I think what kills me most is that Zuko and Iroh aren't close in this universe. They never got the chance to be...

This. I just. This. You're killing me here. You're killing me.

The plan. The plan, and the careful waiting, and the preparation. And the stockholm syndrome. Is is stockholm syndrome? And.

He never gives up. He never backs down. I don't think he even knows how. And he has a plan, with the cotton-poppy juice and the boat and the food and the water.

And if he kidnapped Aang, what would they say? How would Sokka and Katara react to that? "Well, the Avatar is missing, and so is our long-term prisoner the Prince of the Fire Nation. We did not see this coming." That would be a fascinating conversation to watch oh my gosh.

Oh my gosh this is so good I am so loving this story. Thank You for writing this. I live for angst. I feed on it. Thank You.

This is an amazing story. The characterization is excellent. The struggle, the angst is perfection. I am really liking this story.

Oh god, you made me cry here. Very touching chapter/story, really.
Kudos!

...I think you just broke my soul. Hoo boy, I actually teared up a bit when they cut his hair the second time. Really gut-wrenching. Poor Zuko.

Heartbreaking, a really interesting speculation. I think that you executed this scenario perfectly, and while I wish it continued, the way it ends is still a really good stopping place. I wouldn't say no to a sequel though!

Good and interesting story I enjoyed very much-thx!

Oh, I loved this, especially the scene when he had his hair cut off. Heart breaking. And Iroh... Nooooooo!

Anyway, I liked this idea. An interesting AU. I take it that your testing wasn't to your liking because it seems you haven't continued.

Regardless, I loved it and hopefully we get to see a little more of this AU.

Well done.

and it just ends? like that? it was getting so good!

sososo...does he do it at least? did he capture the avatar?

Zuko trapped in the Northern Water Tribe with his Uncle gone. Zuko's desperation is so sad despite everything he still wants to be with his father. Good read:)

I really like the premise you have here of Zuko being trapped in the Northern Water Tribe and interacting with Yue. Does this mean he doesn't have the scar? I wish this was longer to see what happened next.

Okay, first of all, you really managed to make the first chapter very emotional. I was crying heavily by the time I finished it. Despite that, I'd absolutely *love* to see you expand on this and write about what happened to Zuko in the time between the first chapter and the second one.

So more or less he is still a total outsider after so long? I wonder if the recurring shoring is one of the factors, besides the guards and possible bulling (Hahn maybe?) that he still is thinking to haul the Avatar back to his father, just to be allowed to go home. Was he allowed to practice his bending or is he still very much untrained?

I know you wrote this part earlier that the first chapter but together they make me to want more, because there are so many questions open.

Thanks for sharing this captivating AU.

"Several years later", which would be at least two years as his exile was supposed to last for three years, and he still has waterbending guards at his door-plainly more than just the one guard that would be needed to seal the wall up after him-and isn't permitted to grow his hair out. Well, no wonder he still thinks of the Fire Nation as his home! Way to make him feel welcome there, tribesmen.

You're going to continue this, right? Please, don't leave it hanging there!

He let his head fall onto his folded arms. "I don't know what you want me to say."

'What you want me to say'. Yup, they broke him. I don't think even the guard who saw him crying after cutting his topknot realized how, after everything else, that was what finally crushed his spirit.

And two years later and a world away, a little boy with a sky bison emerges from an iceberg, and plays happily with the girl he meets there until he breaks one of the Southern Water Tribe's most important rules and is kicked out. Eventually, that little boy will go back to his old home at the Southern Air Temple, alone except for his sky bison, to discover that he's truly alone in the world. Without Katara to hide the signs of attack from him, he'll see the truth of the massacre long before finding the bones of his old mentor, so the grief won't be so much of a shock; it may not even trigger the Avatar state. So what will happen to these two boys, one exiled and broken in the north and the other alone and devastated in the south, in the months before the Comet comes and the world burns?