Atla Zuko - Tumblr Posts

𝐙𝐮𝐤𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐚

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬

𝑃𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔...

𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦𝐬

𝐴𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 | 𝑍𝑢𝑘𝑜 𝑥 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

𝐼𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑍𝑢𝑘𝑜’𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑓𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 1 ~ 𝐿𝑎𝑘𝑒

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 2 ~ 𝑇𝑜𝑤𝑛

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 3 ~ 𝐶ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛?

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔

𝐶𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑢𝑠 𝑆𝑛𝑜𝑤

𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐚

𝑍𝑢𝑘𝑜

𝑆𝑜𝑘𝑘𝑎 (𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑡)

𝐽𝑒𝑡 (𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑡)

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑦 𝐽𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠𝑜𝑛 (𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑡)

𝐿𝑢𝑘𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑛 (𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑡)

𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑈𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 (𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑡)

𝐿𝑒𝑜 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑧 (𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑡)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 100

𝐵𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑦 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑘𝑒 (𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑡)

𝐽𝑜ℎ𝑛 𝑀𝑢𝑟𝑝ℎ𝑦 (𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑡)

𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭

𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑏 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑟 (𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑡)

𝑇𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑎𝑠 (𝐹𝑜𝑢𝑟) 𝐸𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑛 (𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑡)

𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬

𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 (𝐵𝑎𝑏𝑦) | 𝐵𝑎𝑏𝑦 𝐷𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 (𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑡)

𝐵𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑑 (𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑡)

𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 | 𝐙𝐮𝐤𝐨 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦! 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟹 - 𝙲𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚗?

Warnings: none,

A/N: this is not my work, my it’s my sister’s from Wattpad

𝙿𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛

Narrator's P.O.V:

Oh god...

You turn around to a massive crowd of people that came seemingly out of nowhere.

"I think the price might be coming," Aurora says, staring out into the crowd trying to spot the royal family.

"You think?" You say bringing your hand up over your eyes to shield them from the sun. People fill the streets as far back as your vision goes, craning to get a look and the bachelor.

"I feel bad. For the girls, the majority of them won't even end up getting chosen. They'll probably end up beating themselves up, thinking they aren't pretty enough or something. It's heartbreaking honestly, no girl should have to go through that."

She just nods still peering into the crowd. "Wanna bet on who he'll pick? Feature-wise, it would be impossible to predict the exact person.” Aurora offers.

"Sure." Scanning the crowd my eyes land on a specific girl. Blonde, blue eyes, gorgeous.

In the past Zuko has dated one girl. That girl was Mai. So his wife will probably have her features.

"Black hair," I say all of a sudden, and Aurora turns to me with her eyebrow raised.

"What makes you think that?" asks Aurora.

"Educated guess. Based off of past girlfriends, or girlfriend I suppose."

With her jaw slightly dropped she turns to me, "That is FOUL,"

"What it's the truth?!" you defensively say back, and turn back to the crowd.

Suddenly Aurora takes your hand and drags you forward

"hey!" you say, in a slightly louder tone. "Where are you planning to go?"

She doesn't answer and just continues weaving through people carefully.

Well, this will be fun, you think, mentally rolling your eyes.

The girl weaves through the crowd eventually making it to a tall light post and hoisting herself onto it, gesturing for you to join her.

You plant your foot on the hard surface and step up, being careful to not lose your footing.

The crowd is still dense but at the new advantage point you can see slightly farther, and this includes a... carriage of some sort.

In a couple of seconds, the object comes more into your line of sight and you now realize what it is. Or rather what it is carrying.

The current fire lord and his close family, including Azula and Zuko sit in the vehicle, Azula waving to people as they pass and Zuko sitting still. He has a look on his face that looks, in the most simple terms, undecided, a mix of stoic and anger.

As the carriage moves closer you can tell that both Zuko and the Firelord are scanning the crowd thoroughly. Probably looking for a girl up to Zuko's standards. One they know is of age.

A couple of times the princess points into the crowd at girls but the prince rejects them every time.

"See what I said about him being picky," you whisper to Aurora and she stifles a laugh.

~

Zuko's P.O.V:

I don't understand why I can't just stay unmarried, it's not like the world is going to end if I don't have a spouse by the time I become Firelord.

