#iroh’s two lotus tiles
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Avatar the last airbender vs a zombie apocalypse
Imagine an au where pentapox is a real illness that turns you into a zombie. Sokka finds a way to lure all the infected people to the same spot. Toph and Aang quarantine them in mere seconds by bending walls around them. Katara uses the Spirit Water to heal everyone. This is a B-plot at most. The A-plot is about Momo being kidnapped by a baby and Appa’s moral dilemma on whether he is allowed to harm a baby in order to save his friend. The C-plot is Zuko and Mai babysitting the lemur kidnapper.
#the gaang vs#iroh’s two lotus tiles#I have never seen a zombie movie#like ever#so maybe I’m underestimating zombies#but I believe the gaang is way too competent for them
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||The Thread of Fate|| Part Nine
Summary: Soulmate AU. They say the Thread of Fate connects you to your one true love. It may tangle. It may stretch. But it will never break. Wrapped around your little finger it tightens when it feels your soulmate is close and loosens when they are far. And becomes visible with the colors of your soulmate’s Nation when you finally fall in love with them.
Pairing: Zuko x OroraOC (ATLA)
Rating || Genres || Warnings: T+ Romance. Adventure.
Previous Chapters - Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight,
A/N: So I didn't mean to stay away for so long but then life happened :/ Anyway! Hope you guys enjoy this REALLY long chapter!
To say it had been a close call would be an understatement. Not only had they escaped the Fire Nation Princess as well as the Fire Nation in the past few weeks, but somehow had managed to evade capture once more by two unknown assailants from the Earth Kingdom.
Hiding away in flower pots had certainly not been a comfortable idea, but it proved effective.
While the shopkeeper's son wheeled them away from the small village that had offered them refuge, Orora's mind caught up with all that had happened since yesterday.
Finding someone to help them.
The strange Pai Sho game.
The White Lotus Tile.
Escaping the Oasis.
Iroh's strange meeting.
Falling asleep on Zuko's shoulder.
The last one had a blush stealing across her cheeks, and the memory of it had her stomach flipping in on itself.
It was ridiculous just how strangely her body was reacting to what had happened. Especially when the waking up part had involved Zuko suddenly jumping to his feet and her body flopping to the side on the dirt floor.
He didn't even apologize for it, which only added to her annoyance of having been so rudely awakened.
As her annoyance faded to mild irritation, her mind began to wander had just how much her life had changed within the past few months.
Not only had she left home and her family, but she had also found herself a Master who could teach her. Her healing abilities had increased exponentially given the severity of the patients she had taken care of, not to mention how many she had treated. She had learned how to fight, a feat she was most proud of considering she barely had any training. The Moon Spirit herself had visited her and offered her advice. Her fingers unconsciously brushed against the white patch in her hair.
And then there was the fact that she had also found her soulmate.
Albeit one she could never accept but still. Not a lot of girls from the Northern Water Tribe claimed to have found their soulmates. Most of them had their marriages arranged to someone of their father's choosing before they could do so.
So perhaps she was fortunate enough to know who he was.
Just too bad he was the Fire Nation Prince.
Running a hand down her face the water bender sighed. "I need to stop fixating on him so much." She muttered to herself.
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Boarding the boat that would carry them closer to their destination went about with no obstacles. Which was strange considering up till now whatever plan that was made hit a snag or two along the way. Still, she wasn't about to question fate and did remain on guard should anything go awry.
Her blue eyes were focused on the dock as it slowly grew smaller as the boat sailed away. Her Master had expressed his excitement by proclaiming himself a tourist, while Zuko remained as he preferred.
Pouting and brooding in a corner.
She barely overheard what they were speaking of, content on simply gazing at the clear water. She could see her reflection in it, could see the white patch of hair she had been blessed with.
Was that what it was then? A blessing by the Moon Spirit. Lifting her hand she brushed the tips of her fingers against the strands, tilting her head as she continued to observe her reflection. She wasn't someone who cared too much about her looks, but she didn't think she was unpleasant to look at. Cutting off her hair had been humbling in her opinion, and necessary. And the short hair did suit her, the strands now coming to just curl under her chin, the tips barely touching her collarbone. Still was she someone who could be described as being pretty? She pursed her lips, dropping her hand and shaking her head. Honestly, what was wrong with her? There were other more pressing things to worry about then her appearance.
"Orora, my dear." Iroh's voice barely registered in her mind, so lost she was as she gazed at the water, though she did make a small humming sound, to show she had heard him.
"It would seem there are a few passengers in need of your abilities."
That got her attention. Standing straight, the young girl followed his line of sight to see a young mother trying to console her small child. The little boy's arm was in makeshift sling, and even from here Orora could see how awkwardly the boy was holding his arm.
With an encouraging nod from her Master, the young waterbender slowly approached the duo. The mother looked up as she came closer.
"I'm sorry if his crying is disturbing you. It's just he's hurt an-" Orora shook her head, letting her lips curve into what she hoped was a friendly smile. "That is not the reason why I came. I'm a Healer, and I wanted to see if I could do something to help him."
So saying she bent down on her knees and reached out a hand towards the boy. "May I?" The mother looked a little unsure, but the child let out a loud whimper and she relented. Removing the sling, Orora uncorked her water pouch and coated her hands with the liquid. It glowed under her touch, mesmerizing the boy and distracting him from the pain as well as the fever that raged through his tiny body.
"It is a small break, but one I will be able to fix." Orora observed. She pressed her hands atop the boy's arm and took a deep breath. The blue glow around her hands intensified briefly before dying down. "Now try to move your arm." She encouraged with a smile, once she had removed her hands.
The boy was hesitant at first, but when no pain radiated from his injury, he let out a bright, happy laugh before swinging his arm around. Orora couldn't help but laugh lightly at his enthusiasm. "Well, it looks like you're all better now." She turned her attention to the mother who was looking at her in utter disbelief.
"He'll need something to make sure his fever goes away." Reaching into her bag she pulled out a small pack of leaves. "So just add this in his water and he should b-" The next moment all the breath was knocked right out of her as the mother all but threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around Orora in a tight embrace. "Thank you. Thank you so much." She all but sobbed. For her part, Orora patted the woman awkwardly on the back a few times.
When it came to physical displays of affection, her life had been quite lacking. Her father had never hugged her, her mother would only brush her hair in affection. The only embrace Orora could recall was one she had received from her grandmother. And that was so long ago.
She barely remembered it.
Once she was free of the embrace, the young girl quickly stood up and nodded at the small family before quickly retreating to where her two travel companions were. She moved to resume her previous stance when a voice stopped her.
"Why did you help them?"
Her head turned sharply in Zuko's direction. He was standing up against the support beam she had just passed, arms folded and a rather irritated look on his face. Which was the norm really.
"We're supposed to be keeping a low profile. You can't just go around and heal people." His words had her sighing in an almost exasperated manner. "Tell me Lee." The use of his other name sounded strange upon her tongue, and if Zuko were honest a tiny part of him didn't like hearing that name coming from her lips.
He much preferred Zuko.
Without so much as a hint of emotion in her features she continued. "If you came across a person, begging for water, and what you had was the last of your reserve would you give it to them?"
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The silence that followed her words stretched on. Both teenagers refused to look away from the other, having started some sort of staring contest where neither wished to admit defeat. However there were subtle differences between their expressions.
Orora's face was tilted upwards slightly, silently challenging Zuko to answer and nearly taunting him with her eyes as she did. Zuko, on his part, had his lips pursed, and while Orora's stance was more relaxed and at ease, it was clear there was an inner battle that raged within the banished prince.
Then again, there was always a battle raging within him every waking hour.
Unable to bear the intensity of Orora's gaze, he was the first one to look away. The girl let out a small sound that was a mix between disappointment and annoyance. "When you're ready to give an answer to my question, I'll answer yours." She said referring to what he had asked earlier. With that she walked past him towards Iroh who stood nearby trying to act as if he wasn't paying attention to them. And failing at it.
"I'm going to take a walk around the deck. See if anyone else needs my help." With a nod of confirmation from her teacher, Orora gripped the shoulder of her water satchel and with one backward glace in Zuko's direction, walked off.
The young prince watched her as she left. He couldn't understand why she went about helping people like she did. Sure she had done it in the past, but that was mostly to get some money for provisions. These people couldn't give her any money.
Was she simply doing it out of kindness?! Was that even possible for a person to do given how dangerous things could get for her. She was a girl after all. Not defenseless, but still an easy target.
The thought of Orora being an easy target for anyone looking to take advantage of her had a sickening feeling settle in the pit of his stomach.
And it had nothing to do with the smell of the food he had received while he had been lost in contemplation. Pushing away the unpleasant thought, he turned his attention to the broth in his bowl and made a face. It looked like dirt, and he was sure it tasted like that too. He raised the bowl to his lips and no sooner had the broth touched his lips when he spat it right out.
"Ugh! I'm sick of eating rotten food." He growled, looking like he wanted to throw the bowl into the water. "Sleeping in the dirt. I'm tired of living like this!" Maybe it was the hunger gnawing at his stomach that had his previous emotions rising to the surface. Or maybe it was the thought of a certain waterbender getting hurt somehow.
"Aren't we all?" The voice came as a sudden distraction, prompting Zuko and his Uncle to look in the direction of the speaker. A teenage boy with a stalk of wheat in his mouth stepped into their line of sight. He was flanked by two younger teenagers. "My name's Jet and these are my Freedom Fighters, Smellerbee and Longshot." He introduced himself and his companions. The girl, Smellerbee, greeted back, Longshot simply gave a small nod of acknowledgment.
"Hello." Zuko spoke in a slightly dismissive tone, hoping they would go away. However, what Jet said next caught his undivided attention.
"Here's the deal. I hear the captain's eating like a king while the refugees have to feed off his scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?" Iroh, who was normally against stealing but couldn't deny his hunger spoke up. "What sort of king is he eating like?"
"The fat, happy kind." Jet stated in a slightly sarcastic tone. Hearing this Iroh's mouth hung open, as his mind began to concoct all sorts of delicious meals the captain might be eating at that moment. Jet turned his attention back to Zuko. "You want to help us "liberate" some food?" He asked with a smirk. Glancing down at the disgusting slop Zuko gripped it tighter in his hand before tossing it into the water. "I'm in."
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With one final deep breath, Orora lifted her hands from the leg she had finished healing. "There. That should heal it." She informed the previously ailing old man who gave her a smile of disbelief and gratitude. His old wife reached out to clasp her hand in a motherly way. "Thank you so much my dear. We were afraid he wouldn't be able to find work with his injured foot when we got into Ba Sing Se." Orora smiled. "Well no need to worry about that now."
As she watched the old couple walk away, the man with an obvious spring in his step, her smile disappeared and she fell to the side, catching herself on the wooden railing. Raising a hand to her head, the young girl pressed her fingers against her temple to try and alleviate the pain that radiated from there. She had been healing for a good few hours now. And though she had had breaks inbetween where she would give out medicinal herbs to those who were sick, she had barely found time to stop and just rest. Let alone eat.
