I just realized that both Sozin and Azulon were unusually old when they conceived their heirs
I was looking at the avatar wiki because I was very confused how Sozin could be Zuko's great grandfather when he was 165 years older than Zuko (on average most people's great grandparents are only 60-90 years older than them)
I realized that both Sozin and Azulon ended up having their heirs much later in life than most people. Sozin was born in 82 BG and had his only son Azulon in 0 AG, at the age of 82. Azulon went on to have his sons Iroh in 45 AG, when he was 45 years old, and Ozai in 55 AG, when he was 55.
For comparison, Ozai had Zuko in 83 AG, when he was 28, and Azula in 85 AG, when he was 30. (We don't know what year Lu Ten was born or how old he was when he died, but I would guess he was about a decade older than Zuko which would mean Iroh had him in his late 20s or early 30s)
I just think it's a really odd thing that both Sozin and Azulon had children later in life(and at a very old age for Sozin) I know it was just because they wanted Sozin to be Zuko's great-grandfather and not his great-great-grandfather or his great-great-great-grandfather, but it's still a weird little detail
To compare, Zuko was 51 when his grandson Iroh wwas born in 134 AG, which is younger than his grandfather was when his younger son, Ozai was born
BG astands for "Before Genocide", referring to years prior to the Air Nomad's genocide.
Notes: Based on a request from @henrysmorgan for “Evening tea after a meeting at the fire nation palace. Sleepless nights, mood lighting, conversation-turned-confession, delicious tea, delicious Iroh.” ♥
Growing up as the daughter of a Fire Nation nobleman was usually relatively dull, until one particular event you attended at the age of thirteen, a banquet following the coronation of Fire Lord Izumi. You would never forget the day.
During the banquet, while your parents were deep in conversation with some other nobles, you decided to wander around the massive ballroom. You had been admiring the countless beautiful paintings hanging around the room, when you distractedly bumped into someone. Being mid-step, it knocked you off balance, and you would have fallen flat on your back if they hadn’t grabbed your arm to catch you. When you looked up at your savior, you realized it was a boy about your age. He gazed down at you with intense amber eyes, an adorable dimple on each cheek, and the realization of how cute he was made your mouth go dry and your face flush.
“I’m so sorry for running into you, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” you managed to croak out, as the boy steadied you on your feet. He smiled kindly at you, then shook his head.
“Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t watching where I was going either,” he said with a soft chuckle and a charming smile. “My name’s Iroh. What’s yours?”
You told him your name, and the two of you exchanged bows.
“So, what was it that had caught your eye?” Iroh inquired, and you gestured toward the paintings on the wall.
“I was looking at all these lovely paintings. They’re the most beautiful works of art I’ve ever seen,” you confessed, and Iroh nodded as he followed your gaze.
“I can show you my favorite one in the palace if you’d like,” he offered, and extended his hand. You grinned and nodded, placing your hand in his and allowing him to guide you out of the ballroom and through the palace.
Although you felt practically dizzy from the sparks you felt from holding hands with this boy you’d just met, you couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure it’s okay that we leave the banquet? I’m worried we’re not supposed to be running around the palace like this.”
“It’s fine, trust me,” Iroh assured you, before escorting you to another large, yet empty room. You looked around in awe, at the sheer size and beauty of the room. Golden trinkets, swords, and daggers lined the shelves and walls, along with numerous ancient-looking scrolls and books. Your house wasn’t small by any means, but it was nothing compared to the royal palace.
“Come on, my favorite painting is over here,” Iroh said, smiling brightly at how intrigued you were by the whole room, before leading you to the other side of the room.
A colossal painting covered the entire wall, encased in an ornate, gold frame. The picture depicted a large piece of land, with blackened, burned trees and grass, but small signs of life beginning to bloom from the ashes. Tall rock formations stood in the background, and the sun shone brightly over the landscape. A few trees were growing leaves again, grass peeked through the rubble in some spots, birds were flying through the sky and resting on trees, and small creatures were exploring on the ground.
“It shows the location of Fire Lord Ozai’s attack on Earth Kingdom land on the day of Sozin’s Comet, where Avatar Aang defeated him. It represents how the world began to heal in the aftermath,” Iroh explained, and you smiled as you soaked in the picture’s meaning.
“It’s so pretty,” you whispered, still in awe over the painting.
“Not as pretty as you,” Iroh stated softly, and you immediately turned to look at him, a blush quickly rising to your cheeks. The two of you grinned at one another, before a guard popped into the room, ruining the moment.
“There you are, Prince Iroh. The Fire Lord has been wondering where you are. The feast is about to begin.”
Iroh merely nodded, and wordlessly took your hand again before following the guard, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and you hadn’t just met him fifteen minutes prior (not that you were complaining in the slightest).
“You didn’t mention that you’re the prince!” you whispered, and Iroh grinned slightly as he shrugged.
“It wasn’t relevant at the time.”
As the two of you returned to the ballroom, Prince Iroh released your hand, and shot you a small wink. It was for the best that neither of your families noticed the flirtatious aura between you. The onslaught of curious questions from them didn’t appeal to either of you.
Iroh introduced you to his mother and grandfather, the current and former Fire Lords, before following you over to visit your parents. You introduced them to Iroh, and asked if you could sit with him during the feast. They both declared what an honor it was to meet him, and they were more than willing to allow you to sit with him. In hindsight, you later realized that it was because they were excited by the prospect of you courting the Fire Prince.
