Azula sniffed, lifting her chin in a disdain that would make Ozai proud. “If you’re going to give us stupid names, TenTen, then they should at least be right. Call me Firefly!”
“Well, I suppose she does have a point, what do you think, Zuko?” Lu Ten asked lightly, as if unbothered by the children’s animosity. He ignored Azula’s scrunched expression and answered Zuko’s confused frown with a laugh. “I was calling Azula Butterbee, but I don’t think that fits her at all. She doesn’t have a stinger! When I talk about you with my friends, the names should be right. So I’ll let you choose, Zuko, since you can firebend and use swords. Which do you think suits you better? Firefly or Butterbee? Or maybe a totally different little bug!”
-Learning to Fly: Dragon's Wings
It's Lu Ten and his little bugs: Firefly and Butterbee! Once they resolved the nickname debate, they definitely continued treating Lu Ten like a jungle gym. From my series Learning to Fly <3
Commission by @jasminedragonart !!
[ID: A colored digital illustration of Lu Ten, Azula, and Zuko. Azula is on Lu Ten's back, holding onto one shoulder. Zuko is clinging to Lu Ten's waist, one leg wrapped around Lu Ten's and the other suspended off the ground. Lu Ten has a wide stance to keep his balance. All three of them are smiling. Flying around them are fireflies and butterfly-bumblebees. /end ID]
I love making picrews of my Team Avatar Yangchen or as I’ve been calling them: Team Lesbians + One (Good) Man as featured in Learning to Fly Part 6: Sands of Time
NGL at first I didn’t have intentions of drawing parallels to the Gaang. Akari was the only one fleshed out and was pivotal to the development of the whole LTF au. Huizhong was "earthbending master that died for Yangchen” and there was just a nameless waterbending master. But then I had a laugh bc here we are, Air Avatar w/ a Fire Nation Royal BFF and that’s what Aang and Zuko become... and then I was like whelp we gotta keep playing with that it’s too good to pass up. So Huizhong, Siniq, and Tarkik were born lol.
Since they’re getting introduced though Yangchen’s memoirs, which were written as a way to cope with her grief of losing Akari and Huizhong, Siniq and Tarkik didn’t get much time to shine despite the past chapter having focus on Yangchen’s waterbending journey. I’m not sure if/when I’ll be able to work in fun tidbits about these chaos twins, but they realized from a very young age that they didn’t vibe with Water Tribe gender roles. And being identical twins well... They convinced everyone they were BOTH waterbenders and switched places in all their classes so Siniq could learn combat and Tarkik could learn healing. When they eventually couldn’t keep up the act anymore, they were so established with what they were good at the chief was like whelp guess that’s just how it’s gonna go. My warrior daughter and healer son, no fighting it now. Love these two <33
Huizhong, my love, gets her spotlight in the upcoming chapter of Sands of Time, so I’ll just profess my love for this beautiful bitch <3
How would Toph feel about Zuko heatbending her off the ground? Obviously, being separated from the earth blinds her, but would the warmth help reassure her?
I'm actually not sure if Zuko could lift someone else with heatbending 🤔 he propelled himself upward in the swamp but hmm. anyways forgetting logistics ;3
“Woah, Toph, watch out!”
Though Toph sent the firebender flying away from her with a stomp on the ground, the fireball Aang had been warning her about was still headed straight toward her. Toph was standing between him and the fire, so Aang did the next best thing to blowing the fire away. He wrapped winds around Toph and sent her upward.
The shriek Toph let out was rather uncharacteristic for her, but they had more pressing things to deal with than the sound Toph just made. Once she was back on the ground and in the fight, Aang promptly forgot about it.
This is, until Toph punched his shoulder, hard, once they were safe on Appa’s back.
“What was that for?!” Aang whined, rubbing his aching shoulder.
Toph scowled. “Don’t you ever do that again.”
“Do what!” Her shriek then came to mind, and Aang scrunched his nose. “Do you mean help you?”
“Yes! I’d rather get face full of fire than suddenly find myself who knows how high off the ground!”
“You were only high enough to clear the fireball,” Katara said placatingly.
Toph groaned and dragged her hands down her face, pulling her lower eyelids down with her fingers. “And how am I supposed to know that?!”