The sun had set a good hour or so ago. Maybe that was enough healing for the day. Her arms were aching from the multiple healing sessions, and her body felt heavy with tiredness. Was this what it felt like to heal people for such a long time? Your entire body felt like it was half-dead? Maybe she had overdone it.
But those people had needed her help, she told herself as she walked back to her travel companions, bending fresh water from the lake and into her water satchel. "Good evening, Orora." Iroh greeted as she sat down next to him. Giving a small nod, the girl stifled a yawn. "And to you Master." She glanced around, frowning slightly when she didn't see any sign of Zuko. "He has made some new friends." Iroh answered her unspoken question, prompting her to look at him in surprise. He simply smiled at her. She blushed at having been caught, but her embarrassment was forgotten when Zuko appeared with three other teenagers, bags over their shoulders.
Bags that was filled with food.
While Jet, as Iroh quickly informed her, distributed the food to the rest of the refugees, Zuko brought over several bowls of what looked like fresh food towards them. Iroh quickly accepted a bowl of noodles and began to slurp them down happily. Orora stared at the bowl Zuko held out towards her.
Their eyes locked, gold on blue, their string shorter when they were close. Slowly she reached out to take the bowl, their fingers brushing as she did. "Thank you."
It wasn't long before she had eaten her fill and was beginning to feel even more sleepier then before. Zuko had settled down beside her eating his own food.
Having distributed all the food, Jet came to sit down with them. She was only able to give him a nod of acknowledgement before resuming her semi-dozing state, trying hard not to fall asleep completely.
"From what I heard, people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se." Said Jet. "I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall." He continued sounding almost wistful as he did. Iroh nodded. "It is a magnificent sight." Jet leaned forward, eager to hear more. "So you've been there before?"
The shift in conversation had Orora momentarily forgetting about her lack of sleep as both she and Zuko turned their attention towards Iroh. "Once. When I was a different man." The sadness and despair in his usually twinkling eyes made Orora's heart ache and she reached out to rest a hand on top of his in comfort. Her Master patted her head, silently showing he appreciated her concern for him.
Jet pursed his lips before speaking. "I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of, but that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se: for a new beginning. A second chance." For someone talking about the future he didn't sound so hopeful about it, Orora mused to herself.
"That's very noble of you." Iroh spoke, nodding at the teenager. "I believe people can change their lives if they want to." He glanced at his nephew. "I believe in second chances." Zuko too glanced at his Uncle, though his amber eyes shifted to Orora who rubbed the heel of her palm against her eye, yawning as she did. Iroh noticed too, prompting him to reach out and pat her on the shoulder.
"Perhaps you should turn in, my dear. You've had a tiring day." Wordlessly the girl nodded, barely able to keep her eyes open. Slowly she rose to her feet, and had barely taken a step forward when a wave of dizziness overcame her, tilting her to the side and straight into Zuko. Luckily he was quick enough to catch her, though he almost fell back himself. "Orora?" The urgency in his voice was evident as he shook her shoulder. The girl mumbled something under her breath. His Uncle quickly looked the girl over and smiled in exasperation. "She has worked hard today and has passed out from being tired." He finally stated. Zuko scowled. "Well couldn't she have passed out on her bedroll?" Even with the words coming out of his mouth, his grip around her shoulder and waist did not let up.
If anything he seemed to hold her closer. Especially with Jet looking at her like he was. Zuko did not like it one bit.
"I will lay it out for her." Iroh quickly stood and went off to get a pillow and blanket from where they were stored on the ship for their use. Zuko gave a small nod of confirmation, stiffening when he felt Orora shifting a little in his arms before settling once more. Her head rested against his shoulder, and her lips were parted slightly as she breathed deeply. His features shifted to a look of concern as he quickly tried to figure out just how long she had been healing and helping people. And that too on an empty stomach. Of course, not that he could've done anything about it. She was much too stubborn to actually listen to him, but at least he would've had the chance to tell her off when she returned.
But then why should he care? A voice whispered in his head. A voice that sounded suspiciously like his sister's. Why should he care about a lowly waterbender? What was she to him?
"She your girlfriend?" Jet's question cut through his dangerous musings. Zuko leveled a particularly irritated glare in his direction. "No." He snapped, the very word laced with poison.
Just your soulmate, his brain supplied, as Jet raised his hands in a gesture that showed he meant no harm before getting up and going to look for his companions. Zuko stayed where he was, and this time he purposefully avoided looking at the girl passed out in his arms. As soon as his Uncle returned with the pillow and blanket, he laid her down on the hard floor and left her to sleep.
And if he was extra gentle with his movements as he laid her down, he did not think too much of it.
And if he lingered over her, watching her as she settled to make sure she was as comfortable as he could get, his Uncle did not mention it.
And if he leaned back down to pull the blanket over her shoulder properly so she would not be cold, Zuko pretended that he didn't, consciously, allow his fingers to brush against the soft skin of her cheek as he pulled back.
And if he happened to glance at the string around their fingers glimmer with color, he ignored it completely.
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Being on your own isn't always the best path.
His own words resonated in his ears and his mind from his recent conversation with Jet. As he watched the docks grow in size as they neared their destination, Zuko couldn't help but think over what he had said. He had tried that. He had spent nearly a month on his own and it had gotten him nowhere.
If anything, things had gotten only worse for him. Maybe he had gotten used to having someone around him.
His Uncle had been by his side since his banishment. He had been the unbreakable support Zuko had needed in his times of despair. And truthfully, he was the reason he had made it this far alive. How many times had his Uncle helped him out of difficult situations? Though he would never tell him, Zuko's affections and gratitude for his Uncle ran deep. And sometimes, even though he knew it was wrong, he wished that Iroh was his real father and not Ozai.
And then there was Orora. Someone who had come into his life and made it all the more complicated. He lifted the hand where the string was tied to his finger, and followed it's path to the other end. His soulmate stood next to Iroh. Her back was towards him, allowing him to observe her without it becoming awkward for either of them. Despite the fact that nothing would come out of them being each other's soulmates, he couldn't help but wander if mayb-
The sound of the whistle blowing cut through his thoughts as their boat finally docked. The crowd began to chatter excitedly as they made their way towards the gangplanks. Sighing to himself, he walked towards Uncle and Orora.
"Well now, just one more stop and we shall begin a new life together." His Uncle stated jovially as he led the way towards the gathering crowd.
Together.
Such an insignificant word that carried so much weight.
Orora glanced in his direction as she fell into step beside him. He allowed his gaze to meet her own for a brief moment before they both looked away.
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Orora was sure that the ticket woman who stood behind the booth had to be a distant relation to her old tutor, Ms. Chiyo. She had a certain look in her eye, one that Orora had dreaded as a child since those beady eyes would assess her every move looking for a slip up on her part.
The woman had been her manners and etiquette tutor for a good few years, and Orora had despised her. She had always been so harsh and could be downright cruel at times.
"So," The woman spoke, looking over their tickets and passports as the three of them stood in front of her. Mr. Lee, Ms. Orora and Mr. ummm ... Mushy, is it?
Iroh, ever the polite old man, corrected her. "It's pronounced Mushi." The already irritated woman's expression shifted to pure annoyance as she glared at Iroh. "You telling me how to do my job?" She demanded, her voice rising in pitch.
Sensing that perhaps he had done wrong, Iroh was quick to shake his head as he approached the ticket booth. "Uh, no, no." There was a brief pause on his part before he continued with a smile on his face that was, for lack of a better word, sickeningly sweet.
"But may I just say you're like a flower in bloom. Your beauty is intoxicating." Orora could feel her face morph in one of disbelief and slight disgust at the words coming out of her teacher's mouth. Beside her Zuko was no better, looking just as disgusted.
For a moment Orora was almost afraid the ticket woman would call the guards, but instead she smiled in what the young girl could only say was a flirtatious manner and return Iroh's smile.
"You're pretty easy on the eyes yourself, handsome. Roar!"
Oh that part nearly had her bursting out into laughter. She clapped a hand to her mouth, while Zuko did the same but to his eyes, as if he had no desire to even witness what was going on in front of him.
"Welcome to Ba Sing Se." Their tickets were stamped, and they were officially citizens of Ba Sing Se. Iroh grinned happily as he collected the tickets and held them out for the two teenagers to take.
"I'm going to forget I saw that." Zuko grumbled before snatching his ticket and walking away. Orora accepted her ticket as well and followed after the prince, though she allowed herself to be amused by what had happened and let out a few giggles as she did.
Iroh brought up the rear, looking rather pleased with himself.
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As they waited for their train to be called, Orora leaned back where she stood, watching as the refugees boarded the trains that would take them to their destination. It seemed strange to know that she would entering a city. She had only seen small towns and villages so far. But a city as big and grand as Ba Sing Se would surely be unmatched to what she had experienced so far. And that included the Northern Water Tribe.
A familiar voice broke her out of her thoughts. "So, you guys got plans once you're inside the city?"Jet asked as he sat down next to Zuko. Orora couldn't help but frown at the teenager's insistence to be around Zuko every chance he got. What was his problem anyway? She mused to herself, not even bothering to hide her scowl as she glared at the boy. Just then a Tea-seller walked by prompting Iroh to quickly get up and buy himself a cup of Jasmine. Though no sooner had he tasted the liquid when he began to lament his mistake. "Blaugh! Ugh, coldest tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it! What a disgrace!" Orora couldn't help but giggle, reaching out to pat her Master gently on the shoulder as consolation. "I'm sure we'll get you some nice warm tea when we get to the city, Master." He nodded in affirmation. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Jet said motioning for Zuko to follow him. Zuko sighed and reluctantly rose, following after him.
Once more Orora found her eyes trained in the direction of the prince as he walked off. They stood a little ways away talking. But whatever the conversation was, it was over just as quickly as it began. She quickly looked away, not wanting to get caught and turned her attention to where Iroh was drinking his hot steaming tea happily.
Wait!
Hot?!
Steaming?!
A startled gasp fell from her lips, prompting Zuko to falter in his steps and follow her line of sight. His hand darted out to knock the cup of tea out of Iroh's hand. "Hey!" The old man protested even as his nephew leaned down to hiss at him through gritted teeth. "What're you doing firebending your tea?! For a wise old man, that was a pretty stupid move!"
"Honestly Master, that was reckless." Even Orora couldn't help but chime in. But Iroh wasn't listening to any of them, lamenting over his spilled tea. Orora glanced up toe Jet's retreating back. "He didn't see anything did he?" She spoke softly, dread filling her as she thought of what the boy might do should he discover that Zuko and Iroh were firebenders. "I don't think so. Besides, even if he did, he has no proof." Zuko stated firmly as a way of reassuring her as well as himself. The waterbender nodded, though there was a nervousness in her eyes that remained even as they boarded their train a few minutes later.
But then that all shifted to the very back of her mind as they exited the station and were greeted with their every first sight of Ba Sing Se. Eagerly looking out of the window, Orora couldn't help but stick her head out of the window and let out a little laugh of joy as the cool air brushed through her hair.
"I hope Ba Sing Se brings something new for us." She whispered to herself as she watched the scenic view pass by.
Beside her Zuko couldn't help but hope for the same.
