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oneatlatime · 1 year

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Jet

10th episode! Nominally half way through the season, so I might make some kind of review/summary post soon.

This episode opens with a rather ominous musical sting.

Gorgeous fall colours. Which makes no sense because the winter solstice just passed but whatever.

This accordion type trap design is not something I've ever seen before. Are these a thing in real life? Also words cannot express how much I love Momo's little leitmotif. It's so him.

Sokka's aim with that Boomerang of his has got to be near-supernatural.

You know, Sokka kind of does have an arrow on his head.

He IS just a goofy kid! That's what makes him the best! Seriously, after a century of war, there isn't a person alive who doesn't need a hearty dose of goofiness.

Katara is pulling no punches here. Peak little sister. Really railing on those "instincts."

"How do people go anywhere without a flying bison?" Welcome to living like the rest of us mere mortals. Actually, between Appa, his glider, and his ball of air that he rides places, you can make a case that Aang (or airbenders in general) have severely underdeveloped walking muscles.

With the amount that Katara is ridiculing Sokka's attempts at leadership, I predict this going two ways: either Sokka gets a chance to lead this episode and it goes well (disproving Katara) or Katara screws up majorly in a way that she could have been avoided if she'd just listened to Sokka's Instincts. We already had a Katara screwing up episode with the Waterbending Scroll, so my money is on the first one.

I love Aang so much. Sokka's obvious bluff accidentally works and Aang's repsonse is to praise Sokka's skill and 100% believe that it was totally Sokka's doing. Such faith in his friends.

How dumb are these fire nation soldiers? They had superior numbers and weaponry but made sure to wait the appropriate amount of time for the full child-soldier squad to arrive and even out the advantage. Between these idiots and the stupid earth kingdom soldiers in the episode with the black and white spirit, I'm starting to think that this war could be over in 10 minutes if each side unleashed a squad of ten year olds.

This man's weapon is LOG.

Katara DON'T YOU DARE.

Huh. This is an actual squad of child soldiers, led by a teenage boy with Peter Pan vibes. This will end well.

Aang can charm anybody. And it's all genuine too.

Why does a kid who can't be more than like seven know what munitions smell like?

This Jet guy has untrustworthy eyebrows. Obviously this is being set up so that Katara is embarassingly into him and Sokka's jealousy of his leadership or fighting skills or whatever makes him suspicious, but this guy is too smooth.

So Katara gets a ride up but Sokka gets an arm dislocated?

An airbender would love this place, wouldn't he?

Did they stick Appa in a treehouse? Isn't he like super heavy?

I don't like this boy. I don't like. Cult leader vibes here. Knows exactly what to say. Exactly which buttons to push.

NO no no do NOT fall for it Sokka. Your instincts! Listen to them!

Does that work? Can you use a knife in a tree like a stethoscope?

I KNEW IT!!! A FUCKBOY!!!

Jesus Jet's psychotic! This is a kids' show!

Now we've moved on to garden variety mugging.

Even these kids' presents are destructive.

NO. No Katara. Did she sew a hat from leaves?

Thug? I'd use something stronger. I would pay to see Sokka swear.

What do you want to bet that that's Jet's knife? This prick. You are not important enough to be assassinated. This kid's complexes have complexes.

This fucker twists words. Sokka's right. He is smooth. oh god this is making my skin crawl.

Peak comfy.

It's the knife! Also is that headband adhering to this child's eyeballs?

"We can't win without making some sacrifices." And have you asked these sacrifices for their consent?

This guy is totally nuts. He's twisted things around so much in his own head to justify his actions that it's like he sees a completely different world than reality.

I feel dirty finding beauty in such an episode that deals with such horrific subject matter. Is it strange that Aang being the sole survivor of an actual genocide and finding his friend's skeleton didn't freak me out, but this Jet guy makes me want to reach for Holy Water?

This whole conversation makes my skin crawl. It's masterful manipulation. I'm no psychologist or whatever to break this down, but in a few sentences, Jet: -Portrays Sokka in a good light, which he -chalks up to Katara's good influence, thus flattering her, while also -making himself seem like a good, forgiving guy willing to selflessly make allowances for the flaws of others (Sokka), painting himself in the best light out of everyone present, while also -Providing a reason for why Sokka isn't there, which will prevent Aang & Katara from wondering where he is, thus eliminating all possibility of rescue (unless Appa saves the day again).

and all of that is going on while Jet has explicitly given orders that Sokka have god knows what done to him, fully aware of how important he is to Katara and Aang (otherwise he wouldn't use forgiving Sokka to further ingratiate himself with Katara). It's masterful. It's disgusting and awful and exactly the kind of twisty that traps people in horrible situations, but it's also performed with such skill. How many other people that Jet thought could be useful has he pulled this on?

I am not convinced by the physics of this. Can water do this?

"I've never used bending on water I can't see." Um, yes you have? That time you un-drowned Aang on Kyoshi island, getting the water out of Haru's mom's water pump, getting the water out of your very much not transparent POUCH?

No. Fuck off. Leave my girl alone. Hands off.

Good thing Katara taught Aang some waterbending moves last episode. Nice continuity to see him immediately using them here.

"I'm sure he'll be happy to see us." Girl no. Brace yourself. Fuck this boy.

"Jet's a great leader. We follow what he says, and things always turn out ok." So you've outsourced both your morals and your thinking?

Nice callback to the beginning of the episode. One thing I love about this show so far is how well it sets up tiny things early on that I take to be worldbuilding, that turn out to be big things later that are actually critical to the plot. There's so much thought put into each episode.

Log man may be a brainwashed supporter of a terrorist, but you have to admit he knows how to go with the flow. Stuck in a cage? Might as well enjoy the bait.

Again, so pretty, so horrible.

"Jet wouldn't do that." Wanna bet?

Not only a fuckboy, but proud of it too. This is just disgusting. Does he honestly not see what's wrong with what he's doing, or has he worked so hard at justifying his choices that he's deluded himself?

I am honestly disappointed that he didn't eat dirt.

Never have I been happier to contemplate the potential long term frost bite damage of waterbending. Wreck him. Obliterate the fuckboy.

This was a lesson that Katara had to learn, that I've been rooting to see her learn, but damn if this isn't painful to watch. "You're sick and I trusted you!" As disgusted with herself as she is with him. Not your fault. Some people in this world are just fuckboys. Or, you know, leaders of terrorist cells that employ child soldiers. In any other genre of show, the whole child soldier thing would have tipped them off.

This show once again pulls no punches. This whole sequence is intense. The music cuts out, even the picture fades out. In any genre but a kid's show, Sokka would full on die here.

How many episodes now is it that Sokka's quick thinking and Appa's existence combine to save the day?

I love this art style. It looks like it's painted with tea. And the shine on Sokka's hair is so pretty.

This healed some of the psychic damage I took from this episode. Missus Pretty. That's exactly the kind of name a doll would have too.

I love that she leaves him there frozen. I hope no one comes to save him for a very long time.

I've hit the image limit for this post (didn't know there was one - learned something new today!), so just imagine a screenshot of the most disdainful yip yip ever executed.

Sokka is so clearsighted in this whole final scene with fuckboy. Every line is pure wisdom. It's delicious.

Aang told Jet earlier that it was out of character for Sokka to apologise, but it's Katara who should be apologising for the (horribly realistic) folly of trusting a too-smooth guy. She did apologise to the empty air just before the dam blew, but would it kill her to say it to his face?

Final Thoughts

This episode was a masterpiece. That's the word I keep coming back to: a masterpiece, masterful. This episode hit every note it was aiming for and executed every beat perfectly. Everything this episode set out to do was accomplished, and then surpassed. It feels like a giant step up in quality compared to every episode before it. This episode was a masterpiece and I will never watch it again because I never want to see a fuckboy portrayed so accurately ever again. I enjoyed seeing him get wrecked in the end but I won't be able to sit through all the work up to that wrecking again, knowing exactly the manipulation that Jet pulls. Jet makes my skin crawl. The way Jet takes advantage of, actually actively cultivates and then takes advantage of, Katara's crush on him, it makes my skin crawl. The way he takes advantage of Katara and Sokka's difference of opinion makes my skin crawl. This guy plays people like they're instruments and he's a maestro and it makes my skin CRAWL.

I'm also getting kind of tired of yelling 'Sokka's right!' at the screen every second episode. Not that I want him to be wrong, but it's like the lessons learned last episode don't carry over to the next one.

Aang was Aang this episode, with very few lines and basically no agency the whole plot. Just a tag-along. However, I think there's a contrast between how he genuinely makes friends and how Jet manipulates people into working for him. Aang says Pipsqueak's name is hilarious, because to Aang, that is a hilarious name. He's honest, and that wins him a friend. Does Jet say a single honest sentence in this whole episode? Ever? And he's won the loyalty of his Lost Boys more thoroughly than Aang wins over Pipsqueak. Chilling.

This was a Katara episode, which the last one was too. I'm getting tired of her not learning her lesson too. Stop trusting people so easily, and listen to your brother (when he's not trying to assert his manliness at least).

I predicted at the beginning that this would be a 'Sokka the good leader' episode rather than a 'Katara screws up' episode, since that was literally last episode's plot. This episode might as well have been called 'Katara Screws Up part 2: Actual Consequences This Time.' Last episode a bunch of pirates and a not very competent avatar hunter lost their ships. This episode? a completely uninvolved village got their buildings destroyed. To be clear, that's completely not Katara's fault, but she does seem to be developing a talent at getting into Situations.

I feel cheated that this episode had such a beautiful setting for such twisted people. I'm going to go watch some cleansing Spongebob.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #Jet #avatar the last airbender

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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sukifans · 3 years

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aahhh I’m so excited I love your writing!!! your sokka “help me” fic is one of my favs ever I seriously think about it at least twice a week. in a similar vein, would you be able to combine prompts 10 & 12 for sokka x fem!reader? thank you!!! :)

SOKKA + “can i try that new chapstick? i wanna have a taste” + “i hadn’t noticed but my sweet, funny, goofy best friend is kind of hot, especially since they’ve been on this fitness kick”

⇦ 𝘔𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘓𝘐𝘚𝘛

“nastiest skank bitches” Group Message

loml: ladies, i need a girls night

loml: desperately

babygorl: god i’m down, this semester blows

fugly slut <3: i’m in!! always here for a girls night 🥰

loml: y/n??

you: gals. pals. as much as i would love to...

fugly slut <3: ughhhhhhhhh

babygorl: you better not be blowing us off for sokka again istg

you: 😅

loml: TRAITOR BITCH

fugly slut <3: HOES BEFORE BROS

babygorl: WHORE

you: bruh.mp3

you: he’s coming by after the gym to help me with my physics homework!!! I NEED THE HELP PLS I PROMISE ILL BE THERE NEXT TIME

babygorl: lying is a sin y/n

babygorl: sinner

loml: if sokka’s gonna b there maybe she’ll be sinning in........ other ways...... ahaha

loml: fuckboy_emoji.jpg

fugly slut <3: when you gonna tap that fr

you: NEVER LITERALLY NO EW

you: HE’S MY BEST FRIEND

you: UNLIKE YOU RATS

fugly slut <3: he do b kinda yummy tho liiiike 👀

you: STOP

loml: yeah he’s hot sorry queen

you: HE’S NOT HOT

babygorl: i almost hate to admit it but...

babygorl: his biceps 🥴

fugly slut <3 emphasized “his biceps 🥴”

loml loved “his biceps 🥴”

you: hey! i hate u guys! jsyk!

fugly slut <3 disliked “hey! i hate u guys! jsyk!”

babygorl disliked “hey! i hate u guys! jsyk!”

loml disliked “hey! i hate u guys! jsyk!”

babygorl: uh huh yeah sure

loml: yall hear sumn?

NEW MESSAGE from sokka :^)

“hey i’m omw up!”

you: whatever you guys suck

you: i gtg

fugly slut <3: AND YOU SWALLOW

babygorl: bye girly!! get that bestie dick!!

loml: save a car, ride an engineering major >:)

you: desgostang.jpg

You dropped your phone onto the bed next to you with a groan. Your friends really and truly could be such freaks about your relationship with Sokka—or lack thereof. They’d been especially adament ever since he started some stupid bet with Zuko about who could get the most “gains” by graduation, incited by Aang making the mistake of commenting on Zuko’s more pronounced muscle mass.

Idiots.

That’s what Sokka was. Your idiotic best friend, who was funny, and sweet, and intelligent. You loved him, of course, but not like that. And he was not hot.

Definitely not.

The pounding on your dorm door interrupted your musings before Sokka let himself in, dropping his gym bag on the floor and kicking off his slides. His hair was loose and still damp from his post-workout shower and he wore slim joggers with a loose muscle tee.

“Hey!” He smiled brightly when he spotted you sitting in your bed. “What’s up?”

“The usual.” You moved your legs out of the way so he could flop down onto your mattress. “How was the gym?”

Sokka groaned. “Cardio. I’m already sore.” He stretched his arms up to fold behind his head, pulling his muscles taut.

Hm. He does kind of have nice biceps...

You shook yourself internally. Thoughts like these had been creeping out of your subconscious for weeks now, no thanks to your rabid friends.

“My leg’s been killing me, though,” he continued, rubbing his opposite foot across the skin that covered that metal pins and plates holding his bones together after a nasty break in high school. The leg often still gave him problems, ranging from the dull ache he could ignore on the day-to-day, to throbbing pain that left him limping.

You frowned, looking away from his arms to meet his eyes. “You should probably rest up before you hurt yourself,” you said.

“I’ll be fine.” He shrugged and propped himself up on his elbows. “Gotta catch up to Zuko, y’know.”

“Why? You’re already taller than him.”

“So? I wanna be more yolked, too.”

You rolled your eyes. “Buncha dumbasses.”

Sokka quirked an eyebrow. “You want this dumbass to help with your physics homework or not?”

“Haha,” you chuckled nervously, “just kidding, buddy! I meant Zuko and Aang. You—definitely not a dumbass. Nope.”

“That’s what I thought.” He shot you a smug look as he pushed up to sit cross-legged across from you on the bed. He held his hand out with a dramatic, world-weary sigh. “Alright, give it here.”

You opened your laptop to pull up the website that hosted your homework practice problems. “You know I love you, right?”

“Mhm,” he hummed, grabbing a notebook and pen from your desk to work out the math as you handed over the computer. He paused before standing to retrieve his bag, plopping it on your desk chair so he could root through it and pull out his glasses case. You felt your cheeks warm a little when he set the frames on the bridge of his nose.

Fine—he was kinda cute. You could concede that without having to dig too deep into your somewhat jumbled feelings for your best friend.

But you would certainly not “tap that.”

Well...

No. You would not.

You watched his eyes flick over the screen as he tapped the pen against his chin, catching the cap between his teeth while he thought about the formulas he’d learned in a past semester. He nodded to himself and started scribbling out a diagram and the math to go with it. You found yourself a little mesmerized by the way he simply just knew what to do, confidently scratching away at the paper as easily as one might write the alphabet. Your eyes trailed from his long fingers and calloused hand sweeping over the page, up his toned arm (lingering on his bicep a little longer), and to his face. He chewed at the inside of his cheek in concentration, sometimes parting his lips to murmur the logic to himself.

