#i mean we always talk about zuko's friendship with katara and toph and even sokka before the romance (if you're down for zukka)

[littlestkoi-n]

I could talk about Aang and Zuko all day. they're everything and more.

[bluespiritshonour]

Somethings I noticed:

Katara, Suki and Azula are the only ones who haven't ever expressed any sort of misogynistic sentiment.

Aang would come a close second with minor mishaps here and there.

First, the girls:

Ty Lee, while fighting the Kyoshi Warriors: you're not prettier than we are.

Girl, where did that come from?

Mai has several instances of this when she says the Kyoshi Warriors’ uniforms are too girly (I don't mind her not liking how colourful they are; that's totally different) and later lowkey slut-shaming Ty Lee. And while she's rightfully unimpressed with Zuko's seashell (she's right Zuko, step-up your game) she could easily have countered his “Don't girls like these stuff?” the way Suki did with Sokka’s ideas about gendered generalisation. Also, you must have noticed that Mai's feminine too. She's just dark feminine to Ty Lee's light feminine.

Toph: she has absorbed a lot of toxic masculinity that's for sure. She isn't feminine, she light-heartedly teases Katara for being feminine and Aang too. She does give off the “one of the guys” vibes. You know which ones I'm talking about. “Are we going to watch two little girls fighting?” and later mocking Aang for his passivity.

But it is to be noted that Toph manages to do this without being racist to Aang. She's the one who mocks him the most about his pacifist beliefs (which are cultural to him) and she's kinda misogynistic the way she goes about it. But she's never racist to him. (I guess she is in the comics but fuck the comics). Even when Aang was really really nasty to her when Appa was stolen and she had every right to be mad at him—she wasn't. Given her age and her sheltered upbringing Toph's surprisingly mature. But I digress. Among the comics, I love the Lost Adventures only—and I love the spa day Katara and Toph have both in those comics and in the show. It feels like Toph's healing from that internalised misogyny? My reading of it is that just like girls in real world, Toph derides femininity because it has always been a chain to her. Her parents forced her to confirm so she hates it. But being friends with Katara probably let her heal that part of her. She's still not as feminine as Katara and mind you, nor should she be—let some girls never want to be feminine—it’s fine. But she learns to not to act out of a place of hurt.

Sokka: Sokka's misogyny was literally a plot point and he overcomes it. Also he and Aang have actually done drag and not been mocked for it. It's rare to see in media. The only other example I can think of is Good Omens.

His misogyny also feels kinda surface level (as opposed to Zuko in whom it's less obvious but seems more deeply ingrained).

Also. Zuko never did drag. Shame on him.

Aang: is the least misogynistic of the boys. The only instances I can think of are either kinda vague: when he tells Sokka that “It's nice dress!” It's kinda ambiguous if his tone was mocking or complimentary but it upsets Sokka nonetheless. And when he's upset at being played by a woman in Ember Island Players. The first time I watched it I felt it was OOC. But he was also kind of justified as it was racism and misogyny combined on behalf of the Fire Nation in portraying him that way.

Phew. These were purely my own opinions simply by the virtue of gender expression meaning different things to different people. I might say Mai is actually quite feminine while Toph isn't... But what even is considered masculine or feminine?

I love Katara and Toph's spa day because Toph learns that being girly wouldn't kill her—but she also doesn't suddenly become Ty Lee levels of feminine either. Some women just don't wanna be feminine. Oftentimes it's because femininity is derided by society itself—and that's something that one needs to heal from, like Toph did with Katara’s friendship—but everytime I've seen a story like that, the girl, upon realising that femininity isn't a bad thing is suddenly hyper-feminine.

Like, can we have them heal from internalised misogyny and still not wanna be feminine—even though they don't consider it bad or embarassing or fickle anymore?

Toph and Katara’s spa days do it perfectly.

When those girls mock Toph and Katara tells her she's pretty, I can't tell you much I loved it. The same feelings toward Suki’s “I am a warrior, but I'm a girl too.”

[roriaa]

When Sun and Moon meet - S3

Zuko x Fem!WaterBender!Reader Enemies to Lovers

As one of the Princesses of the Northern Water tribe, you were blessed with a gift by the moon. However you were permitted to be allowed to use the gift at all costs. From many hidden waterbending usages, the aftermath of the avatar visiting the Northern Tribe had led to your beginning journey, hiding yourself as a water bender as a princess from the Northern water tribe

Warnings: Scams, Explosions, attacks, arguing

Masterlist

҉ * ‧͙ ⋆ ⁺ ༓ ☾ Chapter 14 - Sparky-Sparky Boom Man!!

Everything was going great. We saved a polluted village even if Katara had to lie about being “the painted lady”, Sokka got trained by a swordsman even if he had to lie about him being from the fire nation only to admit it at the end and only to reveal that the master already knew from the star, and now we were getting chased by a…metal man…? Luckily riding Appa rescued us, especially Aang which I assume that Aang was the one mental man was going for. Currently we���re watching Aang in the spirit world on the previous Avatar Roku's home. Aang got up, his mind still in the spirit world and squatted, grunting while letting out gas. The rest of us looked at each other completely bewildered at what we saw. “Do they have bathrooms in the spirit world?” Katara asked, completely confused. “As a matter of fact, they do not.” Sokka answered. 

The sun was rising by the time Aang woke up, he told us everything about the history of Avatar Roku and Sozin. From the beginning to the end. Even though Toph said all fire nation people were born evil, Aang explained how Avatar Roku was just as fire nation as Sozin but didn't turn out that way. “Do you really think friendships can really last more than one lifetime?” Toph moved her head down to the rocky floor beneath us. I grabbed her hand with mine and so did Aang. “I don't see why not.” I lifted my hand out for Katara to grab which she accepted gratefully. “Well…scientifically speaking there is no way to prove that-” “Oh Sokka just hold hands” Katara cut off Sokka’s statement, holding out her hand for Sokka to grab. Only took a few seconds for Sokka to quickly reciprocate our actions.

Sokka and I peaked above the rocks to see Katara and Toph training Aang. However the training was cut short once Toph and Katara were attacking each other instead. “Hwaaah!! Sneak attack!” Sokka jumped up to run towards Aang. Unsurprisingly, Aang caught him even if he was blind folded. “Uh you two, aren't you guys supposed to be training Aang?” I ask in the midst of their fighting. Both Toph and Katara turn towards me and immediately stop attacking each other. “Very well pupil, I believe we had enough training for today” Katara said, walking away from the muddy mess Toph and her caused. “While Katara cleans up, let's go have some fun!” Toph said in determination, using her earth bending to get rid of the mud on her. “Yeah!!” Sokka and Aang said excitedly. “I pass, I'm going to go with Katara, you three have fun.”

  ҉   ☾

“Y/N I have been meaning to ask this for a while.” Katara spoke up midway after breaking the crab. “Yes?” I responded, waiting for her question. “When we were at Ba Sing Se…” I inhaled at the mere thought of Ba Sing Se, Katara heard but she still continued. “You did something to control my body when we were getting attacked by Azula and her friends.” Katara explained. “Do you think fire nation grabs would taste different than Water tribe crabs?” I asked, attempting to change the topic. “Y/N you know what im talking about.” I sighed deeply as I turned to her. “I blood bended Katara.” I said straightforwardly. “How?!” Katara moved closer to me. “I am not even sure how! It always happens when I'm in extreme danger.” I explained. “I am not a good water bender, I only had one trainer in Ba Sing Se but even then I'm still not experienced in water bending. When I get upset or scared even the clouds start to rain.” I continued on with my rant. “I can teach you!” Katara spoke up excitedly. “No Katara, focus on training Aang instead of me.” I laugh, brushing her off. “I wasn't even supposed to use water bending in the first place.” I muttered under my breath, having memories from the northern tribe. 

“Y/N, where we live only men are allowed to use waterbending, that's their job…to protect” My father turns me to show the boys learning how to water bend. I look at my own hands in disappointment. “Especially people like you and your sister, you're both very important to this nation”.

I snap out of my thoughts to see Sokka, Aang and Toph running towards us with baskets of supplies. Where on earth did they get that stuff? Katara immediately read my mind and asked “Where did you guys get the money to buy all this stuff?” Aang takes a bite out of the apple, responding with his mouth already full from chewing the apple 

“Toph got us money” he took a seat on top of the rocky texture of the ground to continue explaining “She scammed ones of those guys in town who moves shells around all sneaky-like”

Sokka interjected with his adlibs “She used earth bending to win the game, classic!”

However, Katara wasn't at all phased by what they’re saying, putting her hands on her hips “Ah, so she cheated” she states. Toph stopped midway her bite to defend herself “Hey, I only cheated because he was cheating”

I sweatdropped at their explanation “Aren't we already on the edge of getting caught? If you guys continue these scams we would have an additional problem.” 

Toph rolled her eyes at my reasonability, I simply sigh as a response. Kids her age are horribly stubborn. “I'm just saying, this isn't something we should make a habit of doing,” Katara said.

“Why? Because it’s fun, and you hate fun?”

How is this considered fun? Maybe other nations find this entertaining, in the northern tribe this isn't at all seen as a hobby. 

Aang stands up pulling his bandana a little back to show some visibility to his arrow on his forehead. “Katara, I’ll personally make you an avatar promise that we won’t make a habit of doing these scams” Aang bowed, showing his nation's promise. 

That promise didn't last however, this led to some arguing, disagreeing and distancing from each other. What took a huge turn was when Toph apologized to Katara only for Katara wanting to participate in a scam. I shook my leg up and down waiting for Toph and Katara to finish their scam. I personally found their scams to be dangerous but if you're the one initiating the scam first you really shouldn't complain when someone gives you the same taste of your medicine. Usually these scams take a lot shorter than this, they really should be finished by now. Clearly we all felt the same with the time they were taking and decided to start looking for them.

  ҉   ☾

“This place is completely empty” I said, while looking around confused. It wasn't even that late, people still come out during this time. “Where do you think they might be?” Sokka asked as Aang hummed in response “Where do you think everyone is?” I felt shivers up my spine, already turning my body to look back, suddenly I got yanked by Aang, moving me to dodge the attack. The explosion caused the area around us to smoke, making me cover my mouth and muttering a small thanks under my breath. “It's a sparky-sparky boom man!” Aang popped up. Sokka followed, rubbing his head from the impact “You know, I'm starting to think that name doesn’t quite fit.”

“Then decide to change it later!” I huffed, popping up next to Sokka. Another bullet comes forward to hit us, instantly making us run away. I use my water bending, attempting to aim at his face before another bullet flies straight at me, making me miss, aiming ice at his feet instead. He was unable to move for a second before aiming at Aang, making him fly above, slamming his head against the statue. Sokka and I internally wince from the contact. Suddenly we hear footsteps behind us, we turn around to see Katara and Toph. “Oh thank the spirits you're safe!” I said joyously. “Where’s aang?” Katara asked worriedly.

Shortly Katara blows ice directly at the metal man’s head, making him unable to hit the beams from his forehead. We pick up quickly before running away to Appa. “Hey I got it! The perfect name for that guy, Combustion man.” Sokka said excitedly. Toph immediately brushed away his response by giving an encouraging response that feels somewhat out of character for her.

<- Back - Next ->

a/n: guess who is back...and there is no Zuko mentioned... IM SORRY...So like I was planning on scrapping the whole idea of this chapter and just skip to Zuko meeting the gang (I have deleted more filler chapters) however it would be a waste cause I was like almost done with this chapter. So another filler chapter before yall get the tension between Zuko and Y/N. ANWAYS thank yall so much for waiting all these months, I was heavily unmotivated and I didnt have any interest for Zuko until now. My hyperfixations come and go at the most random times. Anyways take care of yourself!!

--

taglist: @luvkvni @katovano @karmaswitch @someonesmember @velvet-spider @sh3sa1dwhat @nerdisthenewcool @meiraloves2dmen @fqnfics101 @iluvme547 @leaderwon @yukihatesreoyo @heart4hees @4l3x1s @kkissaku @corpsebridenightamare @newjellis @fatkish@pbeckn26@jasminesacademia @kyo-kyo1 @fl9wey @icantwaittoliveandlearn @ddottie

DUE TO ME NOT POSTING ON TUMBLR IF YOU WANT TO BE ON THE TAGLIST OR YOU ASKED AND DIDNT RECIEVE PLEASE TELL ME, YOU WILL BE ADDED IN THE NEXT CHAPTERS

[dearestpartnerofgreatness]

🍬 and 🍄 !

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

I've talked about this before but I always imagined Aang and Katara spending the first year after their marriage traveling across the world to visit all their friends--Katara's family, the Northern Water Tribe, Teo and the Mechanist at the Temple, the Fire Nation school where Aang taught the kids to dance, Haru and his family, Uncle Iroh, King Bumi, the Freedom Fighters, Suki and the Warriors, the Swampbenders, Hei Bai's village, maybe even a stop at Makapu to confirm Aunt Wu's prediction all those years ago, etc. I just want them to spend their first year wrapped in friendship, hospitality, joy, and adventure as a celebration of their forever love!!!

