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ragewerthers · 3 years

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To Defeat A Dragon

Summary: With the 100 year war behind them and the battles now lying more in the council room then on the battlefield, Sokka and Zuko take a moment to reminisce over the last few years.

However, reminiscing comes with a few surprises for Zuko when he forgets something rather important about the spars he used to have with Sokka. But no worries... Sokka is more than happy to remind him.

A/n: Hello and Merry christmas, my friend!!! I am the secret santa for @calmturquoise for the Squealing Santa 2020! Thank you for giving me the chance to write something so sweet for these two and getting to join in on the fun of ATLA again!

I also want to thank @ticklygiggles for hosting this event again! You're amazing and I’m so happy I got to participate in this once more!

The prompt was for some sweet, platonic Sokka and Zuko and I was so excited to get the chance to write these two!!!

You can also read on AO3 at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28308495

Enjoy! :)

Word Count: 2941

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“I think they’re deliberately starting to make those Council meetings longer,” Zuko grumbled, shifting uncomfortably where he now rested. Currently, he was sat at the edge of the small turtleduck pond in the middle of the royal gardens. Attempting to alleviate the ache in his back he went to sit up a little straighter. The result was his back cracking in a way that was probably unhealthy for someone who was only twenty-three, but really he should’ve known this would be par for the course. Growing up a child warrior really isn’t kind to the bones in the long run. Wincing at the dull ache it left behind it wasn’t enough to distract him from the snort of his less than empathetic friend.

“No, buddy. You’re just finally starting to become the cranky old man you always were inside,” Sokka teased, practically laying beside Zuko as he reclined back on his elbows… before promptly collapsing next to the Firelord with a yelp. A charlie ostrihorse had aggressively decided to seize the muscles in his shoulders and neck and all he could do was roll around in the grass like a crazy person. Apparently, Zuko wasn’t the only one starting to feel the effects of those long meetings.

Zuko instantly smirked at the reaction, happy to see Sokka getting a taste of the elderly lifestyle they now lived in apparently.

“First of all, you deserve all of what’s happening to you right now,” Zuko said, waving his hand in the direction of Sokka’s prone form. “Second of all, what do you mean cranky?! I’m a ray of sunshine.”

The words were spoken so deadpan that Sokka instantly snorted with a bit of pained laughter, still clutching the side of his neck as he lay on the ground. “Don’t d-do thahat! Can’t you s-see I’m hurting?!” he whined, though his smile still remained as he looked over at his best friend. “But yes… how could I forget, oh great Firelord, that the sun is literally supposed to shine out of your butt?”

Zuko finally broke into a more open smile, sitting up a little straighter and nodding. “And don’t you forget it,” he joked, getting another ridiculous giggle from Sokka.

After a few more minutes, the pain finally seemed to subside as the water tribesman was able to sit up with a wince. Rolling his shoulder a bit to try and work out the last of the kink he couldn’t stop himself from letting out an almost wistful sigh. “But isn’t it a bit sad? I didn’t think it was possible to get aches and pains from just sitting! Remember the good old days of our youth when we could spar for hours and hours and we wouldn’t even be phased?”

“What do you mean ‘the good old days of our youth’? You’re only a year younger than me,” Zuko said with a little roll of his eyes as he began to remove his crown. With no further meetings scheduled for the day he figured he might as well be comfortable. Setting it beside himself on the grass he settled back against the tree, ignoring the look Sokka was giving him.

“Hey! We’re older than we were back then, right? So… those are the days of our youth! And you ignored the question,” he huffed.

“Oh… you were actually looking for an answer to your ramblings?” Zuko teased, a small smile fighting to quirk up the corners of his lips as he tried to ignore Sokka puffing his cheeks up like a toddler. Oh yeah… the man obviously had matured so much since those days. “Okay, okay. I do remember. I still consider myself proficient with the dual dao, but I think you’re right. With sitting most of our days away, I’m sure it hasn’t done our skills any favors.”

Sokka’s pout instantly retreated, replaced with a light smile as Zuko agreed with him. “Right? Not to mention that it was always super satisfying every time I won which, I mean, was almost always after our first few spars,” he said smugly, causing the Firelord to instantly focus on him.

“I’m sorry… what?” Zuko asked, his eyes narrowed and voice almost dangerously low.

Sadly, enough time and shared moments between them meant that Sokka no longer feared the ‘fire scowl’. Instead, his smug smile only grew. “You heard me. You may have handed my ass to me the first few times we spared, but after that I almost never lost another fight against you.”

“.... did that cramp do something to your memory?” Zuko wondered aloud. “It must’ve because if memory serves, you almost never won against me. You came close a number of times, but I was almost always the victor.”

However, regardless of how insistent his statement, that smug smile still remained on Sokka’s face as the Southern Water Tribesman sat up beside his friend. “Nope. I’m afraid old age has started to rust up those memories of yours, Sifu Hotman. I won almost all of our spars and I can’t believe you’ve forgotten.”

“......... did you drink one of Uncle’s experimental teas again? You know he almost killed himself doing that once!” Zuko warned, because that was the only way that Sokka could possibly think that he had won so many of their duels.

But something akin to worry grew in Zuko’s chest when he saw Sokka’s smile turning from smug to something a little more dangerous.

“Oh my dear Jerkbender. I think you’ve forgotten that while you may have had the upperhand most of the time when we were dueling, I found out a secret move. Because I remembered a universal truth about dragons.”

Oh yeah… Sokka definitely drank the experimental teas. He’d warned uncle that cactus juice wasn’t to be messed with!

Zuko quirked an eyebrow at the comment before closing his eyes to calm his temper. Taking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, he turned once more to look at his friend. “Okay, buddy. Let’s get you to the healers,” he began gently, carefully reaching forward to rest his hand on Sokka’s shoulder. “I think they have a remedy for thi-HIHIS?!”

Immediately his arm moved back from Sokka to cover his side as an electric feeling zipped through his veins.

Sokka was only just keeping himself from laughing beside him, his fingers still poised from where they’d managed a small nibbling pinch against the Firelord's lower ribs. “The thing about dragons…,” Sokka continued, ignoring Zuko’s insistence on getting him medical attention. “... is that all of them have a soft spot. Once you find it… you can defeat it. And I was lucky enough to find a dragon with more weak spots then most.”

