#divorced zukka even

[bisexuallsokka]

'divorced zukka is toxic' 'divorced zukka is unnecessary angst' you fundamentally misunderstand the entire concept i cant help you <3

[momos-servants]

Thinking of lowkey toxic Zukka with Lana lyrics

“Don't say you need me when

You leave and you leave again

I'm stronger than all my men

Except for you

Don't say you need me if

You live last, you're leaving

I can't do it, I can't do it”

Maybe, whether it's Sokka or Zuko, one of them attempts to rekindle their past romance. However, it becomes apparent that their relationship is over. Both are aware that it's a futile attempt, yet they struggle to release their grip on one another. Their interactions are now limited to awkward glances and small conversations, but even that seems irreplaceable. The frustration of moving on lingers, yet they find themselves inevitably drawn back to one another. Maybe Zuko grows angry seeing Sokka trying to date again and sends out desperate attempts to rekindle their relationship. Maybe Sokka crumbles, knowing as much as he desires to feel Zuko’s touch again, he’s not what he needs.

[fishfiesta]

that post thats been floating around zukka tumblr about how zukka is a captivating ship not just because it works but because it has the potential not to.

not even the potential, it’s doomed to fail. divorced zukka is so riveting because it is the embodiment of knowing the consequences but trying your luck anyway. of having read the book but hoping for a different ending this time.

every. time.

they fly until they fall, they crash until they burn, they love until they can’t stand each other.

It’s not just enemies to friends to lovers, it’s a secret third thing: doomed by the narrative!!!

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Zutaras and even Zukkas to this day claim that Mai and Zuko wouldn’t be compatible because Mai never showed any care about the world/morality/politics which makes her an abhorrent match to their precious Fire lord.

That is the closest they ever got to a minimally logical argument and it still falls apart super quickly when you think about it.

First, we don't know what a Fire Lady actually does, as all the Fire Lords we saw in the show before Zuko were widowed/divorced. Maybe it is a role that offers great political power. Maybe it just means you're supposed to stand next to your husband looking pretty and giving him kids every now and then.

And regardless of what the role used to mean, Zuko's whole deal as Fire Lord will be changing nearly everything about how their nation works - if the role of Fire Lady really was incompatible with how Mai wants to live her life, he could just change it to better suit her as he is quite literally the person with the most power in their country and his word is the law.

And while Mai is amoral/apolitical, her actions in books 2 and 3 did show us that she is very capable and willing to:

1 - Fight when necessary (without killing people as the show's rating wouldn't allow for cutting throats and stabbing a motherfucker in the eye, which will come in handy with Zuko's idea for an era of peace, mercy and kindness).

2 - Try to give Zuko some emotional support when things aren't going his way (see Nightmares and Daydreams, aka the episode Mai haters pretend doesn't exist).

3 - Trust that Zuko is making the right call and supporting him fully even as he is doing something that goes directly against what she was taught her whole life (see The Boiling Rock Part 2, aka the other episode Mai haters pretend doesn't exist).

4 - Infiltrate a city and basically act as a spy.

5 - Be a team player.

6 - Just basically take action - THAT is why she didn't like her life in Omashu. She had literally NOTHING to do. It wasn't because politics are boring or whatever the fuck.

So yeah, Mai would not be this disaster Fire Lady, or completely uninterested in helping Zuko. And it's VERY bold of Zutara and Zukka fans to act like the fact that she likes fighting more than the political game is some "gotcha" against Maiko fans, when Katara's whole deal was wanting to have fun, see the world, fight, and learn more about HER culture, and Sokka wants to be like his dad - aka chief of the WATER TRIBE.

Like, say what you will about Mai, but at least we know that after the events of the show she would be in the same country as Zuko. Katara and Sokka meanwhile are likely going to split their time between being home with their family and traveling around with Aang - how is that a good match for the Fire Lord?

And that's when we think of Zuko just as a ruler. If we think of him as a person choosing what makes him happy, we have to remember that HE CHOSE MAI, not Katara, not Sokka, not anyone else, MAI.

I rest my fucking case.

[gaybd1]

and I’m also gonna do THAT

I’m gonna do it gOD DAMN IT

[adriancatrin]

Best Zukka fic recs and/or Azula centric fics (bonus points for both!) I'm desperate for more content.