I have great people skills.

Scanning the crowd my gaze lands on a couple of young women about my age. They're pretty but the second I make eye contact with them they squeal and make a big deal about it to their friends. Then they don't seem too pretty anymore.

I would rather I don't have a fan girl for a wife. It would just be... weird.

Don't get me wrong I don't want my wife to hate me but being obsessed with me before she even knows me is a bit unattractive.

My sister taps my shoulder to get my attention and points into the crowd at a young woman's wife with long black hair and tanned skin. The minute I look at her she faints, and I shake my head.

"This is stupid Father, why can't I just go wifeless," it's a bit of a risky question but I ask it anyway.

"I know very well that you cannot work a room, and you can cook and clean but refuse to," Father says, his voice filled with regret.

"Why would I do useless things like that when we have servants?" I ask and my father just shakes his head and turns back to scanning the crowd.

This is so idiotic...

~

Narrator's P.O.V:

As the family inches closer to you the crowd also seems to flow with them, some people pushing through it to follow them.

You could never...

Suddenly you lock eyes with the princess and maintain eye contact for a few seconds before looking away, you don't want her to kill you or something.

She nudges her brother who is right beside her and points right at you, making eye contact again.

Zuko scans the area she pointed at until his eyes land on you and they slightly widen for a fraction of a second. He gains his composure and examines you from head to toe glancing down and slowly raising his eyes back up again as if he needs to force himself to.

Weird

Once he raises his eyes back up his father is already beside him also looking at you and you try not to make a fool out of yourself in front of the entire royal family. Trying to read their lips is not as easy as it seems as they talk quickly and in brief sentences. "Her?... Pretty... and Go." Is all you can make out from your attempts. The family doesn't take their eyes off of you as they continue talking.

Strong arms suddenly wrap around you and you struggle thinking it is some sort of criminal before you get a glance at the clothes they are wearing, the royal guard uniform?

When you turn your head you see Aurora also being taken away by a different guard as you two are pulled backward. In turn, the crowd parts behind you watching the scene play out, whispers and murmuring spreading throughout it.

