#I would mostly enjoy zukka

[the-idiot-17]

HEY YOU!!!

Someone send me any atla fanfic that isn't kataang, tokka, makorra, incest or pretty much anything with a huge age gap thank you so much I would greatly appreciate it <3

[jupiter-and-teardrops]

the hardest lines ALWAYS come from ao3 fanfics and I stand by this

Mostly thanks to @emilyelizabethfowl (their reblog contains many of the fic links!! thank u sm) and a few deep dives into my ao3 history, the sources of the quotes have mostly all been recovered! I apologise for not posting them all with proper credit originally, I truly didn't think the post would blow up so much, but the lesson is very much learned :) enjoy!

- number 1 is from merthur fic called Destiny Ordered You To Die, But I Willed You To Live by ironfamjam

-number 2 is from a klance fic called reach out for you (break these walls) by Paladin-Pile (UserFromPluto)

- number 3 is a batman fic called Home (jason centered) by Daisybirb

- number 4 is a zukka fic by I'm Not Angry Anymore by team_avatars_eyebags

- numbers 5 and 9 are from The Art Of Burning by hella1975, an amazing ongoing atla following zuko

- number 6 is a hualian fic called No paths are bound by cataclysmic_calamity (originally a thread fic but also fully uploaded on ao3)

- number 7 is a merthur fic called tell me every terrible thing you ever did (and let me love you anyway) by Stardustwrites17 (the quote is also originally from a poem apparently)

- number 8 is from a batman fic called Nature and Nurture by lurkinglurkerwholurks

- number 10 is from a steddie fic called let me know (everythings alright) by bexiguess

ALSO there is now a part 2 !! (which I swear is better organized)

[petricorah]

How's about "love shown through weapon's maintenance" for a zukka prompt?

Ahh this was such a good prompt! I do wish i wasn't half asleep in a car to do it proper justice, but i hope you enjoy!

-------

Zuko woke in a cold sweat.

He panted, frantically attempting to catch his breath as the dregs of his nightmare melted off his body. His chest was tight, and he felt like his throat was closed off. He looked wildly around his room but was met with abrupt darkness. He flicked his hand to produce the flame, and only sparks erupted from his hand.

He grit his teeth. Of course. Of course this was still a problem.

He'd been stressed for months, between his new duties as firelord and assassination attempts, and more and more, and for some reason, his ability to bend had dwindled, which had done nothing but increase the stress.

No one knew, of course. He'd kept it close to him. He was vulnerable at this time, and he didn't know who to trust. And the idea of telling his friends...he was supposed to be stronger than this. After all he's been through, this is what was bested him? The stress of running a nation? He'd even gone to the dragons themselves and found a new way of bending, and now it was gone again? Did he have to go back?

Zuko felt the panic rise in his chest once more, that awful feeling that he hadn't been able to shake, and he groaned loudly, the sound echoing off the room. He shook his head and threw the covers off of him. They crumpled to a pile on the ground. In the dark, he reached for the spot on his wall where his swords were mounted and closed his hand around the joint hilts.

A smidgen of the panic clogging his throat dissipated, but not by much.

He took them off the wall and carefully crept out of the room.

Since the third assassination attempt, he hadn't slept in the firelord's chambers. That let him sleep a little better--mostly because he didn't like staying in what he still considered to be his father's room. In order to call attention to his new resting place, there were no guards stationed outside of his door. That was fine enough--the guards hadn't been able to stop the assassins the first few times, so it was better to not have any blood shed on his behalf, anyway.

And it made for an easier escape when he wanted to pace the grounds in the middle of the night.

He made his way through the palace. He had no idea where he was going. He had no idea what he was doing. Why he was going there. With his swords. He just--

The air on his sweat soaked skin made him shiver. He stood in front of the door, swords drawn, and didn't move.

This is stupid.

He grit his teeth and stepped away from the door, causing the wood under his feet to creak. He winced, and the door opened before he could decide on running or jumping behind it.

"...Zuko?" Sokka said sleepily, rubbing the back of his head. His hair was down, framing his face, and sticking up in every direction. He looked groggy and sleep logged. "What are you doing here?"

"That's how you open the door?" He snapped. "What if I was an assassin?"

Sokka squinted at him. "I could tell it was you," he said. "You always shift like that in front of my door."

What? "I do not!"

Sokka's eyes trailed down to his swords. "Were you coming to kill me?"

"No!" He snarled in a hushed voice. "How could you say that?"

Sokka laughed sleepily, a good sound that Zuko couldn't appreciate because he couldn't shove down the panic in his chest.

"Relax," he said. "Why are you here, then?"

Zuko grit his teeth and his eyes drifted away from Sokka's gaze.

"Ah."

"I thought we could spar."

Sokka chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Nah."

"What? You're awake now."

"You look pissed," he said jabbing a finger at him accusatorily. "And I'm still half asleep. That's a recipe for getting my head lopped out."

"I wouldn't do that to you," he said through his teeth. "How could you think that I would do something like that? Do you really think I've lost that much control--"

"Woah," Sokka said and put both of his hands on Zuko's shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. "Chill out."

Zuko could feel the warmth through the tips of his fingers, grounding him. His eyes had adjusted in the dark, and he could see Sokka's features. Soft and concerned.

"Stay here," Sokka said. He withdrew his hands and a rush of coldness fell over Zuko at their absence.

Sokka came back out a few minutes lter, holding something in his hand. He motioned for him to follow, and they made their way out to the moonlit courtyard.

"Give me your swords," Sokka said. He sat himself down on the grass, and Zuko followed suit, handing him the swords. The night breeze was cold, and sittinf in the damp grass was colder, but he did.

He watched as Sokka took the object in his hand and began to sharpen his sword.

"I can do that myself," he said.

"I know."

Zuko glared at him, but settled into his seat and watched as Sokka ran the stone across the blade.

"What were you told to do when you sharpen your blade?" Sokka said.

"It's a task," he said. "What do you mean?" It was simply something you did to take care of your weapons.

"My dad said that you should use the opportunity of sharpening your blade to sharpen your mind," Sokka said. His long hair fell forward as he leaned to see what he was doing. "When I was younger, I thought it meant to focus on the battle ahead. But now...I use it to clear my mind."

"Should your head be any emptier?"

Sokka rolled his eyes and jabbed him in the ribs. "The best sword works as an extension of your body," he said.

Zuko narrowed his eyes. Of course.

"So you have to take care of yourself like you would a prized weapon." He pressed the stone on the tip of the sword, and the metal bent downwards. "Just like stress can destroy a blade, it can destroy you, too." Sokka relaxed his shoulders and let out a long breath. "I think it's important to remember that."

Zuko was silent for a moment. Then--

"I can't avoid being stressed," he said, and he reached forward to take the swords back, pulling them from Sokka's grasp and putting them back together. "I wanted to spar and get rid of that stress. That's why I came to you. If you don't want to do that, then I'll leave--"

"Zuko," Sokka said. "Just sit down."

Zuko glared down.

"Please. To humor me. And then you can fight me and knock me out so I can go back to sleep."

Zuko's eyes narrowed to slits, but he slumped down.

Sokka sat with his legs crossed, looking like Aang when he meditated.

"You're kidding me, right? Are you an air nomad?"

"Remember when we went to the boiling rock?" he said. "And you used your breath to stay warm?"

"I've tried that," he said. "But every time I sit still, I just think about everything that I have to do, and everything that's happening and--"

Sokka reached over and took his hand, and Zuko immediately closed his mouth. "Just breathe with me for a bit."

Zuko kept his mouth in a firm line, but did. He expected Sokka to remove his hand, but he didn't.

Sokka took a big breath next to him, and Zuko hesitated, but did. He closed his eyes inhaled, filling his lungs, taking in so much that his chest ached and his back cracked.

And he breathed out.

And again.

And again.

"You know we have your back, right?" Sokka said softly from beside him. Zuko could feel the warmth from his palm over his, radiating throughout his body. "All of us. We're here for you."

Zuko could feel the tightness swirl inside his chest, panic flaring up, and a burning behind his glassy eyes. "I don't want you to have to be."

Sokka laughed. "Well, too bad. You have friends. I hated it when you made me do exercises for my leg and when you wouldn't let me train until it healed. I especially hated when it gave out and you had to carry me all the way back to the palace. But that's what friends do. And that's what I'm doing for you."

