ok I'm sure this has been said but Sokka striding into a fucking Fire Nation school as Wang Fire is incredible & has swagger, considering that the origin for Wang is "King" in Old Chinese. I know most of this website is usamerican, so, I'll try to put this in a slightly lopsided, mostly vibes-based, and thoroughly unserious analogy:
The year is 1968, the height of the Vietnam War. A young Vietnamese dude and his sister walk into a conservative Christian school in Texas, United States to meet the principal. Not even batting an eyelash, the guy goes "Howdy, my name's President America, this is my wife Miss America, and we're here about our son, Jimmy."
(Later, it turns out that Jimmy is Jesus, and he threw a hippie party in a cave for the school kids. He was enrolled for two days.)
a/n: I didn't watch the leaked movie, but the clips on TikTok were more than enough. It's been a while since I last watched the series, so I've forgotten a lot, but I'm obsessed again.
“Flameo Hotman, huh?”
Your voice was heard through the quiet bedroom as you now leaned against the closed door, keeping your eyes on your husband's back while he was reading through the letter again.
“Don't start with that too.” Zuko wasn't really amused, biting his lip while his fingers curled around the right corner of the paper.
No matter how many times he read through it, the feeling didn't leave him. Something was going to happen, and it wasn't going to end well.
At least Aang still found the time to joke around, as he had asked for some firecracker buns.
While your husband was completely engrossed, you had walked up to him, waiting a couple of seconds for him to realise that you were standing behind him.
If someone had told you that Zuko was going to become that tall, you wouldn't have believed them, but after all, you two had met when you were still teenagers.
The tall male still not noticing his lover, he sighed heavily, which made you slowly put your arms around his waist.
For a second, Zuko stopped breathing, and then a soft, too-quiet-to-hear gasp made its way out of his parted lips.
No matter how many times you would touch him and show your affection, it would still have an effect on him, a good one.
Feeling your skin on his always made him realise that he wasn't alone. Maybe back then he had enjoyed the loneliness, not having enjoyed the company of others, as they always looked at him as if he were a monster, but it changed over time.
Zuko needed someone to calm him down. Someone who felt safe, someone who wouldn't leave him, and he found that in you. You never looked at him as if he were a monster. Sure, at first you didn't get along, but that still never made you say anything hurtful about him.
Your thumb lightly stroked over the fabric of his top, the feeling of his abs beneath your finger. “Remember to breathe,” you whispered against his back, hearing him breathe in slowly before exhaling.
Without a word, Zuko dropped the letter onto the small bedside table to now hold your right hand in his. His hand was calloused and bigger than yours, yet he held you as if you could break any second.
You gently laid a kiss on his back, slowly moving your arms away from him to sit down on the bed, and before Zuko could make a sound, you put your hand on his arm to pull him down so that he was sitting next to you.
The expression on his face had relaxed a fraction, but the frown was still visible in his eyebrows. His normally picture-perfect posture now hunched slightly forward, his elbows resting on his knees while his long hair was held up in a bun, only two strands left out.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Zuko heard your question and only responded with a slight shake of his head.
It's not like he hadn't missed them, he really did. Even though everything started out badly, he still learned to like them. Aang had not really changed, still beaming with happiness and finding ways to joke around. Katara was just as stubborn as she was when she was a teenager, but also gentle with everyone around her. Toph was chaos through and through, but in the best way possible, and Sokka would always find a way to be sarcastic but also overprotective, even without the bending abilities.
But it's been a while now. Though they did send letters to each other, meeting them would mean another adventure. The start of something that they might never be able to finish.
And honestly, Zuko was scared.
While your husband was deep in thought, you had gotten out a small hairbrush from the bedside table, quietly shuffling to sit behind him on the bed as your hands pulled his hair out of the bun.
Only then did Zuko snap out of his thoughts. His long dark hair now free from the restraint. “Can I?”
He didn't even need to know what you were asking about because he knew that you wanted to brush his hair, so he gave you a quiet “yes.”
You softly brushed his hair, trying not to accidentally hurt him as Zuko slowly closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the brush.
“Your hair has gotten so long,” you murmured, making Zuko smile slightly. He knew how much you loved his hair, but wearing it down was probably your favourite.
“Sometimes I feel like you only started liking me when my hair grew long.” Zuko jokingly said while leaning slightly back so that you could brush through his hair easier.
That made you chuckle softly, making your husband realise what you were thinking about. “Don't even dare say a word.”
And you stayed quiet, knowing how much he hated being reminded of his old hairstyle.
After a couple of minutes, you put the hairbrush on the bed and gently ran your fingers through his hair, making Zuko lean back even further just to feel your touch.
“Starving for my touch?” you cooed, a grin making its way onto your face as he chuckled. “Was it that easy to tell?”
“Very easy.” You whispered into his ear before gently turning his face to you with your hand on his cheek.
Not wasting another second, you leaned forward, pressing your lips gently against his. Just the slightest feeling of your plush lips always made him crave more as he tilted his head slightly to the side so that he was able to press his lips properly against yours.
None of it was rushed, taking your time as Zuko relaxed into the kiss even further, but before it could get heated, he slowly pulled back, his eyes searching for yours as you opened them.
“I love you,” he breathlessly whispered, now touching your forehead against his as you responded back with an “I love you too.”
And then, Zuko realised that everything would be fine. He had you, and you weren't going to leave.
The funniest trans headcanon for the Fire Siblings is that they're both trans and they just took each other's deadname. Their mother was supportive and their father just didn't notice because he doesn't give a fuck about his kids.
Ozai: Azula, my eldest. You're a failure and I hate you.
Zuko: I'm Zuko.
Ozai: I thought Zuko was the shorter one?
Azula: No, you're confused. Zuko is the one that sucks at firebending.
Zuko: Hey!
Ozai: Ah yes, of course.
Ozai: Zuko, my eldest. You're a failure and I hate you.
I was at the market today and a young man was very rude to the tea vendor. He said the tea was "just hot leaf water." Then proceded to laugh at the vendor.
He is correct. It is hot leaf water. And the leaves matter. And the temperature of the water matters. And the vessel you drink it from matters. And who you share it with matters most of all.
Everything is "just" something, if you are determined to miss the point.
