hello, world
— I have something to say.
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chapter i — the glory days of the fire nation
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He remembers his childhood dipped in black and white — in a piercing quality that kills him. He remembers his childhood as frozen memories; not something he'd really want to reminisce on, but does anyway.
He remembers days spent by the turtleduck pond where Azula would laugh at the babies and their mother would gently scold her. He remembers always feeling second best when he would meet his father's eyes — the elder son, shamed by the younger daughter. But he remembers always being loved by his mother; he would always run to her crying — he was always her favorite.
(my own mother thought I was a monster.)
He remembers the autumns being spectacular; red and gold and orange leaves covering the ground they walked on. He remembers tugging on his father's robes, begging him to come out and "enjoy the fall, Father!" He never did come, despite his pleads.
He remembers always, always trying to spend time with his father — bonding time, just like the children in the village had with their fathers. He'd always try and get his Father to come and fish or fight or something.
(I'm busy, Zuko.)
He remembers the springs, with festivals and flowers left and right. He remembers, one time, they went to a festival; as the royal family, dressed in silk robes. He was jealous — he wanted to be down on the streets for once, not as Fire Prince Zuko. He wanted to be normal.
He remembers voicing these thoughts, which were always dismissed with an, "Of course you don't want to be normal! Isn't being Fire Prince enough?"
He remembers ripping off his crown once, in an angry rage, and trying to burn it.
(Zuko! Zuko, what are you doing!)
He remembers the summer, stifling hot, when he would be gathered up with Mai and Ty Lee and Azula and would have to put up with their endless (useless) chatter. He remembers his Mother smiling kindly at him by the pond as they threw bread. He remembers feeling oh-so-insignificant as Azula showed off her firebending moves, and he just failed.
He remembers always hearing whispers of how amazing Azula was, and wondering why they never talked about him.
(Such a prodigy — incredible raw talent!)
He remembers the winters, locked inside and staring out the windows. He remembers asking what snow was — answered with a soft laugh from his mother, and a snort from Azula.
"Darling, there's no need to worry about that. You'll learn — and besides, we don't have snow here."
He was unsatisfied, just as always.
(Wow, Zuzu. I knew you weren't exactly smart, but not knowing what snow is...)
He remembers hating with unadulterated loathing — Azula, the court that kept his Father away —
And so much more.
a/n; So, I'm trying to do this idea with Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's going to be a chapter per major(ish) character — so, Zuko, Aang, Toph, Sokka, Katara, Suki, Azula, Mai, Ozai, Iroh, Ty Lee, Hakoda, Yue, Haru, Teo, blah, blah, blah. If I remember more, I will add them. And, if you want a chapter done on a minor-er character, you can drop a line, and I'll be glad to write it.
I'll either do the Freedom Fighters, as a group, or, like, Smellerbee, Jet and Longshot. Because Longshot pwns.
And this'll be my main project for a while, since it's going to be tedious, but I'll keep writing around that, I suppose.