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goldenavenger02 · 3 days

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summer sun for you forever

For @badthingshappenbingo. Prompt: fevers

Azula had disappeared into darkness. Aang saved the kids of the Fire Nation. Kiyi and Ursa were finally getting along again. But, things seemingly never worked out for Zuko.

"Zuzu?"

Zuko wasn't sure when he had finally given up on the paperwork and gone to bed, but given the lack of sunlight streaming through the windows, it was not long enough for it to be considered an usual amount of sleep.

That was before he factored in the fact that most of the Fire Nation no longer wanted him off of the throne, the scratchiness in his throat that had started the night before and Kiyi pushing on his bicep to wake him up.

Again.

"Zuzu. Are you awake?"

"No, I'm sleeping. Like you should be."

"You're talking, so you're awake," she argued while crawling over so she was in her face, "I heard you coughing."

"I wasn't-" he sat up, only for the scratchiness to go over the edge, sending him doubling over as the coughs made his chest burn.

When he finally caught his breath, he was met with a raised eyebrow from Kiyi that she had definitely picked up from either Sokka or Katara but the persistent exhaustion made it impossible to ask as he laid back down on the uncomfortably warm pillows.

"Do you want me to get mommy? She's really good at helping people feel better."

Right. Kiyi was here, which meant that his mother was asleep in the palace and unaware of any of this; he swallowed down the scratchiness and shook his head, "she needs to sleep, Kiyi. So do you."

"But you're sick."

"Come on," he sat up, coughing a few times into his elbow before offering his other hand to her, "let's get you back in bed."

"But what if 'zula comes back? I don't wanna go with her." Kiyi shook her head as she stamped her foot on the ground in defiance with her arms crossed.

He couldn't bring himself to argue with her, unsurprised that she had become a monster in Kiyi's closet; it had only been a few days since Azula had fled into the woods after kidnapping the majority of the fire nation children.

Their mother hadn't let her sleep in her own bed the night after they got her back and was visibly on edge after she or Ikem would put Kiyi to bed. Zuko had even found himself peeking into her room at night to make sure she was still there.

"Azula is not coming back, Kiyi," Zuko assured her as he stood up, holding onto the bed frame for a moment as the world spun around him, before holding his hand back out to her, "and even if she did, everyone is keeping an eye out. She wouldn't be able to get to you, I promise."

"Okay," she admitted defeat and pressed her small palm into his, allowing him to lead her back to her room, "are you gonna tell Mommy? That you're sick?"

And that question penetrated right through Zuko's foggy mind, because he wasn't sure; he hadn't been taken care of by his mother since he was a child, since before Lu Ten had died and even though a small part of him so desperately craved that comfort, it had been years.

"I'm gonna go back to sleep," he decided as he lifted Kiyi into her bed before tucking her in and stopping himself from kissing her forehead, "you should too. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Zuzu." She yawned, rubbing her eyes as she laid down.

"Good night, Kiyi." He whispered back and took a quick glance over the room, just to be sure, before making his way back to his room on shaking legs with the hope of getting another few hours of sleep.

…

When he awoke again to the sun shining through his windows and onto his face, everything felt worse.

The scratchiness in Zuko's throat had elevated to a swollen ache, the cough felt heavy in his lungs and sitting up felt like an impossible chore due to the pounding in his temples; there was no denying it, he was sick and it was bad.

The last time he had been nearly this sick had been in Ba Sing Se, but he highly doubted that this was another war of the mind given the lack of nightmares involving dragons and Air Nomad tattoos.

So, despite the throbbing in his head, he pulled himself to his feet and slowly changed into his royal robes while hoping that there wasn't a heavy workload for him to attend to today.

After tying his hair up with the crown pushed into the hairbow, despite the top knot adding to the pressure in his head, he made his way to the dining room.

What he wasn't expecting as he walked in was such a tight hug from Kiyi around his legs that he nearly fell over before she looked up at him and said, "I told mommy that you were sick."