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

Zuko is not the sage, wise, reasonable advice-giver in the group. Just because the guy grew up under Uncle Iroh's supervision does not mean he possesses the same qualities.

From the show, we know Aang can be that person, Katara of course can be that person, Suki could be that person if she has the full backstory to the situation, Sokka will probably be jokey/annoying about it but he can pull it off if it must be done, and even Toph can give good advice depending on the occasion. But Zuko is not the advice guy. He's the guy who awkwardly pats you on the back and says 'that's rough buddy'. I've seen Zuko depicted as the wise, levelheaded, therapist friend in so many fanfics recently, and I just...don't get it, lol.

[waterfire1848]

Dear person, youre on fire I freaking love your Azula / Azutara posts! Funny, adorable, angsty headcannons go!!!

Here's a few Azula prompts / questions. You don't have to answer (any or all) just throwing them out there if you want XD:

Azula (and Azutara) stans, what are some headcannons:

-Azula's humour?

-Azula big-time nerd? (Sokka friendship?)

-Azula raised as a soldier in a hardcore military family / environment?

-Azula growing up basically surrounded just by old people? (Lo and Li? Her vocabulary? Hobbies? Mannerisms?)

-Socially awkward Azula? (We know she can talk smooth as a lawyer and schools adults twice her age, but let her talk casually with people her age... its gonna be bad. The Gaang and or Mai and Tylees reactions lmao)

-Azula's friendship with Mai and Tylee? (Outside of the toxic time where they were all forced into the war pls)

LOVE your blog, your posts make my day.

❤🍎

Thanks for the ask!

Thank you so much! I’ve been having such a bad day and this really helped!

I will always answer Azula/Azutara prompts and headcanons.

- (Azula’s humor) Azula has a different style of humor I think. She lived her life in a military setting with Ozai as a dad so I wouldn’t be surprised if she thinks things like falling on your face are hilarious. Remember when Zuko laughed at the pirates getting their ship stole? That would be Azula’s whole sense of humor.

- (Azula big time nerd) 100%. She was just never allowed to show it because of Ozai, but after the war she infodumps about her latest mystery novel to anyone who will listen. While she healing a lot of that falls to Katara.

( Azula raised as a soldier in a hardcore military family / environment) - This could actually make an interesting modern AU now that I think about it, but it's still true. She grew up under her father's belief that she was going to be the next Firelord so she had to know military strategy, how to move troops, how to talk with enemies or other military leaders, etc. She and Sokka would be best friends after the war.

(Azula growing up basically surrounded just by old people? (Lo and Li? Her vocabulary? Hobbies? Mannerisms?)) Would this mean that she knows all the slang Aang uses. Like everyone else is confused when Aang says words like hotman and hotwoman but Azula responds correctly and confuses everyone. She might have a secret hobby that relates to her spending time with Lo and Li (I don't know what though).

Socially awkward Azula? I was just talking to @akiizayoi4869 about this! Katara, Suki and Toph would be shocked by Azula's lack of social understanding, but eventually (after laughing) they'd help. They would also be the ones to suggest Azula might be bad at flirting with guys because she likes girls (a relatively new concept to Azula, Mai and Ty Lee because they grew up in a nation where that's outlawed). Extending on that, Azula also doesn't know how to do some simply things like putting her hair up. Katara and Suki teach her how to do it in Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom fashion and Ty Lee teaches her the top knot.

Azula's friendship with Mai and Tylee? Since you specified outside the war....they do reconcile after Azula starts receiving treatment. At first she yells at them and doesn't even believe they're there, but after a few visits they start talking. Ty Lee is the first person who gets Azula to actually laugh. When Azula returns to the palace, Mai is waiting for her with cherry mochi. When Izumi is born, Azula is the first one (even before Iroh) who gets to hold her.

I'm so happy to hear that! I'm not kidding when I say that this really made my day. Thank you!

[sokkagatekeeper]

bestie did i read that right you CANNOT just say “haru had a brief fling with zuko” in the tags and leave it at THAT-

no but i WOULD like to hear about haru x zuko🤔🤔 (@i-hate-mayo)

yeah well maybe i need to stop talking so much in the tags. that said! me and @/zukkot crafted this scenario (about an 80% of a joke. give or take) in which haru has a brief fling with zuko at the western air temple, most importantly at the same time he has a fling with katara. now i know this sounds batshit but there’s a big comedic value to it.

reasons why haru should hook up with zuko and katara at the same time: it would be further proof of the fact that katara and zuko share the same taste in men (see: jet, who is also sokka-esque); it would mean katara and zuko share not only one, but two ex-boyfriends/boyfriend-adjacents; it would mean dumb teen romantic drama, and i think they deserve it; it would definitely strengthen their friendship. somehow!

people this fling would piss off: katara, for letting another tall boy with nice hair break her heart and for zuko of all people nonetheless; sokka, for being foced to remember the fact that katara and zuko have the same (SHITTY) taste in men; aang, who is deep down a twelve-year old in puppy love; ty lee, who is honestly a little tired of people breaking zuko’s little heart, even if it was kinda funny at one point

people this fling would be a fun little adventure to: haru! and do not misunderstand him, he might’ve made a mistake, but in his defense, he thought katara... knew. zuko knew he was having a fling with katara as well, why wouldn’t katara? overall this was a fun experience that served haru to understand he is, in fact, straight. now “why would haru experiment with zuko, fugitive prince of the fire nation, of all people?” the answer is that haru has no impulse control, next question; toph, who loves teen drama when it’s merely outside of her person but inside her social circle, and whose feet are very aware of everything that went down at the western air temple, is very amused as well.

people this fling would not piss off: zuko, whose heart was not, in fact, broken by haru. he might’ve been hooking up with haru but deep down he was pining after sokka the entire time, the poor thing. which also brings me to my next statement;

zuko can uh... forgive the mustache, when they’re at it. katara thinks it’s hot, sokka thinks it’s hideous, zuko thinks it’s... fine. whatever. five out of ten. but it’s definitely not a plus. zuko likes haru enough, and nothing more — he’s not a sokka, y’know. not even a jet. but that’s fine, because zuko is not looking for romance! he’s looking to distract himself from his embarassing crush on sokka, the crushing weight of uncertainity of not knowing if his uncle hates his guts or not, his imminent defeat and death and general mortality upon joining a 12 year-old’s rebel gang of child soldiers, etc. you know, typical teen boy stuff. so when haru off-handedly mentions katara, zuko is just like “huh. ok?” he simply doesn’t give a shit. good for him! katara on the other hand is not looking for romance on principle, not because haru wasn’t a good candidate, but because you know, the War. girl has her priorities. but haru is so sweet to her she has got to admit she sort of got a crush. now there’s two possible scenarios in which katara finds out;

first, during their last days at ember island, when sharing grief over jet, looking to lighten up the mood a little, zuko says “isn’t it crazy we share two entire ex-boyfriends” and katara is like “what.” and then zuko gets drenched instantly. there’s no witnesses; who’s to say what happened really. maybe a very big wave or something

OR, when toph says, “i knew you had a secret thing with haru!” at the same time katara and zuko, aka the exact same person defensively say, “NO I DID NOT—” and it goes downhill from there

either way. internally, katara is like, “haru wouldn’t do that” but then she concludes she actually doesn’t care that much about haru, and she thinks “i can’t believe ZUKO would do that!!!” and she gets back on her zuko-is-evil mindset the entire day — “you just had to colonize my love life as well, didn’t you???” they are back to being ride-or-die besties by the next morning tho.

upon these very public, very hilarous revelations, sokka sincerely believes it is his right to punch that dude. fuckboying it up not only with his bro, his boy bestie, his pal, his totally absolutely entirely platonic lohl (love of his life) etc etc, but also with his sister!! that is of course until zuko tells him no, haru did not break his heart (jet did tho. poor thing p2. good thing zuko broke his heart right back! but that’s for another post). zuko insists it was a meaningless fling for him, even if it angered katara to no end, and then it angered zuko because it angered katara, because they are both Like That. since then, sokka finds the situation... kinda funny.

so a year after the war has ended, aang and katara inevitably break up. the first thing sokka does upon hearing the news is go directly to zuko like, “if you go after aang i swear to god” and then zuko almost pukes a little. not about to make out with a twelve year old, y’know? (and actually, aang is fourteen at the time, but once you know someone at twelve at sixteen you always know them at twelve at sixteen. privately, aang thinks zuko is kinda ugly, anyway.) during the years aang and katara spend as just friends, katara and haru light up their little flame again for a little while. it’s fun, but it doesn’t last. there’s too much history there, y’know? sometimes zuko will visit and give haru the bad eye, and haru thinks it’s because he kinda broke zuko’s heart, but in reality it’s because he broke katara’s heart and made her angry, and zuko can hold a grudge. eventually tho aang and katara get back together because they go really hard on fate and soulmates. zuko thinks it’s perfectly reasonable, and sokka & toph don’t want to ruin their beautiful love story just yet, so they keep quiet. when sokka and zuko get together, katara looks at zuko straight in the eye and says “no.” and zuko points at aang, and says “no.” so their shared type in men comes to an amiable end.

that is, until one night at a sleepover. zuko takes a sip of his tea (alcohol) and says, “jet was kinda like sokka, though” and katara says “No.” but zuko keeps going, also pretty horrified, “and haru is kinda like aang” and katara says “STOP.” and they happily agree to never speak of any of it ever again.

[that-was-anticlimactic]

Yes hi, I'd love to know more about your tourettes sokka hc if you're up for it 👀 I'm starving for tourettes hcs so 👀

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!! I can talk about this SO MUCH (I will warn now, there will be some Zukka in this) okay so I guess I’ll start at the beginning...

Sokka was six when he started showing symptoms

It started with just some motor tics but everyone kind of just attributed it to this kid has a lot of energy ahhh

It became more noticeable when he kept almost killing himself with weapons because of his tics and slight carelessness

That’s one reason why he loves boomerang so much, none of the other weapons felt right to him and they would always get in the way of his tics, but he could throw boomerang and it would come back to him so he could keep throwing it and it made him feel calm

Then, Sokka started saying stuff that he didn’t mean to say, but again, everyone was just like hyper kid because it’s not like he was doing anything wrong

But they realized something was up when Sokka started yelling “FIRE NATION” without intending to and sending the whole tribe in a panic

So, Hakoda took Sokka to a nearby trustworthy Earth Kingdom village and that’s where Sokka got diagnosed with Tourette’s (and ADHD)

One of the things with Sokka is touch, like, he feels like touch is constricting and restraining sometimes. The problem is, he LOVES touch, he is a touchy person, but when someone touches him without telling him first or asking him, he doesn’t like it.

Sometimes he mentally shuts down when it happens, sometimes he tics more, the reaction depends on his anxiety levels and who touched him and when and where

The only people he gave a pass to was Kya and Katara. He didn’t even like it when Hakoda put a hand on his shoulder.

