Tantai Jin Apologist

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationship(s): Ozai/Ursa, Ozai & his family, Ozai & his issues

Summary: This fic is about two things:

1) Treating Ozai as an actual character with motivations beyond simply Being Evil For The Sake Of Evilness, & dealing with his relationship with his family.
2) Making him suffer.

OR:

Ozai makes a deal with a spirit. It does not go well for him.

Chapter 1: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Chapter 2: Things Go Very Wrong

Chapter 3: Ozai Cries in This One

Chapter 4: Azula Gets to Bully Her Father (As a Treat)

Chapter 5: Ozai Gives His Son A Hug (Out of SPITE, But Still...)

Chapter 6: Azulon's A+ Grandparenting

Chapter 7: [insert that gif of the guy walking in with pizza & there's fire everywhere, but it's Iroh]

Chapter 8 - Knife Wife

Extract:

The letter he’d written had been a frustrating experience to write.

He had sat staring at the blank parchment, brush in hand, for what felt like hours. He refused to beg her to come home. It was too late. Far too late. He wanted her back so badly. She belonged to him. But he wasn't going to lower himself to begging, and he had balked at putting down in black and white that his wife hated him enough to abandon him, even though Ursa had surely painted a horrific picture of him for her parents.

After some thought, he eventually settled on, 'As you surely know, your daughter, Ursa, has chosen to return home. I would appreciate it if you could confirm that she has arrived safely.' There. Concerned, but not overly-emotional. He had sent it via one of the fastest messenger hawks they had.

A week later a servant had handed him a reply. Excitement had gripped him as he broke the seal and unrolled the scroll... Only to see a message from a complete stranger, telling him that the old couple who had lived in the house before them had died, and nobody had come by looking for them.

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But in the meantime I thought I'd share the opening part. It's based on the idea that MBJ has a protagonist halo of his own, since he is literally God's Favourite Blorbo

The first time Mobei-jun died, he was 4 years old.

He was scared & he was running & he was supposed to fight but humans were way bigger & scarier than they’d seemed in the stories & his uncle had vanished & he was alone & they were chasing him! With swords! (And arrows too! But they’d run out of those by now & luckily the one with the bow was a lousy shot & the only arrow which had actually found its target had only got him in the shoulder, which was fine.)

(It hurt. It hurt a lot.)

He’d been running forever & ever & he was tired & hungry & way too warm & he wanted his mother. Or his father. Or his uncle. But his mother was dead, & his father was never there, & his uncle had abandoned him. So he had to keep running & running. A few times he’d managed to get away & thought he’d been safe, but each time they’d found him again before he’d had a proper chance to rest or think properly.

How did they always find him? They were tracking him somehow, but he didn’t know how to hide from them & he couldn’t think & he couldn’t disappear in a gust of wind like his uncle could or become a cloud of mist like his father or call down lightning like his mother & disappear in a flash.

And they were so close he could feel hot breath on his back & he tripped on a fallen branch. He’d fallen a thousand times before but this time he didn’t have a chance to get up before the monsters were upon him & one of them thrust his sword though his chest & it hurt, & then it stopped hurting.

His last thought, stupidly, was that his father would be so disappointed in him – he was supposed to be a fearsome demon prince, & one day he’d be King! But he’d acted like a baby & shamed his family.

And then he woke up.

He pulled himself out of the undergrowth he’d been lying in, branches tearing at his clothing.

But… he’d been dead, hadn’t he? The sword had gone right through him.

He looked down. The was a small tear in his shirt, & it was surrounded by blood… But no sign of any wound under it. And there were lots of tears in his clothing from all the branches & thorns that he’d run through, some of which had been sharp enough to cut skin, so between that & the arrow there was plenty of blood staining his clothing.

He touched his chest, confused.

There was a sound off to one side, & his head snapped round, startled.

A huge creature that looked somewhat like a horse but with branches growing out of its head was staring straight at him.

He froze, his heart, which had calmed a little at the lack of pursuit, broke into a gallop once more.

And then a cloud of mist appeared before him & then his father was there.

“So, this is where you’ve been,” he said. “Come on.”

He looked back at the tree monster as his father reached out to grab his arm, but it was gone, disappeared in an instant. And then the forest was gone, & they were home, his father was dragging him along a corridor towards the healer’s rooms.