Zuko kept his hand on Kiyi's back as his mother approached slowly and rested her hand against his scarred cheek, his back going ridgid at the touch while she brushed a few stray hairs away from his eyes before resting her hand on his shoulder.

"Kiyi wasn't kidding. You're feverish, Zuko."

"Why would I make that up?" Kiyi questioned, finally letting go of his wobbly legs to raise an eyebrow at Ursa, the same way she had at him last night.

"Finish your breakfast, sweetheart," Ursa insisted, reaching down to run a few fingers through her hair before turning back to him, "you should lay back down."

" 'm busy, mom," he managed to choke out, his voice much hoarser than he expected, "Fire Lord stuff."

"I see," Ursa nodded, her hand still lingering on his shoulder as she turned to face one of his advisors, "Lin, can you rearrange the Fire Lord's schedule so it is only essential and urgent matters for the next few days? It would be in the best interest of the Fire Nation if my son spent some time in the infirmary."

"Mom-" Zuko started, only for his chest to rebel and send him into another coughing fit that left his vision spinning.

"I think the basis for my case was just made by the Fire Lord himself."

"Very well, Lady Ursa." Lin bowed in their direction before exiting through the other doorway in the large dining room.

With the way Kiyi was proudly showing off her trick of tossing sliced strawberries in the air and catching them in her mouth with Noren's attention on her, Zuko knew that there was no other option then defeat as his mother rested her hand on his upper back and gently nudged him toward the palace infirmary.

"Let's get you taken care of."

…

Ursa hadn't been back in the Fire Nation for a full month and Zuko had already fallen ill.

Admittedly, she wasn't that surprised; her son had always been more sickly than Azula, seemingly catching every single virus that made its way into the walls of the palace.

However, her hands still hadn't returned to a normal warmth from one of her daughters kidnapping the other and that was before Kiyi had woken her up by jumping on her bed and proclaiming, "Hi, mommy, Zuzu's sick."

Which led her to where she was now, gently taking down her son's top knot in his bedroom, after their visit to the infirmary, while he shivered under her touch.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." She murmured as she laid the crown on the table before gently holding onto his arm as he maneuvered onto his back.

"Not your fault," he insisted, his hoarse voice cracking as he rested his hot cheeks onto the pillow, "Kiyi was just trying to help."

"I know she was, she cares a lot about her big brother."

There was a brief smile on his lips, although it looked more like a grimace, before his eyes fluttered shut and his breathing, despite being tinged with a wheeze, evened out.

The court physician had been confident in Zuko's recovery, which helped some of Ursa's fear ebb away, but the damp cloth that she used to wipe the sweat from her son's forehead was just as cold as her palms.

He hadn't been asleep for more than a few minutes when there was a soft knock on the wooden door, one that could only belong to her daughter; Ursa folded the cloth and rested it on her son's forehead before making her way to the door and opening it.

"I wanna see Zuzu."

"Kiyi, he needs to rest," Ursa insisted, kneeling down so she was eye to eye with her, "he's sick, remember?"

"Can I help?"

And with brown eyes full of a mix of worry and pleading, Ursa couldn't help but relent; she knew that in doing so, she increased Kiyi's chances of contracting the same illness but at the same time she was aware of just how close the two of them had grown in the few months of knowing each other.

"You have to let him sleep, okay?"

She nodded without any sort of rebuttal and reached up for Ursa.

She picked her daughter up before returning to Zuko's bedside and used the cloth to wipe away the buildup of sweat that had gathered in her brief absence.

A coughing fit broke through the silence, making Kiyi flinch back against her chest, but Ursa just held onto her tightly while reaching over to firmly rub his back so his lungs could work out some of the congestion.

"Is he gonna be okay, mommy?" Kiyi whispered, her hands wrapped tightly in the fabric of her dress.

"The doctor said he will be," Ursa assured, trying to force herself to believe the words despite how much every single wheeze made her hands grow colder and colder, "it might take a few days though, for him to feel better."

"Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Maybe Katara can help, with her water bending."

She wasn't sure how her daughter had thought of sending for the powerful member of the Southern Water Tribe, the same teenager who was part of the small group of Zuko's friend group that included the Avatar himself, but all she could do was wonder why she hadn't thought of it first.

"That's a very good idea, Kiyi," Ursa praised before turning to the guard that was stationed outside of the door, "Tao? Can you send for Master Katara?"

"Of course, Lady Ursa."

…

Zuko's head was pounding when he woke up to the all too familiar cold hovering over his chest, the confirmation that Katara was trying to heal him; from what, he couldn't remember until he blinked a few times only to feel a flare of pain in his raw, inflamed throat.

"Do you have a six of earth?"

"Go fish!"

"Ugh," he heard Aang groan before pleading, "can we please play something else?"

"We can try Pai Sho again."

Zuko blinked and looked upwards.

"Hey there," Katara greeted softly with her water-covered hands still hovering over his chest, "welcome back to the land of the living."

He tried to speak, but throat was stinging and his lungs constricted into a coughing fit that filled his eyes with tears from the burning in his chest as it forced him to sit up.

"Easy, easy," Katara's voice broke through the sound of the coughs wracking his body as she held him upright and a now dry hand firmly pat his back, "try and breathe, Zuko."

And given how hard he was coughing, he would argue that he did try his best to breathe, but it was only when the coughing fit started to subside that he could finally pull a substantial amount of oxygen into his lungs.

"Here," Kiyi's voice cut through his deep breaths, forcing him to turn his head to see her holding a glass of water, "Mommy said you had to drink something when you woke up."

He took the glass in his shaking hand and started sipping at the cold water, letting it temporarily sooth the stinging in his throat before letting his questioning about why Katara and Aang were there allow itself to be visible on his face.

"Your mother sent for me, asking if I could heal you. Given the coughing fit, though, you can see how well that's going."

"Also, Kiyi cheats at Go Fish," Aang added as he showed his face from behind Katara, "and she's really good at Pai Sho."

"I don't cheat!" Kiyi shouted with her hands on her hips, making his head throb, "and Uncle Iroh taught me how to play, he said I'm better than Zuzu at board games."

"Because you have the patience for-" Zuko retorted, but his chest rebelled again and made him cough again, forcing him to sip at the water once again as the burning spread through his lungs.

"Maybe you should stop talking." Katara suggested as she took the empty glass from him and set it on the bedside table before gently pressing him back down onto the pillows.

Zuko nodded, his eyelids already growing heavy again as the familiar cold of healing covered his forehead.

"Can I help?"

Zuko opened his right eye to see Kiyi making eye contact with him, unable to hold back his response with a smirk. "Did you become a waterbender recently?"

"No, I'm a firebender, silly," despite how awful he felt, his little sister's smile was infectious as she climbed up onto the bed, "and that means I'm super warm."

With that, she promptly leaned against him with her head against his collarbone and wrapped her arms around his left side; she wasn't wrong about being warm, it was a common fact about all firebenders.

But due to the fever that was wreaking havoc on him, he couldn't help but relish in the warmth and hold her closer as the cold water once again covered his aching head.

"Go to sleep, Zuzu. We can take care of you."

He didn't have the energy to fight against her statement and let his eyes flutter shut once again, taking in the comforting sound of her steady breathing beside him, allowing himself to feel safe in her presence.

#my writing #fic #avatar #atla #post smoke and shadow #comic complacent #fire lord #fire lord zuko #ursa #ursa atla #kiyi atla #aang #katara #kataang #sickfic #bad things happen bingo #fevers

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chriscdcase95 · 2 years

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Unwritten fic update: ATLA + Godzilla: “The Ancient World”

So I've been looking over unwritten fanfic I shelved, and one I often revisit is called The Ancient World, which is the result of me wanting to do a crossover adapting Godzilla and other monsters into the world of ATLA and LOK.

