of it, self-inflicted.”
“But. You didn’t even read my palms or anything!”
“I don’t need to. It’s written all over your face.” She replied. You turned to Sokka and noticed that, yes, he didn’t look very cheerful. Aunt Wu gestured at Aang. “You, then. Come with me.”
She led Aang out of the room and Katara walked over to you, a big smile on her face. You raised an eyebrow. “You must have heard something you liked.” You commented.
“She said I was-” She cut herself off, looking to her brother. She dropped her voice into a whisper. “She said I was going to marry a great bender.”
Your mind immediately went to the young Avatar. “Really? Interesting.” You commented. “So, you….believe her then?”
“Of course. Don’t you?”
You furrowed your eyebrows. “I’m not sure. Things can be coincidences. For all we know, she could be making the stuff up. And by the time we figure it out, she’ll be way out of our reach. Besides, the future is changing all the time. You can’t rely on it.”
Just then, Aunt Wu came in, Aang following. “It would seem you are the only one left.” Aunt Wu told you. You sighed, following her around back. She sat you down. “I’m going to read your palm.” She informed. You rolled your eyes slightly, reaching out your hand. She studied it for a moment.
“You will fall in love.” She declared.
“It’s not really a surprise.” You muttered. “Most people do.”
“He will also be a great bender. Very talented. Much power. A bit of hot-head.”
You crossed your free arm over your chest in disbelief. “Awfully vague.” You noted. But, she continued.
“You will have felt many things towards him. Hate, anger, disgust. But then, as you grow, pity, understanding, affection, and love.”
Your eyebrows shot up to your hairline in surprise at the detail. You instinctively pulled your hand away. “That’s enough. Thank you.” You said, wandering out to your friends.
“Y/n? Are you alright? You look a little pale.” Sokka commented.
“I’m fine.” You replied dismissively. “Let’s get out of here.”
“You read my mind.”
You wandered outside as Sokka started talking again. “Well, now you got to see for yourselves: fortunetelling is just a big hoax.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re going to make yourself unhappy your whole life.” Katara told him, crossing her arms.
“That woman is crazy! My life will be calm, and happy, and joyful!” He kicked a rock. It went sailing into a sign, bouncing off of it and hitting him in the head. He fell. “That doesn’t prove anything.” He commented, pulling himself to his feet.
“Well, I liked my predictions. Certain things are going to turn out very well.” Katara informed, folding her hands together.
“They sure are.” Aang replied, grinning.
“Why? What did she tell you?” Katara asked, curious.
“Some stuff. You’ll find out.” He answered. Your eyes widened as your eyebrows shot up.
“What was that supposed to mean?” You asked, a teasing tone in your voice.
“Nothing. What did she tell you?” He asked, trying to change the subject. You flushed pink.
“I-uh. It was nothing important.” You informed, crossing your arms protectively over your chest. Katara raised an eyebrow while Aang and Sokka shrugged it off and walked away. Katara turned to you.
“Really?” She asked. “Nothing important?”
“Well. It wasn’t exactly uncommon.”
“What did she say!?” She asked, a gleam in her eyes. You raised an eyebrow.
“Just something about I’ll fall in love with a great bender, and I’ll hate him at first, but grow to love him.” You murmured quickly.
“Y/n! That’s totally important!”
“It is?”
“Yes! It’s life changing! Aw! You’re going to fall in love!”
You rolled your eyes. “Most people do.”
“With someone you used to hate? With a great bender?” She suddenly gasped. “We’re both supposed to fall in love with great benders!” She exclaimed, excited. You huffed.
“Let’s go catch up with the others.” You muttered, walking away.
~~~~~~~~~
When you found them, there was a crowd of people. The entire town, or so it appeared. Everyone was looking up.
“What’s with the sky?” Katara asked.
The same man that was attacked earlier answered her. “We’re waiting for Aunt Wu to come and read the clouds. To predict the fate of the whole village.”
Aang pointed upwards. “That cloud kind of looks like a fluffy bunny.”
‘You’d better hope that’s not a bunny. The fluffy bunny forecasts doom and destruction.” The man informed. You gave him a look.
“Do you even hear yourself?” Sokka asked him. You smiled and nodded in agreement.
“The cloud reading will tell us if mount Makapu will remain dormant for another year, or if it will erupt.” A woman said.
“We used to have a tradition of once a year, going up the mountain and checking the volcano ourselves. But, ever since Aunt Wu moved to the village, twenty years ago, we have a tradition of not doing that.” He explained happily.
“This guy’s nuts.” You muttered.
“I can’t believe you would trust your lives to that crazy old woman’s superstition.” Sokka told him. Katara put her hand on her brother’s shoulder.
“Shh. She’s coming.”
You turned, and sure enough, she walked up the steps, followed by the man that was standing outside her building. Everyone cheered as she walked by, save for you and Sokka.
“Hey, Aang.” Meng started. “Don’t you think that cloud looks like a flower?” You rolled your eyes, remembering the comment she had made before Aunt Wu read everyone’s ‘predictions’.
“Sure. I guess.” Aang replied. He pushed her aside. “Hey, Katara. Don’t you think that cloud looks like a flower?”
“Shh!” She shushed him. You raised an eyebrow. Aunt Wu spoke.
“Bending arrow cloud.” You immediately thought of Aang. She looked down at a book. “Good crops this year! Nice, big harvest.”
“Darn good news!” An old man said, hugging his wife.
“Wavy moon shape cloud. Let’s see.” She looked down at the book again. “Going to be a great year for twins.”
Two children cheered and high-fived in the distance.
“Why is that a prediction?” You asked quietly, gesturing at the book. “What on earth does that mean? And why is it important?”
“I know!” Sokka agreed. “This is nonsense!”
Your comments were ignored, as Aunt Wu continued.
“Cumulous cloud, with a nub coming off the end of it.” She paused. “The village will not be destroyed by the volcano this year!” She informed. The town cheered. Through all the yelling, you could still pick out your friends voice.
“Since I got you here, there’s something I want to tell you.” Aang started telling Katara, rubbing the back of his head. Momo sat atop his shoulder. “I like you, more than normal.” He confessed. Katara, having not heard him, ran forward.
“Nevermind.” Aang spoke softly. Your heart shattered into a million pieces. The poor boy. You wrapped him up in a hug, placing your chin on his tattooed head. You rubbed comforting circles on his back.
“She just didn’t hear you.” You told him.
“You know!?” He asked, pulling away slightly.
“Aang, I’m not blind. I’m not deaf, either. She’ll come around, based on what she’s told me.”
“What did she tell you?!” The boy questioned, a mix of fear and joy on his face.
“I can’t tell you that. Might mess with time…..or…something.” You said, quirking your eyebrow.
“I can’t believe these saps. Someone really needs to scream some sense into them.” Sokka complained, walking by you and Aang. You shared a look, and jogged to catch up with the aggravated teen.
“They seem happy, Sokka.” Aang observed.
“Not for long. I’m going to prove Aunt Wu’s predictions are nonsense.” He informed. Your eyes widened.
“Sokka, are you sure that’s such a good idea? I mean you’re right, of course, but I don’t think-”
“They need to learn.” He stopped abruptly, and turned, grabbing a man by his collar. “Hey, you. I bet Aunt Wu told you to rear those red shoes, didn’t she?”
“Yeah. She said I’d be wearing red shoes when I met my true love.” He spoke dreamily, clasping his hands together on his chest. Sokka hummed.
“And how many times have you worn those shoes since you got that fortune?”
“Everyday.”
“Then of course it’s going to come true!!” Sokka shouted. You nodded, glad that maybe the predictions weren’t true, after all. Or at least, they could be affected. You weren’t quite sure why you didn’t want her predictions to be true. Maybe because you felt like you didn’t have the time or the energy for this? You weren’t sure.
“Really? You think so?! I’m so excited!” The man said, pulling you out of your thoughts. He walked away, more enthusiastic than ever. You raised an eyebrow, and smirked slightly. Sokka kicked another rock, and it went sailing, a honk being heard. You watched as a duck flew over, landed on Sokka, and started attacking him with its beak. You winced, watching him crawl away in pain.
Sokka continued wandering around, questioning people and their trust in the fortuneteller. He was now shouting at a man.
“I don’t care what Aunt Wu told you! You have to take a bath sometime!!” Sokka shouted. The dusty man simply smiled before turning and walking away. Sokka face-palmed.
“Hey, Sokka. You know some stuff about ladies, right?” Aang asked.
“Some stuff? You’ve come to the right place.” Sokka informed, placing an arm around Aang’s shoulder. Now it was your turn to face-palm. You groaned, but turned around, seeing as this was none of your business and they weren’t talking to you, and hoped that Aang wouldn’t listen to Sokka.
In trying to not listen to their private conversation, you looked at the volcano as your mind drifted back to what Aunt Wu said. You ran your hand through your hair. Her words echoed in your mind. ‘Great bender. Powerful. Hot-head. Hate, anger, pity, understanding, love. LOVE.’
You, annoyed, decided to let off some steam and began pacing, bending the water that sloshed around in your canteen. You never got to practice at the North Pole, other than healing. Aunt Wu’s words bounced around in your head some more, breaking your concentration. The water landed on the ground with a splash, spraying your ankles. You sighed, turning around and seeing Aang walk away from Meng and Sokka.
“Wow. That kid is good.” Sokka noted. You placed a hand on his shoulder. He jumped a small bit before turning to you. “Oh, Y/n. It’s just you.”
“Yeah, just me. Look, what did you tell Aang?” You asked quickly.
“I told him to be aloof. To not act interested.” He answered. You thought of Katara, and her personality.
“Oh, boy.” You muttered. “This can’t end well.”
“Excuse me!?”
“Well, Sokka, I think you may have misunder-”
“Me?” He placed a hand on his chest. “Misunderstand?”
“Maybe jumped to conclusion-”
“I would do no such thing.”
“Sokka-”
“No, Y/n. He came to me. I have this all under control.”
You sat in silence for a moment, a glare on your face. “You infuriate me sometimes, you know that?”
“Undoubtedly.”
You rolled your eyes.
~~~~~~~~~
You watched as Aang drug Sokka up the side of the volcano. Something about a flower….or something. You sat cross-legged on the ground, pulling at some dirt, watching them until the specks became too small to see. You sighed and looked at the ground again. It had gotten dark, and you heard shouting. You looked up and saw Aang fly in on his glider, Sokka holding on for dear life.
You quickly stood and ran over to them. “What’s wrong?” You asked.
“The volcano’s about to erupt.” Sokka voiced. “I told you Aunt Wu was wrong. Fortunetelling is nonsense.”
“Yeah. Nonsense.” You said, trying to push her predictions out of your mind.
“Where’s Katara?” Aang asked. You sighed.
“Still trying to get predictions from Aunt Wu. She’s become obsessed.” You answered. Aang ran off to find her. You and Sokka shared a look. Sokka shrugged before you both ran after him.
As expected, Katara was standing outside the fortuneteller’s house.
“Hi, Katara.” Aang greeted, a sad tone in his voice.
“Can you believe she won’t let me in?” Katara asked, sounding cross. You crossed your arms.
“Yes.”
“After all the business I’ve given her?!” Katara exclaimed, in a state of disbelief.
“But she doesn’t even charge.” Aang observed.
“I know, but still.”
“We have other things to worry about.” Sokka noted. “Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano.”
“Sokka, you’ve tried to convince me Aunt Wu was wrong before. It’s going to take an awful lot to change my mi-” She was cut off by the ground shaking.