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Tag List - @wavesofchaos @violet-potter @rennysketch @emma-andrea1 @fuzzyfestcat
@msrawog
#zuko x y/n#zuko imagine#zuko x reader#zuko x oc#avatar the last airbender imagine#avatar the last airbender fanfiction#avatar#the thread of fate#avatar: the last airbender#avatar the last Airbender
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for the want of the sun| chapter 17: onwards
The Misty Palms oasis is less like an oasis, and more like a water hole. More like a puddle in the sand. It’s evening, the sun low but still impossibly hot. My skin is damp, and I’m dragging my feet as I follow Iroh and Zuko through the small town.
Zuko scours our surroundings, the men cooped up in corners, the people leering from the scarce shade. “No one here is going to help us. These people just look like filthy wanderers.”
I roll my eyes. “We’re filthy wanderers, Zuko.”
Iroh stops suddenly, and with my mind foggy from exhaustion, I run into him. He barely falters. He raises his arm, pointing. “I think I found our friend.”
It’s an old man, sitting at a table and fiddling with what looks like a cheap Pai Sho set.
“You brought us here to gamble on Pai Sho?” Zuko hisses.
“I do not think it’s a gamble,” Iroh muses, and walks forward. Zuko meets my eyes with a tired expression, one I’m sure I’m matching.
“I don’t know if I can make it through this,” I mutter, watching as Iroh takes a seat across from the man.
“Me either,” Zuko groans, but nudges me along. We go to stand beside them.
“The guest has the first move,” the stranger says, and Iroh places a tile, the lotus, in the center of the board. I see the man’s lips quirk up, a curious and pensive expression overtaking his face. “I see you favor the white lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways.”
Iroh nods. “Those who do can always find a friend.”
Zuko and I share a look. Huh?
The two place their tiles on the board, one after the other, until a shape emerges. I look at the pattern: like a flower. A lotus.
“Welcome, brother,” the man says. “The White Lotus opens wise to those who know her secrets.”
“What are you old gasbags talking about?” Zuko exclaims.
Iroh glances at him. “I always tried to tell you that Pai Sho is more than just a game.”
“Hey!” A yell sounds from behind us. Two men, dressed in Earth Kingdom clothing, are walking towards us quickly. “It’s over! You fugitives are coming with me!”
The Pai Sho man whips around in front of us and grabs my shoulders. I’m too startled to pull back. “I knew it! You three are wanted criminals with a giant bounty on your heads!”
“I thought you said he would help!” Zuko yells, pushing the man away from me with force. He stumbles on his heels.
Iroh places a hand on his shoulder. “He is. Just watch.”
The stranger rights himself up and points at the two intruders. “You think you’re going to capture them and collect all that gold?”
The effect is instant. Suddenly, from every direction, men and women are coming out of their places of hiding, knives, chains, and swords gleaming.
I step near Zuko. “This is helping?”
Someone yells, and the people run towards each other into a mob. I’m shielding my face, ducking, when Zuko grabs my arm and lifts me away. He pulls us behind Iroh and the stranger, and we duck inside a small door.The man closes it behind us, latching the lock.
Zuko is still gripping my arm, so I nudge him. He looks down and releases it quickly.
“It is an honor to welcome such a high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus. You must know may secrets.”
“What’s going on?” I ask desperately.
“Now that you played Pai Sho, are you going to do some flower arranging, or is someone in this club going to offer some real help?”
“You must forgive my nephew,” Iroh says. “He is not an initiate and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts.” He sends Zuko a look, but I can’t say I’m not on his side.
“Okay, but actually, is someone going to help us?”
They ignore me. The man leads Iroh to a small, hidden door, where someone is looking through from the other side. “Who knocks at the garden gate?” the voice asks.
“One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries.”
I shake my head. I think the desert is making me insane.
The door opens, and a short man steps aside to welcome Iroh in. I go to follow, but he turns back to us.
“It’s members only, sorry.” The door shuts.
I turn to Zuko helplessly. “Are we going crazy?”
He’s staring, annoyed, at the door, but then a tired smile twitches at his lips. “I think we did a long time ago.”
—
A thud shakes me awake. I lift my head from the wall where I’m slumped, next to Zuko. We share a look, both of us still weighed down by sleep.
“Is the meeting over?” Zuko asks. His voice is hoarse and raspy, which for some reason sends a jolt through me.
“Everything is taken care of,” Iroh says. “We’re heading to Ba Sing Se.”
“Ba Sing Se?” I question, rubbing my eyes. “What-”
Zuko interjects. “Why would we go to the Earth Kingdom capital?”
The Pai Sho man answers calmly. “The city's filled with refugees. Nobody will notice three more.”
“We can hide in plain sight there. And, it’s the safest place in the world from the Fire Nation.” Iroh chuckles. “Even I couldn’t break through to the city.”
A bell rings, and a boy enters the shop, carrying pamphlets of paper. Everyone turns to him. “I have the passports for our guests. But there are two men outside looking for them.”
“Okay,” the Pai Sho man says. “Then it’s time to sneak out.”
He ushers us near the door, where three large flower pots line the wall. He points, smiling. “In you go.”
—
We arrive at the ferry dock early in the morning. Our driver leads us inside, instructs us to hand our passports to an elderly looking man at a wooden desk, and leaves, sharing some cryptic words with Iroh that leaves my head spinning from lack of sleep.
We board the ferry and leave the port, and the sea air is welcome on my skin. After days of traveling through dust and grime, and a night spent in ceramic flower pots, I tilt my face to the sun, smiling. The boat workers bring us plates of food that look suspiciously translucent.
Iroh approaches us, dressed in an ostentatious floral hat. It’s too early for this.
“Who would’ve thought that after all these years I’d be returning to Ba Sing Se as a tourist!” His smile is wide and he adjusts the hat on his head.
“Well, you’ve got the look down,” I say, gesturing to his outfit. He nods proudly.
Zuko scoffs, sitting beside me, feet hanging off the edge of the ferry. “Look around. We’re not tourists, we’re refugees.” He takes a bite of his food, and I watch as his eyes widen before he spits it out. “Ugh!” he exclaims.
I chuckle. I wouldn’t have dared to eat it.
Zuko storms. “I’m sick of eating rotten food, of sleeping in the dirt. I’m sick of living like this!”
“Aren’t we all?” a voice drones.
I turn around to see a boy standing against the deck post, and…oh. He’s tall, his tan skin dewy in the soft morning light, his dark hair framing his face. He has a rugged look to him, like he has experience in the struggles Zuko was ranting about. He sweeps his eyes over us, and when they meet mine, I have to fight not to look away. He locks our gaze, his lips twitch up at the ends.
“My name’s Jet,” the boy says, standing. “These are my Freedom Fighters, Smellerbee and Longshot.” He gestures to two others: a very tall boy with serious looking features, and a short girl covered with face paint.
The girl nods. “Hey.”
“Hi,” I nod back. When I look back at Jet, he’s still smirking.
“Here’s the deal,” he says. “I hear the captain’s eating like a king while the rest of us have to live off his scraps. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?” Zuko straightens up beside me.
“What kind of king is he eating like?” Iroh asks.
“The fat, happy kind,” Jet answers flatly. He looks at Zuko. “You want to help us liberate some food?”
Zuko tosses his bowl of food to the side. “I’m in.”
I stand up. “I can help, too.”
Again, that smirk. Jet walks closer. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. Just let us do the work.”
I eye him steadily. “I can help. I think you’d rather have me with you.” I look at Zuko, urging him with my eyes to jump in.
“Right, yeah,” he says, a moment later. “She’s good. She can chi-block.”
Jet raises his eyebrows. “Chi-block, huh? That’s pretty advanced. Where’d you learn to do that?” I catch the flash of suspicion in his eyes.
“Self-taught,” I shrug.
His eyes linger on me a moment longer before he finally nods. “Okay. Regroup at nightfall. We're gonna have a real meal tonight.”
---
taglist: @aquaamethyst96 @kaygilles
a/n: AYYYY. FINALLY OFF TO BA SING SE. ENOUGH FILLER, LET'S GET SOME PLOT IN THE CHAT. IT'S SLOW BURN TIME BABIES.
#atla#avatar the last airbender#prince zuko#aang x reader#fire lord zuko#kataang#aang#zuko x reader#zuko x you#zuko#zuko fanfic#avatar fanfic#avatar#zuko x y/n#toph#katara#sokka x reader#iroh#earth bending#ba sing we#avatar x reader#atla x reader#for the want of the sun
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A preview of chapter 10 of A Child For A Monarch:
“Uncle, are you sure that it was a good idea to leave Azula with the avatar? She needs your help! We should have taken her with us.” Zuko said. He still wasn’t used to this feeling of actually being worried about Azula. Zuko couldn’t remember the last time he ever felt that way towards his sister, if at all. It would take some time to get used to.
“Don’t worry, Prince Zuko. If anyone is capable of helping Azula, it is the avatar. He is the bridge between our world and the spirit world, after all. I’m sure that he can figure something out and return Azula to normal.” Iroh said, hoping that would be enough to reassure Zuko. In reality, Iroh wanted Azula as far away from them as possible. She was under orders to capture them, and no matter what size she was, she was still Ozai’s favorite child. She would do everything in her power to please him. And Iroh wouldn’t put it past Azula to use her current predicament to get Zuko into a false sense of security, making it easier for her to capture him. Yes, it was much better for them if she stayed with the avatar. He would be able to keep Azula in check, at the very least.
“I still think that we should have taken Azula with us. I don’t trust the avatar and his friends.”
“But you trust Mai and Ty Lee, right? I’m sure that she’ll be just fine. Those two won’t let any harm come to her. And if it makes you feel better, Zuko, I gave Azula my white lotus tile if she needs to come and find us.”
“HOW IS A STUPID LOTUS TILE SUPPOSED TO HELP HER FIND US?!”
“You underestimate how smart Azula is. She’ll figure out what that tile means, I’m sure of it.”
Just then, a messenger hawk swooped down from the sky and landed on Iroh’s soldier. Startled, the two of them stared at the bird.
“A messenger hawk? I wonder who sent it” Zuko asked.
Iroh carefully took the scroll the bird was carrying and looked it over. One look at it was enough to know who it was from.
“It’s from your father, Prince Zuko.”
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Here's a simple fanart that was my wallpaper for a while:
https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/108665751
note: I just realized the ground of the industrial district is covered in metal as much the sky is covered in fumes, which is quite depressing tbh.
Also, can I ask something that was confusing me for a while: Why didn't Si disclose the questionable reliability of the WL tile with Ozai, especially with Azula being away for months after FLS arc? Besides, currently, he should be able to put two and two together and understand that such "evidence" can be manipulated and are not proof of the truth, such as Sokka's damaged knife. He was implied to be capable of doing the detective work to some capacity, which means he's not entirely brainless.
I understand his character was meant to give Ozai advantage, yet he barely does anything at all. I feel like even Kino was more useful.
So is there any reasoning behind such passiveness? I had thoughts but they're only assumptions
Beautiful art as always! Thank you so much! You really put so much heart into these pieces, it's amazing *-* and honestly, never mind those details haha, let's just say this is Seethus on vacation somewhere less nasty (?)