I wrote an older post on The Ancient World back in December, but since then I often revisited the story. Even wrote a draft for the first chapter. The original post is here.

I also had Korra based sequel, Age of Rebirth, which evolved into a crossover with the Star Wars sequel trilogy. I wrote a post for it, but I'm giving it a rewrite since the original post was over 8000 words.

It's not even the only Godzilla crossover I had in mind; I wrote ideas down for one with The 100, and another for Game of Thrones. Both of which The Ancient World took cues from.

Anyways, since I've been doing some revising and revisiting of The Ancient World, I thought I'd give it a follow up post based on these revisions. Much of the story and character arcs remain the same, but here it's expanded by more worldbuilding, character arcs, and a few OC's I had in mind.

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Summary: Taking place a few years after Avatar The Last Airbender. The United Republic began international mining operations in the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes, as society progresses with early technological advancements. When they dug too deep, they uncovered the remains of an ancient civilization lost to time, and regarded as myth. When dug deeper, they awaken Titans - beasts of these myths, that brought “The Ancient World” to an end, and may do the same to the current one.

One such the Titan known as “Godzilla” decimates the Water Tribes and makes his way to and through the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdoms. Another is a weakened and wounded dragon fleeing the wrath of Godzilla. Quickly showing its own spiritual power, communicating with humanity, introducing itself as Ghidorah, a claiming to be "guardian" sent to protect the world from Godzilla. Too weak to do much of anything (save for destroying a vast cabbage field), Ghidorah is seen as harmless by the general populations, who rally behind him as the only one who can stop Godzilla.

The leaders of the Water, Fire and Earth Kingdoms elect to throw their armies to face Godzilla until such a time Ghidorah’s power is restored. While Aang, his Team and a small band of Kyoshi warriors, seek out the secrets of these monsters and try to find the way to put a stop to them with as little bloodshed as possible, Zuko is pushed by the other leaders, prioritizing the threat of Godzilla and a militant approach to deal with them. During an initial encounter with Azula and her followers out at sea, Godzilla attacks the expedition, getting them stranded on "The Uncharted Lands".

Between Ghidorah’s growing power, and the hero’s isolation, people on both sides find themselves going down the rabbit hole, learning of the Ancient World, and the monsters that brought it to an end in a bid to save their current one.

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First off, let’s get this story’s main ships out of the way; Kataang, Maiko and Tyzula.

Out of the Godzilla timelines, it's mainly based off the Monsterverse, but there's nods to other and continuities.

1. "What is the Ancient World and what is the lore behind it ?"

If you haven’t guessed by the title, the twist would have been the titular “Ancient World” was our Earth. That and the recovery and reverse engineering of old technology explains the advancements seen in Legend of Korra. The “Ancient World” fell to an apocalyptic event known as “The Final Wars”, which would would have occurred a century or two before Wan’s time as civilization collapsed, and excessive radiation and mutation caused the animal hybrids.

The ATLA world would be revealed as the result of ten thousand years of rapid climate and geographic change, with the age of science giving way to the age of mysticism; some Titans show a supernatural and spiritual aspect to them, such as Mothra and Ghidorah. The Lion Turtles would be an example of such Titans. Mothra for example, would have the ability to enhance one's power.

What is currently known as “The Water Tribes” was once Alaska, and Northern Canada. “The Fire Nation”, was once Eastern Asia and Eastern Europe. “The Earth Kingdom”, was once South Asia.

The "Uncharted Lands" refer to any country/continent/region unexplored on ATLA/LOK’s map. For example, the lands explored in this story were once the province of Ontario and New York state.

The Water Tribes were once Alaska, Greenland, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Yukon, Nunavut, and the North-West Territories.

The Fire Kingdom was once Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, North China, Far East Russia, South and Central Russia, and the Ukraine.

The Earth Kingdoms consist of India, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan, South China, Tibet, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.