“Why does everyone build towns on volcanos?” You muttered. Smoke was coming out of the top of it.
“Oh, no.” Katara whispered. You all ran into the middle of town, where everyone else had congregated.
“Everyone, that volcano is going to blow any second!” Sokka alerted. “Aunt Wu was wrong!”
“Yeah, yeah. We know you don’t believe in her, mister science and reason lover.” A woman spoke. You stepped forward.
“They, saw, it!”
“Maybe you’ll listen to me.” Katara started, stepping forward as well. “I want to believe Aunt Wu and her predictions as much as you do! But like Y/n said, my brother and Aang saw the lava with their own eyes!”
“Well, I heard Aunt Wu’s prediction with my own ears.” The man from before stated.
“Why are you all so willing to put your fate, your lives, in someone else’s hands!?” You shouted, confused. Aang floated to the roof of a building.
“Please listen to us! You’re all in danger!” He warned. “We have to get out of here! You can’t rely on Aunt Wu’s predictions! You have to take fate into your own hands!” Just then, the ground shook again, jostling everyone back and forth.
“Look! Can your fortunetelling explain that?!” Sokka questioned, pointing to the rising smoke. One of the men laughed.
“Can your science explain why it rains?”
“Yes!! Yes it can!!” Sokka shouted at him. You chuckled at his reaction, even though you knew he was right. Everyone walked away calmly, ignoring the danger hanging over their heads.
“This is ridiculous.” You noted.
“They just won’t listen to reason.” Katara observed.
“But they will listen to Aunt Wu.” Aang stated.
“I know, that’s the problem.” Sokka said.
“Well, it’s about to become the solution.” Aang informed. “We’re taking fate into our own hands. First I need to borrow Aunt Wu’s cloud-reading book.”
“Oh, boy.” You muttered.
~~~~~~~~
As expected, you and the siblings were standing watch, trying to look as nonchalant as possible, while Aang crept inside. He emerged minutes later, with the book in his hands. He and Katara got on Appa as they went to the sky to bend the clouds, while Sokka ran inside to get the fortuneteller.
“Aunt Wu, look!” He exclaimed, dragging her out and pointing at the sky. “Something’s happening in the clouds!”
“That’s very strange, it shouldn’t-” She cut herself off as she gasped in horror, but you were too busy trying not to laugh at Sokka’s facial expression. “Oh my!” She said, her face turned into one of horror, as did Sokka’s upon looking up. You looked up as well, and saw the clouds in the shape of a skull. The clouds were dark, adding to the affect.
“What a sign.” You muttered, though you weren’t scared. You knew this was Aang and Katara’s doing. They ran out into the middle of town, coming from behind a building. You suspected Appa landed there.
“We can still save the village if we act fast!” Aang assured. “Sokka has a plan!”
“Lava is going to flow downhill to this spot.” Sokka started. “If we dig a deep enough trench, we can we can channel all the lava away from the village to the river.” He informed. You smiled at his leadership.
“If any of you are earthbenders, come with me!” Aang instructed. One of the twins from before raised his hand.
“I’m an earthbender!”
“I’m not!” His twin announced, raising his own hand. You shook your head, though a small smile took place there.
“Everybody else, grab a shovel!” Sokka ordered, holding one above his head. The ground shook again, this time harder. “Come on! We’ve got to hurry!”
Everyone ran off, grabbing shovels, or going with Aang. You jogged up to Sokka as he handed you a shovel. You all dug for what seemed like forever. The earthbenders were a great help, though it was still dark, and you were still sweaty. There was another shake, and a few rocks started flying out, lava beginning to seep over the edge.
“Dig faster! Dig faster!” Sokka shouted, digging at double speed. The earthbending twin finished the path just as Aang floated down.
“Everyone needs to evacuate!” He warned. “We’ll come for you when it’s safe!”
Everyone scrambled out of the ditch, running to safety. You, Katara, Sokka and Aang all stood atop the ditch on the other side, waiting to see if Sokka’s idea would work. Lava had begun to pour down the sides quickly. It had reached the ditch before you knew it.
“It’s too much! It’s going to overflow!” Katara observed. You watched as the lava poured in, the levels rising at an alarming rate. The ground shook again, and you almost fell in, but Sokka grabbed your shirt at the last second, and pulled you back up to your feet. You thanked him, panting, before watching as lava spewed out the top of the volcano. You, Sokka and Katara made ran off a little, putting some distance between you guys, and the flowing lava. A large boulder flew off, and landed in the lava right in front of Aang, sending it sky-high. Aang rushed forward, and leapt into the air, he gathered up air and landed, sending the rising lava back a little. He inhaled deeply through his mouth, and blew, the lava stopping, freezing in place. You watched with wide eyes.
“Man, sometimes I forget what a powerful bender that kid is.” Sokka muttered, drawing your attention towards him.
“Wait; what did you just say?” Katara asked, turning to her brother. You raised an eyebrow and smirked, knowing what she was getting at.
“Nothing.” He answered. “Just that Aang is one powerful bender.”
“I suppose he his.” Katara whispered. You heard it though, and had to contain yourself, should you jump for joy.
~~~~~~~~~~~
It was day, and everyone had gathered as you were about to leave. “By the way, we kind of…..borrowed…your book.” Aang confessed, handing it over. The fortuneteller took it.
“So you messed with the clouds, did you?” Aunt Wu asked, sounding aggravated. Sokka pointed to Aang and Katara. You elbowed him in the ribs. She laughed. “Very clever.”
“No offence, but I hope this has taught everyone a lesson about not relying too much on fortunetelling.” Sokka said loudly.
“But Aunt Wu predicted the village wouldn’t be destroyed, and it wasn’t.” The man who had been attacked voiced. “She was right, after all.”
Sokka stood inches from him, glaring him down. “I hate you.” You nodded in agreement.
“It’s okay, Sokka. Everything’s going to be alright.” Katara said, placing her hands on her brother’s shoulders and leading him away.
“Can I ask you something?” Aang questioned Aunt Wu.
“Of course, honey.”
“You didn’t really see love in my fortune, did you? You just told me what I wanted to hear.”
“I’ll tell you a little secret, young airbender.” She started, and you took this as your moment to leave. You climbed atop Appa, while Katara sat on his read, reigns in hand.
“Goodbye everyone! It was so nice to meet you!” She shouted. “Take care, Meng.”
“Take care!”
Katara turned Appa and flew away. As you sat in the saddle, you wondered about Aunt Wu. Her predictions were never wrong, after all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/n: Repost!
#my gosh#this is so cringe#Avatar: The Last Airbender#A:TLA x reader#A:TLA#Avatar: The Last Airbender x reader#x reader#reader#reader insert#Zuko x reader#Zuko#my works#Mara's works
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NATLA Ep. 5 "Spirited Away" initial thoughts
Alright, the shuffling around continues even in an episode that generally follows its ATLA equivalent quite closely. The Gaang's A plot only diverts when both Katara and Sokka also get stuck in the Spirit World and I do like how we kept our team together as they can use the shared screen time. It seems we're leaving the Water Sibs mostly behind in the next episode, which is looking to be a mix of eps 8, 11 and 13 but I enjoyed this Swamp-like take on their Spirit World journey. The big shame about placing that here is that Yue can't be Sokka's ghost and there's some rewriting of Hakoda and Sokka's backstory here but it's a change I can get behind potentially. As for Katara, oh boy they really packed a punch for her. Her parts are obviously something I have a lot of feelings on and will get into later but I do find the framing clever overall. If very, very brutal for our Water Siblings.
Gyatso being there for Aang in the Spirit World, oh my, now this is a change I can really get behind. Wan Shi Tong's inclusion felt a little gratuitous but I like how they introduced something that is actually a LoK and not ATLA concept, the Fog of Lost Souls. And June's inclusion also makes sense, and will presumably lead to Roku's Island and the merging of The Blue Spirit plot. Overall, I dig how they merge chs and plots to make room for as much as possible and like how they reference eps they can't possibly cover. The tavern scene where eps like The Great Divide and The Fortuneteller are referenced feels like a good mix of humorous and a harmless homage, not too fanservicey and out of place so as to not work.
Another commendable effort from a mid season episode and I have to say, at the very very least I'm having fun and am infinitely glad that the show isn't the most offensive thing it could have been, which is bland. Even though the CG doesn't quite cut it sometimes there's still life in this show and there's a respectable attempt at a retelling, despite me still being sceptical as what it will ultimately add up to.
Two more random notes, one is Azula and how they're setting up Ozai manipulating her, which I like, even if that means this isn't quite ATLA Azula. And two, I think what I'm missing from Katara is that feral passion she's known for, and quite frankly the heart, which is her whole thing, so I'm really hoping she'll be allowed her female rage at least when they get to the North. So far, this version of Katara is unfortunately just a little too lukewarm, not the loud and proudly emotional forever girl I dedicated my life to.
#natla#natla initial thoughts#netflix avatar#strong effort overall#OH and koh#i like the inclusion of koh
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Zuko Doesn’t Get Why Katara Doesn’t Like Him
“The Southern Raiders” features Zuko whining about how it isn’t fair that Katara doesn’t like or trust him:
Zuko: This isn't fair. (puts both arms out) Everyone else seems to trust me now. What is it with you? (swipes one arm to the side).
Eventually, he comes to the conclusion that the only reason anyone would dislike him or not trust him is because they, for Freudian reasons, blame him for something that isn’t really his fault at all:
Zuko: (interrupts) Stop. Okay, listen. I know this may seem out of no where, (Cut to a serious Zuko as the camera slowly zooms in) but I want you to tell me what happened to your Mother.
Sokka: (Cut to a stunned Sokka) What? Why would you want to know that?
Zuko: Katara mentioned it before when we were imprisoned together in Ba Sing Se and again just now when she was yelling at me. I think somehow... she's connected her anger about that to her anger at me.
Sokka: (looks to the side sadly) It's not a day I like to remember.
But, in fact, Katara continually laid out very clear and reasonable reasons why she doesn’t like or trust Zuko, all of which have to do with his bad behavior and none of which have anything to do with her mother.
“The Western Air Temple”:
Sokka: Yeah, all you've ever done is try to hunt us down (Cut to a sideview shot of Zuko) and capture Aang.
Katara: You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you? I mean, how stupid do you think we are?
and
Zuko: (Cut to a remorseful Zuko with Appa licking its lips in the background) I can understand why you wouldn't trust me, and I know I've made some mistakes (looks to the side in shame) in the past.
Sokka: (off screen) Like when you attacked our village?
Katara: (off screen) Or when you stole my mother's necklace (Cut to a sideview of the siblings) and used it to track us down (she takes a step forward with her fists clenched) and capture us?
and
Katara: This is just like when we were in prison together in Ba Sing Se. (Cut to a sideview of the 3 to show the siblings each holding a sleeping bag while Aang holds a jar) He starts talking about his mother, (Aang proceeds to walk off screen) and making it seem like he's an actual human being with feelings.
Sokka: He wants you (Katara turns towards him) to trust him and feel sorry for him, so you let your guard down, then he strikes. (punches his fist out)
Katara: (Cut to a back view of Sokka with his sister still in sight) The thing is, it worked. (kneels and sets the sleeping bag down) I did feel sorry for him. I felt like he was really confused and hurt. (looks around) But obviously when the time came, (stands up) he made his choice, and we paid the price. (Cut to a close up of Katara as she turns angry) We can't trust him.
and
Katara: (standing her ground) Easy for you to say, you weren't there (takes a step forward and points to the side) when he had us attacked by pirates.
