this takes place early in zuko’s reign while he’s still trying to figure out what’s the person he needs to be for his people and sokka really goes there and says “they don’t need you do be anything but yourself”
[ID: A colorful, digital Avatar: The Last Airbender comic by @crimson-constellations. Firelord Zuko stands in a hall of paintings, looking up at them contemplatively. He's wearing ornate red robes with gold trim and has his hair up in a top knot. Sokka casually crashes into him, shouting "Zuko!" and Zuko startles but accepts it. Sokka is wearing layered blue clothes and his hair up in his usual style. "Why are you staring so hard at these paintings," Sokka asks, draping against Zuko with one arm slung around his neck. "I have to do my Firelord portrait soon," Zuko tells him.
Zuko looks back up at the portraits and Sokka stands beside him, leaving a comforting hand on Zuko's shoulder as he continues, "But these just look so intimidating and threatening. And I keep thinking, that's not the Firelor— not the person I want to be." He imagines a similarly-styled portrait with "Firelord Zuko" under it. "Well... you don't have to," Sokka tells him. "Do the painting?" Zuko asks, "I do, actually—" "You don't have to be that person.
"You know what sets you apart from all these people?" Sokka asks, pointing. "You're trying to be better for this place, you care. And a stupid painting isn't what's gonna change that." Zuko smiles softly, and Sokka crosses his arms to offer nonchalantly, "But if you still have a problem with it... I have an idea~" with little sparkles around his face. "Am I gonna regret this?" Zuko deadpans, and Sokka tells him, "Probably."
Time skip to Zuko and Sokka standing in front of a new portrait. Even with only the bottom half visible, it's already noticeably distinct from the others by having blue and red dragons flanking the subject. "I have to say you really are getting better but... Why the rainbow, though?" Zuko asks. "That's my trademark, duh," Sokka tells him, hands on his hips in pride.
The final image is the full portrait of Zuko. He's standing on fire, dressed and posed formally, which is consistent with what's shown of the other portraits. As previously mentioned, he is flanked by a blue and a red dragon, and a rainbow arches behind his head. He has his eyes closed in a happy smile and there's a little blush mark on his unscarred cheek. The painting overall is slightly messy but not bad. End ID]





























