Zuko

"I know you're nervous, but remember firebending in and of itself is not something to fear. " *************Disclaimer************* I claim ownership over nothing. I (this RP) am solely associated with Anime Unleashed.

[leaves-from-the-vine]

Meow. That is all.

[blindbadgermole]

Stone Cold || Toph & Zuko

[blindbadgermole]

The person by her bedside, a boy from the sound of his voice, claimed to be Iroh’s nephew, Zuko.

Oh.

"You’re the Zuko…huh…”

So this was the esteemed nephew Iroh talked so much about. The prodigal son or whatever.

Somewhere in the back of her mind Toph remembered the conversation Iroh had had with her before he left…something about seeing his nephew and trying to bring him here.

Though the news made her calmer, it didn’t placate her desire to ‘see’ Iroh for herself. In her time spent with him in the tea shop, she had come to know him as someone she could look up to: the uncle she never had, really.

Oh sure she’d had uncles and aunts in her youth, and they would come by her parents’ home to visit every now and again, but they were nothing to her. They were strangers who dropped by to pinch her cheeks, shower her with meaningless trinkets and promptly ignore her in the time they stayed at the manor. They never bothered to talk to her one-on-one, never saw her as more than the unfortunate little blind child of their relatives.

Iroh was different. He was kind and uplifting, always ready with tea and a word of wisdom for anyone who would stop and listen. He shared many things about himself with her, and she found that she could share with him as well. Some of her fondest memories of her new life in Bunkyo featured him and afternoon conversation over tea.

'This guy doesn't know how lucky he has it.' 

The fact remained, however, that Toph had come to the shop to see him, and as nice as it was that his beloved nephew was here, she wasn’t gonna relax until she knew Iroh was here as well.

She opened her eyes, fighting sleep and the lead weight of her eyelids, willing herself to feel well enough to sit up. She may as well play nice with him, since he was kinda sorta her honorary cousin… in a sense.

Her blank gaze was fixed forward and she swallowed thickly again, breathing a little too heavily than she would have liked, and said,"Yeah yeah…m’fine y’know…you don’t have to…bu-"

She stopped herself, fighting the feel of bile rising from her stomach. At this point, she hadn’t been able to keep anything down, so what left her body was nothing more than water and acid.

Oma and Shu, I hate this!

The girl swallowed thickly again, rolling onto her side facing Zuko to calm her clenching guts. She tried again.

"Bu- ugh. I guess…"

Jeez, how hard was it to say ‘hey, it’s nice to finally meet you’!? She tried to keep the pain out of her eyes, not wanting to seem totally pathetic at the moment. 

Though she didn’t care too much for appearances, even she knew she was a train-wreck right now: her bangs stuck to her sweaty forehead, and her loose clothes clinging to her skin, sweat almost all the way through. She felt achy and her head spun in this new position. Ugh, she even smelled sick.

Her battle to fend off the rising feeling of nausea was lost, and she promptly clapped a hand over her mouth.

It would make a pretty shitty first impression to puke all over him after all.

[leaves-from-the-vine]

He waited for her response, and as it came he was kind of surprised.

"You’re the Zuko…huh…”

'Has Uncle been talking about me?' Zuko wondered.

He felt embarrassed suddenly of what he might have told her. Uncle liked to tell embarrassing stories, even about himself if it got others to laugh.

Zuko watched the girl try and get a sense of herself. She had opened her eyes, but didn't act as if she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, didn't even shift her gaze.

Zuko asked himself 'Was this girl used to waking up in strange places?' 

"Yeah yeah…m’fine y’know…you don’t have to…bu-"

For a second he almost thought that she had answered his question, but quickly realized she was talking about something else. Zuko was surprised at how this girl didn't seem to want to be helped. She was stronger than she looked. He was impressed, but she may have been a little too stubborn to admit anything was wrong and got too ahead of herself.

"Bu- ugh. I guess…"

She had tried to sit up, but didn't appear yet ready. Not that he could blame her, for trying or not just not being able. He was like her, he didn't like others to help him if he was in need, even if something was too much to bear alone. He was too proud to admit things some times, especially when it came to being defeated.

