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Facing An Open Sea. Avatar. Ty Lee/Azula. R.
In Avatar-watching news, I am halfway through the firebending masters episode.
1. I think I'd like Azula more if her face was capable of making more than one expression. Okay, she's badass and evil, we get it. Is the permanent smirk really necessary? Even when she's sleeping or getting her hair combed? Really?
2. omg boys crying! Don't cry, emo kid! My gag reflex when it comes to boys crying in fic is pretty strong, so it's always a little befuddling to see it in a canon. I have to remind myself that a) boys do cry, and b) the Avatar characters are teenagers on a Nick show, so it's to be expected that they're gonna be a little n00b sometimes. There is a little n00b in all of us, waiting to get out. KILL IT WITH FIRE. That's what Azula would do.
3. So maybe that's why Zuko sometimes acts like a character from badfic? I mean, I get that he has a lot of valid problems. Valid problems do make badass enemies more compelling, but then it turns out Azula is the badass and Zuko is the woobie. Over the course of the series, it seems like everyone took a level in badass except for Zuko. He's just never been the same since Ba Sing Se. Now all he does is whine about his family and wanting to fit in, and make out with his girlfriend. Anyway, he's pretty entertaining, and actually beginning to be less of a tool in this firebending masters episode.
4. I like everyone's upgraded looks this season!
5. Bwaha! And the Sun Warriors are Aztec-esque. Well-played, sir!
6. MONKEYFEATHERS lololol. Oh Aang. THINK ABOUT OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE omg oh Zukooooooo.
Last post, I was all like, "Where are the sexy 'The Beach' episode tags??" Then I wrote one. The title is from 'Bells of Creation' by Trail of Dead, which is actually totally all about Narnia. It's about vastness and impermanence, and it's all like, "And I watched as all creation was sang into being," and "And I turned to you and said, 'We should never leave,'/We were changing." And I am like, <3.
Facing An Open Sea
Avatar. Ty Lee/Azula, peripheral Mai/Zuko. R. Warnings: jailbaity sexytimes, spoilers for episode 3x05.
Episode tag to 'The Beach'.
There is a secluded stretch of beach owned by the royal family where the sand is whiter, softer, and the ocean bluer, or maybe that’s just how Ty Lee remembers it. Her memories of this place are overlaid by the way the sun gilds their bodies, the feeling of being weightless in the water, and the pleasant inconvenience of shaking sand out of her hair.
She balances herself on her forearms, moving her legs back and forth through the air in a languid motion, enjoying the stretch. A few feet away, Azula dozes in the shade of a large umbrella. Even in repose, she is beautiful with the potential to strike.
“So,” Ty Lee says. “What do you think Mai and Zuko are doing?”
Azula opens one eye. “Come here,” she says, “and I’ll show you.”
+
There are similar scorch marks on Mai and Ty Lee’s clothes.
“He gets overexcited sometimes,” Mai shrugs.
“She means it,” Ty Lee says.
+
Ty Lee is floating on her back in the ocean when she feels Azula’s hands on her waist. She twists in the water to face her, and Azula drawls, “Careful the tide doesn’t carry you out to sea.” Friendly words that still sound snide: her specialty.
“I’m a good swimmer,” Ty Lee replies.
Azula smiles. Ty Lee knows smiles are supposed to be good things, but she doesn’t really like Azula’s that much. It never seems to express the things a smile is supposed to. “Well, good for you,” Azula says, and pulls her closer.
+
After the flurry of confessions on the beach, Azula claims she’s tired and going to bed, and Ty Lee follows her because she doesn’t want to hang around while Mai and Zuko make out. She doesn’t really think Azula is tired; the girl just has problems dealing with openheartedness if she’s not taking advantage of it.
The path back to their house is dark, but the ball of flame floating above Azula’s palm lights the way.
“Hey,” Ty Lee says softly.
“What.”
“I don’t think you’re a monster.”
The flicker of the firelight exaggerates Azula’s smirk. “That’s sweet. I do think you’re a circus freak.”
Ty Lee feels the blood rushing to her cheeks.
Azula adds, “You said that was a compliment, right?”
“Um, I guess.”
“All right, then.” And just like that, Ty Lee sees Azula dismiss it from her mind.
+
“Do you ever miss your mother?” Ty Lee asks.
“Let’s not talk about my mother.”
So they don’t. She slips her hand into Azula’s, but Azula doesn’t hold it in return, doesn’t even seem to acknowledge it, so Ty Lee just withdraws it again.
+
She wants to ask “How jealous? How often are you jealous?” but she doesn’t. If she thinks about it, it even makes some sense, sort of. Jealousy and desire go hand in hand, and maybe that goes double for Azula, who doesn’t seduce, but conquers.