As people and civilizations of these lands ? Think the Grounder's from The 100, or the tribes in Horizon Zero Dawn, and you’ll know what I'm going for. This is something carried over from Welcome to The New Age, when I wanted to crossover with The 100. They have a Clan system similar to The 100, and one of the OC's is called "The Commander", who is Lexa in all but name.

Despite mysticism and spirituality seeping back into the world after "The Final Wars", these people live more mundane and down to Earth lives. Bending isn't prominent among these people. They know of Bending, but they generally lack it themselves, usually reacting with curiosity and wonder when they see it.

While the Ancient World’s are more obscure "myths" to the Three Known Nations, they're a lot less murky to the Uncharted Lands and their people; in fact they still find bits and pieces of "old world technology", which they try to recreate. As such, they have more knowledge of the Ancient World, and a more objective version of the Final Wars in their mythology. To the Three Nations, "Final Wars" myths vary; to the Uncharted Lands, there are a few variations but the constant was Godzilla was usually the "hero", while Ghidorah was always the villain.

As for this stories OC’s ? There's the Commander (again, a Lexa expy), though she isn't that prominent or involved. When her people first uncover Aang and Azula's parties, she has them brought before her to explain themselves. Discovering their Bending, she offers both parties places to stay as guests; not of her "palace" of course, but at a massive ranch that serves as her "palace's" main food providers.

The ranch itself is owned by a powerful family, that all but runs a community of servants. There's really not much to go about with them; narratively, they have no purpose except for giving the protags a place to stay, as well as an exploration of their culture. Though Aang and co (including Azula’s party) do sometimes end up doing a few chores for them during their stay, which includes helping taking care of a servant's baby, while said baby's mother is sick.

The only “major” OC would be Shirio, a minor Fire Nation noble, and foil to Kei Lo from Smoke and Shadow, but we’ll cover him in character arcs.

2. Monster and Human interactions

Another thing I came up with was “Channeling”, in which a person (usually a bender) can soul-bond with a Titan through meditation. A Titan can be telepathically/empathetically linked to a human, some verbally communicating through them. This is something taken from Toho, with the Heisei character Miki Saegusa having a psychic link to Godzilla; and the alien possession from Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster.

For example, Katara accidentally “Channels” Godzilla at a few points, starting when she and Aang meditate together. It is through this, the protagonists get more of an understanding of Godzilla, vice versa as he interacts with them through Katara. It's shown that Godzilla has a marginal understanding of human emotion, but human culture and etiquette are so beneath him, they leave him utterly baffled. His attempts to comprehend customs - be it dancing at a wedding ceremony, or sitting down to have some tea - are often Played For Laughs.

Katara and Godzilla's "bond" is partially based off of Miki Saegusa. At first you'd think that there'd be a "Brooding Boy/Monster Bonds with a Gentle Girl" but no; Godzilla is surprised (and amused) to see that, caring as she is, Katara will choke a bitch. Between the two, Aang's the more "gentle".

But strong enough Titans don’t need consent to “bond” others. For example, Ghidorah, nearly crippled for two thirds of the story, relies on “channeling” to beg for human assistance. He can’t do much of anything beyond destroying a cabbage field where he goes to rest. Ghidorah has enough understanding of human emotions, relationships, and how they follow leaders, that he seeks out one who he can speak through. Ghidorah's first attempt was to “bond” with Zuko, but fails to make a link.

His second option was to forcibly bond with the more “vulnerable” Mai speaking through her to manipulate Zuko, and turn the masses against Godzilla, propping himself up as a “Guardian Monster”. Ghidorah claims that other “Guardians” are asleep but will answer to his call. The Guardian Monsters is something taken from GMK (where Ghidorah was the hero). The story Ghidorah tells through Mai is pretty much a recap GMK, even having Ember Island host a stage play of it as “Pro Ghidorah” propaganda.

3. Other Monsters

Revisiting the story, I decided that I more monsters to fatten the story up. It’s “Godzilla vs Ghidorah” story, but they fight once at the beginning and again at the end, with not much in between. Sure, Godzilla fighting benders could add variety to the “Godzilla vs the Army”, but I’m not sure that’s enough.

