where the stars do not take sides

Zuko assuming that his socials skills are just rusty instead of trying to understand what's the deal with Sokka is hilarious (I totally get him, you don't know new people's friend dynamics and internal jokes)

I love the way everyone interacts in this fic!

YES oh zuko my man

{“Oh, no? I figured an attack was all that could explain Sokka’s heart rate!” }GURRRLL!!{And Zuko stares back, because there’s no way that he would ever mistake that face for anyone else. It’s practically Zuko’s face, after all; practically their mother’s. }Bro, don’t make me cry…

Yknow, I wasn't sold by the Zukka ship when I first heard of it but the more fics I read with super cute interactions like this, the more I am won over. Love it

“did you just talk yourself into helping me?” HAHA that one made me laugh out loud

❤️

Okay this is adorable, and your characterizations are SPOT ON. I'm actually super impressed. Very very excited to read more! (Will I regret starting this fic at 11:30 pm? We shall see!)

Oooh I love it!

Im already obsessed with this. Omg. I love it so much

Zokka is so cute AHHHHHHH

Poor Zuko! I love all the Gaang's personalities. They really do feel like them. And Azula and Zulo meeting ahhhhhhhhh

Sokka holds his hands out in clear astonishment. “He made up fire-swordbending, Toph. Because he’s not a good firebender.”“Uh huh, really unimpressive,” Toph replies.I love them.

lmao everyone teasing sokka about his crush xD

I presume Zhao was the only season one antagonist, and Azula took over once he drowned

Oh my goodness, sokka is so obvious and zuko is just as oblivious. Looks like azula decided to just run away from her feelings (aka her brother). Great chapter!

sokkas gay panic gives me LIFE. also poor zuko. traumatized in every universe one way or another. interested to see the backstory behind his scar in this universe 👀

"“There isn’t money in places like this,” Zuko responds. “When people pay me in food, it’s because that’s what they can afford. And if you want to help that, then…” Zuko sighs, realising where his own train of thought has brought him. “Then end the war and let the Earth Kingdom stop starving.”"Love this.

Our poor baby 🥺👍

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

"Yeah, that’s not how building a wall works" HAHAHAHAHA!! XDOOOOH, THEY KNOWWWWWWW!!!!Oh, poor Zuko and his panic attack! Honeyy :( Glad they sat him down.But bright side is he's joining the team now! :DThat meeting with Azula was very dramatic and I enjoyed it immensely. I'll need to save this story. Thank u!

(*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡

haha silly Zuko (haha silly Sokka)

ooooooooooo this is really fun to read! I'm excited to read more!

LET ME MORE KUDOS ItS MY SECOND TIME READIGJ IEW

Yessssss amazing! Loved Toph teasing Sokka about his crush. Also enjoyed Zuko overthinking everything.

Awwww, this is cute. And funny. And Zuko really doesn't realise Sokka EMBARASSINGLY large crush on him.

oh my fucking god! these bitches gay! good for them! good for them.azula my beloved has shown up!

He isn’t expecting the commotion, but Toph suddenly turns and holds her arms out. “Whoa, are we being attacked?” When she doesn’t get a response, she grins wickedly. “Oh, no? I figured an attack was all that could explain Sokka’s heart rate!” IM DYINGGGGGG THIS IS SO FUNNY

I went to try to read all of your works after enjoying your current WIP so much, only to discover I've already READ most of them... which was slightly disappointing because it means I didn't discover a great new author with lots of stories I can read, but rather discovered several of the stories I already loved were written by the same person, which is kinda funny

Ahhh !!!! them seeing each other made me scream out loud I knew it was coming but still!!! Very good I’m so excited to keep reading

I love this concept Good work

everyone stop yelling at toph 😭😭

“He made up fire-swordbending, Toph. Because he’s not a good firebender”Ooh burn!

YEEESSSS these chaps are so long omg. Thank youu

YESSS I LOVE THIS

Wait, if Zuko left with his mom before Ozai was crowned as Fire Lord, then how does Zuko have his scar? Didn't he get the scar after his mother left?

I'm curious how he got the scar in this fic. Also really good stuff

My heart is pounding wow

Liking this so far.

This is absolutely brilliant, you have the characterisations down perfectly, and especially zuko in this different context where he's trying to survive, it makes sense that he's overthinking exchanges of energy or food. Also everyone bullying Sokka cause he has a crush on Zuko is funny, I really enjoyed reading this, your writing is absolutely brilliant

THIS!!! WAS!!! AMAZING!!!!!!!!