"Stay right here..." He realized how stupid what he had just said was "I'm uh... gonna go see how Iroh is coming with the tea...."

Zuko stood up and walked out of the room.

'Real genius you are. Don't move... as if she was going anywhere!'

He walked into the kitchen where Iroh was making the tea.

"How's it coming along, Uncle?" He asked.

"Good, good." Iroh responded. "It'll be perfect soon."

Zuko could see the steam rising from the tea pot. 

"Now...." Iroh grabbed two tea cups and poured them full. "Perfect!" He exclaimed happily.

"So I guess I'll just get out of your way while you take care of the rest. I should probably head to my dorm anyways...." Zuko said.

"Now where do you think you're going, Zuko?" His uncle asked.

"I was gonna-" Zuko started.

"No, you're gonna stay right here and take care of our guest. I've got to go out and get some supplies from the market, and finish unpacking our luggage." Iroh smiled at Zuko.

"But Uncle-" Zuko tried again.

"Besides, it'll give you a chance to get to know someone. It'll be good for you, Zuko." Iroh said, handing Zuko the two cups.

"Now take care of her! She's a valued customer!" His uncle laughed and turned back and walked out of the shop.

Standing there with two steaming cups in his hands and with no idea of how to help this girl, Zuko gave into the idea that the only thing he could do would be to give her the tea and maybe try and comfort her.

Zuko nervously walked back into the room with the girl in it.

"Um... I brought you tea my uncle made. He said that it should help. I know you'd probably prefer him but he had to go out...."

He awkwardly sat down next to the girl, not knowing what to do next, and held out the cup.

[leaves-from-the-vine]

mug, chai

Mug: When/where do you normally drink tea?

I drink tea throughout the day. I usually just go down to my university shop (on campus) and pick some up. Tazo is a good brand.

Chai: What do you order at Starbucks?

I usually just get a sandwich. Shame they no longer have the Jones & Jones Cream Soda that they used to have! 3

A Vanilla Bean Frappachino is good too.

I hear that the secret menu Butterbeer is good as well.

[leaves-from-the-vine]

Lady Grey Irish Breakfast

Lady Grey: Favorite outfit?

Honestly, my favorite of my outfits is the one that I modeled to look like the 11th doctor's outfit. xD

I have the red bowtie, I wear my slim leather boots, my slim black dress pants, and the striped blue shirt. I love it! (I even have the red bracers, but I tend to wear the belt, unless in cosplay.)

Irish Breakfast: What country do you want to visit?

Well, I would LOVE to visit England or Scotland/Ireland. It would be amazing to run around the grassy hills, and being a dork.

[leaves-from-the-vine]

earl grey, milk, sugar, bubble tea

Earl Grey: How do you take your tea?

Hmmm. Well I like chilled green tea, and black tea with lemon.

Milk: Do you have any allergies?

I do not. (at least that I'm aware of, nothing yet!) Butttttt, I do sneeze a lot when I walk into bright sunlight xD

Sugar: Tell me about your first crush.

Oh god. My firrrrst crush. Hmmmm. I believe to be a girl names Karen when I was like in second grade or something xD I was in a private school and I assume she was pretty, and kind. I remember that the teacher used to say her name and that her and I would get confused with who was called because Cameron and Karen sound similar when yelled out quickly.

Apparently I also had something of a crush on one of my mom's friends or something cause I apparently talked about how one day I would be a superhero and save her, and that I'd have a million dollars and that we'd get married. xD

Bubble Tea: What ride would you pick at an amusement park?

Personally, I like fast roller coasters, but not the ones that just spin, go up or down, or in a circle. (Those boat rides where you just sit there and it swings back and forth till it goes in a complete circle.)

[leaves-from-the-vine]

tea ask!

earl grey: how do you take your tea?

lady grey: favorite outfit?

irish breakfast: what country do you want to visit?

chamomile: comfort movie?

peppermint: what's your favorite holiday and why?

milk: do you have any allergies?

sugar: tell me about your first crush

honey: type out the last text you sent

green tea: where do you feel most at peace?

bubble tea: what ride would you pick at an amusement park?

mug: when/where do you normally drink tea?

chai: what do you order at starbucks?

oolong: what are you hoping to be doing in ten years?