Zuko's opened one eye, looking at him. "By comparing me to a weapon?"

He laughed again, and this time, Zuko appreciated it. He appreciated how soft and carefree it was. How deep and grounded it sounded. How he could hear it at the middle of the night. How he was there to hear if.

"Yeah. By comparing you to a weapon."

Sokka took another deep breath, and Zuko did as well.

And, in one final exhale, he felt the flames curl out of his mouth, and warmth spread across his body once more.

[ultfreakme]

Because I’m on an identity porn kick for Zukka, here’s some recommendations!

Blue by blacklipscurse(bealiciphers) Words: 190k- Complete This is THE classic identity porn fic for Zukka. Sokka runs into Zuko as the Blue Spirit in Ba Sing Se, and mistakes him for someone from the Southern Water Tribe. Cue feelings

Burning Bright by Erisenyo This is a 3-part series, each is approximately 250k words- Complete Long-fic slow, SLOW burn lovers would enjoy this, this is behemoth of a fic and is mostly canon-compliant for the key events. Premise is Zuko vents about his feelings on a letter and accidentally send it on a messenger hawk. Sokka gets it because the hawk gets injured and the two start exchanging letters anonymously. 

Zuko’s Lost Days by AndyBoy, backatpatrickpark Words: 60k- Complete The Dai Li get Zuko during his fight with Jet and brainwash him into thinking he’s just a regular Ba Sing Se earth kingdom citizen named Li. Sokka runs into him and accdientally falls for him knowing that it’s Zuko. ANGST AND FLUFF YESSS

Chained by BlueEyedArcher Words: 360k- Ongoing No Bending AU where the SWT attacks a Fire Nation encampment and take Zuko as prisoner. Except Zuko was in disguise as a regular old Private under the false name Li, so they don’t know he’s the literal Prince of the Fire Nation. SLOOOOOW burn, it has a lot of stuff on SWT culture. Zuko’s a little different because Ursa’s around, Lu Ten is alive and Iroh is firelord.

someone else by lesmiserablol Words 3k- Complete Sokka figures out Zuko knows the Blue Spirit in Ba Sing Se and is using him to talk to the Blue Spirit, completely unaware that Zuko IS the Blue Spirit. That’s all I can remember for now, if anyone else has got anything else, I’d love to know!    

[burst-of-iridescent]

in relation to the ask you got about zutara loosing popularity—i say this as someone who’s been a zk stan for almost ten years now, but the ship was never that popular outside of fandom culture you can find on tumblr, twitter, old forums, fanfic sites, etc. i joined an atla facebook group some years ago and had to leave because of the totally unwarranted hatred people had for zutara. honesty, i think some people underestimate the huge impact atla had and still has on non-fandom people. everyone loves it. the ‘normie’ fanbase is made up for a solid % of cishet men who are indeed misogynistic and homophobic, and not because they don’t ship zutara so they must be bad. i mean, have you seen all the hatred characters like katara and korra get for simply being humans with flaws? that’s mostly cishet men talking. zukka also is massively popular on twitter, tumblr and ao3, and that is because this specific fandom culture is known for not really caring about canon—yet i read some nasty stuff about them. i personally am not a fan of the ship but certainly not because they’re gay. but a lot of ‘normie’ atla stan’s are dudebros who can’t stomach the fact that a beloved male character of theirs can be gay.

fandoms might seem huge from the inside, but it’s a small group as opposed to the many people that consume a piece of media and then just… move on. that’s the reality with every big non-canon ship, not only zk. spend a day in the hp fandom and you may end up thinking everyone is crazy about drarry, dramione and wolfstar—but casual watchers don’t care about any of those, and though i don’t know the numbers, youtube is a huge platform, so i think it’s safe to assume that casual watchers outnumber fandom people.

yep, i agree. i've only been in zutara fandom since early 2021, but having been in a variety of different fandoms since 2013, there is a really major difference between how fandom works and general audience works for the same media property. it's just a natural consequence of the significant disparity in interest and passion.

and like you said, it's also extremely difficult for zutara fandom to exist in fandom spaces outside of tumblr. i've never been on facebook, but that sounds like an awful experience, and sadly unsurprising. instagram, tiktok and reddit in particular are just horribly toxic cesspits that love to hate on zutara and zutara shippers at any opportunity, and though i'm not on twitter, i've seen enough of the drama that goes down there to know it's probably not much better. tumblr is pretty much the safest space for zk fandom (which is saying a lot, given the levels of hate and harassment here alone) so obviously polls conducted on sites with a low presence of zk fandom are going to be skewed against zutara.

that's why i don't really care how well we do in polls or how popular we are. i would ship zutara even if it was just me, myself and i against the world lmao. having this wonderful community that is constantly creating and collaborating and enjoying the ship together is just a lovely bonus.

[ssreeder]

ALSKFJG to be fair Reedy i for one am not complaining about the length over here, there's a thrill to each update. Idk if I've mentioned before that the first thing i do when I'm scrolling through ao3 is to set my filters tl show only complete works. I'm not strong enough to deal with uncompleted works, but at the same time, if i go on too long like that, i end up missing the thrill of just... Going along for the ride, checking when there's an update, hyping myself uo when there IS and I'm not ready to deal with it, taking a moment to breathe after i read it, get lost in the possibilities of what's to come until the next chapter comes out

Like... It is fun, to be able to enjoy a story to it's fullest extent, and there's a certain joy that can't be replicated by reading it all in one sitting, a joy that comes from having to sit with what you have and *wonder*

And BOI am i fucking wondering what's going to happen, i have a ticking time bomb stressing me out constantly in the form of a somewhat unhinged but ultimately baby 14 year old called Azula, and meanwhile zuko is sneaking into sokka's bedroom and I'm just here sitting watching reading knowing that's just BEGGING for trouble bc WHAT IF SOMEONE COMES IN, and also toph absolutely knows bc she literally can feel the extra heartbeat but she minds the business that pays her

I hope it's that, anyways, and not toph waiting for the moment to bully sokka, which i WOULD appreciate but... I wouldn't wish to be sokka for that if that's the plan. And talking about bullying. JET JET JET JET. You've got me over here stressed out for jet waking up bc like... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH. PAIN. I WANT HIS PAIN. I CRAVE HIS SUFFERING. I NEED TO SEE WHAT HE'LL DO NOW. Reedy what have you done to me. You have me rooting for jet. In a twisted backwards way but still

And katara deserves the world, she has no idea what's coming and god will she hate it but she's doing her best she deserves some vacations. They're not coming tho. Bc as soon as jet wakes up to cause problems on purpose she'll probably find out zukka is a thing and she still doesn't like zuko so the poor girl is bound for whiplash and then the water tribe is getting into ba sing se but not for long! Because Azula is a menace and she's out for blood and i oove her but that kid needs to be adopted soon before she burns the world (is she going to get adopted? Puppy eyes over here begging for her to be adopted. She'd look great in water tribe blue) (i know that's not what this story is about but a guy can dream ok?)

Anyways. This is what you do when you leave me to think about the future of the story for too long. The possibilities are simmering in my brain

-Fragile heart

Hahaha - well we are officially on this journey together pal! Im glad you hopped on before we got to the end lol.

Im confident a certain earth bender knows that a certain highly strung fire bender is sneaking in through the window at night. Im sure she is just waiting for the right time to commence the teasing.

Jets awakening won’t be next chapter but the one after that! (I couldn’t fit it all this next chapter haha) but it’ll be a mess I can assure you that.

Katara isn’t getting a break anytime soon! & no I’m sure she won’t be THRILLED to find out about zukka mostly because her interaction with Zuko doesn’t go so smoothly next chapter ha……. Oops

As for azula…. Hmmm….. we’ll see ;)

[sokkastyles]

Hello, i need to surround myself with people who don't hate on zuko and zutara as well as don't try to justify azula's abuse of her brother 😭. Please, i just want the chance to avoid jumpscares on my dash I'm so close to leaving the fandom altogether because the things i see either break my heart or make me so unrealistically angry.😭😭 I'd love to follow zukka accounts too, but i don't know which ones are okay. Zukka shippers can be massive kataangers, or azula lovers... of which the latter make me sick. Do you have accounts you know that would be amazing to give a follow? I just want to drown out the noise...

I want to enjoy atla again 😔.

