Prince Zuko 🔥

everything, everywhere, all at once

just married!

This might suck to hear, but if you're a people pleaser that is motivated by praise and avoids disagreements, you are easy to manipulate.

When I was in therapy after surviving years of domestic violence, my therapist had to tell me that my personality was primed for abuse and we needed to work on that so I would be better equipped to see the red flags and respond appropriately in the future.

I'm still working on this, and it's been 8 years. If you tell someone how you want to be treated, what behaviors you don't tolerate in your life, what you're looking for in that relationship, and they react negatively, don't compromise yourself. Just move on.

This one's for all the praise-kink girlies: differentiate, self-actualize, stay sexy

This resonated with more people than I thought, so here are some phrases to practice when you would normally default to people pleasing:

Just remember, your thoughts, feelings, and opinions are what make you unique, and you can change your mind later, so don't be afraid to say them out loud. Work through things. Don't dodge them.

Book 2 au: sparring sessions and short hair katara

They like to have sparring sessions in order to keep their bending skills sharp. They allow themselves to go all out and not hold back at all cause they know if anyone got hurt, Katara could just heal them

But anyways, wouldn't it be kinda funny if Zuko accidentally burned Katara's hair tho? Aofkqldkkajfjd

The "I think we can save the hairloops" line is from @linnoya-writes thank you for that!! :>>

in my hands, the fire will never hurt you.

Book 2 au: sparring sessions and short hair katara

They like to have sparring sessions in order to keep their bending skills sharp. They allow themselves to go all out and not hold back at all cause they know if anyone got hurt, Katara could just heal them

But anyways, wouldn't it be kinda funny if Zuko accidentally burned Katara's hair tho? Aofkqldkkajfjd

The "I think we can save the hairloops" line is from @linnoya-writes thank you for that!! :>>

This AU is already wonderful but... What if Zuko thought he was the one who burned Katara's hands?

He notices her scars for the first time during his search for the Avatar, a few weeks after she got them. But he doesn't pay any attention to Katara during the fight, not really. It isn't until the Siege of the North that he truly sees the scars on her hands, and realises that they weren't there before (her hands had been soft and unblemished during the pirates incident, not like this, rough and darker and achingly familiar).

When did this happen? Was it during one of their battles? Was one of his men responsible? Or did somebody else do it? There is no doubt in his mind that these are bending scars, after all.

Zuko wonders, after the North, if he gave them to her.

He has always been careful with his bending, regardless of the rage and desperation that fuel his battles with the Avatar. He knows what being burned and forced to carry a constant reminder of the flames is like—he's incapable of causing such pain to anyone, not even an enemy.

But what if he already has?

It's a sickening thought, and it chases him during his travels through the Earth Kingdom, adding weight to his guilt. He tries to hold on to the thought that maybe, just maybe, somebody else burned the waterbender, and he isn't to blame. But time passes and he witnesses and does many terrible, beautiful things...

So he decides to carry the responsibility for the burns on the waterbender's hands. It doesn't matter anymore if it wasn't him who burned her—he might as well have.

When they meet again under the Crystal Catacombs of Ba Sing Se, he listens. She blames him for everything that is wrong in her life, and he accepts her rage, because he knows he can't defend himself against her. He doesn't want to.

He can be the face of the enemy. He's already a monster, after all.

(Father would be proud.)

But then she offers to heal him.

Him.

Doesn't she know he could be the one who burned her? Doesn't she care for all the stupid, horrible things he has done to her and her kin? Doesn't she see the ruthlessness and hate coursing through his blood?

Doesn't she care?

But then she's touching his scar with her burned hands and she's reaching for the blessed water and he can't do this.

"Don't."

She stops.

"Why? Don't you want to be free of your scar?"

"Use the water to heal yourself. I deserve to carry the weight of my sins, but you don't have to."

