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attackfishSo I just finished writing something so impossibly sweet that I swear all my teeth just rotted in my head from it. And since I have to write floranna's fic for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
help_haiti (and her request is full of lovely angst) I need to get myself in a darker writing groove. To further this goal, I’m watching Criminal Minds, and I’m asking you guys to send me your darkest, most angst producing prompts for Avatar: The Last Airbender. Comment with up to five, and I’ll guarantee you at least one commentfic. I’ll probably answer with more, knowing me. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
weirdlet and floranna get seven requests and a guarantee of two fics, because I spawned a wild AU in weirdlet ’s head, that she has been writing delightfully twisted installments for, and because I delayed writing floranna’s promised fic to work on my novel.
Please no rape or sexually explicit requests. I’m a big believer that there needs to be more gen darkfic in fandom.
Ganked fromavocado_love .
Meme Closed and Finished
Despite the fact that I asked for no requests involving rape or sexually explicit requests, my brain decided to take me there all on its own in two instances. I've done my best to warn as accurately as I can in both in a way that the warnings themselves are non-triggery. I'd also like to put up a blanket warning for violence.
Fics:
forflorannahelp_haiti :
Azula's lightning strike on Zuko has some far more serious consequences
Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal: Part One l Part Two l Part Three l Part Four l Part Five l Part Six l Part Seven
*Warning for heavily implied Rape by Coercion and Sexually Abusive Dialogue* Bonus: AU of “Sun Child”, Zura’s pregnant with Zhao’s child continued from Zhao: Wedded and bedded (AU of Sun Child), both of which are AUs ofweirdlet 's Sun Child AU
for[Bad username or site: � animikii @ livejournal.com] :
Suki’s just as calmly insane as Azula is. She just hides it better
forweirdlet :
Zhao: Wedded and bedded (AU of Sun Child) continued in Bonus: AU of “Sun Child”, Zura’s pregnant with Zhao’s child, (*Warning for heavily implied Rape by Coercion and Sexually Abusive Dialogue*) both of which are AUs ofweirdlet 's Sun Child AU
Koh's eggs
Eric Bogle’s “And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda”
I sometimes imagine Jet's hiding a set of stripes under his shirt- how'd he come to experience such a flogging?
forblue_lacquer :
Zhao helps his chances of being promoted by getting rid of his competition
What Chit Sang did to end up in the Boiling Rock
Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library
The Omashu Earth Kingdom resistance succeeds in killing Mai’s family (but not her)
foravocado_love :
Why exactly the turtle-ducks fear Azula so much
Lao Bei Fong will do anything to keep his daughter safe, even from herself
Zuko: Directly after the Agni Kai
Bonus: some fluffy Toph/Zuko, all grown up (not dark)
forclockwerkchaos :
At the North Pole something goes wrong with La, and the Fire Nation sinks beneath the sea
foryma2 :
The story of Lu Ten’s death
Zuko finds his mother (or more accurately, Ursa finds him)
Aang isn’t rescued by the Blue Spirit and is imprisoned for a long time Part One l Part Two
forbeboots :
S2, Iroh dies, leaving Zuko without his influence continued in Zuko breaks down in front of the Gaang and further continued in The Gaang in Ba Sing Se
Jet decides NOT to gather proof that Mushi and Lee are firebenders before he acts
help_haiti (and her request is full of lovely angst) I need to get myself in a darker writing groove. To further this goal, I’m watching Criminal Minds, and I’m asking you guys to send me your darkest, most angst producing prompts for Avatar: The Last Airbender. Comment with up to five, and I’ll guarantee you at least one commentfic. I’ll probably answer with more, knowing me. weirdlet and floranna get seven requests and a guarantee of two fics, because I spawned a wild AU in weirdlet ’s head, that she has been writing delightfully twisted installments for, and because I delayed writing floranna’s promised fic to work on my novel.Please no rape or sexually explicit requests. I’m a big believer that there needs to be more gen darkfic in fandom.
Ganked from
avocado_love .Meme Closed and Finished
Despite the fact that I asked for no requests involving rape or sexually explicit requests, my brain decided to take me there all on its own in two instances. I've done my best to warn as accurately as I can in both in a way that the warnings themselves are non-triggery. I'd also like to put up a blanket warning for violence.
