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Sun-Child AU Mini-Meme!
Okay, ladies and gents, on a slightly inebrient whim (and if that isn't a word, it is now), here it is- a mini-meme for the Sun-Child AU, of late stalled out in Ba Sing Se and oft with requests for more of the Gaang. Gimme a person, pair, whatever, and a prompt. Soft limit of three, no guarantees.
Usual warnings and apologies apply- I may be slow and unreliable, especially right now with the thing with the teeth.
EDIT-!- Hey, all, just wanted to clarify (as I should have at first, but was a bit, well, out of it at the time)- you can ask for small moments as well as big, AUs of AU, what-ifs, future, past, weird little character/relationship moments, and all that there fun stuff. In fact, I encourage it. Most of the major events of Season 3 and late Season 2, such as WAT, Crossroads of Destiny, Sozin's Comet, etc I do have plans for- it's those set-up moments and in-between spots I'm looking to fill in, so that I can get the big ones to flow freely.
Usual warnings and apologies apply- I may be slow and unreliable, especially right now with the thing with the teeth.
EDIT-!- Hey, all, just wanted to clarify (as I should have at first, but was a bit, well, out of it at the time)- you can ask for small moments as well as big, AUs of AU, what-ifs, future, past, weird little character/relationship moments, and all that there fun stuff. In fact, I encourage it. Most of the major events of Season 3 and late Season 2, such as WAT, Crossroads of Destiny, Sozin's Comet, etc I do have plans for- it's those set-up moments and in-between spots I'm looking to fill in, so that I can get the big ones to flow freely.
The squeeing can be heard by satellites
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Iroh teaches Lan Min Pai Sho (or more accurately, talks in a calming voice while trying to keep her from swallowing his Pai Sho pieces)
Zura's going to save Katara from the pirates (or sokka, or whoever)
Song and Zura, Song's mother, Iroh, and Lan Min.
Teaching Pai Sho (And After)
"Look, will you quit playin' with the kid and take your turn? She's getting the tiles all gooey!" The cook is not amused at this delay in his game- he's got half a week's wages riding on this being the day he at least makes a good showing against the old general. But the old man is very fond of his grand-niece, and even fonder of taking her off the hands of his busy niece-proper while she trains or stares at charts or sulks or whatever she does.
"I am sure a strategy will present itself in good time," General Iroh admonishes, and hefts the girl-child in his arm as he surveys the board. "What do you think, my dear?"
As they wait for the old general to finish up his move, talk turns to how the supplies are just starting to run low. Oh, not rice or the majority of vegetables or even the oft-untouched supply of salt-meat, that was once loaded into a cannon but never shot for fear of being accused of war-crimes above and beyond the usual treatment of the enemy. But the spices are getting a bit old, and there is no more red bean paste to make treats with, and the tea, of course, cannot be done without.
"It's just a matter of getting my niece to see that some time off would be good for everyone, you see."
.....
"What's the meaning of this mutiny?!"
Uncle is abashed, smiling his embarrassed-old-man smile, and Zura does not believe it for an instant. Her daughter beams up at her, mouth full of some surreptitious treat.
"Well, Princess- it seems I have- it seems I have misplaced my lotus tile."
"You're turning this ship around for a stupid game?"
"Now how many times must I tell you? Pai Sho is much more than just a game..."
Zura finally leaves the room with a growl of frustration, going back to her self-imposed duties with an especially grouchy vigor. Iroh turns back to Lan Min, smiling widely at his little fellow conspirator-
"Now, my dear, if you will just give it back..."
Lan Min grins.
And as he swiftly pats down her little sleeves and pockets, and his own, Iroh's own face falls.
"You didn't."
She had.
Well- nothing a good walk on shore and a swift dose won't cure... and it wasn't as if I weren't going to be looking for a new one anyway...
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That's as good a reason for wanting to go to shore as any...
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WAT shenanigans. Lan Min somehow ended up with the Gaang after the invasion, and Zura has two possible courses of action: to use brute force and grab her child nownownow, or to approach with caution and earn Lan Min back slowly by convincing the Avatar to let her join his group.
You broke up with me in a letter! Mao being badass at the Boiling Rock.
