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"This scar doesn't show failure." Ame raised her hand to brush her fingertips along his scarred cheek. "It's not like that at all."

Zuko laughed bitterly.

"It doesn't feel like that. I feels like a mark, a sign to show I failed. Something stuck permanently where everyone can see it just so they know how used and abused I am. It makes me feel ugly and horrid...."

"But that's not what it is in the least." she protested, voice still quiet. "It's a part of who you are Zuko, and no one thinks of it as a sign of any kind of failings."

Ame brushed her fingers along the scar, barely there, just touching as lightly as the summer breeze. He hand came to rest softly against his jaw as her thumb gently traced the redder area of the scar around his eye.

"Aang thinks of it as a sign of your bravery."

"Yeah, well, he's a naive idiot."

But there wasn't even the hints of contempt in his voice, and no bite behind the insult. There never was nowadays, there hadn't been for a long time, actually.

"People look at your scar a lot of ways Zuko, failure is never one of them. I can see where Aang is coming from with the bravery, but that's not what I think this scar means." her thumb touched lightly on his eyelid. "I think it means something else."

"What...?"

Part of Zuko wanted desperately what the young shadow bender thought, but the other part of him was wailing to run before she said anything. He was dying to hear her say what was on her mind, yet the fear of disgust was strong in him and that held him in.

"I think it means you survived."

Zuko was both taken aback and confused by her statement. His eyes blinkev open and her thumb retreated to rubbing under his eye instead.

"It means you made it, that you didn't lose your life, your will." she continued. "You were beaten down, beaten down worse than most people in the world ever have been. You were treated in ways grown adults shouldn't be, let alone someone your age, but you survived. You didn't stay down and submit, you got up and you started walking again, even when everyone told you you couldn't."

The young prince was slightly awed by what she was saying about him. She COULDN'T be serious, could she?

But Ame went on.

"You may not always have taken the right paths, and you may have made a lot of bad choices and mistakes, but you were walking anyway. You were making your way through the world without giving up. When someone told you you couldn't, you did, and that it was impossible, you made it possible. You didn't give up no matter what your choices were, and you didn't back down from the challenges put in front of you. And in the end, it took you here, to us, to where you belong, just steps away from the top." she cupped his cheek carefully. "This scar shows just how far you've come and how much you've triumphed. There is no failure involved."

Zuko just stared. He wasn't quite sure what to say. He'd never thought of his scar like that before, hell, he'd never thought of HIMSELF like that before. He had had it beaten into him since he was young that he was a FAILURE that he hadn't been able to do anything right. But at the same time, everything she was saying made so much sense.

"Zuko."

He was pulled from painful memories by Ame's voice.

"Do you know how many Fire Nation people look up to you? How many of your people secretly support you from the shadows? Young, old, rich, poor, man, woman, they're on your side. They can't support you openly, Ozai would kill them, but they do it in secret. You're their second chance, you're their hero, probably second only to the Avatar in their minds. You stood up to your father, TWICE, and you joined the Avatar. You're walking beside their chance at freedom, at redemption, and they want you on the throne twenty times more than they want your father."

Ame respectfully ignored the way Zuko's eyes were misting over, unscarred eye collecting water at the edges.

"They've believed in you from the start. They've seen what you've done, good, bad, downright stupid, but they don't care. To them, you've made it all up, you've saved yourself time and time again. And now that you've made up your mind, set aside your family's twisted beliefs, they know you're on the right path. They know you're going to change the Fire Nation, save the Fire Nation, salvage what your predecessors destroyed. They don't see you as a failure, they see you as a savior."

If Ame at all minded when Zuko's forehead hit her shoulder, hot tears sliding down his cheeks to wet her tunic, she didn't show it. She just wrapped her arms around his shoulders, shaking with silent sobs of...well, only Zuko really knew. She didn't try to comfort him, just let him cry, petting his hair absently, closing her eyes.

Zuko was going to make it, he was going to survive. There was hope for the Fire Nation yet.

(That whole thing was rewritten (thank my LOVELY mother) and I like the original better but....eh. I'll live.)

..........Where did that huge mini-story come from and why is it anywhere near me?

Ame: What did you DO to him?

HEY! I am completely allowed to have Zuko have an emotional breakdown! He has a lot of very emotional moments during the series, it's totally within my rights!

Ame: ..............

So ANYWAYS. Just going through my bases, looking for ones to mess around with again, and here it is. Another lying-around-forever-with-nothing-to-use-on base. xD

I'm mentally hypervenhilating because this is the most amazing base I have ever done in my life and oh my god it's so pretty and I loooove iiiiit......

I bet you lot are ready to kill me for a fanfic now, aren't you? Yeah, I'm ready to kill me for one too. ....IF ANYONE OUT THERE IS WILLING TO WRITE A ZUKO/AME, TALK TO ME! I'LL REWARD YOU WITH A ONE-SHOT/PIXEL ART/DRAWING! I SWEAR I WILL! Q___Q

Moving on...

I think I'm getting better with creases and whatnot. Those sleeves make me feel like squeeing in happiness, I've never done them so complex before, and it was so worth it.... Did kill my hand, BUT WHO CARES?!

Zee background was also photoshopped, twas a forestry sceen and I used the "cutout" option/filter/thingy. >D I LIKE IT!