I'm going to guess that you're talking about the tile Azula dropped at the end of her nasty argument with Ozai a while ago? To be honest... Ozai always knew it wasn't likely to be the result of Azula or Sokka having killed the tile's owner. Considering the argument they had, it's kind of easy to assume she didn't actually do it. The tile in that instance was kind of a final middle finger at Ozai: "want to collect White Lotus tiles? Go on and do it, then, and you have just as much evidence that I killed the right person as you do with Seethus", was the message Azula conveyed, in a sense, haha.
Therefore, it's not that Seethus was stupid and didn't tell Ozai the likely truth: they both knew what was bound to have happened, or in this case, not happened. It didn't really boil down to Seethus telling Ozai not to believe in this tile as evidenec of anything, because Ozai's also not so dumb as to think Azula would have done exactly what she just raged at him about.
As for how useful Seethus is, haha, Kino is more useful in terms of the narrative so far, since he's a character who is evolving and does have a lot of parts to play in the story. Seethus is passive right now because he's basically Ozai's comfort assassin (?). In one of the latest arcs I wrote, Seethus outright steps over boundaries and starts acting on his own because Ozai is indecisive about his orders, and Seethus kind of tries to take certain matters into his own hands.
Something I think I must bring up again is that Seethus's role was always meant to be very secretive: he has been dealing with low-profile threats against Ozai ever since he took power. Zhao-Combustion Man would handle the more high-profile ones, through the Gladiator League, if possible. Ozai's primary problem with deploying Seethus is that he's always been in hot water in regards of his position of authority in society, and as much as Seethus is OP, Seethus isn't bound to be able to kill half of the Fire Nation's population if there were an uprising against Ozai, for instance. So, if important people (the Head Sage, Shaofeng, Zuko, Iroh, etc.) suddenly start disappearing magically, kind of the way Ursa did, with zero explanation? Things would get ugly for Ozai, politically-speaking. Seethus helps him in situations that are less public and less threatening for his image: he terrorized the city in The Fire Lord's Shadow arc, but the only person who ever knew it was ultimately Ozai's doing was Azula. While some soldiers did see him and even fought him, nobody made the connection back to Ozai because that's how Seethus operates: nobody knows he works directly for the Fire Lord, and he's supposed to keep it that way.
Hence, Seethus was 100% down for joining the navy secretly and ensuring to kill Sokka personally, back when Part 1 was just beginning. Why does it not happen? Because Ozai's paranoia is constantly flaring up, and he wants Seethus with him almost at every moment. It's quite ridiculous on his part, no kidding there, but the main reason why Seethus does or doesn't do something is always Ozai. And whenever Ozai is being dumb and daft, Seethus has to stick with obeying Ozai's bad decisions... or lightly rebelling against them for Ozai's benefit (or so he thinks), as he did in what I mentioned, the arc I was writing not long ago.
In any case, Seethus is going to play important roles in a couple of crucial situations that will be coming up in the future. Or, uh, more like one's in the future and one's in the past xD I'm not going to explain a lot, but he will be involved in Ursa's escape after shit hits the fan... so, at least you have that to look forward to, haha. Sorry if he's not doing enough yet... but Ozai's dumb paranoia keeps holding him back from doing his job.
#wingsfreedom#gladiator art here!!#that was a really soft one too#seethus you are not supposed to be cute you#oh well#what's one more multifaceted character am I right (?)#deadly sick poisonous assassin with the rotting firebending#and he's... cute#we love that for him we really do
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Just before the events of the Siege of the North, Haruka leaves from visiting Iroh and comes across a Fire Nation family being attacked - by other Fire Nation troops. She interferes and manages to save a small girl named Bai Yun. She whisks Bai Yun away back to her own home for safety; but her parents tell her she has to take the child to one of the colonies. Haruka refuses, worrying that Bai Yun will only meet the same fate as her family. Upon also learning that her family has made arrangements for her to marry a nobleman, Haruka takes what she can in a hurry and is suddenly on the run with Bai Yun.
Haruka has no idea about the Siege - about Zhao’s attempt on Zuko’s life - about Iroh and Zuko being forced on the run in several weeks’ time. She and Iroh won’t have contact again for months, because one day she’ll try to use the passport Iroh made for her to access a Fire Nation port and she’ll be denied because of Iroh’s stance as a fugitive - and she’ll be labeled as an enemy.
Hoping to be a better mom than hers was, Haruka does her best to be patient as Bai Yun has so much trauma and doesn’t know who to trust, even though Haruka saved her life, she’s been wary of other Earth Kingdom residents while living in the colonies. Haruka tries to ask why Bai Yun thinks the Fire Nation attacked them. Bai Yun doesn’t know. When washing some clothes, Haruka comes across a white lotus tile in Bai Yun’s robes.
The quiet doesn’t last long, though, as coming across a series of wetlands, they meet a small, secluded tribe of waterbenders. Haruka has been feeling ill lately, and she collapses and nearly drowns in some water but is helped by some nearby waterbenders after they hear Bai Yun screaming.
Hesitant to help anyone with a Firebender, Haruka vouches for Bai Yun - although she knows the Waterbenders would have let her drown if they knew Haruka was the current unofficial fiancee of General Iroh. The waterbenders give them shelter and food for a short time, and in helping Haruka for her illness, she learns she’s pregnant.
The elder giving her aid currently has her three-year-old grandson living with her; little Kasha, who is already showing his chops as a waterbender. His mother recently passed away, and his father is a non-bending Earth Kingdom man who made the village his home but went to Ba Sing Se to help in the war - every letter sent to him since his wife’s passing has been ignored - yet his letters continue to come in, asking for updates, and the village is concerned that somehow their letters aren’t getting to him. Haruka takes a look at the letters and notices, yet again, a lotus insignia. The elder mentions he keeps a tile with him at all times.
Haruka thinks about Iroh, and his fondness for the white lotus - and that the connections between the two kids can’t be coincidence. She’s heard about the Order through old scripts of the plays she used to act in: a secret society that is connected beyond the nations - and here she is, wearing green while she escorts a little Firebender and taking refuge in a small Waterbending village that isn’t found on any map.
Haruka, now in need of a new home for herself and Bai Yun, makes the offer to take Kasha to Ba Sing Se to find his father. She hasn’t been in Ba Sing Se in 6 years and she’s never wanted to set foot back in there again - but now she fears she has no other choice, what with the Fire Nation knowing her allegiance to Iroh and her interference with Bai Yun’s execution - and should the Earth Kingdom learn she’s carrying Iroh’s child she could be tried as a traitor. At the very least - she’ll be safe from one nation’s ire in Ba Sing Se.
Despite her pregnancy, Haruka continues to be a powerhouse of an Earthbender, especially while protecting Bai Yun and Kasha. Bai Yun comes out of her shell as a psuedo big sister, and Haruka makes sure Bai Yun is able to maintain a sense of childhood, even after her trauma; and taking care of Kasha prepares her for imminent motherhood, but he is a sweet, if not an emotionally charged, little wolf.
Haruka does find her luck, however, when she stumbles upon one of her wanted posters in a town - that inexplicably has a white lotus stamp on the paper.
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The Dragon Tile Series
Fandom: Avatar the Last Airbender
Author: IonaNineve
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Violence, Major Injury
Word Count: 73, 224
Pairings: Maiko
Characters: Zuko, The Blue Spirit, Iroh, Dai Li, Lu Ten, Aang, The Gaang, Katara, Sokka, Toph Beifong, Azula, Ozai, Mai, Original Characters
Tags: Episode: s02e17 Lake Laogai, The summary kinda spoils the surprise, Canon-Typical Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, more will come later, Serious Injuries, Angst, Family, Ba Sing Se has issues, POV Third Person, Zuko-centric, Past Violence, Past tragedy, I'm Bad At Summaries, Book 2: Earth, Pai Sho, because apparently that is going to be important going forward, one is too many fire nation citizens, another is the Blue Spirit, The Jasmine Dragon, Tea, There Is No War In Ba Sing Se, Until There Is, Zuko wages a one man war on the Dai Li, Ba Sing Se, Has Issues, Fire Nation Royal Family, Father-Son Relationship, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, very little comfort, Episode: s02e20 The Crossroads of Destiny, some harsh words and hard truthes, broken and bruised relationships, Fire Nation Politics, Fire Nation Lore, Dysfunctional Family, POV Multiple, Lu Ten Lives, OC secondary characters
Dragon Tile: Book Earth
Beneath Lake Laogai, the Prince disguised as the Blue Spirit doesn't find the bison he came for. Instead, just one door away, he finds someone whose loss changed everything. With Lu Ten alive and Appa found by his airbender, the paths of destiny shift for Zuko, leading him on a different journey to the crossroads. Personal and Political consequences abound.
End of Season Two with a twist.
The Lotus’ Gambit
the first day of the Jasmine Dragon does not end as well as Iroh had hoped, the night and the following day do not get better.
OR
What Iroh was up to the night Zuko invaded the Palace, and how he ended up in the crystal catacombs.
Begins right where chapter 6 of The Dragon Tile: Book Earth ends (refresh recommended).
Dragon Tile: Book Fire
Lu Ten is alive, the Avatar is captured and everyone's going back to the Fire Nation. So much adjusting to do for the cousins, so much intrigue to avoid or cause. Political consequences abound.
This summary is awful, I promise its more interesting than it sounds.
#fic rec#atla#atla:angst#atla:alternate timeline#book 2#atla:canon divergence#atla:lu ten lives#blue spirit!zuko#wip#50to100k#teen#zuko#iroh#aang#katar#sokka#toph#azula
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I stumbled upon the Jasmine Dragon wiki and the menu section is the best thing I’ve ever seen. Just look at it:
Metal Brew — Black in color, withered leaves but strong in flavor―like an earthbender I once knew, Toph, who could manipulate the metal of the earth. This tea will crank you up and fuel you for your day, but look out: just like Toph herself, this brew really packs a punch.
Toph-inspired tea! Because she deserves it! Legendary earthbender deserves awesome tea!
Ba Sing Quon — Named for the patron of this wonderful tea house, this grean tea's leaves have a refined shape and a soothing texture. Subtle in its tastes due to a faster brewing time on lower heat, this tea is reserved for refined palettes here on the Upper Ring.
Second is this elegant little flavor reminding us that the Jasmine Dragon is a refined establishment for those with excellent taste. Also, gotta throw some appreciation to the person bankrolling this whole shebang. Nice touch, Uncle Iroh.
White Lotus Tile — Named for the Pai Sho piece of the same name, pale tea is the most delicate of all teas. Yet, it can be deceiving. This tea holds secrets. Under its natural layers of sweetness hides a complex undercurrent of intriguing tastes and strength
Third, a mystery tea with secrets because why not. And of course it’s named after a Pai Sho tile... sure. *wink wink* Let’s pretend this is also Sokka’s tea also because he doesn’t get a tea inspired by him which is unfair and this needs to be fixed ASAP
Bender Tea — An oolong tea blended for those who cultivate a much more balanced approach to life. Named for two young benders, Aang and Katara, whose strength and flexibility against impossible odds proved that sometimes the right path, and the right flavor, are found in the paths between.
Fourth on the list is the balanced tea are inspired by Aang and Katara!!! Because your adversity can become something as beautiful and tasty as this tea right here.