WAT Shenanigans!
"Don't you have your own supplies?!"
"Not so loud-!" Zura cautioned desperately. She glanced aside and then back to Katara, who glowered in incredulity. "Look- I haven't had a reason to pack any. I haven't had my courses in three-"
"I don't want to hear the gory details," Katara cut her off, looking exasperated. She could count well enough, and it made sense, she supposed...
Zura bowed her head, biting her tongue. Fitting in with the Avatar's companions was hard enough, and she knew that it would be difficult and she'd have to be careful not to ruffle feathers... so of course the universe would drop this in her lap. And the only other girl of age would have to be the one she could drive into a rage with her merest presence...
"I'll lend you some cloths- just- don't bother me again," the Water girl finally replied, turning to rummage through her packs. Zura waited until she'd stuffed the small package in her arms, and then walked swiftly away, hoping to avoid anyone else between her and the bushes-
"Hey Princess Sparky-pants! I was hoping to talk with you-!"
Please don't make me have to throw her brother into a wall. Please please please...
"Sokka, give it a rest!" Zura took the opportunity and gratefully slipped out of Sokka's range. Katara didn't hate her that much, apparently.
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Poor Sokka. The girl weirdery in his life just doubled. But he'd probably better get used to it -once Toph joins the big girl club, they'll probably just end up discussing the gory details around the campfire.
Ooo, there's more? Jubilation!
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Thank you! And yes, the universe has it in for Zura. And Sokka. And Toph will totally do that, and take delight in making the boys nauseous and then teasing them about it.
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Forgot to mention, your icon wins and made me realize something new about my favourite childhood comic. I never realized Oddbit's a total Madonna spoof in that arc. The bra! The "Material Girl" reference! Perhaps I was just too young to notice...
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Yes, Toph is good^^ She'll find her way in here.
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Also: poor, awkward Zura, being forced to go to Katara for this private thing. ;) Very well done!
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Mao Being Badass at the Boiling Rock.
The guard sent to make sure of Mao's safety is just the right distraction- she bolts and slams the door behind her, leaving him glowering out after her, without words, without anything but that stare-
Then she's gone, and Mao bites his tongue as he sets to work on the lock.
"Save it? You're betraying your country! And what about your little 'princess'?" Our. Maybe. Someday. The words never come right, and the silence between them deafens, even as they fear to break it. "How can you be so irresponsible??"
"That's not how I see it."
The guards that were sawing back and forth on the line go flying back, pinned to the walls like insects.
"What are you doing?"
The young lord glares out from under his bangs.
"Saving the wench who dumped me."
He flicks out katana and wakizashi, and greets their fireblasts with blades like air.
"And what about us finally getting our chance? After all that- that-"
"Me getting pregnant, and banished, and having to go away? Roaming the world without my honor, or a home to come back to? With a baby? Where were you during all that?"
"Don't play that card," he says softly. "I was right where I was ordered to be- with your brother."
Sometimes, you can't fight fate, even if the romantic, responsible thing is to cut your way across the world to your lover. Spirits, they'd been fourteen. All the decisions had been made by the real adults, judgment, jury and execution. Rebelling and speaking out would have only caused more damage. Completely illogical. Unreasonable to expect him to do something like that to the girl he loved.
Perhaps sometimes, he thinks as the gondola speeds on its way- even the unreasonable could be the right thing to do.
For the right person.
"Leave us alone."
Azulon is staring at him, eyes wide in that shocked rage that turns him white, makes him still as a doll. The prince has never been one for sudden changes in plans- at least, not ones that he didn't order.
For once, Mao smiles right back.
"You miscalculated."
(I tend to see male!Mai as a goth samurai- still has the throwing-blades, but with a little extra touch with the two swords.)
Re: Mao Being Badass at the Boiling Rock.
Did we ever see Mao interact with Lan Min? Not as far as I remember. This is not a hint or anything, of course.
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No, we really haven't seen those two interact yet- I'll see what happens^^
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I also particularly liked this: "And what about us finally getting our chance? After all that- that-"/"Me getting pregnant, and banished, and having to go away? Roaming the world without my honor, or a home to come back to? With a baby? Where were you during all that?" That's a very interesting take on their relationship! Of course it would be very different, considering the issue of having a child... Very interesting!