“Ah…” Katara blushed and muttered an apology.
Sokka shook his head. “Okay, but regardless, I’d rather none of us end up with a face full of fire. So, Toph, let’s say thank you to Aang for saving your butt. And Aang, next time, just blow Toph over instead of up.”
Aang scratched his head sheepishly. “Yeah… suppose that makes more sense. Sorry Toph, I wasn’t thinking.”
Toph dramatically rolled her head around with her eyes, then punched Aang again, much, much softer. “Yeah, yeah, I know Twinkle-Toes. Thanks for the save.”
Some time later, after many adventures and new additions to their group, a similar situation happened again. Only this time, it was Zuko on the other side of Toph and the fireball heading for her. Now, one would expect a firebender wouldn’t be deterred by someone standing between him and incoming fire. However, Zuko was not the average firebender, and since traveling with them, he’d picked up a lot more airbending moves.
So Aang didn’t expect it, but ultimately wasn’t surprised when Zuko called out to Toph in warning and then sent her up over the fire with his heatbending.
Toph yelped and cursed, but the skirmish continued without incident.
Once they were back at their camp, Toph approached Zuko before Aang could step in.
“Hey, Pretty Boy,” she said, lightly punching his arm (since his shoulder was just out of reach for her). “Nice save.”
Zuko bumped her back with a huff. “Hardly, I really should have just bent the fire away, but I wasn’t thinking.”
Aang’s jaw dropped. He looked to Katara and Sokka to make sure they were seeing the same thing, but they weren’t actually paying attention. Fine, Aang would just have to stand up for himself!
“Hey! Why does he get thanks, but I got punch punched and yelled at when I did that?!”
They turned to him in surprise, not realizing they had an audience. Toph raised an eyebrow in confusion, then snorted as she remembered.
“Oh, yeah, guess from your perspective it’s not any different.”
“What’s that supposed to mean!?”
Toph shrugged. “Exactly what I said, Twinkle-Toes, that it probably looks the same to you, at least I’m guessing so from your reaction. But they feel totally different. Your airbending felt like getting yanked off the ground and there was no way to gauge how high I went. But Pretty Boy’s airbending kinda feels like being picked up real quick or something like that.”
“It’s not airbending, Toph,” Zuko grumbled, for the hundredth time.
She waved a hand in the air. “Same diff… Anyways.”
Toph reeled her arm back and punched Zuko’s arm hard enough to send him stumbling a few steps away.
“What was that for?”
Toph grinned. “Equality for team morale.”
Aang would be lying to say it didn’t make him feel better.
Hi, for the prompt, could I have some Kuzon, Mikak and Fox please ?
You have no idea how much this has been marinating, been rotating like a rotisserie chicken in my mind. Thank you for the prompt I had so much fun thinking about it and then writing it >3
Though technically an unaffiliated island, it was far too humid to be considered anything other than Fire Nation. Mikak fanned herself idly as she debated ordering a third shaved ice as she waited for her imbecile man. Her stomach would probably rebel against the sugar, but the relief from the heat was incredibly tempting…
“Wow, you’re really old,” a young voice said from her elbow.
Mikak looked down to find a wide-eyed girl staring at her. She was young, but not young enough to have her immediately concerned about her situation on this lawless island. She was unkempt, but not filthy, implying she was at least supported, if not cared for. From her style of dress and the dried salt in her unwashed hair, Mikak figured the kid worked for one of the many ships docked in the town.
“How old do you think I am?” Mikak asked, fighting back a teasing smile.
The kid tapped her lips, a sparkle in her dark gaze that promised mischief. “Well, older than me, but definitely younger than Old Man Bo on the edge of town. So probably around very old?”
Mikak laughed and gestured for the kid to sit across from her at the table she’d claimed while waiting for Kuzon. He was late, so his seat was forfeit to cheeky things who amused her.
“Astute observation, kid. You from around here, then?”
“Nah, just in town for a bit while my captain does business.”
“Oh, so you work on one of these ships, then?”
The girl rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately. But they’re not one of the fun ships.”
“And what makes a ship fun?”
“Piracy, obviously.”
