Rebecca Hb. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
beckyh2112) wrote2010-03-29 07:31 am
beckyh2112) wrote2010-03-29 07:31 am
Entry tags:
AU Meme
Give me an AU prompt, and I'll write you something of at least a hundred words. All AUs I've done before, except LaS, Assimilation, Flint, and DotM, can be requested. I might deny some prompts if they involve something plot-centric to the last part of "Bedrock".
Give a character name, then AU prompt. More details make me happy, though I can't promise I'll touch on everything in the prompt.
Three slots for everybody, five slots for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dark_puck, spyridona, suzukiblu, and neldluva. Bonus slots are available if you request Zhao, Pakku, or Jeong Jeong.
I promise to answer at least one request.
MEME IS CLOSED.
Give a character name, then AU prompt. More details make me happy, though I can't promise I'll touch on everything in the prompt.
Three slots for everybody, five slots for
dark_puck, spyridona, suzukiblu, and neldluva. Bonus slots are available if you request Zhao, Pakku, or Jeong Jeong.I promise to answer at least one request.
MEME IS CLOSED.
no subject
Oracle!Zuko crushes on Zhao. Slinking onto his lap is highly optional.
no subject
Oracle!Zuko crushes on Zhao (1/2)
Zuko woke from dreams of silver desolation, the words on his lips, the man's voice in his ear. His eyes flickered underneath his lashes as he chased the voice, but it was lost amid a fireworks explosion of images and people. Snow-white hair, the Avatar's wife as a girl, Piandao's son not yet claimed, burning glow of obscene fire.
He craved fish.
***
A boy his own age, almost a man, flickered at the edge of Zuko's vision. He nursed a split lip and a black eye. He wore practice armor scorched black, and his expression was sullen. 'Three more months.'
The voice wasn't what it would become, but Zuko knew this was the man who had called himself the moon slayer. Carefully, he kept studying the flash of the koi in the reflecting pond, trying not to focus on the vision at all.
The boy flickered, aged several years. Now he wore a naval lieutenant's armor, bore another black eye. But he grinned. 'Yes, Master Jeong Jeong.'
Zuko's eyes widened, and he had to look, had to chase down the boy who had trained under the legendary master firebender, the man who had trained his own father, been befriended by his uncle.
The young man flickered, was gone. Zuko dove into the explosion of images and voices. Master Jeong Jeong with the fire hollowing him out day by day, another young man wearing a tiger mask, the tiger and the moon slayer twined around each other, burning white, burning red, letters burning, tea scalding, a double-bladed sword coming down on a young man's yellow eye, fire roaring and roaring-
He came to, sprawled on the edge of the pond, a koi nibbling the fingers of one hand.
"Zhao," he murmured.
***
He had a name now. A name, a service, a rough time frame - the man still lived, the man was older than Zuko. Father's age, maybe. An officer in the navy about Father's age, named Zhao.
Zuko burned incense in his room for the first time in years. The strange, spicy scent slinked into his dreams, stirred images to life. Zhao stands as a mid-ranking officer before an officer of the army, smiling in satisfaction as he holds a scroll in his hand.
'It appears I've been promoted to Admiral. My request is now an order.'
Zuko let the dream follow Admiral Zhao, basked in the voice as the man gives orders. Then he listened to the orders, truly listened, and grudging respect curled in him. If this worked...
It worked. Zhao smiled in satisfaction, and Zuko wrapped himself in it, in the sound of the man's voice, in the flickering at the edge of the dream of past and future, images thrown like sparks into his mind.
He didsn't pay attention as Zhao went down to see the Avatar. Not until he felt the young boy's eyes on him. The boy, whose name Zuko had chosen not to learn, saw him.
Zuko fled.
***
He woke embarrassingly hard and took himself in hand before one of the priests came to question him about his dreams.
Re: Oracle!Zuko crushes on Zhao (1/2)
He burned incense every night for a week, until he could chase Zhao down anywhere and any time. There were so few people he could do this with, all the rest of them family.
But Zhao, with his burning fire, his voice, his ambition. He would not be stopped, he would not be chained. He would never be confined to ship nor island nor temple, not against his will.
He burned, and Zuko burned for him.
***
The day after he turned sixteen, half a year since Zhao's voice drawled in his mind the first time, Zuko left the temple. Sage Geming and Father would be angry with him. Not enough to hurt him, never enough to hurt him. Father had only been that angry once, and Geming had stopped him in time.
Outside the temple, the edges of his vision became riots of color and sound. Zuko resolutely ignored it and slipped on board Zhao's ship. He stashed his grey, night-traveling clothes and swords.
Then, bold as a peacock, he sauntered into Zhao's cabin and arranged himself, awaiting the coming of his not-yet-lover.
Zuko knew he was a lovely youth. No scars marred his body, but his firebending training sculpted him to physical near-perfection. His hair was black smoke, his eyes fired gold. His face showed a subtle resemblance to Zhao's lover - but Torao was one of Father's cousins. His clothes were red and gold, not fine enough to alarm, not shabby enough to be disdained.
He smiled and prepared tea as Uncle had never taught him but he had learned anyway.
When Zhao entered his cabin, Zuko lifted his face, the scent of the fine black tea subtle as it wreathed him. He smiled at the man's puzzled expression.
"Hello, Admiral," he murmured, stretched. His collar fell open, exposed a glimpse of white throat. Who had he learned seduction from? Grandmother and Mother both, weaving in and out of each other in visions. "No, not yet admiral, are you, Zhao?"
"What are you doing here?" the man demanded, and Zuko shivered to hear that voice in reality.
"I've come to tell your fortune," Zuko purred.
Re: Oracle!Zuko crushes on Zhao (1/2)
Odd that he picked up seduction from female relatives.
Re: Oracle!Zuko crushes on Zhao (1/2)
Oh my oh my oh my ohmyohmyohmy...
This is awesome. Awesome.
It's so long...
I love the description of the visions and how hard time he has at controlling them or even simply organizing them. And the end made me purr.
Re: Oracle!Zuko crushes on Zhao (1/2)
And as Lunatron said, I think that it does make a lot of sense that Zuko is kind of muddled by timelines, and what has and hasn't happened.
I also quite liked that Zuko deliberately avoided learning the Avatar's name... also, that Aang could see him as Zuko watched! I'm intrigued to see Aang and Oracle!Zuko meeting, now - what does Aang think that Zuko is? A spirit?
And I LOVED the last line. :3 It was excellent.
I'm also wondering how this crush will fit in with Zuko hoping that the Avatar will spirit-bend away his oracle powers...
Re: Oracle!Zuko crushes on Zhao (1/2)
"He smiled and prepared tea as Uncle had never taught him but he had learned anyway." LOVE LOVE LOVE. <3 I mean, I love Zuko being able to make decent tea in ANY fic, but the way he learned it in this one is just awesome. Awesome and adorable.
Re: Oracle!Zuko crushes on Zhao (1/2)
Utterly sensual, darling. I do not decry loss of bonus points, being a wanton peacock makes up for this entirely. I love how he arranges himself, I love how he's learned things from all his relatives. I loved the entire FUCKED up nature of all of this. HOW he learned his female relatives techniques gives me a slight shiver. And how... how he's used this for personal knowledge and doesn't bat an eye or consider it wrong is so very telling.
*purrs*
Original oracle!Zuko ficlet link