He yearned to go home, he yearned for fathers love and respect ,he yearned for his Mothers arms around him one more time, he yearned for the time before his sisters hatred.
He knew realistically he would always yearn for these things and never receive them, it still stung. But he would be alright, his life had always been hard and unforgiving with few good things he almost lost.
But this Yearning was different, it started Quite. Soft. Small. He never saw it coming. They gave him the love and forgiveness he didn’t know he could get from people who weren’t blood, they said they were his family now. He didn’t know what to do with it, he would die for them if they asked, they never would. They didn’t have to.
But with her… it was different…it started with wanting her to see he was changed, he Needed her to see he had. He Needed her to understand. Yearned for her acceptance.
She gave it to him and the Yearning was not gone. She hugged him more in the short time they knew each other than the majority of his old family, such warm and heartfelt embraces that he could return without fear of judgment or rejection. More. He Yearned for longer in the safety that was her arms, the warmth and love made his chest ache beautifully. He couldn’t ask for more, how could he ask for more when she gave so much of herself, not just him but to everyone.
He learned how to Yearn in silence when she left after the war, the last embrace almost broke him, the last embrace before the world separated his new family, the last embrace before She left him, Yearning for something that he didn’t know he wanted. Something he knew with every fiber of his being, would lead to nothing but more suffering than he could imagine. So he would be sure the smile would reach his eyes as he waved them bye. Waved her bye.
The Yearning was the family he always had, never leaving, always there, a soft embrace that was familiar and accepting in the way she was.
As a middle aged person in fandoms I feel like we don’t get a lot of “Flower shop/Tattoo parlor” AU in fanfic anymore. So this is me with my idea( warning it’s Zutara coded so if you don’t like it I understand, but please no hate)
After Zuko finishes his journey of healing and discovery (and books his sessions with his new therapist) he decides to finally take his Uncle up on coming home and resting/ working for free at his shop. He’s confused at first cause Uncle always said his tea was…. “In need of improvement” which was as his sister Azula put it “that’s a nice way of saying it taste like ass”, Iroh corrects him and tells him that it’s not the Tea shop that needs help but the flower shop next door that could use his green thumb. His sister doesn’t deny it and tells him if he wanted to he could help, his uncle got Azula a job there after she went thru all that shit with dad and she needed something to do while she was recovering mentally. She hated at first but took pride in the fact that her “ superior intellect” did indeed equal bigger and better blooms and blossoms in the plants, plus she may or may not have a slight crush on the owner who never pulled away from her and showing a “Cold and Calculating Monster” patience and understanding. But with said boss finally talking her in a better “work life/ personal life” balance the shop would need to hire more help…. So Zuko, he said yes after very little whining ( he missed him Uncle and wanted to spend time with his sister without his Father in either of their ears) and that’s how he got here on his second day of work, helping unload plants from a refrigerated truck. By the time he was done the shop was open for business, a steady stream of people in and out from every nation looking for arrangements and bouquets for every occasion . Then he sees her, she’s beautiful…..darker complexion with eyes the color of the ocean, dark brown hair braided with beads throughout it in a style of Water Tribe people, one arm covered in beautifully intricate ink while the other remained blank. She notices him staring and smiles quickly while she walks on, Zuko dumbly waves even tho she is long gone.
That’s all I got if anyone wants to run with it🤷🏻♀️
Artur bring “Treasure” to Fuse in exchange for treats
It started as an accident, Fuse lost a bolt off his arm and couldn’t find it. Artur saw something shiny and picked it up to his hiding place, but Fuse saw him and thought he found it for him. Artur was mad until Fuse gave him a piece of dried meat, Artur will now bring Fuse shiny bird treasure for food.
The first time Walter sees Houndy’s hand without gloves he takes note of the small scars and how warm their hand is as he reintroduces himself.