I would recommend curating your experience. I only follow select people, and you can also filter tags and block people who post things that upset you. One of my favorite accounts is @royaltealovingkookiness, they are mostly an Iroh and Zuko and zutara blog but they also like zukka and maiko and Azula.

I don't look for zukka content so don't know many accounts but if anyone who follows me fits the above criteria, feel free to comment on this post.

[litterateur97]

Tag people you would like to get to know better

Thanks for the tag @gigantomachy1916! I'm always happy to talk about my interests lol!

1. Three Ships

L x Misa obvi, my otp. They live in my head rent free 24/7. Zuko x Sokka is another big ship for me. I've always loved both characters a lot and the episode Boiling Rock changed me as a child. Harley Quinn x Poison Ivy is also a huge obsession of mine. I love both characters separately, but together they are just so perfect. I really feel like they balance each other out and help each other's character development. I never write for zukka or harlivy like I do for lawmane, mostly because I'm intimidated, but I have little stories in my head about them as well.

2. First Ever Ship

I'm pretty sure my first ever ship was Kim Possible x Ron Stoppable. I really wanted them to end up together and I remember being so excited when they finally kissed in the movie. I kinda want to go back and watch the show and see if I still love it as much as I did as a kid.

3. Last Song

No Rain by Blind Melon. One of my all time favorite songs and I often listen to it when I've been going through it. I really identify with this song and yeah this year has already been off to a rough start for me.

4. Last Movie

The last movie I watched was Bullet Train and I really enjoyed it! It was a really funny action movie and I really liked most of the cast! Aaron Taylor Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry were definitely my favorites, all of their scenes together were just fantastic!

5. Currently Reading

I'm currently reading Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers. It's a really sweet and cute lesbian romance and I'm enjoying it a lot so far! I'm also catching up on a few different fanfics, one for literati called lux et veritas and it is sooo good and super in character.

6. Currently Watching

A few different things, mainly focused on The Last of Us show right now, which I am very much enjoying. I'm also watching Abbott Elementary, which is fantastic, You season 4, which has been interesting, and SaikiK, which is absolutely hilarious.

7. Currently Consuming

I just ate some chicken pita Mediterranean meal that I made myself. It was very good and I'm very proud of myself and my cooking skills.

8. Currently Craving

Zaxby's. I fucking love their fried chicken and zax sauce. I am always wanting Zaxby's, but I don't have the money to eat out 😭.

9. Tagging

@barlee--mars @blondiest @balsemicvinegar @cryptid-in-the-labyrinth @citruscloudsandmoon @dillyfirestarter @ecolekua @fengsuave123 @fuu-miku @herembers @iamredby @knowingoverseer @kartyboomz @mere-mortifer @nomorification @puffballlofdoom @redcrewmate @rottentiger-art @s-k-e-t-c-h-y-artist @witchxmom And anyone else who is interested in answering!

[itcantbe]

How many fics and what fandoms 16! (including individual chapters of "The Legend of Kink") Mostly Zelda, but I wrote three for Spy x Family and one for Barbarities.

Favorite fic you wrote Hands down "If Wishes Were Fishes." I had so much fun writing it, and tried so much new stuff as a writer. This is one of those fics that just leapt out of my brain and onto the page, which is always a delightful experience. Runners up are "difficult" (sxf, yuriloid) and "a funny way of showing it" (Barbarities, Gil/Louis) ... maybe because I just wrote it? I dunno.

Favorite fic you read Good lord, how can I choose? I read so, so much this year, and I loved nearly everything I read, but only a few fics really lodged themselves into my brain in a way that I couldn't help but read them over and over again: but here it's sav'saaba by alpacawool (LOZ, Link/everyone) Only Natural by OmegaZeta5 (LOZ, zelink) Lay Down My Heart by Haicrescendo (ATLA, zukka) Buy Me Love by pornographicpenguin (BTS, yoonmin) foolish as I am, follow my lead by lavender_dew (Great Pretender, edaurent) LOVEBITE by surveycorpsjean (MHA, bkdk) You can see it's rather all over the place. But like I said, I loved a lot of stuff this year — this is only a fraction of the really excellent fics I read this year. So if you want more of my recommendations, please check my bookmarks!

First WIP you hope is published in the new year Haaaaa hopefully chapter two of "And You Think I'm Sexy." If you know me, you know I don't publish fics if they're not done, but this one got away from me. I'm determined to get it done though!

Did you do any fan events (zines, cons, etc.)? I participated in @zelinktines in February with "there are many things I would like to say to you (but I don't know how)" but outside of that I didn't really do any fan events this year. I don't really care for zines much so I don't seek them out, however I do have dreams of someday doing some kind of fan publication of my own. And I'm looking forward to doing Zelinktines again this coming February when we expand it out to be a fandom-wide event!

All in all it was a fun year for fanfic, and I'm glad I expanded out to new fandoms and tried new things with my writing. I made it to 50 subscribers on ao3 and I hope they enjoy what I put out next year. Here's to 2023 being a sexier, grosser year! Thanks for having fun with me!

Fic writer wrap up 2022

I've seen some of these going around but a lot of them are too long for my adhd self so I made a more succinct version. Feel free to join in!

How many fics and what fandoms

Favorite fic you wrote

Favorite fic you read

First WIP you hope is published in the new year

Did you do any fan events (zines, cons, etc.)?

[zukka-fic-recs]

Zukka Fic Rec List - Soulmate AUs (Part 1)

One of my favourite tropes!

the heartless and the gentle by sokkaesque / @sokkagatekeeper

Available on Ao3, Complete, Teen, Off-Screen Murder, Suicidal Ideation, Canon-Typical Violence, H/C, Grief, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Sokka-centric, Mentions of possible future Sukka

Wordcount: 23,034

If you like soulmate fics and you haven't read this one then what are you doing?? Whatever it is, drop it asap and find somewhere to curl up and enjoy this masterpiece. The premise is fantastic and creates fertile grounds to explore the characters' motivations, emotions, and insecurities. The slow unfurling of the relationship between Sokka and Zuko makes my heart hurt (in a good way haha), but I also love the way the author portrays the other relationships in this fic (both romantic and otherwise). I reread this one often.

(started too early) finished too late by @blueharem

Available on Ao3, Teen, Complete, Child-Abuse, AU - College/University

Wordcount: 1,661

Soulmarks are your soulmates first words to you. Love the idea behind this one and it's well-executed.

fixed grief and weary hearts, never play their intended parts by @garnetaches

Available on Ao3, Teen, Complete, Betrayal, Angst, Mostly Canon-Compliant, Slowburn, Brief Yueka and Jetko

Wordcount: 68,742

The soulmarks in this are soulflowers where your soulmate has scars. This one is very emotive and the characters are very solid and well-portrayed. I like the writing, a very enjoyable read!

Burn a little brighter by Astrone

Available on Ao3, Teen, WIP, Firebender Sokka, Enemies to Friends to Lovers

Wordcount: 31,724

In this fic there are soulmate dreams and things of that nature. The style is kind of experimental and it makes for a very interesting read, I'm really enjoying it. There are some really cute moments, and also amusing ones!

Have I Told You, I Loved You, Today by @syciaralynx

Available on Ao3, Explicit, Series, Izumi (!!!), Mute Character, Ambassador Sokka, Mythical Creatures

Wordcount: 110,691

The main fic is complete, it's just the overall series that's not. Zukka have spent quite a bit apart, but now Sokka is coming as ambassador to the Fire Nation. This author is a great writer and this is an excellent read. Also, Izumi is in this!!!

the sweetest sound by RJKazooku / @midoriyakazooku

Available on Ao3, Gen, Complete

Wordcount: 3,417

The Soulmarks in this are the words your soulmate says when you realise you love them. As the title would imply, this fic is very sweet. Made me smile. :)

Calling by @kalira

Available on Ao3, Mature, Complete

Wordcount: 1,725

Some established relationship sweetness - also mentions of Zuko being a little shit, which is always great.

Of Stupidity and Soulmates by frogsarecoolkatie

Available on Ao3, Gen, Humour / Humor, Complete

Wordcount: 1,355

They're both idiots and I love them for it your honour. Made me laugh!