For someone who often said a lot of stupid shit, he sure had a pretty mouth.

You considered what he might do if you snatched a fistful of his shirt and yanked him into a kiss. Would he shove you away and leave? Awkwardly but kindly reject you? Or, would he kiss you back—throw the work out of the way and grab your face to coax you in deeper? Maybe push you back onto the bed and—

“Okay, so basically—”

Jesus Christ, get a fucking grip.

“—from the problem and draw it out like this to apply the formula, yeah?”

Sokka looked to you expectantly and you blinked at him as your face burned. “Sorry, I zoned out. What did you say?”

“C’mon, I know you hate physics but you gotta at least pay attention to me if you wanna pass,” he teased, shifting close enough that the sides of your bodies pressed together. Was it getting warmer in your room, or was it just your best friend?

He launched into the explanation again and you nodded along while internally willing the blood to leave your cheeks. Even as your thoughts ricocheted around inside your skull he managed to break it down in a way that somewhat made sense. He sat back and watched as you slowly worked through the next problem. You glanced up when you heard a soft pop to see him applying chapstick.

“Is that a new flavor?” you asked.

“Yeah, chocolate orange or something.” He held the tube out to you. “Wanna try?”

Fuck it.

Before your rationality could catch up you pressed a hand to his cheek to turn his head and pulled him in for a kiss. Your lips only slotted together for a brief moment before you pulled back to stare wide-eyed at each other. You could feel the fire creeping from your cheeks down your neck, mirrored in the reddening of his tanned skin.

He blinked. You blinked.

The chapstick slipped from between his fingers. Rationality arrived late.

You bolted.

“Uh, see ya later!” you shouted as you threw the door open and rushed out of the room.

“Wait, (Y/N)—“

You didn’t stick around to hear the end of his desperate call. Even thought it was your dorm and you were barefoot you still raced down the hall, wincing at the sound of a door slamming behind you.

“(Y/N)!”

Damn that lanky bastard. You were booking it and he was already hot on your heels. You barreled into the door leading to the stairwell and almost made it down the first step when he grabbed you around the waist and yanked you back. Despite your struggles, the arm hooked across your middle was unyielding until he pushed you into the corner and crowded you against the wall, hands caging you in from either side. Your heart was racing and you weren’t sure if it was because of your escape attempt or that he was close enough you could smell his body wash and deodorant. It was almost enough to make your head spin.

“Sokka, I-I don’t know why—I’m sorry, please, I shouldn’t’ve—“

“(Y/N),” he said firmly and your mouth snapped shut. “Why did you run away?”

“Uh, I—well, um...” You shrunk down against the wall and swallowed hard. “I-I don’t know.”

“You didn’t even give me a chance to respond.”

“Look—“ You paused and stared at him once you processed what he said. “What?”

He laughed, dropping one of his hands to brush against your cheek before threading into your hair to cup the base of your skull. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?”

With that he surged forwards and kissed you enthusiastically, making you gasp into his mouth. You balled your hands into the front of his shirt to keep yourself steady as you melted into him. His free hand pressed into your lower back to bring you in closer. His tongue slipped out to tease at your bottom lip and he chuckled when you had to quickly grab his shoulders as your knees almost buckled.

“Get that,” he murmured against your lips, pressing his forehead to yours as the two of you gasped for air.

“Oh,” you breathed, “that.” You hummed happily when he kissed you again, his stubble scratching against your chin and under your palms when you cupped his face.

You both looked up when a stairwell door somewhere above you slammed open, followed by a group of jostling male voices. Sokka grinned when you glanced at him with wide eyes and shiny, swollen lips. You tried to hide behind him as the clamor bounded closer and closer. The group of guys rounded the next flight and gave shouts of recognition upon seeing you two standing against the wall.

“Sokka!”

“Hey, man!”

“Hey, guys,” Sokka said, holding his hand up in greeting.

“What’s up?”

“Oh, is that (Y/N)?”

“Nice, dude!”

“Ah, yeah...” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and you raised an eyebrow at his turned head. They all cheered and congratulated him, slapping his back as they passed and disappeared down the next set of stairs. When Sokka met your eyes again you cocked your head.

“Who were they?” you asked.

“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

“Sokka.”

“My reputation precedes me, what can I say?”

“Mine doesn’t.”

“Well—“ he suddenly became very interested in the underside of the stairs above you “—my reputation may or may not involve talking about you. A lot, apparently.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t do it on purpose!” he interjected quickly, taking your hands in his. “It’s just—I dunno, I guess I think about you a lot, so...”

“Oh.”

“Fuck, okay, that sounded weird.” You laughed a little at his embarrassed floundering. “I just mean, like, things that remind me of you or, y’know, stories that involve you...” he trailed off, flushing at your amused smile. “Stop it!”

“Stop what?”

“Making fun of me!”

“I didn’t say anything,” you giggled, hooking your arms around his neck.

“You’re still laughing at me,” he whined, lips turning into a frown. His hands slipped back down to your waist.

“You’re cute.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Without preamble, he ducked down and hoisted you over his shoulder as you shrieked in protest. “Sokka! Put me down!”

“No can do, baby; we have unfinished business to attend to.” He said as he marched you back in the direction of your room.

“You’re gonna finish my physics homework?”

“Nope.”

Oh.

A/N: 2k words bc, again, i have no self control. thank you for the request!

ATLA TAGS: @hotgirlazula @octophopi @blazedbakugou @protect-remus @akiris @sunflowerazula @wooscottoncandyhair @chewymoustachio @ohno-caroline @sunflowerr-mami @1vitamin @ladylizzieofdarbyshire @u-4iia @nymeria-targaryen @tommy-braccoli @dizzy-miss-lizzieeeeee @a-sloppy-bitch @nomin-rights @siriuslyslyslytherin @starryncn

SOKKA TAGS: @fiantomartell @avatarayeaye @zvkta @sher-lockedmarvel @grandmascottlang @captainshazamerica @yuesallura

#sokka x reader #sokka x you #sokka x y/n #x sokka #sokka fluff #sokka imagine #sokka fic #atla sokka #atla x reader #sokka #mine #requests #atla fic #avatar the last airbender

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alfredolover119 · 3 years

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I looooove your zukka rec lists! I recently became Avatar-obsessed, never got a chance to watch it as a kid and only just got through it all! I was wondering if you'd consider doing a specifically angst rec list? I love fluffy zukka everything, but sometimes you just gotta have your heart ripped out of your chest and put back in after being thoroughly blended.

thank you! i relate heavily to “recently became Avatar-obsessed” haha. as for the angst list, i sure can try! warning: all of these have happy endings because im a crybaby who can’t read unhappy endings. also, p much all of the fics in the completed section were featured on my other lists but this is specifically the ANGSTY ones >:^)

angsty zukka wips

first, most obviously, feels like we only go backwards by @oldpotatoe

-currently at 102k with 19/27 chapters posted; rated teen

-the amnesia fic. the amnesia fic. the amnesia fic. you know. i haven’t actually read it yet because, as previously mentioned, i’m a crybaby and am waiting for it to finish up but, from my understanding, this fic will murder you in a dark alleyway with no remorse. if u like zukka angst, you’ve probably already read this, but just in case!

An injury leaves Sokka with amnesia. His last memory is of the failed invasion, of leaving his father behind in enemy territory on the Day of Black Sun. Of hopelessness. Rage. // But then he wakes up, and the war is over. Suddenly, he must come to terms with the fact that years have passed, and that he's somehow the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador to the Fire Nation. He is also supposedly friends with banished-Prince-turned-Fire-Lord Zuko, of all people. Close friends.

Yeah, nah.

and i’ll do anything you say (if you say it with your hands) by @goldrushzukka

-currently 38k with 6/8 chapters posted; rated mature

-holy shit. holy SHIT. modern au based on the “my cat likes my fuckbuddy and i am falling in love” trope(?). maybe it’s just because of how the last chapter ended, but oh my god. this one made me cry. made me want to commit violence. when it’s not angsty as hell, it’s pretty funny, but holy shit. ao3 user nebulastucky please.

It’s supposed to be a one night stand. Pick up some guy at a bar, barely remember his name and never learn anything real about him, send him packing in the morning with a thanks for the ride and a cup of coffee to-go. That’s how it’s supposed to go. // But then it’s the best sex Sokka has ever had, and he thinks he’ll hate himself if he never gets to have it again.

Violet Blossoms and Celestial Objects by @hollypunkers

-currently 15k with 2/? posted. rated teen.

-this is the sequel to blue (an angsty, zukka rewrite of book 2-- go read it if u havent!)! !! this is a book 3 rewrite. only two chapters in and mrs hollypunkers is really abusing the miscommunication tag, as zukka writers seem to enjoy doing. im excited to see how the world and story develops with the changes to the story! you should be too!! its very good! obviously spoilers for blue lmao

Having sided with the Avatar in Ba Sing Se, Zuko not only must navigate his new relationship with Sokka but returning to the Fire Nation as a banished enemy. His own journey of self discovery and personal growth must now coexist alongside the personal struggles of every other member of the Gaang as together they blaze a treacherous path toward an unsure victory against Zuko's own father and nation.

breakable heaven by @fruitysokka

-currently 71k with 9/11 chapters posted. rated teen

-swt ambassador zuko! soon to be chief sokka! fake dating ur best friend to get out of an arranged marriage! what could go wrong!!! i also haven’t read this one ((see: i’m a crybaby who is being hurt by too many zukka wips already)), but it has been hanging out in my marked for later for months. from what i understand, this fic has: angst.

With his twenty-first birthday looming just around the corner, the Southern Water Tribe Elders have decided that Sokka, next in line to be Chief, needs to get married. Sokka does not want that, but he does need to get them off his back until he can figure his way out of it. What better way to do that than to pretend to date his best friend (and newly minted Ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe) Zuko? // Seriously, this is a foolproof plan. Maybe one of Sokka's best. Absolutely nothing can go wrong.

angsty zukka fics (completed!)

(i’ll put these in wc order)

lighthouse beam by @incorrectzukka

-7k, rated g

-a modern college au!! zuko’s inner-monologue is very angsty in this fic. typical zuko. also per usual, theyre both fucking dorks. they sort themselves out in the end, but not before The Angst. zuko is semi-deaf in this fic and also he has a bit of internalized homophobia.

Sokka’s breathtakingly beautiful and he’s smart and makes other people laugh. Zuko has a half-burnt face and a deaf ear. It’s not rocket science. // Or, Zuko falls in love with the boy in his Philosophy class.

This Isn’t My Idea of Fun by @khaleeseas

-9k, explicit

-moon spirit/nwt prince!sokka, no war to be found here! admittedly this isnt THAT angsty but like. the angst IS present. zuko is still the prince. a lovely childhood friends (though they hated each other for a minute haha) to lovers story.

If you asked Zuko, he and Azula saw far too much of Chief Hakoda of the Northern Water Tribe’s children growing up. It wasn’t until they were older, and Azula pointed out that - duh - their families were trying to set them all up, that he realized why. // He was told by his mother to be polite. These people were their friends and allies, and though their nations were as different as they came, harmony between nations was the most important thing. // It wasn’t his fault the Chief’s children were so annoying.

put your lips close to mine (as long as they don’t touch) by @celestialceci

-9k, teen

-modern au! zuko and sokka are college roommates. zuko goes to spend the summer with sokka. again,, not really that angsty but-- its there!! the detail and feeling of Home in this story make me happy. zuko is insecure as hell here too. if ur into that.

Zuko hates his home. He likes college alright, but he likes Sokka even better, his assigned roommate turned best friend. Spending the summer with Sokka will be fun, a welcome change of pace he desperately wants. It probably won't awaken anything in him... right?

the thing about dancing by anodymalion

-9k, teen

-yes. this one right here officer. it makes my heart ache. also trans sokka! which is cool. but the zuko angst in this one. hurts me. not so much relationship angst as it is zuko learning he deserves happiness angst. i’m sure u know The Type.

The first time a attendant spills Zuko’s tea and doesn’t immediately fall to her knees, begging the Fire Lord’s forgiveness, it is not anger but a resounding warmth that fills his chest.

i could (never) give you peace by @zukkababey

-10k, mature

-OUCH. OUCH OUCH OUCH. boys please learn to communicate im begging u. also zuko.. zuko, dude. as the tags of the fic say, hes “really going through it” in this one. YOUCH. post-canon.

Zuko almost said it. He almost said the words I think I’m in love with you, but he choked them back down at the last second. // Zuko would never be able to be what Sokka wanted. They might have needed each other during the summer, when two boys with too much weight on their shoulders found comfort in each other in the only way they knew how. // But now Zuko was Fire Lord, and Sokka was leaving.

this love burns so yellow (becoming orange and in its time, exploding) by @meliebee

-18k, teen, major character death

-i lied. THIS is the one, officer. found family.. good mai and zuko and toph friendships.. . ozai escapes prison and tries to overthrow zuko. OBVIOUSLY angst ensues. poor boy. he Does heal in this but it gets worse before it gets better. angst angst angst angst.

Ten months after Zuko is crowned at seventeen, he faces his first coup.

Anything for You by beersforqueers

-23k, explicit

-istg. this is probably one of my favorite zukka fics. its PAINFUL. modern au where theyre broken up but sokka hasnt told his family yet so zuko goes home with him for kataang wedding. a bit smutty, but the plot oh my god ohgm y fuvk. made me cry the first time i read it. (see: crybaby!me) insert that one picture of the horse with the caption PAIN.

In which Sokka and Zuko have broken up but Sokka hasn't told his family yet. So when Katara and Aang's wedding weekend rolls around and he doesn't want to break Gran-Gran's heart, he asks Zuko to pretend to be his boyfriend for one last weekend. // Things don't go as planned.

Moving Mountains by @thefangirlingdead

-64k, mature

-so. when i read this the first time it was in one sitting. soulmate au set within canon era / the comics, to an extent. soulmates can hear each others thoughts. i will happily say this is slowburn, jesus christ. champagne without the cham.

Soulmates are chosen by the spirits and can hear each other’s thoughts. Sokka thinks it’s cheesy and dumb. Zuko thinks it’s poetic justice that he doesn’t have one because he doesn’t deserve it. Cruel irony is finding out that the prince of the Fire Nation (and the person currently hunting you) is your soulmate.

In the Soft Light by @voidcenturyscholar and @romancedawning

-83k, teen, graphic depictions of violence

-moon spirit!sokka living in the northern water tribe. zuko is sent to the northern water tribe as a cultural liaison. iroh is the fire lord but while he is away taking care of lu ten after his injury ozai steps up. i cannot express how many emotions this fic made me feel. background yuetara. i would almost say found family?? but. anyway. plenty of angst to spare here with a healthy dose of enemies to friends to lovers.

As the newly appointed cultural liaison to Northern Water Tribe, Zuko is the first Fire Nation Citizen to step foot inside the city's walls in nearly a century. He's determined to prove himself—to the Fire Lord and to his father—even if the Water Tribe's spirit-touched prince seems to want nothing to do with him.