It was weird, he could feel the difference when Katara and Kya touched him compared to anyone else and he felt bad because he wanted his dad to hug him, but it felt so wrong

So, Sokka loves touch, but he likes to initiate it

So, moving forward, Sokka and Katara meet Aang, he’s the Avatar, they join and you know, there’s Aang the Avatar, Katara the Waterbender, and Sokka the guy with Tourette’s on the team

At least, that’s how they are known amongst the Fire Nation

Going undercover is so fun for Sokka, but he also has to be really conscious of what he’s doing and what he says and trying to suppress

It takes a lot out of him, but he knows he literally has to do it or he could get caught or expose them and Aang or Katara could get caught

On occasion, he has tic attacks (and for those who don’t know, they’re essentially a really bad TS day or moment where your tics are more consistent and seem to hurt more or you just have like an unending moment of tics where you just can’t stop for a little while. They are usually caused by anxiety or overstimulation or something like that, but they differ for everyone with TS)

The first time it happened in front of Aang, the sweet child panicked because he didn’t really understand what was happening and why Sokka was doing that and really what TS was

Katara is an angel, seriously. She is so sweet to Sokka when this happens and she knows exactly how to ground him and help him get through it

(Seriously, Sokka appreciates her so much. She is genuinely the one exception and anytime she wants a hug or any kind of touch she is allowed to do it)

the first time it happens in front of Toph when she joins is in Bitter Work when Sokka was in the hole

Just looking at Sokka in the whole sends my anxiety up because he literally can’t move! So like, imagine being in a hole for like five hours+ and needing to move like physically and you can feel the sensation in your body and it hurts and burns and tingles but you can’t. Sokka is not having a good time

So, Toph drags him out of the hole and is freaked out because she can’t see what’s happening and it’s scary because Sokka is making noises and hyperventilating and his heart rate is through the roof and Aang ran to get Katara and she can’t touch him because when she pulled him out of the hole he shrieked

She’s cool with it after that, she doesn’t think of him any less or anything, but it terrified her the first time because no one told her he had TS because they forgot to mention it and she couldn’t see what was happening

We all know that Sokka loves Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors with his whole entire heart and once they kicked his butt and helped him learn that sexism is bad, they were so fun to work with?? They taught him their style, obviously, but they also helped him incorporate his TS into it and how to use it to his advantage, something he had been struggling with his whole life

One of the things Sokka loved most about Yue is that she never even mentioned his sounds or movements she just let him do it without questioning him and that doesn’t happen a lot

I feel like Sokka having TS would make his time with Piandao even kore meaningful because he really struggles to keep his hands still so sword fighting does not come naturally to him

Piandao loves it though because it just makes Sokka even more clever and resourceful and he takes his time with Sokka, helping him as much as he can and never getting angry or anything when he can’t stand still

He also added more to what Sokka learned from the Kyoshi Warriors about incorporating his TS into his fighting and using it to his advantage

Not only was his sword an extension of his arm, but his TS was an extension as well

Did Toph and Aang help Sokka incorporate his tics into their scams? Yes, yes they did

Zuko joining the team was weird for Sokka because they kind of just clicked and he realized that they both have a weird thing with touch

On the balloon to Boiling Rock, Sokka is just comfortable around Zuko and his tics are like “cool yeah, have a break” and so he doesn’t tic and Zuko just “why aren’t you ticcing?”

and Sokka is ??? “Huh?”

and Zuko “You usually tic but you aren’t now. Why?”

and Sokka essentially explains that TS is weird and random and sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t, but he’s really comfortable and calm so his body is like “ye, let’s chill for now”

and Zuko is like “oh. that’s good. I kinda miss it though”

and Sokka d i e s because what?? Someone likes his tics enough to miss them? Like, they don’t annoy Zuko and he doesn’t tune them out?

and the bender goes on to explain that he likes the noises, they remind him that he is doing the right thing and that he’s here and he didn’t hurt team Avatar and they’re just comfortable / pleasing to the ear

and Sokka DIES

but then Zuko is like mmm maybe you should stay in the balloon and I’ll go to Boiling Rock and Sokka got pissed because he thinks Zuko said it because he’s a nonbender and he starts panicking and ticcing and Zuko panics and kind of just grabs his hand and Sokka... Sokka doesn’t hate it? Like, it feels nice and doesn’t agitate him?

but Zuko was like no I mean because everyone in the Fire Nation guard knows about the guy on team Avatar with TS and I don’t want you to get hurt

At one point in the prison courtyard, Sokka verbally tics really loudly about the moon and some guards hear and head to where they are so Zuko covers for him by screaming about how much he loves the moon

One of the worst moments in Sokka’s life was when Toph was falling and he grabbed her, but he wanted to tic and he knew that if he did, Toph would fall and die and he couldn’t do that, he couldn’t

(he still has nightmares about it happening)

when Sokka becomes an ambassador, some people are pissed because well 1) Watertribe 2) he’s a child 3) they suck 4) they think he’s distracting with his tics and Zuko is not here for it so he will destroy them

Like one time (after they started dating) Zuko overheard some councilors mocking Sokka’s tics and he got PISSED like so pissed and he went off and the found Sokka and hugged him because he is allowed to

oh! Sokka and Zuko’s thing is like hand-holding okay? They both kind of hate it because weird touch stuff, but it’s okay when they do it to each other?? Like, it feels right and like they’re completed and whole and it’s nice

before they start dating, they kind of do it a lot. Like, night before Zuko’s coronation, Sokka finds Zuko and he’s freaking out because what if he ends up like his dad and Sokka kind of just... grabs his hand and they sit there

Sokka is panicking because chronic pain and the cold of home makes it worse and Zuko finds him crying in the library and just... holds his hand

Zuko keeps little things on him all the time like paperclips and paper and writing utensils and things that click and buttons and stuff so if Sokka looks stressed during a meeting he can slip something under the table to him so he can play with it

Sokka also draws a lot during meetings, like, he doesn’t look at anyone throughout the whole meeting, even when he talks. He is able to focus more and pay more attention when he is doing something with his hands so he draws and doodles and sometimes takes notes

Sometimes he just writes the same word or sentence over and over again throughout the whole meeting

Sokka has sensory issues and a lot of noise stresses him out

It’s kind of the opposite of Zuko’s sensory issues? Like, Zuko doesn’t like loud noises and Sokka doesn’t like kind of static-y noises, like... when things sound muffled or muted or people are talking kind of quietly over each other

(Zuko definitely gives Sokka massages when his tics hurt a lot)

Random, but after awhile “yip yip” became a verbal tic of Sokka’s. Sometimes, he would say “you need to yip yip” and then he’d apologize to Appa and tell him that he’s yipping just fine

Toph is kind of like Zuko in how she likes Sokka’s verbal tics

She can’t see-see, but hearing his tics is nice sometimes, especially when she worries

She likes falling asleep to some of his tics

Even though Katara and Zuko are allowed to touch him whenever they want, more often than not they ask first because friendship is magic

Suki is lovely, okay? Like, just her presence is enough to make him feel better and she approaches helping him in a different way, she just talks to him and asks him questions to help him take his mind off of it

Sokka really doesn’t hate his TS, like, yeah, sometimes it pisses him off more than he can even explain, but it’s a part of him and as much as he cherishes when he can sit still, it’s wrong, it’s not him? He sits weirdly in chairs and changes his position every two minutes, he rocks his legs in his sleep, he sometimes even finds his own tics grounding...

Over time and with help from his friends, he learned to not be ashamed and that having TS didn’t make him ant less of a warrior

also, he, Toph, and Zuko are the disabled club✌🏻(and it makes them feel better sometimes in their own little way)

I have a lot more I could say but this is already pretty long, so I’ll end this sweet with Katara is amazing and Sokka’s relationship with her is wonderful and she knows how to help him with his tics in the way that Zuko does and can help center him like no one else and Sokka just loves her so much

Okay! Ah! That was kind of a lot but I hope you like them! Anyone can feel free to add more to this or lemme know if you have any ideas!

Thank you for the ask! I enjoyed writing these:)

[atlabeth]

transferred part twelve - atla smau

masterlist | part eleven | part thirteen

this takes place about 2 weeks after the last chapter

summary: trying to run from your past is hard, but falling for your brother’s roommate is even harder. little do you know that he’s falling for you as well. 

wc: 3.6k 

a/n: i’ve been writing bits and pieces of this since the start of this series so. enjoy. that’s all im gonna say lmao 