Fics:
for
florannahelp_haiti :Azula's lightning strike on Zuko has some far more serious consequences
Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal: Part One l Part Two l Part Three l Part Four l Part Five l Part Six l Part Seven
*Warning for heavily implied Rape by Coercion and Sexually Abusive Dialogue* Bonus: AU of “Sun Child”, Zura’s pregnant with Zhao’s child continued from Zhao: Wedded and bedded (AU of Sun Child), both of which are AUs of
weirdlet 's Sun Child AUfor[Bad username or site: � animikii @ livejournal.com] :
Suki’s just as calmly insane as Azula is. She just hides it better
for
weirdlet :Zhao: Wedded and bedded (AU of Sun Child) continued in Bonus: AU of “Sun Child”, Zura’s pregnant with Zhao’s child, (*Warning for heavily implied Rape by Coercion and Sexually Abusive Dialogue*) both of which are AUs of
weirdlet 's Sun Child AUKoh's eggs
Eric Bogle’s “And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda”
I sometimes imagine Jet's hiding a set of stripes under his shirt- how'd he come to experience such a flogging?
for
blue_lacquer :Zhao helps his chances of being promoted by getting rid of his competition
What Chit Sang did to end up in the Boiling Rock
Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library
The Omashu Earth Kingdom resistance succeeds in killing Mai’s family (but not her)
for
avocado_love :Why exactly the turtle-ducks fear Azula so much
Lao Bei Fong will do anything to keep his daughter safe, even from herself
Zuko: Directly after the Agni Kai
Bonus: some fluffy Toph/Zuko, all grown up (not dark)
for
clockwerkchaos :At the North Pole something goes wrong with La, and the Fire Nation sinks beneath the sea
for
yma2 :The story of Lu Ten’s death
Zuko finds his mother (or more accurately, Ursa finds him)
Aang isn’t rescued by the Blue Spirit and is imprisoned for a long time Part One l Part Two
for
beboots :S2, Iroh dies, leaving Zuko without his influence continued in Zuko breaks down in front of the Gaang and further continued in The Gaang in Ba Sing Se
Jet decides NOT to gather proof that Mushi and Lee are firebenders before he acts
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Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 6/7
Date: 2010-02-10 11:27 pm (UTC)“Uncle, I don’t understand.” Zuko jabbed his finger at the boy, voice hard. “What are you doing with the Avatar?”
“Saving you, that’s what,” the Avatar (Aang, a part of him reminded himself) shot back. Zuko lunged for him, forgetting again for a moment, and only Uncle’s arm kept him from falling.
“Zuko, it’s time we talked.” Uncle steadied him and turned to the others. “Go help your other friends. We’ll catch up with you.”
Before he darted back up the tunnel he had just made into the cave, the Avatar (Aang, Zuko reminded himself again) bowed to Uncle. Pausing, Katara turned at the tunnel entrance and glanced one last time at the two of them, then she too left them alone.
When he spoke again, Zuko’s voice was very soft. “Why Uncle?” he asked, forlorn.
“You are not the man you used to be, Zuko.” Uncle held him close, but Zuko broke away to lean against the wall. “You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been, and now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It’s time for you to choose. It’s time for you to choose good!”
Closing his eyes, Zuko bowed his head. That was the first time his uncle had ever put it that-
Suddenly, the ground lurched and pitched him to his knees. A line of the glowing, green crystals erupted out of the stone, reaching for Uncle. They surged up around him, locking him in place. Scrambling back up, Zuko rested his weight on the crystals, arms in front of him, ready to bend fire.
Azula slid gracefully down the original tunnel, two Dai Li agents close on her heels, but Zuko barely even noticed the agents. His sister was the important one. She strode forward to face him, smirking.
When Zuko noticed out of the corner of his eye that one of the agents’ robes were burned all around the knees, his fire blast had hit, he had to restrain a smirk of his own.
“Going to fight me Zuzu?” Azula clicked her tongue.
“Release him immediately!” Zuko roared, keeping his hands out in front of him.
“Why?” Zuko snarled, and Azula’s eyes narrowed in pleasure at his response. “What could you possibly do that would convince me to let him go?”
With a shout, he heaved a ball of fire at her head, but she just flicked it aside. “Why did you come down here?”
She opened her eyes wide and softened her face the way she used to when they were kids and she wanted everyone to think she was sweet. “What, you don’t believe I just wanted to see you one last time before they locked you away for good?” Zuko let out a wordless howl of rage. “Where’s the girl, Zuko?”