Suddenly Zuko remembered almost every one of his spars with Sokka… and with it the memory of an evil, horrible truth. Sokka had indeed won most of their spars after the first few. Because that cheating dunderhead had accidentally found out that Zuko… was horrendously ticklish.

And judging from the look Sokka was leveling him with his friend was looking to make sure he definitely remembered this little fact.

“S-Sokka! Sokka, listen to me… don’t you da-AH!” he shouted, rolling away just in time as Sokka attempted to tackle him into the grass. Quickly, Zuko managed to get up onto his knees, trying to get his feet underneath him to stand, but fate decided to deal him a cruel hand once more. His Fire nation robes for all the brilliance and regality they offered him to onlookers were far from practical. Long and flowing silks were seen as traditional and although he’d made many reforms in his time already on the throne, fashion hadn’t quite made it to the table yet. Thus, as he attempted to flee from his friend, his feet only managed to step on the front of his robes, stopping his movements and pausing him just long enough to land himself in Sokka’s clutches.

Before he knew it, two strong arms were already locked around his waist and Zuko attempted to use his words once more to try and plead his case for freedom.

Of course… when had that ever played out in his favor? “Sokka! S-Sokka, I remember, okay? You…. y-you don’t have to do this!” Zuko attempted to sound reasonable and less nervous then he felt, though he realized stuttering over his words lost a little bit of that authoritative tone he was aiming for.

“Oh, I realize I don’t have to do this,” Sokka teased, crooking the fingers of his left hand to press in just a little bit more against Zuko’s side making the young Firelord gasp and bite his lower lip to stay quiet. “But at this point I feel it is my duty to remind Lord Jerkbender about this so he doesn’t forget who the number one spar master is.”

“Spar master isn’t even a thing! You can’t just give yourself titles like th-ahahat! Ah! Nonono!” Zuko’s small diatribe instantly died on his lips as Sokka’s fingers began to wriggle against his side, a few rather unbecoming giggles already breaking free before he reined himself in again.

“What was that? Were you backsassing Sokka the mighty dragon slayer?!” Sokka teased, though he couldn’t help smiling as he already heard the familiar rasp of Zuko’s laughter. This was going to be far too entertaining. How could he pass up this opportunity?

“Dragon slayer?! You’re ridiculous! Let me gohohoahahaha! Stahp it! Stahahahap!” Zuko felt the flutter of Sokka’s other hand where it rested against his lower ribs on the opposite side. Immediately the jolt of ticklish sensations raced through him and he felt his knees already starting to turn to jelly beneath him. Of all of the things he could be weak against, something as silly as tickling was more than enough to sap his strength. Sokka’s smirk came back as he heard that, his fingers, scribbling lightly over both the Firelord’s sides. Working in tandem his fingers lightly brushed along the vulnerable area before massaging quickly into his lower ribs. If memory served, this had been one of the better weak spots of this particular dragon.

“WAHAIT!” Zuko cried out, his laughter finally breaking free from those raspy giggles to something lighter and more carefree. Honestly, it was something Sokka had been so proud to draw out all those years ago when Zuko was still that broody teenager who had joined their gaang. He had been so awkward and to be fair, their dear jerkbender still kinda was, but after attempting through sheer bullheadedness to forge a friendship with him, Sokka honestly couldn’t have been prouder to call him his best friend.

And what kind of best friend would he be if he didn’t tease and taunt Zuko into never forgetting his super awesome new title that he just came up with? A terrible one… and Sokka refused to be a terrible friend.

“Wait? Wait for what? Oh! Were you going to finally call me by my proper title?” Sokka teased as he moved one of his hands down to squeeze along Zuko’s right hip.

Zuko instantly jumped at the sensation, feeling his legs finally starting to cave under him as he attempted to curl up in Sokka’s hold to escape the sensations. He could feel his cheeks and ears heating up as his laugh bubbled up unbidden, the noise still slightly foreign to him even after all these years. However, Sokka had never seemed to have a problem drawing it out of him. He just wished he had remembered that before drawing out the ‘dragon slayer’ once more.

“Nehehehever!” Zuko growled out between his laughter, his hands weakly attempting to push away Sokka’s to no avail. “Ihihit’s a… a stuhupid naha-EHEHEHE! STAHAHP IT Y-YOU AHAHAHASS!” Zuko’s strength finally gave out as his legs buckled beneath him, though with Sokka’s arms around him he was easily lowered to the ground. Sadly this did nothing for his current situation as Sokka had seemed to remember another one of his worst spots.

His stomach.

“Doth my ears deceive me? Did you just call my regal and totally awesome title stupid?! How dare you, good sir!” Sokka teased, his arm braced carefully around Zuko as his other vibrated quickly right against the center of Zuko’s stomach. He’d learned very early on that the easiest way to break Zuko’s concentration and resolve was a nice little attack on this particular area. “You know how to get this to stop, Zuko! Admit that I am the best dragon slayer in the world!”

Zuko snorted as Sokka’s hand began to scribble all around the hyper ticklish spot, trying to shimmy this way and that out of the man's hold to get away from the maddening touch. However, practically sitting on the ground with a tickle monster clung to your back really didn’t leave much wiggle room and Zuko realized his chances of freedom were slim. But his pride just wouldn’t allow for him to admit defeat just yet!

“Thahahaha’ts not e-even a thihihing! I re-refuhuhuse to gihihive in t-to yo-AHAHA! STAHP IT! STAHPSTAHPSTAHAHAHAP!” Zuko instantly broke into the most wild and ridiculous laughter as Sokka snuck one of his hands under his arm, his fingers spidering quickly against Zuko’s underarm in a way that drove the firebender crazy with ticklish laughter. Zuko instantly snapped his arms to his sides, trapping Sokka’s hand against his armpit while the man's other hand continued to scribble and send nibbling pinches all along his stomach.

“Admit it! Admit that I’m the best!” Sokka called over Zuko’s loud laughter, the sound of it making him smile like an idiot even as a few chuckles escaped him. Spirits, it really had been far too long since he’d seen Zuko let loose like this even just a bit. Maybe this was something they needed in their lives a bit more? It definitely wouldn’t hurt after all the droll and intense meetings they were forced to go to day in and day out.