warning(s): cursing, mentions of familial death, mentions of abuse, some angst but also some fluff. this is kind of a heavy chapter because both zuko and y/n talk about their past, but there is fluff at the end. 

~~~~~~~~

You pushed your hair out of your face and tried to blink the sleep out of your eyes, catching a glimpse of the time on the corner of your laptop. 

3:23 AM. 

You should’ve been asleep a long time ago, but all of your professors had decided to schedule tests in the same week so it was one of many, many late nights you had had lately. You thought that they would cool down because midterms were coming up, but BSSU professors kept proving you wrong. Late nights like these were becoming a regular occasion, and right now you just needed a break. 

The tea dates with Zuko were the only things keeping you sane. But could you even call them dates? 

It was the two of you, together, sitting and talking over tea for hours, and they were happening multiple times a week. In fact, you and him had gotten tea together exactly 9 times in the past two weeks — and that wasn’t even counting all the talking during your shared shifts. 

Katara, Suki, and Toph told you that they were dates, you wanted them to be dates, but there was a part of you that was so incredibly scared that you were wrong — that moving past that bridge would ruin the friendship that you cherished so much with Zuko — that you kept things solely platonic. No matter how much you wanted to kiss him every time he gave you that smile. 

But thinking about the complicated relationship you had found yourself entangled in with Zuko wasn’t a break, no matter how many times you had pondered over it before falling asleep in the wee hours of the night. 

You closed your laptop and grabbed your jacket that had been carelessly tossed on a stool at the kitchen island, making sure to sneak out of the apartment as quietly as you could. You opted to work in the living room, choosing to camp out on the sofa whenever you had to stay up as late as this, just so you wouldn’t wake up Sokka. Your brother had no idea how much you did for him. 

The cool breeze hitting your face and the shining stars in the sky were a welcome change of scenery from the lifelessness that was your apartment at night and your computer screen that you were sure was going to cause you eye issues later in life with how bright it was. 

You took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling the crisp night air, and started to walk. You were sure you looked like a mess. You were wearing some flannel pajama pants, a BSSU tank top, tennis shoes, and Zuko’s jacket.  He had never asked for it back after that night at the party, and when you had showed up to one of your hangouts wearing it, he told you that you could keep it — “it looks better on you anyways” — so you did. 

There was something calming about the atmosphere. You knew that a lot of women were anxious about going out at night, especially alone, but that was why you had taken self defense classes. Being friends with Suki was a self defense class in its own, and it was very much appreciated. You allowed yourself to get lost in your thoughts, trying to give yourself the break that you deserved, when the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. 

“You know, it’s not safe to be out alone at this hour.” 

You let out a scream at the unexpected voice and whirled around, your fists already up to defend yourself. When you saw who it was, you laughed, completely shocked, and hit your hands against your legs, trying to calm your rapidly beating heart. 

“Holy shit, Zuko, you can’t just sneak up on someone like that!” you wheezed. You had no doubt that he only had good intentions, but for a second you thought someone was going to try and kill you. You had to admit, the scare was worth it to see the mix of horror and embarrassment on Zuko’s face.

“I’m so sorry!” His hands were held up placatingly in front of him and he let out a nervous laugh as well, but it did nothing to cover up the wide eyes he stared at you with. “I am so sorry, I didn’t even think about that. I- I was just up studying too, and I heard you leaving so I thought you could use some company- I swear, I wasn’t trying to scare you or anything!” 

You shook your head but couldn’t stop the smile on your lips, gesturing for him to come closer while you caught your breath. “It’s fine. Come on, walk with me.”

He fell into step beside you and the two of you walked in silence for a while, the only disruptions being the occasional car that drove by. It was eerily quiet, but with Zuko, it was nice. 

“So-”

“So-” 

Both of you laughed when you each interrupted the other, and when you motioned for Zuko to go first he shook his head. You paused for a moment, the question on the tip of your tongue, before you decided to take the plunge. 

“I’ve been wondering since I got here; how did you end up as friends with—” You gestured around with your hands. “—this whole crew? It’s kind of a weird combination of people, so I guess I just wanna know how you became a part of it.” 

Zuko sighed and ran a hand through his hair, causing your eyes to widen a little bit as a stammered apology came out. “You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to-” He gave you a tight smile and shook his head. 

“No, it’s fine. You should know about my life if— if we’re going to keep living together.” He knew the moment he met you, the moment he agreed to let you live with all of them, that he would have to explain his past to you. Hell, your siblings might have already told you some of it — he could only hope you’d still want to be his friend after he was done. 

“”I.. I wasn’t the best person in the past. I was a horrible person actually, and I consider myself extremely lucky that I was given so many chances to change. I hurt people. Bullied people. Got into fights just because I could. I was just- horrible is the only way to describe it. But your siblings, Toph, Aang? They were all people that decided to give me one of those chances, and they’re a huge reason that I am who I am today.” Zuko spoke slowly, and you could tell that this was something he didn’t open up to many people about. You smiled softly at him and nodded, letting him know that he could go on. 

“I don’t know how much you know about my father, but he’s the CEO of our family company. He’s been this huge presence in the business world for as long as I can remember, and he’s responsible for all the wealth and fame that our family has today. And when I was younger, I idolized him. I thought he was the greatest man in the world, that he could do no wrong, and I just followed him blindly. He was the most important person in my life, but.. I was nothing to him.” 

“He didn’t care about his friends, or- or his family, he only cared about power. My mother left when I was young, we haven’t heard a word from her since, and- and I don’t even know if he cared. My father would do whatever it took to become as powerful as he could, and that meant—” Zuko’s voice was getting louder and he cleared his throat, trying to keep his cool. There was a certain hollowness behind his eyes, and it tore you to pieces. “That meant hurting anyone that went against him. Including his children.”  

“I have a sister, Azula. She’s a prodigy in every sense of the word, and my father used it, used her. She was clearly his favorite, and it drove me insane. I mean, I did everything for his approval, but he only cared about Azula. We had a good relationship when we were younger, but my father molded her into the kind of person he wanted her to be, and— and I was jealous of her. He used that against us, purposefully staked the fire of our competition, one that I thought I could somehow win. But we had both already lost the second we started fighting against each other.” 

“It took me a long time to realize that.. that he was abusing us. I mean, he gave me this scar all because I spoke out of turn, and— and I still thought that I could earn his favor, that he deserved to earn my favor! He threw me out of the house when I was thirteen, and I went to live with my uncle. It took an even longer time, but with his help, and the support of your siblings and their friends, I was able to break the cycle. I was horrible to them at first, all of them, and I hated my father for what he did, but it was probably the thing that saved me.”  “And Azula.. leaving her will always be my biggest regret. My biggest mistake. I should’ve forced her to come with me when I was kicked out, I should’ve done something sooner, because maybe she wouldn’t have turned out the way she did.” He swallowed hard, his voice strained. “I came back for her once I was stable, and I helped her get out. I helped her get a therapist. It’s been a long process, but she’s getting better every day. But not a day goes by where I don’t think about what I could’ve done to help her more.”

You instinctively reached out for Zuko’s hand, and to your surprise, he took it without question. You gave his hand a small squeeze and led him over to a nearby bench — without realizing it, the two of you had entered a public park that was near the complex. When you sat down together, you moved so that one of your legs was crossed in front of you and the other was hanging down so you could face him. 

“Zuko.. I am so, so sorry. I don’t think any amount of apologies will be able to get how I feel across, but.. you didn’t deserve to go through that. No one deserves to go through that.” You took both of his hands, thankful for the warmth they provided. “Listen to me. Are you listening to me?” 

He gave a pained smile and nodded. “Yes, Y/N. I’m listening to you.” 

“You are not who you were in middle school. You are not who you were in high school. Okay? Your father is a horrible man, and you wouldn’t have done any of those things if it wasn’t for him. What you did when you were younger wasn’t okay, but the fact that you have so much remorse for it today proves that you’re a good person. Zuko, you are a good person, one of the best men that I’ve ever met in my life, and I’ve only known you for a few months.” 

You were subconsciously rubbing calming circles into the back of his hands —  hands that were still holding yours — while you talked, but it was all Zuko could think about.  “I know you feel guilty about leaving your sister, but you did what you had to do to get out. You came back for her, and you’ve helped her get better. She’s grateful for it, Zuko, I know that much.” 

“Everyone else has forgiven you,” you murmured, staring deep into the fire he held in his eyes. “You deserve to forgive yourself.”

The silence that passed while you gazed into each other’s eyes felt like it lasted an eternity, when really it was only about a minute. Zuko was the first to break it, clearing his throat and looking everywhere but at you as his words tumbled out. “I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to dump all of this on you at once.”

“It’s okay, Zuko, really. I understand; sometimes you just need to talk to somebody. You don’t know how much it means to me that you trusted me with all of that. And.. if we’re still baring our souls to each other, then I guess I have some things that you should know as well.” 

You bit the inside of your cheek; were you really about to tell Zuko about what happened? Most people knew that your mother was dead — killed in a drunk driving accident when you were ten — but you had never told anyone, not even your father or your siblings, about the full effect it had on you. But his eyes told you more than he ever could, and in that moment you knew it would be okay. You could trust him with something you had never trusted anyone else with.

“I’m sure you know that my mother died when I was young.” He nodded and you swallowed, trying to get rid of the sudden dryness in your throat. “It was.. hard. Really hard, on all of us. It was just so unexpected that we didn’t know what to do. We didn’t really have any money to spare, so my dad had to keep working, and I had to take care of Sokka and Katara. I was only eleven, but I basically had to take over the ‘mom’ role. Our grandmother came down to take care of us so we wouldn’t just be a bunch of kids living on our own, but even with her and Katara’s help, it was still hard. Sokka and Katara had to grow up much faster than they should’ve, even though I tried to shield them as much as I could.” 

“It was.. a lot. I won’t lie to you, it was a lot. Maybe too much.” A mirthless laugh hung in the air and you had to blink back the tears threatening to spring. “My mother was.. amazing. She was the only one who truly got me, you know? She was just this— this beautiful spirit in the world, and she brought light wherever she went. And when she died, it left this.. huge, gaping hole in my heart, one that I’m still trying to fill. I- I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fill it. I thought as I got older it would be easier, but i-it’s not. The three of us joke around by calling Katara mom because of how she is, and they sometimes do it to me, and I know that’s all they are, jokes, but some part of it still hurts.” 

You were rambling now, spilling your soul to Zuko, going into the most mundane details that you had never told anyone. You had taken away the dam that had been holding back the waters of your emotions for so long, and now Zuko was going to drown in them. But you couldn’t stop.

“It’s the reason why I didn’t drive for so long. I didn’t want to, I was terrified of it because of what happened to my mother, but someone needed to be able to take Sokka and Katara around. And- and as I got older, and I started going to parties and people started drinking, I never did. I couldn’t, I was always the designated driver, because I couldn’t leave that in someone else’s hands. I had to be in control, because if I let someone go, then it was like I was killing my mother all over again, and it’s the reason why I always have to be the one driving—” 

You paused to take a deep breath, and as you looked down at your hands, you realized they were shaking. Not just your hands, but your entire body. What the hell were you doing? You let out a tearful laugh, covering your mouth with one hand and shaking your head. “God, I am so sorry, I— I don’t know what got into me.”

Zuko’s eyes never left yours, his own glassy, and he shook his head. “You don’t have to apologize. Like you said, it helps to tell someone. A-and— I know how you feel, what it’s like feeling like you have to give up the world for your siblings. But you have to take care of yourself too. You’re not just what you can give to other people. You are your own person.”

He was thankful that you trusted him enough to tell you something like this about yourself, something that your own blood didn’t even know, but it also made him realize that you had always trusted him. 

Your point about driving. You liked to be in control so that if something did go wrong, there wouldn’t be any thoughts of what you could’ve done. If something happened, it was because of you and only you. And on your first day of classes, and many trips since, you had let him drive. It was something so small, so insignificant to anyone, but to you it was a sign of trust. 

You trusted him. 

“You’re shivering.” Your voice snapped Zuko back to reality and he shrugged, the smallest smile playing on his lips. 

“I wouldn’t be if someone had given me my jacket back,” he joked. You elbowed him in the chest and stood up, holding out your hand for him to take to help him up as well. Zuko took it and you ignored the butterflies that erupted, setting a steady pace as the two of you walked. 

“We should get back to the apartment. It’s late, and you need to sleep,” you chided. 

“You have bags the size of baseballs under your eyes. I think you need sleep just as much as I do.” 

“I’m special,” you shot back with a grin.

Yeah, you are, Zuko thought. 

The walk back to the apartment was shrouded in comfortable silence and intertwined hands, something that neither of you made any move to change.

~~~~~~~~

Soon enough you had gotten back to your rooms — such a small apartment meant that they were right next to each other — and as you turned on your heel to face him, a shy smile played on your lips. “Thank you. For, uh- coming after me. For listening to me.” 

“Of course,” he nodded. The two of you stood in silence for a while, and then Zuko reached out his hand. Your breath caught in your throat as he brushed a loose strand of hair behind your ear, and the close proximity combined with the surprisingly intimate act caused your cheeks to heat up once more. It was like you were caught in a trance.

Your gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips for just a moment, and you could’ve sworn that he did the same. The air between the two of you was crackling with unseen electricity, and before you could question yourself you were leaning forward. 

You felt him lean in as well as your eyes fluttered shut, and his lips ghosted over yours. Your eyes snapped open and you stared at him, your lips slightly parted in disbelief — he just kissed you. Zuko just kissed you. It was like time had stopped — and then it all came crashing down. His lips came back to yours with an intense fervor, cupping your face in his hands to get as close to you as possible.

It was bliss in the purest sense. You reciprocated immediately, tangling a hand in his dark hair, letting out a soft gasp as your back hit the wall. Despite how many times you had imagined this moment, nothing could compare to the real thing. It was passionate but gentle all the same, and the warmth that spread through your whole body was familiar — it was Zuko. 

Your mind was a jumbled mess. It was split a million different ways; one part suddenly very worried about how your hair looked, one hoping that Sokka and Aang couldn’t hear you, another that didn’t care, but most of them were just screaming about how oh my god you were kissing Zuko.

You knew your whole face was flushed when you finally pulled away, and the warmth of his lips lingered as the two of you stared at each other, breathing slightly labored. You tentatively reached out your hand and softly, carefully traced your finger over a part of his scar. He flinched at the contact instinctively, but you felt him relax and even lean into your touch. It meant more than you could ever say, especially knowing what you knew now. 

“You’re so beautiful,” you murmured, your touch impossibly soft against the cracked skin of his scar. “And you’re stronger than anyone knows. Than you know.” 

You kissed him again, shorter and sweeter than the first but just as tender, trying to memorize the feeling of his lips against yours as he returned it. You smiled at him and pushed your door open behind you, equal parts nervous and exhilarated about what just happened. “Goodnight, Zuko,” you whispered, shining eyes never leaving his until you closed the door.  

As soon as you were in your room you turned around and leaned against the door, smiling to yourself like an idiot. Your hand ghosted over your cheek, the spot where his hands had been, and you sighed dreamily. You had no idea how you were going to be able to finish studying. 