The first time Walter sees Houndy’s hair it’s s an accident, just a small strand that didn’t get tucked away properly. He think that it’s a pretty color and shiny. He tells them and watches them panic slightly.
The first time Walter sees Houndy’s forearm he sweats a little and clears his throat .
Mirage bought Bloodhound a Fuse body pillow as a joke and Houndy totally uses it. They’ve had it since pre-relationship and Houndy would practice talking to it. This is my headcanon and I will forever believe it.
Artur will land on Fuses shoulder and “whisper” ( coo and general bird noises) into his ear. Took Fuse a couple of weeks to teach him but was worth it in the end. The whole trick is Fuse says to “tell me a secret”, Artur will land on his shoulder make soft noises and look at the person (Bloodhound)Fuse looks surprised at and continues to tell him the secret.
When Fuse was first learning Bloodhounds language he had villagers help him out at first, but after greeting Houndy with “I love you, do me in the butt please” he stopped listening to the teenagers in the village.
Hiya!! 👋🏼😄 How's it going? Your fashion taste for Zuko in a Modern AU seems to be artsy, or maybe "formal" is the word. That shirt he wore when he gave Sokka romantic song advice looked Versace🧐. Anyway, I was wondering how you came up with it, he always struck me more as the type that didn´t care much about fashion, so I'm curious about other´s opinions and heacanons about it. And do you have any other fashion headcanons for the rest of the GAang? Also, their music tastes. How did you come up with them? Especially Katara's! 😍
Hello! As it happens, I have a lot of Thoughts and Feelings™ about this, so I'm leaving these over here, and the rest of my ramblings down below the cut!
Let us begin with the Gaang, shall we?
SUKI always struck me as that Pretty Girl from the Gym. She is so incredibly fit it isn't even funny. She could kick anyone's ass, and we'd all thank her. She has this casual gym style that somehow always looks glorious on her, as it should! Comfy yet fashionable clothes for a nice workout or a day in town.
Her music tastes are basically any and all power songs from the eighties and nineties. (Eye of the Tiger, anyone?) She also enjoys metal via Toph, and bands like BSB, NSYNC, or Boyz II Men with Katara. My girl has a very eclectic Playlist and we all love her for it.
SOKKA is That Guy™. Loose T-shirts and shorts everywhere he goes, no matter the weather. He's stupidly into fashion but it doesn't show! At all! And everyone teases him about it. His closet is about 90% Cactus Juice merchandise, hence the "it's the quenchiest!" shirt.
His fashion and music tastes are pretty much the same. He loves poetry but isn't really into lyrics. He'll misinterpret just about anything you place in front of him. His Playlist is mostly vibes and tiktok songs he kind of enjoys. He isn't really into music...at least not as much as his sister.
AANG owns exactly one hoodie, one pair of shorts, and one beanie (THE beanie). Oh, and the crocs—don't forget the crocs. Somehow, he's always wearing the exact same outfit. Every. Single. Day. Ancient Gaang lore suggests that the day Aang goes out without his beanie, it's the end of the world.
His Playlist is the poppiest, most bizarre thing ever. Every single song is Happy by Pharrell Williams levels of happy. Yet sometimes, among the bouncy dance-to songs, you'll find the strangest of things... (He does know what Good Day by Twenty One Pilots is about. That's the reason he likes it so much, actually. And it's so weird.)
KATARA is all about sundresses and loose pants. The epitome of comfortable loveliness. Light fabrics in blue shades, careful embroidery, delicate shoes, and little to no accessories—hers is a simple, yet quite adorable, style. She just needs to add more colors to her usual palette...
She is, first and foremost, a Florence + The Machine girl. It's the Dark Goddess of the Sea vibes, to be honest. Florence Welch is her idol and yes, she will fight you about lyrics interpretation, and win. It may not seem like it, but her music tastes are also very varied.