Sokka: (clenches his fist) Or when he burned down Kyoshi Island.
and
Katara: (venomously) You might have everyone else here buying your "transformation". But you and I both know you've struggled with doing the right thing in the past. (walks up to Zuko and leans forward threateningly) So let me tell you something right now. You make one step backward, one slip-up, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang... and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends right then and there... permanently.
“The Southern Raiders”:
Zuko: This isn't fair. (puts both arms out) Everyone else seems to trust me now. What is it with you? (swipes one arm to the side)
Katara: (Cut to Katara's back as she turns around and snaps) Oh, everyone trust you now? (places hand on chest) I was the first person to trust you, remember Back in Ba Sing Se. (points to the ocean) And you turned (Cut to Zuko who looks down guiltily) around and betrayed me. Betrayed all of us.
Zuko: (raises head) What can I do to make it up to you?
Katara: You really want to know? (walks towards Zuko) Hmm, maybe you could re-conquer (Cut to Zuko's unscarred side who looks on speechlessly) Ba Sing Se in the name of the Earth King. Or, (Zuko steps back as Katara's head pops into screen) I know. You could bring my mother back.
Again, Katara repeatedly lays out simple, sensible reasons why she doesn’t like or trust Zuko:
1. He has done many, many awful things to her and the people she cares about, in addition to doing awful, imperialist things more generally like helping conquer Ba Sing Se.
2. He more or less deliberately solicited her trust and sympathy in the past, only to betray her at the first possible opportunity, which led to Aang almost dying.
Again, this is all very reasonable. And in fact Zuko’s long pattern of betrayals in the series of just about everyone he significantly interacts with suggests that Katara is right to be cautious and distrustful toward him.*
But Zuko’s brain somehow translates Katara’s very clear statements on disliking him due to his actions to “she must hate me because she associates me with her mother’s death, since there’s no other reason anyone could possibly dislike me.”
*Note: I’m basically building off of this meta here.
#Katara#Zuko#Zuko-critical#Katara meta#ATLA meta#not Zuko friendly#Avatar The Last Airbender#avatar the last airbender meta#Zuko being unable to understand his actions harmed others
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What I’m trying to say is that I think there would always be tension between Zuko and Azula. But it doesn’t mean Zuko wouldn’t try to help her. And it doesn’t mean she’s incapable of caring for her brother.
Now this we can certainly be in full agreement about. Zuko doesn't try to help her in this story at all, like I've explained many times now, because he's absolutely stuck on a very toxic mindset that he refuses to break. It's a concept that I wanted to explore because of how often I've seen people reiterating that he's "allowed" to resent her and never forgive her and have nothing else to do with her.
I'm not even that harsh with Zuko in that story, I'd say (bet a bunch of you thought I'd have another Sokka-punch straight to Zuko's face if they came face-to-face in this one, huh? X'D), I refused to write him wanting her executed because, while certain fans HAVE said that, I don't think I want to write a Zuko who spirals to THAT extent. But of course, I wanted to show through the story what it means for some people, unlike yourself, to believe that Zuko can't possibly help her, that he shouldn't, that it's even unethical to expect him to do it, and just... why? Why would this be the hill you want to die on? Why would you want this traumatized boy to never learn to work through his trauma and never learn to see more than his own pain? It was a lot of pain, nobody needs to hide that... but for a character who's constantly touted for being such a symbol of empathy, it makes very little sense that some of those fans, the very ones who talk about him being all about empathy, would demand that he shows none towards his sister.
So... yeah. This particular AU is a rarity for me because I really don't want to explore Zuko in this direction. I mean, nothing good would come from it, either: if I went any further, he'd likely wind up losing everything if he keeps clinging to this mindset. One of the ironies of Zuko's behavior in this story is that, in clinging to resentment, he ends up effectively reversing the situation that led to Azula's breakdown in canon: first, Sokka picked Azula over Zuko. Then, Katara and Aang do it too. Toph, as well, by helping them when she does. Iroh did, too, by harboring Azula when he did. Slowly and surely, Zuko ends up resenting ALL these people he loved for not choosing to support him on his "Azula cannot be forgiven!" crusade, and he takes it as a betrayal, just as Mai and Ty Lee betrayed Azula for his sake. And if the fact that Zuko could spiral into a situation that mirrors Azula's breakdown doesn't feel like a massive red flag about this headcanon, I don't know what will. But I do believe that nobody who loves this guy should ever want him to wind up in a position like this one.
As for Azula, I absolutely agree, though I also believe that her way of caring about Zuko isn't what most people want it to be. I don't think Azula could ever become someone who coddles him and treats him reverently... but I do think she could look after him in tough-love sort of ways. I do think she could want to protect him if harm comes his way. Theirs would likely be a complicated relationship, I suppose... but I guess that's why people say that there's no set way to love a person. Love comes in many shapes and forms, and not everyone can love others the same way someone else does. I don't think Azula can love Zuko the way he wants to be loved by a sibling... just as I don't think Zuko can do that for Azula, either. But if they learn to accept each other, to truly understand one another, I do believe they could reach a level of respect and, who knows, even lowkey admiration for each other in the best of cases, and accept each other's care and affection in whatever form it comes, provided it's genuine, of course. As long as they learn to see each other with clearer eyes, I don't think their relationship could ever lose all hope. It could work... it just has to be done thoroughly, and the work to amend it NEEDS to come from both sides. Zuko making all the efforts for an unresponsive and ungrateful Azula would be just as unreasonable as Azula making all the efforts for an unresponsive and ungrateful Zuko. So, provided they both grow up a lot, individually, I believe they can grow as siblings...
... Which is something I have been doing for them in a certain other massive AU in which I may or may not have written my most wholesome and positive version of their bond, unintentionally :'D
I do think that it's possible these two could learn to let go of the spite and resentment, to be honest. It can be done, provided that they're handled by writers who know how to guide the characters in the direction necessary to achieve that goal. And I say this because I feel like I've done it pretty organically in Gladiator, obviously some people might disagree, but I actually feel good about the place where I've taken their sibling bond there. So I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibilities for these two to heal. Their bond can be better, but it takes mutual understanding, then mutual forgiveness, to make sure they can become better siblings for each other. It would take time too, yes... but when you're talking to someone who's spent a decade writing a fic, being told that developing something like this "takes time" almost comes off as a joke to me. Of course it would: that's no reason not to put in the work to make it pay off if you want it to. Otherwise, I would have given up on Gladiator in like 20 chapters, upon realizing it was going to be my biggest venture in this fandom and that I wouldn't possibly know how much time it was going to take me to finish it :')
#anon#leap of faith#for someone who has picked so many bones#with Zuko and with Ursa#I am surprisingly nice to them lately#it is weird#but I think you guys will understand why#somewhat soon#provided you read a certain insane huge fic of mine too#:'DDDDDDDDDDD#but yeah I refuse to believe Zuko and Azula can't heal#the only reason why they wouldn't is if the writer creating stories about them#be it fics or official ones#doesn't care to make it happen#simple as that
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can you rank atla characters from your most liked to least?
haha wow, I mean, if I really went in depth with this, it would take all day. so I'll just rank the main bunch of kids I focus on during my writing. So this list is going to be more like least interesting to write about to most interesting to write about. but it's also closely linked to how much I like the characters, so I think it works.
Going to rank them in reverse order, and also, I just want to say I like all these kids, even those ranked last.
#11 - Aang. Aang is just a nice, chill dude, but I can't get excited to either write or read about him. He's like the vegetarian option on a restaurant menu, wholesome and good for you, but just... not all that exciting and at least i would rather order something else.
#10 - Toph. Toph is fun, but she just doesn't resonate with me as most other kids. I think it's similar problem to what I have with Aang, because they're the two youngest kids, I find it hard to see them as valid shipping options even when grown up, and honestly, I'm all about shipping in this fandom. It's what makes writing exciting for me. Also, I think Toph would be the character that would annoy me the most if I knew her in RL.
#9 - Jet. I fluctuate between hating and liking Jet ALL the time like with no other character. He'd probably be at the bottom of this list if he wasn't so damned fun to write. Let's face it, every friend group needs the asshole who's going to say the lewd thing the others might be thinking but won't say. And sure, sometimes I just want to strangle him. While plotting and revising the layout for White Lotus Gambit, I think I must have killed Jet off at least four times. Up until now I have always reconsidered, because it's kind of more fun to keep him around so that he can get punched in the dick when he's being an asshole. :)
#8 - Suki. Listen, I love Suki, but she's not exactly well developed in the show, and while she's very likable as a character, there's not too much to her beyond her being a kickass girl warrior, which admittedly is a lot of fun on its own. What I like about Suki is that at least to me she's very flexible when it comes to shipping, perhaps most of all characters, and I have an easy time seeing her with almost everyone on this list.
#7 - Mai. Up until recently I kind of unfairly dismissed Mai as a bit shallow and boring, and if I had made this list like 2 months go, Mai would probably be #9, but since I've started to write her more, I've discovered a bit of a connection with her. I'm definitely going to write Mai more in my future stories, so I think she might end up climbing this list eventually.
#6 - Sokka. Sokka is just great for his terrible sense of humor, for his never stay down attitude, for being an amazing brother to Katara, there's so much to love about Sokka I couldn't go into it all here. I feel like parts of the fandom exaggerate his intelligence a bit, because I've been doing a re-watch of the show for story writing purposes, and I would say that Sokka's plans come with a roughly 75% chance of failure. But that's what makes Sokka great. No matter how many times he fails, he's going to try and try again until he succeeds.
#5 - Zuko. Look, I'm not going to say anything new about Zuko. He's like the most popular character of the show by a big margin, and we all know that there are valid reasons for that. Me ranking him only at #5 probably counts as high crime in the eyes of most ATLA fans.
#4 - Ty Lee. How can you not love Ty Lee. I think that if Harley Quinn had a split personality, then Ty Lee would be the good side of that split personality. I love Ty Lee because she can effortlessly manage being sweet and a bit mean. She doesn't have much of a filter, so she's good for accidentally blurting things out and spreading chaos. She's just fun to have around, and I love including her in my stories.
#3 - Yue. Listen, I know this doesn't make sense to place a character who's in the show for like 3 episodes this high, but this isn't supposed to be an objective list. This is MY list. I have a thing for unavoidable plot deaths, especially when they involve cute teenage girls, and I want to reverse them whenever I can. And I've totally fallen in love with Yue while writing White Lotus Gambit. She has so much potential I can work with while writing.
#1 - Azula/Katara. Look, I'm not going to decide between these two, I just couldn't. Nor am I going to spend paragraphs writing up my reasons why I love them so much. You want to know what draws me to Azutara, just go and read my Azutara stories, that's all I am going to say on the matter. :)
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002 willow toh?? have u watched toh i can’t remember
if not then 002 katara!!
I have!! I'm gonna answer for both bc I'm cool and sexy like that
Willow:
How I feel about this character: I love her she's my best friend I want to hug her and do school projects together
All the people I ship romantically with this character: I don't actively ship these but Hunter/Willow and Skara/Willow are adorable and I 100% support them. And Willumity? Chef's kiss. You guys are braver than any soldier. I also don't mind Gus/Willow.
My non-romantic OTP for this character: Gus!!!!! Gus and Willow are everything to me. Brotp until I drop dead.