Meanwhile, Zuko was dying. The Kiyoshi warriors were going to show up here to see that their poor Firelord had met his end at the hands of a ridiculous man who had a pension for coming up with truly terrible titles for things! Sadly he couldn’t dwell on his dramatic end as Sokka’s fingers were still attacking two of his worst spots. Zuko knew that there really was only one way out of this. “OKAHAHAY! O-OKAY I AHAHADMIT IHIHIT!” Zuko cried out with unrestrained laughter, feeling the tickling slowing down just a little to keep him giggling ridiculously.

“What was that? Are you trying to tell me something, buddy?” Sokka teased, his fingers wriggling lightly against Zuko’s armpit as the other hand focused on a particularly sensitive spot on the side of the firebenders stomach.

Zuko snorted and kicked his legs out weakly before nodding. “Y-yes! You… you’re the behehehest gah! Not thehehere! Not there plehehease! Agnihihi why-hehehe?!” Zuko giggled hysterically as Sokka found that spot on his stomach. Taking as deep a breath as possible he tried to once more to make his bid for freedom! “Y-You’re the behehehest drahagon slahahahayer! Plehehehase!”

Sokka’s fingers immediately stopped their torment, chuckling a bit to himself. “See? That wasn’t so hard was it?” he teased, patting Zuko’s back as he helped the man sit up, watching the firebender wiping away tears of mirth from his eyes as residual giggles still managed to escape.

“Yes. Y-yes it was,” Zuko shot back, though as he turned to look at his friend, the smile on his face was more relaxed, even after the mini battle he’d just had to endure. “I can’t believe I… forgot what a… giant pain in the ass you were after you figured that out.”

It was Sokka’s turn to laugh as he heard that and he felt his smile growing all the more fond. “It was probably one of my greatest discoveries and I will cherish it forever! Not many people can say they bested the Firelord,” Sokka teased, lightly nudging Zuko with his elbow and getting a chuckle in response.

“That’s fair. But really? Dragon slayer?” Zuko asked, trying to earn back a bit of dignity as he attempted to straighten out his traitorous robes.

“What? It makes me sound so cool!” Sokka cried out dramatically, making it incredibly hard for Zuko not to roll his eyes.

“I’m still not convinced you didn’t try one of uncle’s teas,” Zuko murmured, though he smiled regardless. “And I hope you know that this is the last time the mighty ‘dragon slayer’ is going to win. I won’t be caught with my guard down like that again.”

“Oh? Is that a challenge, Jerkbender?” Sokka teased, leaning closer and wiggling his fingers threateningly.

Zuko couldn’t suppress a snort of laughter as he pushed Sokka’s face away gently with his palm. “I’m too old for your nonsense,” he joked, making Sokka laugh brightly.

“Nah. We’re still young at heart. That’s all that matters,” Sokka said with a fond smile. “And if you ever forget that as well, I’m more than happy to remind you again about the days of our youth.”

Shaking his head, but with a fond smile on his lips, Zuko couldn’t help feeling that familiar warmth build in his chest. The world may be changing. They may still be working to right the wrongs and suffer through countless meetings and council members, but… with friends like Sokka there to remind him it was okay to let loose, laugh and remember that they really were still young at heart, he knew he could face anything.

Even dragon slayers.

#squealingsanta2k20 #tickle fic #my fics #zuko #sokka #atla #fluff #these two are precious #I hope you enjoy this my friend!

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zkfanworkweek · 4 years

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ZFAW Fan Content Creator Interviews: HayleyNFoster

Hey everyone! We hope you’re all excited for ZFAW, and to honor (ha!) ZFAW’s commitment to supporting and celebrating fan content creators in the Zutara fandom, we’re going to be rolling out a series of interviews with well-known and widely-beloved content creators over the next few weeks. We’ve got artists and fanfiction authors, some names you recognize as well as a few phenomenal up-and-coming talents, and we can’t wait for you to meet them all!

For the second interview in this cycle, we have our best propaganda creator and this fandom’s hottest new artist/undisputed queen of the animatic, @hayleynfoster!

1. Tell us about how you came to ship Zutara. What does this ship mean to you?

When I was around 14 or 15 and caught Avatar: The Last Airbender on television, I was drawn in by the art style, the humor, and the wonderful characters. I caught the episodes out of order, and the first one I saw and wasn’t prepared to be sucked in by was The Waterbending Scroll. It intrigued me at that age, and the line “I’ll save you from the pirates” combined with the tension between Katara and Zuko in that whole scene was electrifying. I remember my teenage self thinking these two have so much chemistry! And when I saw a commercial on Nickelodeon that featured fanart submitted by fellow Avatar fans, I realized that I could do that to! So I set about making Zutara fanart for myself. I stumbled onto Youtube, practically in its infancy, and discovered that people set clips of Zuko and Katara set to music (And this was still in season 1 days… so people who made these amvs were the real mvps because they were able to make compelling narratives in their amvs with like practically nothing to work with!). The AMVs really spurred my interest in this couple, I remember distinctly one Zutara AMV using the Dido song White Flag utterly capturing my imagination. I found fandom shortly after, getting into deviantart and forums. But the ship really began to mean something to me when, as I was working on my drawings in the computer lab at school, a buoyant presence hovered over my shoulder noticing my Zutara art on the computer screen. The girl was someone I had never really talked to and had only seen from afar but she immediately started excitedly saying she shipped Zuko and Katara too! In this simple shared obsession, I made one of the best friends I’ve ever had and we’re still friends to this day. We would theorize and fangirl over Avatar like it was nobody’s business; we poured over bootleg San Diego Comic Con footage that showed spoilers for season 2 before it aired; we lost our freaking minds when we finally saw The Crossroads of Destiny. We had watch parties every week as Season 3 of A:TLA aired, and comforted each other when the show ended as it did (much ranting was shared). Those are some of my happiest memories from high school… all because this one pairing from this wonderful show. Even though Zutara didn’t happen, we still chat every now and then about it. Zutara will probably be a lifelong obsession, always bubbling under the surface. And without it, I would have never realized that animation was a viable career path. It really did inspire everything including the work I’m doing to this day in the animation industry. I owe a lot to this ship and to Avatar: the Last Airbender.