Some monsters I considered include Zilla, Desotroyah, Biollante, and even Gigan, but I wanted to use them in other stories and don’t like having to use the same monsters over and over.

Mothra’s also included. For two thirds of the story, Mothra would be in a chrysalis state, having made a home in the Fire Nation. Ghidorah would constantly feed off Mothra’s power to slowly rebuild his strength, essentially torturing her throughout. All while that Mothra is another “Guardian Monster” and who doesn’t mind being fed on.

Mothra tries to “Channel” with Benders, warning them of the truth, but the only one she reaches is Azula. Towards the third act, Azula speaks for Mothra to the Three Nations...but because she’s Azula, they don’t believe her (even with Aang, Katara and Ty Lee advocating for her) - in fact, they end up attacking Mothra when she emerges, with Ghidorah declaring her "tainted" by Azula.

For another monster, I ultimately went with Bagan.

For those who don't know, Bagan was infamous for numerous planned but scrapped appearances in the Heisei era. Toho had different ideas for what Bagan would be, but the “canon” origin they went with was a “demonic dragon god” from Ancient China. This origin for Bagan would be included here. Despite/because of Bagan's obscurity and constantly being scrapped, Godzilla fans tend to overhype Bagan as this ultimate Godzilla villain. To avoid that, Bagan here is a mid-story boss.

Bagan is awakened by the Three Nations, believing him to be a “Guardian Monster” who’d help against Godzilla...only to backfire because, y'know; Demon Dragon God. Bagan lays waste to the Water Tribes and a city in the Uncharted Lands, before facing Godzilla in Ba Sing Se.

Godzilla is injured and exhausted from the fight, but with the help of Aang and co, Bagan is forced to flee...before having his power and life drained by an opportunistic Ghidorah, who lifts Godzilla into the air before dropping him into Boiling Rocks lake, before going on to lay waste to the Three Nations, with nothing but a weakened Mothra to fight him.

This prompts a new expedition to revive Godzilla.

4. Ships and Character Arcs

First up is Kataang.

Aang's arc isn't that deep; when he learns of the Ancient World, he briefly angsts about the Air Nomads and his current world being forgotten like the Ancient World. But a lot of that existential stuff takes a back seat to the threat of the Titans and the discovery of Uncharted Lands. Though it still lingers as Aang watches society shift around him. By the end, he comes to terms that even if he does revive the Air Nomads, it'll likely be in a different form.

Aang is also the first one who tries to understand the Titans as opposed to attacking them blindly. While Katara accidentally channels Godzilla, Anng and co eventually manage to verbally communicate with him (albeit through Katara's mouth). Katara is more angry at Godzilla, since he did wreck her village upon making landfall, though she cools down when it dawns on her that most of the destruction Godzilla causes is accidental.

Then we get Godzilla's perspective; he's lost faith in humanity sometime after the Final Wars. He has sensed genocide, war and environmental damage for the past ten thousand years; last time he awoke (Kyoshi's era), he saved the world from another monster, and humanities armies attacked him while he was exhausted, nearly killing him.

Aang and Katara take it upon themselves to show Godzilla that humanity is still worth caring about, letting Godzilla look through Katara's eyes as they interact with the world and culture around them.

As for Maiko’s arc.

Zuko is put into the role of Hero Antagonist as the Fire Nation throws their army against the threat of Godzilla. Zuko was who Ghidorah first had in mind to “bond” with, but found his mind too “stubborn and resilient”; Mai was considerably easier, although even she slowly severs the bond. Initially, Ghidorah uses Mai's position as Zuko's significant other, and the daughter of a governor to speak to the Fire Nation and sell his claims as a “Guardian Monster”.

To keep Mai in line, Ghidorah threatens to kill Tom Tom using her own hands. After a while, Ghidorah begins underestimating Mai as she begins putting up more resistance to their “link”, eventually overcoming Ghidroah's influence; Mai doesn’t letting herself be intimidated by him, and successfully resists his puppeteering attempts.