Mikak narrowed her eyes as the girl grinned, all teeth, not even an attempt at innocence. “I see this wasn’t a random encounter.”
“Well, of course not! How could I miss the chance to meet the great Captain Mikak? But, really, I was shocked at how old you are to still be sailing like you are. I thought maybe you’d be agelessly immortal or something to explain how you’ve been a captain for so long.”
There was no containing her laughter. The kid was fearless! How long had she been observing Mikak before deciding to approach her? Since Mikak started her vigil waiting for Kuzon? Since her ship docked last night? Regardless, Mikak always did her best to encourage precocious young women, so a treat was in order.
“Kid, do you like sweets?”
“What? Yes? I mean, what?”
Delighted to catch the little troublemaker off guard, Mikak waved down a worker of the food stall and ordered more shaved ice. She would take the chance of a stomachache to indulge with her new, little friend. Maybe Mikak could steal her from her current crew… There was no way she was being properly appreciated.
The wait for her idiot was much more pleasant with her new company. Dipa, as she introduced herself, was a cabin boy (“It’s the title, isn’t it? Cabin girl doesn’t have the same ring to it,” Dipa said with a shrug.) for one of the legitimate traders in town. Mikak wasn’t familiar with the legitimate traders of these seas, which was a minor setback in her plan to steal Dipa for herself.
Their conversation was delightful, swinging effortlessly from sailing topics to the local gossip Dipa had picked up in the week she’d been in town. The girl was shrewd and observant on top of being a little shit. Oh, Mikak absolutely needed to leave with her on board her ship.
The sun was beginning to set as a harried, wrinkled asshole came running up the street, out of breath. “Mikak! I’m so sorry I’m late!” he exclaimed, coming to a stop in front of her, resting his hands on his knees as he gasped for air. “I’ve been running around town all day trying to find my wayward flower and-”
Kuzon cut himself off as he looked up and spotted the child seated across from Mikak. He narrowed his eyes at Dipa, then cursed under his breath and ran his hand through his hair as he stood upright.
“Of course, I should have come here first.” He sighed and shook his head. “Well, what’s this one’s name, then?”
If Mikak thought Dipa’s earlier smiles were sharp, they had nothing on the toothy thing she shot Kuzon, her eyes practically glowing with pride. “Dipa, cabin boy—because that’s the title, and cabin girl just doesn’t have the same ring, right?—of a local trader. Currently ingratiating herself with the great pirate captain Mikak because pirates are fun.”
Kuzon hummed. “Not bad. More solid than your last one with less details. Simple is better, lets the other person fill in the blanks to make the story work.”
“Excuse me, but what the fuck?” Mikak interjected, looking between them in disbelief. Did Kuzon set her up? No, his distress and surprise had seemed genuine but… What?
Kuzon laughed and gestured to the still beaming child. “Mikak, let me formally introduce you to my little weed, who’s been growing into quite the vicious flower. They’re actually why I asked we meet in person.”
Of course Mikak knew about Kuzon’s little flower. How could she not, with how often he wrote of them? She wasn’t even surprised Kuzon was reaching out for help, for the child he wrote of was not made for martial skills as Kuzon was. They were more suited for Mikak’s line of work. But even knowing about their tendency to blend into crowds and create personas to hide in plain sight, Mikak had a hard time believing what was before her eyes.
“Kid, have you ever even scrubbed a deck in your life?”
The child whose name was not really Dipa smirked. “No, but the kids who actually do sure do love to complain about it. Loudly. Where anyone can hear.”
Prompt: spirits talking about Zuko in front of Aang who is very confused, because what do you mean the prince of the fire nation is beloved by the spirits??? (I have no idea how your Zuko will act in front of Aang and what their relationship would be at first, but I'm going off the assumption that it's sort of like cannon)
Countdown to LTF's return: 2 days aahh!! And tomorrow is the 5th anniversary! :D
So, let me tell you, I waffled back and forth whether this counted as going into too much spoilery present material. But then I had an idea of a step around and lol. I went with it. We going into the atla-verse heehheh (again) (but not canon compliant with the last into the atla-verse, here, if you haven't read it)
This was Aang’s first time going into the spirit world through a gateway. He was understandably nervous. There were plenty of stories of and from his past lives about how time drastically moved differently when you physically went into the spirit world. But the world was at peace (had been for a while) and even if he was gone for a year or two, his friends had everything handled. The spirit world, however, needed some Avatar intervention. So here he was.