Your Eyes Are My Favourite Colour by @stuckwithasnakeboy

Available on Ao3, Gen, Complete

Wordcount: 1,294

You only see colour after you've had eye contact with your soulmate for the first time. Short and sweet, I like the atmosphere the author creates.

chasing fire by @electricvallie

Available on Ao3, Teen, Pre-Slash, Complete, Blue Spirit Zuko

Wordcount: 1,645

Matching symbol soulmate marks. This one is set in Ba Sing Se. A short, enjoyable read. :)

what goes around (comes around) by agni_kai

Available on Ao3, Teen, Complete, Canon-Typical Violence, Allusions to Child Abuse, Allusions to Self-Harm, H/C, Minor Sukka

Wordcount: 14,764

The premise here is that you feel your soulmate's pain (soulpains) and people also have soulmarks. This one is sooo good. The author packed so much into this fic, it's very vivid, emotive, and tender. I love the author's take on soulmarks, I think it's a great premise. And there's a little Aunt Wu in this, which never fails to entertain me.

[ultfreakme]

Hello...You are the first person that I know of that ship Zukka but also love Katara. Thanks so much. A big reason, I'm not into ATLA fandom is because those who love Zukka mostly hate Katara and those who love Katara, mostly ship Zutara (I just dislike this ship, sorry). And then I found your blog....

Katara is my fav character from ATLA, and personally I don't ship her with anyone.

A bit crossover, but do you see similarity between Katara and Utahime (JJK)?

WHAT!?!?!? oh my god I'm so sorry you had that kind of interactions, I've somehow managed to avoid Katara-hating Zukka shippers. Katara is my first favorite character, like ever, in the history of my life (Pakku v Katara altered my brain chemistry. "You can't knock me down!" CHILLS. FREAKING, CHILLS!!!).

I also don't particularly enjoy shipping in the canon of the story, if that makes sense? I like my fanon nonsense lol. I don't particularly ship Katara either, like I think Kataang is cute, but that's about all the opinions I have on it. Though I do love their dynamic and the way they support each other.

Katara & Utahime....hmmm...I kinda don't? Primarily because we don't get much of Utahime at all. I think they have similar temperaments, and I think they'd get along but on a deeper level, I'm not sure. Katara chose her life as a waterbending master and fighter, Utahime is implied to be a sorcerer because of her family, she also seems very...tired, like many sorcerers are (because of all the death and the general misery of their job). Katara on the other hand, thrives in these challenging environments. Utahime seems very rule-abiding since she is a part of the sorcerer society and is a teacher, we never really see her express any defiance until maaaaaybe her supporting Gojo in the fight against Sukuna.

Katara though, she's a rebel, she doesn't give a shit about rules and would readily start a fight if she sees injustice. Or she'd walk away if she disagrees with something. She'd probably have pulled a Maki--

I just had that thought sorry my brain screeched to a halt.

Actually I think Katara resembles Maki more in terms of motivation. Prodigies, disapproved of by her society, comes back a billion times stronger and shows everyone what is up and who's the boss. Utahime seems pretty okay with her position as she is? I wish we got more of her, I might be able to make a better comparison then. What are your thoughts? Although, they are both teachers so maybe the way the have a motive to educate a new generation is where their similarities lie.

Thanks anon!!!

[dickpuncher420]

hi ambre my love for writing prompts can i get uhhhhhh fairground ferris wheel zukka

As the Fire Lord, it’s rare that Zuko finds enough time to travel, especially at this time of year. But the spirits must have been feeling especially generous lately, because this is the longest he’s ever gone without an assassination attempt, his council has been uncharacteristically agreeable, and all of his current projects are moving smoothly along, without the need for his supervision—meaning that he’s free to take some time off, for once in his life, and finally experience this Glacier Spirits Festival that Sokka has told him so much about.

Sokka and Izumi have already been down in the Southern Water Tribe for a while, ever since Izumi started suddenly bending the tea out of their cups at breakfast one day, and they’re the first ones to greet him when his airship touches down on the outskirts of town. Izumi makes a face when Sokka pulls him in for a kiss—she’s getting to that age where everything her dads does embarrasses her—but then tugs insistently at Zuko’s robes until he reaches down to pick her up.

“Oof.” Zuko groans as he settles her onto his hip. “You’re getting a bit too big for this, ‘Zumi.”

Izumi pouts at him, her golden eyes big and imploring. “But Daddy does it all the time, and he never says I’m too big.”

“Does he now?” Zuko shoots Sokka a look, and Sokka grins sheepishly and shrugs. They’re going to have a talk about that later—he’s well aware that Izumi has the both of them wrapped around her little finger, but that doesn’t mean they can’t learn to tell her no sometimes.

He sets Izumi down after placing a kiss to the top of her head, and she holds his hand and chatters excitedly the whole way back to the house. Auntie ‘Tara has been teaching her some very basic waterbending control, mostly to keep her from getting into any future accidents—even Azula didn’t start learning actual bending techniques until she was six years old.

With the festival starting tomorrow, booths and attractions have been set up all over the centre of town, and Izumi eagerly points them out as they walk past. Zuko can practically feel the tension easing out of his shoulders by the minute—he doesn’t realize how much the crown weighs him down until he’s finally free of it, and now, with it safely stored in his rooms all the way back in the Fire Nation, he feels lighter than he has in ages.

Dinner is a quiet, simple affair. Sokka nabs the stewed sea prunes that Izumi has pushed to the sides of her bowl, and laughs at the face that Zuko makes when he bites down into one by accident. Even after all these years, he’s never quite been able to get used to the taste; never had to, really, since Sokka would always steal his right out of his bowl whenever he came to visit.

They put Izumi to bed once she starts nodding off in her seat, and then spend a few more hours talking quietly, curled up together next to the hearth. Zuko heats his hands and massages Sokka’s leg without being asked—the break is old and fully healed, but Zuko knows that the cold still gets to it sometimes—and Sokka sinks back into his furs with a grateful groan.

“You’re the best husband ever, you know that?”

“Mhm,” Zuko says, smiling. “You could stand to say it more often, though.”

They’re awoken in the morning—or what passes for the morning, this close to the solstice—by Izumi, who leaps onto their bed, squealing about the festival. She barely gives them time to eat breakfast before she’s ushering them out the door, one hand clasped in each of her fathers’ hands, dragging them along as fast as her little legs will go.

Zuko catches Sokka’s eye as they walk and grins. He can’t help it—Izumi’s excitement is infectious.

She totes them along as they go from booth to booth, trying out the fried eel-squid here, admiring the beadwork of a young vendor there. At one of the game stands, Sokka wins her a stuffed sky bison plushie, which she immediately names Baby Appa—or Bappa, for short. Zuko complains that it sounds too much like Baba, and Sokka just laughs and wins him one too, if only to shut him up.

There’s something comforting about the anonymity of the festival. Here, he’s not the Fire Lord. Here, he’s just a man, enjoying the Glacier Spirits Festival with his family, just like any regular person. He’s not the only foreigner, either: in the years since the end of the war, the festival has expanded enough that people from beyond the Water Tribes have become regular visitors as well. Nobody even spares Zuko, with his pale skin and mottled scar, a second glance—especially not when his hair has been braided back like this, in a traditional Water Tribe style.

Zuko doesn’t often regret being the Fire Lord, at least not anymore. Sure, it’s tedious and tiring and stressful, but he’s always proud of his work, and there isn’t a single person in the world that he would rather have take his place.

It’s at times like this, though—with Sokka’s hand in his, and Izumi bounding ahead to marvel at the ferris wheel that towers over the rest of the town—that he wishes he could leave all the pomp and circumstance behind and just be Zuko.

Izumi waves them over, practically vibrating with excitement, and begs them for a ride on the ferris wheel. Unable to deny her anything, Zuko dutifully hands over a few copper pieces to the operator, and the next thing he knows they’re being strapped into the strange metal contraption, Izumi safely wedged between him and Sokka.

Snowflakes begin to fall as they wait for the rest of the seats to be filled. Izumi kicks her feet excitedly, eyes wide, and sticks her tongue out in an attempt to catch a few. Zuko laughs and joins her, and he’s so intent on his snowflake-catching that the sudden jolt of the ferris wheel kicking into motion catches him off guard, and he yelps and clutches at Sokka’s arm.

“Scared?” Sokka teases, and Zuko gives him a half-hearted smack.