2. What inspires you to create zutara fanworks?

The resurgence of Avatar: The Last Airbender this year really helped sort of spark that dormant love I had for Zutara. The show’s ending still disappointed me on the rewatch, but Zuko and Katara’s relationship arc was as captivating as ever, so I turned to some fanfiction and looking at people’s pretty Zutara art and AMVs to just revel in fanon instead of getting to hung up on the actual ending of the show. But then I realized, with quarantine and my work load being pretty light, I had time to actually make all new Zutara art for myself, art I was never fully capable of making as a kid, but now could do with my 7 years of industry experience and just… life experience. And I was inspired to do some corrective animatics to satisfy my own desire for a different ending. I just really like exploring these two characters, doing different and interesting things with them, and frankly I’m inspired to make cute, fluffy, romantic art simply by virtue of living in a really sad and depressing world. Things are so crazy right now, creating art about two characters I love being in love, is comforting. And it helps to have inspiring music and amazing Zutara amvs to just sort of stir up my emotions and imagery in my head to make into animatics and art.

3. Be selfish - if you could request one fanwork based on your own art/fanfic, what would it be? What would you absolutely love to see someone create?

Ohhhh… Well, It’s always nice to have people write fanfiction that puts words to my animatics. I am not that great at coming up with dialog myself, so I’ve just chosen to indulge in visuals and emotions for my boards. But when I read things like RideBoldlyRide’s take on my Reunion Animatic, it makes me pretty giddy. (They finally have voices!) :) And this is the MOST selfish thing I could request, but I’m not shy about saying how much I love well done amvs, so I will literally kill for someone to make Zutara AMVs to songs I like… Like, most of AURORA’s songs but especially Exist for Love, Sunseeker by The Naked and Famous, Promises or Take Me by Aly & AJ, Adore You by Harry Styles, Human Enough by ONR, Never Let Me Go by Florence + The Machine, and/or Almost (Sweet Music) by Hozier just… I can see the AMVs so clearly to any of these songs in my head, but I don’t have the tools or skill set at my disposal to make a compelling fan video. When I was in high school, I originally thought I wanted to go into video editing simply because I loved making very crappy AMVs (they were so bad you guys), but I figured out being a storyboard artist was more in my wheelhouse. haha

4. Any words for people who are new to the fandom and/or nervous about sharing their work for the first time?

If you’re new to the Zutara fandom, just have a good time! Don’t waste too much time arguing with people over your shipping preferences. I wasted so much of my teen years having pointless shipping wars with people on DeviantArt, and I’m just so much happier nowadays because I’m just making Zutara art in my little corner of the internet, and honestly, in the politest of ways, I don’t give a shit if people don’t like my art or Zutara. haha I think that’s sort of a key thing for people thinking of posting creative works here in the fandom, just make art for yourself, satisfy your own desires for the pairing, get your creative sparks flying, and create just for the joy of creating. It’s always nice to get comments and such, but simply making the art should be what spurs you on, not the external validation. And have a good time, don’t worry too much - I say as someone who worries about EVERYTHING. But honestly, making art for A:TLA is some of the most relaxed I’ve been because I make it just for me. I’m lucky others seem to like it too!

5. What’s an idea for a fanwork that you have but haven't gotten around to making?

I have an idea for a second generation storyline with my Zutara kids that involves Kya (the eldest firebending daughter) falling in love with an airbender boy (tentatively named Gora in my headcanon who’s a bit of a rabble rouser and one of Aang’s kids he had with a Kyoshi Warrior), and then they start a socialist revolution in the Fire Nation in order to dismantle all of the hierarchical societies across the Avatar world… Together Kya and Gora Fan the Flames of revolution… ehhhhh... Get it?? Oh! Oh, and then Katara, who had put in legit liberal reforms in her time as Fire Lady listens to her daughter after resisting in the first part of the story, but then realizes she can actually play a part in the dissolution of the royalty and is also active in the revolution realizing that moderate liberal reforms are no substitute for a society free of serving royalty (which she had always been uncomfortable with but had rationalized with herself that she was doing good in her capacity as Fire Lady.) I just feel like there’s a lot of cool potential for discussing these ideas and also having some aspirational change in the Avatar world. lol For aesthetics and just happy fluffy times, I can indulge in Fire Lady and Fire Lord Zuko stuff, but really at the end of the day, I take issue with the structures in a society that have to exist for monarchies to exist. Soooo, I kind of want to do my own corrective story for that… if I ever have the time or guts. On a less ambitious note, I would love to do a Zutara sparring animatic to practice doing action, but I need a good story; I am not good at doing fights just for fighting’s sake. Those are just some things I have rattling around in my head.

6. Are you participating in ZFAW? If so want to give us a hint as to your plans?

Yes! The most I can say is I have one animatic almost finished and one that’s still being thumbnailed. The rest are probably going to be comics or emotive single pieces based on the fanfics I really like right now. :)

#interviews #zutara fanworks appreciation week #zfaw #hayleynfoster #zutara

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yhwhsdaughter · 4 years

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zuko x f. reader

Promptober Masterlist

Zuko first met you on Ember Island. They would vacation there for majority of his childhood; at least, before he was banished.

A resident there at the island, you belonged to the Dancing Troupe. Ever since you could walk, you were instantly taught the art. Being a fire bender, you found ways to integrate it into your routines. Though somewhat of a natural, you got progressively better by practicing as the years passed.

His mother’s favorite play was Love Amongst the Dragons in which you would participate during the act break, dancing whilst the crowd got up to stretch and the actors prepared for the next scene. A young Zuko was thoroughly impressed at the way you managed to bend fire so smoothly—the flames dancing around your limbs seemed to turn from reddish orange to a pinkish shade a bit clumsily, but amazing nonetheless.

Noticing Zuko’s fascination with you, his mother nudged him into talking with you. Back then, he was more gentler and a bit shy, blushing when he complimented your dance. You would grace him with a bright smile. Being the same age, the two of you got along pretty well.

Each year Zuko would come to Ember Island and hang out with you. The two of you became close friends; he would often confide in you. From there, you would be invited to his birthday and perfom. Friendship bloomed into something more but it was never really explored because Zuko was banished.