My unpopular opinion about this character: I don't like her being shipped with Boscha. I just mean... why? You already got your rivals-to-lovers fuel with Lumity. Hell, you could even go for Amity/Willow. But Boscha is just way too mean to Willow, I don't think it would end up being good for neither of them.
One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: She should get to grow her own palisman wood tree thing. I do seriously love her bee palisman though
My OTP: I don't really have one, but most Willow ships are pretty cute by my standards :)
My cross over ship: I can't think of one sorry for being boring </3
A headcanon fact: She could break Boscha's nose with a single punch. She's just too nice.
Katara:
How I feel about this character: I love her sm she's so underrated in the fandom.
All the people I ship romantically with this character: Kataang of course, but I also like yuetara and sukatara :)
My non-romantic OTP for this character: Suki and Toph!! Suki is the first girl her age Katara can bond with that isn't actively trying to kill her or dies. Plus I think their personalities just work really well together. And Toph and her have this really cute sisters dynamic that is my whole heart bc Toph needs a big sister so much. I love them.
My unpopular opinion about this character: I don't give a shit about Zutara can we all just shut up about it I don't care.
One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: We should have seen more Katara & Suki bonding they barely spoke to each other on screen!!
My OTP: Kataang :)
My cross over ship: Still can't think of any 😭
A headcanon fact: She likes braiding hair and would practice on Sokka when they were little. He would pout about it at first, saying that he was a warrior and din't have time to play hairdresser, but over time he really leaned into it. They're my comfort siblings ok
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Do you think zuko is a horrible brother to Azula? given ahem….certain….blogs seem to spout this
I find it incredibly telling that these certain blogs will spout this nonsense while never, ever, suggesting that maybe Azula could have been a better sibling to Zuko, and will go on about how you can't blame Azula for how she treated Zuko because she was abused, and about how, actually, she really loves him, honest, and try to twist every situation in which Azula hurt Zuko into an act of kindness which Zuko is just so ungrateful for, but won't extend the same sympathy to Zuko even though Zuko has far more sympathy for Azula than she ever deserved, and what she deserves from him is absolutely nothing since she tormented him for their entire lives and felt entirely justified in doing so.
Zuko was raised with the mindset that he was less than his sister and deserved to be mistreated, and was abused by his father who also encouraged his sister to abuse him. How is he supposed to be a "good brother" to her in that situation? He wasn't expected to be a good brother, he was expected to be a scapegoat. Criticizing him for not being a "good brother" when he was expected to be a punching bag is victim blaming garbage.
Even then, Ursa did try to encourage the children to have a good relationship and we see Zuko try to be a good brother, like that moment when he expects Iroh to say that he should try to get along with her because she's his sister, which I think probably came from Ursa but also comes from the idea that he blames himself for his bad relationship with her, because he's internalized the idea that he is the problem, because that's what he's been taught to believe. (It's also worth noting that Zuko thought Iroh would say this because it fits with what we know of Iroh as a person, which also means that, contrary to the beliefs of these certain blogs, Iroh did not have this weird vendetta against Azula even though she clearly hated him.)
The fact that Zuko blames himself for his family not getting along is also why, as angry and fearful of Azula as we see him be in the series, he still ends up believing her and seeking her out for advice, even while resenting her. I've argued before that he's emotionally dependent upon her in a way that a lot of abused kids end up being, because he was conditioned to believe that she was better and stronger than him.
Azula is also emotionally dependent upon Zuko, but in the opposite way. Because she was taught that she had to be better than him, she depends upon Zuko being brought low to lift herself up. I think this also creates a curious contradiction in Azula where she both expects Zuko to be the weaker and lesser sibling and also resents him for it, because her big brother is supposed to be stronger than her, but Zuko is not supposed to be those things.
Zuko was never allowed to be a good big brother to Azula, but we do see him want to be. We see in the comics him saying that she's still his sister and he wants to help her, we see him envious of the bond Sokka and Katara have, we see him internalize what the Earth Kingdom scholar says about family reflecting on rulership and blaming himself for institutionalizing her (even though she tried to kill him), and we see him as a young child ask his mother why she has to be so mean.
We also see Zuko as a child in "Zuko Alone" try to appeal to Azula's empathy when she says Iroh should die so that their father can take the throne. We see him be dragged along with her to spy on Azulon and Ozai even though he's clearly scared. He also told his mother he didn't want to play with her on another occasion, but that's a pretty reasonable thing since hanging out with Azula often ends in him getting scared or hurt, and this was something that was sanctioned by their own father. Even so, he's a far better sibling to her than she ever is to him, even considering both that he was never allowed to really be a good brother and that he's entirely in the right for hating her and would be in the right to want nothing to do with her.
I once saw a post claiming that the lack of filial piety in the Fire Nation royal family was culturally inaccurate, specifically mentioning Azula's lack of piety towards her older brother, and the thing is, what that post was missing is that this is not a cultural inaccuracy, but a sign of the abusive dynamic that was going on in that family. The breakdown of social norms is one of the signs of the FN family's dysfunction. Ozai resented his own father and older brother and thus put his younger child on a pedestal and put down his oldest son. Zuko acts younger and more subservient than Azula because that's how he's treated. He resents this role because it's abusive and cruel, and he has every right to.
Which is not to say that the concept of filial piety itself is above criticism. It's inherently misogynistic, for one, and also can create a situation where parents can get away with abusing their children. Ozai himself, while disregarding filial piety towards his father and older brother, absolutely expects his own children to show him filial piety to abusive levels.
I also think the concept of filial piety informs Ozai and Azula's abuse of Zuko. Because Zuko is not the big brother that commands respect, and can't be, that's used as a justification for his abuse. It's a chicken and egg cycle. Zuko is encouraged to believe he's not good enough, and then is punished for fulfilling that role, and punished for trying to step outside it.
Zuko fighting back when Azula is literally trying to kill him is also used to paint him as not a "good big brother" and that's just plain old victim blaming.
To sum, Zuko is a better brother to Azula than she ever was a good sister to him and even if he wasn't, he doesn't owe her that at all, and even when he tries to be, because he's a good person and won't abandon his sister when she needs help, she takes the opportunity to verbally berate him, physically attack him, and put everyone around him in danger, and Zuko has no obligation to put himself through that for someone who would never do half of it for him. Which we know because when Zuko was in need, Azula took the opportunity to use his fear to manipulate him and forced him to maintain a lie she told that put him in danger.
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if u write zuko’s pov of the phone call i will punch u in the face. please do it.
just remember: you asked for this
This is stupid. It’s one date - that he doesn’t even want to go on, not really, because it means he has to have this conversation. It’s one date, he tells himself. Funny, he thinks, that he’s not reminding himself that it’s also just one hookup that he’s missing out on.
The phone rings and rings and rings.
He’s about to hang up when he finally hears Sokka’s voice say, “Hey, Zuko.”
“Hi,” Zuko says. Something loud and high-pitched echoes down the line. Hard to tell if it’s laughter or screaming. “Do you have company? I’m not interrupting, am I?”
“No, you’re fine,” Sokka assures him. “It’s just Katara and Aang over to see Momo. Suki says hi, by the way.”
Zuko feels heat rise in his cheeks. “Hi, Suki.”
“I’ll tell her,” Sokka says. “What’s up?”
There’s a smile in his voice, and Zuko can picture it as clear as day. His stomach twists itself into a knot, and he tries hard not to let the feeling of it bleed into his voice as he says, “Do you have a minute to - to talk? I don’t want to drag you away from your night.”
Sokka’s smile is replaced with concern. “Is everything okay? Do you need me to -”
“No, it’s alright,” Zuko says, even though it’s not, because the ache he feels at the sound of Sokka’s worry is stronger than anything he feels at the prospect of this date. “It’s just - I can’t come over tomorrow.”
“Oh,” Sokka says. “How come?”
“I have, um -” Bite the bullet, Zuko. “I have a date?”
He feels like he can breathe again now, though he’s not sure when he stopped.
“A date?” Sokka asks. He doesn’t sound nearly as fazed as Zuko wishes he would. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
“It’s, um, some guy Ty Lee knows.” It’s a struggle to recall the few details she gave him this afternoon. “His name’s Jet, I think. He’s some kind of activist. I don’t know, Ty Lee wouldn’t give me much to go on so I’m basically going in blind.”
“So what’s the - the plan, or whatever?” Sokka asks. There’s a peculiar strain to his voice, like he’s in pain or exerting himself. “What are you doing?”
“It’s a double date,” Zuko explains, and thank the stars above that it is. Blind dates don’t usually go well for him; most guys see the scar and run the other way. “Ty Lee and Mai, me and - and Jet. Ty Lee got the four of us a table at that fancy new place downtown. I don’t know what it’s called. The one with the chandeliers and the big sign in cursive.”
“I know the one,” Sokka says, and he sounds fond. Indulgent. Zuko wants to drown in that voice, the same one Sokka uses when Zuko makes a bad joke, when they’re watching TV and he picks something he knows Zuko likes, when there’s only one slice of pizza left.
Silence stretches down the line between them, until Zuko asks a question he’s not sure he even wants answered.
“It’s okay, right?”
Sokka doesn’t say anything for a moment, and the knot in Zuko’s stomach tightens, squeezes until he feels like he’s suffocating. Then, Sokka says, “What do you mean?”
“I mean -” Zuko sighs. This is harder than it should be, and he knows there’s only one person to blame for that. He grits his teeth and asks, finally, “I mean, you don’t mind, right? If I go?”
There’s a right answer to this question. There shouldn’t be, but there is.
He knows this isn’t fair of him. He shouldn’t ask it like this, he shouldn’t put Sokka under pressure like this - he shouldn’t feel like this, either, desperate and hopeful and tragic, but he does. He does.
He feels desperate and hopeful and tragic, so he’s saying to Sokka, do you mind, except that’s not the truth of it, that’s not the whole of it.
He’s saying to Sokka, tell me you mind. Tell me you don’t want anyone else to have me. Tell me I’m yours.
Tell me I’m yours. Tell me I’m yours. Tell me I’m yours.
“Why would I mind?”
Something in Zuko shatters.
“No reason,” he says, because isn’t that the truth? Sokka has no reason to mind if he goes out with someone else. That’s not what they are to each other, and he was a damn fool to think otherwise.
“Listen,” he says, “I have to go.”
“Oh,” Sokka says, and has the nerve to sound disappointed. “I - okay.”
“I just wanted to, um, let you know what’s going on,” Zuko says. Keeping his voice level is a herculean feat. “I didn’t want you to think I was standing you up.”
(I wanted you to give me a reason not to.)
“There’s a dirty joke in there somewhere,” Sokka muses. “I just can’t find it.”
In spite of everything, in spite of himself, Zuko smiles. He’s ruined.
“Stop looking,” he says. “I’ll see you, Sokka.”
He’s got his thumb hovering over end call, when Sokka says, “Hey, Zuko, wait.”
Zuko’s lungs open up and his heart leaps into his throat. “Yeah?”
“Call me after. I want to hear all about it.”
That’s - it’s not what he wants, but it’s something. It’s the suggestion that this isn’t the end of them, that he’ll get to hear Sokka’s voice again, maybe even his laughter, if he’s lucky.
“I - yeah, okay,” he says. “That’s - that’s all, I guess. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Enjoy your night, say hi to Momo for me.”
