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.
For an LFT prompt: Zuko has his lóng, and then gets Druk from the Masters as well!
Countdown to LTF's return: 11 days!
Oh my goddd Eggy please hatch so your name isn't a spoiler! I love her so much :'3
Zuko, Aang, and the little lóng were still in a bit of a daze as they descended Ran and Shaw’s mountain. The lóng was perched on her favorite spot, Zuko’s head, and kept shooting off bright bursts of fire, determined to recreate the masters’ technicolor flames. The Sun Warriors tried to converse with them at first, but soon left them to their thoughts.
It wasn’t until they were back at the Sun Warrior’s city that they snapped out of it enough to express their gratitude again. The chief smiled, gaze lingering on the lóng bowing in thanks as well.
“You’ve raised her well,” he mused.
Zuko blushed. “Oh, well, I mean, she made it easy. She’s so well-behaved and is much better at following rules than I was when I was younger.”
The chief laughed and shook his head. “Dragons, whether they’re of purely fire or mixed with another element, are still part spirit. They’re influenced by the humans closest to them, so her growth is a reflection of your love and devotion to her.”
“See, we keep telling you that you’re the best Mama!” Aang teased, poking Zuko’s side with a wide smile.
The lóng leaned over to bop Zuko’s forehead with her snout. He glared at her, unamused, but she stared back at him with her version of a cheeky smile.
“Before you depart, I have something I would like to ask of you,” the chief said.
Several of the other Sun Warriors gasped and protested, but the chief cut them off with a sharp look. He told Zuko and Aang to wait, then disappeared deeper into the city.
“Unbelievable,” one of the Sun Warriors spat, but refused to answer any of Zuko and Aang’s questions.
The chief was quick to return, and he had a large bundle in his arms. He didn’t say anything, just thrust it into Zuko’s arms without warning.
Zuko was surprised by the weight, clinging it close to his chest before pushing aside the fabric of the bundle. Inside was something that suspiciously looked like an egg. The lóng jumped down to balance on his arm and pushed her snout against it. She looked up with shining eyes.
This was not what he thought it was. It couldn’t be. Why would the chief be giving him this?
“Wow! She’s going to be a big sister!” Aang cheered, leaning over Zuko’s arm to get a good look at the egg.
“What. No. Why?”
“We’ve passed down this egg for several generations now with no signs of it hatching,” the chief said. “Since you have persuaded the lóng to hatch after centuries, surely you’ll have this one hatching in no time.”
These people were crazy! Zuko looked between the chief’s expectant smile, Aang’s delighted grin, the lóng’s shining eyes.
Prompt: Sokka channels Hui the Scholar (after traveling with Zuko, he's memorized every...single...story) to frustrate the Dai Lee after they 'take him aside'.
Countdown to LTF's return: 13 days!
Heheh was very amused by this one
The Avatar’s group was up to something, and somehow they were evading the Dai Li. None of Long Feng’s men had even an inkling of an idea as to what the children were plotting. It was entirely beneath Long Feng to interrogate children, but he wouldn’t fall prey to the mistake many others had by underestimating the utter chaos said children could create.
“Thank you for coming, Sokka,” Long Feng said graciously as the oldest of the Avatar’s group entered his office.
According to reports, Sokka was the most logical and cautious of the children. He was the plotter, so any schemes surely would have come from him. However, he was also quite insecure and overcompensated with his proud ego. It was going to be laughably easy to get a child like this to slip up and expose their plans.
“Yeah, no problem,” Sokka said, casually dropping into the chair across from Long Feng’s desk. “Anything to speed up the process to see the Earth King. Because there’s, you know, the end of the world coming.”
Long Feng winced and nodded, “Yes, yes, the deadline is quite dire. I was perhaps a bit quick to dismiss your concerns. I would like to hear more about your plans in regards to the war.”
Sokka narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Really?”
“But, of course. If I fully understand the situation, I can better prepare the Earth Kingdom for your future audience.”
“Hm, alright.” Sokka shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “But, to understand our plans, you really gotta understand our journey here.”
Long Feng nodded seriously and folded his hands on his desk attentively while internally he smirked. Ah, children, always thought they were smarter than they really were.
Several hours later, Sokka left, proclaiming he needed to get back for dinner. Long Feng spent another hour going over his notes. Sokka had spoken of so much, and peppered in several anecdotes from Yangchen’s memoirs. Then, Long Feng spent another hour contemplating retirement.
Either the children weren’t actually planning anything, or Sokka just played the head of the Dai Li.
Follow up to my previous prompt: how do you discipline your two kids when both are firey flying noodles?
Countdown to LTF's return: 5 days!!!
haha the answer is: you really can't (if you're zuko)
“Alright you two, I don’t want to hear any more excuses.” Zuko crossed his arms as he stared down at the two dragons seated on his desk.
“You both know better, but especially you, as the big sister,” he said addressing the lóng. She ducked her head sheepishly, and Druk flattened against the desktop. They were so cute, it took everything in Zuko not to break his stern facade.
This was the third accident in the palace just this week! They were getting way too destructive with their play while inside. Honestly, they had an entire field dedicated to them right outside the palace. Why did they keep roughhousing in the halls, breaking heirlooms, and singeing servants?
“I told you last time what the consequences would be. You’re not allowed to sleep in my room for a week!”
They looked up at him with big, pleading eyes.
Zuko did not look away. He would not cave. This was the punishment they decided on just two days ago. He needed to carry through with the punishment or else they would never listen to him!
They made a high-pitched keening sound.
Zuko’s chest clenched.