This was definitely more than a small crush. 

~~~~~~~~~~

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[flameo-firelord-hotman]

Fortune Cookie — Zuko x GN!Reader

Genre: fluff

Warnings: one (1) swear word and some implications at the end (characters are aged up)

Words: 2k

Summary: the Gaang orders Chinese takeout, and everyone reads their fortune cookie fortunes. Yours and Zuko’s spark a little something.

A/N: I had a fortune cookie the other day, and it reminded me of that episode in S1 when they go to the fortune teller. Fun fact: I used to collect those little fortunes! 🥠 Anyway, enjoy the fic :)

Masterlist

“What can I say?” Sokka shrugged with a mouthful of takeout, “I know the best places to eat around campus.”

“I hope you aren’t full yet. We still have our fortune cookies to eat,” Suki said, dangling a wrapped cookie from her hand.

You took it from her. “Oh please, like I’d ever pass on dessert.”

She then tossed a fortune cookie to everyone else.

“Let’s share our fortunes!” Katara suggested as she unwrapped her cookie.

“Don’t tell me you actually believe these things,” Sokka sighed while rolling his eyes.

“What? They’re fun to read! I’ll start.” She broke her cookie open, removed the tiny slip of paper inside and read her fortune aloud. “Mine says ‘you will be showered with good luck.’ Maybe that means I’ll do well on my midterms!”

“Hmm...mine says ‘nothing is impossible to a willing heart.’ That’s inspiring, I like it!” Aang said with a sweet smile.

“I’ll go next!” Suki said with a mouthful of cookie. “‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.’ That’s quite true!” She nodded. Everyone hummed in agreement.

“Alright, you know what. I’ll read mine,” Sokka decided. He squinted his eyes at the tiny piece of paper. “It says...‘you will be hungry in one hour.’ Seriously?!”

Everyone burst out laughing. “I think we can all agree, of all the fortunes so far, yours is the most true,” you chuckled.

“Okay then, [y/n], what does yours say?” Sokka sneered.

“Let’s see,” you said as you delicately held the slip of paper to your eyes. “‘Your love life will soon be happy and harmonious.’”

“Oooh, that’s quite a fortune, [y/n]!” Katara commented.

“I wonder who you’ll be with?” Aang pondered.

Suki nudged you with her elbow. “Someone handsome I bet!”

You never really believed these things, but you wished it was true, and you wished it was Zuko. You’ve always had a crush on him. Since you met him, there hasn’t been a single day you didn’t think about him. You hoped that someday he would confess to feeling the same way about you.

For just a second, you glanced at Zuko. He was staring at you, so you quickly averted your gaze to not seem obvious. Was that a hint of blush on his cheeks? No, it must’ve been your imagination, or maybe the lighting.

Heat built up in your face from feeling a little embarrassed, not just because of Zuko, but also from all the teasing. “Oh, stop guys,” you giggled.

“Yeah, stop guys. I wanna hear Toph and Zuko’s,” Sokka said in a bored tone.

“You’re just upset that your fortune is so stupid, it’s true,” Katara snickered.

“Well, you won’t believe what mine says,” Toph said. “It says ‘you will win a million dollars!’” She cheered.

“What?!” Sokka shouted. Everyone stared at him with raised eyebrows. Then, the look on his face shifted as he realized. “I hate you, Toph.”

“Ha! Blind jokes never fail,” Toph said proudly.

“Here, I’ll read it for you,” you said, taking the tiny slip of paper from Toph. “Your fortune is ‘you will never know your full potential until you try.’”

“So what it’s saying is, I should try punching Sokka even harder,” Toph said, cracking her knuckles.

“Please don’t,” Sokka quietly begged.

“Toph!” Aang cried, “no violence allowed!”

Toph groaned, “you guys are no fun. But I don’t care, I’m going to kick your ass.”

“Anyway,” Katara interrupted, “that leaves you, Zuko!”

“Um...okay. It’s kind of weird though,” he said hesitantly.

“It can’t possibly be as bad as Sokka’s,” Katara jeered.

Zuko gulped before bashfully reading aloud. “Mine says...‘now is the time to pursue that love interest.’”

If you thought you were blushing before, you were really doing it now. Your face was like a tomato. Fortunately for you, everyone was staring at Zuko. They didn’t know your secret. Sokka began laughing.

“Okay, I admit that I don’t believing these things, but I know for a fact that that fortune is completely true. I mean, come on, buddy! What have I been saying for the past—“

“Ugh, shut up, Sokka!” Zuko barked, “it’s just a stupid fortune.”

“Wait, do you actually have a crush on someone?” Katara asked sincerely. He didn’t respond. Instead, he blushed and avoided everyone’s gaze. “It’s okay, Zuko, you can tell us. We can help you!”

“No,” Zuko grumbled, as he stood up. “I’m going home now.” And with the slam of the door, he was gone.

“Sheesh, Sparky sure is a drama queen,” Toph said, crossing her arms.

“Sokka, do you know who he likes?” Suki asked.

“Yes, and if I told you, he would give me a matching scar.” Sokka pointed to his left eye.

“Well, clearly he’s really upset about it,” you started as you stood to leave. “I’ll go talk to him.”

As Zuko rushed back to his apartment, he couldn’t help but think of you. Sokka and that stupid fortune were right. He should’ve asked you out long ago. But what if you didn’t feel the same way?

He felt so humiliated. It was bad enough that he was a coward, and that he had to deal with Sokka’s teasing on a daily basis, but now he had that little sheet of paper mocking him too.

He wondered what you thought of your fortune. Did it mean anything to you? When he heard it, he immediately thought of you and him together. But it was wishful thinking. So, he wondered if it was about you and someone else...and he felt jealous.

Zuko slapped his forehead. “I can’t believe how stupid I am. I’m getting worked up over some fortune cookies that probably don’t mean anything at all. This is pathetic!” He cried.

You should’ve brought a coat. The autumn night air was chilly. Nevertheless, you hurried to Zuko and Sokka’s apartment. You hoped to find him on the way—he couldn’t have gotten too far—but it was hard to see. Only the nearly full moon and the street lamps dimly lit the way for you.

Surely, he would tell you why he was so upset. You two always talked about your problems with each other. One of the best things about your friendship was how comfortable you felt with him. You could tell him anything...anything except that you liked him, and that you thought he was cute, and that the way he smiled made your heart flutter, and that whenever he whispered funny things about Sokka to you in that low raspy voice of his, you felt shivers run down your spine, and that you just wanted to hold him or be held by him, and that you wondered what it felt like to kiss him...no, actually, you could tell him anything except that you loved him.

You desperately wanted to ask Zuko what Sokka was talking about. Was it true? Did he really have a crush on someone? Who? And for how long? But maybe it was best not to know. Fear of finding out he loved someone else crept into your mind. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

Suddenly, you considered turning around and going back. Being so comfortable and open with each other might mean Zuko would tell you about his crush, and, had it been you, he would’ve said something by now, right? Sokka seemed to imply that this had been going on for a while. That meant it had to be someone else.

You stood outside his apartment building, staring at the door, debating whether to press the buzzer or not, debating whether to have your heart broken or not. Before you could decide, the door opened.

“[Y/n], what are you doing out here? You’re shivering,” Zuko said with concern.

“I j-just wanted to make sure y-you were okay.”

He gestured for you to come in, and you did.

“I saw you walking over in the front window. Why didn’t you just text me?” He asked as he poured a hot cup of tea.

You took the cup and shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t think of it.”

“Well, I’m fine. I’ve been a little stressed lately over studying for exams, and I kind of exploded, because Sokka was being, well, Sokka. You know how annoying he can be,” he chuckled before taking a sip from his own cup. What a lie that was, but you wouldn’t know it.

“That makes sense. I was worried when you left so suddenly.”

You wanted to ask him, you wanted to know so badly, but you didn’t know how to bring it up. Zuko couldn’t help but wonder as well. His mind raced as he tried to think of a way to talk to you.

“Um, Zuko, I—“       //       “[Y/n], there’s som—”

Both of you stared at each other for a moment.

“Sorry, go ahead,” you said.

“Um, okay.” Zuko took a deep breath before continuing, “there’s something I need to tell you. I wish I had told you long ago, but I was too afraid. And I’m tired of keeping it bottled up, so I’m just going to say it now. I kind of...no, I do, I mean, I—ugh...I have had...uh, feelings for you...for a while. Like, I think I...I love you.”

By the time Zuko finished rambling, his face was flushed and his heart was pounding. You stared at him, stunned, elated and relieved. But he didn’t dare look at you, instead he dropped his head to stare at his feet.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to say that to me.”

Zuko shot up. He saw you smiling brightly and approaching him. You reached up to cup his cheeks. He rested his hands on your waist. His hands were slightly trembling from all the anxiety he felt in this moment.

“Really?” He asked in a shaky voice.

“Yes, really. That’s actually what I was going to talk to you about. I love you too, Zuko. I have for a while now.”

Zuko smiled. Without a second thought, he crashed his lips on yours. You leaned in and tangled your fingers in his dark, shaggy hair. Running a hand up your back and wrapping the other around your waist, he brought you closer and squeezed you like you were the only thing he had left. His arms were warm, his chest was warm, even his lips were warm. You melted right into him.

A moment later, the two of you pulled away, panting. The kiss was so passionate and long overdue, that it left you both exhausted. You rested your head on his chest and listened to his fast-beating heart. He rested his head on yours and rubbed circles on your back with his thumb.

“So...is your love life happy and harmonious now?” Zuko asked.

“Yes, all thanks to you pursuing that love interest!”

He laughed. “I can’t believe this happened, because of some stupid fortunes in a cookie.”

“I wouldn’t call them stupid. They’re the only fortunes that I’ve known to be true.”

Katara checked her phone for the fifth time. “[Y/n] still hasn’t responded, or even read my text. It’s been a half hour now!”

Suki rested a hand on her shoulder, “I’m sure they’re fine.”

“At this point, they’re probably making out,” Sokka mumbled as he mindlessly scrolled through his phone, not even bothering to look up. The room fell silent as everyone turned to him. “Shit, I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“Zuko has a crush on [y/n]?!” Aang’s jaw dropped.

Toph shrugged, “it makes sense. I’ve noticed that Sparky’s heart rate goes through the roof whenever he’s with [y/n]. Theirs gets pretty high too when Zuko is around.”

“Well, that explains a lot. Those two are definitely making out then,” Katara nodded. Everyone else hummed in agreement.

“So, Sokka...do you want to stay the night with us then?” Aang asked.

“Yes, please.”

[reinerispretty]

What if Zuko's S/o was a fire dancer, like they use their fire bending with their dances, and they dont tell zuko because their scared he would judge them or something, but one night Zuko and the gaang go to one of their shows and sees them

thank you so much for sending this in!! i hope i was able to do your idea justice :) 

---

Meeting the Fire Lord’s son had been a chance encounter that (Y/N) could have never dreamed in a million years. While she had grown up on a small island off the coast of the mainland, she spent most of her days on Ember Island. Her dancing troupe performed for different travelers every weekend. They combined firebending with their dances and dazzled the crowd at each performance. She ended shows with fire lilies being thrown at her feet and a crowd standing outside of her dressing room door, waiting for autographs. 

She had met Zuko while she was shopping in the market. She eyed her grocery list and reached out for a papaya only for another hand to collide with hers. Her eyes trailed up to find its source: a boy with dark hair, golden eyes, and a scar covering the side of his face. 

“Oh, sorry,” she apologized. “Did you need that?” 

“Kind of,” The boy had said, shrugging his shoulders. “But it’s not a big deal if you need it.” She pursed her lips. While she knew her fellow performers might be annoyed with her for not bringing back what she asked, she felt bad taking from others. She picked up the papaya and handed it to him. 

“You take it. I’ll just get a mango.” She picked up the other fruit and plopped it into her basket. “I like the taste of mangoes better anyways.” 

“Me too,” the boy said, offering her a small smile. She returned his gesture with a smile of her own. “I haven’t seen you around here before.” 

“I’m here pretty much every day. I think it’s you who I haven’t seen around here before.” She offered her hand for a shake. “I’m (Y/N).” He shook her hand firmly, but didn’t introduce himself. 

“It’s nice to meet you.” She nodded. 

“Well, I gotta get going. Shen closes the shop at sundown and I have to be quick if I want to get some goji berries.” She gave him a small wave before turning on her heel. 

“Wait!” He called out. “Shen’s goji berries are overpriced for what he offers. I can take you to a different place, if you’d like.” 

“I’d love that! Shen’s berries cost me an arm and a leg.” She followed the mysterious boy through town, down some back alleyways, and along a dirt road. Even if he was a stranger who hadn’t given her his name, (Y/N) wasn’t scared of him. (Plus she was a pretty good firebender, so she liked to think she could take care of herself.) 

He led her down to a part of the beach that she had never been: the royal neighborhood. It was the part of Ember Island where the most elite families lived. (Y/N) had always been far too afraid to ever go near this side of the island. She liked staying near what was comfortable. 

The boy led her into the backyard of one of the houses. There, goji berry bushes grew in the dozens. Each bush had bloomed with bright red berries that made her mouth water. She looked up at the boy. 

“Take as many as you like.” She shook her head in disbelief. 

“No way! I don’t want to steal from anyone.” 

“It won’t be stealing,” he said calmly. “I live here.” Her mouth nearly dropped open in shock, but she stopped herself. His face was kind and she could sense that he was being sincere. So, reluctantly, she began picking berries and dropping them into the basket. 

“I think they ripened just the other day, so you can try some if you want.” He plucked a berry off the bush and popped it into his mouth. (Y/N) eyed him cautiously before chewing on her own berry. 

“These are the best goji berries I’ve ever tasted,” she said as she stuffed more into her mouth. The boy laughed. 

“I’ll be here for the next few days if you’d like to grab some more.” 

And that is exactly what she did. (Y/N) returned each day to pick more goji berries and each day the boy joined her in the backyard, eating until he was full. They talked about anything and everything under the sun. Where (Y/N) was from, how they were both benders, and what their favorite part about the island was. 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” (Y/N) said one day as they sat in the grass together. She plucked another berry from the bush. “But if you live here, that means you must be the son of some big public official, right?” 

He sighed, plucking some grass from the ground and dropping the blades back down. “Yeah, you caught me.” 

“Zuko!” Called another voice. From inside the house emerged a girl with dark hair and intimidating eyes. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Who is this?” 