That must be it, he thought. They’d been just about to kill him, & he’d been such a coward that he’d fainted, & a monster had shown up & either eaten them or they’d run away in fear.

His father said nothing as he left him with the healer to have his wounds tended to. The healer said nothing about any fatal wounds. His uncle said nothing about leaving him.

Mobei-Jun said nothing.

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationship(s): Ozai/Ursa, Ozai & his family, Ozai & his issues

Summary: This fic is about two things:

1) Treating Ozai as an actual character with motivations beyond simply Being Evil For The Sake Of Evilness, & dealing with his relationship with his family.
2) Making him suffer.

OR:

Ozai makes a deal with a spirit. It does not go well for him.

Chapter 1: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Chapter 2: Things Go Very Wrong

Chapter 3: Ozai Cries in This One

Chapter 4: Azula Gets to Bully Her Father (As a Treat)

Chapter 5: Ozai Gives His Son A Hug (Out of SPITE, But Still...)

Extract:

While it was nice to get a change of scenery, and to feel the sun on his face, there was only so long that one could spend looking at some trees and grass, artful though the landscaping in the palace courtyards was. Fortunately, he had thought to bring a scroll to read, so he could focus on that, rather than having to endure conversation with his family.

Or he could, if he weren’t being constantly distracted by Zuko, sitting on the grass next to him, who kept jerking and looking around at something.

“What are you looking at?” he snapped, the fifth time it happened.

“Um, nothing!” he blurted out. Then he did it again.

Having had enough, Ozai turned to look.

One of Azula’s friends (Min? Mo? She was Lord Ukano’s daughter, he knew.) was sitting against a tree behind them, watching Azula and her other friend performing acrobatics. She glanced towards Zuko, spotted Ozai glaring at her, and paled, turning away hastily.

If he was interested in being a good father, he would tell the idiot boy to go talk to her.

He went back to his reading.

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Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationship(s): Ozai/Ursa, Ozai & his family, Ozai & his issues

Summary: This fic is about two things:

1) Treating Ozai as an actual character with motivations beyond simply Being Evil For The Sake Of Evilness, & dealing with his relationship with his family.
2) Making him suffer.

OR:

Ozai makes a deal with a spirit. It does not go well for him.

Chapter 1: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Chapter 2: Things Go Very Wrong

Chapter 3: Ozai Cries in This One

Extract:

“You have correspondence, Your Highness.” It was pathetic how much he perked up at those words, and how eagerly he reached for the offered scrolls.

Alas, they were not the responses from allies that he had been awaiting. A letter from Iroh. Addressed specifically to him, which was unusual – he normally addressed his letters home to Ozai and his family, which Ozai ignored in favour of the official reports.

And a letter from Zuko. He threw that one aside.

Iroh’s letter began with condolences for his injury and sympathy at his currently being bedridden (Just how far had news of his humiliation spread?). And he expressed a belief that Ozai would be back on his feet soon enough (Thank you! At least someone had faith in him…), but that he should take his time and not push himself too hard (Never mind.).

His brother knew him well enough to not waste any further characters on sentiment, and instead launched into a report of the siege (albeit one with more proverbs and anecdotes about tea blends than appeared in the official reports, because his brother could never resist the opportunity to ramble given half an excuse). It was dull, but it was better than nothing.

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Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationship(s): Ozai/Ursa, Ozai & his family, Ozai & his issues

Summary: This fic is about two things:

1) Treating Ozai as an actual character with motivations beyond simply Being Evil For The Sake Of Evilness, & dealing with his relationship with his family.
2) Making him suffer.

OR:

Ozai makes a deal with a spirit. It does not go well for him.

Chapter 1: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Chapter 2: Things Go Very Wrong

Extract:

“What is your wish, Prince Ozai?”

Ozai glared at the spirit – a monstrous snake (not a weaselsnake, or a badgersnake, or a catsnake – just a snake). He had not introduced himself and had deliberately left anything marking him as royalty behind for this little excursion. The nondescript clothing and concealing cloak he wore were of exemplary quality of course (he would not lower himself to dress like a peasant even for the sake of a disguise), but nothing that couldn't conceivably be worn by any member of the upper nobility. And it had come to its conclusion remarkably quickly…

He shook himself (mentally at least – he wasn't about to show that he was rattled in any way). Spirits had knowledge and abilities far beyond mortal comprehension. That was precisely why he was here.