“Okay, maybe just one night. But if you do this again, then it’ll be-” Both dragons leaped off the desk and crashed into Zuko to snuggle him. “Yes, yes, I love you too, but seriously. It’ll be a month next time! I swear!”
As a LFT prompt, Zuko at the Great Divide, as either Prince Zuko or Hui the Scholar?
Countdown to LTF's return: 16 days!!
now get some great divide lore before we get it with the gaang ;3
“Hello, travelers. Are you here to cross the Great Divide?” the canyon guide asked cheerily.
Their little group consisted of Chanda, Zuko, Amphon, and Takehiko. Although there was little Earth Army presence in the area, it was still considered enemy territory, so a combatant had to accompany them. And then since there was such a little Earth Army presence, Amphon and Chanda were permitted to join Zuko on this field trip. General Iroh still had Kavi grounded, or else he would have been there instead of Takehiko. He was probably more upset about Kavi being benched than Kavi was.
“Oh, maybe-”
“No,” Takehiko cut Zuko off. “He’s here to ask about spirits. And that’s it.”
Zuko glared at him sullenly, but Takehiko was unmoved. With a shrug, he gestured for Zuko to go ahead and ask his questions.
The guide looked between them warily. “Um, what about the spirits?”
The standoff between Zuko and Takehiko lasted a moment more, then Zuko sighed heavily. He turned to the guide and forced a smile. By the end of his sentence, it was more genuine with his excitement. “I’m researching spirits. I’ve heard some mention of spirit activity in this canyon, but haven’t heard any concrete stories about them yet. Are there spirits in the Great Divide? What sort of spirits are they? Do they-”
Chanda clapped to get Zuko’s attention, then signed, “Let the poor woman answer a question before you ask more.”
Blushing bright red, Zuko bowed apologetically. “Sorry, I was a bit excited. But are there-”
“Hui, seriously, let her get a word in,” Amphon hissed, poking his back.
The guide, thankfully, had a good sense of humor and found Zuko’s rudeness amusing. She led them over to the small hut the canyon guides used as shelter between trips and offered them some tea. Takehiko looked tempted to stay outside, but Chanda shot him an unimpressed look. He was the chaperone, so he couldn’t dip out just because he didn’t want to sit through story time.
They settled around a small cooking fire with tea from the guide and snacks from their supplies. Zuko was nearly vibrating off his cushion by the time the guide smiled and answered his questions.
“There are indeed spirits in the canyon, but I wouldn’t advise trying to directly research them. They’re trickster spirits, you see. I’ve never encountered them, but my uncle has had a few run-ins over the years.”
“I heard people go missing in the Great Divide! Is it the spirits’ doing?”
The guide nodded solemnly. “Some legends say lost souls of the departed wander the canyon.”
Biting back a laugh, Chanda patted Amphon’s arms hugging her. Honestly, she was too adorable sometimes.
Zuko wasn’t cowed. He crossed his arms and said, “But you just called them trickster spirits.”
The guide laughed. “Ah, sorry, sorry, I can’t help but share ghost stories over a fire. Yes, I did call them trickster spirits. Sometimes people hear voices of those they’ve lost, which led to the rumors of ghosts. But my uncle once followed those voices, and they led him straight into a canyon crawler nest.”
“How did he get out alive?” Amphon gasped.
“Pure luck and grit,” the guide said with a proud grin. “My uncle was a phenomenal earthbender back in the day. He’s learned his lesson now, though, and is careful to never put himself or others in such a situation.”
Takehiko scoffed. “Sounds to me like people just lose their mind down there and get eaten by canyon crawlers.”
“Well, that’s possible too. Who’s to know!”
Zuko stood with a crazed look in his eyes. “I just need to get closer and-”
Chanda pulled him back down.
“We’re not going into the canyon,” Takehiko said. “Actually, I changed my mind. I do believe in these stupid spirits now. Because Agni knows, if we went down there, they’d immediately lure your ass away and I’d be in deep shit with your uncle.”
“Besides, I doubt these sorts of spirits would give you any guidance in finding the Avatar,” Chanda added, pulling her arm free enough from Amphon to sign. She didn’t know why Amphon was still frightened, but it wasn’t a hardship to allow her to keep hugging her. “We’ve learned about them, and now we know we don’t need to research them further.”
Zuko sighed heavily and crossed his arms. He didn’t outright pout, but the stubborn set of his jaw was essentially his version of pouting.
Amphon hid a giggle in Chanda’s shoulder and Takehiko rolled his eyes.
The guide smiled at them. “Well, even if you’re not crossing, I recommend staying for the night. Sunset is a wonder to behold over the Great Divide!”
“Oh, can we stay for that, please?!” Amphon exclaimed, finally letting Chanda go to clasp her hands together and turn to Zuko pleadingly. “It’d be so romantic- for painting! Wouldn’t it be such a romantic setting to paint!”
Zuko raised his eyebrow. “With what painting supplies?”
Amphon smiled sheepishly. “Ah, well, I packed some, just in case… Since the Great Divide is said to be a natural wonder…”
“Kavi better be free to babysit next time,” Takehiko groaned as Zuko lit up and excitedly agreed to stay the night so they could paint the sunset.
Chanda snorted and signed to him, “Doubt it. Keep up the good work, babysitter.”
So I was going through the (appalling) number of old tabs I had open when I stumbled across the one that was open to wreathoflaurels' fic Sixteenth Night. Only to find that they've apparently just disappeared from social media? Do you know anything about it?
sadly i know just about as much as you do my friend. don’t quote me on this but i think she just wanted to take an extended break from tumblr/social media for personal reasons. i know she’s still alive and well thanks to random updates from @purahs whenever she’s asked about her lol.