(digging thru my bookmarks) hoo boy ok let's see

i'm gonna put a cut because this might be long!! idk what all of the zukka 'classics' you've read so i just included 'em if they're my faves. list is in no particular order, pls heed warnings/tags on AO3 as some include potentially triggering content ~

like the sun inside of you by ofherlionheart: Zuko is sixteen years old when he’s handed a crown, a throne, and a hundred-year ancestral legacy of colonial imperialism. He’s not scared of the work; he’s scared of being consumed by the responsibilities and burdens he’s claimed. What Zuko doesn’t quite realize, yet, is that he’s not alone in this. Still in progress, one chapter left to go. Very slow-burn Zukka, and some great Azula stuff

To Cleave These Roots We've Made by Erisenyo: Sokka and Zuko have been roommates and best friends through college and graduation, through first jobs and new jobs and promotions, through friends getting married and sisters being pregnant and everything in between. But that all ends in four days. Four days to pack up an apartment. Four days before Zuko goes to law school and Sokka stays behind. Four days to untangle two lives that Sokka and Zuko have spent ten years weaving together. Can you call it a divorce, if you were never actually together in the first place? I don't remember Azula's involvement in this, but gosh darn it's a good one

i won't stumble as i follow down this path (cause words that are spoken are just other things to have) by jublis: It takes Zuko one year to visit his sister again. Featuring birthday weeks, struggling with your own goodness, and a future. Pretty sure this is a Zukki, ft. Azula very heavily

Destiny in the details by salytierra: Sokka heard that story before. Of course he did, the turning point of Zuko's destiny, the single bravest and most noble (or stupid) thing he's ever done. He retold the thoughts that went through his head back then, the repercussions... but he left out a single detail. And it's that detail that changes everything.  I need to see his soulmark. Sokka thinks, heart hammering in his chest. Fantastic post-canon soulmate AU. Azula's not in it, though

Divine Intervention by AggressiveStress: Sokka has had a lot of dates but they never stick around and he doesn’t know why. Literally everyone else knows why. Honestly I don't remember much about this one I just know I really liked it hahaha

Maybe I Don't Want Heaven by inkfingers_mcgee: Zuko does not realize that he wants to break up with Mai until she says, “We need to talk about us,” with an unmistakable finality, and the candles around his meditation mat don’t even flicker. // Five years after ascending the throne, Zuko reaches yet another crossroads of self. Sokka helps him through it. Mai incites national legislative reform. Azula is listed as a character in this one but I don't remember her role. The fic is great though. slow burn in case u haven't caught onto the trend of my fave fics yet haha

Of Tea and Turtle Ducks (and the Turtle Duck Guy) by Erisenyo: Sokka is nothing if not enthusiastic about his interests--Learning. Campus traditions. The campus turtle ducks. The guy who's watching the ducks so intently this year.  Zuko is nothing if not intense about duck watching. (It's not really about the ducks.) (Is it ever?) No Azula again but gosh darn it this fic is so cute. (expect more erisenyo on this list whoops)

this ultraviolet morning light by GallifreyanFairytale: sokka and zuko break up, make up, go undercover, thwart a rebellion, watch the sunrise, and change the course of fire nation history. not necessarily in that order. I don't remember the level of Azula's involvement in this fic, but I do remember she's in recovery and Zuko thinks about her a fair amount.

Empty Bodies, Empty Smiles by attackfish: Zuko sorts through the wreckage of his childhood and comes across a doll given to his sister. Not a shipping fic, just a character study of sorts of Azula as a child. It's... very sad, but incredibly nuanced in its understanding of her as a very unhappy and unfortunately disturbed child

Will We Last the Night by CSHfic/VSfic: Chief Arnook never assigns Sokka to protect Princess Yue, so he goes to fight the Fire Nation with the other men. When the moon dies, and the ocean spirit takes its revenge, Sokka is caught standing on the deck of a Fire Nation ship. Sokka should have drowned… and he would have drowned, if not for a certain Fire Nation raft fleeing the North Pole. An enemies-to-lovers season 2 rewrite, where Sokka is separated from the gaang during the Siege of the North, and travels the Earth Kingdom with Zuko instead Azula is just S2 Azula w/o redemption I believe, but my goodness the Zukka is just so. SO sweet

Burning Bright by Erisenyo: On a particularly hopeless night, Zuko sends out a messenger hawk to nowhere. He didn’t realize that his messenger hawk is deeply committed to completing the job. And that Sokka happens to be traveling straight through nowhere, at the time. I'm currently rereading this series for the umpteenth time, it's amazing, highly recommend, Azula is hyper intriguing in it too w/ a very complicated relationship with Zuko