He drew himself to his full height. “I wish for my father to see my worth.”

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Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationships: Urzai, Ursa & Azulon, Ozai & Azulon, Ursa & her kids

Words: 4,268

Description: The reveal in the comics that Ozai's & Ursa's marriage came about because of a prophecy makes no sense, because dammit you do not establish a great lineage through a second son unless you want a civil war. But... what if the fact that it made no sense was the whole point?

OR: The Fire Sages bring Firelord Azulon a prophecy: That mixing the royal bloodline with that of Avatar Roku will create a mighty lineage. But there's a problem. Roku has one descendant of marriageable age, & she's already married to his second son, with a baby on the way.

Extract:

The Fire Sages had brought his father a prophecy: That combining the lineages of Firelord Sozin and Avatar Roku would produce a powerful line of mighty firebenders.

She couldn't see the problem. "Well, so what? We're already married, so that's fine."

He snarled through gritted teeth. "You're married to me."

"But-" And then she understood.

She was married to the second son who, despite all his efforts to prove himself capable of running the nation, showed no sign of overtaking his brother in his father's esteem, or the succession. And one did not establish a mighty lineage through a second child not expected to inherit. Not unless one wished to set up a civil war between one's descendants.

She stared at her husband in horror.

Only, was he still her husband?

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( Timeline )

Times are approximate, & also include travelling to the next place (eg. the month between Gaoling & the Library covers both the time they spent recruiting Toph & also the time they spent chilling in the mountains while Aang learned earthbending & not literally being in the city that long). It's not meant to be some kind of super precise tracking of the characters' movements - just something I put together to keep things consistent, so I didn't get all the way to the reunion & realise that when I'd written out the main story arc with Zuko & co, I hadn't allowed enough time for the Gaang to do everything they needed to & then have to go through & change every instance where I'd referenced time in any way.

I’m also pretty sure it doesn’t line up with canon either, because while the show’s timeline is fairly vague, I’ve probably shaved off at least a month. But there’s only so long I can stretch Zuko’s arc out for so fuck it

Also I ain’t gonna apologise for my handwriting

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationship(s): Ozai/Ursa, Ozai & Azulon, Ozai & his family

Summary: Instead of flying into a rage when Ozai demands that Iroh's birthright be revoked, Azulon asks for his reasoning. Ozai thinks this is a good sign. He is very wrong.

Alternative summary: *banging pots & pans together* ALRIGHT, WHICH OF YOU FUCKERS WANTS TO READ ABOUT OZAI BEING TORTURED?

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Extract:

“Say what it is you want.”

This was it. This was his moment. His chance to demand the respect he’d earned over years serving his father with no recognition.

“Father, revoke Iroh’s birthright. I am your humble servant, here to serve you and our nation. Use me.”

He bowed even lower, hardly daring to breathe. This audience had been a huge risk. If he’d overplayed his hand, he could lose everything…

“You dare suggest I betray Iroh? My firstborn?” The Firelord’s voice was laced with anger, and for a moment the flames around the throne flickered. Ozai froze; he’d failed. But then there was a pause, before his father continued, the flames returning to normal. “You have grown bold, to ask such a thing of me. Tell me why you believe I should, as you put it, use you.”

He dared to raise his head, to see his father looking down at him with an expression he was all too used to; stern, judging, doubtful that Ozai would meet his standards. He had spent his whole life striving to meet – and exceed – those expectations. He could do this.

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Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationship(s): Mai/Zuko, Zuko & Iroh, Zuko & the Gaang

Summary: Instead of trying to capture the Avatar at the North Pole, Zuko steps in to save the Moon Spirit, falling into the pond in the fight. Tui, seeing the child's dearest secret wish, grants it. Princess Zuko doesn't know how to explain this to anyone.

Or: A trans!Zuko take, but with ~magical transformation~.

Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter 2: Moon

Chapter 3: Sister

Chapter 4: Blood

Chapter 5: Charm

Chapter 6: Alone

Chapter 7: Meeting

Chapter 8: Surprise

Chapter 9: Mistake

Chapter 10: City

Chapter 11: Palace

Chapter 12: Mai

Chapter 13: Home

Chapter 14: Defection

Chapter 15: Prison

Chapter 16: Island

Chapter 17: Comet

Chapter 18: Epilogue

Extract:

Zuko fell…

…into a vast emptiness. The pond had seemed barely big enough for those two fish, but somehow he was floating in a vast body of water.