There's silence, and Zuko tries to tear himself apart from her touch, to get away from her and from the Catacombs and from the world. But her scarred, beautiful self reaches out for him again. Katara holds his face with her burned hands and gently forces him to look at her.

Flesh on flesh, scar on scar, they meet.

And somehow he knows what she's going to say next.

"Zuko, you didn't do this."

Then the Avatar arrives.

First of all, great art. The tenderness of the touch of two traumatized people is conveyed in such a way that I myself feel Katara’s fingertips on my cheek and palm on my chin. Are you a wizard?

Secondly, a great description that made me believe for a second that it was canon.

I also read the hashtags and want to comment on the AU itself. Let's start with the fact that the idea of scars on Katara's arms is genius in itself. A visual reminder of a mistake always works better than having a character remember it out of plot necessity. For example, this scene would have looked much worse if Katara had scars from Aang's previous burn, I would have looked at the emotions that followed it.

Plus, it would work to parallel them with Zuko: while Zuko has a reminder of his mistake literally carved into his face, Aang has it carved into the arms of a loved one. This is a very nice detail that strengthens their bond as hero and villain.

Regarding your addition to this AU, I really like that the scars affect not only Aang, but also Zuko as a direct bearer. I like how having it in Katara's arms continues the theme of the harm of fire in people's lives and is the final stage in this arc.

Overall, I see the scene in the catacombs as the culmination of Zuko's journey. He observed a lot: somewhere it was pain and suffering of people, somewhere it was deprivation, somewhere it was love and care, somewhere it was hope - and all this educated him during the season. And in the catacombs he meets a person who unites all this in himself - Katara.

Therefore, it's logical that in addition to all this, Zuko will also encounter trauma from fire as an element in her. The phasing is obvious:

1. He gets burned by his father and becomes bitter;

2. He sees the burns of the enslaved side and learns empathy again;

3. He meets Katara at the end of the journey and displays his previously acquired final form of empathy as a result of the journey.

Therefore, the reaction you describe to this trauma is invaluable because it creates the missing piece of the puzzle in this chain. And perhaps this would have greatly influenced Zuko's decision in the season two finale.

However, personally, it seems to me that he would still choose his father. He's too attached to the love he desires to notice the love he was going towards. An attachment that keeps him on this earth and doesn't allow him to connect with cosmic energy, something like that.

But scars on Katara's arms would have given the connection to her even more meaning in the moment, so Zuko's suffering at the beginning of season 3 could have been significantly worse.

You're right, it's full of angst, but I like it. Down with the weird filler atmosphere of the season trying to pretend that everything is fine. I want soul-searching, and your AU opens the way to it

This addition is amazing.

That drawing is hauntingly beautiful, and I'm so intrigued by this AU! If I may share some thoughts, please: The first thought that came to mind for me was - What kept Katara from healing herself in the first place when she was burnt, and how does that impact her moving forward? In the show, Katara heals herself after running away from Sokka and Aang, so what if in this AU, Aang and/or Sokka go after her, and she doesn't get the chance to put her hands in the water because they work to treat her burns in a non-bender manner? That I think would set-up some really interesting development for her moving forward.

In the series, it seems like we largely see waterbenders having to use their hands in order to bend, so having injured, and then healing/scarring over, hands could negatively impact Katara's growing abilities as a bender for the remainder of Season 1. It's likely that Katara would continue trying to learn because she's driven, but she would have to work twice as hard for the progress we see her making in her abilities. Having to work so much harder would be a solid narrative tie-in with Zuko's disclosure that he was not a bending prodigy as a child but instead has had to work extra hard to become a powerful and skilled bender.

Additionally, once she gets to the North Pole, not knowing that she has healing abilities (abilities that she might have been able to use to heal her hands) could make for some more interesting dynamics with regard to the very gendered roles of the North Pole. A Katara who wants to learn to be a master waterbender (to be able to fight like her father and to also have been able to protect her mother) still works in this AU, but based on her healing journey we might have seen her struggling even more in her battle with Pakku, and we also might have seen a Katara who, because of her own experiences, was also interested in healing - not just because she's a girl, and it is therefore expected of her, but because this Katara would personally know that healing, like fighting, is a form of rebellion against the dangers of the Fire Nation (and fire itself).