Appa Blend — Something new and exclusive to the Jasmine Dragon, a concoction of flavors that, at first, may not sound (or smell) very good. This blend of milk, tea, and tapioca balls, much like its sky bison namesake, is full of surprises that favor the brave.
Fifth is the Appa blend and it’s basically bobba!!! Appa Blend is Bobba Tea!!! Milk Tea with pearls is a thing in ATLA!!!
Red-blooded Nephew — Amber in color and grassy in taste, this tea is not for everyone. Like my own nephew, Zuko, this tea is strong, but its boldness can leave a bitter taste in the mouth. It also tastes like Zuko made it. It's not a very good tea. I should take it off this menu, probably, but I'm too lazy.
Last but certainly not least, there’s the Zuko-inspired tea which is just Iroh literally roasting is favorite nephew. God, Iroh is so savage. Even in tea form Zuko cannot catch a break.
#atla#avatar the last airbender#iroh#my post#i know 0 things about tea bc i dont like it#so idk if these are accurate tea profiles#but these are very entertaining#everyone i know likes tea except me :(#thats prolly bc im asian hahahah
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From the upcoming one shot in The Dragon and the Fireball Anthology
Ty Lee looked at the tile. She had expected the White Lotus, given its legacy in Ba Sing Se and its contribution to the end of the war to do more than....what it did. She was mediocre at Pai Sho instead of awful (which was at least a way to pass the time with Mai and Ty Lee when wandering the Earth Kingdom got really, really insufferably boring). That was....something, but it wasn't really what she expected.
So she'd made her way to Ba Sing Se, in full Kyoshi Warrior regalia, finding it amusing that she'd entered the city legally much as she had during the war (and noticing to consternation she had long practice in veiling that the Dai Li were all over her every movement to a point she could barely breathe. At the time she was ignorant of why).
She arrived at the Jasmine Dragon that afternoon, and let herself in, ordering some of Iroh's new experimental tea. Boba was not a universally popular tea but she liked it, and it was something she'd learned how to make by simply asking Iroh for the recipe on one of his visits. As she savored it, Iroh arrived and sat at her table.
"Ty Lee," he said with a warm smile.
"Grand Lotus," she said with a tone decidedly different as he paused and his face went through a brief succession of emotions that was, in its own way, admittedly amusing.
"I was thinking," she said quietly, "about the way the White Lotus does things. More to the point about different aspects of the war and what it is said to be now, versus what it did and did not do." (How like Azula she sounded. She hoped her old friend's spirit would be proud of her in the spirit world for this, and for speaking to the man she blamed for her death as much as she did herself).
"The order includes some of the most powerful Benders in the world, at least of the older generation."
Iroh nodded.
"So why did the world's most powerful Benders sit on their asses for most of the war and leave it to children to do what you could have done all along?"
Iroh spat out his tea as she gave him a smile that reflected her hidden side. One thing people always forgot about her was that she had gotten along as well with Azula as she did because they shared two things in common. They both wanted things that they felt they could never really have, and knew that without knowing how to say it....and they truly enjoyed being mean, especially at the expenses of people who deserved it.
The sight of the Dragon of the West reduced to incoherent stammering as she gave him her sweetest smile was a reminder of this.
"I.....I....well," he said, surprisingly awkwardly, "I was rather leading the Fire Nation Army for most of the war and that-"
He paused, the pointer finger of his left hand held up, mouth open. It took him a long time to think and then he sat back.
And then he couldn't meet her gaze.
Ty Lee's smile became sweeter still.
"I see."
She tilted her head.
"Do you? You have an intelligence network second to none, to a point that you could at any moment know about anything you wanted. You, Pakku, Bumi, the three of you are the most powerful people in your elements at present. Katara, Toph, and......" for a moment a shadow of grief crossed her face, "Azula,"-Iroh could not meet her gaze again when she spoke the name, "are or could have been that, if they had more time. You already are there."
She leaned forward a bit.
"Zuko and Kuei almost restarted the war over Yu Dao and where were you? The Fire Nation is bleeding from Princess Jiren's twisted little game of revenge," and she leaned forward a bit more. "And where are we? Shouldn't we be doing something? Do we even know why riots supposedly in Ba Sing Se are convulsing the entire Earth Kingdom and what they're hiding?"
Iroh could not meet her gaze again.
"We have some of the greatest power in the world to do good, to actually make the world a better place. That is what I expected. Not sitting around enjoying admittedly good tea. The worst thing of all is to have the power to make the world a truly better place.....and then to do nothing with it."
Now she leaned back.
"I mean let's face it, between you and me. One of us was part of capturing this city bloodlessly, and one of us ended up killing people in both a failed attempt to conquer it and in deciding to undo what Azula and Mai and I did."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Did you do that because of Destiny, or because you resented that three girls could do what an entire army didn't?"
Iroh raised his right pointer finger this time to speak and then he found himself speechless again.
He surprised her by being honest.
"Now that I think about it, to be strictly truthful between the two of us....I don't know."
Ty Lee tilted her head.
"Really?" She drawled. "Hmm."
She shrugged.
"Doesn't matter much," she said.
She could see Bumi and a Water Tribe woman in the booth behind them when she stood up for a moment to stretch, sitting down.
"So then," she said, gently, "now that we've gotten the start out of the way, let me tell you what I really think about what the White Lotus has done and what it could do."
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Iroh as a “wise old man” archetype and how I treat that
It’s pretty obvious that in canon Iroh is meant to be a “wise elder/mentor” type of character, at least to the protagonists and (when he isn’t a protagonist) Zuko. But there are a lot of problems with this in my opinion. Some of these obviously come from the fact that I write mostly from Azula’s perspective, and there’s no love lost between the two of them (for various reasons) - but it’s also very clear that Iroh isn’t the most morally upright person even after his spiritual “redemption” occurs. He lets Zuko run on a wild goose chase for years, he refuses multiple times to actually challenge Ozai (and you can’t really say that there was a good reason for him not to do these things, there really wasn’t) and in general was about as ineffectual as the entire Order of the White Lotus, and contributed to that as a Grand Lotus himself.
So, when I write Iroh, I tend to think of him less as a Master Oogway/Gandalf type of character, and more as someone like Saruman (continuing with the moderately useful Tolkien comparisons) except instead of steadily growing more horrible and self-interested, his arc goes in the other direction. This lines up a lot more with what he’s like canonically, in my opinion - Iroh is powerful, yes, but his main strengths seem to be his ability to lead and convince other people, and to play the role of adviser in a way that gets him what he wants. This works out well for the cause of restoring the balance in the end (though not as well as it perhaps would have if he’d gotten his hands dirtier) and ensures that the postwar ATLA world has someone in the Fire Nation providing political direction. And - as seen very clearly with Azula in both my long-running AUs - anyone who gets in his way, or is a convenient Pai Sho tile, doesn’t matter much.
Therefore, a lot of my Iroh writing is from the perspective of others - partly because he doesn’t show up as much, but more so because the other characters (such as the Gaang) are slowly realizing just how much of an impact Iroh’s manipulations have had on them. Or it’s Azula, who knows exactly how her uncle’s strategy works, and therefore is one of the few people in canon to outright ignore it. And the fact that Iroh is technically fighting for the right cause, and that he is a person with morals, doesn’t mean that he isn’t morally grey and manipulative in a way that the canon material completely overlooks. So, of course, I have to write him that way.
#iroh critical#atla meta#iroh#iroh is not the character archetype everyone thinks he is#and if you take that into account he's a great character#but the show didn't
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Avatar the last airbender vs alien invasion
Are we talking peace disturbing aliens who want to take over the planet etc etc? Because in that case I think Aang, dutiful as he is, will immediately try to find a peaceful resolution with the aliens until someone, probably Toph, goes ‘does this even fall under your job description?’
‘huh? Of course, he’s the Avatar, keeper of peace and balance and all that stuff’ <- Sokka probably
‘We’re speaking balance between the human and spirit worlds. Last time I checked, aliens are neither of those’
This will provoke a sophisticated, philosophical discussion between Sokka and Toph, which will get less sophisticated and less philosophical when Zuko and Katara join in.
The gaang: *fighting over definitions and technicalities with some cursing sprinkled in*
Aang: uh, guys, I’ll go check my contract *meditates himself into a meeting with the previous avatars*
Unfortunately for Aang, his previous reincarnations also can’t seem to agree on the matter and he’s stuck listening to hours and hours of the same discourse. Fortunately for the world, while Aang is on his spiritual journey, Miyuki saves the day.
#the gaang vs#iroh’s two lotus tiles#are you the zombie invasion anon#anon ilysm how do you keep finding these genres that i don’t like watching#i do enjoy thinking about these au’s though#but i can’t take them seriously sorry
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Here’s an uncolored page of Iroh character poses I did a while ago that I thought I’d post, since I’m currently working on another comic that’s taking a while. It should be out in a day or two!
(Can you tell one of my favorite scenes in all of atla is when he’s inspecting the white jade bush?)
[ID: A series of digital drawings of Iroh. The poses include: him holding a tsungi horn, closing his eyes, and pinching his hand, smiling and holding a cup of tea, inspecting the white jade bush with a brow raised, smiling and holding a pai sho tile, snoring happily, firebending, slurping noodles and looking left, frowning forward in his White Lotus clothing, sniffing the white jade bush, smiling and facing left, and frowning downward in his muscular physique after getting super buff in the fire nation prison. End ID.]
#uncle iroh#iroh#atla#general iroh#avatar: the last airbender#atla art#atla fanart#character design#digital art#my art
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Two Halves - Chapter Eighteen (Zuko x Reader)
Chapter 17
Word Count: 2,200
Author’s Note: Shit’s hitting the fan y’all - not just in Two Halves but in everything else as well. I’m formatting this and ignoring all the impending doom swirling around me by drowning it out with Disney move soundtracks.
You wake before Zuko the next morning, which isn't hard considering you barely slept. Toph arrives under the cover of early dawn, the sky just becoming gray as her ship lands on the palace grounds; you meet her without your husband, as you never got the chance to tell him she was coming the night previous.
“You didn't have to rush out here,” you tell her, clutching her hands in an anxious vice. “It's not safe.”
“When have I ever cared if anything was safe?” she scoffs. “Sparky clearly needs help protecting you.”
The words are delivered with sarcastic wit, but her fingers shake in your palm.
You decide you won't tell her about Qiang’s threat - you don't want to give him reason to hurt anyone else. Instead, you tell her that the palace is under constant, heavy surveillance, and that you're still unsure who exactly is conducting the strange occurrences that have plagued you or what their motives are. Not exactly a lie, but enough that you feel she won't be put in any more danger.
“Do you think you can even trust your guards?” Toph wonders, her arm clenched tightly to your elbow.
“Suki vetted every one of them herself,” you tell her. “But… we still don't know.”
As you walk with her through the palace, nothing feels secure - the servants that pass you all seem suspicious, the guards and metal benders that flank you all looking like strangers through the gaze of your fear. Anyone could be working under Qiang; the thought of being so unsafe in your own home, even with the people you trust most beside you, makes you ill to the point you feel dizzy.