[leaves-from-the-vine]

Insert scar symbols here haha mobile dirty

Physical.

-In case it wasn't obvious, Zuko has a huge burn scar around his eye, and going to his ear, on the left side of his face. It happened as the result of an accidental Agni Kai (honorary challenge) with his father. He didn't mean it to be his father. Zuko refused to fight his own father, and for his dishonor he was permanently scarred to mark his shame and banished from the Fire Nation.

Emotional

-He has MANY emotional scars, but one of his hardest ones to hold is the one made by his mother's disappearance. One night, after Azula had teased him that her father would kill him since their father mocked their uncle's weakness for moarning his son's loss and that was the punishment the Fire Lord found fit (for mocking the pain of losing a son, he would have to lose his own son), his mother woke him up to say goodbye. Zuko, being young and tired, didn't understand what was happening, and when he woke up the next day, she had vanished. His mother was the one who has always taught him to do the right thing, to play nice with others, to care for people, and was always there to lighten the heavy emotional maltreatment his father gave him. With her gone, he was lost, left to cling for the attention of the one person who would never give it to him, the one person he thought he needed it from most. His father.

[leaves-from-the-vine]

Drabbles

Nightmare: I'll write my character having a nightmare about yours, or vice versa.

Kiss: I'll write our characters sharing a kiss, it can be innocent or passionate.

Traumatic: I'll write my or your characters going through a traumatic experience.

Murder: I'll write my character killing yours or vice vesra.

Home: I'll write our characters living together.

Holiday: I'll write our characters celebrating a holiday together.

Prank: I'll write our characters pulling pranks on each other.

Scars: I'll write your character touching my character's scars or vice versa

Sketching: I'll write your character drawing mine or vice versa

Warmth: I'll write our characters getting warm.

Solace: I'll write my character comforting yours or vice versa

Drink: I'll write our characters drinking together

Game: I'll write our characters playing a game.

Love: I'll write our character's falling in love.

Death: I'll write our character's mourning over each other.

Hate: I'll write our character's hating each other.

Seduce: I'll write my character trying to seduce yours or vice versa

Old: I'll write our characters growing old together

Song: I'll write our character's singing or playing a musical instruments.

Passion: I'll write our characters having intercourse

Child: I'll write our characters raising a child.

Poem: I'll write my character speaking a poem to yours or vice versa

Insane: I'll write my character is insane inside asylum and yours is the doctor, vice versa

[inboxideas]

Send “How did we get in this mess?” and I’ll use a random number generator:

Our characters are pinned down under enemy gunfire inside a building. Write a drabble for what they do.

One of our characters has been declared “Patient Zero.”

Your character walks in on mine in the shower.

My...

[leaves-from-the-vine]

Everybody has some kind of scar. Send me a ✗ to hear about a physical scar my character has, or a ✧ to hear about an emotional/mental scar.

[blindbadgermole]

Stone Cold || Toph & Zuko

[blindbadgermole]

It was a dreamless, restless sleep she was in, and more often than not she found herself drifting in and out of consciousness, catching sensations and ghosts of conversations here and there. Iroh was in her dream…but so was someone else, a voice she’d never heard before.

There might have also been a talking dragon or two, but she was pretty sure those were just fever hallucinations.

Toph finally stirred at the sound of pots clanging and the smell of tea brewing. Huh? She thought the shop had been closed…

She could tell someone was nearby from the sound of breathing, though that may have just been her: she was panting like she’d run a 40k instead of having just woken up from a fainting spell.

Oh right. She’d passed out in front of the shop. Ugh.

Toph didn’t like making a spectacle of herself unless she meant to.

She tried opening her eyes, though they felt like lead weights on her face. Sand prickled at the corners, and she frowned at the sensation. The blind girl tried lifting a hand to wipe her eyes, but even that became a chore.