+
“It’ll be fun!” Ty Lee enthuses. “It’ll be like a double date!”
Azula raises an eyebrow. “A double date?”
“Or something,” Ty Lee mumbles. “Oh, come on, Azula! We’ll bring bean cakes and mangoes and-”
“Oh please. Let Mai and Zuko go on their stupid picnics. I have better things to do.”
“…Okay,” she says, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, “so what do you want to do?”
Azula raises her face to the sun, mulling this over. “I’ll meet you on the beach in ten minutes,” she decides. “Let’s have a duel.”
Ty Lee grins, though she knows she will lose. Whatever. She leaves things like slavering over the honor of victory to Azula and Zuko. She does like giving Azula a good runaround though, and making Azula focus on her.
The picnic can wait.
+
“Don’t come,” Azula commands, and Ty Lee whimpers. She writhes against Azula’s touch and reaches for her, but Azula swats her hands away. “I mean it. Don’t. Not yet.”
Ty Lee slurs her curses and muffles her moans and doesn’t look at Azula’s face. She doesn’t want to look. She doesn’t need to. Ty Lee knows what she’d see: the proprietary light in her eyes, the self-satisfaction edged in lust. Ty Lee likes sex for the joy of it, the sheer exhilaration, but when Azula discovered sex, she acted like she had discovered a new firebending move, and applied herself with the same fearless discipline and air of triumph.
“Azula,” Ty Lee breathes, then Azula does that thing with her fingers and Ty Lee tenses as the pleasure grips her body. She clutches the bedsheets and arches, throwing her head back, and through the bedroom window she can see the upside-down vision of the late afternoon sky.
Azula says, “I told you not to do that.”
“Sorry,” Ty Lee mumbles, still panting. “You’re too good at this.”
“You’re too easy,” she replies, once more giving off the impression that she knows Ty Lee better than Ty Lee knows herself. Sometimes Ty Lee even believes it.
“I-” she begins, and trails off when Azula crawls over her body.
“What shall we do about your disobedience?” Azula purrs, her hand brushing the underside of Ty Lee’s breast, the heat in her fingers already building.
+
Azula leaves her marks where no one can see, which is no mean feat during summer at Ember Island. During summer at Ember Island, people see most of Ty Lee.
The boy she meets at the beach brushes his fingers against the burn scar on her inner thigh, and asks, “How’d you get this?”
“Oh, you know,” Ty Lee shrugs, and changes the subject by letting her strap slip off her shoulder.
1. I think I'd like Azula more if her face was capable of making more than one expression. Okay, she's badass and evil, we get it. Is the permanent smirk really necessary? Even when she's sleeping or getting her hair combed? Really?
2. omg boys crying! Don't cry, emo kid! My gag reflex when it comes to boys crying in fic is pretty strong, so it's always a little befuddling to see it in a canon. I have to remind myself that a) boys do cry, and b) the Avatar characters are teenagers on a Nick show, so it's to be expected that they're gonna be a little n00b sometimes. There is a little n00b in all of us, waiting to get out. KILL IT WITH FIRE. That's what Azula would do.
3. So maybe that's why Zuko sometimes acts like a character from badfic? I mean, I get that he has a lot of valid problems. Valid problems do make badass enemies more compelling, but then it turns out Azula is the badass and Zuko is the woobie. Over the course of the series, it seems like everyone took a level in badass except for Zuko. He's just never been the same since Ba Sing Se. Now all he does is whine about his family and wanting to fit in, and make out with his girlfriend. Anyway, he's pretty entertaining, and actually beginning to be less of a tool in this firebending masters episode.
4. I like everyone's upgraded looks this season!
5. Bwaha! And the Sun Warriors are Aztec-esque. Well-played, sir!
6. MONKEYFEATHERS lololol. Oh Aang. THINK ABOUT OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE omg oh Zukooooooo.
Last post, I was all like, "Where are the sexy 'The Beach' episode tags??" Then I wrote one. The title is from 'Bells of Creation' by Trail of Dead, which is actually totally all about Narnia. It's about vastness and impermanence, and it's all like, "And I watched as all creation was sang into being," and "And I turned to you and said, 'We should never leave,'/We were changing." And I am like, <3.
Facing An Open Sea
Avatar. Ty Lee/Azula, peripheral Mai/Zuko. R. Warnings: jailbaity sexytimes, spoilers for episode 3x05.
Episode tag to 'The Beach'.
There is a secluded stretch of beach owned by the royal family where the sand is whiter, softer, and the ocean bluer, or maybe that’s just how Ty Lee remembers it. Her memories of this place are overlaid by the way the sun gilds their bodies, the feeling of being weightless in the water, and the pleasant inconvenience of shaking sand out of her hair.