“Zuko should be up,” you blurt. “Why don't you spar with him before breakfast? I’ll meet you.”
Toph’s brow furrows with unease, her grip on your bicep becoming tighter.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
You nod, but don't bother to put on a brave face.
“I just feel a little tired,” you reply. “I didn't sleep very well last night.”
Again, not a lie.
Toph considers this for a moment, no doubt gauging your pulse, then concedes, letting you go with a firm, nervous squeeze.
“Okay,” she says. “We’ll stay close.”
When you see that she goes without incident, you sweep through the corridor, hastily making your way back to your own, personal bedroom, and locking the door behind you. For a moment, you stand staring at the threshold, considering pushing your vanity or wardrobe in front of it to barricade yourself in.
Your vanity. Your wardrobe.
It sinks in that you haven't been alone in this room since you returned from Ember Island; you moved your belongings into Zuko’s room, opting to sleep next to him and making plans to convert the room back into a sunroom. You pace the floor slowly, inspecting the bed and its thin, billowing canopy, the windows and their gorgeous views beyond lightly veiled curtains; had you stayed in this room, they'd have been switched out for heavier ones in anticipation of winter, but they remain, letting in cool air that chills the dormant space. Dust has gathered on the deep, glossy wood of your vanity, your fingers leaving streaks in their wake as they run along its edge. You pull the single drawer open as if by instinct, something catching in your chest as its only remaining contents slide out from the shadows.
A single pai sho tile - the lotus.
On its side, so minuscule you can barely make it out, is a series of addresses; you discovered the markings one night while nervously toying with the gift from Iroh, finding various locations around the world listed on the piece after inspecting it under a magnifying glass. You told no one of this, not even Zuko, knowing deep down that it was something Iroh meant only for you. Your fingers trace over the address in the Imperial City - a pub by the name of Ichigo’s.
Without a second thought, you dash to the trunk at the foot of your bed and pull a cloak from its depths - the one you and Zuko used to navigate the city unnoticed during your wedding celebrations. You strip out of your ceremonial robes, folding them neatly in the space where the cloak was and replacing them with your traveling clothes. You thank the spirits for the cold weather as you pull the cloak tightly around yourself, making sure it obscures your face before leaving the room once more.
In the corner of your bedroom, there's a hatch; it's hidden under a false floorboard, beneath a thick rug, and leads to tunnels that wind in a labyrinth below the palace. Zuko explained that they've been there for hundreds of years, known to very few select people within the palace walls as an escape for the royal family should the need ever arise.
“It's how we hid when Aang invaded the Fire Nation,” he told you. “It's where I confronted my father and left.”
You raise the hatch from its disguise, slipping into the hole it forms in the floor with a single candle, the lotus tile, and the knife with which Qiang intends for you to kill your husband. In a matter of seconds, the board and rug fall back into place, and you slip from the palace in the dark, the entire world above unknown to your disappearance.
The streets of the Imperial City are unfamiliar to you, but you make an effort to walk with sure steps. Your face is well hidden under your cloak, shadowed by the gray gloom of a silver sky, but it isn't as if anyone is curious enough to slow and peer beneath it; the air is brisk, and people rush past you in a haste to get where they need to go, back into warmth.
Ichigo’s is on the fringes of the city, resting on a small hill beside the docks amongst a cluster of other businesses; together, they form a small alley and marketplace, its shops and stalls either shuttered or lit with hanging burners to fight off the winter cold. As you approach the bar, climbing over a set of wood steps that creak and shift under your weight, rain begins to fall.
The inside of the bar proves much more welcoming than its surly exterior. In one corner, a fireplace burns with a wide, open hearth, a set of thick logs crackling cheerfully within. The paneled walls are decorated in an array of tapestries and promotional posters for other local businesses, and the tables that span the room are cozy and intimate, seated with cushions and placed atop tatami mats that buffer the rough wood floors. The bar itself is also quite quaint; only a few feet long and hosting about four seats, its shelves of liquor bordered by a twinkling string of lanterns and a small, handwritten message board announcing the day’s kitchen specials. What catches your eye, however, is the cluster of pai sho tables against one wall, the one farthest occupied by an elderly man in a white robe; you approach him tentatively, taking the seat opposite him and bowing respectfully under the guise of your hood.
“Are you interested in a game?” the man asks. His voice is kindly, his mouth spreading into a grandfatherly smile as he speaks. “I don’t often find strangers willing to play against me.”
“A game would be nice,” you reply, unsure what exactly you’re doing but knowing this man must be the reason Iroh sent you here. “Do you mind if I play with my own lotus tile?”
“Not at all,” the man accommodates. “I too have my own set of tiles.”
You reach into the pocket of your cloak, placing your lotus amongst the tiles set up on the game board; the man observes you carefully, leaning in to get a better look at the piece you’ve brought with you.
“Do you mind if I see that for a moment?” he asks. “The craftsmanship is exquisite.”
You nod, allowing him to take the piece. He turns it over in his fingers, running the pad of his thumb over the intricately carved design and holding it up to his face, inspecting it with great discretion. A nervous flicker tickles your stomach as he traces over the sides of the tile, no doubt finding the inscriptions on its surface.
“You’ve been sent by a friend of mine,” the man finally states.
“I believe so,” you respond. “I’m in need of some help.”
“Then you’re in the right place,” the man says with a grin. He stands, handing the lotus tile back to you and ushering you to follow him. “Come with me. There’s another friend I’d like you to meet.”
Wary, you follow him to the side of the bar, where he lifts a heavy curtain and slips into a back room. You clutch the knife in your pocket tightly, discreetly, hoping you haven’t just made a grave mistake and gotten yourself in more danger. He takes you through the bar’s storage room, moving aside a tower of boxes to reveal a small door, held in place by a simple, secure latch; he snaps it open, leading you through a low archway that descends into the building's basement.
On the other side of the short passage, you find a tiny, yet nicely decorated sitting room - curtains hang from the ceiling creating a tentlike atmosphere, parted in places to reveal maps of the four nations hung on the walls. The center of the room is occupied by a large desk upon which many books and scrolls are scattered, and the air is heavy with the smoke of incense. Under the single lantern that lights the space, you spot the familiar face and humble stature of an older woman.
“Advisor Yong,” you gasp.
She stands in shock, pacing quickly over to you as you lower the hood of your cloak to reveal your face. She takes your hands in her own, clutching them tightly.
“My lady,” Yong breathes with as much awe as you addressed her with. “How did you come all this way? Are you alone?”
“Iroh gave her his tile,” the man who brought you explains. “I assume he sent her for her safety.”
“There are tunnels under the palace,” you add. “I told the staff I was feeling ill and snuck out. Nobody knows I'm here.”
Yong guides you to the table, sitting you down beside her and telling the man to fetch you a cup of tea. The time-wisened lines in her skin seem deeper than usual, creased by a frown that distorts her whole face.
“They'll be discovering that you're gone soon,” she says, “so we must make this quick. Has Iroh told you about his membership with the Order before?”
You shake your head, furrowing your brow in confusion.
“The Order of the White Lotus,” Yong elaborates, “is an ancient society that operates beyond political bounds. We come together to share ancient philosophy and knowledge, but since the war… we act as a sort of lifeline organization as well. Emergency aid for those who need it.”
“Iroh gave me that lotus tile when he was here for the wedding,” you tell her. “He must have known something I didn't because we’re in much more danger than we thought - Qiang threatened me. He wants me to kill Zuko.”
“Qiang…” Yong mutters. “He can't be the one behind this. He doesn't have the manipulative tact to convince so many groups to act according to his will.”
“He made it seem as if they were huge,” you continue. “He told me they had informants all over the palace.”
“He's a good liar,” Yong dismisses, though her expression remains concerned. “Intimidating, too; that's why he was the one to threaten you. But he isn't the leader. What did he tell you? When he gave you the order?”
“He said they'd kill my family. I don't want to lose anyone, but Katara and Aang…”
Yong nods.
“Aang is too important,” she finishes for you. “His death would devastate the world and put countless lives in danger. I promise, we won't let any harm come to them or anyone else.”
She stands once more, offering a hand with which she raises you up. She continues to clutch it, gripping you as if letting go means surrendering you to the enemy.
“I’ll call a meeting of our members within the city,” she states. “We have a few members staffed at the palace who we’ll ensure are at your guard. I’ll alert internal security and have them investigate Qiang immediately.”
The man returns, and Yong instructs him to leave the tea and accompany you back to the palace - as far as he can without compromising the security of the tunnels.
“Advisor Yong,” you say as you're ushered again through the passage and out the back of the pub, “we only have a week. Is that… do we have enough time?”
Yong’s eyes sweep your face, her pupils flitting back and forth as she tries to find the right words to say.
“I won't lie to you,” she finally answers. “I don't know. All I can promise you is that we’ll do our best. We reconquered Ba Sing Se with much lesser numbers than we have now - here's hoping those odds are still in our favor.”
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#two halves#zuko#zuko x reader#zuko x you#prince zuko#prince zuko x reader#prince zuko x you#firelord zuko#firelord zuko x reader#atla fanfic#atla fanfiction#zuko fanfic#zuko fanfiction#prince zuko fanfic#prince zuko fanfiction#self-insert#self-insert fic#self-insert fanfiction#self insert fanfiction#self insert fic#fanfiction#fanfiction series#slow burn#slow burn fanfic
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Wait wait wait....; Zuko finding a shipping caravan while in exile on the sea. They pull the boat over and raid their ship, going through all the containers and seeing if they can scavange anything. Zuko comes across a metal cage and finds Reader inside, unconscious and clearly malnourished. He melts the cage and takes the Reader in his arms because even he can't deny that all of a sudden, he feels attached to Reader. Zuko's uncle sees a glimpse of the Reader and tells Zuko to put him back. Zuko is outraged and demands to know why. All that is said is that the Reader is not of their "world" and is dangerous to be near.
Iroh orders Zuko away with a quiet fury unlike that he has ever witnessed from his uncle before. When Zuko is away, Iroh gently digs in his sleeve and shows you his White Lotus tile.
“You are far from home, aren’t you?” He smiles softly. “I always find a nice pot of calming jasmine tea helps to relax me when I am lonely. And you look like you could do with a bowl of rice or two!”
Iroh laughs before inching closer. “It is not often that anyone can cross between worlds. You must be very special indeed - although I wouldn’t recommend telling anyone this... though judging from your situation, you’ve probably already learned this. It is impossible to say when or if you can return to your world. It could be in a matter of minutes, or it may never happen. But... I see you know me. There is familiarity in your eyes - rather like seeing an old friend. Though I hope I am not that old yet!”
He chuckles a little before looking at you. “While you are here, Visitor... it is my duty to protect you and show you the hospitality our world can provide. Now, what is your name?”
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After seeing the idea of Sun!Spirit/Prince Zuko, I've been wanting a Tangled AU. Zuko is Rapunzel, Ozai is Gothel, Iroh, Ursa and Azula are the King and Queen, the Gaang are Flynn/Eugene but Sokka is the one who ends up with Zuko. Mai and Ty Lee are the Stabington brothers but with the twist of not being criminals and the Kiyoshi warriors are the thugs from the Ugly Duckling.