“You’re too late, Azula,” their uncle cut in. “The Avatar came and got her already.”
Azula snarled, eyes narrowing at the hole in the cave wall. “You don’t look like you’ve been fighting.” Her eyes roamed the cave, taking in the intact crystals and the walls, undisturbed except for the new exit. “You haven’t become a traitor, have you, Zuzu?”
Zuko growled deep in his throat.
“I’ll deal with you two later,” she spat menacingly, signaling the Dai Li to leave and sprinting to the tunnel the Avatar had created. For once, Zuko could see her fighting to stay calm.
“Should we secure the prince too, your highness?” the agent who had helped carry him down there asked tentatively at the bottom of the shaft.
“No,” Azula glanced back at her brother. What’s the point? There’s nothing he can do.”
Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library
Date: 2010-02-11 12:01 am (UTC)Fire sprang from the man’s hands and ripped through the scrolls. The smell of smoke and burning ink filled the air as he walked away, the bonfire behind him crackling merrily.
Wan Shi Tong bowed to him as he left and he closed the library doors behind him with a sinister smile, safe amongst the desert sands.
Hours later, one of the knowledge seekers came to his master, yipping and sobbing, to show him the way to the calamity.
Wan Shi Tong flung himself into the blaze with a scream. His wings beating aside bits of blackened paper, he clawed through the heap of scrolls, desperate for something, anything to save.
But there was nothing.
He watched the fire burn itself down, calling out a lament over the charred remains of the world’s knowledge on the Fire Nation. There was nothing left. He could feel the knowledge leave his mind as it burned.
One of his knowledge seekers whimpered, and he felt the same way. He looked down. The creature’s fur was black with soot, but in its mouth, it carried the remnants of a scroll. Wan Shi Tong wept when he saw the prize, and cradled it gently against his feathered chest to lock it away under glass, where no one could hurt it again.
Re: Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library
Date: 2010-02-11 12:51 am (UTC)Re: Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library
Date: 2010-02-11 01:04 am (UTC)Re: Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library
Date: 2010-02-11 01:07 am (UTC)*...wonders if anyone will ever find the library again through Discworldian L-space*
Re: Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library
Date: 2010-02-11 01:20 am (UTC)I've been trying to access L-space for years. It hasn't worked yet, *sob*.
Re: Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library
Date: 2010-02-11 03:25 am (UTC)You're good at this dark fic stuff. :)
(Thanks for the update on the Mai fic, but no hurry. You have to get to your "paying" customers first.)
Re: Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library
Date: 2010-02-11 03:47 am (UTC)Thanks. I feel bad at being good at it.
Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 6/7
Date: 2010-02-11 01:34 pm (UTC)Only one part after this? How can I survive! Xb
Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 6/7
Date: 2010-02-11 04:04 pm (UTC)Is it too OOC to have Azula miscalculate that way? I mean in canon, she loves to twist the knife deeper, and the amputation severely hampers Zuko's ability to physically fight, which was the only skill she seemed to have any respect for in her brother, but it's Azula, miscalculating is so rare for her.
Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 6/7
Date: 2010-02-11 05:44 pm (UTC)Also, in my head!canon seriously crippled (btw, is that a 'good' word? Or is it insulting?) soldiers usually kill themselves very quickly afterwards.
Hopefully I made some sense...
Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 6/7
Date: 2010-02-11 06:40 pm (UTC)It's very insulting, yes, but it has a place. It's how your head!canon Fire Nation views people with disabilities, for example, stripped of useful function.
Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 6/7
Date: 2010-02-11 08:05 pm (UTC)Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 6/7
Date: 2010-02-11 09:32 pm (UTC)Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 7/7 FINISHED
Date: 2010-02-12 04:49 am (UTC)Zuko turned away, still uncertain, but he rested his hand against the tunnel wall for balance and hopped forward on his remaining foot. In the quiet, he swore he could hear the sound of it hitting the ground again echoing all around him. Wincing, he lowered himself to his knees and crawled forward into the darkness. When he got out of this, he swore, he was getting a peg leg, the kind fitted just for him, that laced up and wouldn’t come off when rock hands tried to knock it away.
The fire in Azula’s hand sent shadows scurrying over the walls and back to her brother. It bounced and swayed as she raced further and further ahead and Zuko crawled. He kept his breathing low and quiet, because he could hear hers.