He hangs up before he has to hear Sokka say goodbye.
read and i’ll do anything you say (if you say it with your hands)
#this is almost 1000 words. who let me#and ill do anything you say#my writing#lesmiserablol#i hope youre happy w yourself jo#anonymous#asks#mine#zukka#fic#i probably shouldve put a readmore on this#aidays extras
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everything happens for a reason part 7 - zuko x fem!reader
I think my ways are wearing me down
part 6 | masterlist | part 8
a/n: as said very astutely in my outline, "y/n just keeps taking L's"
i actually had to take breaks while writing the final scene and watching the episode LMAo i forgot how fucking sad this scene was!!
warning(s): you know what happens in this chapter. its siege of the north part 2. its so much more angst like SO MUCH ANGST. im so sorry i got so sad while writing this
wc: 4.0k
chapter title comes from brand new city by mitski!
Y/N adjusted her hold on the basket of clothes as she knocked on the door with her free hand, pushing it open after waiting a few moments.
“Prince Zuko?” she called in a whisper. They had gotten past the point of formalities, but it was a precaution she opted to take when they met like this. She spotted him sitting on his bed and he gave her a thumbs up, a sign she took to mean they were in the clear. Y/N closed the door behind her and bounded over, then set the basket on his bed.
“Alright. I brought you the book that you wanted to borrow.” She unearthed the novel from the pile of clothes with caution, taking care to not ruin the hard work that went into folding all of them. “I had to hide it so I could get in here — no one thinks anything of a servant bringing clothes around, but books are a little more suspicious. But here you go! My very own edition of ‘Keiko and the Koalaotter’.”
“Thank you!” The prince grinned as he took the book and examined the cover. “I’ve always been curious about Water Tribe culture, even more after you started teaching me about it. They don’t really tell us about it in our classes.”
“It’s not really accurate to actual Water Tribe stuff, but it is cute,” she laughed. “I remember begging my parents for a koalaotter for weeks after I finished it. They told me that there was no way to get one all the way in the Earth Kingdom, but I never listened to them.”
“Oh, that reminds me!” His eyes lit up as he ran over to the windowsill. “I got you a gift too!”
“Zuko, really? You shouldn’t have.”
“Well, I did. So don’t even think about not accepting it,” he joked. He picked something up from a vase and bounded back over, doing as good a job of hiding the flowers behind his back as his excited grin.
“What is it?” she questioned.
“They’re silver wisterias!” he exclaimed as he presented the bouquet. “They grow in the palace gardens. They’re really pretty, and so are you, and I know how much you love the gardens, so I thought you’d like it.”
She felt her cheeks heat up when she accepted the gift, twirling the stem in her fingers as she inhaled its sweet scent with a smile. “That’s really thoughtful of you, Zuko. Thank you.”
“Of course! You could wear one in your hair, pin one onto your uniform, put them in your room, whatever you want.”
As she carefully ran her fingers over the petals, she couldn’t stop the nagging question at the back of her mind from escaping.
“Why are you so nice to me?” she blurted out, causing Zuko’s brows to furrow in confusion.
“Because you’re my friend. Friends are nice to each other.”
“I know, but why are we friends?” she pushed. “You know that you could get in trouble for talking to me like this, but you still do it. Why?”
He pondered the question for a moment before he answered. “Well.. you don’t treat me like everyone else. I’m the prince, so everyone here has to do what I want and be nice to me. But you’re not like that. When it’s just the two of us, you treat me like anyone else, and I like that — I know that you always mean what you say, so when you’re nice to me I know it’s because you like me, not because you have to be. Why do you do that?” the prince asked as he turned the tables. “You know that you could get in trouble for talking to me like this, but you still do it. Why?”
She punched him playfully on the shoulder and giggled. “Someone’s gotta keep you humble.”
His cheeks flushed a bright red as he rubbed his arm shyly. “I’m really glad we’re friends. Sometimes it feels like you’re my only one in this whole nation.”
“So am I,” she beamed. “Always and forever, right?”
“Right.”
-
Y/N’s eyes snapped open and she gasped, immediately whipping her head around frantically to see if the Avatar was still there, but Katara shook her head.
“He’s gone,” Katara said miserably, confirming her suspicions. “I woke up a few minutes before you and I checked everywhere.”
“Great,” she muttered. She rubbed the back of her head and winced — she had a feeling she would be plagued by headaches for at least the next couple of days.
“So…” Katara began. “You and Zuko both recognized each other. He— he said he thought that you were dead.”
Y/N pursed her lips, wondering how to start that story, when Sokka and Yue burst into the oasis on Appa.
“What happened?” he questioned. “Where’s Zuko?”
“He took Aang,” Katara mourned. “He took him right out from under me.”
“It’s not your fault, Katara,” Y/N insisted. “It really looks like he’s improved since… since last time.”
“‘Last time’?” Sokka asked, prompting a sigh from Y/N. She looked to Yue for help, and the princess nodded supportively.
“We have… history.” She looked at her hands for a moment before continuing. “I’m not from the Northern Water Tribe. My mother is, but I was born in a small village in the Earth Kingdom. I told you that my village was invaded, Katara, but after it, my mother and I were captured for being waterbenders, and they took us to the Fire Nation to work as healers and servants in the palace.”
“I became friends with Zuko there. He was nothing like you saw today, or like anything you know from the past. He was kind, and caring, and passionate, and he made my dismal life a little bit brighter. And… we ended up falling for each other.”
“We went too far, the Fire Lord found out, and— well, he was going to kill me. My mother managed to get me out, but she stayed behind, and I haven’t seen her since that night. I haven’t seen Zuko since that night. I always held hope that I would find my way back and see them both again, but now that Zuko is like… like that?” She bit down on her lip and shook her head.
“Now I don’t know what to think. He’s completely different than anything I knew, than the boy that I fell in love with. And I can’t help but think about what happened to my mother if that is what happened to Zuko.” And I can’t help but think that it’s my fault for not being there for him.
A collective silence hung in the air for just a moment before Sokka broke it. “You had a thing with Zuko?”
Y/N let out a surprised laugh as Katara hit him on the shoulder. “Sokka, now is not the time!”
“No,” she chuckled. “No, it’s alright. It’s a lot, I know. It’s just… impossible. That the Zuko I knew turned into someone like this. I mean, you saw, Katara— he didn’t even hesitate to try and hurt me.”
Katara pulled her into a warm embrace before separating and looking her in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Y/N, for all that you’ve been through. And I know that fighting against Zuko hurts, so if you can’t come after Aang with us then I completely understand—”
“No,” she said once more, something hardening in her eyes. “I’ll help you find Aang, it’s the least I can do. Besides, I… I have to see him again. I have to see him again to know that this is actually real, that— that this is actually who he is now.”
Katara nodded solemnly; Sokka had already started walking back to Appa with Yue. “Well, Zuko couldn’t have gotten far. We’ll find him — Aang’s gonna be fine.”
Katara looked back hopefully at Y/N and she met her eyes with a smile, though slightly strained, as she jogged to catch up with them. But as she climbed onto Appa with her fellow waterbender, the anger in his eyes was all she could see.
The boy she fought might’ve been the Fire Prince, but it was not her Zuko.
-
Cold.
That was all Zuko seemed to know as he trekked through the frozen tundra, the blizzard around him threatening to end him at any moment. No more had he despised the Water Tribes than he did in this moment, but the weight of the Avatar on his back and the promise of his honor was enough to push him onwards.
The only thing on his mind that he couldn’t shake was her.
Zuko thought she was dead, honestly and truly. Few were lucky enough to escape his father’s wrath once it was incurred upon them — Zuko himself wasn’t even an exception — and though he wanted nothing more than for her to be one of the few, he knew that she was dead. There was no other explanation.
For years, the waterbender had been a staple in his mind — a memory of a childhood love, of a better time. He thought about her when he fought against his soldiers on slow evenings on the ship, her words of encouragement and joking retorts echoing through his ears as he went through every form. He thought about her when he talked to his uncle, his attitude often mirroring hers. The morning of the Agni Kai, he almost turned to her for reassurance before remembering.
Spirits, Zuko thought about her every time he looked at the water. And even all these years after her disappearance, he was still plagued by nightmares of her fate.
He had resigned himself to mourning her. Zuko truly thought she was dead.
But there she was, in the flesh, with the Avatar and his friends. Breathing. Alive. His enemy.
How the fuck was he supposed to deal with that?
She was even more beautiful than he remembered, but it was obvious the years since her escape had weathered her. He noticed a certain emptiness in her eyes, the brightness from their childhood a distant memory. It was obvious she had grown — she carried a certain elegance that he didn’t remember, and her skill in waterbending had improved so much since the days of their sparring sessions.
It felt like he had betrayed her. The expression she wore after his first blast was like a physical weight, the guilt of broken promises heavy over his head when he struck the final blow. So familiar to their friendly fights, yet such a far cry.
But they weren’t kids anymore. She had changed, and so had he.
It had been years. Any feelings he still harbored for her didn’t matter anymore.
Zuko had a mission, and he was going to complete it no matter what.
-
The tundra was treacherous, the blizzard making it difficult to see anything at all. Y/N had taken to holding Yue’s hand, something the princess had offered when she had seen how restless her friend was, as well as gnawing on the bottom of her lip. She feared for both Zuko and Aang, and she could only hope that they would be able to find them before something happened to either of them.
“Don’t worry,” the princess reassured. “Prince Zuko can’t be getting too far in this weather.”
“I’m not worried they’ll get away in the blizzard,” Katara murmured. “I’m worried that they won’t.”
“They’re not gonna die in this blizzard,” Sokka said as he gripped the reins tighter. “If we know anything, it’s that Zuko never gives up.”
Y/N chuckled softly and nodded. “You’ve got that right.”
Yue gave her hand a squeeze and a small smile, a sentiment that Y/N returned as Sokka continued. “They’ll survive, and we’ll find them.”
It took a few more minutes of riding and searching, but eventually a bright blue light streaked through the air. Katara gasped and pointed up. “Look!” she exclaimed. “That’s gotta be Aang! Yip yip!”
Appa groaned once more and Sokka turned to follow the light — it had stopped in a small cove before glowing brilliantly then disappearing — and sure enough, Zuko and Aang were down in the snow.
“Appa!” he cheered as they landed, causing Zuko’s eyes to flick up too. Y/N met his gaze for just a moment before he broke it, throwing Aang to the side and easing into a bending stance as Katara slid off of Appa’s back.
“Here for a rematch?” Zuko challenged, the undeserved confidence he spoke with a glimpse of the past.
“Trust me, Zuko,” Katara countered as she raised her hands, “It’s not going to be much of a match.”
She blocked his fire blast then sent a current of snow at him, launching him up into the air on a frozen column before letting him fall to the ground and knocking him out. Y/N couldn’t help but wince, and as Sokka jumped down to free Aang, she slid down as well.
She ran over the pile of snow and bent it off of Zuko, then knelt down next to him and pulled off her glove. She put two fingers on his neck and confirmed what she already thought, but it was still a relief. He was alive, but he wouldn’t be for much longer if he stayed out here.
“What are you doing?” she heard Sokka yell. Y/N turned to find everyone back on Appa already, staring expectantly at her.
“We can’t leave him!” Y/N protested.
“Sure we can!” he countered. “Now come on, let’s go!”
“No,” she insisted, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead. It was ice cold. “If we leave him, he’ll die!”
“She’s right.” Aang airbended himself off of Appa and helped her pick up Zuko; Aang bringing himself and the prince back onto the bison with his element and Y/N climbing back up with a hand from Katara.
Sokka rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Yeah, this makes a lot of sense. Let’s bring the guy who’s constantly trying to kill us.”