Zuko is blessed by Agni the day of his birth, he has beautiful, golden, hair and he just...Glows. Ursa is happy with her child. Iroh and Lu Ten are happy with the new addition to their family.
But we need a bad guy in this. And who else but Ozai? Ala Gothel, he puts on a cloak, and a mask to cover up his face, and kidnaps Zuko and takes him away.
He planned for this. He said he had important meetings to attend to with certain people, like Zhao. Those people play alibi. So, when he returns to his distraught wife, brother and nephew, he acts distraught as well. His son was "taken" from him.
No one would ever know Zuko was hidden away, somewhere far away from the Fire Nation, locked away, because as Agni's chosen one, he needed the "protection." Zuko is special. People will want to kill him. Listen to your father, Zuko. Your father loves you, Zuko. Your father knows best, Zuko. You can't leave this place, Zuko. You don't know anything about the world, Zuko. Men are animals and women are either weak or don't care about you, Zuko. I mean, where is your mother, Zuko? She's not here, she doesn't care about you, Zuko. There was a war around them, Zuko. You can't take care of yourself, Zuko.
And we know Gothel was manipulative. We know she toyed with Rapunzel's emotions. Ozai would be the same, but we know he'd also be worse. The day he burned Zuko? He'd go off saying he's sorry. How it wasn't really his fault. Zuko was pushing him and he snapped. Zuko, how can you blame your poor father? So, of course Zuko thinks it was deserved. Of course he blames himself. He provoked his own father, the man who was "protecting" him from the dangers of the world.
Ozai would call Zuko his "Sun" much like Gothel referred to Rapunzel as her "Flower."
Zuko has a turtleduck as his only friend/pet. Not sure on names, but something ironic would be fun. Like, he doesn't know the name of his relatives, he doesn't even know he has a sister now. But he names the turtleduck Ursa, or Iroh, maybe even Lu or Lala (one of the nicknames for Azula). Ozai doesn't know about them. He doesn't know someone in his family shares a name with a turtleduck.
And who is the one who finds Zuko? Who gets knocked unconscious, is shoved into a wardrobe, gets tied up and made to take Zuko to see something he's always wanted to see? Sokka.
He's traveling with the rest of the Gaang. Will they be like Flynn/Eugene? Kinda. Toph and Sokka the prime criminals. Aang sometimes helps them, and Katara is just there to make sure they don't hurt themselves and to yell at them for being stupid and making her worry. They need a mom, so she stepped up.
What lead them to Zuko was that they learned of the Lost Prince, Prince Zuko, who was kidnapped as a baby.
In Tangled, we know the object that Flynn steals is Rapunzel's crown. I was thinking something else for Zuko. The crown would be a nice connection, but I think something else would be better. Something that connects him to either Ursa or to Iroh. If we go Ursa, they take the Blue Spirit mask. If we go Iroh, perhaps a Pai Sho tile that was turned into a necklace or a ring. We could even have both.
Sokka and Toph don't really get why these things matter. Like, it's not a crown or a nice blade. One is just wood and the other is part of a game. What's so special about them?
So, when Zuko puts on the mask, it feels oddly right, but also familiar. Before he was taken, Ursa would show him her masks. He was scared at first, but then curiosity won out and he would always reach out for the Blue Spirit mask. And Ursa was going to give it to him as soon as he was old enough to have it. When he holds the Pai Sho tile in his hand, it feels warm. Iroh, when he was around, would take care of Zuko and would often play Pai Sho while he did. Zuko would always reach for the white lotus piece. So, Iroh decided it would be his. But Zuko was only ever interested in that one tile. Never the game. So, he turned it into something he would and could wear.
Let's get back to the Gaang. Sokka hasn't reappeared. He hasn't called. He didn't come back to tell them that it was safe. So, one by one, they enter the tower (because I had to keep that element) and they just see Sokka, tied up, two blades against his neck and a boy who is glowing holding them.
The boy is looking at them wearily. He was told this place was safe. That he couldn't protect himself, but he caught a man, held him captive. But he was still yelled at. He didn't reveal his prisoner. His father had left, with the promise of bringing him some new inks and a play scroll for the celebration of the Solstice. But now he had three more people to fight. Three more people who would try to kill him. But they don't? They don't know who he is? Why he's special? Didn't they want to kill Agni's chosen one?
Cue to an awkward moment of the Gaang trying to convince a boy who was touched by the sun to let one of their members go and to join them. That they promised to not let anything happen to him. And he agrees, eventually.
And the journey plays out just like it did in Tangled. Zuko is conflicted. On the one hand, he's seeing the world. Yes, there's a war going on, but he's actually seeing it for the first time in his life. The world is so big and he's so curious about everything. His turtleduck quacks replies to his questions. It's kinda cute, kinda sad, and overall something the Gaang think should have been taken care of long ago. On the other hand, Zuko is paranoid. He's afraid. He's worried that his father would find out and be disappointed. That he really is a horrible son and human being. He can go from happy and curious about one thing to upset and stressed about the next.
And eventually, Sokka decides that maybe they should move on. He would take Mr. Sunshine back to his house. He'd get their stolen goods back. They'd depart as friends and be happy. But no, Mr. Sunshine wasn't backing down. He wanted this. He wanted to see the world and he was going to. Sokka is frustrated the most outta the Gaang. Toph enjoys Zuko's company, Aang gets along well with him and Katara has no real opinion of him. But Sokka? Yeah, he'd rather have Zuko go back so they can move on.
I want the Ugly Duckling to be the Jasmine Dragon. Iroh isn't in the day they arrive. But you know who is? Some of the Kyoshi warriors. Suki is amongst them. In this AU, she and her warriors weren't caught by Azula. When she learns that Zuko is living his dream, she reluctantly lets them go by. She brings up the war, and he knows, but he has so much to see, and if he can help people along the way, why would he turn his back?
Things start to look up, but then, Azula strikes with Mai and Ty Lee. She was told by her father of the boy with the golden hair. He was Agni's chosen one. He was more powerful than her. He would be a great addition to her court. So, she wanted to capture him. She didn't know he was her older brother (and yes, I'm aiming for this to have an Azula redemption).
Ozai stops them, knocking them all unconscious and takes a distraught Zuko away. And Zuko lets him. the Gaang abandoned him. They let the enemy take him. They let him think they cared.
He didn't know they were being held back. He didn't know that they tried to get to him. He didn't know that they were ambushed. That they had to retreat. Mai and Ty Lee are arrested earlier for attacking the Crown Princess. Azula wants to feel betrayed but can't. She's sure they didn't attack her, Ozai says she only believes that because they lied so well about being her friends. She takes his words to heart. Her friends lied to her and she let them.
Zuko eventually finds out EVERYTHING. He's the Lost Prince. Agni's chosen was the Fire Nation's Lost Prince. And he's seen what the war started by his own people a hundred years ago. He's met the avatar. He's made friends. He met people who actually care about him. He's done with his father. But Ozai wasn't letting him go. He leaves Zuko bound in the tower in order to fight the Avatar.
Who fights Azula? Mai, Ty Lee, who were broken out of prison by Iroh, and Katara. They weren't in the Boiling Rock. They don't have to fully defeat Azula, they just need to distract her enough for her to be caught. And some miracle, the trio succeed with little injury to either party.
Aang defeats Ozai and he, Sokka, Suki and Toph take Ozai to the palace where he would be taken away. But first, Sokka demands that Azula tell him where she took Zuko. She doesn't know. She never met her brother. So, when he tells her that the boy she was trying to capture was Zuko, she turns to her father in surprise.
The man who told her this boy who was their God's chosen one but never told her he was also her older brother. That he likely left out that detail to ensure she would capture him, bring him home now that Ursa was gone, so he could keep a better eye on him. It was never about making Azula a better court. It was never about giving her a powerful ally. It was just his want to ensure Agni's chosen was his and that he held him in a tight leash. He didn't care about either of them, and when she first met her older brother, she made sure he was afraid of her. That he knew she was above him. That he would know her word was final. Ozai made sure that she would. He told her that that was how she would succeed.
Ozai admits to it. How he was so sure he'd win. How they could ask, beg, torture him as much as they wanted, he would never tell them where Zuko was or if he was okay. So, he's taken away. And the Gaang begin a new search. Azula demands to go with them. She's messed up. She heard her mother grieve for her brother. Maybe, just maybe, bringing him home would make her come home someday.
They travel back to the tower and find Zuko. He's worn out from trying to get out of the chains Ozai put on him. There are burns on his wrists and hands. But the thing that surprises them the most, is the fact that his golden hair was now a deep black, but his eyes were brighter, more golden. His glow had died. Agni's chosen got hurt, he stood out and was hurt. So he was made to look relatively normal. Only those who looked for it, would see the signs that Zuko was his chosen child.
He and Azula have a strained relationship for a while, but they eventually bond and the day one is crowned Fire Lord, the other stands proudly by them.
Iroh returns from Ba Sing Se. His brother is in prison. His niece is okay. The war was over. But the day he returns, he goes to see Azula, to tell her he would help her run things until she could take care of everything herself, and he sees her with a boy. Something about him is familiar. The boy sits by her, fussing over her. The girl's mental and emotional health is a primary thing being seen to. And when Azula sees Iroh, she motions to the boy and asks if he knew Zuko.
Zuko.
Zuko.
Zuko.
Iroh looked at the boy and saw the White Lotus Pai Sho tile necklace around his neck. His hair is no longer its golden hue. His glow died down. But his eyes shouted Agni. This was his Zuko. And Iroh ran over and hugged him. His nephew was home. His nephew was safe. His family would get better.
Zuko is surprised that this old man hugged him. But, it felt nice. It felt right. But most of all, it felt familiar.
All of the Nations celebrate not only the end of the war, but the return of the Fire Nation Prince who was missing for 16, nearly 17, years. The Prince, who few knew as Agni's chosen. The Prince, who had told a few of the people he met when he traveled with the Gaang to call him Li. The Prince, Zuko, who was polite and curious and willing to learn. Zuko, who they hoped would take the throne, but who they were happy to have to ensure his sister didn't bring the war back.
One day, he and Azula would reunite with their Mother and her new family. One day they would meet their new sister, Kiyi. Kiyi, who would hear stories of her older brother, who her mother lost, of her older sister, who her mother had to leave behind.
Her older sister, who was jealous of her. Who struggled to see her mother didn't replace her. Her sister, who after a while, was so protective of her and did love her.
Her older brother, who got hurt for being who he was. Her older brother, who was taken by his own father. Her older brother, who was so kind to her, who played with her and answered her questions.
Ursa would see her children. Both raised by their father but not together. She would never forgive Ozai. For taking her son. For lying to her daughter. For hurting both.
She and Azula struggled to rebuild their relationship. But they do, eventually. The bond isn't as strong as it should have been, but it's there. And it's a start. And that's enough for her.