Her whole body was sore and uncomfortable, and her neck cricked like she’d been lying flat for too long. 

'Wow, how long have I been out?'

As she came to, more things became clear to her. For one, there was a wet cloth on her head, though perhaps too wet, since the cool water dripped down into her hair and past her ears.

Two: the stranger in her dream was real. Toph recognized the lumpy cot she was lying on as the one Iroh used for naps throughout the day by the store room. There was a dip in it she figured was the weight of whoever it was that was tending to her.

'What happened while I was out? Since when did Iroh get back?'

She whimpered, shifting as her muscles groaned and her head throbbed painfully. Now she could feel how sick she was, how beads of sweat still formed on her skin though she shivered with cold, how her empty stomach stuck to her spine and twisted in her gut.

'Spirits, this sucks.'

Her arms felt disconnected from her, and she had to try a few times before she could swat at the hand of whoever it was sitting by her. Before she could speak, Toph had to swallow thickly.

"Who’re you? Where’s the old man?"  she demanded through her thick, parched tongue. She wanted Iroh here, not some random dude.

[leaves-from-the-vine]

Zuko kept dampening the cloth, trying to make sure the girl would be okay, but in attempt to not disappoint his uncle he was afraid he may have been overdoing it as some water had been running out of the towel and down the girls face.

He was lost in thought 'What am I even doing? Who is this girl? I hope my uncle knows what he's doing....' when the girl stirred.

It was very gentle at first, she gave out a whimper, and slight shifts in her body as she stirred.

He waited apprehensively for her to wake.

'What do I even say to her when she wakes?'

Her hand rose and tried to pat his away. She swallowed and managed to somehow, even in her fragile state, demand

"Who’re you? Where’s the old man?"

He replied cautiously, not wanting to upset her.

"I'm uh, assuming you're talking about my uncle, Iroh. I'm... um... I'm his nephew. Zuko...." 

He was afraid to say much more. More afraid that she may somehow recognize his name, like so many back home did, and prayed she didn't open her eyes. His scar on his face showed a person all they needed to know to recognize who he was, and he couldn't handle his first meeting with a new person to go exactly as it did back home. He didn't want her fear and avoidance.

[leaves-from-the-vine]

Zuki. OWO first realization?

-"I thought you were my enemy...."-"You're the fan to my flames/fire."-"I'm not the only quiet one...."-"We are both hidden by masks."-"You look nice in your armor."-"You're a girl worth fighting for/with."-"No need to guard your heart."-"You can stop fighting your feelings."

[leaves-from-the-vine]

Zutara. **your choice**

-"This waters cold." "I'll fix that."-"You could say it's heating up."-"Our love is a rapid boil."-"You're not alone." "Neither are you."-"It's okay to let it show."-"They took both of our mothers...."-"It's tough, but I love you."-"Once I used to hate you."-"I can see past your scar."-"Let me take away your pain."

[inboxideas]

Send me a ship and a situation and I'll write a six word short story about it.

submitted by anonymous.

(little reminder: “ships” don’t have to just be of the romantic variety.)

[leaves-from-the-vine]

(Not practiced in all ships, but brilliant at short summaries :P)

[blindbadgermole]

It started as a minor cough; a sniffle, really.

When exactly it all began, Toph couldn’t say. What reason did she have to worry after all? She’d never been sick a day in her life! She was as healthy as an ostrich-horse and twice as ornery, so a few sniffles here and there were surely nothing to...

[leaves-from-the-vine]

"You know what uncle, I'm glad I'm finally getting to go back with you." Zuko said as he packed up his bag for the morning. His uncle, standing behind him in the room as Zuko packed, looked at him with a slight smile and replied "Me too Zuko. Me too." He almost teared up as he imagined a new peace falling over his nephews life, and the joy that they would surely have together, but pulled himself together as he said "Besides, now I have someone else to help me with my tea shop. Good tea doesn't brew itself you know." Zuko laughed, and with that Iroh patted his nephew on the back and left the room.