Y/N ignored the remark and met Aang’s eyes, mouthing a silent ‘thank you’. He smiled and nodded, then grabbed the reins and took off.
As they flew through the sky, Y/N glanced down at Zuko. He looked so much more peaceful now than a few moments ago, his features relaxed rather than tense. It was strange seeing him like this after all these years; angry, scarred, changed. Nothing like the reunion she had imagined.
She bent some of the snow falling down into water and molded it over the cuts on his face, the element taking on a slight glow as she started to heal him.
“Oh, Zuko,” she murmured. “What happened in those four years?”
As if her concentration had broken, the water previously under her control lost both its shape and glow as it pooled on his face. She frowned and attempted to bend it off, but none of the usual power she felt at night was flowing through her veins.
It was at that moment that Y/N looked up and noticed her surroundings.
Everything was cloaked in a veil of red, a crimson moon their backdrop as they continued through the air. “My bending isn’t working,” Y/N muttered, earning a curious look from Katara.
And to make matters worse, Yue winced and held her head, Aang doing the same.
“Are you okay?” Sokka questioned as he reached out to comfort her.
“I feel faint,” she muttered, the effort it took not lost on Y/N.
“I feel it too.” Aang pressed his palm against the side of his head and grimaced as his gaze shifted upwards. “The Moon Spirit is in trouble.”
Y/N’s eyes widened immediately as they flicked towards Yue, the princess choosing not to meet them as she began to tell them all the story of her birth and how she owed the Moon Spirit her life. By the time she was done the Water Tribe siblings were staring at her with disbelief, but there was no time for questions as they flew into the Spirit Oasis.
The sight that awaited them shocked Y/N to her core. A Fire Nation admiral — one she recognized from all the years ago, yet unable to place a name — held a bag with one clenched fist, the other posing the unsaid threat.
“Don’t bother,” he spat in response to their fighting stances, the two words overflowing with unearned confidence. But as cocky as he may have been, it worked — he knew that they were rendered helpless when he held the possibility of a dying spirit against them.
“Zhao, don’t.” Aang dropped his staff and held his hands up in surrender, an action Y/N and the others mirrored.
Everything after that happened unbelievably quickly. After General Iroh — a man she knew as both the ruthless general that laid siege to Ba Sing Se for six hundred long days and Zuko’s surprisingly kind uncle — threatened the admiral with his own firebending, Y/N foolishly believed it to be the end once he let the fish back into the pond.
But any hopes of peace were dashed with the slice of firebending the admiral sent at Tui, plunging the world back into shades of grey just as quickly as it had returned.
“NO!”
A bloodcurdling scream rang in the air; Y/N thought whoever produced it must’ve been insane. It took her a moment to realize the strangled sound had come from her, and that Sokka’s grip on her arms was the only thing stopping her from foolishly throwing herself into the raging battle that had started.
Did the admiral not understand what he had just done? To attack any spirit was to inflict the rage of many others, to kill a spirit was to sign not only one's own death warrant, but those around him as well.
To kill the Moon Spirit meant to destroy waterbending as the world knew it. To kill the Moon Spirit meant to disrupt the balance of the world. To kill the Moon Spirit meant to kill Yue.
The admiral should’ve considered himself very lucky that her waterbending was gone. With it, Y/N knew she would’ve done something she would regret.
As soon as the flames of Iroh’s onslaught disappeared, Sokka’s grip loosened on her arms and she all but sprinted over to the pond. A choked sob fell from her lips when she saw the dead fish in the water, palpable horror in the air as the rest of the group joined her.
Not even Aang’s feat of merging with the Ocean Spirit could help — it might’ve saved the tribe from the attack on the Fire Nation, but it could do nothing for the dead spirit. Y/N watched on mournfully as Iroh placed Tui back into the pond, the mortal body of the fish laying there unmoving.
“It’s too late,” Katara lamented. “It’s dead.”
Iroh looked up and met Y/N’s eyes, recognition flashing through them for just a moment before they moved to Yue’s. The blue hues of her irises were even more striking than usual — they were the only sign of color in the world around them.
His own widened with surprise as he gestured at her. “You have been touched by the Moon Spirit. Some of its life is in you.”
Yue seemed to understand what he was saying as she raised her head, her features taking on a mask of stoicism. “Yes, you’re right. It gave me life… maybe I can give it back.”
It was as if lightning had struck Y/N, the way that fear was jolted into her heart. “No!” she cried at the same time as Sokka, a reprise of her earlier plea. “Yue, you can’t!”
“You don’t have to do that!” Sokka reached out for her hand but she wrenched it out of his grasp — nothing they could say was going to change her mind.
“It’s my duty.” The princess stated it so plainly, carving the letters on her headstone herself.
“I won’t let you!” Sokka insisted. “Your father told me to protect you.”
“Yue, your duty isn’t to die for your tribe!” Y/N cried. She couldn’t think, spirits she could barely breathe. She couldn’t go through this again. She couldn’t go through this again. “Please, there has to be another way!”
She smiled sadly at Y/N and shook her head. “This was what I was born to do.” The princess glanced at the pond then took a step forward, wrapping Y/N in the tightest hug she could muster. She pressed her lips against Y/N’s cheek in a feather light kiss before she pulled away and continued forward and placed her hands against the koi fish.
The fish began to glow, Yue closed her eyes, she collapsed into Sokka’s arms.
And that was it.
The color returned to the world, but Y/N was frozen in place. She couldn’t do anything to save her friend, the girl that she was pretty sure she loved, as she died in front of her. Her cheek was still burning from where Yue’s lips had touched, and she wanted to bottle that warmth because she knew that was the last time she would ever feel it.
The first tear to fall snapped her out of her paralysis as she fell to her knees next to Sokka, her body cradled in his arms as he mourned for a lost love. Y/N wanted to scream, she wanted to sob, she wanted to do anything to get this anger and sadness out but she could do nothing but stare, eyes wide and shimmering with unshed tears.
Her body slowly faded away, and Y/N could’ve laughed at the irony. Yue gave her life for the spirits and all they could leave them with was the fleeting memory.
The fish in Iroh’s hands began to glow and he placed it back in the water, and almost immediately it returned to its natural rhythm. The oasis took on the glow of the fish and it formed the cruelest joke of them all.
Princess Yue. She was ethereal, both her hair and white dress flowing down her back and a peaceful expression on her face. She was more beautiful than ever, and her voice echoed through the oasis as she spoke.
“I will always be with you, Y/N. Thank you for making me feel alive.” A small smile, much like the one she gave her just moments ago, played on her lips. “I love you.”
Y/N could do nothing but stare, awestruck and heartbroken, as she whispered something to Sokka and kissed him.
And then she was gone.
Her gaze was trained forward, tears spouting and falling down her cheeks, some dim part of her still hoping that it was just a cruel joke by the spirits. She couldn’t go through this again.
How could they do this to her again? How could they introduce a light into her life and make her fall in love, then wrench it away from her grasp? She felt selfish for only caring about herself. She couldn’t go through this again.
Yue was gone.
She couldn’t go through this again.
Another strangled sob fell from her lips and Katara pulled her into a hug. That simple motion seemed to open to the floodgates, and suddenly she was choking on her own tears. Katara’s arms around her were the only tether she had to the world right now, she had to focus on it or else she would lose herself to the grief.
It felt like the minutes were hours with how long it took until Y/N was finally able to walk out of the oasis, but Katara and Sokka stayed by her side the entire time. When they finally stumbled out into the real world, Y/N felt weaker than ever. The constant go go go of the siege had finally caught up to her, and she was so damn tired.
“Always and forever.”
“You’re stuck with me.”
She was losing hope in promises.
-
perm tag list: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77
ehfar: @chandies-sideblog @persica27 @anzanity @randomthingssss @escapingthoughtsandsecrets @shanksfav @shephard17895 @ilovespideyyy @carisi-sonny
atla: @marianne1806
#zuko x reader#zuko x you#zuko x y/n#zuko#zuko fic#zuko x reader fic#avatar#atla#avatar the last airbender#avatar fic#atla fic#avatar the last airbender fic#avatar x reader#sadie writes#im not gonna lie i barely proofread this#simply because i didnt want to put myself through it lmao#thats a good sign right
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flirt [zuko]
Pairing: Zuko x earthbender!reader baybeeeeee
Summary: An anon request <3 “ zuko and a super outgoing/confident/flirty reader? all the fics i’ve seen so far are super shy reader x zuko, they’re super cute, just not very relatable to me lol”
i hope i do your request justice :3 also i’m sorry that I keep making the reader a bender but this fits bc they have to fight Zuko lol
.masterlist.
~
You don’t even know how you ended up traveling with the Gaang.
One day you had been living in a small Earth Kingdom town, helping out the Beifongs as Toph’s etiquette tutor and the next, you found yourself being tugged away from your home by the youngest Beifong. You couldn’t deny the fact that you finally felt free flying on the (abnormally cute) sky bison as you headed to who-knows-where.
You had nothing left for you back in the Earth Kingdom town you had been born in. You were the only daughter of a well-known family who had always been loyal to the Earth King. Unfortunately, they had been captured on a trip to Ba Sing Se and subsequently killed by the Fire Nation. With no family left to turn to, you proceeded to accept the Beifong’s offer to stay with them in return for you teaching Toph about high class etiquette.
Toph was an interesting girl and you found yourself being impressed with everything she did. You were always her number one supporter, especially when it came to her being The Blind Bandit. She was an extremely talented bender and in return for you tutoring her, she was your bending instructor and you became her only most promising student.
Eventually, Aang, Katara, and Sokka all filled you in about the banished Fire Nation prince and how he had chased the Gaang everywhere they had gone in an attempt to capture the Avatar. You and Toph were upset at the stories and were immediately anti-Zuko, promising to help Aang master earthbending as fast as possible.
You got along well with everyone, especially Sokka who was almost as talkative as you were. Of course the good vibes didn’t last long and you all found yourselves arguing as you found yourselves being chased by Azula and her friends. The situation had culminated in a battle at a small, abandoned town. You had arrived to see Aang being cornered by two people, each of them throwing fire towards the young Air Nomad.
Engaging with the person closest to you, you thrust your hands out, shooting a pillar of earth out and tossing the person into the closest building. Sharing a look with Aang, you waved him off. “Go! I’ll hold him off.”
“Be careful,” Aang warned, looking towards Azula uncertainly. “That’s Zuko.”
Your eyes widened as Aang ran off before turning your attention back to the boy in front of you. He struggled to get up before a burst of fire left him, sending rock debris everywhere. Quickly, you sent up another wall of earth, protecting yourself from the flying rocks before breaking it apart and sending it towards Zuko. The banished prince grunted before throwing a few fireballs towards you, causing you to stumble back and fall.
Eyes narrowing, Zuko made his way to you, pulling back his fist as fire formed around it. Groaning, you sat up, finally getting a good look at the boy in front of you. Almost immediately, a flirty smirk made it’s way onto your face. You quickly scrambled to your feet, bouncing up to him without any hesitation. You dodged his attacks, fighting back as you bit your lip.
“So...you’re Zuko?” you asked, dodging another punch. At this point, you were engaging in hand to hand combat instead of relying on your earthbending. Zuko didn’t reply, his eyes narrowing as he kept sending blasts of fire again.
“Aang told us about how you haven’t been able to capture him,” you continued, blinking innocently as Zuko became visibly angry. “But he failed to mention just how handsome you are.”