Re: Mao Being Badass at the Boiling Rock.
By most reasoning, Zura's the one who's being totally reckless about things, not that she has much choice in the matter. Mao probably would have stepped up any way he could have, if she hadn't been keeping dead silent about it. And they've got the exact same communication issues that Mai and Zuko have- she blows up, he shuts down.
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Trying to remember what I've seen already done and not....how about:
Zura and Azulon - agni kai
Sozin's Comet - where is Lan Min when the battles are all going down?
It always sounded to me that, in this series, Zura chose to side with Azulon because she thought it was the better choice for her child. Sooooo how does Katara react upon learning Zura's reasoning?
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How does Zura's plea to join the Avatar at the Western Air Temple work out with a young child in tow?
Western Air Temple: Katara, motherly type extraordinaire for the Gaang, meet Zura, actual mother. (No respect for how Zura does things?)
Plea to Join the Avatar, WAT
“You can’t possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you? I mean- how stupid do you think we are?!”
“I don’t.” The girl stands there, voice low and husky, ragged travel-clothes clearly of fine Fire-Nation make.
“I do think you’re smart enough- to realize that you have my daughter in your hands. You need a firebending teacher- I need my daughter, safe and unharmed. And I’ve realized, in my time at home- that the only way I’m going to get that is through you.”
“How do we know you’re not gonna just- run off and leave her with us?” Sokka exclaimed, grasping to put the turmoil Zura aroused into words.
The princess’s knuckles went white.
Katara’s eyes narrow, and her grip on the toddler in her arms doesn’t change.
“How do you know we won’t hurt her?”
The silence rings slowly outward through the group at that. Zura sinks slowly to her knees, ram-rod spine bending at last to bring her forehead to touch the ground.
“Then you’re not the people I’ve come to know chasing you. And I’ve made a terrible mistake trusting my child- and the fate of the world- to you.”
Re: Plea to Join the Avatar, WAT
I really, really like this. I particularly like the image of Zura bowing like that. Very powerful.
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SOMEONE GET LAN MIN AWAY FROM KATARA BEFORE SHE TRIES TO TURN THE GIRL AGAINST HER MOM D:
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Part 1 of Something.
Mao doesn't care that she's second-best at everything, that she still flares nervously in training, that she's slow in her studies and takes time to puzzle through what it is her tutors want her to learn. He's her brother's companion, but he's her friend- and sometimes, when no one's watching and there's a corner unobserved-
They used to get each other covered in mud. Nowadays, that's very much beneath their dignity. Really. Completely.
Rumpled clothing can be readjusted, blushing faces splashed cool in the pond. They both know better than to take it beyond that point- Lo and Li have poured a frightening amount of education into the young nobles of the court, about what is and isn't proper and what can and cannot be forgiven under which stages of betrothal. But it's so much fun in the trying, and anyway, there's a few stages left before anything can get really permanent...
Azulon's been scowling at them when he thinks she's not looking, but tough. He can get his chance next year, or the year after that, if any girl will have him. Given he's the prince, surely he can get whatever he wants.
Except what I have, she thinks smugly, and pulls her gloomy boy in for a very cheerful kiss.
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And to be fair, there were extenuating circumstances...
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oooooh :o- you are so totally the zen master of angst I hope you realize this right?
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Ozai's Reaction to Lan Min
Fire Lord Ozai had never really thought of himself as expecting to be a grandfather.
Oh, he’d imagined his future, strong and unconquerable above a world that acknowledged his greatness, and he’d assumed that his heirs, and thus eventually their heirs, would come along in a sort of natural result of that.
When fatherhood had come upon him, he’d been- he’d assumed it would be a good thing. Ursa was ecstatic, and he took joy in watching her light up from within, warm and protective and sneaking little looks at him and grinning like he was in on the joke.
He hadn’t had the heart to break her of the notion, and he’d thought between them, their children would surely be glorious.