Zuko finished packing up his bag, turned out the light, and layed on his bed, thinking of what it'd be like to finally get away, to finally do what it was that he wanted. He was glad that he was going with his uncle, glad that he'd get out from under the controlling sway of his father, glad that just maybe he could finally make real friends, not just ones that respected him out of fear for his father. He'd never had that. A real friend. He turned on his side and his thought went to the possibility of maybe meeting a girl there. Someone nice, and kind. Like his mother. A tear slid down his cheek. He didn't wipe it away for it was due to how much he missed his mother, wherever she had gone to, and this tear was the closest connection he had to her. With that he finally fell asleep.

The next day Zuko and Iroh left the place Zuko had called home, and headed towards their future together, towards his uncle's tea shop, the Jasmine Dragon, towards Bunkyo. Zuko was excited to begin the new year, but always nervous about how he would handle the transition. He wondered if he could get past being his father's son. He wondered if he could really start over, find people that would truly care about him. He had his uncle, so that wasn't such a bad start.

Just then Iroh walked up to him. "Zuko, don't look so worried. You'll do fine!" He smiled at Zuko.

"But what if I mess up? What if I don't fit in?" Zuko asked.

"You will! Now stop worrying!" He patted Zuko on you back. "I'm so proud of you Zuko." Iroh sniffled this last part.

"Uncle... That's all I want." He smiled up at Iroh.

"Now." Iroh wiped away any tears building in his eyes and smiled. "Time for some tea. It'll do us good. Besides, I have't had any since we've left!" "That was only a couple of hours ago, Uncle." Zuko teased.

"I know, but one can never have too much tea." Iroh pulled out some tea cups, and handing one to Zuko, went to the kettle to fix them both some tea.

The ride didn't last much longer after that. They both sat and talked, discussing Zuko's college choice, his "likely" chances of finding a lady since he was so handsome, according to his uncle, and of how he would be always welcome with Iroh, no matter what happened.

They finally arrived at Bunkyo. They left the transport and began heading towards the shop, Zuko carrying most of the luggage.

"Uncle, I hope not all of this luggage is for tea." Zuko said as he struggled to carry their bags.

"Don't worry, I think I have some socks in there somewhere." His uncle replied.

Zuko grimaced at the thought of his uncle's old socks mixing in with the tea kettles, and the fact that he had drunken from them just a few hours earlier.

After a what seemed like hours for Zuko, they were close.

"Uncle! How much further? We could have rented a cart at least if it was going to be this long of a walk!" Zuko panted out.

Suddenly Iroh let out a gasp and ran forward, towards the now visible shop.

"I knew you missed the shop uncle, but I didn't think...." Zuko cut his sentence short as he realized what his uncle was rushing for. He dropped the bags, a loud roar of kettles let out, as he ran to join his uncle.

There was a young girl, mostly covered in dirt. Had she never showered before? He thought to himself.

"Zuko, take this key and open the shop." Iroh handed Zuko the shop key and lifted the girl up. "Quickly Zuko."

Zuko managed to open the doors to the shop as Iroh carried the girl in. She looked like she was in need of real help as all the color was drained from her face, and she seemed unconscious.

"Zuko, wet a towel while I go lay her down" His uncle ordered.

Zuko ran over to the sink, searching for a towel in this strange, new environment. He found one next to the knives and quickly dampened it from the sink. He also filled up a bowl in case they needed more. He then moved to the back of the shop to join the girl and his uncle.

"Good. Thank you, Zuko." His uncle said as he pressed the wet towel on the girls head.

"Now, I need you to keep doing this while I go make some tea."

"Uncle, do you really think this is the time to-" He was retorting, but Iroh cut him off "Don't worry Zuko, she'll be fine. She just needs to cool down and to have some rest. Besides, I've never seen a malady that tea couldn't cure." His uncle reassured him and walked off towards the kitchen.

Zuko continued to dampen the cloth, slowly cooling off the young girls head.

[1stgleek]

That moment when you sit at 01:00 am in your room, crying because of freaking Iroh/Zuko relationship! THANKS IROH YOU STUPID BASTARD! We all love you!

[unlucked]

"My heart burns for you!"