Sokka's pining is hilarious, I had to stop to crouch down and snicker at the ground cos the second hand embarassment is real :'DAlso, Zuko's scar? Didn't he ran when he was 11? Hoping I'll see your response to it next chapter

This is glorious

Poor azula is gonna have trust issues to rival Zuko’s now

Siento el trabajo duro, desesperación y pánico de Zuzu hasta aquí.

Azula, slamming the door open: GUYS HOLLY FUCK Ty Lee: what what happened???Mai: why.Azula: ZUKOS ALIVETy Lee: WHATMai: what

wow this chapter was so exciting to read and so cool

How do your fics (although this is only my second) always bring me to tears?This is amazing. Your writing is so beautiful. I love this.

Oof

oooh this is shaping up to be really interesting. We spent the first chapter with Azula, who showed (well didn't show in universe, but the reader saw) some new emotions, sadness and loneliness at Zuko and Ursa's disappearance. The second chapter following Zuko was even better and I'm interested and invested to know more about him. How does he still have his scar? Did he have to watch his mother die after they ran away? He's not as angry as he was (probably bc he didn't have to deal with the emotional turmoil of his banishment) and resembles his mother's temperament more, will that change at some point? I also can't wait to see if Iroh will show up and how his role will play out.

Wow I love this concept of Zuko on the run, poor and just trying to survive being but being adopted by the Gaang, I seriously can't wait to read the rest

This is so good. Love that Zukos lack of social skills works in Sokkas favour and all the teasing just goes over his head. Those poor kids aahhh. Whens he gonna confess to the gaang.

'even with an Earth Kingdom name like Lee' in canon, they're hiding in the Fire Nation, hence why Lee is so popular. His appearance combined with the name Lee would, in canon, scream Fire Nation. I'm so confused. Why does Zuko have his scar if he left before he'd get it? Where are Ursa and Iroh? My peanut brain is melting.

god that panic attack felt too real like i could feel the emotion bubbling up in my damn op ur such a good writer

I ADORE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS!!!

Poor Zuko, there's a lot of not pleasant going on there. And then the moment of running into Azula. Damn.

There's so much good stuff in this chapter! Zuko's concerned about what is owed and earned really shows how little kindness he has seenPoor Soka's crush is obvious. Good thing zuko is oblivious.You do such a good job showing the reader what's going on with the non POV characters, even when the pov character isn't aware!

hoo boy is zuko a good kid u_u

If azula rats him out I will be so mad

❤❤❤

“Did you just talk yourself into helping me?”LMAO

"Zuko thinks that he can probably get Aang playing with the fire a little more by the end of the day"I love how getting a child to play with fire is a GOOD thing in this context.

Also the quote at the beginning sums up Zukos life beautifully

I just loved how you wrote the meeting between Zuko and Azula, it's talented writing

Amazing writing!!

This is brilliant. I assume that Zuko's mother died. Sokka has a crush on Zuko and I assume that Toph has an inkling and loves to mess with him

Oh, Zuko! He is so lonely, and so wary about other people. He expects the worst of everyone regarding their reactions to his scar and what they might want from him. And the panic attack when Azula shows up is so sad!— They think he’s a child who is damaged and alone because of the war. And Zuko lets them assume, because it’s easier for him, and because… well, in a way, it’s kind of true. 😭😭😭— But even if he isn’t running toward or away from anything, Zuko knows that he can’t stop. 😢 Oh, gosh, I feel so badly for him!— ...Sokka is sitting in front of him and chattering away. Momo the winged lemur is curled up in Zuko’s elbow, also chattering away. As far as Zuko can tell, neither of them is saying anything of any substance. 😂😂😂

Oooohhh

!!!! Im bad at words but I really like this so far!!!

Ahhhh this is wonderful!!!!

Oh god poor Zuko he’s so broken from all the fleeing of the past five years. And Zuko and Azula finally met? Well, this is gonna be good.Thanks so much for writing this!I love what a mess you’ve written Sokka to be haha. And how oblivious Zuko is (which is understandable. The dude hasn’t had anyone genuinely care for him in years, poor baby)

haha i love how zuko talked himself into helping. also ofc zuko has a messed up construction of trade as the only possibilof people giving him something.the moment he and azula lock eyes? devastating

I like the line "the literal Avatar has more important things going on than blowing Zuko’s cover". I like the mindset zuko has about owing people things. It's very interesting. I also lold at zuko feeling annoyed they might build the wall too quickly when he's paid by the dayIt was funny how fighting became a weird experience because toph just spent the whole time complaining about it

When they invited him to join their group all I could think of was the polar express. "TO THE NORTH POLE OF COURSE!"