She draws a little from each member of the Gaang, so you'll hear her humming along to Gorillaz (where did you even find out about them, Aang?), The Weeknd (I...don't think this song means what you think it means, Sokka...), and Hozier (Zuko why did you dedicate Talk to me, Zuko WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY THAT).
TOPH...ah, lovely girl. I'll summarise everything about Toph’s fashion sense in two words: comfort and rebellion. Stuffy dresses forced on her by billionaire parents? No thank you! Give her tank tops with loose shirts and short pants. Bandaids shared with Aang, bracelets from Katara, and even piercings she got in tandem with Sokka. Shoes? What even is that?
Something I love about this fandom is our collective agreement that Toph is into the dirtiest, heaviest, most ear-splitting and soul-crushing death metal of all times. Her Playlist is full of the most obscure names to ever exist, and she can and will blast through your walls with the sheer volume of her speaker.
Zuko. ZUKO.
Even in a modern AU my boy must suffer. That being said, I envision Tales from the Couch as—well, exactly what it is: an ATLA modern AU. While there is not a war to fight, and a lot of plot lines are discarded or expanded upon, much about the core story remains the same.
This is my way of saying that Zuko still goes trough his redemption arc, and it reflects on his fashion choices.
The way you described it works perfectly because of one single reason: in this AU, Zuko is an artist. He had to suppress his love for writing and drawing because of his background and the expectations Ozai had for him (taking over the family company), and a very large part of his redemption arc directly affects his relationship with art.
In the Couch equivalent of S1, Zuko has fallen out of Ozai's graces, and is desperate to protect his place in the company and the Kasai household. He's pretending to be someone he isn't and trying to live up to his Father's image of a perfect heir while still being somewhat cut-off financially, and it shows.
He's all about imposing long coats and a semi-formal style, imitating what he knows Azula and Father would respect. He's striking and sharp and dark. But no matter how he dresses or carries himself (that air of cold superiority and arrogance)—it won't help him when he needs it the most.
In S2, Zuko has hit his lowest point. He's officially disinherited and tossed away by his father, and would be out in the streets if it wasn't for Uncle Iroh. He goes from sharp, high-tailored outfits to old second-hand clothes that hang loosely on his frame. He starts smoking and cuts his hair off, forgoing the undercut for the first time in years.
But then...Father accepts him back. When Zuko returns home, it's with respect to his name and a very high position in his father's company. He's finally the perfect Kasai heir, dressed in overly expensive suits and finery, even at home... But Father forbids him from wearing Lu Ten's earring, and Zuko can no longer recognize himself without the familiar glint of gold dancing on his peripheral vision.
When Zuko leaves the Kasai name behind him and goes back to living with Uncle Iroh...he's finally at peace with who he is, and what he wants in this life. The sharp edges aren't gone (they'll always be a part of him, after all), but now they're dulled by looser clothes and softer hairstyles.
He's an artist, and for once in his life, he is determined to pursue his own ambitions. Zuko's outfits may not be designer-made anymore, but he takes what he has and makes himself look like he wants to look, like the person he wants to be.
He doesn't read fashion magazines or keeps up to the latest trends like Azula does. He's just...Zuko. And his newfound confidence makes everything he wears look like it belongs on him.
As for music...well, Ursa raised a literature boy.
He loves lyric-heavy music and natural voices, be they soothing or powerful. Dissecting song meanings and possible interpretations with Katara is one of his favorite parts of the day. They're both very passionate and strong-minded individuals, so it stands to reason that their debates can get quite...heated.
Zuko's Playlist is both incredibly eclectic and somehow very...him. There's a common thread that binds together every song and artist he likes, and he's hilariously unaware of this. To take a look into his Playlist is a higher honor reserved only for those closest to him.
In the wide spectrum of things, it is no wonder that Zuko is, first and foremost, a Hozier man. But though Andrew is his God in all aspects of this life, there's someone else that has had a huge impact on him...
Two someones, actually.