“Are you scared, Baba?” Izumi says, adorably earnest in the way that small children are. “You can hold my hand.” She holds out a small gloved hand, and Zuko smiles at her and takes it, wondering if she can sense the way it feels like his heart is melting in his chest. He can feel people’s inner fire—surely waterbenders must be able to do something similar?

“Thank you, ‘Zumi,” he says, and she beams.

The ferris wheel creaks and groans as it carries them up, and back down, and back up again. Sokka assures them that it’s perfectly safe—he’d looked over the plans and supervised its assembly himself—and Zuko finds himself relaxing into the motion of it, chuckling at the way Izumi’s eyes go wide whenever they reach the top of its cycle.

Eventually, the ferris wheel slows and shudders to a stop—and it’s just their luck that they happen to be sitting at the very top of it when it does. Like this, they have the entire town spread out before them, with all its lights and colours and the crowds of people milling about. It makes Zuko feel strangely small, but small in that way that he likes, in the way that makes him feel like just Zuko.

And maybe it’s only temporary, but—he glances over at Sokka, at Izumi, both staring down at the world below with wonder in their eyes—he thinks he can let himself enjoy being just Zuko, just for a bit.

[firelxdykatara]

I’m just really confused as to where this idea that Zuko is gaycoded came from. Like people are allowed to have that headcanon but I don’t understand where people are coming from when they try and claim that he was undisputedly gaycoded and trying to deny it is homophobic when he’s only ever shown romantic interest in women.

I made a pretty long post on the topic a while back, but the ultimate gist of it is this: there are a lot of elements of Zuko's status as an abuse victim and trauma survivor that resonate with queer folks. This is understandable and completely fine! However, there are some parts of the fandom who have taken that to the other extreme and will now insist that those elements are uniquely queer, and that they can only be read as some sort of veiled gay/coming out narrative, even though that doesn't make much sense since there is no part of Zuko's narrative which is unique to any sort of queer experience.

I think the problem really does stem from two things being conflated--Zuko's history of abuse and trauma, and trauma&abuse being something a lot of queer people have experienced. I suspect it goes something like 'I see a lot of myself in Zuko, and I was abused for being gay, therefore Zuko must be gay too in order to have had similar experiences.' This can then lead to feeling dismissed or invalidated when other people point out that those experiences are not unique to being queer--but on the flip side, abuse victims and trauma survivors whose abuse&trauma do not stem from queerness (even if they are queer themselves) can feel invalidated and dismissed by the implication that their trauma must be connected to their queerness or it isn't valid.

This is also where the 'people don't actually know what gay coded means' part comes in, and I realize now that I didn't actually get into what gay coding (and queer coding in general) actually means, since I was so hung up on pointing out how Zuko doesn't really fit the mold. (And the few elements that exist which could be said to count are because of the 'villains historically get queer coded bc Hays Code era' thing and mostly occur in Book 1, not because of how he acts as an abuse&trauma survivor.)

Under a cut because I kind of go on a tangent about gay/queer coding, but I swear I get back to the point eventually.

Queer coding (and it is notable that, with respect to Zuko, it is almost always framed as 'he couldn't possibly be attracted to girls', rather than 'he could be attracted to boys as well as girls' in these discussions, for... no real discernible reason, but I'll get into that in a bit) is the practice of giving characters 'stereotypically queer' traits and characteristics to 'slide them under the radar' in an era where having explicitly queer characters on screen was not allowed, unless they were evil or otherwise narratively punished for their queerness. (See: the extant history of villains being queer-coded, because if they were Evil then it was ok to make them 'look gay', since the story wasn't going to be rewarding their queerness and making audiences think it was in any way OK.) This is thanks to the Motion Picture Production Code (colloquially and more popularly known as the Hays Code), which was a set of guidelines which movies coming out of any major studio had to adhere to in order to be slated for public release and lasted from the early 1930s until it was finally abandoned in the late 60s.

The Hays Code essentially existed to ensure that the content of major motion pictures would not 'lower the moral standards' of the viewing public. It didn't just have to do with queerness--cursing was heavily monitored, sex outside of marriage was not allowed to be seen as desirable or tittilating, miscegenation was not allowed (most specifically interracial relationships between black and white people), criminals had to be punished lest the audience think that it was ok to be gay and do crime, etc. Since same-sex relations fell under 'sexual perversion', they could not be shown unless the 'perversion' were punished in some way. (This is also the origin of the Bury Your Gays trope, another term that is widely misunderstood and misapplied today.) To get around this, queer coding became the practice by which movies and television could depict queer people but not really, and it also became customary to give villains this coding even more overtly, since they would get punished by the end of the film or series anyway and there was nothing to lose by making them flamboyant and racy/overly sexual/promiscuous.

Over time, this practice of making villains flamboyant, sexually aggressive, &etc became somewhat separated from its origins in queer coding, by which I mean that these traits and tropes became the go-to for villains even when the creator had no real intention of making them seem queer. This is how you generally get unintentional queer-coding--because these traits that have been given to villains for decades have roots in coding, but people tend to go right to them when it comes to creating their villains without considering where they came from.

Even after the Hays Code was abandoned, the sentiments and practices remained. Having queer characters who weren't punished by the narrative for being queer was exceptionally rare, and it really isn't until the last fifteen or so years that we've seen any pushback against that. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is famous for being one of the first shows on primetime television to feature an explicitly gay relationship on-screen, and that relationship ended in one of the most painful instances of Bury Your Gays that I have ever personally witnessed. (Something that, fourteen years later, The 100 would visually and textually reference with Lexa's death. Getting hit by a bullet intended for someone else after a night of finally getting to be happy and have sex with her s/o? It wasn't remotely subtle. I don't even like Clexa, but that was incredibly rough to witness.)

However, bringing this back to Zuko, he really doesn't fit the criteria for queer coding for a number of reasons. First of all, no one behind the scenes (mostly a bunch of cishet men) was at all intending to include queer rep in the show. This wasn't a case where they were like 'well, we really wanted to make Zuko gay, but we couldn't get that past the censors, so here are a few winks and a nudge', because it just wasn't on their radar at all. Which makes sense--it wasn't on most radars in that era of children's programming. This isn't really an indictment, it's just a fact of the time--in the mid/late 00s, no one was really thinking about putting queer characters in children's cartoons. People were barely beginning to include them in more teen- and adult-oriented television and movies. It just wasn't something that a couple of straight men, who were creating a fantasy series aimed at young kids, were going to think about.

What few instances you can point to from the series where Zuko might be considered to exhibit coding largely happen in Book 1, when he was a villain, because the writers were drawing from typically villainous traits that had historically come from queer coding villains and had since passed into common usage as villainous traits. But they weren't done with any intention of making it seem like Zuko might be attracted to boys.

And, again, what people actually point to as 'evidence' of Zuko being queer-coded--his awkwardness on his date with Jin and his confrontation with Ozai being the big ones I can think of off the top of my head--are actually just... traits that come from his history of trauma and abuse.

As I said in that old post:

making [zuko’s confrontation of ozai] about zuko being gay and rejecting ozai’s homophobia, rather than zuko learning fundamental truths about the world and about his home and about how there was something deeply wrong with his nation that needed to be fixed in order for the world to heal (and, no, ‘homophobia’ is not the answer to ‘what is wrong with the fire nation’, i’m still fucking pissed at bryke about that), misses the entire point of his character arc. this is the culmination of zuko realizing that he should never have had to earn his father’s love, because that should have been unconditional from the start. this is zuko realizing that he was not at fault for his father’s abuse--that speaking out of turn in a war meeting in no way justified fighting a duel with a child.

is that first realization (that a parent’s love should be unconditional, and if it isn’t, then that is the parent’s fault and not the child’s) something that queer kids in homophobic households/families can relate to? of course it is. but it’s also something that every other abused kid, straight kids and even queer kids who were abused for other reasons before they even knew they were anything other than cishet, can relate to as well. in that respect, it is not a uniquely queer experience, nor is it a uniquely queer story, and zuko not being attracted to girls (which is what a lot of it seems to boil down to, at the end of the day--cutting down zuko’s potential ships so that only zukka and a few far more niche ships are left standing) is not necessary to his character arc. nor does it particularly make sense.

And, regarding his date with Jin:

(and before anyone brings up his date with jin--a) he enjoyed it when she kissed him, and b) he was a traumatized, abused child going out on a first date. of course he was fucking awkward. have you ever met a teenage boy????)