Instantly, (Y/N) had realized that she had been so, so stupid. She didn’t know why the scar wasn’t a dead giveaway, or the fact that he lived in the royal neighborhood. The boy that she had been spending so much time with recently was Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation.

“This is (Y/N),” Zuko said to the girl. “She’s my friend.” 

“I don’t know of any (Y/N)’s that went to the Royal Fire Nation Academy for Girls,” the girl drawled, leaning against the doorframe. 

“That’s because I, uh, didn’t.” (Y/N) grabbed her basket and stood. “I really think I should go?” 

“And maybe don’t come back,” the girl said, a smirk painted on her face. 

“Wait!” Zuko grabbed her hand before she could walk away. “I’m leaving soon. Can I visit you somewhere?” 

(Y/N) looked between him and the other girl, who she assumed was Princess Azula. And while (Y/N’s) profession garnered her tons of fans, not everyone was so accepting of it. Many times, uppity reach people had told her to get a real job and stop wasting her life away. She feared she would receive the same treatment from the members of the royal family. 

“I have to go,” she said again, before quickly running away. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been months and Zuko hadn’t returned. She had watched from behind barrels as his ship left the royal port. She was sad that she had lost a friend but was relieved that she wouldn’t have to worry about him finding out who she really was. She wasn’t just a commoner, she was a performer, and the latter rarely got taken seriously in the Fire Nation. 

As the months went by, she found herself thinking of Zuko more frequently than she would have liked. Their friendship had only progressed over the course of a few days, but during those days she felt like she could tell him almost anything. The conversations they had had in the goji berry bushes were some of the most intimate conversations she had had with anyone. Despite herself, she missed him. 

Zuko returned to Ember Island with his new friends a few months after he had last been there. They had hidden out in his family’s old beach house because he knew it was the one place Azula wouldn’t think about searching. 

“We should go!” Sokka said one evening as he held up a flyer to their group. It was an advertisement for a local group of firedancers. Despite living in the Fire Nation for the majority of his life, Zuko had never seen a firedancing show, so he and his other friends eagerly accepted. Satisfied with their response, Sokka put the flyer down on the table before walking away. Zuko eyed it for his information and noticed how the painting of one of the firedancers looked strangely familiar. It wasn’t until they arrived at the show that they realized why.

At the forefront of the stage stood (Y/N), the commoner girl he had befriended the last time he was there. She smiled at the crowd and waved to a few returning fans before doing a backflip and producing fire from her feet. The crowd, including Zuko and his friends, were absolutely delighted by the choreography of the production. The firedancers spun quickly around each other, yet none of them were accidentally burned. 

“This is amazing!” Suki exclaimed. Toph grunted. 

“Yeah, if you could see it.” But all Zuko could really see was (Y/N). He thought her moves to be far more beautiful and elegant than her peers. She combined challenging dances and challenging firebending skills to create a fantastic show. She was truly talented. 

After the dancers had finished their set, Zuko requested that his friends follow him to one of the dancers’ dressing rooms. “Looks like Zuko’s got a crush,” Katara giggled, but he brushed her off. 

He reached the door at the end of the hall that had (Y/N’s) name written on it in fancy script. He knocked. “Just a second!” He heard her shout, before the door flung open to reveal her in a silk robe and her hair in a knot, her makeup being half scrubbed off. “Oh no,” She said once her eyes landed on him. She shut the door quickly. 

“What was that about?” Aang asked. Zuko lifted up a hand to signal his friend to be quiet. He knocked again. 

“Just another second!” She called. From inside the dressing room, (Y/N) made quick work of brushing out her hair and washing off the rest of her makeup. Her heart was racing, partially from the show she had just put on, but mostly due to Zuko showing up at her door unannounced. She supposed that even if he had wanted to announce, he wouldn’t know how, but she was still incredibly nervous. 

Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she opened the door slowly and smiled sheepishly up at him. “Hi.” 

“You didn’t tell me you were a firedancer.” 

“In my defense, you didn’t tell me you were Prince of the Fire Nation, so I think we’re pretty even.” Zuko chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Yeah, but I was hiding my identity so you wouldn’t act weird around me. What’s your excuse?” She pursed her lips, looking at the ground. 

“I thought that if you knew, you wouldn’t take me seriously. A lot of you rich folks come around and criticize me for what I do, so I guess I was just...scared.” She shrugged at the end before noticing the group of people standing behind Zuko. “Oh, hi! I’m (Y/N). I used to eat Zuko’s goji berries.” 

Collectively, the group raised an eyebrow. 

“I would never criticize you!” Zuko exclaimed. “What you did out there was absolutely spectacular. I thought you were the best dancer out there.” (Y/N’s) eyes widened and she covered his mouth with her hand. 

“Don’t let the other dancers hear you saying that! They get crazy jealous.” Zuko wrapped his hand around her wrist and moved her hand down. 

“Do you want to grab dinner sometime?” He asked. (Y/N) smiled. 

“Yeah, I’d really like that. Let me just change into something that isn’t a robe.” 

---

permatag list! 

@aroyaldarknessblr , @harryisthesunshine

[sokkas-honour]

for the spotify wrapped writing i'll say number 4 and sokka?

omg this one was so fun to write! ty for requesting!

dream boy - modern!sokka x reader

pairing : modern! sokka x reader

wc: 1.7k including lyrics

notes/warnings: going off of the hc that sokka is a baseball boy from my girl @draqondance and it’s just unedited but enjoy !!

part 1.5 | part 2 | part 3

taglist (send an ask to be added!!): @draqondance @biqherosix @missmorosis

sometimes i think i see your ghost, in passing hallways, the staircase to my apartment,

the clock couldn’t seem to hit three fast enough, the sun was shining outside but everything about your seventh period math class just made you gloomy. you tapped your foot on the ground, anxiously waiting for the final bell to ring so you could get out of the boredom that was calculus. you sighed and rested on your hand that was on your desk and tried to see if you could understand what your teacher was saying but you’d spaced out too long to even know what the hell he was talking about.

with another sigh, you slightly turned you head. you were seated at the back of the class, meaning you could see a part of the empty hallway since the door was open and there he was, the beautiful water tribe baseball player. your heart rate picked up as he simply passed in the hallway though he seemed to catch your staring because he backed right back into your line of view and smirked at you.

his flirty actions imply earned a playful eye roll from you. you watched your friend laugh before waving goodbye and continued on his way knowing he’d be able to speak to you after school anyway.

god did you love that stupid boy. seeing him, even for a split second, singlehandedly made this boring period your favorite of the day. his smile, his dorkiness, his horrible jokes, just sokka in general made your heart race at a speed that was practically impossible to slow down.

i accidentally self impose, bashful thoughts, careless wants, emotional involvement,

the baseball game ended and your school won 7-4, with your best friend pitching his best game yet, you couldn’t contain your excitement. as soon as sokka stepped off the field, you rushed out of your seat to go congratulate him outside of the dugout. your whole friend group couldn’t make the trip to the away game but you had promised him that you’d never miss a game when he got accepted into the team freshman year and so far, you’d never missed one. wether you were swamped with work or sick, you always found a way to sit on those bleachers cheering him on.

“sokka! that was your best game of the season!” you exclaimed as soon as you saw come out and ran to him. he was smiling that adorable stupid smile he always did and rushed to join your halfway.

“i know! did you see how i curved that ball on the last guy! he never saw it coming!” he excitedly retold you the final play that you’d just seen, pride shining from his eyes and grin.

“yeah! sucker didn’t even know what hit him!” you replied matching his energy and he just engulfed in you in a hug out of excitement. to your dismay, he quickly retracted it.

“sorry! i’m just so excited!” he apologised though you didn’t mind at all, hell, you’re disappointed he didn’t let it last longer as you craved affection from sokka that was anything but platonic or initiated by you, how you wished the hug lingered.

“sokka! you don’t have to apologise! i’m just as excited as you are!” you reassured, your cheeks hurting from smiling so much as you placed both your hands on his arms to emphasise how unbothered you were by his actions.

“okayyy. can we go get sea prunes? pretty please?” the pitcher begged, looking down at you with his signature puppy dog eyes that made you practically weak in the knees, he knew you’d never say no to them.

you've got my heart bursting at the seams, maybe you're the boy from my dreams,

most people only saw you and sokka as two inseparable best friends, two peas in a pod, practically attached at the hip, and they wouldn’t be wrong. sokka and you had been best friends ever since kindergarten when he accidentally hit you in the head with a snowball during your recess.

you’d always been close friends but ever since highschool started, you’d fallen for your best friend and you’d fallen hard. his adorably cute smile, his adorably cute eyes, his adorably cute ponytail, his adorably cute jokes, just his adorably cute self was enough to make you long for anything more than a simple close friendship with the water tribe boy.

you’d seem to have done a pretty good job at hiding it as none of your friends ever picked up on it. sokka and you had always have a pretty touchy friendship, you’d hug all the time, you’d place your head in his lap, he’d lay his head on your shoulder, but none it had any ulterior motive. so when zuko confronted you about it you were surprised, he was the one to find out about it, not toph, not even katara, the said crush’s sister, no it was zuko.

zuko seemed to have seen right through your lies about your lack of feelings for the baseball player which led you to just dumping all the reasons that he made your heart put a race care to shame. you told him about the daydreaming that occurred whenever someone would point out that you would both be a cute couple, you told him about the monthly dreams you’d have about you finally confessing your emotions that were always reciprocated.

zuko was kind and always listened but always took the oppurtiny to tease you about it when you were alone.

if you're gonna love me make sure that you do it right, i’ll be under your window in the moonlight,

oh i tend to keep my heart locked water-tight, all you gotta do is meet me after, meet me after midnight.

‘y/nnnnnnn, meet me by our favorite tree like at around midnight. i need to tell you something important.’

you’d been doing your english homework late one night when your phone buzzed with a message from the boy that made you swoon. your heartrate would always pick up a bit when he would send you a message but the content written made it race even more. you quickly replied to agree to meet him.

you grabbed your coat and your shoes and quietly left the house, making sure not to wake your sleeping parents. once outside, you took the ten minute walk to an old willow that stood about halfway between the water tribe sibling’s house and yours. you had often spent afternoons with the two of them just laying in the ground and watched the leaves around them slowly move with the wind.

when highschool started, you often found yourself throwing a rock or so at sokka’s window when it would be late in an attempt to get him to sneak out with you for walks under the beautiful moon. one night you almost got caught so you both agreed to simply text and agree to meet at that nostalgic willow.

upon arriving and passing through the weeping willow’s leaves you saw a figure leaning against it’s trunk. you were able to recognise the boy thanks to the light from his phone that he was scrolling mindlessly on.

“hey sokka.” you made your presence none in a rather soft way, not wanting to spook him.

“hey y/n, thanks for coming.” he looked up and smiled at you and put his phone back into his jacket pocket. your eyes had long acclimated to the darkness and were able to see him sit on the ground and pat the spot next to him to which you happily obliged.

“so what did you want to say.” you asked once you sat next to him.

“okay well i wanted your help. how do i ask a girl out?” his questions came out of nowhere and took you aback, you feared the direction that the conversation would go in but you shoved your emotions down. sokka may be the boy of your dreams but he was still your best friend, and you’d always want him to happy.

“well first of all, i need to know who this girl is.” you smirked, a small spark of hope as your mind rushed to not only a horrible ending to the conversation, but one that ended in a confession of feelings from both sides.

“okay well, only if you guess.” he joked which earned a playful eye roll from you before continuing. “okay well i’ve been friends with her for a while but recently, i’ve been feelings differently towards her y’a know? she’s always been there for me and always knows how to make me happy. i just feel warm and safe with her. i dont want to ruin our friendship because it means so much to me!”

“well sokka, i give up.” your spark grew at his description of the girl he was mad for, the only person you could even think of that fit the criteria was you. boy if you only you hadn’t been that naive, maybe that would’ve saved you from the heartbreak that was coming.

“okay well i thought it was obvious.” he grinned, leaning his head back in a way that told you that he was thinking of the girl who’s name you were about to know.

“it’s suki. i’m head over heels for suki.”

your heart dropped and felt like a knife had just been shoved into it, twisted, and then ripped out. no, your heart had just been broken. you felt like crying, you’d been so stupid in thinking he’d ever have any feelings for you. god it all made sense now, you’d never admit it out loud but you had been spending less and less time with sokka in the last couple of weeks. you had been spending more time with zuko where you would gush about the boy you were in love with.

if only you’d looked at the signs, he had been spending more time with the star volleyball player, the straight a student, the perfect in every way, suki. you couldn’t hold it against him, you loved her as a friend and she was impossible to not love. the words that left your mouth following his confession hurt your soul more than anytning

“you’d make a great couple sokka, you really would.”

[my-bated-breath]

Rage, Compassion, and the Bridge in Between

An essay on Katara’s emotions

On the spectrum of human emotion, rage and compassion exist on opposite ends. After all, rage is harsh and violent while compassion is soothing and nurturing; rage is unforgiving while compassion is all-forgiving. As such, they run a parallel course to each other, one canceling out the other whenever they do meet.

At least, that’s what we expect. We expect anger and kindness to be separate entities, and our media reflects this - a character is either severe or gentle, and in the rare case that they’re both, the contrast between their ability to hurt and their ability to heal is treated as a dichotomy. Except the human condition is not that simple, and sometimes, there is a not-so-simple story that remembers that.