With Zuko's help, she severs Ghidorah's link and they plan on revealing the truth. Unfortunately, Ghidorah notices Kiyi is strong for her age, but has a “weaker, vulnerable mind”; forcibly bonding with her, threatening to self harm her to keep Zuko in check, and force him to set the Fire Nations armies against Godzilla, and threatens to have Kiyi kill Ursa to make sure Kiyi plays ball (in some revisions, he makes good on that threat).

Great guy, that Ghidorah!

And now for Azula, who I consider the stories secondary protagonist. Yes, The Ancient World would be an Azula Redemption fic.

Picking up after Smoke and Shadow, Azula is still trying to influence Zuko and his rule, getting her hands dirty when Zuko’s are tied, following Aang’s expedition behind Zuko’s back. Ty Lee is among the Kyoshi Warriors joining the expedition. Azula figures she can play the expedition to her advantage (“For Zuko’s benefit of course. What would he do without me ?”) when the miners uncovered WMDs, which were to be put on the same ships Aang and co are using “for safe keeping”.

Azula’s initial plan was to use these weapons to manufacture something to deal with the Titans (“And if anyone should have this power, it’d be the Fire Nation. Zuzu will thank me later.”) However, Godzilla attacks Aang’s expedition, leaving them - Azula and her crew included - on the Uncharted Lands.

At the start of her arc, Azula herself isn't seeking redemption. She’s still trying to “guide” Zuko’s rule, and maintains a haughty front 70% of the time. But now that she's out of an environment, with none of Ozai’s lingering influences, the emotions Azula considered "weakness" start to surface.

Like Zuko, Azula would have a “bonding chapter/episode” with Team Avatar, and two with Ty Lee (three if you count Azula and Katara looking after her when Ty Lee has a fever). Azula wouldn’t have the same humility as Zuko and very reluctant to show her vulnerability to others. Whenever she shows compassion or altruism (notably, saving a baby from choking) she's quick to downplay it. It isn’t until Azula accidentally “bonds” with Mothra that she airs out her baggage to the others. Even then, she puts up a haughty front afterwards.

For much of the story, the cast has mixed feelings with Azula being among them. Aang is the most optimistic of them, being one who tries to see the best in everyone. Katara and Ty Lee are cautious about Azula, but warm up to her as her arc goes on. Then you got this asshole, Ty Lee's “boyfriend” Shirio (the fics only major OC) who takes “Azula is crazy and needs to be taken down” as gospel. Shirio has a hate boner for Azula, and soon makes it everyone’s problem.

While this is a Tyzula story, we don't go for “Caretaker Ty Lee”. In fact, Ty Lee’s arc is about being assertive.

Ty Lee doesn't immediately forgive Azula, nor does get relegated to Azula's support system. In fact, I'd say Aang would have more to do with helping Azula. Ty Lee has these mixed feelings, always second guessing herself whether she is just afraid of Azula or has buried romantic feelings for her. In fact, during the botched hijacking, Ty Lee is the one who fights Azula head on.

At first Ty Lee reconnects with a childhood friend of hers, Shirio, a minor Fire Nation noble trying to insert himself into Zuko’s circle. Shirio has a Nice Guy/White Knight complex, trying to be the “healthy/wholesome” savior to an “infantile/naïve” Ty Lee. Shirio also joins Aang’s expedition because Ty Lee’s on the trip.

Ty Lee spends much of the first half telling off Azula and standing up to herself, but bit by bit her resolve falters, and her more romantic feelings start to boil over. While Ty Lee herself isn't that instrumental to Azula's reformation, their relationship is used to juxtapose it. The more Azula heals and betters herself, the more she and Ty Lee start to reconnect, and it’s only when the walls break down does Ty Lee let her own walls break too.

By contrast, Shirio shows a more toxic side to Ty Lee (and everyone else).