There was no sign of the surface above.

It should be terrifying, but Zuko felt… calm.

He floated in the water, somehow not drowning, and able to breathe.

"Little dragon." The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. He looked around but saw nothing but emptiness, lit by a soft glow with no source. "Daughter of Agni."

"But- But I'm not a daughter of anything!" he called out, before considering the wisdom of that. But no water poured down his throat.

Surprise, tinged with amusement, swirled in the water around him.

"Ah. But you want to be. So much."

Zuko laughed. "Wanting the impossible has never gotten me anywhere. Even wanting something possible, that thing is never within reach."

"But what if it was?"

"What if what was?"

"Possible."

"What do you mean?"

Laughter. "You saved me, daughter of fire. I can grant you your wish. You could look like your true self.”

Fanart by trekkele

Limits the width:

An Evening's Escape

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationships: Urzai

Prompt: Festival

Words: 2,111

Description: Ozai slips away from a party to enjoy the festivities going on outside the palace & encounters a masked woman.

Extract:

“You’re a firebender, yes?” she asked, a thumb absently stroking over his hand, warm from his inner fire. Then went on, not waiting for an answer. “Dancing is like sparring, but you’re not trying to win.”

“Then what’s the point?”

She sighed, but there was a small smile on her lips. “Not everything is a competition, you know.”

Warmth

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationships: Hakozai

Prompt: Hair/Headpiece

Words: 3,447

Description: Ozai gets sent to the Southern Water Tribe to help rebuild. It's cold & he hates it & nothing is going to change his mind.

Extract:

“Interesting haircut,” someone commented. “Long hair, but some short bits on the top. You couldn’t make up your mind?”

Ozai just snarled wordlessly and turned away. The man should know as well as anyone what the shorter strands meant, that Ozai had had no input into his haircut.

I Like Myself (Most of the Time)

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationships: None

Prompt: Pride/Humility

Words: 100

Description: Ozai's life, separated into four parts.

Like A Shadow

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationships: Zhaozai

Prompt: Haunted

Words: 635

Description: Zhao was always around, even when he wasn't there.

Extract:

It felt as if Zhao was always around the palace whenever his ship was in port. More specifically, he was always wherever in the palace Ozai was, or was going to be.

A Different Reality

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationships: Urzai, Ozai & Zuko, Ozai & Azula, Ursa & Zuko, Ursa & Azula

Prompt: Role-Reversal

Words: 1,892

Description: What if... Ozai was the kind, understanding parent & Ursa was the ambitious, cruel one?

Extract:

“Ozai, you know you cannot keep ignoring Azula’s obvious talents, or letting Zuko slack off.”

He sighed, doing his best not to be frustrated with her. He understood that Ursa’s determination that both her children be excellent firebenders, whatever the cost, was likely down to fear. As a non-bender and the granddaughter of a traitor, married to the secondborn son, her status in the family was precarious at best. Their need to prove to Azulon that they were worthy was something they had in common, but for her it was a chance to restore the honour of her entire family.

Detective Sokka & the Mystery of the Hickey

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationships: Hakozai

Prompts: Caught in the Act, Post-War

Words: 1,983

Description: Sokka is grudgingly accepting of the fact that the Loser Lord is living in his village in order to repay his debt to society or whatever it was that Zuko had said, but is horrified when he returns after some time away & sees a hickey on the man's neck. Who would betray the tribe in such a way? Looks like a mystery for Expert Detective Sokka!

(Can be read as a sequel to Warmth, but it’s not necessary to have read that.)

Extract:

Still, he thought later, as he helped a bunch of the tribesmen (and one Loser Lord) put up a wall, all that jerkbending really built up those muscles. Might as well put them to use.

Then he scratched at his collarbone, pushing his coat away from his neck slightly and…

Wait. Was that a hickey?!

Dreams of the Future

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationships: Urzai

Prompt: Family

Words: 531

Description: Ursa has some news for her husband.

Extract:

“What do you think it will be?” he asked.

She laughed and swatted him, playfully. “A baby, silly.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”