Zuko, on the other hand, is still in the process of learning everything Ozai told him was a lie. He thought for so long that Ursa didn't want him. That she left him. Abandoned him. So, when he encountered with the woman who was his mother, he didn't know what to think. With Iroh, well, he never knew about Iroh. He never knew he had a family besides his father, who lied and hurt him, and his mother, who supposedly abandoned him and didn't care about him. He never knew he had a sister until the day he was rescued. He never knew he had an uncle until he showed up and hugged him, saying how he was sorry he didn't look for him, that he should have looked harder, not given up. If he could forgive an old man. He never knew his cousin, who died in battle, who wanted to teach him everything he knew. And Ursa understands. She's sad about it, but she knows this is something she has to fix. She has to prove Ozai lied. That she cared about her son. That everyday he wasn't with her, she missed him. That, for as strong as he was, he still got hurt and she should have been there to help him. She sees the burns. The scars. And promises to never leave him again.
It takes time, but their family heals. And Ursa gets to do what she always wanted. She takes her family to see plays. She gives them play scrolls to read and they discuss them once a week. She and Azula talk over tea. They're civil. It's the most they can do at the moment. But both are happy with it. She and Zuko feed the turtleducks. His friend now lives among them.
If we go with he named them Ursa, she cries when she finds out. If we go the Iroh or Lu route, Iroh has tears in his eyes and he laughs with joy. If we go with La, Azula appears indifferent but she gives La a bit more food.
And we all know how it ends:
Sokka: And after years of asking and asking and asking...
Sokka: I finally said "yes."
Zuko: Sokka.
Sokka: Okay, okay, I asked him.
#atla#atla zuko#ozai atla#atla tangled au#sun spirit zuko#azula atla#avatar gaang#zukka#I know I kinda go off with these but like#once I get an idea#I need all the details to make it happen#like; I can adjust things#but I had to get everything down before I forgot
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grief
Written for Day 6 of @aangweek! Read here on AO3.
~*~
6. grief - and when i can’t be with you dream me near / keep me in your heart and i’ll appear
Aang took a deep breath as he stepped onto the balcony of Iroh’s tea shop in Ba Sing Se. The air was… well, not cool - it was never cool during Earth Kingdom summers, even if it didn’t get quite as hot as in the Fire Nation - but it wasn’t overly warm, either. The humidity wasn’t too extreme in the evening, though if anything Aang appreciated the slight gravity to the air. It was… grounding.
Fitting for the Earth Kingdom, but perhaps an odd sensation for an airbender to seek.
Still. Aang found a certain comfort in the air’s heavier presence. It was there. Surrounding him, clothing him. He was there, existing and living and breathing in the moment. In the present. In the now.
Only… He wasn’t.
No, Aang was in the past, as he was wont to be. Particularly on that day of all days. If he closed his eyes, the Southern Air Temple sat before him, alive and carefree and in its prime as it had been… a hundred and one years ago. If he listened, he could hear the laughter of students learning their first airbending technique from the monks. Echoes of the past. If he took a deep breath, he could smell freshly-made fruit pies, sweet and tangy like those he’d whip up with Gyatso.
Sometimes… Aang could pretend nothing had changed at all.
Of course, the truth was that everything had.
Aang sighed, opening his eyes to stare down at his wooden necklace. Engraved in the center was the symbol of his people and their element. Today was a day of celebration, he knew, but the heart didn’t often lend itself to such clarity.
It was the first anniversary of the end of the Hundred Year War. The first anniversary of the Fire Nation’s defeat. The first anniversary of a new, peaceful era. A cycle of cruelty had ended, and a future of harmony had begun.
Well, perhaps it wasn’t quite so simple.
A ghost of a smile graced Aang’s lips. How the past lingered on.
His friends were inside the Jasmine Dragon, laughing and teasing each other just as they’d done a year ago. They were relaxing after a long day of political tasks and dull meetings and formal celebrations, a decision for which Aang could not blame them.
Soon, they would join him on the balcony. Aang knew this. His friends never let him be alone for long.
But for now, Aang basked in the stillness. And he breathed.
“Greetings, Avatar Aang.”
Aang blinked upon hearing his name. Or rather, hearing his formal title. Of all his friends to join him first, he’d suspected it would be Katara. Maybe Zuko. But not… Well, who was Aang to question the workings of the universe? It was far more powerful than he.
“Grand Lotus Iroh,” he said, bowing to the older man. “Is there something you need?”
Iroh chuckled. “I suppose I don’t ‘need’ anything, but I will remind you that it is not necessary to address me so formally. Just ‘Iroh’ is fine.”
Aang gave him a small smile. “On one condition - you have to drop the formalities for me, too.”
Iroh’s chuckling became full-on laughter, booming from the man’s stomach. “Oh, you sound like my nephew. He can’t stand it when I address him as the Fire Lord.” He smiled at Aang. “I accept your condition, Aang.”
Aang found himself laughing, too. “Thank you, Iroh.” He’d always been fond of Zuko’s uncle. For one, Iroh had given him memorable - powerful - advice on their journey into the crystal catacombs together. And two, it was clear as day just how much Iroh loved Zuko, and how he tried to be the doting father Zuko had never had. In that respect…
Well, he reminded Aang of Gyatso. A little bit. Caring for a person with every bone in his body, guiding a child through responsibilities thrust upon them that they were unprepared to bear, and loving a little boy who wasn’t their own son. Who didn’t need to be.
“Are you alright, Aang?” Iroh asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. “I noticed you withdraw from your friends in my shop with a rather…” He paused. “Pensive expression, I suppose. I simply wanted to check on you.”
Oops. Had he already given himself away?
Aang shrugged, returning his focus to the cityscape of Ba Sing Se before him once more. Lanterns lit the streets as laughter and music filled the air. “I have a couple things on my mind. Nothing too serious.” A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “I’d say it’s been a long, busy day, but I don’t want to imply you weren’t there for as much of it as I was.”
Iroh chuckled. “Perhaps I was there for most of it. But my responsibilities are certainly not comparable to those of the Avatar.” He, too, turned to look out over the city. “However… This day presents conflicting feelings to you, does it not?”
Aang stiffened as Iroh’s comment sunk in, wondering how on Earth the man could have known what was on his mind. But he soon relaxed, realizing it wasn’t exactly difficult to put two and two together. And moreover, Iroh was simply… well, he was an observant person. Zuko was his nephew, after all. During Zuko’s banishment, Aang had a feeling Iroh had needed two sets of eyes in the back of his head to keep track of him.
“That’s one way to put it,” Aang admitted, a soft smile inching onto his lips. “But I didn’t want my overthinking to ruin the festivities, so I came out here.” Even from the balcony, he could hear Katara and Sokka squabbling about the significance of a particular Pai Sho tile, soon interrupted by Mai dryly informing them that they were both wrong.
“I am sure your friends would not -”
“I know, I know,” Aang interrupted with a laugh. He looked down once more at the wooden beads hanging around his neck. “I think I just needed… a minute of quiet. With myself.” Himself, and the past that ever influenced the present.
Aang glanced at Iroh, hastily adding, “It’s okay that you came out here, though! I don’t - I don’t mind the company.”
Iroh gave him a warm smile. “Since I am here, would you like to share your thoughts with me? About your conflict, that is.” He stroked his beard. “Please don’t feel pressured, of course. But if you speak, know I will listen.”
Aang allowed a pause to pass between them. Gathering his thoughts. A moment of silence, filled only by his friends’ muted voices from indoors and the cityscape chattering around them. Then he sighed.
“It’s not a big deal, really.” Aang gently clasped his wooden pendant, fingers tracing the curves engraved in the center. “A year ago, I defeated Fire Lord Ozai. And I am happy about that. Happy that the war is over. That we won.” He exhaled slowly. “But if I think too much about it…”
His hand tightened on the beads, and Aang found himself looking anywhere but at Iroh. “I chose to spare Ozai’s life. I don’t regret that decision, because affirming and upholding the beliefs of my people is - is -” Aang blinked back tears, and he took a sharp breath before he continued. “One of the reasons it was so important was because I’m the last of my people. I’m the only one left who can uphold our beliefs.”
Aang bit the inside of his cheek to avoid breaking into sobs, but against his will a few tears slid down his cheeks. “When I think about it like that, when I remember how part of my choice was because - was because they’re gone -” Aang couldn’t finish, his teeth sinking into his tongue to stop a choked sob from escaping.
The absence of his people was a never-ending ache, a pain rooted deep in his bones. And some days were more agonizing than others. Even days that should have been happy ones.
Iroh nodded. “I see,” he said after a pause, once Aang had wiped his eyes and eased his unsteady breathing. “I hope you understand, Aang, that your grief here is not irrational. While grief is seldom controllable, and often leaves us confused…” He shook his head. “It is not irrational. Your feelings here are what you need them to be.”
Iroh gave Aang a sorrowful look. “I regret that I have so little advice for you, Aang. The decisions of my ancestors, my brother, and my own may have caused irreparable damage to the balance of this world. Worse, in doing so, they stole everything from you. And for that…” Iroh shook his head. “No words can express my apologies.”
Aang exhaled slowly. “Not everything,” he finally said, once he was certain his voice wouldn’t waver. “Guru Pathik told me that my people’s love for me has not left this world. That it was reborn in the form of new love.” He gave Iroh a warm, if watery, smile. “You… remind me of Monk Gyatso. The way you take care of Zuko, even though you aren’t his father. Because it doesn’t matter. You -”
Aang’s voice caught in his throat. Iroh didn’t comment, and Aang collected himself before he continued.
“You still love him,” he said, maybe a little wistfully. Spirits, there were times Aang missed Gyatso so much he couldn’t breathe. “You still love him, and you would do anything for him.”
Iroh gave Aang a soft, sincere smile. “That is the highest praise I have ever been awarded. Thank you.”
Aang looked down at his beads once more. This time, he noticed Iroh’s gaze following them, too. “And… the Fire Nation can’t take my grief from me. I will always remember my people, and I will always work to keep their memory alive.” What was the future other than a world built on the past?
Iroh nodded. “Grief is nothing if not love,” he mused. “Grief is all the love we have for someone, for something, that no longer has a place to go.”
Aang nodded, eyes watering for what had to be the umpteenth time since their conversation started. Grief was love. All the love Aang had for his people that he kept in his heart, love so jam-packed it made his chest ache with pressure about to burst.
But love was reborn. Every day. Reborn in his friends.
In his family.
Aang turned, wrapping his arms around Iroh in a tight hug, an embrace the older man gently returned. “Thank you,” Aang whispered. “For taking care of Zuko. For listening to me. For…” He exhaled. “Just for being here.”
Iroh shook his head. “No, Aang. I am the one who must thank you.”
Aang wasn’t sure when he started crying. He wasn’t sure when his friends joined him on the balcony, either. But when they all wrapped their arms around him in a massive, ridiculous, everything-he-could-have-ever-wanted group hug…
They were Aang’s present. His friends grounded him, keeping him in the now. And yet, if he opened his eyes?
Aang suspected he would fly.
~*~
idk how much i like this ficlet either lmaooo. regardless, aang deserves a million hugs and his friends will always be there to provide them!! i hope to see you tomorrow for the final day of aang week 2021 - love. (here's a hint: an overabundance of fluff. also, everyone's a little bit in love with aang! which is practically canon.) thank you for reading!
#aang#aang week#aanglove#iroh#atla#avatar the last airbender#the gaang#air nomads#gyatso#atla fanfic#atla fanfiction#words aren't real anymore#amy writes
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