She balances herself on her forearms, moving her legs back and forth through the air in a languid motion, enjoying the stretch. A few feet away, Azula dozes in the shade of a large umbrella. Even in repose, she is beautiful with the potential to strike.
“So,” Ty Lee says. “What do you think Mai and Zuko are doing?”
Azula opens one eye. “Come here,” she says, “and I’ll show you.”
+
There are similar scorch marks on Mai and Ty Lee’s clothes.
“He gets overexcited sometimes,” Mai shrugs.
“She means it,” Ty Lee says.
+
Ty Lee is floating on her back in the ocean when she feels Azula’s hands on her waist. She twists in the water to face her, and Azula drawls, “Careful the tide doesn’t carry you out to sea.” Friendly words that still sound snide: her specialty.
“I’m a good swimmer,” Ty Lee replies.
Azula smiles. Ty Lee knows smiles are supposed to be good things, but she doesn’t really like Azula’s that much. It never seems to express the things a smile is supposed to. “Well, good for you,” Azula says, and pulls her closer.
+
After the flurry of confessions on the beach, Azula claims she’s tired and going to bed, and Ty Lee follows her because she doesn’t want to hang around while Mai and Zuko make out. She doesn’t really think Azula is tired; the girl just has problems dealing with openheartedness if she’s not taking advantage of it.
The path back to their house is dark, but the ball of flame floating above Azula’s palm lights the way.
“Hey,” Ty Lee says softly.
“What.”
“I don’t think you’re a monster.”
The flicker of the firelight exaggerates Azula’s smirk. “That’s sweet. I do think you’re a circus freak.”
Ty Lee feels the blood rushing to her cheeks.
Azula adds, “You said that was a compliment, right?”
“Um, I guess.”
“All right, then.” And just like that, Ty Lee sees Azula dismiss it from her mind.
+
“Do you ever miss your mother?” Ty Lee asks.
“Let’s not talk about my mother.”
So they don’t. She slips her hand into Azula’s, but Azula doesn’t hold it in return, doesn’t even seem to acknowledge it, so Ty Lee just withdraws it again.
+
She wants to ask “How jealous? How often are you jealous?” but she doesn’t. If she thinks about it, it even makes some sense, sort of. Jealousy and desire go hand in hand, and maybe that goes double for Azula, who doesn’t seduce, but conquers.
+
“It’ll be fun!” Ty Lee enthuses. “It’ll be like a double date!”
Azula raises an eyebrow. “A double date?”
“Or something,” Ty Lee mumbles. “Oh, come on, Azula! We’ll bring bean cakes and mangoes and-”
“Oh please. Let Mai and Zuko go on their stupid picnics. I have better things to do.”
“…Okay,” she says, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, “so what do you want to do?”
Azula raises her face to the sun, mulling this over. “I’ll meet you on the beach in ten minutes,” she decides. “Let’s have a duel.”
Ty Lee grins, though she knows she will lose. Whatever. She leaves things like slavering over the honor of victory to Azula and Zuko. She does like giving Azula a good runaround though, and making Azula focus on her.
The picnic can wait.
+
“Don’t come,” Azula commands, and Ty Lee whimpers. She writhes against Azula’s touch and reaches for her, but Azula swats her hands away. “I mean it. Don’t. Not yet.”
Ty Lee slurs her curses and muffles her moans and doesn’t look at Azula’s face. She doesn’t want to look. She doesn’t need to. Ty Lee knows what she’d see: the proprietary light in her eyes, the self-satisfaction edged in lust. Ty Lee likes sex for the joy of it, the sheer exhilaration, but when Azula discovered sex, she acted like she had discovered a new firebending move, and applied herself with the same fearless discipline and air of triumph.
“Azula,” Ty Lee breathes, then Azula does that thing with her fingers and Ty Lee tenses as the pleasure grips her body. She clutches the bedsheets and arches, throwing her head back, and through the bedroom window she can see the upside-down vision of the late afternoon sky.
Azula says, “I told you not to do that.”
“Sorry,” Ty Lee mumbles, still panting. “You’re too good at this.”
“You’re too easy,” she replies, once more giving off the impression that she knows Ty Lee better than Ty Lee knows herself. Sometimes Ty Lee even believes it.
“I-” she begins, and trails off when Azula crawls over her body.
“What shall we do about your disobedience?” Azula purrs, her hand brushing the underside of Ty Lee’s breast, the heat in her fingers already building.
+
Azula leaves her marks where no one can see, which is no mean feat during summer at Ember Island. During summer at Ember Island, people see most of Ty Lee.