All's Fair by Lovely_Elbow_Leech: Book one ends with two major diffrences: 1. Sokka went on the mission with Hahn (it did not go well) 2. Zhao survives the North Pole and that proves unfortunate for everybody (except Zhao, obviously)  Imprisoned on Zhao’s war ship, Sokka and Zuko have to work together to survive. They are not very enthusiastic about this prospect.  And they argue. A lot. Another of my top faves. Book 2 is in progress

Real Slow by surveycorpsjean: “I see.” Zuko closes the scroll. “Is the Water Tribe sending a replacement?" “Uh yeah,” Sokka gestures to himself dramatically. “You’re looking at him.” No Azula I believe but heckin' slow burn

this is a gift (it comes with a price) by WitchofEndor: There is a ghost on the Wani. But the crew have grown used to - even fond of - Prince Zuko. And no matter how many times General Iroh tries to gently explain the boy’s predicament, tries to suggest that he might attempt to move on, Prince Zuko can always be found watching the sea. There is a prisoner in the palace. Not Zukka, but the relationships in it are fantastic, including Azula and Zuko.

 While Mighty Oaks Do Fall by WitchofEndor: The newly-crowned Fire Lord Ozai offers his firstborn son to service in the temple. This turns out to be a catastrophic mistake. Wacky crazy fic. There's something funky fresh happening with Azula, but it's an in-progress fic so. who knows where it'll go

I probably don't need to include The Art of Burning but it's in my fave bookmarks so. Same for Blue

Also in retrospect I have a lot of issues with this fic, but here's my post-canon Zukka w/ Azula redemption fic: New Heights

[lizardlicks]

WIP meme: Divorced Zukka, DIVORCED ZUKKA

I feel the the need to emphasize the quotation marks are definitely a big part of the concept here lmao

This is one that currently doesn't have a WIP proper started, only a file with notes about the idea.

So it starts out with the knowledge that several IRL circumpolar cultures don't have super elaborate marriage traditions; you're married when you choose to move in with your partner and combine your households. Divorce works the same way but in reverse. Enter zukka.

In this AU Iroh took the throne (or just took over as regent for a little while) post show canon. Zuko and Sokka currently both work as liaisons/ambassadors for their respective countries in Ba Sing Se. It gets them experience in world politics and gives them an opportunity to build connections without the same pressures as making the actual on the ground leadership choices with long term repercussions. As representatives of their nations, and knowing each other so well anyway, they end up working together on several new projects, and since they work together often, with late nights common, and rent in Ba Sing Se isn't exactly cheap, even with the Fire Lord's coffers backing it, it just makes the most sense for them to end up sharing a dwelling together.

Surprise! This is also secretly a "oh my god they were roommates" AU too

cue one day the Gaang is all in town at the same time, so they decided to meet up and grab lunch together. post meal conversation turns to future planning and since it's been on their minds and they want the input from their family, Katara and Aang bring up that they've been trying to plan a wedding but it's been more complicated than they had initially thought. Air Monks don't have wedding traditions exactly, tho they do have some sort of dedication ceremony, and they can't exactly do it Watertribe style because Aang doesn't really have possessions to move into a place with Katara, nor does he have a residence for Katara to move her stuff into

Zuko, confused and slightly alarmed, interrupts because wait… Hang on…. WHAT!? is THAT how they do it in the Watertribe??? SOKKA ARE WE MARRIED!??

"What? No. Its-- well see the thing is…. but we're in the earth kingdom-- Katara, help me out here?" Katara, very obviously trying to restrain her laughter: "I thought you knew! We all just assumed!" "Is that why I got a shovel talk no less than three times the last time we went south!?" "Ooh spirits, we're married." "Sokka. Sokka we have been married for almost a year and no one told Uncle."

This prompts a mad dash scramble attempt to "divorce" by getting separate places, sorting out, separating and moving out all their stuff…. but it turns into sulking, mutual pining, and revelation of their REAL FEELINGS that they've both been very pointedly ignoring this whole time. Shenanigans, angst, revelations and then happy ending with official zukka marriage WOOO

[bisexuallsokka]

you know,,,the tumblr trending system is a joke and anything will trend as long as a bunch of people decide to post about it at the same time. so where i am going with this, as co-general, i believe it would be funny if, by chance,

here's the thing

if (when?) we organize a massive divorced zukka day there are two possible outcomes:

we are successful in getting divorced zukka to trend. everyone unfamiliar with the concept is extremely confused. ztaras think the evil is defeated but really we are stronger than ever. we teehee we giggle we even ha ha. it's a beautiful and glorious day.

we are not successful in getting divorced zukka to trend, but there is a fuckton of new divorced zukka content in the world. dozens of new posts to circulate and go insane over. we probably convert more people to our cause.

like...there is no scenario in which we as co-generals of divorced zukka nation lose.....i see the vision....

