ZUTARA WEEK 2017, Day 4: ICARUS
A Softer, Kinder Light
DISCLAIMER: Avatar: the Last Airbender belong to Bryke, but Zutara Week belongs to all Zutarians.
NOTE: This is such a wonderful prompt and I applaud the person who came up with it. There is so much that could be mined from such a concept an in a way, I wish I had the time and energy to write a longer story just to do the idea justice.
But anyway, I opted for a shorter, more reflective piece, no action or dialogue, but just some ideas, things that we already know of the characters but that are still relevant to the theme.
I can't help but think that this prompt would work better as a piece of fanart but I lack the artistic skills to pull that off. Poetry would also be good but again, I don't think I have that in me for now. But I tried my best and though this is a bit cheesy, I'm fairly satisfied with the result and I hope you will be too.
Enjoy!
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Ozai had been the light that shone the brightest to his son for the most part of his life. For years, Zuko would see little else.
He had been dazzled by his father's brilliance, determined to emulate his strength and to follow in his footsteps. In the Fire Lord, the prince saw a greatness unparalleled and he strived so hard to gain the man's approval and love. Everything he did was to try and shine as bright as his father.
So for a time, he allowed himself to be blinded by such brilliance, by the extravagant displays of authority and harshness, the fear inspired in others by a man so unrelenting and tyrannical. For a time, the son failed to see the harshness of his father's light.
And when he finally saw the truth, he paid a heavy price. For he would never shine as bright as Ozai. They were too different. He had not his father's cruelty and malice, and he had been denying to himself the reality of this in his quest for the latter's approval. The prince had had to be burned and banished for him to begin to see the true nature of the man he had placed on a pedestal.
But pain had a way of illuminating the truth. And though it took him years to realize it, he eventually understood that when one flew too close to such a sun, one would only get burned.
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In the moonlight, he found healing.
Plunged into the darkness of despair, deprived of the force that had driven him to be the best person he could be, Zuko had been lost. But he soon discovered that hope appeared in the most unexpected places and, as his uncle always reminded him, destiny is a funny thing.
He would have never imagined drawing strength from the moon. After all, firebenders were supposed to rise with the sun. But it was a different kind of power he gained this time, a more enduring and important bond, a love he had never experienced before. A profound tradeoff had taken place.
Where his father had hurt him, Katara had healed him. Through her forgiveness and kindness, he felt the acceptance he had longed for all his life and he found that this was all he needed. With their history, he was keenly aware that he did not deserve such generosity, not from her, from his uncle, from the Avatar and his friends. But they had let him in, nonetheless, and for this he felt unending gratitude.
His eyes were finally opened to what truly mattered, to the people who genuinely cared for him and for whom he would do anything. He found a real family and they brought out the best in him, all the goodness he had unknowingly suppressed in his quest to be like his father. At last, he was becoming the person he was always meant to be.
He learned to redirect his energy and his love to those who would actually reciprocate these. He found a few kind of strength, one that would sustain him for the rest of his life. He found a new purpose, a new person to live for, someone whose radiance brought him true happiness.
For so long he had been chasing the sun when all he had ever needed was a softer, kinder light.