Urkem

Urkem
GENERAL
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Character	Ikem
Character	Ursa
Canonical?	Canon
Status of Relationship	Married
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Het
Also Known As	Noreko

1

Urkem is the het ship between Ikem and Ursa from the Avatar: The Last Airbender fandom.

Canon

Ursa and Ikem had been in love since they were children. They were going to be in a play together that was known as "Love Amongst the Dragons" and the two got engaged. However, on the same day that they got engaged, Prince Ozai arrived and proposed to Ursa. She did not want to marry him but felt forced to accept his proposal. As she was leaving with her new fiancée, Ikem tried to stop them until Ursa broke up with him and told him to go home. Ikem was distraught by this.

Ikem could not handle the pity that the other citizens were giving him so he ran off to a nearby forest and had his face changed by a spirit. Ursa was completely cut off from her former life once she married Ozai but still attempted to send letters home. Ursa even wrote one letter to Ikem claiming that Zuko was their son even though that was not the case, as it was purely made up due to Ursa’s suspicions that her letters were all intercepted. These suspicions proved to be true, since Ozai had Ursa’s maid deliver him the real letters. However, Ursa was eventually exiled and returned to her hometown. She thought that Ikem was dead because Ozai claimed that he had him assassinated.

Ursa returned to her hometown and was distraught to find that her parents passed away and nobody remembered her. A man named Noren found her crying and invited her to breakfast. She was about to leave when Noren revealed that he was actually Ikem. They later went to the forest together and Ursa had her face changed as well as her memories of her life as a princess erased. They then married and eventually had a daughter. Years later, Zuko came to look for Ursa so Ikem revealed her past. The Mother of Faces came back and returned her memory to her since she was allowed to see her children again and no longer in emotional pain.

Quotes

Ursa – “Well, handsome, guess who just got the role of the Dragon Empress?”

Ikem – “Congratulations! You know what this means?! I'll finally get to fulfill my lifelong ambition of kissing you in front of the whole village!”

— Ursa and Ikem after being casted as lovers in a play in The Search Part One.

Ikem – “Will you marry me?”

Ursa – “That's in the script?”

Ikem – “No. You remember when we were six, how you kicked me in the stomach and pushed my face in the dirt?”

Ursa – “How many times do I have to apologize for that? Sheesh ...”

Ikem – “I began loving you that day. And I haven't ever stopped. So I'll ask you again ... no masks this time. Ursa, daughter of Jinzuk and Rina, will you marry me?”

Ursa – “Yes.”

— Ikem and Ursa getting engaged for the first time in The Search Part One.

“F-f-fire Lord Azulon! You have my- my true love in your carriage! With all due respect, I c-can't let you take her from me!”

— Ikem trying to stop Ozai from stealing Ursa in The Search Part One.

“Ursa, we belong together. Whatever they're offering you, it isn't worth the pain of never again belonging.”

— Ikem trying to stop Ursa from marrying Ozai in The Search Part One.

“My dearest Ikem, It's taken me a long time to admit it, but you were right. I belong with you, and nothing is worth this pain. My one consolation is our son Zuko. When I look into his eyes, it's as if I'm looking into yours. My thoughts are with you always. Love, Ursa”

— Ursa's note of regret to Ikem in The Search Part One.

“Love leads where love leads, regardless of age. Noren and I found each other pretty late in life.”

— Ursa, as Noriko, recalls how she married Noren, who is secretly Ikem in The Search Part Two.

“When we were six, you kicked me in the stomach and pushed my face in the dirt. When we were twenty-one, you shattered my heart. And now, you're going to walk away before we even get the chance to have a proper conversation? My dear Ursa, don't you think you've hurt me enough?”

— Noren revealing his identity as Ikem to Ursa in The Search Part Three.

“After you left, I died. Not literally, but I may as well have. Everyone in town knew us as Ursa and Ikem. Sometimes, folks would come up to me and tell me things would be okay, but deep down they knew they were lying. Other times, they wouldn't say anything. They would just stare, like I'd been disfigured. Maybe I had. It was too painful to stay here, yet it was the only home I'd ever known.”

— Noren on the pain he experienced after Ozai stole Ursa from him in The Search Part Three.

Children

Kiyi

Kiyi is the only daughter of Ikem and Ursa and the half-sister of Zuko and Azula. She is a friendly and playful girl who plays with a doll that she named after herself. Zuko quickly bonded with Kiyi and even went to look at her dolls while Azula intimidated her and threatened to behead her dolls. When Azula learned that Kiyi was her half-sister, she became jealous and felt that her mother was trying to replace her. Zuko later took Kiyi to the Fire Nation capital along with Ikem and Ursa.

Fanon

Urkem is a popular pairing in the Avatar fandom. This pairing is not well known among the fans who do not pay attention to the comics. Some were disappointed to learn that Ursa never loved Ozai and always wanted to be with Ikem while others immediately took a liking to this pairing. Many fans were happy to learn that the two eventually ended up getting married as that was their original intention. Some fans were disappointed by this though as it proved Hakursa to be impossible.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Ikem/Ursa tag on AO3