I didn't notice that it was Sokka/Zuko fic so IT WAS A SURPRISE indeed, but a welcome one :D

Yes please 🤩

Okay, but like the part where Zuko convinced himself to join them was fantastic.Lol Sokka's crush is sooo entertaining. Kudos!

First of all, I love the poem at the beginning.Zuko still sort of Blue-Spiriting is great [Behind him, he hears Sokka cough awkwardly and Katara stifle a laugh] ~ lol[They’ve increased by one person] ~Ha, I love the way you worded this :')[And if you want to help that, then…” Zuko sighs, realising where his own train of thought has brought him. “Then end the war and let the Earth Kingdom stop starving.” Zuko pinches the bridge of his nose. Aang clears his throat. “Did you just talk yourself into helping me…?”] ~Lol, good job Zuko Ugh, I love the meeting between Zuko and Azula!!!

Omg, everything around Zuko being so wary to take just a single meal & not wanting to be owe them & how he’s being taken advantage of by Ling (and others in the past) is so sad. Thank goodness he’s found the gaang.

"I'm not a good firebender so I made up an ENTIRELY NEW TECHNIQUE TO DEFEND MYSELF COMBINING SWORDS AND FIREBENDING BECAUSE I'M NOT A GOOD BENDER" that segment had me rolling, I'm having such a blast reading this :)

Welp that didn't go the way anyone expected.

Oh wow. Things really picked up this chapter! And that's saying something when you look at how things went in the first chapter. Really it just means I'm even more excited about this story!

Sokkas crush is adorable. And Zuko just trying his best is great.

I love this. Wow, the Gaang trying to get Zuko to join them is literally like them trying to befriend a grumpy stray cat. I really like how much better they all got on to start with. The question is, will Zuko bring up who he is before Azula manages to? Not that I don't appreciate that sort of plot line, but I could actually see Zuko at least warning them about the danger they'll be in by adding him? I will enjoy it whatever you write!I also find Zukos insistence that he's not a good firebender, no I'm just managing to control the direction of my flames so I don't melt my swords whilst I'm using them and managing to find a fuel for them that's not anger very very amusing.Thank you for writing!

I like this. Lovely characterisation.How did Zuko get his scar? According to the previous chapter the Agni Kai didn’t happen?

I’m gonna cry sokka was freaking out over zuko being so pretty and zuko was insecure because he thought it was about the scar oh my Godddbdhehsje

This is such an interesting concept and nicely written! Looking forward to more.

this is honestly kind of incredible, I love your take on this! <3

Zuko and Azula do look a bit like twins, it's adorable. Azula must be so shocked, I wonder if she will let her father know the news (probably not, Ozai would want her to kill him) and what she will do next. Also, Zuko and the gaang interacting with each other is always good.

This is so GOOD!!!! Can’t wait for the next chapter!!!!!!!

Loving this story! The GAang's interactions with Zuko are great (especially Sokka and Toph ganging up on Zuko about his totally not-impressive in the least fire-swordbending and Zuko's transference of babysitting skills to bending teaching), and I'm excited to see what happens next!

I wish I could leave you another kudos :)

I'm gonna drop an F in the chat for sokka, may his soul rest in pieces because toph killed him. I wish I could leave kudos more than once this deserves all the kudos

this is perfectttt,, this au is perfect and azula and zuko’s relationship makes my heart ache, toph is a menace and i love her,, on top of it all, zukka? *chefs kiss* beautiful. “And Toph knows so much about what gold looks like,” Aang adds, snickering. AANG u lil shit,, somehow this was not unexpected and pretty in-character for him and i LOVE this line

Sokka has a cru-ush (and everyone but Zuko knows it)

OMG AZULAShe shookAHHHAND LMAO Toph is such a menace.. can she stop teasing Sokka about his crush. Pls Toph hahahaAnd oh no Zuko :(

O h y e s

i love where this is going so far! i’m so excited for the update. everything about this is great - characterization, sokka’s crush, azula and zuko meeting again. i can’t wait for the gaang to find out who they’re working with!

Aww Sokka. Adorable.

Thank you for writing this story. I watched the Avatar series a few months ago and Azula stole my heart. A large portion of the fans fail to understand that she too was a victim of her parents, especially Ozai for obvious reasons. Unlike Zuko, she had no one to guide her down the right path.

ahhh im so excited to read this fic

This is really good already! :D

I feel so bad for Azula in this chapter 😭😭

This is a great idea!