[theolddivorcedzukka]

top five divorced zukka moments? 🤔

you know i think the funniest thing about this ask is that the moments i’m about to mention are things that non-divorced zukka fans don’t even know about or understand but divorced zukka fans not only know about it and understand it but they either Saw the scene in their brain or Read the scene in a brain fic. we’re all connected to have the same visions

1. the failed proposal. everybody loves it when the person that’s never stayed for anyone stays for Someone and then that someone leaves. everybody loves that

2. umm umm when sokka came back to the fire nation thinking the assassination attempts were on zuko but they were on izumi??? and this changed everything cause even if he was terrified that anything would happen to zuko, he knew zuko could handle himself but this was izumi and he knew she was his weakness and he knew zuko couldn’t handle this on his own so then he just??? stays??? refuses to leave him on this??? wtf

3. mid divorce hookups okay you won me over jo. i think it’s funny. but even then i feel like they don’t Know exactly how the other feels like you’re alone and I’m alone….lets not think about this at all

4. that one time sokka almost died for zuko and izumi and zuko thought sokka was gonna die thinking that zuko didn’t love him? and then he wakes up and zuko gets his chance to do so and they realize that just like this assassination attempt, a hundred more could come and there will never be a right time but they only have one life to spend together and if they keep waiting for things to get easier and for the circumstances to be just right, nothing will ever happen. and despite fearing what people will think, despite knowing the assassination attempts will be more and more frequent, despite despite despite they still do it.

5. sokka death scene amv lmaooo get dunked on loser. this time around, he does die sacrificing himself for zuko and korra. this time, there’s no second chance for him and zuko holds him and tries to save him but they both know it’s too much for him to make it past this and sokka tries to calm zuko down even if he himself is terrified because what about katara, what about izumi, what about zuko, who’s going to take care of his family when he’s gone when it’s all he’s ever done? and they both wish they could have had more time but they know whatever they had left was spent just right. and then he serves and he dies lmao.

[zukkaart]

Okay LISTEN

I don’t jump on the divorced Zukka bandwagon- not because it’s stupid or invalid but because it makes sense and I hate it because I want them to be domestic and happy until they’re grey and old okay???????

That being said

“Bleach” from 5sos5 gave me a thought-

So we know that cutting your hair is generally seen as a formal act of losing a part of yourself or your nation. Seen very clearly here- Iroh and Zuko cut their hair off when they realize they no longer have a home to return to.

A little more indirectly when zuko shaves everything except his top knot after being banished as a sign of his exile and dishonor but still tied to the fire nation.

And even a little MORE indirectly when we see Azula cut her own hair- not out of solemn realization or dishonor but because she is LITERALLY losing pieces of herself to her madness

All this to say

(Sorry I went on a bit of a tangent there)

And IF Sokka and Zuko DID break up or get a divorce it would be seen as improper for the fire lord to cut his hair over something so “trivial”

After all Ozai didn’t alter his when Ursa left

SO I think Zuko would probably try everything possible to alter his hair without actually cutting it. I.e. braiding, hiding under hoods, etc.

I think he would even go as far as to bleach his hair- especially if they really did get divorced because even though there was no love lost- their lifestyles of being leaders of separate nations just couldn’t cope. He’d start a little at first- just a few strands on the underneath where no one could see done by himself late at night.

Little by little he realizes “cleansing” little pieces of him makes him feel the slightest bit better because the man in the mirror is starting to look less and less like the man who Sokka loved, who loved Sokka…

Obviously he couldn’t bleach all of his hair but imagine Sokka comes to the Fire Nation as his Ambassador and Chief status requires to find Zuko with one stark strip of white cutting through the right side of his hair, he looks closer and finds the smaller- subtler ones in the under layers, some obviously more well done than the others, some faded with time.

Imagine Zuko finally turning to lock eyes with him- but before he can get a word out to explain Sokka reaches up and brushes the light strip that leads into his topknot.

“What’s this?” He asks, dangerously closer than most Ambassadors should be to their hosts.

“An experiment” Zuko says quickly, unsure why he chose those words in particular, but Sokka is a scientist right? He’ll understand.