Although you got along swimmingly with Iroh during the feast, and the two of you remained close friends for years to come, the courtship your parents had been so eager for never came to fruition. The flirtatious nature of your friendship was a constant, and you harbored unyielding, strong feelings for him, but Iroh never asked you out. You convinced yourself that he didn’t care about you in that way, and conceded that you would have to be content with mere friendship. Between that and the risk of losing him altogether by confessing your feelings, you decided that you were fine staying just friends.
After Iroh joined the United Forces at age eighteen, you saw each other much less often, but he always made sure to spend time with you whenever he returned home to the Fire Nation, and he frequently sent you gifts from all around the world. You cherished each and every one of them; your favorite was the very first gift had sent: a solid gold quill from Ba Sing Se, with your name engraved on it. “Use it to write to me,” Iroh had said in the note that came with it, and from then on, the two of you occasionally exchanged letters, and it helped quell your feelings of missing him.
During one of Iroh’s leaves of absence, your parents brought up the subject of marriage. After all, you were nearly thirty years of age, and had yet to ever be in a relationship – a consequence of being hopelessly in love with your best friend for half your life. They had chosen a husband for you, and encouraged you to meet with him.
“My dear, I know he’s not General Iroh, but it’s time to accept that that’s not going to happen,” your mother had said, in the gentlest tone she could. Although you knew she was right, her words still felt like a punch in the stomach.
So, you agreed to a meeting with this man. He was your age, and he was decent-looking, but… not as handsome as Iroh. Not as tall as Iroh. Not as funny as Iroh. Not as intelligent as Iroh. Nevertheless, he asked you to marry him when the date was over, as he had been bade by your parents, and you told him you’d think about it. Your walk home was solemn and melancholy, and you were grateful that your parents were out when you returned. The home was quite large, so you rarely had to see them anyway, but you knew they would be asking you a thousand questions if they had been present.
With your eyes cast downward, you closed the door to your living quarters behind you, and let out a long, sad sigh.
“You could at least pretend to be excited to see me.”
The voice startled you, and you let out a gasp as you looked up to locate the intruder. Iroh chuckled heartily before standing from the couch, taking a few quick strides over to you, and wrapping you up in a bone-crushing embrace.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Iroh murmured into your hair, placing a hand on the back of your head as his other arm remained firmly around your waist. You buried your face in his chest, breathing in the familiar scent of his cologne.
“I’ve missed you more.”
“Come on, I made us some tea,” Iroh stated, using the arm around your waist to guide you over to the couch. The two of you sat down beside one another, so close that your legs were touching, and although you had never been uncomfortable by such a close proximity to your oldest friend, it felt almost… wrong, now that you were about to be engaged.
As you sipped on the delicious tea that Iroh had brewed for the two of you – a skill he had no doubt inherited from his namesake – he stared at you intently, a warm smile on his lips.
“So, what’s got you down? I heard that sigh when you came in here. Something’s wrong.”
Your eyes fell to the cup of tea in your hands, unable to meet his gaze. Iroh was your friend, and nothing more; that hadn’t changed over the past decade and a half. Why were you so nervous to tell him the truth?
Because telling him means the death of any hope you had to marry him, you realized, which earned another sigh from you.
“My mother and father have arranged a marriage for me. I was actually just on a date with the unlucky gentleman,” you explained, setting the teacup on the table nearby. You looked up to Iroh, and saw that his smile had faded. He appeared to be somewhere between upset and sad.
“Do… do you want to marry him?”
“No,” you answered honestly, holding his gaze. “But I think I have to, at this point. I’ve been in love with someone else for years, but it just never worked out that way.”
Iroh’s back straightened and his brows furrowed slightly. “Why not?”
“I’m not sure he’s ever felt the same way about me. We care about each other a lot, there’s no doubt about that, and we flirt quite a bit. But he never made a move, and I’ve always been too scared of losing him to make one myself. So, I just left well enough alone,” you explained, and you found yourself no longer capable of looking into his eyes. Despite the fact that you were both speaking indirectly, you knew that Iroh knew you were talking about him. So, here you were, proclaiming your truth, which you’d been absolutely terrified to do for so very long. But this was your last chance to tell him, and you figured you might as well take it.
You felt a gentle finger under your chin tilt your head up to look at him, those captivating golden irises holding your gaze.
“And what would you do if he told you that he does feel the same way? That he’s just always been too scared, and too stupid, to do anything about it?”
Your breath caught in your throat, and Iroh held his as he awaited your response.
“I would tell him that I’ve loved him since the day I met him, and tell this new guy to get lost.”
“Well, you better give him a call then,” Iroh quipped, a grin blossoming on his face as he cradled your face in his hands and pulled you into a kiss.
It felt like a dream – and yet all the times you’d dreamed of this very moment paled in comparison to the reality. Iroh’s lips were soft and sweet, and your arms wrapped around his waist, fingers clutching his uniform as if he’d disappear into thin air at any moment. After a few moments of pure heaven, he pulled away gently, resting his forehead against yours. Iroh then leaned back to stare into your eyes, and smiled down at you before he broke the silence between you.
IROH (the lok general) SAYING “THANKS FOR LOOKING OUT FOR ME, AANG” HURTS SINCE HE AND ZUKO SHARE THE SAME VOICE ACTOR SO IT REALLY DOES SEEM LIKE AANG LOOKED OUT FOR ZUKO I WILL PASS AWAY