Fuck.

~~~~~~~~~~~♕♔~~~~~~~~~~~

𝙽𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜:

𝙿𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐...

𝙿𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜:

Tumblr

𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 | 𝐙𝐮𝐤𝐨 𝐱 𝐟!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷 ~ 𝙻𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝚗𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚂𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢: 𝑌𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑜…

Tumblr

𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 | 𝐙𝐮𝐤𝐨 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸 ~ 𝚃𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝙽𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝙰/𝙽: 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛’𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚙𝚊𝚍. Word count: 1295 𝙿𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 Narrator's P.O.V:…

Oof there would be a lot more if tags didn't haven't limits on them

reblog and put in the tags which fictional character you would marry

Unpopular Opinion #1:

Zutara should have been canon.

I mean... Aunt Wu said that Katara would marry a powerful bender... 🤔

…

this means Aang is like 4’4 (maybe) in the animated show (I understand he’s like 12 in the beginning but still 😭)— my guy had one hell of a growth spurt by the time he was an adult! So how tall were the both of them because this don’t seem right this don’t add up?!!!

Made this forever ago and found it!

It's based on that pidgin girl meme!

i love this type of AU so much!! Like, Ursa running and taking little Zuko and Azula to the south pole is such a cool idea. I read an AU on ao3 recently where when Ursa realized she was going to have Azula she faked her death and took little 1 year old Zuko to the south pole. The AU also had Ursa running away when she was 7 or 8 from her parents and ending up on Kyoshi Island and meeting Kya and they dubbed each other sisters in that AU, but this post reminds me of that

au where ursa takes the kids and runs and goes to the south pole because idgaf and then she meets single mom kya whos husband tragically died in battle and they become fridged mom powercouple and also we have one set of siblings who have to go and save the avatar

My Avatar Yue AU

So, in this AU Yue is the Avatar, but I guess that was pretty obvious by the title. A few pockets of airbenders survived and one of them sought refuge in the Northern Water Tribe (the Northerners respect the air nomad culture and don't meddle with it. as for teaching women bending, female airbenders learn airbending, if only for the fact that they aren't considered learning combat because air nomads are pacifists)

Yue knows she can waterbend, but is only allowed to learn healing because the Northern Water Tribe is still sexist. Nobody knows Yue is the Avatar for a long time, Arnook figures it out when Yue is about 12-13 and keeps it from everyone because the north shouldn't get involved with the war. Aang is an Airbender only, and he is born in the North Pole. Aang and Yue are best friends.

Shortly before Yue's 16th birthday she overhears her dad and Pakku talking in another room: Arnook wants to tell Yue she's the Avatar, but Pakku is trying to convince him otherwise. Yue ends up saying something (i'm not sure if I should word it as a confrontation because Yue doesn't seem like the confrontational type [yet] but more just shock and 'you were keeping secrets about me, from me'). Yue tells Aang about a day later and he suggests going to the South Pole (they don't know all the waterbenders there are gone) we still have Appa, so they decide to run away (they each pack a bag first, and Yue leaves a letter for her dad). Yue's Avatar guide animal is gonna be some sort of rabbit hybrid, I just don't know what to cross it with.

Yue isn't going to learn the elements in order, mainly because she has a master airbender with her from the start.

Sokka is 17 in this AU, so in my mind he was just old enough to go with his dad and all the other men. At some point more recently he got separated from everyone else and ends up trying to find his way to the South Pole for some reason. Also, he has a scar, but I'm thinking he got it in a really stupid way, like he slipped down a hill with some sharp rocks or something.

Ty Lee is an airbender, too. Azula and Ty Lee find this out at the same time. Ursa tried to be a better mom for Azula, so Azula actually cares about at least one person in this (Ty Lee) and they run away from the Fire Nation and kind of just hide in the Earth Kingdom woods. Maybe Azula does some random vigilante shit. I don't know what I'm doing with Mai yet, though.

I'm debating if Katara left the South Pole at some point earlier. She might have because she wouldn't have a reason to leave like the same timeline, I just need to find a new motive for her to leave (probably going to find Sokka for some reason. Maybe Hakoda sent a message that Sokka got separated from everyone else?), and maybe she left when she was like, 13. I'm thinking that maybe she ends up stranded in the fire nation and gets taken in by none other than Hama. Katara hasn't had her emotional growth and is still Katara from the beginning of season 1 and she doesn't have Sokka or Aang for moral support and I think she would be a bit more impressional... aka, I'm gonna have Hama teach Katara waterbending and bloodbending.