I also think that learning about healing after it is too late for her to heal herself, would be a fascinating exercise in working through the heartbreak of not having known that at the time Aang burned her, wonder at the ability itself, and working towards acceptance and maintaining a positive view of self. That growing to accept her scars could be something we got to see her do after the Norther Pole, particularly after the transition into the Earth Kingdom's Upper Ring, where we see Katara having some of her first experiences of being pretty and painted-up for society (and herself). I also love the idea of Toph being totally cool with Katara's scars (not only because Toph doesn't care about that sort of thing, but also because they make Katara even more easily identifiable, by touch, to Toph).

Now, that work on acceptance isn't to say that Katara wouldn't take the blessed water and occasionally consider using it on herself, but Katara is someone that we repeatedly see believing in herself and being cared for by those around her (though we could have seen it more often throughout the series). Sokka would be extra protective for a time, but he'd also come to tell her about scars being considered impressive amongst Water Tribe warriors, telling her that they are a sign that she'd survived something significant. Aang would take time to forgive himself, but he'd be more mindful in the future, more aware that his actions have consequences. For Katara, that could be a silver lining, and an olive branch for addressing the physical and emotional hurt she felt as a result of his carelessness. As stated above, Toph wouldn't really care and would still probably call her "sugar queen" for kicks and giggles.

By the time we reach the Crystal Catacombs, therefore, Katara's hands might still hurt, and her bending might not be as strong as it would be if she hadn't been harmed, but she is largely at a place of peace with herself, her body, and her appearance. Zuko, however, who thinks he has caused her such significant pain, who has himself known so much pain, who unlike Katara has never known the love and approval of a father and sibling, and has shut himself off from the one source of love and care he's had in his life in the last three years is a different story. Katara recognizes that pain in him, and offers to use the spirit oasis water on him not out of a sense of self-sacrifice but from a place of healing herself. Offering to heal him (in more ways than just physically) is the ultimate act of accepting herself as she is and will now continue to be.

@demaparbat-hp, This is just such a great AU! I spent over an hour writing this, so thank you so much to you and @flowersadida for sharing your thoughts on it and to the anonymous person who prompted your drawing for it. You have all inspired me!

First of all—I may or may not have shed a tear at this. It's beautiful, and bittersweet, and a very thoughtful addition to Katara's journey.

Initially, Katara did try to heal her hands, and succeeded to a degree (repairing the damaged nerves and speeding the healing process, for example)—but instinct could only take her so far, so both the scars and limitation of movement remained.

Waterhealing must have limitations. It must be learned, like a language, like real medicine, and no matter how much raw talent you have—that means nothing unless you know what you're doing.

However, your idea that Katara didn't get to discover she could heal in time, for something as simple as not being alone at the moment, is heartbreaking and bittersweet and, Agni, I love it.

You've explained the ramifications such an incident would have, and it fits really well with the themes of this Book, this series and Katara's character in general. How healing Zuko's scar is her way to finally heal herself broke me.

Thank you for such a wonderful addition, and for the time and effort that went into this. I really hope more people will see this and feel compelled to add to this AU.

I support women's rights but also women's decades long revenge plots

More concepts for Lionheart Draco/Hermione by @greenerteacups now that we’re into 5th year. Angsty teen years bring it ON.

I love her bad temper and mean words <3<3 rip every spinoff and adaptation but I'm different

Zuko to Katara: 20 years from now I guarantee you I will be your second husband

Katara: what happened to my first husband

Zuko: nothing you can prove.

I haven’t posted here in forever : o 

“He’s just a boy.”

Pardon me as I enter my ATLA phase…