At your words, Zuko’s eyes widened and he misstepped, losing his focus at your words. You took that opportunity to step back as well before taking a strong step and raising your hands, encasing the banished prince in a slab of rock.
“Let me go!” Zuko cried out, steam coming out of his nose as he struggled. You stood in front of him, arms crossed as you stared at him. He truly was handsome, with piercing gold eyes and soft-looking black hair. You opened your mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Sokka.
“(Y/N)! A little help here?” the Water Tribe boy yelped, narrowly dodging a blast of blue fire from Azula.
“Coming!” you replied, eyebrows furrowing in slight concern before you addressed Zuko once more. “It was real nice meeting you Prince Zuko. I hope to see you again under more pleasurable circumstances.”
With a wink, you sprinted away, jumping in front of Sokka and sending up a wall of earth as Azula struck again. You continued to sprint around, helping out whenever called out to you. The fight came to an end when you all had Azula cornered, and you sent a brief smirk to Zuko as you saw him standing near you. “Finally made it out huh?”
He had glowered at you and you simply rolled your eyes before turning back to Azula. “The whole tough guy act is hot but something tells me you’d look better with a smile.”
You missed his surprised look as Azula shot a blast of fire towards an older man, who you later learned was Zuko’s uncle Iroh. In the ensuing chaos she escaped, and you were left with a shaken Zuko and an injured Iroh. At Zuko’s threats insistence, the five of you left, looking back at him as you flew off on Appa. It was silent for a few minutes before you finally spoke up. “So, why didn’t you guys mention that Prince Zuko is hot?”
The only sound that was heard was Sokka slapping his forehead.
~
The next time you saw Zuko was in Ba Sing Se. You had been walking around with Katara, having stayed behind with her to plan the invasion. She was talking quietly as you looked around the city, pretending to be listening to her. On your shoulder, Momo was chattering quietly, also looking around with his large eyes.
You sighed softly as you entered a cozy-looking tea shop. You looked around in appreciation before you heard Katara gasp. Quickly, she grabbed your hand and whirled around hurrying out of the shop. You felt yourself crash into someone else, losing Katara’s hand and falling to the ground. You looked at the door before looking at Momo, shaking your head at Katara’s weird behavior.
“Are you alright?” a soft voice ask. You pushed yourself up, ignoring the hand in front of you before looking up. Your eyes widened in surprise as you found yourself staring at Zuko’s uncle. Iroh, you recalled vaguely. Recognition flashed in his eyes as he looked at you, remembering you as the earthbender who had trapped his nephew. Bracing yourself for the worst possible scenario, you nodded in response to his question, holding Momo to your chest.
“Would you like a cup of tea?” the retired general asked, a warm smile on his face as he guided you to a table. “You look like a jasmine type of girl.”
Sensing no ill intentions from the smiling man, you nodded. “Jasmine happens to be my favorite.”
“I see. It is my nephew’s favorite as well,” Iroh continued, gesturing to the boy behind the counter. You smiled as you noticed Zuko standing behind the counter, his back to you as he focused on whatever he was doing. Noticing your smile at the sight of his nephew, Iroh smiled as well. “I’ll send him over to give you your tea.”
“I would greatly appreciate that,” you said, your eyes not leaving the handsome boy.
You played with Momo when Iroh left, silently speaking to the winged lemur as you waited for your tea. You placed Momo in your lap when you heard someone set down a tray on your table, looking up to see Zuko standing there. “Hey handsome.”
Zuko glanced at you, doing a double take when his eyes met yours. “Y-You!”
He grasped your hand, pulling you out of your seat and towards the back as you struggled to hold on to Momo.
“Ow! Ow! Can you stop?” you hissed, pulling your hand away from him. You placed Momo on your shoulder before rubbing your wrist. You glanced down at it, noticing how raw it looked. “You really need to learn how to control your temper Zuko.”
“What happened here?” Iroh’s asked before Zuko could speak again. He gently took your hand in his inspecting the burn before turning to his nephew. “Now Lee, is this any way to treat our customers?”
“She isn’t a customer uncle,” Zuko replied bluntly. “She’s traveling with the Avatar. She is the earthbender who fought me the day you were injured.”
“You’re the earthbender who trapped my nephew?” Iroh looked at you in surprise. You nodded, causing the older man to chuckle. “You are a very talented bender.”
You blushed at the compliment before answering, thinking about Toph. “Thank you, I was trained by the best.”
“We must get this wrapped up. Come with me,” Iroh led you to a back room, where he proceeded to get some type of salve and some wrappings. “Zuko if you could please do this for me, I’m afraid I have to get back to the customers.”
Iroh left the two of you, but not before stopping and handing Momo a few litchi nuts. Momo chittered before jumping off your shoulder, landing on a windowsill as he began eating the fruit. You glanced at the burn once more before looking back at Zuko. “You know, you just gave the term ‘too hot to handle’ a whole new meaning.”
Zuko tried to hold his blush back at your words as he sat in front of you. He grabbed your arm, applying the paste and then gathering the wrappings, beginning to tie them around your wrist.
You hissed when he tightened it a little too much, pulling away from the boy. “Ow! If I wanted you to be rough with me I would’ve told you.”
This time, Zuko could not hold his blush at your double entendre. A faint smirk appeared on your face as you began to wrap your wrist.
“Let me do it,” Zuko muttered reaching for your arm.
“No,” you replied leaning away. “Trust me I can do it myself.”
“Why are you being so difficult,” the boy groaned, lunging for the wrapping. You leaned back too far, falling onto your back as you reached out for something to grab on to. The only thing you succeeded in doing was pulling Zuko down with you.
You stared at the boy above you. “When I told you that I hope we’d meet under more pleasurable circumstances, this wasn’t what I had in mind. Not that I’m complaining.”
Zuko stuttered for a few second before deciding to scowl at you instead.
“If I had known I was interrupting, I would’ve stayed outside. Prince Zuko, I never knew you were so good with the ladies,” Iroh’s voice floated in. You sat up immediately, only succeeding in getting closer to the prince. You tried to ignore the blush that you knew was visible on your cheeks.
“I would be honored to be wooed by such an attractive man,” you said, looking up at Zuko through your eyelashes. Iroh raised an eyebrow. “Unfortunately, I simply fell back and pulled your nephew down with me.”
“Well, as an apology on his behalf from earlier, let me offer you a nice warm cup of jasmine tea,” Iroh said, setting down a tray. “On the house.”
You smiled as you pulled yourself up, leaving Zuko on the ground. “It smells delicious but I am afraid I must get going. Katara must be wondering where I am. Thank you very much for the offer.”
You bowed before whistling sharply, causing Momo to fly to your shoulder.
“My nephew will walk you out. It was nice to met you...” Iroh trailed off as he realized that he had never asked for your name.
“My name is (Y/N),” you supplied, smiling.
“A truly beautiful name,” Iroh said, stepping away from the door. “It was nice to meet you (Y/N). I hope to see you again soon. Zuko, please walk her out.”
You bowed once more before you followed Zuko back out to the store. When you reached the steps, you turned around and faced him once more. “It was nice to see you again handsome. Let’s do it again sometime.”
Zuko’s reply was lost as you stepped forward, leaning up and pressing a soft kiss to his scarred cheek. “Have a nice evening.”
Momo’s chittering was the only thing that could be heard as you walked away. Zuko stood on the steps until he could no longer see you, the blush on his cheeks only intensifying when he remembered how your lips felt pressed against his cheek.
“It seems to me that she is the one wooing you,” Iroh said, hiding a smile.
“Shut up uncle.”
~
You didn’t see the handsome prince again until you had all safely escaped to the Western Air Temple. You had been trying to talk to Aang about learning firebending when you and Toph had felt someone arriving.
“Aang, I think we should be making some plans about our future!” Sokka exclaimed, trying to get Aang to pay attention.
“Okay, we can do that while I show you the giant Pai Sho table! Oh, you're gonna love the all-day echo chamber!” the air nomad replied, already preparing to run off.
Aang came to an abrupt stop when you sent up a wall of earth in front of him.
“I think that’ll have to wait,” Toph said, turning to face the newcomer.
“Hello, Zuko here,” the prince said, raising his arms up in greeting. Immediately, everyone except you took a fighting stance. You didn’t really pay attention to most of the conversation, too busy staring at Zuko’s hair. It had grown out some and to be honest, you thought it looked really good.
“Wait,” you interrupted, stepping forward slightly. “You look really good with your hair like that. Not to say you didn’t look good before but this, wow. you’re even hotter.”
“(Y/N)!” Sokka and Katara exclaimed at the same time. Sokka pulled you back before smacking you lightly. You smacked him back, the two of you bickering nonstop. You missed Zuko’s bewildered expression, along with most of the conversation.
“There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done,” Aang spoke, catching your attention. “We'll never let you join us.”
“You need to get out of here,” Katara added, a hard expression on her face. “Now.”
Zuko looked at you, his eyes pleading.
You sighed before speaking, your arms raised in surrender. “Look, I think you’re probably the most attractive guy I’ve ever seen-”
“Hey!” Sokka cried indignantly.
You ignored him. “But to be fair, you did send an assassin after us. Not to mention everything else you’ve done. I can’t help you handsome.”
“If you won't accept me as a friend, then maybe you'll take me as a prisoner,” Zuko said, kneeling with his hands out. You looked at Katara, a suggestive smirk on your face.
“(Y/N), stop,” she sighed before turning back to Zuko and bending some water. “No, we won't! Get out of here, and don't come back! And if we ever see you again, well, we'd better not see you again!”
Zuko bowed his head and turned to walk away, glancing back once more. For once, you didn’t meet his eyes.
~
“Has anyone seen Toph,” you asked as you rushed into the courtyard. “I haven’t seen her since yesterday.”
“I haven’t seen her since she stormed off yesterday,” Sokka said, polishing his sword.
“Maybe we should go look for her,” Katara said, noticing your distress.
“We’ll look for her!” The Duke said, rushing off with Haru and Teo.
You whirled around when you heard a loud rumble, only to see a gaping hole in the wall. Toph tumbled out of it, her eyes wide.
“Toph!” you exclaimed, wrapping her up in a hug. “What happened?”
“My feet got burned,” she replied, pushing you off of her.
Her feet were an angry red and you felt your anger rise up as you realized who had done it. “The next time I see Zuko I swear to the spirits that I will-”
“It was an accident,” Toph interrupted you, placing a hand on your arm. You bit your lip as Sokka carried her over to the fountain.
“Ah that’s the stuff,” Toph said, closing her eyes as she dipped her feet in. Soka opened his mouth to say something only to be cut off by an explosion. Being the closest to the source, you were flung back, metal and stone landing on top of you.
“(Y/N)!” you heard Aang yell as everyone else ran away.
“I’m fine!” you called back. “Go I’ll be okay.”
You bended as much earth as you could away from you, only to still be stuck when you realized you couldn’t move the metal.
“We have to get (Y/N),” Toph said, worriedly grabbing onto Katara.
“We will. Hold on,” Sokka said, staring at the blasts Combustion Man was sending their way. After a few more blasts, he was able to tell where he was and aimed his boomerang. The boomerang met it’s mark and they all ran out, Sokka and Toph immediately going over to you.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thanks Zuko,” Aang spoke softly.
“Hey! What about me?” Sokka asked, helping you up. Your leg was injured but luckily nothing had been broken. Sokka was fussing over you, looking at the nasty bruise that had been left from the metal and you were trying to push him away, claiming that you didn’t need his help.