You were in Ba Sing Se festival when it happened; the news spread and you worried for him. Knowing the fire lord, Zuko was not at fault. Either way, finding him would be near to impossible. Instead you focused on your craft, hoping to see him one day. You practiced hard, pushing yourself to be the best dancer, gaining you recognition across the nations. Maybe Zuko would hear of you and see you one day.

Around three years later, Zuko had already joined the gaang. They made a stop to Ember Island. This place brought Zuko a lot of memories. All this time he hadn’t forgotten about you, missing his best friend dearly. Zuko yearned to see you dance once more, to hear you voice, and share a few laughs.

It was then that Zuko saw you again.

The gaang went to the theater to watch a play; when the act break occurred, the presenter introduced the person he wanted to see most. “Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause to Ember Island’s jewel, the lovely [Name]!”

Recognizing your name, Zuko’s head whipped toward the stage. He didn’t expect you’d be here at the same time since your troupe was usually traveling around this time of the year. The rest of his companions also focused as you moved with incredible fluidity.

Zuko watched with admiration as you created fire butterflies of different colors that hovered as you twisted and jumped. It must have taken a lot of practice for you to manage that, since each figure was of a varying level of intensity. Zuko always marveled at how you could turn fire, an element that was considered destructive, into something beautiful that people enjoyed.

The others didn’t miss the way Zuko looked at you.

After the play, he was teased into approaching you.

Zuko was NERVOUS. He’d disappeared without a word. He wouldn’t be surprised if you hated him for it. Gulping, he walked towards you, “Uh.. [Name]..?”

You turned around, expecting it to be someone from the audience. Instead, you saw your childhood friend and first love. “Zuko..?” Were you hallucinating? He was wearing a hood to hide his face and he now sported a scar on his left eye. Just what happened to him? You figured it involved his banished somehow but for now—

The gaang watched in surprise as you crushed Zuko into a hug, the latter also shocked before wrapping his arms around you. He melted into the hug, touch starved. You leaned back, rubbing the tears out of your eyes. “I missed you so much! I hate you!” Zuko was a bit confused but smiled since the words didn’t seem to carry any hostility but rather worry.

Noticing that they were being ogled at by the gaang, Zuko decided to introduce them. You were excited and honored to meet them all. Your happiness dwindled down when Zuko announced that they couldn’t stay; there was work to be done.

Though sad that this reunion lasted but a few minutes, you understood that Zuko had a duty to the avatar, his nation, and himself. Squeezing his hands, you smiled. “Zuko, you better come back or I won’t forgive you this time.”

—

Eventually, things settled down.

You managed a job at the fire palace and were there when Zuko was crowned fire lord; you prepared a special dance in his honor. The crowd cheered and celebrated.

“[Name]...” he began but you bowed, “Fire Lord Zuko,”

He was about to tell you the formalities weren’t necessary when he noticed your playful smirk. Oh, how his heart fluttered for you. “I wanted to tell you something important.” Your teasing demeanor dropped, waiting for him to speak.

“I love you.”

“I’ve loved you for a long time. Since I first saw you...”

It was unexpected. While you felt the same, you didn’t imagine he would confess right now. For a moment you were speechless, causing Zuko to wonder if he had messed up. “Sorry. I guess you don’t feel the same—”

“No! I mean, I do… but we haven’t even gone on a date. Maybe we should take this step by step ?” You were nervous as well. Having never been in a romantic relationship, you were clueless on how to proceed.

“I agree. Why don’t we start now?”

The two of you interlocked hands before wandering around the palace as the festivities continued.

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laurelsofhighever · 4 years

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*author interview*

I could’ve sworn I’ve answered some of these questions before, but I can’t find the post now, so you get them again! Tagged by @ladymdc and @out-of-the-embers, who are both wonderful people - thank you!

In return, (rattling my brains for people who haven’t already done this) I’ll tag @elgara-vallas-dalen @naiatabris @pigeontheoneandonly and @ma-suranas

Name: Lykegenia in most places that aren’t Tumblr

Fandoms: I’m active in Dragon Age and Mass Effect, have several fics in Avatar:The Last Airbender, and tend to hover around other things but not participate. I recently started Fallout 4, so I’ll probably fall down that molerat hole soon.

Where You Post: Both here and on AO3

Most Popular One-Shot: Going by kudos, it’s Jubilant, which is something I wrote very long ago as a standalone entry for Zutara week, that has Zuko and Katara practicing bending together and realising they maybe don’t hate each other as much as they thought. Interestingly, it’s closely followed by Hot Water, the first piece of smut I ever wrote and which I am too embarrased by to ever go back and read.

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: My Zutara story, The Things We Hide, an AU where the Southern Water Tribe wasn’t conquered until the return of Sozin’s Comet, and Katara ends up as a political prisoner secretly working to bring down the Fire Nation from the inside. It’s got political scheming, bending battles, Blue Spirit/Painted Lady shenanigans, jail breaks, daring rescues, and Zuko being an utter dork around the girl he loves.

Favorite Story You Wrote: It’s still ongoing, but I’ve been obsessed with writing The Falcon and the Rose for pretty much three years now, and aside from still being very invested in the story, it’s taught me so much about how to write longfic, how to worldbuild, and how to build character arcs. It’s an AU centred around what would have happened in the Fereldan Civil War if the Blight hadn’t interrupted. It’s got action, tragedy, slow burn romance, political scheming, tests of loyalty, and an ace-spec main character determined to do the right thing.

Story You Were Nervous to Post: More than anything else, A Way To Relieve Tension is one where I posted and ran, and didn’t even really stop to edit on the way. It’s a NSFW oneshot about a first in Alistair and Rosslyn’s relationship, and while I’m proud of it in a way, I’m also still very surprised I wrote it in the first place.

How You Choose Your Titles: I don’t, really. They come to me while I write, and if they don’t, then I just stick anything in there and hope it sounds profound. I haven’t had to resort to the Hozier lyric title generator, though I might in future...

Complete: The Things We Hide, and The Best Laid Plans, a Green Rider fic from before I lost interest in the series. There are a few more from back in my old ff.net days when I wrote for Inuyasha and Torchwood/Doctor Who, but I don’t have access to that account anymore and I’m also super embarrassed by everything I wrote back then.

