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flammatory[ Zuko hasn't even really thought about the community in years. Sometimes he thinks on Azula and how she'd ended up, and how he probably won't be able to contact her ever again. That shouldn't fill him with grief or anger, but sometimes on nights where he can't sleep and it feels like the Fire Lord's bedroom is a farce that echoes too loudly around him, he can't help it. His feelings are a thorny tangle that he has no interest in teasing apart. It won't do any good. It won't help him with anything. There's nothing to do.
Azula, and everyone else on different worlds that he'd left behind, are out of his reach. And there's plenty to do as Fire Lord.
Even so, once in a while Mai blandly enforces a break onto him, or Iroh pretends he wants to see his nephew for a few days and then conspicuously leaves him to himself half the time, and Zuko knows it's their way of expressing concern when he's overworking himself, because no one else is about to tell the Fire Lord to slow down. He doesn't always appreciate it at first - he's an adult and he has responsibilities, he doesn't need to be put down for a nap like a child! - but by the end he feels a lot less likely to snap and set someone on fire, so he figures, begrudgingly, that they had a point.
This time, he uses his enforced day of solitude to work on some letters. He doesn't write too often, and Aang and everyone else don't always have time to write back to him, either, but Zuko admits it helps him feel less isolated to have people to send and receive letters from that just have him signing with a simple Zuko at the end. This still leaves him missing Toph - not that he's about to admit it - but it's usually worth doing.
Zuko sighs and sits down at his writing desk, taking out a brush and ink pot. ]
Aang,
I can't tell if you're helping me or destroying my reputation when you go around telling everyone the Fire Lord is a big softie. I've started getting twice as many people coming to me with personal requests. Think you could add 'but he has no tolerance for people wasting his time' to your public relations campaign?
Otherwise I'm going to start telling them all that I personally know the Avatar and he'd be happy to help. You probably would! So take care of it yourself. I have too much to do. Uncle keeps forcing me to take breaks, and if I refuse he comes up with increasingly embarrassing excuses for why my schedule has to be cleared for the day...
Azula, and everyone else on different worlds that he'd left behind, are out of his reach. And there's plenty to do as Fire Lord.
Even so, once in a while Mai blandly enforces a break onto him, or Iroh pretends he wants to see his nephew for a few days and then conspicuously leaves him to himself half the time, and Zuko knows it's their way of expressing concern when he's overworking himself, because no one else is about to tell the Fire Lord to slow down. He doesn't always appreciate it at first - he's an adult and he has responsibilities, he doesn't need to be put down for a nap like a child! - but by the end he feels a lot less likely to snap and set someone on fire, so he figures, begrudgingly, that they had a point.
This time, he uses his enforced day of solitude to work on some letters. He doesn't write too often, and Aang and everyone else don't always have time to write back to him, either, but Zuko admits it helps him feel less isolated to have people to send and receive letters from that just have him signing with a simple Zuko at the end. This still leaves him missing Toph - not that he's about to admit it - but it's usually worth doing.
Zuko sighs and sits down at his writing desk, taking out a brush and ink pot. ]
Aang,
I can't tell if you're helping me or destroying my reputation when you go around telling everyone the Fire Lord is a big softie. I've started getting twice as many people coming to me with personal requests. Think you could add 'but he has no tolerance for people wasting his time' to your public relations campaign?
Otherwise I'm going to start telling them all that I personally know the Avatar and he'd be happy to help. You probably would! So take care of it yourself. I have too much to do. Uncle keeps forcing me to take breaks, and if I refuse he comes up with increasingly embarrassing excuses for why my schedule has to be cleared for the day...