Taking a deep breath, Aang stepped through the gateway.
All in all, Aang had been worried over nothing. Resolving the disputes of spirits wasn’t that much different from solving mortal disputes. It would have been an uneventful journey if not for the… recurring odd interactions.
First, a Knowledge Seeker (weren’t they gone with Wan Shi Tong’s library?) bounded up to Aang with a wide foxy smile. It skidded to a stop at his feet, urgently sniffing the air. It prowled around him, sniffing him, then looked up at him, no longer smiling. It barked at him almost petulantly.
“Sorry? Can I help you?” Aang asked.
The Knowledge Seeker huffed. It jumped onto its hind legs, front legs propped against Aang’s leg so it could push its nose against his hand.
A hazy image of what looked like a young Zuko filled Aang’s mind.
“Huh? You want to see Zuko?”
The Knowledge Seeker excitedly jumped away, tail wagging.
“Um… sorry. He’s not with me?”
It was a good thing Knowledge Seekers were lesser spirits, because if it had any strength, Aang had a feeling he would have had a bad afternoon. The Knowledge Seeker glared at him, barked one more time, then sulkily ran off.
That sure was weird. Why would a Knowledge Seeker even know of Zuko?
But then it kept happening.
A cute little bird spirit came and went, also disappointed Zuko wasn’t around. Hei Bai’s lesser spirits (that Aang didn’t even know existed!) also came looking for Zuko. A cat that looked vaguely familiar traveled with Aang for a day, but moodily stalked off when Aang insisted that Zuko was not going to be joining him later.
Aang even managed to stumble into the spirit world half of the Foggy Swamp and it was clearly upset that Zuko wasn’t with him too!
What in the world was going on? When did Zuko meet all these spirits? Why had he never said anything about it in all these years?
The second Aang was done with his business and safely left the spirit world, he picked up Appa at the village he left him at in the South Pole and made a beeline to the Fire Nation palace. As the Fire Lord’s bestest friend ever and, you know, the Avatar, Aang didn’t need silly things like scheduling a meeting or permission to pop into Zuko’s office.
After getting Appa comfortable with a snack, Aang grabbed his glider and flew up to the window of Zuko’s study. It was unlocked, like always, so Aang popped it open and sat on the windowsill with a pout.
“Zuko! Why didn’t you tell me you had a bunch of spirit friends?”
Zuko startled, like always, and turned to glare at Aang for popping in unannounced (not that he would ever do anything to stop Aang from continuing to do so). “What are you talking about? And why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in the spirit world right now?”
Since Zuko didn’t look any different from the last time Aang saw him, he probably hadn’t been away for too long. Aang grinned and pulled his knee to his chest to rest his cheek against it. “Just got back! It was fun, but weird because quite a few spirits were looking for you.”
“You just got back?” Zuko asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. He completely ignored the whole reason Aang was here and instead started to scold him. Rude! “Aren’t you a bit too old to be playing around instead of doing your job?”
“Hey!” Aang stuck his tongue out childishly. “I can play around and do my job, thank you very much!”
Zuko crossed his arms. “Aang, you just left yesterday. I got the report this morning. If you want to lie, at least do it well.”
Yesterday?! Aang nearly tumbled out of the window in his surprise. He quickly shifted his weight so he leaped to his feet inside the room instead.
“But I was there for months!” Aang exclaimed. “I knew time moves differently in the spirit world, but I thought it always went in the opposite direction! Have I really only been gone from the mortal world for a day?!”
Because Zuko was the best, he didn’t call Aang a liar. His eyes widened a bit in surprise, but then he accepted Aang at his word and shrugged. “Well, guess it does, because it really has only been a day. Now what’s this about spirits asking after me? Did I piss them off or something?”
“What? No!” Aang plopped back onto the windowsill with a snort. “It seemed like they were your friends!”
“Well… I don’t remember accidentally befriending any spirits, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I accidentally pissed one or two off so… Maybe they were trying to trick you?”