I have two collections that are technically complete because there aren’t specific plans for future chapters, A Life, Together which is a collection of oneshots held together in the same universe for Zutara Week, and Your Humble Narrator, where I collect

Incomplete: There’s Falcon, and Falcon’s “deleted scenes” counterpart, Feathers and Petals, but right now I’m really good at being hyperfocused dedicated to a managable number of stories at a time.

Do You Outline? Ohhhhhhh yes. I start playing about in notebooks to work out plot order and details about worldbuilding, then I create a full chapter-by-chapter plan building up from dialogue and basic scene setting. It’s really helped keep the plot on track and keep my writing energy from fizzling out because I know how far ahead I need to look for the scenes I really want to write.

Coming Soon/Not Yet Started: I have two AUs in my scopes for when Falcon is (almost) finished. The first is a retelling of Origins where Alistair is a prince raised in Castle Cousland, and Rosslyn is the only one of them who gets made a Warden. The other takes place after the game with Alistair made king by my Tabris Warden, falling in love with a non-Warden Rosslyn who spent the Blight leading the rebellion against Howe and Loghain. I keep veering between which of the two would be more fun.

Do You Accept Prompts? I have a list of prompts on my blog, and I’ll take them, but because I’m focussing so much on my WIPs, it will probably take a lot of time to answer any. And I still have to upload the last few to AO3.

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write: As I said, I’ve got two new stories coalescing out of the aether, but for now, I’m just really excited to get Falcon finished because it’ll be the biggest thing I’ve ever written, and getting to the end will be an amazing achievement for me.

#author interview #ask meme thing #personal rambling

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appledcheeks-blog · 5 years

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❝ once, there was a PRINCESS. ❞ ( was the princess... you ? )

hello !! i’m holly, and i’ll be playing savannah white aka snow !! have some info about her.

tw: death, poisoning, implied child abuse, mild ptsd

[ pinterest ] [ playlist ]

BIOGRAPHY:

⚘ life begins for savannah white rather peacefully. she has vivid memories of baking with her mother and dancing on her father’s toes. she remembers standing the middle of the lounge room and singing when they had guests, and even when they didn’t. she remembers being read to and learning to play the piano and buying flowers and shouting ballads with both of her parents. as child, the world is big and exciting to her. she’s a little nervous, but her gentle spirit and kind heart makes it a little easier to navigate. she don’t need rose coloured glasses for the world to look so wonderful, so beautiful, so magical. it just is. she has everything a little girl could ever dream of.

⚘ life ends quite abruptly for savannah -- or, rather, her mother’s life does when she passes away. it takes her a while to process it. it takes her so long, in fact, that her father remarries in hopes of finding her a new woman to look up to. he has her best interests at heart, of course, hoping to find her a new mother, but savannah would have been happy with the maid or her nanny. savannah would have been content with watching julie andrews in the sound of music and calling her a mother, really. what she did not need was a stepmother so awful -- but unfortunately, an awful stepmother was exactly what she got.

⚘ it doesn’t take long for things to start shifting around the house. the woman is beautiful, but unkind. she is cold. savannah doesn’t understand how to get through to her -- she is encouraged to sing less, play music less, be quiet more. no matter what she does, there is something wrong. her father either does not notice or hopes that this woman is raising his daughter to be sophisticated and proper, but either way, savannah never gets to ask, because after about two years, the then-ten year old’s father dies in his sleep.

⚘ her mother is long-gone, her father poisoned, the maid blamed and arrested. savannah has never been so truly alone. she has nobody to confide in, to cry with, to hold her when she needs it. her stepmother, crueller than ever, seems to not care or not understand why she is so emotional. confining herself in her room is safe, but it is lonely. there is no music at all, now. no baking. only chores for the dear, sad little thing.

⚘ slowly, music returns to her. she listens to it to cope, she dances whilst she cleans, sings whilst she cooks. it makes her think so much of her parents that she can’t help but do it -- it is her last connection to them, after all. she makes sure to do it when her stepmother isn’t home, or at least to do it quietly. slowly but surely, music comes back into her life in bigger ways. her high school does musicals, which costs nothing but her time and effort, and if she makes sure her chores are done in a timely manner, she decides -- for herself -- to participate. it is good to be out of the house and away from her stepmother.

⚘ music is really where she flourishes. she isn’t a bad little actress, either, but it’s not as if she’s not used to pretending. pretending things are fine, that she’s okay, that her stepmother isn’t cruel and unkind. she still flinches, even to this day, if somebody yells or moves too sharply or too quickly. a therapist might call this, in combination with her recurring nightmares, post-traumatic stress disorder. she wouldn’t know, of course, because she’s happy to keep her head down and move away from everything that’s happened to her on her own.

⚘ savannah is thrilled to be at corona because she doesn’t have to be at home. in fact, the day after she was accepted, the girl left, not interested in staying in that house any longer than she needed to be. the bad press stresses her out, sure, but anything is better than her stepmother.

HEADCANONS:

POSITIVE: considerate, genuine, gentle, optimistic, empathetic, tactful, polite

NEGATIVE: childish, naive, jumpy, sensitive, submissive, awkward, fantasy-prone

studying music but has a real soft spot for musical theatre. during high school and college, savannah has played wendla ( spring awakening ), penny ( hairspray ), olive ( 25th annual putnam county spelling bee ), and rosemary ( how to succeed in business without really trying ). her first role and favourite to date was olive, but in playing Wendla, she had her first kiss

other dream roles incl. gertrude ( seussical ), liesl ( the sound of music ), brenda ( catch me if you can ), and audrey ( little shop of horrors )

she’s a huge romantic but aside from her stage kisses, she’s never been kissed irl. It’s really wild to her bc she keeps getting cast as romantic leads but cannot for the life of her talk to any cute boy in a vaguely romantic context

loves to bake !!! obviously. big fan of pies but follows up with cookies in second. any kind of sweet biscuit, really. stress baker. bakes treats as gifts, bakes for her study groups/rehearsals, anything. just loves it.

also obviously super loves animals. as a child, had bunnies and birds as pets.