The slow series of disappointments had soured him on the notion, even as his secondborn overtook the first and made great strides in becoming the sort of potential monarch that would always end up on the top of the heap. The kind that must be encouraged, and praised, and delicately pointed in appropriate directions so they didn’t get the wrong ideas- the kind that he had once been.
His daughter, though- at times, he could almost be moved to pity. Born too early, and started too late! She tried. And tried. And inevitably was nothing more than a buffer, between him and Azulon (both father and son, cage and key)- between him and his wife.
That Ursa had chosen to leave him as acceptable losses, when seeking to keep ahold of her useless child-
But that was many years ago. The wounds had healed. Getting everything you ever wanted- even with great sacrifice- could prove a great balm. They had both gotten what they wanted, and given up their greatest love for it, and that had been that.
The scandal had been convenient. Let all paths lead to a victory- with Zura out of the way, Azulon could be both groomed and controlled. If she and her theoretical whelp were lost, no great trouble. If- by some miracle- her trials made her a stronger contender, made her strong enough to get away with her small crimes (for even treason of the body could, and had been, forgiven for enough loyalty of spirit in the past)- well, that would be of benefit as well.
That had settled the matter for a number of years, and he had returned to the business of running a busy empire and a hungry war. The vagaries of parenthood were no longer his concern.
Then miracle of miracles- the prodigal daughter had returned home, victory in one hand, child in the other- and suddenly, he was a grandfather of all things. He had no silver in his beard, and a hundred years in front of him if he was very strong and lucky, and it was hard to feel old and lonesome when the heart that cared about such things had been ripped out a long time ago.
But there she was. Wriggling in his daughter’s arms, under her haunted eyes- bright and sparkling and reaching out to touch the flames that did not deign to burn her. A true prodigy, as her mother’s brother had been- and him with no need to offer her up as a sacrifice to his judging elders-and-betters.
He’d held her in his arms, and if that old, aching trickle of warmth, of treacherous hope had welled up again- no one could blame him but himself.
Re: Ozai's Reaction to Lan Min
And Lan Min is a prodigy? That's a neat development! I also really, REALLY like the last line. Could this young child in some way redeem Ozai? (Unlikely, but I'd still like to see how this plays out!)
Re: Ozai's Reaction to Lan Min
Lan Min isn't really a threat, although she could potentially develop into one. But for the moment, she's little and cute and he's not under outside pressure to produce perfect little soldiers. Internal pressure, maybe, but that's more like force of very bad habit. So, between that and the fact that she's sparking already and he's already determined that she's not going to be allowed to be a headache for him, he's feeling nostalgic.
Re: Ozai's Reaction to Lan Min
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3) AU – Zura and La Min, ten(or more if you like) years after there exile in a world were the Avatar has not jet returned
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The AU where Zura is married to Zhao? More of it. Especially Zura/Zhao explosions.
Aang playing with Lan Min.
Zura is sick, Iroh is too busy doing...something, so the whole crew has to take care of Lan Min. Okay, I just want Jee, the crew and Lan Min crack.
What if Zura had been pregnant with twins? Okay, now I am going a bit insane...
Twins.
Little Lu-Ten is not strong. Born in the height of the typhoon, only Uncle's breath kept him alive until they crashed into the mangrove swamp and limped into the shallows. He is not- simple. But he does not speak often, for all he speaks well, and the court has focused their attention on his brightly-shining sister, leaving him to the shadow path. Born at a bad hour. First, but last. Can't keep up.
Zura finds her heart hurts when she looks at him, the extremity of her own slights as a child. When she first notices how the favor of the lords and ladies slide, she watches, fearful, for the signs of her life repeating itself amongst her children. Even when her father and her brother are locked away, one oozing venom and the other spewing brimstone, she cannot still the rabbit-mouse in her heart, thrumming with unspoken fears.
Their trail is a slimy, poisonous thing, and it lingers in their wake, in the attitudes of the courtiers, long after the official policies have come undone.
She comes upon a scene one day, shedding royal robes and heavy crown to head to the courtyard where the noble children have been playing, while their parents spar at verbal war. Lu Ten is crying, angry through the tears, and another boy is on the ground with the imprint of Lan Min's fist in his eye.
"Don't touch my brother!"