The boy she meets at the beach brushes his fingers against the burn scar on her inner thigh, and asks, “How’d you get this?”
“Oh, you know,” Ty Lee shrugs, and changes the subject by letting her strap slip off her shoulder.
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YES INDEED.
Mmmm sociopathic princesses. My favourite.
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And possibly a fic about Fire Lord Zuko ruling from his father's negative spaces, but you can only define yourself by what you're not for so long. These princes and their daddy issues, I swear.
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I AM NOT WRITING AVATAR RIGHT NOW. DO YOU WANT MY SQUILLIONS OF MERLIN AUS TO LANGUISH UNFINISHED FOREVER?
These princes and their daddy issues indeed. The obvious answer is for you to write Zuko-Arthur, because Arthur is the answer to all crossover dilemmas.
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TRUER WORDS HAVE NEVER BEEN SAID.
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Re: fic. Oh, you. I don't even like this ship and it's great. Particularly:
Jealousy and desire go hand in hand, and maybe that goes double for Azula, who doesn’t seduce, but conquers.
because yes.
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"My first girlfriend turned into the moon."
"That's rough, buddy."
ahahahahahalololololaoholaohlaohlao. i love it. BOYZ.
I have been having these THOUGHTS about Zuko. He is finally finding his place, his peeps, his caaaaalliiing! And with them come a steadier foothold on things. He has a better idea of where he's coming from and his dweebery becomes more endearing because of it, like he's not trying to be what he isn't anymore. LIKE, the part where he tells Toph, "I know you had a rough childhood, but let's focus" I was like \o/!
Azula losing her shit is AMAZING and HEARTBREAKING and GAVE ME THE SHIVERS. AND THEN. WHEN SHE IS IN CHAINS, omg. her desperate rage at her own impotence. jfkldsjflsfdj my heart. HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN. I want fic about how her girlfriends' betrayal pushed her over the edge and, on top of being named Fire Lord, it's no wonder she becomes obsessed with weakness and not being it, with treachery and rooting it out (the taste of betrayal still fresh and lingering).
And thank you! <33 So who do you ship?
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Sokka is always wonderful, idek. Like in The Firebending Masters when he's like "Hey jerk, practicing your jerkbending?" His geekiness is so endearing and I'm not sure that it should be. And he is such a perfect counter to Zuko, I think that's when I actually started to like prince woobie again, because for the better part of the third season I was like "k, your sister is scarier and has less baggage, not seeing a downside," but then they had to go RESCUE SUKI AND HAKODA and Mai and Ty Lee had to drive Azula crazy--I think the only words for it are 'oh, show.' And Azula seeing Ursa in the mirror, who is not at all like the leaders she was named after but somehow her mother is the voice of reason in all this (but then Azula isn't really reasonable, so).
Oh, who don't I ship is probably the more appropriate question. I dislike the Zuko/Katara and the Jet/Zuko, but I'll read them both on occasion. Butttt, off the top of my head, I ship: all the canon pairings, Sokka/Toph, Sokka/Zuko, Aang/Toph, Sokka/Suki/Toph, Azula/Zuko, Azula/Mai, Toph/Aang, Azula/Aang (my creepy ship), and some platonic Toph/Zuko which I have been known to write on occasion. And Azula/Toph for some strange, strange reason.
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Yeah, I don't like Katara much, IDK. But I am so behind Ty Lee/Azula, and Azula/Mai/Zuko, and Azula/Zuko. Jet/Zuko I can get behind though, especially when Jet got all stalkery on him at Ba Sing Se. I may prefer Jet/Zuko as a non-romantic ship, I dunno, I'm not sure yet. Same thing with Sokka/Zuko. Azula/Zuko I will take in any form, 'cos their Agni Kai (with angelic music in the background) is just so intense, I want to check that intensity out. Sink my teeth into it!
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But this was perfection. <3
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You get all the different layers of their dynamic, the dialogue is flawless and could be taken directly out of the show (if, you know, the show had a different age rating) and the whole fic in general reads so effortlessly, I'm a little bit in love with how simple, yet descriptive, your writing style is.
Basically; I love this. Characterization is just. Gah. <3__<3
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Is that normal...hmm...may I translate it into russian?
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Oh damn, I just. Ty Lee and Mai comparing notes! And Ty Lee, surprisingly, coming off way worse! It breaks my heart in the best of ways. (And... kind of makes me want Ty Lee/Mai re: Zuko/Azula? In jail? Oh man. I thought I was done with this fandom, but I guess not.)
You are an amazing Azula writer. Friendly words that still sound snide: her specialty.-- yeah, that pretty much sums Azula up.
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