hates coffee. it's too bitter and strong and tastes awful and so she'll make it for her friends if she wants it but she's a hot chocolate or tea kind of gal.

bad with horror movies, loves jane austen. favourite scents are apple, rose, sugar, vanilla, orange blossom, and clean sheets. always seen with a red lip, mascara and a touch of highlighter. has a large collection of lip balms, all vanilla or cherry scented.

would love to have a big sprawling garden one day, wherever she lives. would love a big family, would love a small family. just wants a family. like, a real one that isn't awful to her.

first celebrity crush was the scarecrow in the wizard of oz, also sky in mamma mia.

can sign !! also, allergic to fructose ( major symptom: chronic fatigue, but also nausea, abdominal pain, and inability to absorb iron ) and anaemic. can play piano, guitar, and a little bit of violin.

character insp. aka characters she relates to: sansa stark ( game of thrones ), hero ( much ado about nothing ), dorothy ( wizard of oz ), ti moune ( once on this island ), and rose tyler ( doctor who )

WANTED CONNECTIONS

musical friends / ex-cast mates: people who savannah’s done shows with !! could be high school or college shows, it doesn’t bother me !! ( OPEN 1 / 3: MABEL PINES, ARIEL TRITON )

neighbours: a couple of people who live on either side of her. maybe they can hear her singing in the mornings, maybe she keeps getting their mail. just really simple domestic stuff. ( OPEN 0 / 2 )

other musicians: savannah is a singer, but she can also play piano, acoustic guitar, and a little bit of violin !! i would love some musicians for her to jam with. could be classmates or otherwise. ( OPEN / ANY )

childhood friends: self-explanatory. likely other ‘royal’ characters but really i’m open to anything and everything !! can have met anywhere between like age 3 and age 16 -- savannah is currently 21. ( OPEN 0 / 3 )

refuge: somebody who’s house she used to go to when her stepmother was being awful. they wouldn’t have known 100% what was happening, they did have a good idea of how bad she was. ( OPEN 0 / 1 )

unlikely friends: relatively self-explanatory. this could be somebody who is a real troublemaker or is super reserved, i don’t mind !! ( CLOSED: ZUKO OZAI )

protective friend: this is just the unlikely friend wc turned up to 11. this is somebody who looks after her when she’s on that naive bullshit, and she looks after them when they need it. ( CLOSED: VANELLOPE VON SCHWEETZ )

princess pals: literally what it says on the can. i would lowkey love the other princesses being a squad. ( OPEN / ANY )

#intro post

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atypicalkataangist · 6 years

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Mr and Mrs Avatar

Type: Oneshot [Romantic] / Submission for kataang week 2018: Sacred Summary: The most special event in Aang’s and Katara’s relationship finally occurs. Word count: 2072 Author’s note: My final submission for Kataang Week 2018! Thanks so much to @kataang-week for the amazing event and for letting me participate in it :) I’m not quite sure if it’s enough to qualify as “sacred”, but it’s called “holy bond of matrimony” for a reason, right? xD Have fun!

He was so nervous he could faint. The ceremony was about to start any moment now. He watched the people sitting in a crowd on pillows on the floor, only separated by a pathway for the bride to walk through. The ceremony was held in the big courtyard of the southern air temple, but most of the guests were from the southern water tribe, mostly Katara's friends and family, the most important ones being Sokka, Hakoda and Kanna of course, but also Niyok and Nutha, Pakku and Malina. Of course there were other important guests at the Avatar's Wedding, too, namely his close friend and ally Fire Lord Zuko, but also Earth King Kuei and chief executive officer of earthen fire industries, his old friend and former teacher, no other than Toph Beifong.

The muttering in the crowd stopped suddenly when the music came in. Everyone's eyes stuck to the big wooden door at the other end of the courtyard as was slowly opened by two servants. Finally, the bride entered the yard, and except for the slow tune played by the flameo's, everything was silent. So silent that the Avatar could hear his own heart beat. He could do this. This was the girl of his dreams and the day he thought would never come.

She slowly came closer and he got even more freaked out. She was beautiful. Well, she was beautiful all the time, but now it was just incredible. She somehow managed to stay true to her own, down-to-earth, simple, but beautiful style, but also include some very chic and classy elements in her appearance to make her look even better. She wore her hair in her usual water tribe style with her hair loopies running loosely across her temples, and a big braid with small flowers carefully woven in. Her dress was long and in a light blue tone, reaching from right under her shoulders down to her feet. Her shoulder region itself was pretty blank however, so the beautiful betrothal necklace he had carefully crafted for her was prominently shown to advantage.

She was beautiful. Breathtakingly beautiful, even more that normally. He took a few breaths. The nearer she came, the more nervous he got. Only a few steps left...

Then she was there, right in front of him. He offered her his hand which she gladly accepted. No word was spoken. They just stared at each other with eyes full of love and anticipation. He blushed pretty darkly and she chuckled nervously. The were BOTH really excited.

"Dear guests, Family, dear bride and groom, first of all, it is my wish to welcome you all to this very special occasion. Special, for a couple reasons.", the minister, a shaman of the southern water tribe, continued, "First of all, it's the Avatar's wedding. The last wedding of an Avatar was almost onehundredfifty years ago, and I feel deeply honored to be the one to marry the first Avatar in well over a century. Second of all...", the priest continued,

"second of all, this is the first ever recorded inter-national marriage between an air nomad and a water bender. The first marriage ceremony ever held in the sacred halls of this temple, and I feel nothing but gratitude to unite two people from two nations that so clearly belong together. And third of all, this is a very special occasion as it is for every couple in love. Special in its very own way. We've gathered her today to celebrate the unity of Aang from the southern air temple and Katara, daughter of Hakoda, from the southern water tribe."

The bridal couple exchanged loving gazes, seeming to ignore everything around them.

"Aang, everybody's watching." An old memory popped into her head, resembling her current situation very well.

"Don't worry about them. It's just you and me right now.", he seemed to tell her via his expression and the soft grip he had on her hands. His touch and his presence managed to calm her down again, at least for the moment. "...just you and me..."

"Now first of all, let bride and groom take their vows. Afterwards, family has the opportunity to either give their blessing or intervene."