That Midnight Sky by @zukkababey

-103k, teen

-now now now. tms... modern college au where sokka agrees to tutor zuko in physics because zuko has to maintain straight a’s and physics is just not doing it for him. so. thats cool but THEN azula moves in, randomly, with zuko. to hide the fact that sokka is tutoring zuko, they fake date! what could go wrong!! the mutual pining in here combined with the angst... wonderful, tasty. everyone read it rn. also SLOWBURN

In Zuko’s strict family, needing a tutor is just about the worst thing you could do. Failing a class, however, is even worse. The only rational solution? Take up Aang on his offer to find him a physics tutor and have Sokka—beautiful, smart, handsome Sokka—tutor him in secret. // When Azula’s arrival threatens to reveal Zuko’s secret, it’s up to Sokka to convince her this definitely isn’t what it looks like. See, he’s actually… Zuko’s… boyfriend? // Hmm. There’s no way this could get complicated, right?

#zukka #zuko #sokka #angst #zukka angst #atla #avatar: the last airbender #fic recs #zukka fic recs

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lynnsfics · 4 years

Text

No Time For Regret

Pairing: Sokka x Reader

Request: Can you do prompts 18 and 33 with Sokka, from list #1

Prompts: “You’re freezing, Jesus!” and "Sometimes I just want to cuddle, okay? Is that so bad?”

Word Count: Approx. 1.6k

~~~

Sitting on the bank of the river, you sighed wearily. It was your turn to keep an eye out for the Fire Nation Navy and there had been no activity so far. You knew your job was important in keeping the others safe, but it became so tedious after a while.

Absentmindedly, you began playing with some pebbles that were laying on the shore. Using your earthbending, you tossed them up and watched them careen back to the ground. It wasn’t much, but it helped to pass the time. As you sat there, you began to think back on the last few months.

When you started travelling with the group, you never expected to become this close with all of them. Least of all a certain water tribe boy who you couldn’t seem to keep out of your thoughts. You knew you couldn’t say anything about it, all that would do is create needless drama. Besides, even if he felt the same way, starting a relationship during a war wasn’t exactly the best idea. Losing a friend would be hard enough, losing a partner was enough to break someone.

Shaking the thoughts away, you returned to your task. Standing up, you walked along the embankment, looking for the tell-tale signs of smoke. When you were satisfied there was no threat, you turned and walked back towards camp.

The others were still busy with their tasks when you arrived. Sokka was helping Katara prepare dinner while Toph went over training routines with Aang. Walking over to the fire, you warmed your hands. Night was setting quickly and it was growing chilly.

Sokka joined you, smiling as he sat down. “Any news from your watch?”

“Well there were two intruders,” you replied seriously.

He leaned forward, waiting to hear about the threat. “What did you do? Were they Fire Nation?”

“No,” you said shaking your head, “I don’t believe they were with them. And all I did was give them some bread.”

“Why would you give intruders bread,” he exclaimed.

You finally cracked a grin, “They were just turtleducks,” you said with a laugh.

“Oh very funny,” Sokka replied, rolling his eyes.

“I mean, it is kind of funny,” Katara said, joining you next to the fire. She turned towards Aang, who was now reaching the fire with Toph following close behind. “So, how was training?”

“It’s going well,” Aang answered. “I’m still learning, but I’m doing a lot better than before.”

“That’s great,” you replied encouragingly. “I patrolled the river today, no sign of Fire Nation troops.”

“We still need to be on the lookout for land patrol,” Sokka reminded you. “They could always launch a sneak attack against us.”

“Right,” Katara answered sarcastically, “I’m sure the Fire Nation is going to hike through the dense forest to track us down.”

“Well, you’ve seen the lengths Zuko has gone to,” you pointed out, “so I don’t think it’s that unlikely.”

“See, I’m not paranoid. I just want to be cautious,” Sokka said with a smug smirk.

Katara shook her head, “Alright, well let’s hope these determined soldiers don’t interrupt us during dinner.” Using her waterbending, she poured soup into each of your bowls.

Toph took a slurp from her dish. “Are we planning to stay here? Or are we moving on in the morning?”

“I think we could stay one more night,” Aang shrugged. “It would be difficult to travel tomorrow anyways.” He looked up at the clouds gathering overhead. “We could always waterbend the rain, but if there’s lightning it would be too dangerous.”

“Although I hate to stay in one place for too long, Aang has a point.” Sokka glanced around at the group, his gaze lingering on you for a second before looking back at the fire. “Flying during a storm is risky, and nobody is getting hurt on my watch.”

Once dinner was finished you helped set up the tents. The plan had been to sleep under the stars, but the impending storm ruled that option out. As you put the tarp over your tent, you sensed someone walk up behind you.

Turning, you saw Sokka leaning against a tree waiting to talk to you. “What’s up?”

“Well,” he began, “I have this bad feeling. I can’t explain it, but I feel like something bad is about to happen. I know you patrolled the river earlier, but it’s been a while since then. The navy could have shown up since then.”

“Do you want me to go check it out with you? That way we’ll know for sure.”

He looked relieved, “You don’t mind?”

“Not at all. Besides, it isn’t safe to go alone at night. Let’s head out.”

Walking along the muddy shore, you shivered. The night kept growing colder, and standing near the river did nothing to help. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” you answered with a shaky smile. “Just a bit cold is all.”

He reached out to touch your exposed arm and immediately recoiled his hand. “You’re freezing, Jesus!” Shrugging off his jacket, he handed it to you. “Here, put this on, it’ll warm you up.”

“No,” you shook your head, “you keep it. You need it more.”

“I grew up in the South Pole,” he said with a smile. “Trust me, I’m used to the cold.”

Finally accepting the jacket, you smiled. “Thank you.” A strong gust of wind almost knocked you over, and you began to lose your footing, sliding towards the river. Sokka reached out, grabbing your hand and pulling you towards him. You fell into his arms and blushed as his arms wrapped around your waist to steady you.

“Sorry,” you blushed, “I’m such a mess.” you said with a laugh.” Making an effort to smooth out your hair, you glanced over at him. “Does my hair look okay? It always gets so unruly.”

“It looks fine. Besides, you always look beautiful.” He paused, having a moment of realization. “I mean, you know, you’re um, very cute and,” he stuttered, trying to gloss over what he just said. “You’re very pretty.”

“Oh,” you replied. You weren’t sure if it was possible to die from blushing too much, but you were sure you were about to find out. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” he said, not looking in your direction. Instead he pretended to be very interested in the nearby trees.

Before you had a chance to say anything, Toph ran up behind you. “There’s heavy vibrations coming from the forest,” she explained breathlessly. “It’s the army.”

You ran back towards camp, lungs burning, Katara greeted you, “We already have everything packed up, all we have to do now is leave.”

Aang was saddling up Appa, and you all stood nervously, ready for takeoff. A loud crash came from the forest and you glanced over, seeing a group of Fire Nation soldiers burst through the treeline.

Stomping your foot, you sent a wave of rocks hurling towards the enemy. It gave you just enough time to climb on Appa’s back. With a quick “Yip Yip,” you were off.

As you climbed in altitude rain began to fall. A boom of thunder shook the skies and you stiffened. “Oh no,” you whispered. “This is bad. Very bad.” Something bright caught your eye and you glanced over to see a fireball fly past. “They’re firing at us,” you called to Aang.

“I noticed,” he responded. “Everyone hold on, we’re going to have to do a zig zag to dodge them.” As he turned, a loud cracking sound startled you. Turning to look, a bolt of lightning struck right next to Appa’s head. The sky bison turned abruptly to avoid it, causing you to lose your gripping.

You cried out as you plummeted towards the ground. Someone called your name and you could barely make out Sokka leaning over the edge of the saddle, hand outreached as if to catch you. But it seemed he was too late this time.

It seemed as if time slowed. The ground was growing ever closer. Fifty feet away. You took a deep breath, letting a tear slip out of the corner of your eye. Forty feet. You braced for impact, knowing it wouldn’t matter anyways. Thirty feet. You tried to bend the ground so it would be softer, but to no avail. Instead, you whispered a silent prayer to the spirits. Twenty feet. You whispered a farewell to the others and closed your eyes. But instead of falling, you felt someone grab your wrist.

Your eyes shot open, and you saw Sokka latched onto your wrist. He yanked you up over the saddle and pulled you into a hug. “I thought I lost you,” he whispered. You could tell he was crying, and you curled into him, your own tears falling.

“It’s alright, I’m here. I’m here.” You looked into his eyes, now rimmed red from the tears, and knew it was now or never. Not being in a relationship didn’t stop any of the pain, it just caused more. You leaned in and pressed your lips to his.

He was shocked for only a second before kissing you back. When you finally broke apart he smiled. “I never knew you felt the same way.”

“I have for a while now, but I never wanted to say anything. I always thought that being in a relationship would make fighting this war harder. But when I almost died just now, I realized that regret is what causes the most pain.”

With that, he pulled you closer for another kiss. You wiped the tears from his cheek and smiled. Fear had held you back, but you were done being controlled by it. Life had no time for regret, and as you kissed Sokka you knew, regret was the furthest thing from your mind.

Toph cleared her throat, “Look guys, I know you’re having a moment, but it’s a bit awkward for the rest of us.”

You chuckled and Sokka shook his head, “Sometimes I just want to cuddle, okay? Is that so bad?”

Laughing, Toph answered, “When the rest of us have to be present for it, yes.Yes it is.”

~~~

Requested By: anon

A:TLA Taglist:

@coldlilheart

@samsmultifandomblogs

Do I have a headache? Yes. Is it because I wanted to relive my childhood and stayed up until 3 AM watching Barbie movies? Maybe. Let me know if you want to be added to my taglist and as always, likes and reblogs are appreciated! Love you all! <3

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radishaur · 4 years

Note

hi, i love how you write and i was wondering if i could request a zuko imagine with prompts 23 and 87 from the make a reader swoon list? maybe reader has had her heart broken before so she's hesitant about believing zuko or something like that?

Ah, to be Y/N, having Zuko comfort you and attend to your needs. I love this idea! I hope you like how it turns out. For those who haven’t read the prompt list here they are. #23: I fell for you without even knowing it and, jesus, does it hurt that you can’t see it” and #87: “Don’t tell me you love me unless you mean it”.

- Zoe

•••

Breaking The Rules (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: None

Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst

Part: 1/1

Summary: See Request

•••

Heartbreak can make you do stupid things. It turns you into an empty shell of the person you used to be. Each person you let in takes a piece of you that you never get back. That’s why love is for the blind. Those who will happily open themselves up to the pain of abandonment and heartache.

I wasn’t one of those people anymore.

Ever since my ex broke my heart, I had created a set of rules to follow. They were simple and straightforward, designed to make sure I never repeat my mistakes again.

Little did I know, Zuko would soon have me breaking every single one.

•••

Rule #1: Don’t talk about yourself

The Western Air Temple was quiet as everybody slept. The soft sounds of snoring filled the air but otherwise there wasn’t a sound to be heard. I sighed, getting up and deciding to go somewhere else.

I decided to go for a walk. I walked up the stairs of the temple and began walking through the forest. I had only gotten a few feet away before I heard rustling.

I turned cautiously to the area the noise came from and got into a fighting position.

“Hello?” I called out.

There was a bit more rustling before Zuko popped out from behind the trees. I sighed and dropped my fighting stance.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologized awkwardly.

“It’s ok,” I said.

He stood awkwardly for a few seconds, shuffling around on his feet as if debating wether to stay or not. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me hopefully.

“Mind if I walk with you?” he asked.

I shook my head no, not trusting my voice to work properly. I was still cautious of him, after all he did chase us across the world, but he just had a way of making me drop my guard.

Frankly, that scared me. It should have been the reason I said that I do mind and sent him on his way. But, of course I didn’t. I simply nodded and walked beside him.

“Couldn’t aleep?” he asked softly.

“Not really,” I replied, a sigh escaping me as I did.

I had always had trouble falling asleep. I was a night person so my mind just loved to keep me awake.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

The air was thick with a tension I didn’t know could exist. I desperately wanted to be back down in the temple so that I could avoid having a conversation with him. I needed to stay neutral about him.

“So, where are you from?” he inquired, looking at me from the side as he did.

I stayed silent, meeting his gaze with an apprehensive look.

“I just don’t remember seeing you in the group until a few months in,” he elaborated.

I pursed my lips and looked ahead, determining how much was too much. I would be walking a thin line by answering, but it would be kind of awkward for me to stay silent the entire walk.

“Right,” Zuko mumbled, mostly to himself, “I guess I probably should have assumed you still hate me.”

I felt a small part of my heart ache. The group had been giving him a hard time since joining, not that I blame them, but I also felt somewhat bad. I mean, he did seem like he was trying. I sighed.

“I’m from the Fire Nation originally, but I joined the group in Omashu,” I explained.

Zuko smiled slightly at my answer. I’m sure it felt nice for him to know he wasn’t the only Fire Nation one in the group.

“Can you firebend?” he asked excitedly.

I couldn’t stop the small smile that broke out on my face at his excitement.

“Yes, but I wasn’t allowed to train so I never use it to fight. I use throwing daggers for that,” I explained, lighting a small fire in my hand as I spoke before putting it out.

“Maybe I could teach you. Aang is still doing the basics so it wouldn’t be hard to add you into the mix,” he offered.

I hesistated. I really would like to learn how to firebend properly, but it would mean spending more and more time with him. Shirtless.

Eventually, my desire to learn won out.

“I would love that,” I answered with a smile.

•••

Rule #2: Never admit you have feelings

The Fire Nation emblem was unmistakable. The airships that surrounded us were definitely not friendly. Azula stood inside one of the ships and taunted Zuko.

I knew what he was about to do. He was going to be an idiot and fight her alone. She was getting under his skin and I knew as soon as he started running that I couldn’t stop him.

The Gaang rushed onto Appa and began flying through the sky, avoiding the ship’s attacks as we did. I kept my eye on Zuko the entire time. He was holding his own pretty well, but Azula was a formidable appontent.

“We’ve got to grab Zuko and get out of here,” Katara exclaimed.

“I know, but how? He’s standing right next to Azula!” Sokka said.

I turned to look back at Zuko just in time to see him hurtling off the ship and down into the abyss below.

“Zuko, no!” I screamed.

The Gaang watched in horror as Zuko began to fall. His own expression of horror etched itself into my mind. He was going to die.

Appa flew furiously through the air until we were swooping underneath Zuko. Katara managed to grab him hand and yank him down into the basket. I unknowingly let out a sigh of relief.

We flew to a new campsite far enough away from the temple and began to set up camp. I was sent to collect firewood, which left me plenty of time alone with my thoughts.

I had thought for sure that Zuko was going to die. The heart wrenching feeling in my chest as I watched him falling was unmistakable. I felt a nervous pit begin to form in my stomach.

I knew without a shadow of a doubt why I was so scared when he was falling. I knew why that feeling of relief that washed over me when Zuko was safe was also accompanied by a warm feeling in my stomach.

“I like Zuko,” I whispered, burying my face in my hands.

•••

Rule #3: Avoid physical affection

Zuko was right: the Ember Island players butchered every play. This one especially.

In hindsight, going to see a play about ourselves written by someone from the Fire Nation wasn’t a great idea. Everybody was in a bad mood, but especially Zuko.