With a roar, the blue-white firelight faded into the greenish glow from the crystals. Azula sprang from the tunnel in a shower of dust and sparks, and Zuko ducked back against the tunnel walls. When the dust settled, he crept forward on his hands and knees. With her gone, he could hear that no one else was in the tunnel with him. Uncle wasn’t following.
Zuko swallowed hard. The distant sounds of battle reverberated in the stone around him, and he followed the tunnel ever further, towards it, until at last, the tunnel opened into a great open cavern. Zuko’s breath caught in his throat. The Dai Li and Azula blasted rocks and fire at Katara and the Avatar, who flew at them through the motionless, underground air, and the only way out for him and his uncle was through that.
He clung to the gloom along the edge of the great chamber, water dripping from the walls drenching his hands and robes. No one noticed him. Why should they?
“There’s too many.” The chamber walls threw the Avatar’s words to Zuko, and he groaned silently. If Azula... Uncle... He crawled faster.
Then the Avatar whispered something, Zuko couldn’t hear what, and bent a crystal tent around himself. Zuko wanted to break in and throttle him, until the crystals lit up like a bonfire. The Dai Li and Katara stopped fighting to watch, and Zuko tried to breathe. It wasn’t working right, and when Azula backed up to within touching distance, it got worse.
Her hands traced a familiar pattern through the air. Sparks followed the pathway her finger made. Zuko stopped breathing entirely.
He didn’t hear the Avatar’s crystal tent explode. He didn’t see him hovering in the air above the shards. All he saw were his sister’s hands and a cell in the capitol, and his life ending there, with his uncle’s. It felt like it had ended already.
“What,” the word came out a hiss. Before he even realized he was airborne, he had landed on her back and tackled her to the ground.
But her fingers were still sparking. His fingers met hers. His hand clasped her wrist. The lightning ripped through him, down his arm, through his stomach, and out hist other arm, and he let go... The lightning soared over his head and up to the cavern roof, sending down dust and crystal shards.
“Rrrragh,” Azula yelled with rage, flipping him onto his back and slamming him into the stone. Her hand raised, blue fire gathering in her palms. He couldn’t see anything else, and he waited for it to reach him.
A fireball sizzled through the air between them, knocking Azula away. Zuko scrambled up just as Uncle bounded down from a ledge to stand over him. Stalactites and boulders fell from the cavern roof all around them as the Avatar (Aang, he insisted to himself) waved his arms. Power rolled off him. A wall sprang up between Azula and the Dai Li and the rest of them as the roof came crashing down.
“Get up,” Uncle begged. Zuko grabbed his hand and pulled himself to his foot. The Water Tribe girl, (Katara, he reminded himself), threw his other arm around her shoulder and helped him run.
Well, that was fun.
In retrospect, this isn't nearly as dark as I thought it was going to be at the beginning, maybe even less dark than canon. The Earth Kingdom doesn't even fall. Hmm, not much in the spirit of the meme. Oh well.
Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 7/7 FINISHED
Date: 2010-02-12 05:58 am (UTC)Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 7/7 FINISHED
Date: 2010-02-12 06:25 am (UTC)The Omashu Earth Kingdom resistance succeeds in killing Mai’s family (but not her)
Date: 2010-02-12 06:41 am (UTC)She stared at the letter so long her eyes stopped seeing it.
Messenger ships crossed paths with Azula’s ship from time to time, but Mai never paid attention to them. If it was important, Azula wouldn’t let her see it anyway. She never sent letters to her family. She never opened the ones her family sent her.
Now she was reading that her family was dead, that a bunch of Earth Kingdom rebel bandits had...
The Earth Kingdom had fallen to Azula.
Her family had fallen to the Earth Kingdom.
She was going home, finally.
Home would be empty when she got there.
The words in the message were measured and precise. She was glad they were. She was.
There were few places on the ship where she could be alone, and cry and scream where no one could hear her, but she knew every one. Azula would never intrude on her misery.
But Zuko didn’t give her the same courtesy. She didn’t know if the was glad of it or not.
She didn’t know if she was supposed to be.
Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 7/7 FINISHED
Date: 2010-02-12 05:20 pm (UTC)I am sad that this ended now but I am also going a bit silly about getting my help_haiti fic. ^^ This was a lovely ending, thank you!
Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 7/7 FINISHED
Date: 2010-02-12 06:14 pm (UTC)Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. This little commentfic is over 4000 words long. Damn, it took over my brain.