The Avatar cleared his throat and looked deeply into his fiancée's eyes. "Katara...", he said, "I... I could tell you now how much I love you. How much I cherish you and that you're more important to me than anything else. But I'm pretty sure you know all that already. You know I could never be without you." Her gaze was tender and her eyes began yet to glisten. "So what I'm going to say now is something I might not have said so many times so far. I'd like to thank you. For everything you gave to me for the last five years. You literally found me alone and helpless and didn't hesitate to help me, even though I was a complete stranger. Then you cared for me, gave me strength during the hardest time of my life. You fought at my side, and... and you even brought me back from the dead. You literally saved my life, Katara." His voice broke for a moment when he remembered the painful memory, and a first tear began to roll down her cheek.

"First, you were my friend. Then you were my family. Then you became my love and now you're becoming my soulmate. The most incredible part is, that I don't have to give up on all the other aspects of our relationship. You're still and you will always be my friend, my family and my love."

"You've always been my soulmate", she whispered calmly, barely interrupting him.

"You're right", he grinned, "but now we're finally making it official." He cleared his throat again to end his sincere speech.

"So thank you, Katara. For everything you've given me. For giving me hope when I was desperate, for being at my side when I needed you. I love you, Sweetie, more than anything in the world, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life on your side."

For his words he earned soft, smiling faces from the crowd and a tearful, but tender expression in his soon-to-be wife's eyes.

"Oh, Aang...", she sniveled, trying to wipe the tears off her cheeks with the side of her hand, "you're just perfect. In every way. You're so calm and wise, yet so energetic and joyful. Just like you said, You're my friend, my lover and my soulmate. I could never love someone else. I... I know that we're meant to be together. You belong to me and I belong to you. Forever." She slowly rubbed the backs of his palms with her fingers to calm herself down. "I love you and I promise to keep loving and cherishing you as long I live."

She took a few deep breaths right after finishing her vow, looked into her now almost husband's eyes and their eyes met each other. The world seemed to shrink even more. Even the shaman was gone now. In their world, there was only enough room for both of them. No one else.

"Now, that the bride and groom made their vows, the bride's family has the right to speak. The bride's father may speak now." On that commando, Hakoda stood up from the first row of the audience, und went to stage to his daughter. For the last time, she let go off her boyfriend's hands and took her father's. His eyes were glistening as well as he hugged his daughter firmly. "My little girl...", he whispered with his deep voice, "you know, I let you choose who to marry, because I knew that whoever you would eventually choose, would be worthy of being your husband. And now that I stand here and watch my son-in-law, I'm glad that my trust in your judgement was rightful. I wish you two all the luck in the world, sweetie. You deserve every little bit of it."

"Thanks, Daddy.", she whispered in his ear.

"I'm so proud of you, Katara. And your mother would be so proud, too."

When she heared him say that, she burst into tears again. "I...I... wish she was here...", she stuttered before trying to contain her emotions again.

"She is. She'll always be with you. Now, go with your husband. I give you two my blessing.", he finished, kissing her forehead before finally letting her go. The next one to hug her was her brother, and even he seemed deeply touched by their words. "Man, my little sister...", he mumbled, "...and my best friend. I admit, I maaaybe wasn't that supportive at first and I had to lie if I said that you're never giving me the oogies when I see you kissing and stuff, but...", he rambled on, harvesting a confused look from his sister, before playing it safe again. "...but I know you two pretty well by now and I think you're perfect for each other. Of course I'm giving you my blessing, Sis. If he's the one who makes you happy, go for it."

She hugged him tightly before loosening up. "Thanks, you big jerk.", she laughed and he joined her after letting go off of her, too. Hakoda took his son by the shoulder and stepped back.

The minister came closer to the bridal couple again and continued the marriage ceremony.

"Now that the bride's family has spoken, and for lack of the groom's family, let's now..."

"Wait a second, who says he got no family?", he was quickly interrupted by someone else on the stage- it was Sokka again. Opposing his father's attempts to hold him back, he went for the groom, and hugged him, too. "Just because all the other airbenders are gone, it doesn't mean you've got no family. Even without this marriage I would call you my family... brother. Now take good care of my little sister from now on, got that?"

Aang's grin spread all over his face. "Thanks, Sokka. I promise, I will."

"Sokka, sometimes you're so swee...", his sister tried to throw in from behind, only to be overheard and interrupted by him again.

"She's your problem now", he joked darkly, "and good luck with her when she's all..."

"Alright, Thanks, Sokka. That's enough." Hakoda grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him back again.

After everyone was back at their right place, Aang took one deep breath one last time while she giggled lightheartedly at the typical confusion her brother had caused for the last few moments. Those were there last few moments together as boyfriend and girlfriend. Any moment now...

"Let's proceed with the ceremony now, shall we?", the shaman continued. "The families gave their blessings and bride and groom made their vows. Now I ask you, one last and final time. Answer truthful and the spirits will give you their blessing, too.

Aang from the southern air temple, Avatar, bringer of peace and great bridge between the worlds, do you wish to take Katara from the southern water tribe as your lawfully wedded wife, in good times as in bad, til death do you part?"

He looked deep into his girlfriend's eyes and soaked in all the love she laid out in front of him. "More than anything else."

"An do you, Katara from the southern water tribe, daughter of Hakoda, wish to take Aang of the southern air temple as your lawfully wedded husband, til death do you part?"

"Yes... oh Spirits, yes, I will!", she cried again and could barely hold back the urge to kiss her husband.

"Therefore your connection is blessed by the spirits now. I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. You may now..."

He never got to finish his sentence as everyone stood up and cheered the newlyweds who very eagerly shared their first kiss as a married couple. His arms embraced her neck and her hands held his waist while their lips smashed together under the cheering of the whole wedding party, including their family, but also friends like Toph, Suki and Iroh.

This had all been so exciting and now it was finally real. She was his wife now and he was her husband, and every time they opened their eyes when their lips parted they got the chance to look into each other's face again, they couldn't help but grin at each other and close the distance again for another quick (or long) kiss.

It was perfect. Far too good to be true. And the best part even was that

this

was only the beginning.

#kataangtag #kataang #kataang week #avatar #fluff #wedding #aang x katara

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