In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Katara embodies the human condition - or more specifically, she embodies the duality within it. Throughout the show, her tenderness and her wrath are balanced in a way that renders her one of the most well-written female characters in children’s animation, perhaps even in all of television. Because Katara’s anger and compassion do not simply split themselves into two identities. Instead, they coexist and coalesce into one. They drive each other; they feed into each other; they are two sides of the same coin.

But how can that be true when opposite traits are supposed to clash and counter each other’s effects?

There’s no denying that at times, Katara’s anger and compassion serve to show two different sides of her. We even see this within the very first episode:

(on left) Katara: No that's it! I'm done helping you! From now on, you're on your own!

(on right) Katara: He's alive! We have to help!

At first, Katara’s irritation towards Sokka is what causes her to accidentally waterbend the iceberg open, in which the transcript describes her movements as “agitated.” However, as soon as she sees Aang, this irritation is replaced by concern for “the boy in the iceberg.” Hence, within a few minutes, we see how Katara can be motivated by compassion and rage separately.

Still, just because her kindness and anger are shown to be separate in many scenes that this separation applies to every scenario. Although Katara’s two opposite traits are opposite, that does not mean they are always opposing. Instead, they can fuel each other - her rage can fuel her compassion, and her compassion can fuel her rage.

Let’s see how.

Part 1 - Katara’s Rage Fuels Her Compassion

Throughout the series, Katara shares her grief over her mother’s death as a way to sympathize with others. In “The Southern Air Temple,” “Imprisoned,” and “Jet,” Katara tells Aang, Haru, and Jet about the effect the Fire Nation raids had on her, which establishes some of the most emotionally-charged scenes in these episodes. She is at her most vulnerable during these moments, laying bare a deep-rooted trauma in order to reach out and connect with someone else.

Dialogue from The Southern Air Temple

Katara: Aang, before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders.

Aang: What about 'em?

Katara: Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother, and they could have done the same to your people.

Dialogue from Imprisoned

Haru: Yeah. Problem is... the only way I can feel close to my father now is when I practice my bending. He taught me everything I know.

Katara: See this necklace? My mother gave it to me.

Haru: It's beautiful.

Katara: I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid. This necklace is all I have left of her.

Haru: It's not enough, is it?

Katara: No.

Dialogue from Jet

Jet: The Fire Nation killed my parents. I was only eight years old. That day changed me forever.

Katara: Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation.

Jet: I'm so sorry, Katara.

However, these moments seem to distinctly lack any hint of anger from Katara’s end, so it may seem irrelevant to mention them here - that is, until we remember Katara had mentioned her mother one more time. Trapped in the Crystal Catacombs with a former enemy, she once again says that the Fire Nation took her mother away from her - but this time not with sympathy. No, this time she is filled with rage.

Dialogue from The Crossroads of Destiny

Zuko: You don't know what you're talking about!

Katara: I don't? How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me personally! The Fire Nation took my mother away from me.

As Katara sits down, tears forming in her eyes, it becomes clear that her grief has festered into bitterness and anger towards the Fire Nation. By now, her grief is her anger, and so it’s not just shared pain Katara is empathizing within all four of these scenarios - it’s also shared rage.

She is gentle with Aang because she knows the effects of loss (inducing the Avatar State); she is sympathetic with Haru because she knows what she would be driven to do to have her mother back (inciting a prison break by stirring the prisoners’ righteous anger); and she is moved by Jet’s dedication to the Freedom Fighters because she would fight for the Southern Water Tribe too (against the Fire Nation, although Jet’s rage blinds him in a way that Katara’s doesn’t).

Then, in the Crystal Catacombs, it’s Katara’s anger towards the Fire Nation that uncovers her hidden pain. Her vulnerability is what causes Zuko’s words (“That’s what we have in common”) to resonate with her so much, enough for her to offer to heal his scar.

Therefore, Katara’s relationship with anger and grief (whether it’s emotionally-driven similar to how Aang enters the Avatar state or self-righteous similar to her calling the earthbender prisoners to action) is the foundation for some of her most compassionate moments in the series.

Part 2 - Katara’s Compassion Fuels Her Rage

Just as some of her most sympathetic moments are rooted in understanding someone else’s rage, many of Katara’s harshest moments see her acting on the behalf of others’ pain and needs.

As the designated “mother” of the Gaang, the Gaang’s more silly and immature antics often aggravate her and cause her to reprimand them severely, a clash that features prominently in Katara and Toph’s relationship.

In “The Chase” and “The Runaway,”  Katara shouts at Toph for lacking a sense of responsibility. However, her indignation does not simply stem from taking personal defense, but from wanting to safeguard the family she has found in the Gaang. Then, both these times, Toph learns the true motives behind Katara’s overbearing actions through a conversation with Iroh and Sokka, respectively.

Dialogue from The Chase

Toph: People see me and think I'm weak. They want to take care of me, but I can take care of myself, by myself.

Iroh: You sound like my nephew, always thinking you need to do things on your own, without anyone's support. There is nothing wrong with letting the people who love you help you.

When Toph talks with Iroh in “The Chase,” Iroh imparts some wisdom on finding mutual support in friendship, implying that Katara pushing responsibilities onto Toph is her way of solidifying and upholding the loving and supportive dynamic within the Gaang.

Dialogue from The Runaway

Sokka: I'm gonna tell you something crazy. I never told anyone this before, but honestly? I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like. It really seems like my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there. And now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture.

Toph: The truth is sometimes Katara does act motherly, but that's not always a bad thing. She's compassionate and kind, and she actually cares about me. You know, the real me. That's more than my own mom.

As the dialogue states, “Katara’s been the one looking out for [them].” Hence, her mothering tendencies towards Toph in “The Runaway” are evoked by her wanting to avoid the danger that Toph’s high-profile scamming is beginning to place them in. In other words, she simply wants to protect her makeshift family because “she actually cares about [Toph and the rest of the Gaang]. You know, the real [them].”

Katara’s ability to empathize with others, to see past facades and prejudices, is one of her defining traits. Earlier, in the episode “The Painted Lady,” Katara manages to see beyond the people of Jang Hui’s Fire Nation background and recognize that above all else, they are suffering from war and poverty. Consequently, they are people who need her.

As such, even the notion of abandoning the people of Jang Hui (as suggested by Sokka) enrages her because Katara is someone who “will never, ever turn my back on people who need [her]!”

Still, Katara’s desire to fight for a village of strangers cannot compare to the lengths she would take to protect Aang.

Dialogue from The Western Air Temple

Katara: You might have everyone else here buying your… transformation, but you and I both know you've struggled with doing the right thing in the past. So let me tell you something, right now. You make one step backward, one slip-up, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang, and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends ... right then and there. Permanently.

While Zuko was a bystander as Azula shot lightning at Aang, he was an active participant in his fight against Katara, whom, just moments ago, he shared an incredibly intimate moment with. But despite how Zuko betrayed Katara personally, it is the impact his betrayal had on Aang’s life (and death) that she focuses on. So even at her most threatening, Katara acts to protect someone else, Aang, the boy who is her friend and her family.

Together, all these instances reveal that Katara’s compassion is what grants her a protective instinct, and her protective instinct is what moves her to anger and violence.

Conclusion

Katara’s character provides invaluable insight into the relationship between compassion and rage, revealing how it is not simply black contrasting white, but a spread of grays and contradictions. After all, that is who Katara is. She is two sides of the same coin and the bridge in between.

Even more, that is the human condition - full of grays and contradictions, simultaneously negating and reciprocating, balancing and tipping the scales all at once. And perhaps human emotion, in all its breadth, cannot be contained to a two-dimensional spectrum where emotions can either be placed close together or on opposite ends - because humanity is of infinite dimensions, constructed from science, dictated by art. And yet, somehow it is a two-dimensional animated character who captures human complexity with such ease.

[heavensenthearty]

We'll always be a family (Pt. 2)

Pt. 1

After Sozin's Comet and the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai, the GAang is resting and regaining strength at the Fire Palace, awaiting Prince Zuko's coronation and the arrival of their allies. Yet, the clarity after the adversity brings them new epiphanies, as well as it makes feelings come to light.

Additional Tags: Love, Unrequited Love, Friendship/Love, True Love, Selfless Love, Male-Female Friendship, Female Friendship, Male Friendship, Sibling Love, Team as Family, Best Friends, Post-The Last Agni Kai (Avatar), POV First Person, POV Aang (Avatar), platonic Aang/Katara, POV Sokka (Avatar), POV Toph Beifong, POV Suki (Avatar), Implied Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Post-Episode: s03e18-21 Sozin's Comet

@zutaramonth Day 6: ZK from other's POV

Read also in AO3.

Sokka

“You are awful at this nurse thing.”

“Excuse me, sir, I am a guard,” I tell Zuko from over the scroll I am reading (or I was until he interrupted me), “And I am excellent at it.”

“You’ve been reading all the while since Katara told you to watch over me, I could have walked out of here and you wouldn’t have noticed!”

“Forgive me for being a good reader!”

“At least can you give me something to read, too? I am going stir crazy lying in bed all day, I feel like I’m losing my mind!”

“You clearly are Aang’s foil, he loses his mind whenever he isn’t lying in bed,” I reply, trying to resume my reading. “And Doctor Katara said you had to rest. I am watching over you to make sure you do that.”

“But I hate not doing anything!”

“And I hate watching over whiny cardiac patients, we all have to make sacrifices.”

I can feel how he glares at me even with my eyes glued to the text.

“Speaking about sacrifices tho…” I say. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For saving my sister’s life.”

That makes him quiet for a minute. “Oh. No need to thank me, I would never let anything happen to Katara.”

“I know. Mind if I ask you something?” I put down the scroll.

“What?”

“What was it that happened between you two?”

Now he is quiet for more than a minute.

“Wha… What do you mean?”

“I dunno. When you first joined the group, Katara was all…” I growl and pretend I’m strangulating someone, (for driving the message across) “… and then you two were all…” I interlace my fingers “… with each other.”

“Didn’t you all want to strangle me at first?” he asks.

“Yeah, but we got over it, and Katara went on being… off.”

“Wouldn’t Katara be the most appropriate person to answer that?”

“But I am asking you, ain’t I?”

He looks away. “It was… something personal.”

“So, you had ‘something personal’ going on with my sister?”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“How then?”

“I told you, I don’t want to talk about this without knowing if Katara’s okay with it.”

My eyebrow arches. (Interesting…) “Sounds like you care a lot about what she thinks.”

“Yeah. I do, actually.”

“Mm-hmmmm…”

“Why are you smiling?”

“Nothing,” I shrug, my smirk accentuating, “Can’t I just be happy?”

“Weren’t you grumpy because you had to watch over a whiny cardiac patient?”

Way to wipe off a smirk from someone’s face. “You are a jerk.”

“And you are a bad nurse and guard.”

“And you’re annoying.”

“And you are– ”

“Well, I suppose the kindergarten insults are better than disobeying a healer’s recommendations,” Katara walks into the room with more infusions and medical supplies on her hands.

“He started it!” Zuko and I yell at the same time.

“Sure…” she sits on Zuko’s bed. “Thanks for watching over him, Sokka. He is the worst patient I’ve ever had.”

Zuko complains, “Am not!”

“Any time, Doc!” I say, ignoring him and taking my cane. “I am an excellent nurse!”

“Weren’t you a guard?” Zuko counters.

I throw him an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture with my fingers. “Peace out, guys. Get well soon so you’ll stop being so whiny, Zuko.”

“Shut up,” he says. “But I hope your leg gets well soon, too!”

“Thanks, buddy,” I smile. “See ya.”

As I walk out of Zuko’s room, I wonder…

I always wanted a brother anyway…

Would it be too bad to have Zuko as my brother-in-law? (Brother-in-law, brother; same difference.)

Like, he is still pretty much a grump, (and a jerk), and he ruined my sand sculpture of Suki, but… he really cares about Katara. That’s pretty much everything I need.

Plus, it’d be kinda cool. In a ‘In your face, world! The new Fire Lord is totally head-over-heels for my sister and he is my best friend! Call history books, let’s show them the new generation does it better!’ kind of way.

[scarletemeterio-thesecond]

Hey, sorry if I'm bothering you, but I wanted to ask if you could do a part two of Heartbreak and Betrayal. I really like the story, but it's sad that it ended that way 🥺,maybe a fluffy ending for the second part(?). 🌻 Btw english it's not my first language, sorry if I made mistakes! Have a nice day!🥺💕

Omg, thank you for being so sweet, and you're definitely not bothering me! Don't worry, english is not my first language either! Hope you have a nice day too! <3

Thank you so much for requesting a part 2! I actually had a few ideas to continue that imagine but I wasn't sure if anyone would want to read it. It's literally the longest thing I've ever written, I hope you like it!

•••

Making Things Right (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: Mention of toes, mentions of scars

Genre: Fluff

Fandom: Avatar, The Last Airbender

Summary: Zuko and reader meet up again after the events at Ba Sing Se

Word Count: 4389

part 1

Joining the Avatar was one of the best things that have ever happened to me. I didn't only find amazing friends, I found a new family. I haven't been with them for long but we've already had a lot of adventures.

Right now, we were at the Western Air Temple since our plans for the invasion didn't work very well. We tried to talk to Aang about defeating the Fire Lord, but he didn't pay much attention. We needed to find a firebending teacher for him before the comet, and we had no idea where to look for one. We decided to follow Aang since we needed to find a solution to this problem. Once we all were back on land, Toph spoke, and we soon realized we had company. He was here, in front of us. The person I thought -and wished- I'd never see again, right there a few meters away from us.