Zuko is socially awkward and maladjusted because he was abused by his father as a child and has trouble relating to people as a result. He was heavily traumatized and brutally physically injured as a teenager, and it took him years to begin to truly recover from the scars that left on his psyche (and it's highly likely, despite the strides he made in canon, that he has a long way to go, post series; it's such a pity that we never got any continuation comics >.>). He was not abused for being gay or queer--he was abused because his father believed he was weak, and part of Zuko's journey was realizing that his father's perception of strength was flawed at its core. That his entire nation had rotted from the inside out, and the regime needed to be changed in order for the world--including his people--to begin to heal.

That could be commingled with a coming out narrative, which is completely fine for headcanons (although I personally prefer not to, because, again, we have more than enough queer trauma already), but it simply doesn't exist in canon. Zuko was not abused or traumatized for being queer, and his confrontation with Ozai was not about him coming out or realizing any fundamental truth about himself--it was about realizing something fundamental about his father and his nation, and making the choice to leave them behind so that he could help the Avatar grow stronger and force things to change when he got back.

TL;DR: at the end of the day, none of the traits, scenes, or behavior Zuko exhibits which shippers tend to use to claim he was gay-coded are actually evidence of coding--they aren't uniquely queer experiences, as they stem from abuse that was not related in any way to his sexuality, and they are experiences that any kid who suffered similar abuse or trauma could recognize and resonate with. (Including straight kids, and queer kids who were abused for any reason other than their identity.) And, finally, Zuko can be queer without erasing or invalidating his canon attraction to girls, and it's endlessly frustrating that the 'Zuko is gay-coded' crowd refuses to acknowledge that.

[crown-prince-zuko]

Yo, what are your zukka head canons?

Oh my gosh I love Zukka so much! Sorry this took a little bit to get to, I just got back from my hospital visit.

Zukka:

Firstly, I think that Sokka really enjoys giving public displays of affection, like holding Zuko’s hand and kisses on the cheek. Nothing overwhelming, but very like cute stuff. He def likes to make Zuko blush.

Zuko on the other hand likes to show affections with gifts. Like he likes to give Sokka breakfast in bed, or flowers. He is a lot more of a show don’t tell kind of person when it comes to love in my opinion. Like how he made tea for everyone in season 3 to try and connect with them instead of like being talkative.

Sokka absolutely loves showing his boyfriend off, and loves bringing him to family events. I bet that Hakoda loves Zuko, and probably laughs when Zuko gets embarrased. Also he helps Gran Gran cook for like special events (because I think Gran Gran would absolutely make great food). He bonds with Gran Gran and Gran Gran compliments his cooking, which Zuko really appreciates.

Their dates are really casual. I think that they probably would enjoy just grabbing some food from a food stand and bringing it back to their place to relax.

Sokka helps Zuko sneak out to the market place, since his boyfriend low-key gets surrounded when people recognize him since he is the Fire-Lord.

Zuko writes love letters and poems for Sokka on occassion and Sokka absolutely melts at them and saves them all. 

If we are talking about marriage stuff I think that it is interesting because I definitely think that Sokka makes Zuko a betrothal necklace, but the only thing I am unsure of is how marriages are done in the Fire-Nation since we don’t really see that in the series. I think Sokka would carve the necklace on his own even if there was probably a professional he could hire to do it for him because he wants the experience to be as personal as possible. 

Sokka would so ask Iroh for permission to marry Zuko. I think that tradition is a really important thing for him, and Sokka would see Iroh as the most befitting one to get a blessing from for proposal.

I think they would end up proposing to one another at the same time by accident. They are both fairly stubborn, and I think that they move in a similar pace to one another, so they would probably get the same idea to propose around the same time.

On the other hand, Zuko asks Hakoda and Katara for their blessing. Mostly bc Zuko knows that Katara is scary when she’s angry and would want to make sure she is ok with it. 

[vickyvicarious]

do u have any atla fic recs? all time faves? can be shippy or not

Fun fact, I am incapable of holding back on reclists. In other words: brace yourself, anon. There’s a reason I put most of this behind a cut.

First off, these are almost all Zuko-centric, because I shamelessly play favorites. I’ll sort them by author rec, gen, shippy, and then by other characters because honestly the numbers break down well that way. Within those categories it’ll be more just as I think of it, so no special meaning to the order. I’m not always good about bookmarking even my faves, so some excellent stuff will no doubt be missing, especially since I haven’t read a lot of the more recent stuff yet/forgot some really old stuff, but this will definitely still give you plenty of fic to enjoy.

There’s a good number of FFN links on here so apologies to people who dislike it, but a lot of great stuff is still on there so give it a chance.

Author recs

Everything by @awesomeavocadolove​​  Such hits as Another Brother (Zuko adopted by Hakoda pre-S1), and currently has a Zukka soulmate fic I’ve been meaning to start reading, as well as Unchained Melody, one of my favorite Zukka fics ever. Always quality, you can’t go wrong.

Everything by KimberlyT.  I do not kid. She’s written a variety of ATLA fic ranging from Zutara/other romance to gen, seriously emotional to cracky cabbagebending. I think my favorite is probably Mismatched (S1 Zuko adopts a baby) but honestly just go read it all.

Everything by @emletish-fish​​. She has a very fun writing style and honestly her end-of-chapter notes on why she’s made the choices she has are fun minimetas worthwhile in their own right. Some of her top fics are the Stalking Zuko series (S3 suspicious Katara to Zutara) and The Worst Prisoner (the Gaang kidnaps Zuko in S1 and can’t get rid of him). I think there’s still a good amount of her fic that can only be found on FFN so check there too.

Everything by @botherkupo​​. Especially her Undying Fire series (healer!Zuko) but also just literally everything she writes, it is all so great. Tends toward Zutara but strong gen fics as well sometimes and a lot of fun. Check it all out!

Everything by @muffinlance​​. Loves to toy with her readers’ emotions in the best of ways. Tons of fantastic gen Zuko-centric AUs, I have adored every single fic I’ve ever read by her, can’t praise them enough. Very productive as well, her tumblr is a hub for the ATLA renaissance and her fics inspire lots of others. Has also organized a fanmade ATLA coloring book for charity so get that once it’s out. In the meantime read everything she’s written.

Everything by Haicrescendo. My favorite is What We’re Given (the series where Zuko finds more air bisons and raises them), but there’s a lot of good Zukka fic too. I tend to steer away from explicit works in this fandom unless it’s a smaller part of a much longer plot-centric fic, so there are a number I haven’t read, but I really like the Pokemon!AU Zukka.

Everything by @gaycinema. I really love the EK fight club series (Zuko fights in Rumbles/etc.) but all of it is a good read. Some Jetko, mostly a lot of introspective or emotional oneshots. Which isn’t really a great depiction of how good they tend to be, you’ll just have to read them and find out. You won’t regret it, trust me.

Everything by @captainkirkk. So far eight stellar fics, starting with kind Fire Lord Zuko and ranging to Floating Tea Shop!Zuko who doesn’t want to hunt the Avatar. I love her style and have laughed out loud at multiple of these. 

Gen Zuko fic

Bringing Out the Blue by maguena1. [unfinished, long] Definitely worth the read. The first ATLA fic I ever got really sucked into. The Blue Spirit never gets knocked out so Aang doesn’t know his true identity; he joins the Gaang on a recurring basis, while Zuko attempts to tell himself this is only for information on how to catch them, they definitely aren’t his friends.

It’s Impossible by Sandra Phillips. [abandoned, long] One of the earliest Avatar!Zuko fics (sort of) and a really interesting take on some spirit stuff.

Embers by Vathara. [complete, long] A landmark fic in the fandom, and for good reason. I didn’t love everything about this fic, but it is very well-written and an absorbing read certainly worth the praise. 

the art of description by incandescens. [oneshot, short] Five descriptions of Zuko and Toph’s field trip from various perspectives. Short, sweet, and funny.

Breaking Point by Kryal. [oneshot, short] Zuko isn’t banished but instead sent to serve in the Home Guard. I love Zuko loving his people, and alternate canon explorations, and this is exactly that.

The Alternative by Lunatique. [oneshot, short] The reason Zuko is so determined is because he fears what will happen if he isn’t the next Fire Lord. An idea I support in canon, to a degree, written well.

