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

Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 6/7

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Around Katara’s shoulder, the Avatar glared at him, and Zuko’s own good eye narrowed in response, but Katara didn’t notice, hugging the Avatar closer. “Aang, I knew you would come.”

“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.”

Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 6/7

[floranna.livejournal.com]

Azula is an idiot. And so am I for I forgot to comment. *shameface*

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

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Lol, you will survive by waiting for the help_haiti fic? And the other comment fics I'll write when I'm done?

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

[floranna.livejournal.com]

Personally, I think that Fire Nation itself focuses very much in power and strength. In my head!canon, injured soldiers (I mean somehow permanently and seriously) are put behind the lines and somewhere...harmless, because they are 'weak'. Sick children are considered bad luck, etc. And in this universe, where Zuko lost his leg and he cannot (atleast yet) fight well enough, she considers him weak and useless, and throws him away.

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

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Even scary tactical geniuses are sometimes hampered by cultural prejudices. That was actually what I imagined going through Azula's mind. I always wondered if Zuko might have been a sickly infant. It makes sense given what Ozai says about him.

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

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

I can see them having a bit of a spartan!philosophy on that- 'you can't keep up? We're not gonna kill ya, but stay out of the way, or on your head it be.' This has probably been played up in the last hundred years, but was always there in some form or another.

Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 6/7

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Nationalist militaristic societies tend to have a lot of scorn for people with disabilities, so that makes sense. I feel better now.

Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 7/7 FINISHED

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

As soon as he heard the Dai Li close the shaft behind them, Zuko turned to his uncle, his eyes darting to the tunnel. “Go!” Iroh insisted, gesturing feebly. “Don’t worry; I’ll be right behind you.”

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

[weirdlet.livejournal.com]

I am totally having visions of Teo jury-rigging something for Zuko to work with (prosthetic, super-effective cane, something) and saying his dad can do better once they meet up with him.

Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 7/7 FINISHED

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Images of Zuko with a steampunk clockwork prosthetic leg come to mind. You made my evening. I want a Teo.

Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 7/7 FINISHED

[floranna.livejournal.com]

Okay, because there are times when I don't get 'the currents' of the word for being a Finn. Like, when heard that retard is really really insulting I was 'huh? ...ohshit' I use (in finnish of course) some words as a bit affectionate when I talk to some person, like I call my sister moron (hölmö) but don't really mean it, just as a form of affection and then I heard what retard is...well. So I just wanted to know, in general.

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

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, that's what I assumed it was. I'm glad you asked though.

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

[floranna.livejournal.com]

Yes, and please, if you notice me using some words a bit like that, I would really love to know it.

Yippee! ^^

Re: Zuko hurt his leg on the run and it won’t heal 7/7 FINISHED

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, I always do, lol.