Cool premise, and now I really want to know what Zuko's been up to

oh shit it's the return of my feelings about azula........ 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

I’m really curious about how this will impact Azula’s mental state. I love this concept, and I’ve never seen it before. Great job! ❤️❤️❤️

This is the best fic I've read in this random. It's incredible. I love it so so much. Perfect ending too. Thank you.

Aaaaaaaaaaa ✨✨✨✨✨👌🏻

The STARK difference from when she changes from calling him Zuzu to Zuko is gonna haunt me, I know it

Heartbreaking<3

Wait but I love the way the summary is the first and last bit, that's really cool

I just sent this to all my AtlA people. It's so very very beautiful. Heart warming. Tear inducing. Thank you so much!

I‘M LITERALLY CRYING WTF

This AU is really intriguing. I loved the way Azula was portrayed that she is still the Azula we know in a way still warped by her father, but you can see the love she still has for her brother that shines through despite the brainwashing. Can't wait top read the next chapter.

❤️

This is such a comforting re read fic I adore this so much

reread kudos!

holy shit im so in

Love how you write Azula ❤️

Hey, just wanted to let you know that your fic is still spreading joy years later. I've been stuck on my couch with a terrible cold for the past several days, but binging through this is making me feel a little better. Thanks. <3

Interesting!

Okay, I am invested. Is Ursa alive? Is she with Zuko? Did she convince Zuko to leave that knife behind? Because we all know he wouldn't have thought that far ahead on his own.

Oooh okay

ohhhhh i like this. i'm excited to see how this goes!

Ohhhh this is interesting! Great chapter!

whenever i come across this fic i read it again and its always a delight :) thanks for posting!

(*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡

This fic is amazing!!! Thank you for producing it

Loved it

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Hello what is thiss>??

<3

oh ho ho azula your emotions are showing

Bonus kudos since I’m rereading

I'm enjoying this so much so far! Azula secretly caring for zuko had me in my feels aah and I already love the dynamic between the gaang and zuko. I haven't read the whole chapter yet because I was suddenly thrown off at katara and Sokka laughing at what zuko assumed to be because of his scar. I don't think so but I really wanna know or if I misunderstood because aah I can't handle them laughing at it 😭 so I'm just a little confused over here and wanted to ask

That is so messed up. Fuck Ozai for not even explaining. Like. This whole thing. Is not Okay

this is the best thing i ever read and i never knew how much i needed it until i did. thank you for writing azula like this 💕

Hmmmm… so Ursa took Zuko and ran for their lives. (Of course, Ozai wouldn’t bother to look for them because that solves his problem: he gets to have his prodigy daughter as the heir instead of his screwup son.) I’m curious to find out how Zuko ended up with the Gaang in this AU :)

I LOVE THIS !!!! IT'S FEELING SAD FOR AZULA HOURS !!! i love how underneath her childish cruelty and indoctrination she still has feelings of compassion that she doesn't even want to admit to herself, or even quite understands. and the little moments of regret and guilt!!! wanting to give zuko's knife to iroh, reflecting on his portrait and trying to put herself in his shoes!!! AHHHH!!! she feels like a real child and not some tiny Machiavellian, I love how fleshed out and complex you've made her character, it's so much more interesting than a straight "she was born evil"

This fic is so good. I love it!

Reading this for the third time ‘cause it’s so good!

YESSSS

ftr here!

this intro is NEAT as FUCK im gonna blaze through this fic

Oh gosh, this is an amazing first chap. Excited to see how this pans out(Azula secretly grieving is so sad)

Oh my heart

This first chapter is absolutely incredible, I'm so intrigued by this au and especially reading Azula's pov sets everything up brilliantly here, and I enjoyed the writing style. Very excited to read on

!!❤❤❤❤

Ooh

Very cool very fun I love azula

Reading this was the highlight of my week. I forced my roommate to listen to me describe the plot on excruciating detail.

I love to take amazing stories and turn them into audiobooks to post on my YouTube channel. I've been looking for a really good Avatar one, and found this gem. May I turn this into an audiobook, please?