I caught him wallowing out on the porch when I went to grab a midnight snack. I wondered wether to leave him alone or check on him. We had grown to be close friends since he joined us and I felt guilty about the idea of leaving him alone.

“Hey,” I said as I sat beside him, “Are you ok?”

He looked over to me with a sad smile before looking back out at the ocean.

“Yea, I’m ok. I just really didn’t like the play,” he sighed, bringing his knees up and hugging them to his chest.

“I didn’t like it either,” I admitted.

Particularly, I didn’t like the implied romance between Zuko and Katara. But of course, I didn’t say that.

“It just took every mistake I’ve ever made and threw it back in my face. It made me realize how undeserving I am of everyone’s forgiveness,” he explained, the same sad smile on his face as he spoke.

I hesistated. Normally, this is the point where I would wrap them in a hug and give a huge speech about how valued they are. I wanted to do that so badly right now, but the little voice in the back of my head that screamed no made me weary.

I settled for putting my hand on his shoulder and giving him a reassuring smile.

“You’re a good person, Zuko. Even good people make mistakes,” I said.

I stood up after a few moment of silence and began to walk away.

“Wait!” he exclaimed, grabbing my wrist as he scrambled to his feet.

I stood frozen to the spot, a look of shock and apprehension on my face as I wondered what he was doing. My skin tingled at the contact and sent a swarm of butterflies off in my chest.

I was about to say something before I felt Zuko wrap his arms around me. I hesitated for only a moment before returning it. He was incredibly warm and I found myself melting into him with every passing moment.

“Thank you,” he whispered, sending a shiver down my spine.

“You’re welcome,” I replied, my voice barely audible.

•••

Rule #4: Never be emotionally vulnerable

Zuko’s battle with Azula had not gone to plan, but he had still won. Today, he was getting crowned as Fire Lord and I couldn’t have been happier for him.

I went to go see him before the ceremony and found him struggling to get into his clothes. I giggled slightly which caught his attention.

“Y/N!” he exclaimed happily.

I hadn’t been able to see him since he left at the White Lotus camp. I glanced at the bandages wrapped around his chest and walked closer to him. I helped him pull his sleeve onto his arm as he smiled.

“I’m glad you’re ok,” I admitted softly.

“Same here. I heard you took some nasty hits,” he said, looking down to where my own bandages were wrapped.

“All for the good of the nation,” I replied, a joking smile on my face.

He laughed slightly before hugging me. At this point, I was no longer surprised when he did, but I still got just a flustered. I let myself enjoy the warmth of his embrace a little longer before pulling away.

“I’m glad you came to see me,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his good arm before adding, “I actually wanted to tell you something.”

“Oh?” I asked in surprise.

“I wanted to say something before I left to fight Azula, but I kind of chickened out. And then I almost died and realized I just needed to come out and say it,” he explained, taking a step closer to me.

My breath hitched as my eyes met his. They were so beautiful and more filled with emotion than I had ever seen before.

“Y/N, I really like you. I’ve had a crush you on pretty much since the beginning, actually,” he admitted, chuckling slightly as he looked to the side.

My heart dropped in my chest. Part of me was over the moon elated at the fact that he returned my feelings and the other half of me was too scared to say it back.

“W-Why?” I asked, my voice shaky.

“Why? Because you’re insanely beautiful and smart and funny and supportive. You believed in me when I didn’t and you make me a better person,” he said, a breathy laugh leaving his voice as he spoke.

I shook my head. I couldn’t believe it. It had to be some kind of joke.

“That’s not true,” I said quietly, beginning to step back from him as I did.

Zuko stepped forward again and took my hand in his. I met his gaze with tears in my eyes.

“It is true. I didn’t know until a little while ago, but it’s true. I fell for you without even knowing it and, Agni, does it hurt that you can’t see it,” he said.

“I...,” I began, my voice cracking with all the emotions I was feeling.

“It’s ok. I figured you probably wouldn’t feel the same,” he sighed, stepping back before saying, “I just wanted you to know.”

Seeing the heartbreak in his eyes only made mine worse. I took a deep breath.

“That’s not it. I....,” I trailed off, my confidence faltering slightly as he looked at me.

I ran a hand through my hair nervously before crossing my arms over my chest. Zuko simply watched me patiently, waiting for me to finish.

“I do like you. A lot. I’m just scared,” I admitted.

“Scared I’ll bertray you like I did the others,” he said softly.

“No! No, this has nothing to do with you,” I assured him quickly, desperate to stop him from going down that train of thought again, “I just...my ex really hurt me and I’m afraid of trusting someone that much again.”

Zuko stayed still for a moment before pulling me into a hug. I immediately began to cry as he held me, his hand rubbing up and down my back.

“I don’t know what your ex did, but I promise you this isn’t a joke. I’m so head over heels for you, Y/N. Even the Gaang can back me up,” he assured me, his arms tightening around me slightly.

I took a deep shaky breath before pulling back slightly. I felt the nervous pit in my stomach once more, but in that moment I wanted to ignore the rules. I leaned up and kissed him.

It was soft and nurturing and so very different from how my ex and I used to kiss. Zuko kisses me like I was a treasure he never wanted to lose. Like I was the air he needed to breath. It sent a warm feeling across my entire body.

“Does this mean you’ll be my girlfriend?” he mumbled into my lips.

I cracked a small smile before responding. I ignored the voice in my head that told me to run away.

“Yes.”

•••

Rule #5: Never say I love you. Ever.

Things with Zuko have been going great. I had been dating him for a few months and even with him being Fire Lord, he always made time for me. Wether it was small breaks in the garden to impromptu lunches, he always managed to fit me into his busy schedule.

Today, it was early morning tea. The morning was still bright and the tea I held on a tray as I walked towards his room left tiny curls of steam billowing behind me. I didn’t bother to knock before opening the door, but apparently I should have.

Inside, there was Mai. Kissing Zuko.

I felt the tray slip from your hands and crash onto the floor. Zuko shoved Mai off of himself as the tray fell and then looked to the doorway when he heard the crash. His expression of anger dropped when he saw me standing there.

“Y/N, wait!” he exclaimed, his expression of horror clear as day.

I ran out of the room. I didn’t even know where I was running, I just let my feet take me wherever they wanted. I knew I had been stupid to trust him. I felt my breathing become shallower as I ran and the panicked feeling in my chest grew as well.

I finally stopped in the garden by the turtle duck pond and cursed myself inside. Of course I had come here. This used to be Zuko and I’s stress free spot. I felt myself struggling to breath as I let my tears fall.

“Y/N, let me explain.”

I turned to see Zuko standing a few feet behind me. I hadn’t even heard him walking towards me. I turned back around and began furiously wiping my tears away.

“Go away, Zuko. I have no interest in hearing what you have to say,” I spat.

“Y/N, please. She kissed me out of nowhere. I didn’t kiss her back. You just happened to walk in at the wrong time,” he pleaded, taking a step closer towards me.

I scoffed before turning around and glaring at him angrily.

“I don’t believe you,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Y/N, I would never cheat on you. You’re the most important person in the entire world to me. I don’t love Mai, I love-“

“Stop! Stop it.”

My scream cut him off and sent the atmosphere into one of tense silence. My tears had begun falling once more. I didn’t want him to finish. I couldn’t hear him finish.

“Don’t tell me you love me unless you mean it,” I said quietly, my voice wavering.

“I do mean it,” he said, running a hand through his hair as he spoke, “I mean, this isn’t by any means how I was planning on telling you, but it’s true. I love you, Y/N.”

I met his amber eyes and felt a piece of my heart shatter. He had real genuine pain in his eyes, like he was begging me to believe him. I wanted to. I wanted to believe so badly.

“How can you expect me to trust you?” I choked out, wiping my tears away once more.

“Because I’m not your ex. I’m your loving boyfriend who wants to spend the rest of his life treating you with the love and respect you deserve,” he answered, taking another careful step forward.

I let out a shaky sigh and balled my fists. I forced myself to shut my eyes and look down at my feet. I felt tears building up once more as I fought with myself about what to do. I wanted to believe him because I did trust him. But, that tiny voice was still screaming at me to run.

I wanted to say it back. I wanted to admit that I did love him. But I knew that once I said it there would be no going back. I would be sending myself down the very path my rules were set to keep me from.

I felt Zuko’s arms wrap around me and realized I had begun to sob. My hands were at my mouth to muffle the sounds and I could feel Zuko’s hand rubbing circles onto my back. I latched onto him and cried.

“Shhh. Shhh. It’s ok. I’m so sorry, Y/N. I’m so so sorry,” he whispered soothingly into my ear to calm me down.

He knew I was fighting a battle within myself. Even without me having to tell him, he knew. Maybe it was because he knew the signs of what he had gone through himself or maybe it was because he knew me so well. Probably both.

I found myself melting once more into his soothing embrace and I allowed my sobs to die down. Zuko never loosened his hold on me or stopped comforting me. I felt the familiar warmth I felt when I was around him return.

“I love you too,” I said, my voice cracking as I did.

I heard Zuko laugh and pulled away to see that he had also been crying. I wiped his tears away and pulled him into a kiss. He kissed me again and again and again, smiled wider after each one.

I pulled away from his to give him a stern look. His smile faltered for a moment, scared of what I was going to say.

“I’m still mad at you though. I don’t want Mai anywhere near you alone again,” I huffed.

“Deal. You don’t even have to ask again. I’m all yours, Y/N. I promise,” he responded immediately, his smile returning.

Satisfied with his answer, I hooked his arm with mine and began leading him to the kitchen.

“Let’s go make some more tea. I could use some after all that,” I joked.

I heard him laugh and press a kiss to the top of my head as we began to walk.

“I’m so in love with you, Y/N.”

“I know.”

#zuko #prince zuko fanfic #prince zuko fanfiction #prince zuko fic #zuko imagine #zuko x reader #prince zuko #prince zuko x reader

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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casualdadnomad · 4 years

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i see no god up here except ME so i'm giving u ☃️️Modern Gaang in the Winter Months ❄️️

modern atla masterpost :)

let's get one thing straight here, the homies don't celebrate Christmas, not for any Jesus reasons

we absolutely don't be imposing christianity on characters that have no reason to be christian

now that we got that out of the way let's get into it

Toph has to wear shoes in the snow and she will riot about it every single day

She absolutely never stops complaining about how she cannot see a single thing and honestly she's allowed to complain, i get it

Sokka and Zuko have to get their sweatshirts back from her though which is not easy

Zuko: please i cannot handle the cold // Toph: then firebend or something i don't care

Suki: why are you wearing short sleeve shirts in December // Sokka: ask the fuckin gremlin that stole all my sweaters

Sokka draws up the winter themed menu on the big chalkboard for the Jasmine Dragon

because he has both a) god tier handwriting and b) the art skills to draw cute wintery shit like snowmen and shit

unfortunately there are no penguins in midwestern united states so penguin sledding is not a viable option

There is also no hills (when i moved to the midwest after living on the east coast i was kind of like wait what the fuck like its legit disorienting)

So naturally the only option is to have Toph earthbend a giant hill and Katara snd Aang waterbend all the snow onto it so they can sled

Aang knits because of course he does so there is no shortage of scarves or nice hats

Aang made Appa a very big hat

Katara: how did you find the time to do that // Aang: you can knit real fast in the avatar state

football season ended and prep for winterguard season started up for the Kyoshi color guard, so they're very busy

so Suki and Ty Lee are preparing for competitions so they're constantly either coming from or going to practice therefore carrying flags around 24/7

theater boy Zuko is bored now because rehearsals for the spring play don't start until February so he has nothing to do

They have a holiday party and decorate cookies

they compete to see who can decorate the best cookie

Toph's is an abstract masterpiece and she takes zero feedback

Toph: i drew a gorgeous landscape // Sokka: why is it purple // Toph: oh FUCK YOU ZUKO YOU TOLD ME IT WAS GREEN

Azula: as you can see, Mai and I teamed up to make a scene with our gingerbread women // Mai: this one stabbed this one and now it's bleeding out // Ty Lee: i am so concerned by you two

Katara is absolutely thriving in the snow just because it gives her so much power

You know how in canon Toph hangs onto Sokka's arm when she can't see? yeah <3

Toph: i am a leech // Sokka: okay leech i have to go to class can i pass you to Katara // Toph: the leech will allow it

Tomorrow is the first day of October and honestly it vibes because I can start wearing spooky themed shit free of judgement from the world. Anyways here's some winter gaang and i hope u like it! :)

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nami-writes · 3 years

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The Deputy Mayor - Avatar: The Last Airbender/Chaos Walking

[ 1 | 2 | 3 ]

chapter 2 of this unnamed thing, i live for zukka banter

“You wait out here,” the mayor says to Zuko as she opens the door to let Suki inside the lodge.

“What?” He raises his eyebrow and narrows his eyes. “Why?”

“I want to talk to her,” she says, gesturing to Suki. Then she looks at the deputy mayor. “Alone.”

What did I do? his Noise asks, but he sighs. “Fine.” She probably just wants me to watch this Prentisstown guy. Yeah, okay. I can do that. Man, I’m hungry, though.

The mayor rolls her eyes but smiles. “I’ll grab you an apple.”

He grins back. “I’ll take it!” Content, the deputy mayor spins around and sits down on the wooden steps as the mayor enters the house with Suki. A couple seconds pass and she returns to toss the deputy mayor an apple before going back inside and shutting the door. Finally, I haven’t eaten all day.

Zuko hasn’t eaten anything since he had lunch yesterday, but he tries to cover up the jealousy in his Noise.

“Jesus, throw your pity party somewhere else.”

“I’m not having a—” He breaks off with a huff. Of course he fails. Why does the deputy mayor have to be such a dick? “Just eat your goddamn apple.”

“You were a dick first, dick,” the deputy mayor says, chewing on a bite of his apple.

“Well, I wouldn’t be such a dick if you weren’t such an idiot!”

“Me? An idiot?” He gapes in mock offense. “I’ll have you know I am a very respectable and intelligent man.”

“Your second thought after the mayor called you over was ogling Suki.”

“In my defense, even her name is cute.”

Zuko doesn’t even respond to that because there’s no point in arguing with stupidity. He considers covering that thought up in his Noise so the deputy mayor doesn’t hear, but on second thought, he hopes he does.

“Do you really have to call everyone by their titles even in your Noise?”

“Do you really have to listen to my Noise every chance you get?” Farbranch has even less privacy than Prentisstown does and Zuko didn’t know that was possible.

“Yeah, ‘cause guarding you is boring and what’s even more boring is how fucking uptight you are,” the deputy mayor says. “Who even calls people by their titles in their Noise anyway?”

Zuko scowls. “It’s to show them respect.”

“It’s weird. Like how you’re standing on the other side of the porch behind me and making me have to turn to look at you instead of just sitting down like a normal person.”

There’s no way he’s sitting next to the deputy mayor and he doesn’t move to do so even after clearly being invited to. It’s safer to argue as far away as he can get in case things escalate. “What else do you expect me to call you?” He hopes staying on that topic covers up his Noise well enough, but he’s never been very good at that.