Shirio's corruption arc is juxtaposed with Azula's redemption. At first Shirio seems like an enthusiastic friend looking to help the protagonists, but has a few red flags. Sure, he uses gaslighting tactics whenever Ty Lee second guesses herself. Sure, he self harms when things aren’t going his way. And when initially stranded, Shirio keeps an injured Ty Lee in an isolated camp, claiming everyone else was killed, to be “alone” with her, and feigns surprise/relief when they’re found. But y’know, he’s such a Nice Guy!

Anyways, the more Azula opens up, (re)connects with others and heals herself ? Shirio becomes more bitter, vindictive and unhinged, showing himself as the unstable monster he sees Azula as. He even silently considers smothering a baby because Azula “tainted” it by saving it from choking; he only doesn’t go through with it because he couldn’t get away with it. Later, Shirio helps awaken Bagan, deliberately provoking Bagan’s attack on two cities, getting hundreds of thousands of people killed; all because Ty Lee told him off and shared a dance with Azula at this ceremony they attend.

Azula’s first redemption moment (besides saving a baby) comes when she gets her hands on the WMD’s, but rather than manufacturing something that can kill the Titans, she instead uses it to power Godzilla, when he is left near dead by Ghidorah. The second is during the final battle with Ghidorah, where Azula pulls Kiyi from a river after Ghidorah has her throw herself in. Azula ends up resuscitating the unconscious Kiyi, and the first thing Kiyi does when she sees Azula is give her a hug.

At the end of her arc, Azula is in a much better place than we saw her before; she is even given a position of power in Republic City; I see post-redemption Azula as being “Reformed But Not Tamed Type”, putting her ruthlessness into being a businesswoman.

In a Korra era sequel, it’d be revealed Azula had a hand in the United Republics industrial development, investing in different industries. Specifically, she helped a young Hiroshi Sato develop Future Industries, and Hiroshi becomes very close to Azula and Ty Lee's daughter.

Yes, I’m implying what you think I’m implying

4. Other Stuff

So Azula's not a human antagonist, then who fills that spot ? Technically the United Republic, with the Three Nations bringing their armies together to stop Godzilla; Zuko leading and representing the Fire Nation, Hakoda for the Water Tribe, Kuei for the Earth Kingdom. I say “Antagonist” and not “Villain”; they're only antagonists because they're in opposition to the protagonists.

There’s no ill will with the protagonists. You see where they're coming from, and even if they're being manipulated and misguided by an Eldritch Dragon, they are uniting to stop what they see as a tangible threat to their people. And they do realize what they're doing was wrong and spend the third act trying to make things right.

Buuuuuut for a less nuanced Hate Sink ? Shirio’s your guy! Though he spends the last third of the story imprisoned after setting off Bagan’s rampage.

The third act plays out similarly to King of the Monsters, with a revived Godzilla battling an enhanced Ghidorah in the Fire Nations Imperial City. Godzilla would be backed up by the three armies, as well as Team Avatar and Azula. Ghidorah would eventually get overwhelmed and try to flee, but through Aang and Katara's water and air bending - enhanced by Mothra - Ghidorah's frozen solid mid air and explodes into a cloud of snow by Godzilla atomic breath.

Mothra would survive this fight, but would sense something “off world” and fly off to investigate. Godzilla leaves peacefully after staring down the survivors, and the Three Nations have to rebuild their societies. And Azula's in a much better place with her family, Mai, and especially Ty Lee.

Beyond that, there's really not much else to cover.

I remember writing this one sequence down that I really liked; it had Aang and his team (and Azula and hers) exploring the Uncharted Land's culture, and end up invited to a wedding. It was the “breather” episode of the story, with Aang sharing a dance with Katara, and Ty Lee sharing a dance with Azula.

In this sequence, we learn that this society has recreated/preserved songs from the Ancient World though various methods (mostly oral tradition). This is low key an excuse for IRL songs to exist in this story and it’s Korra era sequel.

I call it the “How Do I Live ?” sequence.

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