So, back to plot. Yue and Aang start travelling to the south pole, of course they are stopping along the way and will meet some people. First, in the semi-north woods of the Earth Kingdom, Yue and Aang meet Azula and Ty Lee. Now, I don't think Yue trusts them... yet, and neither does Azula (as in she doesn't really trust Yue and Aang) Ty Lee is more trusting, and so is Aang, especially after he finds out Ty Lee is also an airbender. Azula and Ty Lee agree to join Aang and Yue. Yue and Azula agree to sort-of trust each other.

Soon enough, Aang agrees to start teaching Yue and Ty Lee airbending as they travel. Ty Lee has already airbended a bit and can pick up on the techniques to improve a bit easier. Yue on the other hand, has never airbended before and has to figure out how to do it. Maybe Yue is slightly jealous that Ty Lee is getting it quicker than her. After some help from both of them she'll get it.

As they head further south Azula reveals stuff about the comment (I have no idea how to get Roku to tell Yue about the comet and all that stuff, and Azula would know when the comet is coming, even if she's been gone for at least a year). Azula also currently refuses to teach Yue any firebending; half because she doesn't think Yue can handle another element yet, and half because she doesn't want to try to train someone (and probably doesn't yet trust herself to teach someone).

They end up a short while north of Kyoshi Island when a strange boy they don't know comes out of the trees. This boy is Sokka. They help Sokka get to the south pole to see his sister, but he also tells him that his sister, Katara, is the last waterbender in the south pole, severely deflating Yue. They still accompany him. They all find out Katara left about half-a-year earlier to find Sokka. Zuko has been tracking the person he's hearing about, the Avatar. Zuko however, still believes the Avatar is an airbender. So, hims and Iroh have been tracking the Avatar across the globe, to the south pole. Zuko still captures Aang under the impression that he is the Avatar, and Aang just goes along with it because he wants to protect his friends. Yue, Sokka, Azula, and Ty Lee go to rescue him. Azula is not in any way happy to see her brother, and still feels like she is better than him, I'm not sure if she'll get involved if not just so I can leave Zuko's reaction to her being there for later.

Soon enough, Azula agrees to teach Yue the basics of firebending. I think this might be the hardest element for Yue to master, Yue is the embodiment of water (specifically moon water) in my head, and fire is the opposite of water. if anyone has any other ideas for what the hardest element for Yue to get would be, please leave a comment.

Anyway, from there we are gonna briefly go to Kyoshi Island. They won't stay long enough for Zuko to follow them there, though. I just need them to meet Suki.

Now, when they get further into the Earth Kingdom they meet Toph. Yue and Azula know how to talk to upper-class people and are able to subtly lie to convince Toph's parents to let her come with them under the guise of Avatar political meeting things. Toph will be starting to train Yue earthbending after a little while.

I haven't figured out how Zuko's redemption would go in this yet, or how the battle of the north happens, if it even does.

They will be meeting Katara at some point, I haven't figured out if it will be when they go to the fire nation or before that. The whole Eclipse invasion will still happen. Katara will definitely be at least slightly more aggressive, essentially a bit of Dark!Katara. She would definitely be extremely aggressive towards Azula specifically. She also still hasn't had any sort of resolve of her mother's death, and it has fuelled her anger (through Hama's manipulation, I'm gonna call it that because she's using Kya's death as a point to make Katara angry at the fire nation) like, she's probably willing to kill someone in this AU, and more likely to actually do it than canon Katara.

Katara is gonna teach Yue combat waterbending, in exchange Yue could teach her healing and Katara can become a bit closer to canon Katara.

This post was originally gonna have multiple fic ideas I have for AtLA but this post got really long with this fic alone, so, I'll talk about other stuff later on.

Also, a bit of this was inspired by another tumblr post, but I never kept the link, so I can't link it, I'm sorry. I also don't remember who the post was by.

Appa hated it, at first. Fire was the element of the enemy, and Appa’s time away from his family only solidified that notion. Fire destroys, fire is an agent of chaos. Fire has no master. Fire burns.

Appa had thought it was over, that his weeks of flying the Earth Kingdom alone trying to find Aang would be cut short when he didn’t have the strength to fight his way out the his chains underneath Lake Laogi. He was smarter than most other animals, and knew his death was approaching much quicker than he ever thought.

