just brings the lyrics to “i wish i knew you when i was young” to mind, and it rings very true to aang and how i’ve always looked at him:
you, you shine like a star
you’re everything beautiful
still everything beautiful
aang is the lone one - quite literally. the only air nomad left. he is lonely. and he burns bright. an undying light spirit. the avatar. he is confident in who is, his people, and where he came from. like the sun, he draws people in, and they revolve around him. aang sets everything in motion. radiant and everything beautiful. burning too bright and too special to touch.
but zuko, fire prince, doesn’t shirk away from burning too hot. who’s gotten scorched once before and transformed because of it. who has learned to temper himself. who’s ever-blazing flames are drawn to aang’s unconfined conviction. aang, who by nature peels back the tight, red-hot embers tessellated around zuko’s heart. lets the air in, lets it breathe and burn high, free and spirited.
aang, who could also easily suffocate a fire, if uncontrolled, with the absence of the oxygen stored within his strong lungs.
zuko, who strikes a match within aang, causing the air to whirl and bound, combusting into innumerable variations and possibilities. aang, who couldn’t know the depths of his strength, and who couldn’t know how supported he truly was, without zuko’s stable and constant undercurrent of supplied heat.
zuko, who’s heat could also be dulled and withdrawn, leaving the air directionless, unfocused, and painfully thin.
aang has immense depth. he’s not just the sunshine character. he chooses to be silly and whimsical. he could be dangerous if not for who he is by nature. he is light-hearted because of his pain and loneliness. because of his beliefs and the strength he displays every day. zuko knows this. and circles around him for that very reason - supporting and complimenting his every move.
aang is lonely, but very much not alone.
dailybridgerton
turnnoffyourmind
izzy806
titsay