Aang frowned. That wasn’t the impression he got from the spirits. Besides, most of them had shared images of Zuko from their perspective. Wait a second.
“Hey, when you were younger, probably around when you were banished, did you ever wear your hair in a braid?”
Zuko scrunched his nose. “What? No? Why?”
It was such a small detail, but…
Aang jumped to his feet, rubbing his hands on his head in distress. “Monkey-feathers! I think I need to get going. I think I was in a different world’s spirit world!”
“Huh- What?”
Aang leaped out the window, Zuko’s voice carrying after him, “Aang, what’s that supposed to mean!? Aang!!”
Hopefully Aang would end up in his spirit world this time to properly solve their problems. But… if he happened to end up elsewhere again… He was rather curious about this other Zuko who befriended spirits while banished.
indeed indeed what is Bun Ma up to lately >w> have some vague answers on that ;D
A sharp hiss of her name was quickly followed by a dull thud against her helmet. Bun Ma didn’t jerk awake or protest the sudden assault. She slowly opened her eyes and rolled her head to the side to look down at the frowning princess standing in the open doorway of her room with her arms crossed. She wasn’t pouting, her face was carefully devoid of emotion, but Bun Ma could clearly feel the petulant annoyance coming off her.
“Sleeping on duty again?” Azula drawling, uncrossing an arm to inspect her nails. “I should finally report you and get you fired.”
On Azula’s other side, Ju Long’s expression was shadowed by his helmet, but his exasperation was just as clear as Azula’s annoyance.
Bun Ma grinned wide, knowing full well that the flash of teeth was visible through her helmet. “Aw, but Princessy, then who would keep your secrets?”
Azula scoffed. “What secrets?”
This was a familiar song and dance, a script Azula felt the need to act out to assuage the maelstrom that was her own thoughts. So Bun Ma didn’t draw attention to how it was the middle of the night, how Azula wasn’t dressed for slumber, how Azula woke Bun Ma because she was leaving her quarters. Instead, Bun Ma pushed off the wall supporting her to stand on her own and sent Ju Long a cheeky salute.
“Of course, no idea what I’m talking about. See you in a bit, Ju Long.”
“I don’t need an escort,” Azula said dismissively as she breezed past them.
Bun Ma fell in step behind her, following the script as was expected of her. “Of course not, but since there’s nothing secret going on, it’s only natural you would be found with a guard as you wandered the grounds in the dead of night.”
Azula glanced over her shoulder at Bun Ma. The dim, flickering lanterns illuminating the hallway reflected the brief glimpse of what was going on in her mind through her eyes. In a blink, the emotions were gone and Azula looked away.
“Not that anyone will see us.”
Bun Ma laughed quietly. “Of course not, Princessy. They haven’t yet, have they?”
Lu Ten appears to someone who misses him in a dream (like on a solstice or something).
Countdown to LTF's return: 6 days!!
Wah i debated for a while over who to have him visit :'3 hope you enjoy my probably unexpected choice
Dreams could act as a weak gateway between the mortal and spirit realms. If the dreamer’s needs were strong enough and the barrier between the realms was thin enough, it was possible for spirits of the departed to be called down to visit.
A soft tug pulled on Lu Ten. He could dismiss the call, but he was weak. He never ignored the summons of his loved ones. In a rush of color and sensation, he found himself in an unfamiliar dreamscape.
Flowers surrounded him at every angle. They weren’t just ornamental flowers. Quite a few he recognized as medicinal or poisonous. A woman he didn’t recognize sat in the middle of the garden. She looked up with a curious gaze as she tilted her head.
“Hello there, who are you?”
Though Lu Ten did not know her face, he knew who she was. He did not know her story, or how she came to be this way, but she was obviously missing him even if she didn’t remember him.
“I’m a friend,” he said with an easy smile as he sat beside her.
The woman nodded, accepting the logic of her dream. “I suppose I’ve been needing a friend…”
“How fortunate that I’m here now! Tell me about what’s bothering you.”
Though wearing a different face, her smile was exactly as Lu Ten remembered. He could only hope his visit gave her some solace, even if she forgot it upon waking.
It was the least he could do for his favorite aunt.