The young boy (admiral's child, third rank, mother's side is a removed cousin) quails before the wrath of the princess. The other children make that ooooh sound, when they know someone is in trouble.
It goes silent when they see their monarch's silhouette in the door.
Zura sweeps up her children from where they are embroiled and takes them off. As she reviews what she's going to say (No hitting, you are royals, not bullies, and she's been working hard to make that distinction stick), Lu Ten is glaring and Lan Min is protesting.
"He was sayin'-!"
"-don't need her to-!"
"Hush."
It takes a second, firmer warning to finally get them to quiet, but not before Lan Min says something that warms her heart, even as she metes out discipline for its consequences.
"...nobody says that to my brother..."
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Zura/Zhao Explosions: Slow Burn 1/2
All of his plans for a slow, calculated ascension are turned ‘round in a thoroughly pleasant way when they name him admiral before their wedding, and he’s completely off in his own mind during the ceremony, trying to redraw the maps and plans he’d had in his head. There are cups of wine, and he thinks he sees her eyes burning through the veil when they sip together, but there’s just so much to take in, and she hides her face well.
Well she should- the princess hasn’t been seen in public since the abortive Agni Kai, but he witnessed the ferocity with which their Fire Lord struck down dissent. Protestations of innocence and best interests hold little water when you’ve smeared the royal name.
He smiles through the ceremony, and the dignified reception, and the raucous officers’ party afterward. The procession brings him back to his family compound after winding through too many bars to count, back pounded and wine-soaked and ears burning. The lanterns burn down, and the guests go home, and finally he’s left alone in the dark, with only the door to his chambers to beckon him.
Straightening his mantle, smoothing back his sideburns (good grooming is the mark of a great man), Zhao steadies himself and steps in.
The girl is in bed already (her title is gone, her great name, even so mediocre as it was, vanished), her back to him. He goes through the ritual of removing his armor without bothering to set a light- he can do it drunk, injured, in the dark and on a rocking deck, and has done so before (and will do it again). The fancier undertunic and mantle are newly-tailored especially for this day- the armor is ceremonial, but still scarred from ancestral battles.
He hears a soft sound when he gets down to his boots and trousers, and smirks harshly. Probably never seen a real man, have you, princess? The palace gossips place her among her age-mates for the most part- it’s doubtful she’d entangled one of the generals or lords she might have encountered, and the boys she would have known are merest puppies, half-trained and no use.
At last he turns around. She’s still pretending to be asleep, curled in the coverlet like a stone. Thoroughly annoyed, the groom approaches the other side of his bed and flings back the bedclothes.
The princess stares up at him in shock, and he can see all the damage. Eye almost blinded, still surrounded by healing poultice along half of her face. Her linen shift doesn’t disguise the thin limbs of a growing teenager, nor the rounded belly that suddenly reminds him, despite all his efforts to forget, that he comes to his marriage bed already a cuckold.
She looks up at him in what must be fear, and pity mingles with contempt in him, curdling in his stomach. Weakness- of character, of resolve, of body and mind- is not to be tolerated.
She’s a traitor.
She’s a child.
She’s his responsibility now.
“Let me make this clear, my wife,” he growls, still smiling what’s not a smile. “I am your last, best, and only chance in this world. My will is your law, and no one is going to say me nay. Not the crowd, not the courts, and certainly not your once-upon-a-time crown. Your father has delivered you into my care, and out of his sight, and it is going to stay that way.”
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Sometimes never at all.
“You will be kept on my family estate. Make no mistake- you will give no orders, nor be allowed out except by my leave. Your education will be in the hands of my mother, and I strongly suggest that you pay close attention. You will not shame me!” he barks, and she jolts. Something in her mask cracks, and the rage that shines through the fear is- interesting.
He studies her for a moment, the moonlight and the setting and the alcoholic haze anything but romantic.
Perhaps there’s some potential to this girl after all. But potential or no, he is an admiral now, and about ten years sooner than he’d planned. Let the raising of children be left to those with more skill at it- he has a war to win.
“When I return- I expect to find a wife befitting an admiral waiting for me.”
.....
The next day the fleet sets sail, and he sails with it.
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Thank you^^