Hands and Knees by gigerisgod. [oneshot, short] Zuko reflects on the choices he’s made, and experiences he’s had, when joining the Gaang. A nice introspective fic.

Relative Misery by peroxidepest17. [oneshot, short] Toph complains about her family and Zuko takes her on a field trip. Not a fic I take too seriously, but funny in a sad way.

Second Nature by lazyartisan. [possibly abandoned, long] An AU stemming from Zuko’s capture at the North Pole. Well-written and characterized, an old favorite that I actually find needing to reread to give you more detail, but I can promise it’s good.

Year One by peroxidepest17. [oneshot, short] Lessons Zuko learns in his first year being Fire Lord. I really like explorations of Zuko’s journey as Fire Lord and this is a lovely little window into that.

Soft by PenPistola. [oneshot, short] Zuko and Toph bonding after the Ember Island Players. Short and sweet.

The New Phoenix King by JoeMerl. [oneshot, short] Fire Lord Zuko is overthrown, and no one but him is bothered at all. In fact they help. Hilarious crack.

First Name Basis by JoeMerl. [oneshot, short] There’s some popular posts going around Tumblr lately about Zuko not knowing the Gaang’s names, but this fic did it first back in 2008. As amusing as you’d expect.

Male Bonding by glamaphonic. [oneshot, short] The original ‘Zuko and Sokka bond and are also dumb idiot boys’ fic. Katara is permanently rolling her eyes.

it’s not the waking, it’s the rising by isamagicdragon, thegracious [ongoing, series, medium] Azulon tells Ozai to kill Azula instead of Zuko, which leads to heartwrenching fire sibs adventure. I haven’t caught up on the last chapter yet but god is it fantastic and also just a really interesting and new perspective on what could have happened.

Doe-Eyed by Anonymous. [complete, medium] Zuko is a baby, Azula is a loving big sister. More fire sibs and a great exploration on Azula’s POV of turning against Ozai.

kintsugi by discordiansamba. [ongoing, series, long] Zuko doesn’t have Iroh after being banished, and winds up hired as a guard to protect the frail Beifong daughter. Fantastic preseries Zuko+Toph found family fic.

Legacies by WildInkling. [ongoing, medium] Far in the future, a historian studies the journal of Fire Lord Zuko. Also, he was secretly a famous author but no one knows. A funny and poignant outsider POV.

#UndercoverZuko series by naggeluide. [complete, series, short] A completely cracky concept written straight enough to be actually quite touching in parts, but also just really funny. Zuko goes Undercover Boss on his ship pre-series.

Avatar Ficlets by JaggedCliffs. [series, oneshots, short] An ongoing series of disconnected oneshots, mostly post-canon and mostly Zuko-centric. Some a pretty fun, one is a great view on Zuko and lightningbending, all worth the read (and follow for when more come out).

The Blind Leading the Blue by BrusselsSprout. [ongoing, medium] An epic Zuko and Toph field trip set in S2. I love them and this.

half in the shadows, half burned in flames by r_astra. [oneshot, short] Iroh dies, Zuko gets caught on the Day of Black Sun, everything ends up all right but damn does it hurt getting there.

A Tale of Earth and Fire by chiiyo86. [complete, medium] Zuko and Toph are married for Politics in a FN Wins AU, and follows them slowly bonding as friends to beginning a revolution. They’re married but it’s not romantic, just some good friendship.

Eight Principles of Yong by psocoptera. [oneshot, short] An exploration of immediate post-show FN politics (sort of), calligraphy, and Zuko. Also has some lovely non-fighting firebending; I always love when people explore other uses of bending.

Healing Properties of Cinder Sage by Dawen. [oneshot, short] Zuko gets very sick in the Western Air Temple. Some good interaction when he’s new to the Gaang, and Toph+Zuko friendship.

We Ourselves Must Walk The Path by WinterSky101. [complete, medium] The Gaang agrees to make Zuko their prisoner in the WAT. Speaking of new-to-the-Gaang, tension, this fic has plenty of it, and also features some good Toph and Zuko.

Frozen by Aris Merquoni. [oneshot, medium] Zuko is captured in the NWT. Some politics, lots of angst, and eventually, healing. Also actually makes me somewhat like Hahn? Incredibly enough.

Reluctant Hero by PAW_07. [ongoing, long] Avatar!Zuko fic. I got to beta it way back when for a little while before I got too busy, and have always been a huge fan of this fic. Great concept, one of the best executions of it I’ve seen, and also one of the first. Definitely read this.

Morality Chain by Pureauthor. [abandoned, long] Azula and Zuko were always on each other’s side; how this changes canon. I love this concept and would happily read a lot more fics with it (please guys, I need more fire sibs).

A viper-lizard’s tales series by Yumi_Take. [ongoing, long] The world needs more of Zuko adopting pets and small children, and those are just facts. This only has one of the two, but it’s a EK baby! Jet plays a big role in this fic as well, a weird kind of uncle-ish to the baby/friend/murderer Zuko needs to watch closely and hold back kind of thing.

(life happens) wherever you are by howlikeagod. [ongoing, long] Katara doesn’t find Zuko and Iroh in the teashop, and canon takes a sharp left turn. Excellent Gaang fic.

The Best Path series by EudociaCovert. [series, ongoing, long] Zuko meets Jet in ‘Zuko Alone’ and winds up getting claimed as theirs by the remaining Freedom Fighters. Really really well-written, I got quite emotional over some scenes.

Shippy Zuko fic

Balm by Thyme In Her Eyes. [Maiko, oneshot, short] A sweet little fic about Mai’s thoughts on Zuko’s lightning scar.

The Black Games by Mrs. Pettyfer. [Zutara, complete, long] Hunger Games-esque AU. It’s the first in a series, and I lost interest after this one but I remember enjoying the fic and it was more personal preference rather than a drop in quality that had me leaving.

Lie To Me by Inkcharm. [Toko, oneshot, short] I’m not actually a fan of this pairing romatically (at least until years down the line), but this little fic of Toph and Zuko bonding through lying to one another is sweet. I choose to ignore the more shippy parts and enjoyed it.

Zutara? What the heck is that? by Ryxl. [Zutara, oneshot, short] Complete crack, have a good sense of humor and I think you will enjoy. Just the mental image of the Gaang finding a Zutara propaganda flyer had me chuckling.

The Three Chores series (1, 2, 3) by Fandomme. [Zutara, threeshot, short] Zuko and Katara slowly bond as he helps with chores. I will admit it’s been years and I barely remember this, but what I do recall is lovely and I always appreciate people lightening Katara’s load.

read the inscription by suzukiblu. [Zuko/Song, complete, series, medium] When Zuko is banished, he is left alone in the Earth Kingdom to fend for himself. Very touching, and I love Song in this.

Hooked by TGP. [Jetko, complete, long] A classic ‘Jet didn’t see Iroh warming his tea’ fic. They’re almost all this premise but so many well-written and very long ones. 

Something To Hold Onto by Wildgoosery. [Jetko, complete, long] The EK fell and Li stayed to fight with the Freedom Fighters to protect the city during its foreign rule. Jet didn’t see the tea fic that goes very AU from canon.

Foxfire by Rahar_Moonfire. [Jetko, ongoing, long] Zuko loses his memories Jetko fic, but with heavy spirit influence and lovable EK OCs, both of which I adore and should be in far more fics.

Once Upon A Teashop by anaer. [Zukka, Jetko, ongoing, long] Cracky Ba Sing Se AU that gets gradually more and more serious. Jet hits on Zuko a lot and Sokka gets a job in the teashop to keep an eye on both of them. Endgame Zukka but heavy Jetko, and both pairings are handled pretty well, not a love triangle that makes me too mad, although as always bear in mind Jet’s messed up. 

Names by TGP. [Jetko, complete, long] I feel like I’m forgetting some more excellent Amnesia!Zuko fics, but this is one I do know of. To be honest I don’t remember it super well because it may be mixed up with other Jetko/amnesia fics in my mind, but I think it was really good. I’ll have to reread myself.

Epistles by Lady_of_the_Flowers. [Zukka, ongoing, long] I love epistolary fic and I love Zuko and Sokka bonding earlier in canon. I will be honest I haven’t read this in a long time and been updating all the while, but the premise alone (Zuko and Sokka become messenger-hawk-pals in S1 and then fall in love) is fantastic. 