“By my name?” the deputy mayor scoffs, and for once, he ignores Zuko’s Noise. Instead, Zuko catches uptight, weird, and a dick. He’ll take being insulted over being called out for his cowardice. “Like, I don’t know. Deputy Mayor Sokka or something?”

“First names are informal.”

“Then Deputy Mayor Tuila. Mayor Tuila and Deputy Mayor Tuila, because apparently respect matters more than clarity. Happy?” The deputy mayor— no, the asshole— raises an eyebrow in question, then lowers it, unamused. “Wow, ‘the asshole.’ Real respectful.”

Zuko doesn’t respond, only huffs in frustration. Stubborn bastard. What does he want from him? Can’t he just accept being called the deputy mayor? Do the people of Farbranch not respect their higher-ups?

“We do, just in a better way than you Prentisstown guys,” Deputy Mayor Tuila says, then grins. “And you just called me Deputy Mayor Tuila in your Noise. How disrespectful.” He takes another bite of his apple and his stupid smug ass seems to savor Zuko’s fuming. Sokka one, Prentisstown guy zero. “Hey, what is your name, anyway?”

“Why does it matter?” Why does he insist on prying?

“So I can call you something other than ‘Prentisstown Guy’?”

“Fuck off.”

“Sure thing, Prentisstown Guy.” Zuko doesn’t show it, but his Noise is bound to give away his annoyance. Deputy Mayor Tuila picks up on it. “Prentissboy. Prenty. Prissy. Prick.”

“God, just shut up!” What harm could it do? “Fine. It’s Zuko.”

Deputy Mayor Tuila grins victoriously. “What, no fancy title?”

He glares at him. “No.” He was never good enough for a title, but Deputy Mayor Tuila doesn’t need to know that. “Why don’t you call the mayor by her title?”

He must hear Zuko’s thoughts in his Noise, but if he does, he follows Zuko’s lead and ignores it. Instead, he turns and looks at him like he’s crazy. “Are you kidding me? She’s my sister. No way I’m calling her the mayor every time I talk about her.”

Zuko frowns. “It’s more respectful.”

“You literally referred to me as ‘the asshole’ thirty seconds ago,” Deputy Mayor retorts. “And besides, family doesn’t count.”

“Yes, it does,” Zuko says. “I call my father the mayor.”

“What?” He swallows his apple bite to stare at Zuko. “Why? He’s your dad.”

“He’s the mayor, and deserves to be treated as such,” he argues, the same thing he was told and always told himself. People are supposed to address higher-ups properly, whether they’re family or not. That’s how it’s always been. He isn’t special just because he’s the mayor’s son.

Deputy Mayor Tuila takes another bite and if anything in his Noise gives his thoughts away, he hides it well underneath the rest. “Not here.”

Noise that isn’t either of theirs catches their attention and even an idiot like Deputy Mayor Tuila can realize it doesn’t sound friendly, or like it’s from just one guy. Faint voices blend together and Zuko can only pick out a few coherent thoughts. Where is that Prentisstown man? He doesn’t belong here. The mayor and deputy mayor shouldn’t be protecting him. Prentisstown men get the rope.

Shit. Are they coming to hang him? Zuko’s already standing on the far side of the porch but at the sound of their angry Noise, he backs further away. They can’t hang him without the mayor’s permission, right?

“No,” Deputy Mayor Tuila says with a frown, “they can’t.”

Zuko makes eye contact with one of the men— there’s the Prentisstown freak— but then they see Deputy Mayor Tuila sitting in front of him, finishing his apple. They visibly bristle and their Noise reflects it: Shit. Doesn’t look like Sokka’s looking to hang him. Should we try anyway?

“Everything okay?” Deputy Mayor Tuila calls out to them, and Zuko swears under his breath.

“What are you doing?” he hisses. Nothing good will come out of catching their attention. This idiot is going to get him lynched.

“My job,” he says. “You think I became the deputy mayor from just sitting around eating apples all day?”

Zuko actually thought it’s because he’s the mayor’s brother, but if Deputy Mayor Tuila hears or takes offense to that, he doesn’t show it. The deputy mayor tosses the apple core to the side and stands as one of the men, seemingly one of the more ballsy ones, comes over. He takes a look at Deputy Mayor Tuila, then Zuko, who’s trying to summon his courage as quickly as possible, even with his hands tied. Stupid rope, he shouldn’t have agreed to be tied up. The deputy mayor is the only thing between him and the gallows and Zuko doesn’t at all trust that he’ll stay between them.

“Is it true?” the man asks Zuko. “You’re from Prentisstown?”

Zuko scowls at him. “What’s it to you?”

Better be afraid, boy. “Any son of a bitch stupid enough to come here from Prentisstown gets the rope.” Then he turns back to Deputy Mayor Tuila. “You know the law.”

“Yeah.” The deputy mayor crosses his arms and side-eyes Zuko. “I do.”

#atla fanfic #fanfic #writing #atla zuko #atla sokka #atla

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pigeoncentric · 4 years

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i did an A:TLA rewatch and took notes because that’s just what i do, and here’s the notes if anyone wants to see my thoughts

i haven't watched atla since about a year before korra started airing, so like, around 2011. i should also mention that i never watched korra through to the end, but i guess i'll do that after this. if i feel like it. i do know that the biggest bottles were never popped

i have such a clear memory of the first episode. it must've been on nickelodeon pretty often, even though when it was airing, i only watched it occasionally. i remember they also aired the library episode super often.

aang's voice is so tiny and sweet

i gotta turn off my dumb adult brain and put my dumb kid brain back on so i can better appreciate the nickelodeonness of it all

sokka and zuko's first interaction.......

zuko's intimidating approach and then his tiny teen voice

SOKKA AND ZUKO'S SECOND INTERACTION............

zuko's like "i'm going home." with aang. he must be feeling an incredible mixture of feelings, thinking he has the avatar and can reclaim his Honor. but he also must be terrified to go back, and in disbelief... fortunately he's not going home like he said and there are even more confused feelings in between

i just remembered that iroh's voice actor dies between seasons :(

thinking a lot about dante basco... no thoughts in particular, just a lot of them... and how he shipped zutara lmao

"my troubles cannot be soaked away!"

hei bai looks like a ben 10

mounts list (added to as i progressed through the series): zuko's rhinos. earth armored ostriches. metal noshing mole. north pole goatyak. azula and friends' fur geckos. sabertooth moose lion if you're not a wimp. appa-sized beetle. moose with aquatic features. Eel Hound.

you can't out-mom-friend katara. even when she's yelling and being reckless

it's true... airbenders are weak to nets.

the n*tfli* captions are making several mistakes. eat my ass ne*f*ix and hire me to do flawless captioning instead you dumb fucks

YEAH! even by episode 13 in season 1 we already know zuko is a good boy! well also by episode 12. and earlier. well i've seen the series before.

i've just learned that zach tyler eisen is the voice of aang and i have to give him huge props for having the perfect voice. i pay a lot of attention to voice acting, usually in a nitpicky way, and i've never heard an english voice actor whose voice is perfect on the level of ikue ohtani... and when he was like 12 years old. incredible. i'm not being remotely sarcastic

i gotta be 100% honest. i had completely forgotten the existence of zhao and that he's actually a pretty important character, at least in season 1. also his voice actor is pretty good. generally the voice acting is good in this show, and i'm picky.

god the animation where aang makes one catapult catapult the other is so good. also appa just picked up and grabbed a guy. with his fist. wait how many toes does appa have? is that 18 in total? also appa has scutes on his ventrum. anyway i love that appa can pick up and grab a guy but generally chooses not to. gives it more weight when he does choose to

zuko tells turtle seals to be quiet and then touches them unkindly :(

zuko busted out of katara's ice orb instead of melting it :\

zuko put his hood up like iroh told him to but aang just has his naked bald head in the snowy cold :(

seeing zhao grab and bag the moon spirit fish made me feel sick. such a foul act

god. the quality rope. i noticed sokka mention it and was like, "was this a chekhov's gun or a red herring" and then a few minutes later there was a pointed pan over to the quality rope.

anyway examining the quality of the voice acting here leads me to a thesis i might gather evidence to prove: american english voice acting for cartoons is far higher quality than american english voice acting for anime dubs. or is that just something obvious that everyone already agrees on

anyway anyway, the episode ended without the quality rope being put to use. unless i missed it, which is entirely possible.

jesus i heard azula's first lines and got an instant flashback to all the tumblr drama about grey delisle and her tumblr account and how she pretended it wasn't hers or something let's just erase all of this from my brain right now

this is kind of out of nowhere and borderline inappropriate but i'm glad characters in avatar are illustrated with nipples when they're shirtless... it always disturbs me a tiny bit when shirtless characters are depicted with zero nipple, not even a hint of nipple. (Aladdin.) not just because it implicitly stigmatizes something everyone has, but also because this scenario always plays in my head where it's like, a little kid sees a cartoon character without nipples and they think, "so i'm not supposed to have these..." and they start feeling weird and bad about themself... all you need to depict a nipple is a single unobtrusive dot. nothing visually offensive or explicit about it.

even to an audience who doesn't understand any cultural context, you can't not see the significance of zuko and iroh cutting off their topknots...

fandom seems to see sokka as the silliest one when in fact at least 40% of his entire role as a character is to be the tsukkomi

underrated moment: "you've got an elbow leech." "WHERE?! WHERE?!"

zuko should be a good boy and only steal if it's from pirates

stealy zuko stealing money and buying iroh a teapot !

god i forgot what a tiny baby voice toph has... so tiny

zuko trying really really hard but doing a bad job hammering (tears)

azula set up zuko and mai for a lucky sukebe...

when zuko's mom told him not to forget who he is, she didn't mean to remember that he's a prince and an heir as he revealed to the unsuspecting earth kingdom village. she meant to remember that he's someone with at least the base level of empathy and compassion, unlike most of his immediate family...

i still think aang's voice actor did a great job but i bet it sucks to be a young boy doing an excellent young boy voice and then when you grow up a little and presumably experience some puberty you just Cannot do the young boy voice anymore. hopefully in most cases where that happens, it's at least not abrupt

placing a bet that the writer for episode s2:e10 (the library) is different than most of the other episodes. i don't like it very much, at least in the first several minutes. if it's a name i recognize from the credits of several other episodes, i might be a bit disappointed in them. seriously, there's one stinker after another. and with such a great concept of an episode...

i didn't recognize the name of the guy who wrote this episode so i thought i was right but no, he wrote a bunch of episodes. must have been off his game for this one... either that or i'm in a very unforgiving mood and don't realize it... also when i went on wikipedia to look at who wrote which atla episodes, i learned that the animation for the show was split between two animation studios, and they're both korean. ah, i guess that doesn't mean all the animation took place overseas, as DM movie has a headquarters in the US. according to wikipedia.

oh, they're BUZZards... i get it... i gotcha.

aang with a vengeance is both scary and sad to see. but he does understand that property damage is nothing compared to a life

people who love azula are the exact same as people who love vriska: [comment redacted]

they have american birds in the avatar world. i keep hearing an eastern wood-peewee going "pee-pee-uwee" in the background :3

the serpent's pass seems geologically implausible.

sokka should really get face paint all over his face when he kisses suki. or like, the cartoonish image of when someone is covered in lipstick lip smacks, but it should be suki's makeup color

appa's been through so much and now he has to meet a boarcupine?!?! fortunately he still knows how to pick up and grab... but still :(

he touched appa's scutes and read them like a palm...

longshot translated his meaningful stares into out-loud words for katara and friends

zuko forgot that azula always lies :(

zuko should know that being redeemed in his father's eyes is the opposite of what he wants...

i LOVE aang's passionate tsungi horn dance

there are spring peepers in the fire nation

god the dripping of the rotten clams is so excessive

you know how ultrasonic humidifiers can create water vapor without heating it into steam, by vibrating it super fast? let's try that with waterbending, it'll be cool

two different bad guys have been skipped across the water like a rock

i love the fake time lapse of cleaning the river... and it showed how with pollution in real life, stopping the source of the pollution is not enough. it needs to be removed as well

sokka deserves LOTS of credit just for being able to handle a boomerang.

GOD THE SLOW PAN OVER THE BEAUTIFUL SWORD (in 3:4)

sokka also deserves LOTS of credit for being able to admit he doesn't know everything.

i managed to forget that zuko turns his back on iroh, while remembering that at some point, iroh gets buff

the voice of sokka's master is the voice of the boulder. right? right? no? are you kidding me? i suck at this

seems like kissing azula would have immediate consequences, like something melting

zuko is poorly socialized

zuko still forgot that azula always lies. even when she's being somewhat humanized in an episode like this.

so avatar roku had earthly attachments he did not let go of, presumably. such as his wife. did he have unfettered access to the avatar state? that's what i would ask him during this expositionfest if i was aang.

so sozin could do heatbending... that's amazing. i think i missed that the first time around.

that's right, zuko came back and his hair is long enough, but he hasn't recreated his topknot.

hawky is the only atla animal that poops on camera.

if you're gonna bend sweat, you might as well bend spit, and it's a little easier to obtain

wait so... is combustion man also a heatbender? i'll have to look into it later. [looked into it later: the avatar wiki has termed it "combustionbending?" are you shitting me?]

ooh it's the bloodbending episode! i'm pumped.

someone made a post about how when they watched this show and they were a kid they were thinking about how the characters are hot, and now they're watching as an adult and the characters are all tiny children... that's how i've been feeling. also season 3 episode 8 aang's voice sounds a little bit pubertous.

anyway damn this bloodbending episode is outright traumatic. good shit

oh, now zuko's topknot is back.

appa's armor covers each individual toe <:3c

i seriously misremembered the course of zuko's character development. and the timeline of the invasion in general. but now i understand that zuko has to tell his dad to eat shit face to face.

watching zuko's "zuko here" practice speech hurts 100% as much as it did the first time i saw it. and when he's delivering it to the gaang it's impossible to watch. i didn't put my hands on my head-- they just went there unbidden.

i kinda can't help picturing dante basco's face every time i hear zuko talk. the whole time. it's sometimes not optimal to know the faces of voice actors. especially when you're like me and you're not good at pushing out unwanted mental images.

what the fuck, combustion man? he just loves assassination so much you can't take back any orders. also i can't help but imagine that if you put a slice across his third eye his combustion would be fully inhibited. well i guess that's not a problem anymore.

i like that the gaang are a variety of heights, and that they're all noticeably shorter than most of the adults they meet. it just makes it feel realistic

if it was a US max security prison and prisoners were escaping they'd probably just fucking murder them

i love how when mai starts up the gondola again and azula is like "what is she DOING!" and ty lee just makes an "iunno" noise

tfw your best friend abandons you because you wouldn't let her murder her own brother

chit seng didn't get to free his girlfriend and best buddy :(

funny how azula seems almost docile when she's getting everything she wants. typical narcissist. well ok not the least bit typical.

sokka ate the rose. i remembered this scene Too clearly. but i didn't remember that.

um... was that the full moon? when katara bloodbent that guy? i should've looked at the sky... i went back and looked and still didn't see if it was the full moon. maybe the wiki knows. i don't care enough to look it up properly.

i was wondering when the melon lord would show up

none of the teens understand the obvious solution of defeating the fire lord by beating him INTO SUBMISSION (or oblivion) instead of killing him. just like in every anime fight ever. it's over when you acknowledge you've lost or you can't fight anymore, not when you die. (for the #1 best example of ending a fight the right way, see the way luffy defeats crocodile.)

so i know aang's gonna defeat the fire lord by essentially hitting him with a forced purification beam to the face and make him realize the errors of his ways or something. the fun part is how we get there

bumi bending entire houses through the air

aw i forgot the turtle island didn't have a cute face.

jyong jyong firebent a jet platform to fly around on?!

i guess the firelord can fly around like bakugou katsuki

i forgot that aang took away his firebending... and sokka hops up to him like "well, look at you, buster"

i'm glad i decided to watch this again. even if i didn't do a great job paying attention tbh. well i did spend a bit of time carving a little wooden spoon while i was watching. anyway i was thinking i wouldn't move right on to korra but rather read some of the atla comics that i know exist but have never read whatsoever. i wonder if i can find them in some kind of library...

i found the comics illegally on the internet and read a whole bunch (up until the end of the "zuko finds his mom" arc). i didn't write my thoughts down as i was reading, so i don't remember them. that's how my worthless brain works. i do remember that i found the comics satisfactory as an accurate extension of the show, and that i feel ambivalent about how azula is written/treated in the comics.

i don’t know if i feel like rewatching korra yet.