He thought he would die by fire, not by earth.

Even with the Blue Spirit mask on, Appa still knew who had come to see him in chains. He reared up an anger and fear, but the metal links clanked taut, and he could not even get close to the figure.

Then, Prince Zuko has let him go.

It would sometimes get cold being so high in the mountains, the wind whistling through the odd structure of the Western Air Temple. Sometimes, Aang and his friends would curl around the Fire Prince, Aang’s claimed space always with his head pillowed against his firebending teacher’s belly, his cheek turned into the fabric of Zuko’s shirt. Sometimes the Avatar would drool a little, but Zuko would just give a gentle smile, and not bother to wake him.

When is was raining and the temperature dropped even farther, Zuko would sometimes breathe a small breath of fire above them, warming the air around them.

Aang’s arms would unconsciously wrap tighter around Zuko’s waist, humming in approval at the additional warmth.

Appa wasn’t afraid of Zuko’s fire.

Not when he was teaching Aang how to do the same thing, not when he was the one who freed him, not when it was his breathing that kept them warm on chilly nights.

Sometimes, when they were all asleep, including Zuko, Appa would snuggle against the Fire Prince’s head, (as well as he could, anyway) and did his best to keep him warm, too.

Fire was no longer an enemy, fire was his family.

Honestly what I would not have given for Season 3, redeemed Zuko to have been ridiculously passive to everything Katara said to him before they had their field trip.

Katara: “You won’t have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I’ll make sure it ends right there. Permanently.”

Zuko: “That’s fair.”

Katara: “Maybe you’re just not as good as you think you are.”

Zuko: “No you right.”

Zuko: “I don’t deserve this.”

Katara: “Yeah, you don’t.”

Zuko: "So we are in agreement."

Katara is just absolutely baffled because he literally just won't let her insult him because he insults himself.

No one insults Zuko but Zuko.

Zuko is like that suitcase in the airport bagging area that goes unclaimed for like 12 years and then when they finally decide to get rid of it they realize it’s full of gold bars.

The amount of sheer joy Iroh must have felt when Izumi was born

Let’s be real.

The day Ozai banished Zuko was also the day he lost the war.

“Uncle?”

The light knock came at the door to the Jasmine Dragon’s office,set back away from the dining room. The teashop had been closed for about an hour now, and Iroh had been working on paperwork in the back room. The setting sun streams through his window, and his seat was comfortable and his tea was hot.

He hadn’t expected anyone to still be in the restaurant- so he startled a little at the voice, until not only the voice but the word registered.

His heart fluttered a little, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. He was happy in Ba Sing Se, he was, but every day his heart ached a little for his nephew, wanting to be with him.

The door cracked open, and Iroh stood up to greet his nephew. The young man sensed permission to come in, and the smile in his eyes nearly brought tears to Iroh’s.

Before Iroh was able to get out of his seat, Zuko had already crossed the room, placing a brightly colored package on the desk. “It’s good to see you, Uncle. I know you weren’t expecting me, I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

Just the thought of Zuko interrupting anything seemed outlandish to Iroh, as Zuko was more important than anything in his life. “No, no, of course not, nephew. But what brings you here? Surely the throne is keeping you busy.” Iroh hoped there was no bad news.

In response, Zuko gestured to the package he had brought in, smiling, “I brought you something.”

Iroh looked down. The package was long and rectangular, like a book. It was wrapped neatly in thick red paper, a simple golden bow was elegantly wrapped around it.

He picked up the package, looking up at Zuko, who gestured for him to open it. Iroh slowly pulled at the ribbon, undoing the bow. The red paper was easily unwrapped, and Iroh was truly shocked at what laid in his hands.

Mounted in wood and glass, was a painting. In a delicate hand, black ink stretched across parchment, both smooth and jagged lines curving into the roots and branches of a tree.

It was beautiful, and must have cost a fortune, as he surveyed the details in the background behind the tree, the small and low buildings making a bustling market. Intricate blades of grass dotted the landscape, the sky and clouds painted so lightly they almost weren’t there. The skyline met a wall, that stretched across the back of the city…

Iroh stared. The details slowly began to click into place, and before he could even attempt to stop them, tears sprang to Iroh’s eyes.

“Zuko, this…this is…”

“I thought that, since he’s there, the tree should be immortalized in someway. To preserve the memory.”

Iroh was staring at a painting of the tree in Ba Sing Se, the tree his son was buried under.