But I finally started the help_haiti fic, and some of the stuff I decided about the Fire Nation while writing this, are starting to show up in that.
Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 7/7 FINISHED
Date: 2010-02-12 06:58 pm (UTC)Yippee! ^^
Re: The Omashu Earth Kingdom resistance succeeds in killing Mai’s family (but not her)
Date: 2010-02-12 07:16 pm (UTC)Re: The Omashu Earth Kingdom resistance succeeds in killing Mai’s family (but not her)
Date: 2010-02-12 09:24 pm (UTC)Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 7/7 FINISHED
Date: 2010-02-12 09:25 pm (UTC)Bonus: some fluffy Toph/Zuko, all grown up (not dark)
Date: 2010-02-17 01:02 am (UTC)“You knew that was coming.” Zuko ran his fingers through her hair. “Greatest earthbender in the world.”
“Yeah yeah yeah.” The fire in the hearth popped and crackled in front of them as she nuzzled into the crook of his arm. “Not ready to settle down yet.”
Zuko laughed quietly, almost worried that anything louder would shatter the mood into sharp pieces.
“What about you, Hot Stuff, they still after you to get married again?”
He nodded, and then remembered. “Yeah, the position’s still open.”
Toph jabbed her fingers into his topknot and started twisting his hair out of place. “Hey, didn’t I just say I wasn’t ready to settle down?”
“Yeah.” He let her. “But that’s what you were asking, right?”
“Whoa boy,” she snickered. “What’s it been, seven years? That’s determined.”
Zuko shrugged. “Six and a half.”
As the caps of the scroll Zuko was holding clicked against the floor, Toph decided it was definitely time to change the subject. “So what’re you reading?”
Zuko put the scroll down self-consciously. “I thought you didn’t like scrolls.”
“I like ‘em fine when they’re read to me.” She stretched out her arms and looped one of them around his shoulders.
He looked away. “It’s just a budget report from the education minister,” he apologized.
“Augh, and that’s the other reason I’ll never be queen of Omashu.” She felt around for his nose before giving it a solid flick. “Or Firelady.”
That was one reason. The other was that his court would murder him in his sleep, but he didn’t say that. “That’s the great thing about being Firelady. You wouldn’t have to deal with any of that if you didn’t want to.”
“Nah, I’d just have to deal with you after you deal with it. Which I guess I already do...” She gasped as he sucked on the hollow of her throat and smirked. “When I’m around.”
“Haha.”
“You wouldn’t be asking if you actually thought I’d say yes.”
“Yeah,” he mumbled, “But you like to be asked.”
“The servants hate it when you drag the blankets and pillows off the bed.”
They pulled their hands off each other. Zuko tried not to cringe as he twisted around. They couldn’t have looked guiltier if they’d planned it. “Baby girl!”
“Leishang!” Toph smiled. “You’re getting so big! How old are you now?”
Zuko’s daughter folded her arms. “You can’t even see me.”
“Heheh, right.”
“Twelve.” Zuko let his head fall into his hands. “You wanted to see me?”
Leishang stared at the floor shyly. “My teacher says I’m ready to start learning the next firebending form. I- I just wanted you to know.”
As soon as he had untangled his legs from the blankets, he launched himself to his feet and wrapped her in a quick hug. “That’s great!”
“Yeah.” Her voice was muffled against his chest. “Yeah, I’ll just... go... now...”
Zuko kissed his daughter’s head. “It’s okay.”
“No, no,” she broke away and ran.
Sighing, Zuko closed the doors behind her and burrowed back into the blankets with Toph.
“She gone yet?”
“Yeah,” he breathed into her ear.
“You know I hate these floors, Hot Stuff.” Toph pushed herself up in his arms and kissed her way up to his lips before finishing. “Wood. Might stay longer if you switched ‘em.”
“How long are you staying this time?” he asked, hiding his wistfulness as best he could.
“Dunno,” she murmured, but she ended with a wicked grin. “But I’m not going anywhere tomorrow.”
~*~
Okay, so I can’t write anything ever without injecting angst into it. Be patient; it’s my first romance!fic; I’ve got to start slow. This wound up being shorter than I thought it would be, so I made it into a commentfic. To make up for it, I made you an icon. It’s not Toko, but it’s a (to my mind) essential ship that you don’t have any icons for.