“Oh,” The playful smile drops from the darker boys features, although Zuko is unsure why.

“Does it bother you?” The words came out more defensively than Zuko meant. Why should he care now anyway?

“Not at all it’s just…” nothing. Everything.

All the words Sokka left unsaid somehow came down to this one white strip of hair, as white as Yues. The truth was that he had hoped Zuko would tell him that he had no idea where it came from, letting Sokka come to the logical conclusion that it was in fact Yue who had blessed him, and he could take it as a sign that he and Zuko were meant to be together. That they could make it work this time if they really tried. Spirits knew that stuff right?

It doesn’t matter now. The hair was fake. For whatever reason Zuko had done it on purpose. It unsettled Sokka in a way he didn’t expect.

“Sorry” He snapped out of his own thoughts. “It just looks so different from the pictures I have, it looks good though.” Sokka offered a timid smile.

Zuko stiffened imperceptibly at that but still responded in kind. “Thank you, I should go. I have others to greet before dinner.” His voice did not waiver but his mind raced. He still has pictures of me? Of us? And he looks at them? Zuko hadn’t been able to do that for months.

“Of course” And when Sokka turned to leave Zuko noticed something. A thin strip of leather braided in to the underside of Sokkas wolf tail, dyed such a deep shade of red that it almost blended in to his hair, but Zuko noticed, because Zuko always noticed.

It was the same strip of leather that Zuko had used to tie his topknot with on his first visit to the South Pole. Deeper in color than his usual choice because he didn’t want to stick out too much, but Sokka had protested anyway, gently pulling it out of his hair and replacing it with one of brilliant blue, a color as deep as the ocean but somehow still as alluring as a familiar set of eyes. At the time, he would have gladly drowned in both.

That was 15 years ago now, when Zuko hadn’t even been brave enough to hold his hand.

Sokka had kept it. All this time. And now he was even wearing it - subtle as it may be. And Sokka was just the same, just the same, same blue eyes, same genuine smile, same gentle brush of fingers against his hair, the exact same Sokka. His Sokka.

Zukos hair was back to its natural color by morning.

[gaybd1]

okay but i AM thinking about Divorced Parent Zukka

Izumi living mostly full-time in the Fire Nation with Zuko because of politics and she’s the heir and blablabla

Izumi never feeling fully like she belongs among the Water Tribe because she so rarely gets to visit and learn the culture

Sokka and Izumi’s relationship doomed to get complicated as she grows up and wow if it isn’t too uncomfortably similar to Sokka’s relationship to his own dad as a teenager

Izumi not even able to talk about either of her dads with the other one because she’ll just get annoyed at their stubborn idiocy

Izumi being the one to FINALLY bring her stubborn dads back together when she’s an adult and can see they never stopped loving each other…

[koheletgirl]

dumb discourse idea is it problematic to add tis the damn season to a divorced zukka playlist as it implies that there is christmas therefore christianity in the atla universe? discuss. no not really i just had that thought

remember when i told you it was a divorced zukka song when you weren't even a swiftie.... now youre a reputation girl. sad

anyway tis the damn season is problematic because it implies christianity exists in real life

[sokkas-therapist]

divorced zukka but they’re divorced BECAUSE they wanted to be the first gay couple to get divorced. So immediate after same sex marriage is legalized they get married and then divorced that same afternoon

They’re still together tho, but they love telling people that they’re divorced :)

Like imagine- “aww, you two are so cute, are you together?” “No, we’re divorced 🥰”

[backhurtyy]

…alright @bisexuallsokka encouraged me so. i caved and made a divorced zukka playlist.

[petricorah]

zuko alone pt 2

lovingly inspired by this [ids in alt]

[bisexuallsokka]

a flavor of divorced zukka/i i enjoy but haven't really seen is codependency. these kids, who fought in a war together, latch onto each other, hoping to find comfort and safety, find it, then mistake it for love; they get together and it's great, until it isn't. they realize that it's not love, that they've been using each other as safety blankets. so they break it off; thinking (hoping) that they won't change, but being near each other becomes painful, so they give each other space. (1/2 sorry)

by the time they realize that the other(s) weren't just a comfort, they fear it's too late. [cue years of yearning] (2/2) (sorry, the ask word limit made me separate it)

OH WOW OH WOW OH WOW

not knowing what true love and security feels like so they assume they need to let go and move on but sike no it actually was love!! but everything is way too complicated now they can't just go back to being in love!