His smile wobbled, and he looked up at his nephew, who had a light smile on his face— Zuko seemed hesitant to say more, as if he wasn’t sure if his uncle’s tears were of joy or not.

But his uncle immediately moved around the desk towards his nephew. Zuko was a fair bit taller than him now, at least a good 6 inches, so Iroh’s hug ran around Zuko’s waist, putting his head on his nephew’s chest. He squeezed tight, tears slipping from his eyes.

“Thank you. Thank you, Zuko. I love it. I love it.”

“I’m glad you do— I was a little worried it would be…too painful.”

Iroh shook his head against his nephew. “No, no. I miss Lu Ten, every day, but… I also have you.”

Iroh could just make out the faint beat of Zuko’s heart against his cheek, his second son, wonderfully alive.

“Whenever it becomes too much, I think of you. You are what gets me through the bad days. I love you.”

“I love you too, Uncle,” there was a smile in Zuko’s voice, “Happy Father’s Day.”

Modern!A:TLA AU Headcanons regarding transportation:

Aang:

-rides a bicycle

-saving up for a Nissan Leaf (refuses to get anything else)

-calls Katara if he needs to go anywhere long distance (he has a seatbelt for his Old English Sheepdog, Appa)

-has AUX cord privileges: plays pop and classic 80s rock (ex. Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” or anything by Shawn Mendes)

-rolls down all of Katara’s windows on the highway

Katara:

-Toyota RAV 4

-has 7 first aid kits in her trunk

-always goes 5 MPH below the speed limit

-is denied AUX cord privileges (too much Taylor Swift, Sokka complained)

-Bath and Body Works air freshener

-has never been pulled over

-DDS (Designated Driver Supreme)

Sokka:

-Ford F-150 (he bought it from Suki)

-award for most parking tickets

-5 months behind on his oil change

-SOMETIMES get the AUX cord: plays electronic music from YouTube channels or popular rap (ex. Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”)

Toph:

-the Queen of Uber

-the most fun on road trips

-had AUX cord privileges, but they were revoked when she made a playlist that was just 72 minutes of Toto’s “Africa”

Zuko:

-either an Audi or a Lexus

-inside and outside of car is immaculate

-regrets having leather seats in the summer

-Little Tree Black Ice air freshener

-gets pulled over the most

-occasionally gets the AUX cord: plays Panic! At the Disco, Fall Out Boy, and select Avril Lavigne songs (think “Complicated” era)

-Iroh cannot drive therefore Zuko has to drive him everywhere: he insists on paying for gas but Zuko never lets him

-maybe has a motorcycle??? IDK I feel like he and Sokka could be Motorbike Buddies

Bones

Skeletons of war aren’t in the closet, they hide in plain sight. 

The first sign of war is on display in each one of the air temples: actual skeletons of a people who were killed amidst kindness, left hollow by the passing of a century.

The Fire Lord who helped end the war will return to one of these temples, years after the war has been won. He will go alone, and he will scour the Southern Air Temple for weeks. 

When he returns, he will gift the Avatar with the record of his birth, found in a library turned to dust, dirt, unburnt. 

The Avatar will cry, and feel more connected to his new family and his old than he ever has before, but the Fire Lord knows the Air Nomads will never come back. 

The second sign of war is the soldiers through the Earth Kingdom, disciplined and barbaric alike. 

The same Fire Lord will remember a young boy with his brother stolen for the front lines, who turned on him when he knew who he (his family, his legacy) really was. He will remember a girl’s kindness, repaid in rapacity. He will remember all the the charred earth he had seen, and a boy who died beneath a lake. 

The villages will be rebuilt, the soldiers brought home, and a baby ostrich horse will find a new home. A Fire Nation village, nestled in an Earth Kingdom forest, will be instructed to leave the intricate hideouts in the trees where they are. 

The Fire Lord won’t stay in these towns long enough to hear them say thank you, feeling he would break if he ever heard such a lie as gratefulness to him.  

Third, the destruction of the Southern water benders, an entire bending discipline now resting on the shoulders of a single water bender, made terrified by the prospect of unyielding control under the light of a full moon. 

He will release the prisoner who had taught her to blood bend into the water bender’s custody, and lets her decide what she sees fit (she looks into her eyes, blue bearing into gray, and demand imprisonment for eternity, both in body and in spirit).The young Fire Lord will see the relief and gratitude in her eyes, and ignore the loud protests of his advisors, who wanted the woman executed. But looking at Katara, he feels as though the Fire Nation should get no say in the matter. 

And the fourth is the Fire Lord himself, broken by a lineage of war and deceit, and even though he tries, even though he is reassured he has done more than what anyone expected of him, gone above and beyond, he will never be able to shake the feeling of guilt for a heritage he did not choose. 