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bellatrixobsessed1 · 4 years

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Mutilated Mannequin (Part 18)

Breakfast is strangely quiet and Azula can’t place why until Ozai clears his throat. “I called Dr. Guhira. He said that he can do some revision surgery.”

Azula laughs, a few tears threatening to spill over. “Are you serious?” She pauses. “You want me to get more surgery?”

He clears his throat again. “I thought that you might…”

“No. No more. My face is already damaged enough.” Her voice hitches.

Ozai opens his mouth but Ursa’s voice fills the quiet. “What’s going on here?”

Her farther cringes.

“He’s being insensitive again, isn’t he?”

He casts her a pleading stare but she can only work to swallow down her tears.

Her expression only seems to kindle her mother’s temper further. “You and Zuko won’t have to worry about that soon.” She slaps a stack of court documents onto the table.

Something about it makes Azula’s stomach lurch.

“Azula, I’m trying to…I’m trying to fix this.”

“Then stop telling me to get surgery.”

“It’s different than…”

“I have to get to class.” She mutters as she picks up her bag and heads for the door. She doesn’t know what she looks less forward to, a run in with Jet during gym class or the tense conversation that she is about to have with Chan.

She makes her way to his locker and loiters there, running thorough her script until she sees him sauntering up. He runs his finger though his hairline. “You want to start or should I?”

Azula shrugs.

“How did I make you feel like you needed the surgery?”

“It wasn’t just you. It was actually mostly my father.” Azula admits before recounting the comment that inspired her to get work done. He rubs his face in the way that he always does when he is particularly stressed.

“I guess that, that was pretty shallow, huh?”

“Absolutely.”

“I should have told you…” he trails off, “that you didn’t need the surgeries.”

She folds her arms and replies with a soft, “yeah.” It is all she can manage for the time. What’s done is done. She considers briefly, her father’s offer. But, no, she won’t let him goad her into another operation. Not for cosmetic’s sake anyhow.

“Homecoming probably didn’t help either.”

“No.” She agreed. Not that it was of any more use that she didn’t mention what had been bothering her so much.

“So, what now?”

Azula shrugs. “Nothing, I guess. I just wanted to let you know why homecoming ended the way it did.”

Chan nods. “Kind of glad that you did.” He scratches the back of his head. “Are things going to be less awkward now?”

“I hope so or this conversation was pointless.”

He lets out a loud curse when the bell rings.

“Don’t worry about it.” Azula dismisses. “I’ll just tell Kyoshi that I was having trouble carrying all of this.” She opens her locker and pulls out more textbooks than necessary. She hands them to Chan and picks up her bag. “"And that you were giving me a hand.”

“Ah, so you’ve discovered the wonders of being ‘helpless.’” Tops grins. “It comes in handy sometimes.”

“Is that why you’re wandering the halls?” Azula asks.

Her grin widens. “ Hell yes!”

.oOo.

Kyoshi lets her join them for frisbee. “How intense can throwing around a flimsy disk get?” She clearly underestimated the sheer chaos three of the school jocks could stir.

The absurd amount of combined testosterone wafting off of Sokka, Chan, and Jet is enough to build a future resume for a frat house.

She is thankful for it; it keeps Jet from pestering her. She lingers with Katara and Yue at what she hopes is a safe distance from the sport related pissing contest. Though she has landed herself in the center of an age old rivalry.”

“Don’t let her get the frisbee!” Yue declares as Azula sends it sailing to Katara. Yue groans as the other girl’s hands clamp down on it. The girl looks smug. She tosses the frisbee back to Azula who passes it to Yue and then it is back in her hands again. She rolls her eye, realizing and accepting that they were never going to pass it to each other.

“Mind if I join you guys?” Ruon asks.

Azula passes the frisbee to him and he flicks it to the nearest person, Yue. “Sorry about your face.” He comments.

“It is what it is.”

“Yeah. Chan was telling me a bit about it.”

She finds herself pleasantly to have such a considerable amount of support. Frankly she had been almost certain that Yue would cut her out. Granted, the girl is tactlessly truthful but she has come to know that, that’s just the girl’s personality. She supposes that she appreciates the honesty.

“Why aren’t you with Chan?”

“I’ve taken eight frisbees to the face and we’ve been playing for five minutes.” Ruon shrugs. “I’m not into extreme frisbee.”

The four pass the frisbee between one another. Azula watches it sail into Katara’s hands and Katara passes it to Ruon.

“Hey! You skipped me.” Yue complains as Ruon tosses it to her.

Azula outstretches her good arm to catch it. Before she can, a different frisbee collides with the back of her head.

“Careful, Longshot.” Jet leers. “We can’t mess up the back of her head too.”

Azula picks up the frisbee and glowers at Jet. Her gaze flickers between he and Longshot before she ultimately decides to toss it at Jet. She lands her hit square on his nose. Longshot chuckles, unaware that she still has one frisbee at her disposal. This one stikes his ear. She offers them the dullest expression she can muster, one that might even impress Mai.

“Jesus.” Ruon remarks with a half laugh. “I didn’t realize you had such good aim.”

Azula shrugs. “I have many talents.”

“I think that Longshot is gonna whine to Kyoshi.” Yue comments.

“Let him.” Azula replies. “Kyoshi likes me.” Even if she does get a lecture, the satisfaction of striking the both of them will outweigh it. Getting the last hit takes the edge off of the sting they left her with.

But still, some tingles of doubt remain.

They carry her to math class and into lunch.

She wishes that her mind would stop lingering on the petty comments. They seem so small in comparison to the kindness everyone else seems to afford her.

She arranges her food, and simply observes the conversations around her.

“Are you still taking Zuko to the comet festival?” TyLee asks.

Yue grimances. “Oh God no.”

“Aw, why not? He’s kind of cute.”

“Gross.” Azula mutters.

“The first half of homecoming was nice but then he started talking about Mai and it got awkward.” She pauses. “You still going with Kei Lo.”

“He’s nice and everything but he doesn’t like that I have to bring Tom-Tom along with us on our dates sometimes.” Mai shrugs.

“Soooo…is it too soon for me to asking him to the festival?”

“Have at him.”

Azula’s heart sinks again. She is still alone. She pretends to be interested in her meal, wishing that they would all just stop talking about dates and dances. She thinks of bringing up their sports teams, heaven knows that TyLee can talk about gymnastics for ages and Yue did love to boast about her award for her 500 meter freestyle. She doesn’t speak up fast enough.

“Are you going to ask anyone to the comet festival?” Yue asks.

And again she takes too long to answer.

“She can ask all the people she wants, nobody is going to say yes to a face like that.” Jet comments. “She couldn’t get a date before, she sure as hell can’t get one now.”

“That’s bold coming from someone who lost his date.” Chan comments.

“I’m taking Smellerbee.” He shrugs.

“Poor girl.” Yue comments, “I’d try to help her if I liked her, but she has one of those coconut haircuts and I don’t condone that kind of sin against hair.”

“It least she isn’t made of plastic. Broken plastic.”

Broken plastic…

Azula absently brings her fingers to her cheek. She hasn’t seen it yet, but she can feel the raised ridges of scar tissue.

She hears Toph enter the conversation but the words never settle. The face Jet makes brings her some satisfaction, but it is fleeting as his words echo in her head. Moreso when she catches tunes in to hear him say, “you can’t even fucking see, of course you think that she’s pretty.”

“Jet, my asshole looks prettier than you.” Toph grumbles.

“How about this? How about you leave beauty related opinions to the people who they are meant for; people who can see. Blind people don’t get to call things beautiful.”

Toph folds her arms over her chest and blows at her bangs. “Whatever I’d rather be blind then look at whatever you have going on.”

She should say something. Anything at all instead of hiding behind the rest of them. But she had thrown away most of her fight with the frisbees and the rest of it has been sapped away by Jet’s commentary.

She thinks of Ozai’s offer. Dr. Guhira has always been good to her, at the very least he made her feel comfortable and like she had a choice. She can imagine that he’d be able to perform a healthy corrective surgery.

“Good luck with the festival.” Jet’s voice cuts through her thoughts. “I bet that even that faggot Aang get more dick than you.” He offers her a final sneer before going to receive his high fives and words of praise.

Katara starts to stand and Suki holds her down. “He can’t talk about people like that, Suki.” Her grip tightens around her empty water bottle. “Did you hear what he called Aang? Aang isn’t even here!”

A mist of outrage settles over the table. And through the fog, they don’t see her get up and leave. She leans herself against the wall just outside of the cafeteria. She could give her father a call…

The double doors open and Katara emerges.

“You can get written up for ditching, you know?”

“I guess I’ll take my first write up then.” She replies. “Is this the first time…?” She looks at Azula before clarifying, “that people have talked to you like this?”

Azula nods. “I have to admit, I admire their sheer audacity.”

Katara laughs. “I always thought that you’d have some crazy comebacks.”

“Disappointed?”

Frankly she thought that she would too. She seems to have them at the ready on TyLee’s behalf and on Mai’s...and Zuzu’s if he’s lucky and she’s feeling generous. But when it comes to herself she seems to lose her bite.

“Not really.” Katara says. “I’m sure I’ll hear them soon enough.”

“Maybe.”

Katara pulls her into a gentle hug. Usually that is reserved for only TyLee to do, but today she accepts the comforting gesture.

.oOo.

She is, once again, the first person to spread her picnic blanket on the ground. This time she is bundled up in a coat and several layers of sweaters that are just thin enough to accommodate her sling.

“Hot chocolate?” Pathik offers.

Azula holds her hand out. Stargazing and hot chocolate, she supposes that she can really use that today. She takes a sip and looks at the sky until bickering from below draws her attention away.

Katara gives a little wave.

“I can’t believe that you nerds talked me into coming here again.”

“You say that every week, Yue. I think that you enjoy astronomy.” Azula speculates.

“I enjoy the idea of free hot chocolate.” She wraps her arms around herself. “It’s too cold out for this.” She gestures to the telescopes.

“Yes, but it’s the only time that you can see Canis Major.” Katara points out.

“And Venus is best seen this month.” Azula adds.

“Who cares about Venus. I still haven’t gotten to see the moon.” She shiverers and burrows further into her coat. “Look at this.” She waves her arms around at the snow. “Too cold.”

“Maybe if you’d zip your coat, you wouldn’t be as cold.” Katara suggests.

Azula hears a clatter and a muffled, “oh dear.” Katara wanders over and helps their professor pick up his telescope. When the remaining few students make themselves comfortable Pathik addresses them. “Today, I would like to start by telling a story to get us in the winter spirit…”

She never imagined that astronomy club with come with fairy tale read alouds. But then, Pathik has never been anything but whimsical. She isn’t opposed to his story choice either.

“Hey, can I share your blanket?” Katara asks.

Azula nods and tosses the blanket over her shoulder.

“What about me?” Yue asks.

“First come, first served.” Azula shrugs.

She and Katara were the last remaining people after the telescopes have been packed away. Katara looks at her phone and bites her lip, “I forgot that Sokka had an away game tonight.”

“I’m sure that my limo has some extra space.” Azula replies.

Her face slackens in relief. “For a second I thought that I’d be walking home. I mean, it isn’t that far but my nose is getting numb.”

“Yes, mine too. Just like old times.”

Katara laughs, “I never thought that I’d have to help someone change nose pads.”

“I suppose that I didn’t think I’d ever have to ask someone to help me with that.” The conversation fades out. In its place is the soft sound of sleet hitting the parking lot.

“He’s wrong you know.”

“Hmm?” Azula knits her brows. “About you not going to get a date to the comet festival.”

“Can we avoid this topic?”

“I guess we can, if you really don’t want to go with me.”

Azula stares at her for the longest time. “You...you want to take me?”

Katara’s hand squeezes hers and she nods. “I’d really like to give it a try. Jet was a horrible date…”

“So the bar is pretty low.”

“So I need something extra special to make up for it. I figured that you like a challenge.”

Azula smiles. “I do like a challenge, yes.”

“So you’ll go with me?”

Azula nods. “I’ll go.”

Katara leans forward, when Azula misses her cue, the girl rolls her eyes and pecks her nose instead. Katara brushes Azula’s bangs aside and leans in for a second try. Azula hesitates before tilting her head. The girl’s lips are meer inches from her own when two rapid horn bleats cause them both to jolt.

“That doesn’t look like a limo.” Katara mumbles, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

“We’re having a family dinner.” Zuko calls from the car window.

“We’ll have to drop Katara off first.”

“She can come with us.” Ursa smiles. “There’s an open seat in the back.”

“Thank you Ms. Kasai.” Katara climbs into the back.

“You won’t be thanking us after dinner.” Azula whispers. “Family dinners are always…”

“Dramatic or weird.” Zuko fills in.

“Are you going to tell me about your girlfriend?” Ozai asks, tapping the steering wheel.

“Yup.” Zuko muses. “It’s gonna be weird this time.”

#Avatar #Azula #Katara #Azutara #Sokka #Jet #Yue #Toph #Zuko #Mai #Tylee #Fanfiction

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singlemanmedia · 6 years

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An Azula Christmas Carol

Recently I watched a bad adaptation of the original and wondered “Can you make a half-decent short story that sacrifices the motions, to keep the spirit of the story?”

Read of FF.net

The closing of the year was a welcoming event for Azula. It did not happen at once, but slowly through the year she had lost it all. First her friends had left her, then her father was sent to jail and her once rich family was now living on budget. A large one, but still a budget.

The housing complex her family possessed was once filled with all kinds of servants. Now only three living souls roamed the halls – herself, her brother and her uncle. The latter two did not live with her until three months ago and they only moved in after her father's departure, and only because of her refusal to move into their rigidly teashop. She detested that teashop, of course, but she detested the two of them more. The point of not moving in that stupid shop was not move in with them.

But they moved in with her.