Zuko refuses to tell anyone how he got into Twenty One Pilots, but it's kind of a moot point when the beginning of his obsession is nothing compared to everything that came after. They have just about the right amount of everything that makes Zuko...well, Zuko. The poetic lyrics, the soothing or raging music, the heavy, intensely resonant themes...
Up there, in the second artwork, I placed an album cover behind each period of Zuko's life. The election of these records is intentional, as I feel like their general themes work incredibly well with Zuko's arc and growth.
Blurryface in S1. For the demons within us. For giving a name to our fears and shame.
Trench in S2. For escaping the confined walls of a depression city, and fighting to understand the depths of the map of your mind.
Scaled and Icy in the first half of S3. For returning to places you had left behind. For convincing yourself and everyone around you that you're fine, that you're perfect, even though everything is crumbling inside...
Clancy in S3. For recognizing that you can backslide, that you can have fears and shame and pain—but you're shaping yourself with each step you take. For knowing that seeking help from others is okay. Nobody learns to walk on their own.
(And, in the end, you'll always be better than the person you were yesterday. If only because you're still here. You're still alive. You're still yourself.)
.
Overall, I rambled a bit too much, don't you think?
If you made it all the way down here—thank you so much for reaching out and being interested in this crazy AU! I hope you enjoy these ideas and tell me some of your own ❤️
Fuse and Valk while waiting for a respawn from Hound are the ultimate “hype men”. They cheer and victory screech at literally everything Hound does, so much so that the other Legends that are waiting in the drop ship with them get a little worried about Hound bringing their A game. Only to look at the screen and realize that BH just jump over a 2ft wall and Fuse and Valk are going ape over it.
My grandparents have both been with Creator for a bit now, and of coarse I miss them, but I think I miss the feeling of family that i associate with the house. Like every holiday everyone would go to “grandmas house”, I had 2 aunts and 4uncles and each has/had 3 or 4 kids (big family 😅), but everyone would make it a point to go for Christmas, cousins didn’t always get along and sometimes the “adults” would yell or argue. But the house was warm and the food was delicious and staying up till 12 to open presents was awesome…….
My grandpa passed 1st, then grandma a couple of years later. At this point only 4 of my grandparents children are still alive ( my mom included), no one really “fought” over any of my grandmas things…the youngest of the siblings just told everyone that “mom left me the house” and they just let him have it.
It sucked to see my family that I loved fall apart as fast as it did after grandma passed. I never realized that the day I went to go pick up my stupid instapot and grab the last container of waters would be the last time I was gonna be in that house.
I drive by it sometimes not really thinking about it, going to check in on grandma and see how she’s doing only to realize that she’s not there and I get a bit choked up. Today was just a little harder I guess.
I don’t expect anyone to read this, I just wanted to put it out Incase anyone else ever did the same a did t want to feel crazy 😅
AU where Katara finds unknown man on the shore, not far from the Northern Water tribe village. No one is speaking truth, bending is forbidden and Katara questions many things that seemed certain.
AU where Katara finds unknown man on the shore, not far from the Northern Water tribe village. No one is speaking truth, bending is forbidden and Katara questions many things that seemed certain.
[I really can't get it right with flipping images all the time, zuko's scar is again on the wrong side in one of the panels #iamanidiot]
This is Zu—I mean, Jian Li and Katara's second meeting in the Kyoshi Warriors AU. The first proper one, anyway.
Once they get through a minor difference of opinion or two (“I can carry my own basket!” “Never said you—” “I'm not weak!” “I didn't—” “Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean—” “Would you listen for once, woman?!” ) they'll become nearly inseparable.
For now Jian Li will carry Katara's basket all the way to the Kyoshi Warriors' dojo and, once there, they'll mercilessly tease Sokka when they see him in uniform.
love the idea of zuko keeping a journal and secretly an artist. So sometimes when he journals he would get distracted and start drawing whatever caught his attention lately
eventually a certain waterbender finds out about their local firebender's secret :3