He hides this skeleton in the closet, and smiles for the other nations, for his friends, but he feels it in his bones and in his soul. Every night he takes out the skeleton he made of these bones and dances with it, in the form of pacing, shaking, the thought of rest ever so a foreign concept. The night he arrives at the Southern Water Tribe (for the second time) greeted by Sokka with an embrace (he remembers tossing him to the side before), he will lay awake and clench his jaw, trying so hard not to think about Katara, the last water bender in the south pole. He will help rebuild the villages and towns and pay reparations to the Earth Kingdom, doubting his choice only in the case of Yu Dao, and even years later, is scared to think he actually made the wrong choice. He will help the Avatar rebuild the ties to the spirit world, replanting trees into a lush forest, a statue watching them gratefully in the distance. He will grip his hands, plaster a smile on his face, when Aang’s voice hitches when he talks about the air benders, and waits until he is alone at night to sob. 

The Fire Lord is haunted by ghosts and bones alike, the balance within him forever off kilter. So the Fire Lord carves every lost water bender, every Earth Kingdom family ripped apart, and every air nomad corpse into his own bones, a promise to always be redeeming, a darkness he takes with him to the grave.

Something I noticed that I thought was kind of cool is that Appa liking Zuko is the reason Aang even listened to him at first.

The reason the Earth King heard Team Avatar out when they were trying to convince him Long Feng was corrupt and they were at war was because Bosco liked Aang.

The animals, man. They know.

*on the Day of Black Sun*

Ozai: Why wait? You have your swords and I’m defenseless. You could just kill me now.

Zuko:…

Zuko: Shit, you right.

Ozai: WAIT NO

Cargo

Appa knew that he was more than just transportation. 

He knew that he was a member of their family, the same as any human would be. 

Appa and Aang had an unbreakable bond, something he knew even before he was lost, but was solidified by the deep ache inside of the bison that had nothing to do with hunger. Appa missed Aang so much that it manifested into a physical form, and only abated on the shores of Lake Laogai, when Aang hugged him deep and Appa felt the boys tears as he whispered “I missed you, buddy.” 

Appa could not speak words that Aang could understand, nor could the bison cry to show how much he missed Aang, but Appa felt that Aang already knew.

Katara had always believed in Appa, even when sometimes the bison was unsure of himself. She encouraged him when he flew through Fire Nation blockades, desserts that stretch out endlessly, and when the Day of Black Sun came, she fought by his side, not as a master but as a comrade. 

Katara is the one who always kept a hand on him in caves, her touch comforting like winter’s first snowfall. 

Sokka, Appa had to earn his belief, and in a way, that's its own merit— Sokka believed when it was proven, and that meant that it was solid— Appa’s strength and abilities where solid, and Sokka saw that. Sokka had painstakingly designed sky bison armor, something that had never been done before, simply because he felt Appa deserved to be protected. 

It meant more to Appa than Sokka will ever know. 

Toph was different than the others, her measure of strength not coming from what she could see, but rather, what she could feel. In the desert, Appa understood the sheer amount of strength it took to hold up Wan Shi Tong’s library, while at the same time trying desperately to protect him in the sand. two monumental tasks that any earthbender but Toph would have almost no hope of achieving. In the end, despite everything he went through, Appa supported Toph’s choice, because it kept his family from being buried forever. 

Toph apologized in hushed whispers outside the Earth King’s palace, trying to hold tears back, but Appa felt he didn’t need forgive her for the choice she made, so he nuzzled against her and slept outside her window that night. 

Zuko was complicated in many ways, and Appa has seen him in many different complicated ways. An enemy, a reluctant ally, a friend, his family and as a savior. Appa wasn’t sure what it was that came over Zuko as his uncle pleaded with him under Lake Laogai, but when Zuko struck the chains off of him, Appa felt something deep inside the Fire Prince that would not be forgotten. Months later, when he came to train Aang, Appa knew he was destined to be his fire bending teacher, and to be apart of their family. 

When Zuko used his bending late at night to warm the chilly caverns of the Western Air Temple, breathing gentle flames into the air over the sleeping group, Appa didn’t rear back in fear, he huddled closer to Zuko’s warmth. 

They didn’t think of him as an animal, and he didn’t think of them as anything other than family. 

The five lives he carried on his back, the one who he was frozen for 100 years with, the one who comforts him with a touch, the one who was skeptical but truly thought he was magical, the one who fought for him despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered, and the one who trusted him even as he was falling to his death, were the precious cargo that Appa carried.

He would protect them, no mater what.