Base(c) and
Ame(c)
Zuko, Avatar(c)Bryan

Description
"This scar doesn't show failure." Ame raised her hand to brush her fingertips along his scarred cheek. "It's not like that at all."

Zuko laughed bitterly.

"It doesn't feel like that. I feels like a mark, a sign to show I failed. Something stuck permanently where everyone can see it just so they know how used and abused I am. It makes me feel ugly and horrid...."

"But that's not what it is in the least." she protested, voice still quiet. "It's a part of who you are Zuko, and no one thinks of it as a sign of any kind of failings."

Ame brushed her fingers along the scar, barely there, just touching as lightly as the summer breeze. He hand came to rest softly against his jaw as her thumb gently traced the redder area of the scar around his eye.

"Aang thinks of it as a sign of your bravery."

"Yeah, well, he's a naive idiot."

But there wasn't even the hints of contempt in his voice, and no bite behind the insult. There never was nowadays, there hadn't been for a long time, actually.

"People look at your scar a lot of ways Zuko, failure is never one of them. I can see where Aang is coming from with the bravery, but that's not what I think this scar means." her thumb touched lightly on his eyelid. "I think it means something else."

"What...?"

Part of Zuko wanted desperately what the young shadow bender thought, but the other part of him was wailing to run before she said anything. He was dying to hear her say what was on her mind, yet the fear of disgust was strong in him and that held him in.

"I think it means you survived."

Zuko was both taken aback and confused by her statement. His eyes blinkev open and her thumb retreated to rubbing under his eye instead.

"It means you made it, that you didn't lose your life, your will." she continued. "You were beaten down, beaten down worse than most people in the world ever have been. You were treated in ways grown adults shouldn't be, let alone someone your age, but you survived. You didn't stay down and submit, you got up and you started walking again, even when everyone told you you couldn't."

The young prince was slightly awed by what she was saying about him. She COULDN'T be serious, could she?

But Ame went on.

"You may not always have taken the right paths, and you may have made a lot of bad choices and mistakes, but you were walking anyway. You were making your way through the world without giving up. When someone told you you couldn't, you did, and that it was impossible, you made it possible. You didn't give up no matter what your choices were, and you didn't back down from the challenges put in front of you. And in the end, it took you here, to us, to where you belong, just steps away from the top." she cupped his cheek carefully. "This scar shows just how far you've come and how much you've triumphed. There is no failure involved."

Zuko just stared. He wasn't quite sure what to say. He'd never thought of his scar like that before, hell, he'd never thought of HIMSELF like that before. He had had it beaten into him since he was young that he was a FAILURE that he hadn't been able to do anything right. But at the same time, everything she was saying made so much sense.

"Zuko."

He was pulled from painful memories by Ame's voice.

"Do you know how many Fire Nation people look up to you? How many of your people secretly support you from the shadows? Young, old, rich, poor, man, woman, they're on your side. They can't support you openly, Ozai would kill them, but they do it in secret. You're their second chance, you're their hero, probably second only to the Avatar in their minds. You stood up to your father, TWICE, and you joined the Avatar. You're walking beside their chance at freedom, at redemption, and they want you on the throne twenty times more than they want your father."

Ame respectfully ignored the way Zuko's eyes were misting over, unscarred eye collecting water at the edges.

"They've believed in you from the start. They've seen what you've done, good, bad, downright stupid, but they don't care. To them, you've made it all up, you've saved yourself time and time again. And now that you've made up your mind, set aside your family's twisted beliefs, they know you're on the right path. They know you're going to change the Fire Nation, save the Fire Nation, salvage what your predecessors destroyed. They don't see you as a failure, they see you as a savior."

If Ame at all minded when Zuko's forehead hit her shoulder, hot tears sliding down his cheeks to wet her tunic, she didn't show it. She just wrapped her arms around his shoulders, shaking with silent sobs of...well, only Zuko really knew. She didn't try to comfort him, just let him cry, petting his hair absently, closing her eyes.

Zuko was going to make it, he was going to survive. There was hope for the Fire Nation yet.

(That whole thing was rewritten (thank my LOVELY mother) and I like the original better but....eh. I'll live.)

..........Where did that huge mini-story come from and why is it anywhere near me?

Ame: What did you DO to him?

HEY! I am completely allowed to have Zuko have an emotional breakdown! He has a lot of very emotional moments during the series, it's totally within my rights!

Ame: ..............

So ANYWAYS. Just going through my bases, looking for ones to mess around with again, and here it is. Another lying-around-forever-with-nothing-to-use-on base. xD

I'm mentally hypervenhilating because this is the most amazing base I have ever done in my life and oh my god it's so pretty and I loooove iiiiit......

I bet you lot are ready to kill me for a fanfic now, aren't you? Yeah, I'm ready to kill me for one too. ....IF ANYONE OUT THERE IS WILLING TO WRITE A ZUKO/AME, TALK TO ME! I'LL REWARD YOU WITH A ONE-SHOT/PIXEL ART/DRAWING! I SWEAR I WILL! Q___Q

Moving on...

I think I'm getting better with creases and whatnot. Those sleeves make me feel like squeeing in happiness, I've never done them so complex before, and it was so worth it.... Did kill my hand, BUT WHO CARES?!

Zee background was also photoshopped, twas a forestry sceen and I used the "cutout" option/filter/thingy. >D I LIKE IT!

Base(c) and
Ame(c)
Zuko, Avatar(c)Bryan