Ozymandias, King of Kings by Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought. [Zukka, ongoing, long] Zuko rebels earlier and actually is sent to the mines, until he is ‘rescued’ by the Water Tribe. Dark but getting lighter over time, and more reluctant-to-rule Zuko which always wrenches my heartstrings. I prefer super loyal and dutiful to his people Zuko but this trope always makes me feel things.

Crossovers

Fallen Drops of Fire by Chasmfiend. [Fullmetal Alchemist, ongoing] Young Azula and Zuko somehow appear in Amestris, and encounter Roy Mustang. I adore the fire sibs, and their relationship in this strange situation is the star of this fic for me, but it’s also fun seeing the FMA perspective of these two.

The Dragon-King’s Temple by Kryal. [Stargate SG-1, long, complete] The best crossover fic out there. Zuko and Toph get stranded on the other side of a Stargate. I don’t know anything about SG-1 but it didn’t matter, the fic was fantastic, they were badasses, it explored language and culture from an outside perspective, and it was just a ton of fun. Must-read.

Other character fic

Loyalty by Julia451. [oneshot, short] The ship captain didn’t misspeak when he called Iroh and Zuko “prisoners” in the start of S2. A lovely look at a nameless character, giving depth to a small moment and humanity to a FN soldier which I always love.

The Only One by HarlowR. [oneshot, short] An excellent exploration of Azula’s mindset regarding Zuko, her desperate need to be loved and jealousy of him matching his own. I think Azula was one of the greatest tragedies of the show, and this fic makes me feel it.

Blood by theAsh0. [oneshot, short] Katara-centric thinkpiece on bloodbending and healing. Dark but really interesting.

Touch and Go by Cadence. [oneshot, short] After Iroh’s struck by lightning, Toph doesn’t let Zuko drive them all away. A momentary alliance and the seeds of friendship. More Toph-focused but still heavy on the whole Gaang.

Shortcomings by Menamebephil. [oneshot, short] Iroh thoughts during his imprisonment, on the theme of mistakes. I love this man and don’t understand why I am so drawn to fic about him that makes me sad.

Watch And Review, Please by Becca Stareyes. [oneshot, short] The Ember Island Players receive some constructive criticism... sort of. Funny and quick.

Azula Redemption Trilogy (1, 2, 3) by Mistress of Sarcasm. [threeshot, short] Second person and deeply introspective, three short little fics delving into Azula’s head and bringing her closer to redemption.

Echoing Refrains by catie_writes_things. [oneshot, short] I really like nuanced explorations of the whole FN royal family. It’s perfectly fine to write Ozai as pure evil bastard, but exploring  what might have been or how he got there, or even as in this fic his talent for music being inherited by Zuko is really interesting too. Iroh-centric.

our curse by ohmygodwhy, and the last dragon by thesometimeswarrior. [twoshot, complete, short] Stay away if you don’t like to cry. In the first Zuko learns Ozai is executing Iroh, and isn’t able to stop it; the second is even worse because it’s Iroh’s POV. I put this in the other characters section because honestly I adore the second fic even more than the first, but they are both fantastically written and will hurt you a very great deal.

Finally, I’m not quite bold enough to put my own fic on a reclist, but just shameless enough to mention I’ve written a few Avatar fics I quite like if anyone feels the desire to check them out on my AO3. ;) But seriously give love to all the rest of these, they deserve it. (And as I said, there’s lots more excellent stuff, this fandom is so prolific and well-written!)

[antchurch]

Hey can you please rec me your fave avatar fanfics?

i would be Honoured to

this is going to be a heavily zukka themed list as they recently became my top tagged ship on ao3 (im there @ jiminie if u want to see any more of my bookmarks) but i will endeavour to be more inclusive don't u worry !! these are all mostly pg - if there is sex it isn't the focus, mainly cause id feel weird rec’ing smut to a potential minor and also cause i don't need the judgement of my taste in porn but if u do want an 18+ rec lmk  the art of burning - zukka (eventually), canon divergence, ongoing - this might be one of my favourite fics ever, its a hadoka+ the watertribe come across zuko fic and i cannot recommend it enough have done some quality crying 2 this one xo what is living is burning - zukka, canon divergence, complete - BRO the canon divergence on this bad boy? so good - it had such a Mood, the tone is exquisite - - i cant say much without spoilers but trust me it goes Hard blue - zukka, canon divergence, complete - i may as well be recommending the bible here but i mean it when i say this has some of the best zuko character exploration that i’ve ever experienced it deserves all the love it gets!! the spirit stone - zukka, canon divergence, ongoing - zuko imprisoned by the fire nation? very cool ideas going on here, can’t wait to see where it goes!!! what you’re meant for - zukka, post-canon, complete - ambassador sokka saved the world! jk but like this is a really interestingly written fic, i love the epistolary style and its really satisfying to see a political system become unfucked. i wish i could be more articulate cause this fic rlly deserves that but im clow n

more below the cut cause it got long ;)

boy problems - zukka, post-canon, complete - this boy can fit so much angst in him!! this also has some excellent mailee content s/o to my lesbians xoxo swords of fate, pride of heart - zukka, alternate universe complete - zukka zoom uni au! did this fic hit entirely too hard for me as a uni student on zoom? why yes. do i also want to fall in love with a boy over zoom because of swords? also yes say you like your shirt soggy - zukka, alternate universe, complete - this is just good vibes aman falling in love n doing dishes its all we want - excellent hakoda content here !! very good if u desire better parental figures!! Flow Like Fire - canon divergence, ongoing - zuko is an airbender au that slaPs - also our first none zukka one look at me having range! but very very good its so clever in how zuko figures shit out i really enjoy the world building on this one blue's clues - zukka, alternate universe, complete - modern au where the blue spirit is a vigilante - its so fun to read and has sexy spiderman vibes big love 2 this one tell me a story - zukka, post-canon, complete - this will rip ur heart out!! izumi likes being read stories! tw major character death xox goodbye to fathers - canon compliant, complete - hakoda and zuko have a talk and ozai just sucks - good hakoda dad vibes and adults being responsible love it lighthouse beam - zukka, alternate universe, complete - uni au again!! very cute and disabled zuko rep!! love 2 see it  - so much pining my dude when the sun sets, and the moon follows - zukka, post canon, complete - this is an elderly gaang fic, so if ur constantly thinking abt grief like i am this is Right up ur street - tw major character death but so worth it.  Baby Hotline, please hold (me close to you) - zukka, alternate universe, complete - this shit is hilarious boys, fbi agent zuko and engineer sokka its a great time  Mass Times Acceleration - zukka, alternate universe, complete - this is a masterpiece, zukka roast trip au just very good painful feelings big fucking fan here man i would die 4 this fic survival will not be the hardest part - azula-centric, canon compliant, complete - beautiful azula character piece really rich and painful also lowkey sapphic Look How Far We've Come - zukka, alternate universe, complete - this whole series is insane!! daemons au!!! such good worldbuilding amazing character work fucking phenomenal man rain dance - aang-centric, canon compliant, complete - beautiful, beautiful aang piece about airbender culture and loss if u read any of these pls make it this one Intimate Counselors - zukka, post canon, complete - fucking hilarious zuko buys shit for sokka plot very good very fun honestly a joy 2 read might read it right now when im done with this list studying the blade - zukka, alternate universe, complete - social media au!! great gang dynamics n super fun!!!! kintsugi - toph+zuko bros 4 eva, canon divergence, complete? but only sorta cause the whole series isn't complete but its So good such a good reworking of the plot aaa it just goes hard man its the toph n zuko content u deserve spring comes to caldera - zukka, post canon, complete - ambassador sokka is back baybe and its so fucking good - great azula stuff here, really well developed pining, the full works figures 1-5: killing gods - zukka, canon divergence but only a lil, complete - a really lyrical and althetic exploration of zuko. feels like catharsis (do you take this jerk to be) your one and only - zukka, canon divergence, complete - hehehe proposal related hijinks love 2 see it yue is here n its great the art of charting the stars - zukka, post canon, complete - beautiful star gazing theme and gorgeous pining this is iconic i love it  speak ill - zukka, alternate universe, complete - sometimes u just need to call ozai a bastard. immaculate wow long list - sorry abt that!! but it really could have been easily twice as long aha

i hope i’ve managed to rec u something new and that u enjoy any of these and thank u so much for the ask~~~