In the beginning they tried to speak with her, but her cold and abrasive attitude soon discouraged them from it. A month in they only passed each other in the halls, not saying a word, by the second month she had learned their schedule well enough to not encounter a soul. December marked her a full month of solitude.

And this is how she was to welcome Christmas – in her room, reading a book in an abandoned housing complex so big, you can have a party on one side of it, with someone else not even noticing it on the other. In fact most of the house was covered in plastic sheets and had its electricity cut. No point in maintaining stuff no one was using.

As the night progressed and the story got more interesting she found herself completely lost in the book. The chair was soft and comfortable, the electrical heater was blowing in her feet – one of the pleasures she discovered only after her "impoverishment". It was about a horror story set in the Antarctic by a somewhat renowned author, when sudden knock on the door took her away from the story.

Azula's first reaction was to ignore the knocking, she did not have anything to say to neither her brother, nor her uncle. They could go away. Once the knocking intensified she decided to double down on her action. The light of the room should be seen from underneath the door, so whoever it is should take the hint and a hike and just leave her alone. It's not like they could enter anyway, she had locked the door.

The door opened and Azula found herself in a state of shock of what was standing in front of her.

There, in the door way, on the very expensive carpet laying on her floor, stood Zuko covered in flour. His hair was covered in flour, his face was covered in flour, his shirt was covered in flour, his boots were covered in flour, there was flour covered chain clumsily going around his body. He also appeared just as shocked as she was. For one he had never before seen her in wool socks and sweater, for another he had forgotten his lines.

"Azuuulaaaa…" he said trying to imitate a ghost "I am the spirit of your brother…" to which said Azula jumped out of her chair, anger and displeasure on her face.

"You'll be the spirit of Christmas Past when I'm done with you!"

"Wait what have I…"

"You cannot be this stupid – who is going to clean this carpet? You come in dragging this filth into my room, spraying everything – oh God – the whole floor is probably covered in flour. Do you think, before you act, or is it just a reflexive thing for you." Before Zuko could retort Azula past him and looked at the corridor in front of her room "Jesus, it's everywhere!"

Zuko stood there, covered in flour, split between guilt and shock, before deciding that the best course of action was to continue as if nothing has happened and deal with this later. If ever…

"I have come to warn you!"

"And I am to punch you without a warning if you don't get a broom and start cleaning or I'll…" housecleaning was beyond Azula's understanding and it was her ignorance of how hard those things are to remove that were saving Zuko at the moment.

"…you will be visited by three ghosts!"

"Zuzu that's on Christmas." She crossed her arms and looked at him expectingly. Precisely expecting the moment he realizes he was an idiot.

"Tonight is Christmas"

"No, Its not."

Then the Ghost of…something shoved his flour covered hand in the pocket and pulled out a mobile phone. The quick and sudden actions of the "ghost" destabilized the flour covered chain that was dangling on his body which in turn fell and made the mess even messier.

At that point Azula was beyond words. She could only do the sort of face you see in people amazed at someone's stupidity. Zuko who had so far dealt with the previous gaffs by ignoring them, decided he had already found the magic answer and proceeded to pretend his mishandling of the situation wasn't happening.

"No, see, it's the twenty fourth, it's Christmas tonight." He said while mashing his flour covered fingers on the phone.

"Just stop, I think I'm already regretting all of this…" apparently she had forgotten what's tonight, she'd be appalled at herself, if not for the tragedy that was unfolding before her.

"Anyway…" Zuko was trying to save whatever face he could at this point "I've come to warn you about the three ghosts of Christmas!"

At this point Azula had decided not to bother interrupting him – let the fool say what he must.

"At the stroke of midnight they shall visit you, so be prepared." Then Zuko started to move backwards slowly, inch by inch while saying "Ooooh, oooh!" and only then did he bent down to pick up the chain, which he started to rattle, which in turn led to flour flying everywhere.

It is true that she wanted him gone, but before that…

"Zuzu, one thing before you go." Azula was smiling in that fake and threatening way "Who's going the clean the carpet?"

Her brother looked down at the massive amount of flour sprinkled everywhere on the floor. Then at the flour which his shaking of the chain had put in place gravity would not naturally put them. Then at the ceiling above.

And the Ghost of "Marley" sprinted out of the room and down the hall, leaving a massive flour trail in his wake.

Had this happen a few months prior, Azula would have hunted him down. Today? She was glad to be left alone.

It was on the dot of twelve that the door to her room burst open. She was not at the time yet in bed, but rather she was still reading her book, in seclusion from family and society at large. The intruder – who had a well-practiced role and prepared speech, found himself in stupor as before him stood his fully awake target and large amounts of flour everywhere.

Sokka blinked several times.

"The heck is this?" he said pointing at the flour.

"Zuzu decided to cover himself head-to-toe."

"Who's going to clean it?"

"Not the cleaning staff it seems." if she were to force Zuko to do so, she'd need to interact with him more "Guess I'll just have to beat it into him." It was a lie, but she needed to figure out things before she could decide on an action.

"He really didn't think this through, did he?"

"He never does." Azula shifted in her chair and took on her 'I know better pose'. "Now get out!"

"Ach-ach-ach! Dear princess, unfortunetly I am the spirits of Christmas past…"

"Didn't I beat up your girlfriend?"

Sokka tried his best to ignore this, Zuko had asked him to play along "If you come with me, I'll take you on a magical journey through the past!"

"No."

"It'd be magic!"

"Get out, before I thrash you like I thrashed Suki."

For a moment Sokka thought about it. He would argue that there was a nice scenario set out for her. That people tried hard for the sake of her brother. He could argue many things. But Azula was right. She did beat up his girlfriend – even if one could justify such an action there were no excuses and the princess never made any attempts to make such – she was an unpleasant person, she was rude, in general as far as he knew she was irredeemable. He promised he'd play the part, but he had his limits. That level of tolerance was usually pretty high, but not for Azula. Not once her life had this rich girl ever given anyone a none-threatening reason to tolerate her attitude.

So he turned around and left.

The Spirit of Christmas Present was Toph.

The visit occurred at around one in the morning and was done exclusively between Toph and the girl behind the locked door.

"You should go eat lunch with your brother tomorrow."

"Leave me alone."

"There will be turkey, salads, fruits, sweets…"

"No."

"Your uncle and brother have put a lot of effort into making a great dinner."

Silence.

"Christmas movies!" when talking with Zuko about the script, Toph thought about omitting that, since even she thought them nauseating.

Silence.

Well, Toph tried and failed.

And left.

The Ghost of Christmas Future bailed. Whoever the silent visitor was supposed to be decided to not pay her a visit. Azula knew that, because despite her displeasure at this, her curiosity got the better of her and she waited until the stroke of four before going to bed.

What woke her up was not the chirping of the birds. It was not the carols on the streets. It was not the children's laughter echoing throughout the city. No, what woke her up was the sound of a brick flying through her window.

That made her jolt out of my bed and to the window.

Below her, cladded in pink, was Ty Lee's smiling face.

The looked at each other for a while, Azula torned between the rage of her window getting shattered and seeing Ty Lee for the first time in months. Ty Lee expecting the words Azula was supposed to say. After said words did not come out, the pink-cladde window-breaker decided to take charge.

"What's today?"

"WHAT!?"

"What's today?"

"Are…are you serious?"

"It's Christmas!"

"Oh, it's Christmas alright." Azula was aware of the fact that she was shouting. "In fact if you stay there I'll give you a shilling." She disappeared into her room, then just as quickly her head popped up again "You stay absolutely still and I'll give you two!"

Azula stormed through the halls, brick in hand, everything around her a blur. She bursted through the main door into the freezing white cold in nothing, but her pajamas. No one to the left, no one to the right. It seems that Ty Lee knew exactly what was about to happen and bolted.

The cold was…not calming, but refreshing. It cooled her down and her rage subsided. She was angry, but angry in the cold dispassionate way that marked most of her life.

Soon after she ran away from the cold and into the house.

For the first time in awhile, as she was walking through the corridors, she thought about how big that house was. It was also cold, without her father's fortune to pay an absurd electricity bill, they keep the heaters off, thus most of the house – and these corridors in particular – were cold.

Then as she neared her own room she noticed something bizarre. One of the rooms that were supposed to be locked, was not so. Its door while not open ajar, was giving a peek inside the room.

Her curiosity took the better of her, and she found herself floating through the corridor, past the door and into a room that she had never seen before.

Correction, she had seen this room before, but never like this.

There were pictures all over the place – on shelves, on the sole table in the center, glued to the walls. Those were pictures of her family, of her younger self smiling, some more recent ones with Mai and Ty Lee. There were also a few fat albums lying on the table, probably filled to the brim with pictures of days long past.

Azula froze as she realized this was the room of the Ghost of Christmas Past. This is what Sokka meant by "A Magical Journey". Her brother and his friends must have made it for tonight.

Part of her was angry that he'd show them something so private. Part of her was amazed that Zuko would try so hard.

She hadn't thought about it, but Zuko had tried hard for her. Why?

For a moment her eyes fixed themselves on the table and the albums on it.

Should she…?

Her mind started a battle, of should she or should she not, which in turn triggered a defensive mechanism inside her. It made her run into her room, pack herself into the warmest cloths she has and run away from the house.

She hated the past. She hated the present. She hated the future.

In her mind she would become feared and respected. That didn't happen. Now people disliked and ignored her. From top dog to someone no one paid attention to. She would have had friends – on her terms. She did have friends, they abandoned her. Well, all but Zuko it seems, but Zuko wasn't a friend.

Her feet stopped her at Burger King. Her mind did not.

That room must have taken a lot of effort. Toph and Sokka also seemed to have had roles for which they practiced, that was an effort. For what? For her? No, because Zuko asked them. Of course they'd do it for Zuko…

…who asked for her sake.

She never asked him to. This was something that was making her angry. She never asked him for this or for anything. He just stupidly went and did what he wanted anyway. How dare he, who gave him the right, this was on him and not on her and so on. How dare he? Who gave him the right? This was on him and not on her!

She didn't know when exactly it had happened, but for awhile now she was pushing at Burger King's locked door and crying. She never asked for Zuko's pity. She never asked to be pitied by his friends either. She didn't ask to be alone or to be ignored or to be stripped of her influence and power and money. She didn't ask for her life to develop in the way that it did.

But it did develop in that manner.

Whatever she wanted or not.

And she was alone.

With nobody, but Zuko.

And then she remembered how Sokka left when asked, how Toph left when ignored and how the third ghost never bothered to show. Will this relationship end like this as well? She had always antagonized Zuko and in recent times ignored him, but she always relied that he'd come back in one way or another. But what if one day he does not? What if like Sokka he leaves, what if like the Ghost of Christmas Future he does not show up?

It didn't take a Ghost of Christmas Future to tell her how that tale would end.

The cold killed her thoughts. The tears had frozen on her cheeks. The cold was biting and unpleasant.

The walk back home was a hard one, her body felt sickly, her mind was filled with self-loathing and self-pity. She did not know how to deal with those things.

In the end, by the time she reached her room to turn on the heater and wrap herself in blankets and defrost a single thought had nested in her mind, or more precisely Toph's words.

"You should go eat lunch with your brother tomorrow."

That and the fear that if she does not, Zuko will not appear again, just like the Ghost of Christmas Future.

So she went and had lunch with her brother and uncle. How it had happened she did not know, but she spent the rest of the day with them going over albums and pictures and they even dug up old videos. Then they had supper and she even tolerated a Christmas movie.

By the time she went to bed she might not have held Christmas in her spirit each day, but she had resolved to apologize to some people. See where life goes from there.

Author Note: Recently I watched one of the adaptations of Christmas Carol and it was a bad one. It had an interesting premise, but it tried to stick to the plot of the book in a way that actually subtracted to the story. In a way I wanted to try to keep the spirit of the story, without going through the motions of the story, so to say.

#Azula #Avatar The Last Airbender

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wokeasian-blog · 7 years

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@hollywood here r some thoughts

For the hundredth time, yellowface is not a good look - and it probably won't ever be.

We've asked you to stop taking roles in blockbuster movies from us, but you've never listened; we've asked you to stop mocking us: insulting our skin, the shapes of our eyes and the way some of us speak, but you just don't seem to care.

The number of times you've rejected actors of Asian descent for roles as characters of Asian descent is seriously insulting to Asian communities in the west and around the world. You've sparked controversy on multiple occasions by giving the roles of Asian characters like Aang, Katara and Sokka from Avatar, Light Yagami from Death Note, Goku, Dastan from Prince of Persia and even Jesus, to white people.

It's really quite sickening for to see how Asian racism in the media is so easily dismissed. How our modern, "post-racial" society tolerates the desexualization of Asian men and hypersexualisation of Asian women. How we accept the fact that you openly endorse the mocking, appropriation and ridicule of Asian cultures, accents, and facial features. How whitewashing has made it almost impossible for any Asian to succeed in the film industry; because god forbid that you allow an actual Asian actor to play an Asian character in a movie or TV series.

And it hurts; it's sad and insulting to see you label our cultures, manners of speaking or skin colours as laughable in front of the entire world. It hurts to hear make pathetic excuses to justify our lack of representation like saying our faces aren't expressive enough. We cringe and get frustrated over your directors shaving the head of white women like Tilda Swinton, thinking that she could pass for an Asian man. The unending intolerance you have towards Asian actors makes us wonder: are we really living in a post-racial society?

To some of those reading, it may not seem like an important issue, but it is. Stories matter, they affect how we live our lives, how we see other people and how we think about ourselves – and western media, film, and television (which are consumed internationally, by all English-speaking countries) have distorted the way Asians are seen in Caucasian-majority countries. You've forced us to be ashamed of our cultures instead of taking pride in them. The incorrect and lack of representation in the media has led many minority groups (especially Asians) to wonder: "Do I matter as a person? Does society value me? Am I normal?"

Next time Hollywood, please don't whitewash, and painting white people with brown or yellow makeup isn't cute. We want a chance in the media industry, the same way you have generously given it to everyone else. But please understand that you've been appropriating our clothing, mocking our traditions and ridiculing our ways of speaking for far too long. Understand that it's has a severe effect on the way our boys and girls of colour grow up. Racism and bigotry towards Asians still seem to persist, and unfortunately, thanks to you, it doesn't seem like it's going away anytime soon.

#ok to reblog #whitewashing #racism #asian racism #representation #ghost in the shell #hollywood #yellowface #brownface

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bellatrixobsessed1 · 4 years

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Mutilated Mannequin (Part 22)

Azula’s festival dress is form fitting and reaches just above her knees with a hem lined with a shimmery fringe of electric blue. Well aware that much of the festival and viewing party will take place outside, she finds herself the custom leggings that match the complexion of her skin. She slips them on and goes to fetch her necklace. She isn’t sure that she needs a necklace at all. The collar of her dress is eye-catching enough with its line of glimmering rubies. The entirety of the dress is adorned with many zigzagging fingers of that same electric blue. It starkly contrasts the bright red silk of the dress and glitters in the light.

She wears her hair up and spices it up with blue and red glitter. It is slightly curled. Her mother has worked the better part of the evening to style it for her before wandering off to check on Zuko--who, with the help of their father, should be in his tux.

