Avatar: The Last Airbender Darkfic Comment Meme

[attackfish]

So 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 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 AU

for[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 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?

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

Comments

[blue-lacquer.livejournal.com]

Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong's library

Zhao helps his chances of being promoted by getting rid of his competition

What Chit Sang did to end up in the Boiling Rock

The Omashu Earth Kingdom resistance succeeds in killing Mai's family (but not her)

Why Yon Rha hates his mother so much

Zhao helps his chances of being promoted by getting rid of his competition

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

As far as I’m concerned, this is completely canon.

When the captain didn’t show up on deck that morning, the crew went about their jobs restlessly, looking over their shoulders at the captain’s cabin and the lieutenant. When she didn’t show up that afternoon, they drew lots to see who would check on her. When she didn’t answer the unlucky sailor’s knock and he found her dead body, the crew panicked.

But Lieutenant Zhao really took charge. He straightened the crew out and saw to it they completed their mission splendidly. It was so sad their captain had such a weak constitution, falling ill so suddenly like that, but it was a good thing her lieutenant was so prepared.

And that was what the other officers’ reports were going to say. Zhao made sure the rest of the white jade plant was at the bottom of the ocean as soon as he left her cabin, and almost no one had even heard of the stuff anymore.

Re: Zhao helps his chances of being promoted by getting rid of his competition

[blue-lacquer.livejournal.com]

Yes, that is very Zhao. I feel sorry for that poor woman.

He got the idea of poisoning someone with the white jade plant from Iroh, didn't he? ;)

Re: Zhao helps his chances of being promoted by getting rid of his competition

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Thank you. If it makes you feel better, she's a nasty piece of work too.

Iroh would absolutely love to know that Zhao took his botany babbling as career advice.

What Chit Sang did to end up in the Boiling Rock

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Glad I wasn’t the only one wondering that.


“Didn’t your mother over teach you you’re only supposed to borrow money if you can pay it back?” The bone snapped, and the man screamed. Chit Seng let him go and he stumbled back, tripping over his own feet, into the wall.

Chit Seng turned his palm up and bent fire into it. The man’s eyes widened and his pupils contracted against the light. “I swear, I’ll pay you, don’t kill me!”

The fire blasted between the man’s feet. “Dead men don’t make good on their debts. I’m just taking a little...” he snatched the arm of the little boy cowering against the wall next to his father. “Collateral.”

Most loan spider-sharks had muscle to collect the money for them. Chit Seng preferred to give his costumers a more personal touch.

Re: What Chit Sang did to end up in the Boiling Rock

[blue-lacquer.livejournal.com]

Oh, that poor kid. Being a loan shark is something I wouldn't have thought of for Chit Sang, although it makes sense. Interesting. :)

Re: What Chit Sang did to end up in the Boiling Rock

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

I flipped a coin between loan sharking and running a protection racket.

The arresting officers return him safe and sound and completely traumatized to his dad.

Re: What Chit Sang did to end up in the Boiling Rock

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

Now *that* is good^^ And indeed- poor kid. Poor *dad*.

Re: What Chit Sang did to end up in the Boiling Rock

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

I guess good's one word for it, not the one I'd use, but...

Makes you want to put Chit Seng right back in the Boiling Rock, doesn't it.

Re: What Chit Sang did to end up in the Boiling Rock

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

Well yes, exactly. But the ficbit itself is great!

Re: What Chit Sang did to end up in the Boiling Rock

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Thanks

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Four number four, would you prefer something that can fit into canon, or a wild AU, because I have two different ideas for it.

[blue-lacquer.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a hard question. Honestly, both sound interesting, so you can do whichever you would rather write out.

Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

The one about Mai's coming, but I have to finish floranna's help_haiti fic first.


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

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

*wibble*

Re: Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know. When I was watching that episode, I wanted to shout "Me me me, I want knowledge for knowledge's sake! I love learning!". Makes me want to pummel Zhao. Poor feathery spirit librarian. *cuddles him*

Re: Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

I think I need to go hug my library. It's been too long since I visited.

*...wonders if anyone will ever find the library again through Discworldian L-space*

Re: Zhao destroying part of Wan Shi Tong’s library

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Me too... They have the world's tiniest fantasy section, but lots of words in one place.

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

[blue-lacquer.livejournal.com]

Oh, he looses the knowledge himself when his books are destroyed? That is super extra terrible.

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

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

*Pets him* can you blame him for being just a bit paranoid after that?

Thanks. I feel bad at being good at it.

The Omashu Earth Kingdom resistance succeeds in killing Mai’s family (but not her)

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Well whaddya know, you got this before floranna got her help_haiti fic after all. Bad Fish.

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: The Omashu Earth Kingdom resistance succeeds in killing Mai’s family (but not her)

[blue-lacquer.livejournal.com]

This one is really sad. It's a good description of someone who is emotionally shut down reacting to tragedy--numbness, confusion, wanting people to comfort and also wanting to be left alone.

Re: The Omashu Earth Kingdom resistance succeeds in killing Mai’s family (but not her)

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

One of my big bits of head!canon about Mai post-series, right after the bit about her getting to have wild adventures, is that she learns to open up a little. She's one of my favorite characters, and it's hard to write her having a bad time. She's also just realizing now that she's lost them how much she still felt for them, not a fun place to be.