“...I’d like for you to teach me,” Aang’s words gained yours and Sokka’s attention. Zuko bowed.
“Thank you. I’m so happy you’ve accepted me into your group.”
“Not so fast,” Aang said. “I still have to ask my friends if it's okay with them. Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned. What do you think?”
“Go ahead and let him join,” Toph said as the pounded her fist into her palm. “It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet.”
“Sokka?” Aang asked.
“Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord,” the Water Tribe Boy shrugged. “If you think this is the way to do it, then, I'm all for it.“
“Katara?”
“I'll go along with whatever you think is right,” she said simply, glaring at Zuko.
“What about you (Y/N)?” Aang asked, already knowing what your answer would be.
“You’re telling me I’m going to have to see him every day?” you asked, gesturing towards Zuko. “That sounds like a dream come true.”
“Thank you,” Zuko said, redder than a tomato. “I won’t let you down.”
“I’m sure you won’t,” you replied. Groans were heard from everyone else.
~
“Come on (Y/N)!” Toph yelled at you. “Do it!”
You stared at the metal in front of you, trying to concentrate on it. You were in the courtyard, a few days after Combustion Man’s downfall. Zuko and Aang were firebending a few feet away from where Toph was trying to teach you how to metalbend. Ever since you had gotten trapped, she had been insistent on teaching you.
With a loud huff, you closed your eyes. You reached out focuising as much as you could and turning the pieces of metal in front of you into smooth, shiny balls. You opened your eyes when you heard clapping, turning to see Aang cheering softly for you. Zuko stood behind him, shirtless.
“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Toph taunted, bending the balls of metal back into scraps. “Do it again. This time concentrate harder. I don’t know why you’re so distracted today.”
“You don’t know why I’m distracted?” you said turning to face Aang and Zuko. “Prince Handsome over here is training shirtless and you expect me to not be distracted by that?”
“I don’t get distracted by that,” Toph countered.
“Of course not,” you said, facing her again. “You’re blind.”
Aang snickered and Zuko coughed as he tried to choke back his laughter.
“Do it again,” Toph barked. “Zuko come stand next to me.”
Zuko complied and crossed his arms as he stood next to Toph. You found yourself blushing lightly as you stared at the way his arms flexed before focusing on the metal once more. You struggled for a few minutes, feeling Zuko’s eyes on you. You glanced at him once more, watching his arms flex once again as he shifted in place. Looking up at his face, you saw him already looking at you, a smirk on his face.
You looked back at the metal trying not to look at the prince again. He knew exactly what he was doing to you.
~
It wasn’t until Ember Island that you got to spend more time around Zuko. After the day Toph had made him stand next to her as she trained you, you made sure to train as far as you could possibly get from the prince. That didn’t stop you from flirting with him every other chance you had though, always commenting on how you couldn’t train around him because he made you flustered.
Your comments seemed to make him equally, if not more, flustered.
The day you guys went to see the play, you had sat next to him, intertwining your fingers when the lights went off. He had stiffened up, an unreadable look on his face when he felt your hand in his. Thinking he had been uncomfortable, you pulled back your hand, only to blush when he pulled it back towards him this time taking it upon himself to intertwine your fingers.
Your hands remained intertwined for the rest of the play, even when you exited the private box for the intermission. You didn’t miss the smug looks from everyone else and while Zuko blushed, you had simply leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek the same way you had back in Ba Sing Se.
When the second half of the play started, you proceeded to lean on Zuko, nestling your head in the crook of his neck. His heart racing, Zuko disconnected your hands before wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you in closer. You closed your eyes as you leaned into him, enjoying the warmth that seemed to radiate from him.
~
The next few days were spent watching Aang and Zuko training as you lounged around the beach house. You spent most of your time with Toph as she kept drilling metalbending into you until you could do it with your eyes closed.
A few nights before Sozin’s comet, you found yourself sitting on the roof of the house, staring up at the moon. You jumped slightly when you felt someone sitting next to you, the warmth emitting from them telling you it was Zuko.
“What are you doing up so late?” he asked, his eyes never leaving you.
“I could ask you the same thing,” you hummed, still looking at the moon. You looked at him to see him scowling. “I couldn’t sleep so I came out here to look at the moon.”
“Sokka’s first girlfriend turned into the moon,” Zuko said, fidgeting under your gaze.
“That’s rough,” you said, looking back up.
It was silent for a few minutes before Zuko spoke up again. “Why do you like teasing me so much?”
You looked at him, bewildered. “Teasing you?”
“Yeah,” Zuko said, turning to face you. “All the compliments and the kisses and everything. Why?”
“It’s called flirting, Prince Zuko,” you said with a smile. “People typically do it when they’re attracted to or like somebody.”
“So why do you do it to me?”
You stared at him in disbelief, wondering if he was joking or if he was truly that oblivious. “Because I like you!”
Zuko’s eyes widened in surprise at your words. “You like me?”
“I thought you knew! I thought that’s why you kept flexing the day Toph kept trying to get me to metalbend,” you hissed poking his arm.
“I was joking around,” Zuko replied, swatting your hand away. “I thought you saying I was distracting you was a joke so I kept flexing to tease you.”
“Well you did tease me,” you mumbled. “Just not in the way you’re thinking of.”
“So,” Zuko said, not meeting your eyes. “You really like me?”
You rolled your eyes before leaning forwards, pressing a firm kiss to his lips. His eyes widened in shock before he closed them, his hand reaching up to cup your face as he melted into the kiss. You pulled back and giggled as his lips chased yours, pecking him once more before leaning back. “Does that answer your question?”
Zuko nodded quickly before grabbing your hand. “I like you too.”
You smiled as you shuffled closer to him. “Good. I’d be pretty upset if you didn’t.”
You gasped lightly as Zuko pressed his lips back to yours, sliding his arms around your waist and pulling you into his lap. Your arms wound around his neck, hands tangling in his hair as you eagerly kissed back. Zuko pulled away first, a chuckle escaping him.
“What?” you asked leaning your head against his shoulder.
“I can’t believe uncle was right,” he replied. At your questioning gaze, he explained.
“You did end up wooing me.”
~
AHAHAHAHAAHHHH i hope this is good i spent a lot of time on this one and i’m not too proud of it but i hope you enjoy <3
#prince zuko x reader#atla zuko x reader#zuko#prince zuko#atla zuko#avatar#avatar: tla#avatar: the last airbender#avatar x reader#aang#katara#sokka#toph#atla#atla x reader#zuko x reader#sokka x reader#atla sokka x reader#zukoxreader
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Text
Don’t Care
Pairing: Team Avatar & GN Reader
Warnings: Death Mention & S2 Spoilers
Word Count: 1,031
Summary: After joining Team Avatar, you have a hard time getting on the good side of a certain boomerang loving Water Tribe boy.
-Navigation- | -Atla Masterlist-
Sokka did not like you.
He made that very clear from the moment you joined ‘Team Avatar’.
You couldn’t really blame him, seeing as you joined Prince Zuko in his journey to hunt down Aang for the past year. As much as you disliked doing it, your loyalties have always lied with Zuko. When you were a child, despite the fact your father was named a traitor to the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Azulon saw promise in you and allowed you to stay. You stayed at the royal palace and trained alongside the young Prince and Princess. Though you were young, you were established as a sort of bodyguard to the siblings.
When Zuko was banished, you were told to go with him. Less so because of your protector status and more so of the fact Ozai just didn’t like you being around at all. You liked to think it was because he felt threatened by a child, but you were unaware of the true reason.
Then when Azula took on hunting down the Avatar, she recruited you to help her rather than help her brother. You had no right to say no, seeing as your loyalties were also meant to stand with her.
Long story short- but not really -you’ve caused a lot of problems for the rag tag group of kids.
It was really quite the surprise when Toph and Katara vouched for you at Sokka’s refusal to let you come with them after the situation in Ba Sing Se. Toph used her… interesting sense to tell the truth to vouch you were a genuine person when you said you wanted to help, and Katara noted how you tried to stop Azula from killing Aang.
He wasn’t happy about it, but he didn’t stop you from climbing atop Appa with them, nor did he try to throw you off the bison. Which you had been pretty sure he was going to do.
You were thankful he didn’t.
It didn’t take long for you to become friends with Toph after joining the team. She seemed to be pretty understanding of you, and didn’t have anywhere near the same problems with you Katara and Sokka did.
She could sympathize with the fact that you never felt like you could be yourself because of where you lived, how you were raised. Apparently she’d been the same. It was nice to know there was someone else who understood.
“Going against them to help us, even though you’d always been told to be loyal to them- Was pretty cool of you.” The young earthbender punched you in the arm shortly after speaking and quickly added, “If you ever tell anyone I said that, I’ll bury you once we get off this boat.”
Getting along with Katara took a little longer, however.
“Just because I vouched for you, doesn’t mean I like you.” The waterbender had commented one day, when you told her good morning.
“That’s fair.”
She seemed to be shocked but how much you didn’t care, you guess it surprised her that you didn’t really mind if they didn’t like you.
When she questioned you about it one day, you’d shrugged your shoulders. “I figured you guys would treat me worse.” Was all you offered. Something about that sentence made her feel bad about you it seemed, and once she’d forgiven you for the pretty terrible things you did, the two of you became fast friends.
Sokka on the other hand, just wouldn’t budge. He was extremely stubborn on the matter. Whenever you greeted him in the mornings, you were met with silence. It was obvious he didn’t have any interest in talking to you, so after a little while you eventually gave up on it. You decided to wait until he came to you, if ever. You kind of doubted he would but, there was no point in trying to force it.
It caught you off guard, when he leaned against the boat railing next to you, after everyone hijacked one of the Fire Nation’s ships.
“Thanks.” Was all he said, after a long moment of silence, before leaving again.
You weren’t entirely sure what he was thanking you for, but you’d take it. It wasn’t a lot, but it was still improvement.
After Aang woke up, saying he was shocked to see you there was an understatement. If not for his injuries, he would have attacked you. He’d been pretty quick to accept you onto the team after the others explained things to him. At one point you offered to teach him firebending, knowing he had to learn, but he’d turned you away.
“I hurt Katara the first time I tried to firebend… I promised myself I’d never learn. I don’t want to hurt anyone again.”
You’d nodded in understanding. “Let me know if you ever change your mind, kid.”
He thought it was funny that you called him kid, when you’re only a few years older than him. Two, to be exact.
Safe to say, excluding Sokka, you got along pretty well with Team Avatar. You found quickly they were much better to hang out with than Zuko and Azula- No offense to the Prince. Even if you didn’t particularly approve of his decisions, he was still your best friend.
One night, in the Fire Nation cave the group currently inhabited, you’d sat by yourself off to the side. Even if most of them we’re fine with you, part of you felt like you still didn’t belong. Probably the part of you that wished Sokka wouldn’t hate you so much.
“Are you going to come eat with us, or mope over here all night?”
Speak of the devil, and he will appear.
You looked up at Sokka in shock, as he held a hand out to help you up. You’d honestly thought he would pull his hand away at the last moment, pulling some kind of prank on you, but he didn’t. He actually grasped onto your hand and pulled you off the ground.
You didn’t know what made him change his mind about you, but as you sat down between him and Aang, you decided you didn’t really care.
#avatar the last airbender#atla#avatar the last airbender x reader#atla x reader#reader insert#team avatar#team avatar x reader#team avatar x you#team avatar x y/n#sokka x reader#sokka x y/n#sokka x you
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