Zuko: “As you can see I am not dead”

(｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡

well you've got me invested

Honestly, I had never really considered Zukka as a legitimate ship before I read this. Like, ever since I read this, my mind kinda went over every single moment the two have had, and honestly, this is the only other ZukoxATLA chracter I will accept besides Zutara. Like, just....ZukoxWaterTribe!Siblings....Those are the only two ships I will accept for Zuko, nothing else. Or else polyamory between the three of them, like, Sokka and Katara both date Zuko, but not each other, obvi....So yeah...Also, I really loved this version of the ATLA universe and Azula is a BAMF...and Zuko is an adorable, awkward but well meaning, piece of shit....I love the FireNation!siblings in this so much😊

HECK. I absolutely LOVED this, I can't WAIT to continue!!!!!

Exciting!! Love the premise

:)

Oh ho ho this is getting interesting.

i really love how you write azula, you do her justice

I love this so much. I reread this story all the time. The way you portray azula and zukos relationship is my fave in the fandom omg

TEARS TURN TO UGLY SOBS AT THE PORTRAIT

i’m going through a redemption azula phase and this is so freaking good ugh i just know i’m gonna be obsessed

Hello I love your writing I finished this story and went and read most of your other stories and I just wanted to pop in and say thank you fo writing!

Oh I am loving this concept!

Ooohhhhhhh this first chapter is so beautifully written to hurt my heart and I live for it 😍😍

This really drags you in quick! Loving it!

Fuck I’m crying you asshole

This is the first ATLA fic I’ve ever been interested in enough to read! I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Just started rereading this story and I’m enjoying it so much!

This is fantastic so far. I'm about to binge-read it, we'll see what happens lol. Azula character development! Hell yeah

Okay so I read this all in a day and I love it to pieces! All the emotional elements and the character development for Azula and Zuko especially were really well done! I love your style of writing and this was such a joy to read!

Stunning writing!!

HOOOOOO BOY so I never comment on the first chapter of a finished multi-chapter fic. My logic is, even if the first chapter is good, there's too much time after to be let down. BUT BUDDY. Lemme tell you. I know with 100% certainty that I am NOT gonna be let down by this fic. Just from this little bit here, I have this confidence, and lemme just say...you achieving that kind of trust from a reader (particularly me - i'm very picky) is proof that you're a great writer. So yeah, I could talk about how I'm ALREADY finding your storytelling to be emotional and resonant. How you are making a character with whom it is typically, by definition, hard to empathize into someone relatable and tragic. How the mechanics of your writing feel organic, strong, and developed. But I think that the simple fact that i'm so confident that this is gonna be one helluva ride and I know it will absolutely not disappoint, strictly from this first chapter alone...I think that pretty much says everything I can.And now I buckle myself in for this story. Thank you in advance for writing. I'm sure i'll love it. :)

🥳🥳🥳🥳

Azula being emotional over her brother's death hits me right in the feels

*eyes emoji*

Ooooh this is such an interesting take! I’m very excited to see where you’ll go with this story!

Ohhhhhhh!!!!!

oh god this first chapter is wrecking me. azula realising her brother is truly gone in his room? end me. and when she thinks about the life he could have had, and misses him for being the only person who really loved her. and I cried at that. and also I love how she knows her life may be simpler, but it is also lonelier.

This is a really interesting idea. I especially liked when azula realises she's older than zuko ever was, and thinks about how he would have looked "had he been able to grow into a teenager, and then into an adult"

I love this premise so much. It makes more sense for Ursa to trade Azulon’s life for taking Zuko with her- it kind of bugged me that Ursa left him behind with Ozai when we found out that Ursa was still alive.

Who would have thought I'd feel so sorry for Azula...

Oooh this is such an interesting premise! Azula’s I-don’t-care-this-is-better-for-me contrasted with the quiet moments with the knife & portrait are heartbreaking.

But Zuzu would never have left that dagger behind. It can only be here for one reason, because Zuko wouldn’t have left it willingly. Which means that… (An emotion bubbles up within Azula, and she stamps down on it firmly.)~Awh, poor Azula. Her staring at the portrait and wondering how he would've looked is just so sad. Luckily, she won't have to wonder for too long :)(also, RIP her emotional balance when she finds out)

oooOoI’m intrigued

Interesting... I love your Azula perspective, it feels very real.Thanks for writing!

Another one?! Yay!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am starting to really enjoy Azula redemption fics. This one is already off to a great start!

Oh hello????? 👀👀👀

please please please continue soon!!! i’m loving this perspective!!

How interesting. Azula is an interesting character on her own but you give her a good voice.

interesting premise, ohhh no I really hope ursa didn't just abandon her daughter. awesome chapter, looking forward to the next.

Interesting premise and a great first chapter :)

oh my god please do another chapter where the meet and stuff

Oh nice