Avatar fic recs

[sholio]

So, er. I have plunged into Avatar fandom with gleeful abandon. I don't even want to think about how many tabs I have open right now. So far I'm discovering a regrettable shortage of long, plotty, non-romantic fic (... may have to do something about that *looks innocent*), but there's a ton of really good short fic, and I figured I'd share links to some of the stories I liked. Under the cut: spoilers for all parts of the series, lots of post-series fic recs (because that's what I'm mostly wanting right now -- though it's not all I'm reccing here), mostly genfic with a smattering of various pairings. (Note: edited just now to add a few more)


Sweet/Cute/Fun

Puppy for Zuko by phantom-blue is short, unbelievably cute and ... pretty much what it says in the title. Aang, because he's Aang, thinks the new Firelord needs a puppy. (Gen)

Rites of Spring by inlovewithnight - Spring, and a young Fire Lord's thoughts turn to frogs. Pitch-perfect Zuko and Aang discussing ancient Fire Nation rituals, post-series. (Gen)

Love by icybright - They've made an interesting family for themselves. This is a gorgeous post-series ficlet, building off the final scene at Iroh's tea shop. They are an odd little family indeed, but a close one. *clutches heart* (mostly gen with canon pairings)

Lies by Tuna Salad Sonnet - This is set during the early days at the Air Temple; Zuko says he doesn't need a hug, but Toph knows he's totally lying, so Zoku finds himself on the receiving end of two snuggly twelve-year-olds. Toph might be a trifle OOC here, but the adorableness is through the roof and I don't care. (Gen)

Odd Man Out by Smart Alex - Sokka & Toph friendship, post-series. With Suki away, Sokka is feeling left out of all the couples around him, until Toph sets him straight. (canon pairings)

Around the Fountain by CollaneR - Takes place shortly after the Boiling Rock episodes; manly bickering and bonding at the Air Temple fountain. Adorable Sokka POV. (Gen)

The Wrong Kind of Compass by pikabot - Toph helps Sokka look for his sword, after he dropped it from the airship in the finale. Cute! (Gen)

Escapades of the Blind Bandit and Meathead by ArtemisRae - This is a cute series of stories, post-finale: Sokka and Toph hanging out, traveling around, and living in the Firelord's palace where they create all kinds of havoc. (some fics in the series are Sokka/Toph, but most are gen with passing mention of canon pairings; see labels on each fic)

A Matter of Secrets by jalendavi_lady - This is for a prompt at access_fandom's Festibility: "Zuko's never told anyone that he can't see out of his left eye anymore." It's a gorgeous look at Zuko, his trust issues, and his friendships; all the major canon characters appear. (basically gen with passing Zuko/Mai and other canon pairings)

Too Good To Be True by Omoni - Post-series, Zuko keeps expecting things to go horribly wrong as he starts to rebuild his country, but instead it's ... actually working out for a change. (Zuko/Mai, plus everybody else)

Sleeping Close by Swiss Army Knife - Really sweet Hakoda POV on the kids, during their time at the Air Temple after Boiling Rock. I used to love this author's stories back when I was in DBZ fandom, many years ago; I'm happy to find that s/he is still writing! (Gen)

Never Gonna Keep Me Down by glass_icarus - Zuko is a giant failboat, but at least he never stops trying. Bwahaha. Zuko courting Mai, in his typical dorky fashion. (Zuko/Mai)

Following Older Steps by BlackEyedGirl - There's a dragon on the doorsteps of Zuko's palace; Aang must be responsible. Cute post-series friendship ficlet. (Gen)

Disclosure by Rawles - Sex, Zuko had discovered, was a very troublesome thing. Only for you, Zuko, at least to this extent. I can totally see Zuko and Mai's wedding night (and the subsequent week) going down like this -- they're both so *awful* at communicating, in totally different ways. This is sweet and hilarious, and Zuko is totally the dorkiest Firelord EVER. (Zuko/Mai, explicit)

Plans, the Making of by impertinence - I'm noticing that I have a tremendous weakness for post-series Zuko & Aang friendship fic. In this one, Aang takes Zuko and Mai hang gliding (it goes about like you'd expect) and Zuko tries to work out how to be a supportive friend. Really cute. (mostly gen with some Zuko/Mai)


Difficult to categorize

Zuzu's Sandbox and Aang's Shaving Kit by Omoni - Two collections of unrelated short fics, featuring all the characters, and exploring different corners of canon. They range from insightful to funny/sweet to heartbreaking; definitely recommended. My favorite of them all, I think, was an especially neat one in which Iroh goes into the spirit world after his dead son. (Gen and various canon and non-canon pairings)

Lessons in Thin Air by Lisse - Still an outsider, Zuko cautiously begins to settle into the routine of the rebels/refugees in the Air Temple. I dithered over where to categorize this, because I thought it was pretty sweet, but he's still such an outsider that it didn't quite fit into the category above. (Gen)


Serious, dark or sad

Pressure by kanthia - In the weeks following the winter, Aang finds that the snow still has yet to melt. Aang and Zuko both struggle with their choices in the finale, and the pressures of rebuilding a shattered world. (mostly gen with mention of Zuko/Mai)

Lucky Seven and Luck by praiseofshadows - Short snippets from Zuko's infancy, reflecting on his comments in S1 that he wasn't supposed to be born. Poor kid. (Gen)

Life on Fire by creepy_crawly - Zuko was born in fire, and, in fire, he will die. A short, introspective fic looking at what firebending feels like from the inside, especially for someone who has a lot of trouble tapping into the wellspring of anger that drives it. This hurt, but it could totally be canon. (Gen)

Sun Blast Your Shadow by pearl_o - Zuko had assumed, somehow, that the hard part would be over. A heartbreaking look at one possible future for Zuko post-series. It's not that easy to put back together a broken kingdom. (mostly gen with some unhappy Zuko/Mai)

Comments

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

PM me your email, at least, and I can send you an invite code. (I'm sure I have your email around somewhere, but my inbox is a giant disorganized pile of suck.) And you're totally welcome to PM me the details if you want to, but only if you want to; I don't mean to be nosy.

On a happier note, d'awwww, icon love! ♥ And there really is not enough Zuko h/c out there. Or, rather, let me rephrase that, since I spent last night wading around in ff.net and it's not that there's a severe lack of Zuko h/c, it's that there is a severe lack that isn't goddawful. (My very favorite summary -- and by "favorite", I mean "run away, run away screaming" -- from the sea of A:tLA badfic that I slogged through last night: "Zuko is crushed by an overly affectionate Appa. Aang just happens to be walking by." And yes, it is absolutely as terrible as the summary makes it seem.) Anyway, I'm definitely eyeing some of the squares on my bingo card speculatively.

[frith_in_thorns]

Aww, thank you! I started making AtLA icons and have now mostly run out of icon space - some reorganising is in order. Anyway, they're free for grabbing. In the far future I may even make enough for a post.

That is a *lovely* summary. You should keep them. I have somewhere an entire word document from when I first discovered FFN of CSI (and probably some Stargate) fic summaries which never fail to cheer me up.

PM'ing you my email now :)

[frith_in_thorns]

I've just realised that I have 'electrocution' on my h/c bingo card. And others which fit AtLA so well!

Also I've just had a look at the page on FFN. I'm facepalming at whoever came up with 'GAang'.

ETA: I'm rapidly going off Zuko/Katara, reading these! Also, this is my favourite summary: "Zuko breaks Toph's heart and so she drowns herself in liquor to try to fix it..."