She hasn’t yet seen her entire ensemble, but assumes that it suits her better than her homecoming dress did and she is glad that she hadn’t wasted wearing it then.

Azula closes stands before the mirror for a very long time with her eyes closed. The skin beneath her fingers is still so rough and somewhat lumpy. It alleviates her nervous anticipation none.

She lets a few more moments pass her by before she opens her eyes. She both wishes she hadn’t and wishes that she had done it sooner. She wishes mostly, that she would have looked at herself earlier, that she would have given herself time to get used to the damage dealt. Most of the scar tissue is gathered on her cheek left cheek; a long and thin raised line where the blade had once dragged. In some places there are still lumps. Small lumps, but bumps sizable enough to be noticed with ease. Strangely contrasting the lumps, that cheek is sunken. Far too thin. Thin enough to make her look almost malnourished.

Though the scar tissue is less on the right side of her face, she thinks that, that side looks profoundly more horrific. It is just as thin, perhaps moreso, and makes her wish that she still had her babyfat. At least then she had looked healthy. She considers for the first time, and all too late, that the puffiness that she had hated so much was perfectly natural.

Movement on that side is still terribly limited, rendering that half of her face slack. It is that slackness that seems to create the lack of symmetry.

Azula’s stomach lurches, she never did like asymmetry, it always made her headache. It instilled within her this unbearable desire to recreate the symmetry and her head would throb until she did. But, God, she can’t create symmetry on her face.

She wraps her arms around herself, leans against the wall, and slides to the floor. She had expected to dislike her new face, but she hadn’t expected it to make her feel physically sick. She lets out a small, gasping sob.

She should have waited until after the festival to ruin her night.

She feels queasy and anxious and suddenly it seems like a trick or a joke that Katara wants to spend any time with her, much less take her on a first date to a festival.

“Azula!” She hears her mother shout. She tries to pacify herself. “Katara is here.”

She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand and stands up, her stance is unsteady and somewhat weak as she makes her way towards the door. By the time she reaches the staircase, Katara is already halfway up it. She greets Azula with a bright smile, those big blue eyes seeming to sparkle under the chandelier’s light. Her dress is more practical with long sleeves and a long train, made of navy blue velvet. It is simpler than Azula’s own having only a few faux diamonds at the neckline and a trim of fake white fur on the sleeves and at the hem. Still, the dress is lovely and it fits her better than any excess glitz could ever.

She wears her hair down in deep brown waves. Thin strands of her bangs are held back with two small, pearl hair combs. A few more pearls are weaved into her hair, Azula can’t tell if they are genuine.

“Hi Azula. You look nice tonight.”

Azula doesn’t believe that, not for a second. But she believes that Katara does and she says as much.

“Are you ready to go?” Katara asks.

“I need to put some makeup on.”

She must sound terribly glum. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Azula insists.

“Let me help you with your makeup?

Azula nods. “I hope that you’re amazingly skilled with makeup because…”

“I promise, it won’t take that much makeup to make you look beautiful.” She takes a limp Azula into a hug. Her head hangs over Katara’s shoulder as the girl rubs her back.

“You can say what you really think.” Azula informs softly. “I already know…”

“I am saying what I really think.” Katara holds her ground. “That dress looks nice on you.”

“It would look nicer on someone who has a flattering face to go with it.” She folds her arms over her chest.

Katara’s expression darkens and that enthusiastic glimmer in her eyes is gone. “I thought that you were done with that…”

“Yes. But then I actually saw what it looked like.”

Katara’s eyes go momentarily wide. “You mean that tonight is the first time you’ve seen your face since the surgery?”

Azula gives a slow and forlorn nod.

“Oh, Azula.” She almost sounds like her mother. “What are we going to do with you?” She adds a small and sad laugh.

“Fix my face?” Azula mumbles. “It’s gross.”

Katara takes her by the shoulders and moves her so that she can look into her eyes. “I don’t want to change you, Azula. I don’t have any trouble looking at your face. Sokka doesn’t either. Chan and Tylee… and Mai. I think that you’re the only person who thinks that it looks gross.” Before Azula can open her mouth Katara adds, “Jet’s opinion doesn’t count and Yue’s we can consider but…”

“It’s questionable.” Azula finishes she forces a laugh. “I’m skeptical of anything Yue says.” She stands and beckons for Katara to follow her to her bedroom.

“I promise, you look fine. Your face doesn’t bother anyone that matters.”

“It bothers me.”

“I think that you just have to get used to it.” Katara guesses. She picks up two lipsticks. “Which one do you want?”

Azula points at the bright red, Katara is already applying it when it occurs to her that such a bold choice in color will draw unwanted attention to her face. She hopes that the lipstick will be bright enough to keep their focus on her lips rather than her ravaged cheeks.

“You don’t understand.” She says after Katara swaps out the lipstick for some eyeliner. Katara quirks a brow and Azula takes that as her cue to continue. “Look at my room.” She gives her girlfriend a chance to take it in. It’s immaculate cleanliness and the tedious and orderly fashion in which all of her belongings are arranged from the alignment of her shelves, dressers, and bed to the collection of trophies on her dresser and crystals on her nightstand. Even the stuffed pandas on her bed and the fairy lights wrapped around the bed posts are perfectly straight. There is an impeccable balance about the room. “It’s all symmetrical or at least balanced. Everything is where it is supposed to be.”

“I can tell.” Katara replies. “You’d hate Sokka’s room.” She dabs some eyeshadow gently atop Azula’s lids.

“I don’t like when things are lopsided or out of place. It hurts my head. It’s like this itch that won’t go away until I straighten whatever it is up. I can’t do that with my face. It’s literally going to drive me insane.”

Katara puts the makeup brushes aside and takes Azula’s hands. “You’re going to be fine.” She looks around the room. “How about this, you can wear one of those masquerade half-masks to the festival. You family has crazy cash, I’m sure that your dad could buy you a bunch of those masks until you’re comfortable looking at your face again.” She seems to grow more excited with each word. “It could be your thing! I don’t know anyone else who spices up their school uniform with a mask. I’m sure Pathik would make an exception to the dress code for you. He likes you.”

“I guess that, that could work.” Azula replies. She picks up the mask that came with her dress and slips it over her face.”

“But since it was my idea I want you to do something for me.”

Azula rolls her eyes. “What?”

“Just promise me that you’ll look at your face, without the mask, at least once a day. Even if it’s just when you brush your teeth or comb your hair in the morning.”

“Perhaps.”

“You have to get used to seeing yourself like this. I don’t want you to have to cover your face forever.” She pauses. “I want you to appreciate yourself for who you are. For that to happen, you’re going to have to…”

“Accept it first.” Azula finishes. She inhales deeply and removes the mask once more. “I’m still going to steal your mask idea though.”

“You really like attention, don’t you?”

“I like to...make myself known.” She clarifies. “I feel like people will remember the person who comes to school wearing a different mask every other day.”

“Every other day?”

“Yes.” Azula says. “I’ll tolerate looking at the asymmetry for a day and then I’ll give myself a break from that. Is that a problem.”

“No!” Katara says quickly. “That’s...that’s actually more than I thought you’d be willing to do.”

“You thought that I was going to be dramatic about this didn’t you?”

“You were definitely dramatic. ‘It’s literally going to drive me insane’.” Zuko mocks from in the doorway. Azula chucks her mask at him. “Jesus.” He rubs his arm, that goofy grin never leaves his face.

“I thought that you’d want to take baby steps, is all.” Katara answers.

Azula crinkles her nose. “If I’m going to do something, I’m going to put a real effort in.” She turns back to Zuko. “Where’s Mai?”

“Fussing with Tom-Tom again. You two are probably going to have to meet me there.”

“You’re our ride, dumb dumb.” Azula collects her mask and finds her favorite perfume; a rose fragrance in a dragon shaped bottle. “Do you want a spray.”

Katara holds up a different perfume with a seashell bottle, “I’d like to try this one.”

“Go on.”

While she is there, she might as well start now; she takes another breath and spares the mirror a look as she gives the perfume bottle a few pumps.

.oOo.

“It’s beautiful!” TyLee gasps. “It’s been such a long time since I really looked at the stars.”

“Your gymnastics season is almost over, yes?” Azula asks.

“Yeah, unfortunately.”

“You can follow Katara and I to the astronomy club.”

“Oh yeah! I could do that!” She replies.

“Do you guys want to try candle making?” Zuko cuts in, he jabs his thumb in the direction of an activity stall.

Mai shrugs, “I’ll tag along.”

“I like scented candles.” TyLee tugs Chan towards the stall.

Azula exchanges a look with Katara, “do you want to make one together.”

“I’d like that.” She smiles.

Azula finds that she likes working with the wax, it warms her hands as she shapes the candle. Katara had insisted that they use blue wax and let Azula pick the shape. Ultimately she decides to make a simple pillar candle. She fades different shades of blue wax into each other while Katara etches in stars of silver glitter. It smells of blueberry and ocean spray. Both Yue and TyLee have created candles of pink; TyLee’s is a bubblegum scented pastel and Yue’s a bright pink, peach smelling abomination. It grows worse still when Kei Lo adds a touch of red apple.

Expectedly, Mai insists on a black candle that smells of licorice and cherry.

“Where’s your brother anyways?” Azula asks.

“He and Suki wanted to do a little holiday shopping before coming here, that’s why I told them to drop me off at your place.”

“And Aang?”

“I think that he and Teo are trying to convince Toph to come. She says that she gets tired of pointing at random spots in the sky and claiming to see aliens.”

“She knows that there are other things to do here, right?”

Katara shrugs and then takes a step back to look at their candle. “I think that we’re done.”

Azula moves it to the drying rack to be picked up at the candle lighting hour. Katara takes Azula’s hand, “why aren’t you wearing gloves?” She asks.

“They don’t match my dress.”

“Your hands are freezing!” She exclaims. “Take my gloves or let’s go get a cup of hot chocolate. Geeze, my mom would kill me if I came out here without gloves!”

“I’m not cold.” Azula denies.

“You are too.” Katara huffs. “You’re shivering.”

Azula gives a soft and stubborn pout. “I’m fine.” She insists, her words accented by teeny puffs of fog that do little to help her case. The smoky wisps trail in brief bursts towards the sky. She watches them drift, fading away before they can even reach the strings of soft gold lights that connect one food stall to the next. The strings of light bob in the same snowy gust that shakes the paper lanterns. She supposes that the atmosphere is very pleasing. Beneath her feet, the ground is a mess of star shaped confetti and silver glitter, not that the glitter is necessary with the natural sparkle of the snow accumulating on the ground.

Every twelve feet or so is a small fire where people gather and warm their hands. Katara is pulling her in the direction of one of them. She rustles around in her oversized backpack and pulls out a blanket. “Here, take this.” She wraps it around Azula and steals a look at the nearest food stall. Azula slips her a handful of cash. She gives Azula a brief hug and makes her way to the stall.

Azula sits there listening to the crackle and pop of the flames. She supposes that she is happy to be wrapped in the blanket. Her hands were beginning to grow red. Katara returns with two steaming cups of hot chocolate. “S’mors?” She offers, gesturing to the sticks.

“Yes, that sounds nice.”

As Azula sips her drink, Katara twirls two marshmallows over the flames.

.oOo.

Azula is rather quiet and Katara has trouble gauging her mood. She is fairly certain that the girl is content. At the very least, her teeth aren’t chattering anymore. Katara doesn’t think that she has ever seen someone get so cold so fast.

She watches the girl tinker with her telescope and then with her own. If only having one free hand is slowing her down, she sure doesn’t show it. Azula looks up from her work and Katara can finally gauge her emotions. She does look rather elated, more so than Katara has seen her look in a while.

They are only minutes away from Sozin’s comet passing. Katara looks down from the top of the hill; from top to bottom it is alit with hundreds of flickering candles. A sea of twinkling flames and thin wisps of smoke.

“We’re all set.” Azula notes.

Katara can’t imagine how thrilled the girl must be to finally see the spectacle that gave her family such an esteemed name.

“Sozin’s comet will be the first to fall and then the rest of them should appear.” Azula remarks with more enthusiasm than Katara has ever heard in her voice. Every now and again she leans into the telescope. Katara decides that it is best to make her way over to her own.

It happens quickly; a flash of brilliant orange in the sky as the comet flares into view. It is humbling to view such an old object. One that very well could have been around since the dawn of man. From such a distance it looks so small. Even still it is beautiful to behold with its fiery tail and the trail of dust and debris it leaves behind. Katara follows it with her telescope until it dips below the horizon and out of view.

It was such a fleeting moment, but then, the most glorious moments usually are. A second or two of splendor, a minute at most and then all is ordinary once more. She supposes that the universe knows that beauty is best appreciated when it is a rarity to be seen. Even so, the moment isn’t entirely over.

Just as Azula noted, the sky becomes crowded with many falling stars. A rain of them that leave silver-blue lines in their wake like contrails of an aeroplane.

“Wow this is…”

“Magnificent.” Azula finishes.

Katara thinks that there is no better word.

She feels arms wrap around her torso and a blanket falling over her shoulders. Azula isn’t quite tall enough to rest her had in the crook of Katara’s neck so she presses her mostly healed left cheek against her back.

Content to finally see Azula initiating physical contact for once, Katara doesn’t move. Not until it occurs to her that her girlfriend is slightly trembling again.

“Let me warm you up?” She offers.

Azula takes a step back. Katara takes her blanket and wraps it around herself. She then takes Azula into a hug and wraps the blanket around the both of them. Azula peers up at her, snow clings to her lashes. Katara never realized how small the girl was until then. She gives Azula a cheerful smile.

The comets still burst overhead, she can see them reflected in Azula’s eyes as the girl stares up at them. She doesn’t want to interrupt her viewing, but at the same time, she craves their first real kiss. So she cups Azula’s less delicate cheek and leans in.

Azula doesn’t flinch or draw back as Katara had anticipated. The girl closes her eyes and lets Katara guide her through what she assumes is the girl’s first real kiss. Katara can’t tell if Azula’s face is rosey with the cold or because she has never been kissed before.

No matter, she seems to be at peace.

She sniffles.

“Let’s look at the comets for a few more minutes and then get inside before you get yourself sick.” Katara suggests.

“I’m fine.” Azula insists, but she doesn’t protest when Katara begins to pack away their equipment and she doesn’t put up a fight when Katara begins tugging her towards the banquet hall.

Katara herself is relieved to be out of the cold, she was beginning to shiver herself. She watches Azula wander over to the chocolate fountain where she greets TyLee who has a rather absurd amount of chocolate covered fruit already gathered. Chan says something and the three of them laugh. She wishes that she could have heard it but she is thrilled to see Azula in such good spirits, especially after seeing her look so dismal and beat down.

“She seems happy.” Mai notes.

Katara nods.

“What did you do to her?” Zuko flashes an amused grin.

“I gave her some hot chocolate and a blanket...and then a kiss.”

“Hey, thanks for doing this for her.” Zuko says. “She really needed a good night like this. Even if she doesn’t tell you, it means a lot to her.”

“I know.” Katara smiles. “I can tell.”

#Avatar #Azula #Katara #Azutara #TyLee #Zuko #Mai #Fanfiction

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