He said he wanted to join us and even started talking about how much he had changed; I didn't believe anything he said. I hated to admit it, but the opportunity to let a potential firebending teacher go was kind of stupid but we were talking about Zuko here, the guy who had betrayed us; and he even said he sent that assassin after us! Apparently, I wasn't the only one who didn't want him here so we kicked him out.

"Why would he try to fool us like that?" asked Katara.

"Obviously, he wants to lead us into some kind of trap" said Sokka.

"This is just like when we were in prison together in Ba Sing Se" started saying the waterbender.

I wanted to agree with them, to say that I didn't believe any word he said but I just couldn't. I wanted to hate him, but a part of me knew we needed him, so I just stayed silent while they continued talking, with Aang joining them.

"He wasn't lying" said Toph, snapping me out of my thoughts. "And I'm just saying that considering his messed-up family and how he was raised, he could've turned out a lot worse".

"You're right, Toph. Let's go find him and give him a medal. The 'not as much of a jerk as you could've been' award" said Katara, clearly starting to get annoyed.

"All I know is that while he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you're all just letting your hurt feelings to keep you from thinking clearly. Well, all except (Y/N), not a single bad word about him has left your mouth" she commented and I immediately wanted to kill her for pointing that out.

"Why would you even try to defend him, Toph?"

"Because, Katara, you're all ignoring one crucial fact: Aang needs a firebending teacher. We can't think of a single person in the world to do the job. Now one shows up on a silver platter and you won't even think about it?"

"I'm not having Zuko as my teacher" said Aang.

"Ugh, I'm beginning to wonder who's really the blind one around here" and after saying that, she left.

There was an awkward silence in the air, and I knew they would practically hate me for what I was about to say.

"She's right".

"No way, (Y/N)! The guy literally broke your heart and you're still defending him?"

"I'm not defending him, Sokka! I'm just saying that we should consider him as Aang's firebending teacher. Where would we find another person willing to do it?"

"You're just saying that just because somehow you still love him" said Katara in an angry tone.

"You have no idea how I feel" I said immediately. "And I thought I made myself very clear when I said I didn't want to talk about any of that the moment I joined you. Toph is right, you're all blind here".

After saying that, I started walking away. Once I got to a quiet place in the Temple, I sat down with my back against the wall, and as soon as my body touched the floor, I started crying. I didn’t know why, but I felt so frustrated, I was angry, sad, and even though I hated to admit it, I missed him so much. I often wondered what would’ve happened if things had been different and it only made me feel worse because I knew it made no sense to wish for something impossible, but sometimes I just wanted him by my side. I realized that Toph was approaching me and I quickly tried to get rid of my tears.

"Are you okay?" she asked me as she sat next to me. I loved how good of a friend she was and how much she cared about all of us, even if she didn’t show it all the time. "I know you were crying and I can imagine what happened but I’ll let you tell me about it if you want, yeah?" I nodded.

"I just told them you were right, about Aang needing a firebending teacher and… well, here I am. I know that he did bad things in the past, I personally experienced some of them, but we can’t let this opportunity go to waste and Katara started telling me that I was just saying that because I still loved him".

"Well, she’s not wrong, (Y/N)".

"I know, it’s just that- It made me feel even worse than I already feel because I know that I shouldn’t have feelings for him after everything that happened but I just can’t help it". I could feel the tears running down my face again. "I’m just so hurt, Toph. And I’ve even dreamt of seeing him again and exchanging a conversation with him but at the same time I feel like it’s not worth it; like he was just pretending with me the whole time".

"You have every right to feel like that" she started saying.

"But?"

"But maybe talking to him wouldn’t be such a bad idea" I knew she was right but deep down I tried to convince myself that she wasn’t. "I’m not saying you have to do it, not if you don’t want to. Maybe if he ends up joining us, you could take some baby steps, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess that doesn’t sound so bad" I admitted out loud. She smiled briefly and then she punched my arm and I couldn’t help but smile at her action. Toph was just so Toph sometimes. She got up and left, leaving me by myself, now a lot more at peace with my thoughts than before. I stayed there for a while and finally decided to go back to the others since it was getting late and it was my turn to make dinner.

We all ate in silence, there was a slightly uncomfortable silence, which was broken by my voice, asking if anyone had seen the little earthbender. Everyone said that they hadn’t seen or heard of her since earlier today and I found that pretty unusual.

"I’m sorry for reacting the way I did today" I said.

"No, (Y/N), I’m sorry for talking to you like that. I shouldn’t have told you what I did" said Katara, grabbing my hand and smiling at me. "We know you meant no harm, and we shouldn’t have been that mean to you". I accepted her apology, but I knew she still didn’t like the idea of Zuko joining us. After dinner, we all went to bed and it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep.

I woke up with the sun hitting my face. I stayed in my room for a few minutes and I finally decided to get up and go outside. Everyone was already up, which didn’t surprise me at all since I was extremely tired last night, so it made sense that I was the last to wake up. It was Katara’s turn to make lunch, but I decided to help her; I wanted to do something and I also wanted to spend some time with her. We shared some much-needed laughs and I felt so grateful to have a friend like her in my life; we had our fights, but at the end of the day, we were always there for each other and I loved that about our friendship. When we were done, we quickly started serving the food and she began to wonder where Toph was.

"I haven’t seen her since she stormed off yesterday" said Sokka.

"Maybe she’s just exploring the Air Temple" commented Haru. "There are some pretty fun spots to practice earthbending".

"I think we should go look for her".

"Oh, let her have fun with her rocks. I’m in no rush to have her yelling at us again".

"I don’t know, I think Katara is right. I haven’t seen her for a while and I’m starting to get worried" I said.

Then, we heard a loud noise and everything moved around us, and Toph fell from a little pile of rocks.

"Toph, what happened?"

"My feet got burned" she answered and Katara quickly started healing her feet.

"Oh, no, what happened?" she asked worriedly again.

"I just told you, my feet got burned".

"I meant how".

"Well, I kind of went to see Zuko last night".

"What?" I asked as the others reacted surprised too.

"I just thought he could be helpful to us and if I talked to him, maybe we could work something out".

"So he attacked you?" asked Sokka, also worried.

"Well, he did and he didn’t" said Toph before saying that it had been an accident.

"See, you trusted Zuko and you got burned… literally" said Sokka. "And it’s not the first time this happens, we can’t trust him".

As he said that, I immediately touched my arm, which now had a scar thanks to everything that had happened back in Ba Sing Se. They all kept talking but I didn’t pay any attention to them, I was concentrated on my thoughts. I didn’t think much about my scar but when I did, it just took me back to the catacombs. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion and we tried to hide as soon as possible. Just before doing that, we saw Zuko telling Combustion Man to stop hunting Aang, but he paid no attention and continued anyways. We tried to fight back since we had to do something if we didn’t want anything bad to happen to us. Thankfully, Sokka had the amazing idea of using his boomerang, which literally saved us. Well, along with Zuko. He was climbing from a root, trying not to fall and he didn’t.

"I can’t believe I’m saying this but thanks, Zuko" said Aang.

"Listen, I know I didn’t explain myself very well yesterday. I’ve been through a lot in the past years, and it’s been hard. But I’m realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth." He looked at me while saying that and it didn’t take me long to break the eye contact between us. "I thought I had lost my honor and that somehow my father could return it to me. But I know now that no one can give you your honor. It’s something you earn for yourself by choosing to do what’s right. And all I want now is to play my part in ending this war, I know my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world".

I could see that Aang’s expression was a lot softer now as Zuko kept talking, and I realized mine was too.

"I’m sorry for what I did to you. It was an accident." He said to Toph. "Fire can be dangerous and wild. So as a firebender, I need to be more careful and control my bending so I don’t hurt people unintentionally".

"I think you are supposed to be my firebending teacher" said Aang. "When I first tried to learn firebending, I burned Katara. And after that, I never wanted to firebend again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love" I lifted my head at his words, feeling the young Avatar’s eyes on me and I quickly looked at Zuko before looking away once more. "I’d like you to teach me".

"Thank you. I’m so happy you’ve accepted me into your group".

"Not so fast. I still have to ask my friends if it’s okay with them" he then proceeded to ask every single one of us our opinion on the matter, and I felt my heart beating fast when he said my name.

"You need a firebending teacher, it would be dumb of us to refuse his offer" I said, and that made it official: Zuko was now part of our group.

Having him around was a bit weird at first, but as the days went by, I got used to his presence. I hated to admit it but having him around wasn’t so bad after all. We were now having dinner, and we were glad Zuko and Katara were fine after their trip together. It was weird to be camping, but I liked to be outdoors, so it didn’t bother me; well, except for the cold, of course. We stayed around the fire for a while after we finished eating, but we finally decided to go to bed since we had to get up early in order to go to Ember Island. Everyone had gone to their tents but I stayed outside for a while, drawing whatever went through my mind.

"Here" I heard a voice say. I looked up and I was met up with Zuko’s face, and he was offering me his robe. I looked at him confused and he sat by my side. "You’re cold, I can tell because you’re curling your toes" he said.

"Thanks" I said, grabbing his robe and putting it on. He stayed there beside me and asked me what I was drawing. "Just Momo sleeping". As I said that I gestured with my head to show him where the lemur was, and he let out a smile.

"I know I said this a couple of times already but I’m glad to see you again and I-" he said, but I interrupted him.

"Please, Zuko, I don’t want to talk about it now. It’s late, I’m tired, and I’d very much rather have this conversation at any other moment; not now, please". I begged, not wanting to deal with this right now. He nodded and told me he understood, but that we would have to talk sooner or later. "I know, I’m still very confused. Give me some time to figure out my feelings, please".

"I will, I promise".

We stayed there in silence for a few minutes while I finished my drawing. Once I was done, I started getting up to go to my tent, and when I was going to give Zuko back his robe, he told me to keep it. I smiled at him and started walking away, but I turned around and walked back to him.

"Here, I want you to have it" I said while giving him my drawing. He smiled and thanked me. We stood there, looking at each other for a few seconds until he said it was late and that we both should go to bed.

"Good night, (Y/N)". Right before walking away, he gave me a quick kiss on my cheek and I was glad it was dark enough for him to not see that I was blushing. I went to my tent and tried to be as silent as possible since I thought Katara would be already asleep.

"Did you guys kiss?" I heard her ask.

"Spirits, Katara, you scared me!" I yelled in a whisper.

"I'm sorry. Did you, though?"

"No, nothing happened" I said, hoping she'd believe me. I took off Zuko's robe and started getting inside my sleeping bag as Katara spoke again.

"Then why do you have his robe?"

"I was cold and he gave it to me, okay?" I looked at her and I realized she wouldn't leave me alone unless I told her everything, so I did. "I'm just so confused" I said after telling her, letting out a sigh.

"I think you're just scared of him hurting you again" she said. "And I get it, he really hurt you and you have every right to be mad, but I see the way he looks at you, (Y/N)".

"That's the thing, I don't even think I'm mad anymore. I guess you're right and I'm probably just scared, but I don't want to be".

"You still need some time".

"How much?" I asked. "Because if I'm being honest I miss him a lot and I just want to be with him, and it's already been a while since he joined us. It's like I'm just a tiny little step away from being ready".

"As much as you need, (Y/N). You'll know when you're ready, trust me". She grabbed my hand in order to reassure me and I smiled at her. "Maybe you're ready and you just don't want to admit it to yourself" she whispered.

She then proceeded to say good night and quickly fell asleep. I was tired, but I just wasn't able to stop thinking about my shared moment with Zuko and what Katara said to me. Maybe she was right and I was ready; maybe I was just scared of being ready, of getting hurt again. I could feel my head starting to hurt a little, but still I thankfully managed to fall asleep, which was actually a blessing since I didn't want to be tired for our trip.

Being at Ember Island felt extremely weird, but it was the best place we had to hide until the comet. Aang and Zuko were training, and Katara, Toph, and I were sitting in the corner. We were all talking when suddenly Sokka and Suki told us about a play that, supposedly, told our story.

"We were just in town and we found this poster" said Suki and then Sokka showed us said poster.

"Listen to this. The Boy In The Iceberg is a new production from acclaimed playwright Puan Tin, who scoured the globe gathering information on the Avatar" he started saying, reading what was on the poster.

"Do you really think it's a good idea for us to attend a play about us?" asked Katara.

"Oh, come on. A day at the theater? This is the kind of time-wasting nonsense I've been missing" said her brother. And so we decided to go that night. I honestly didn't know what to expect, but we honestly needed to take a break.

The day went by pretty quick, and soon we had to get ready to go.

"I think that maybe you should take of that shirt" said Katara, looking at the one I was wearing under my fire nation attire. "We don't want people to suspect we're not from the Fire Nation, and your shirt is blue".

I sighed in frustration but I knew she was right. However, I didn't want to take it out, mainly because I was a bit self-conscious about my scar; it was the only reason I used my long sleeve shirt.

"Could you come and help me?" I asked the waterbender. "I can't put this top back on my by myself". She nodded and we went inside for a moment. I had taken off my blue shirt and when she was helping me with my red one, she noticed something was wrong.

"I can stay here with you if you don't feel comfortable going out without covering it" she said, talking about my scar. I honestly considered accepting her offer for a moment. I wasn't that self-conscious about my scar anymore, but covering it was easier: I didn't have to worry about people looking at me, or things like that. But tonight I didn't really care about what anyone could think, so I refused.

"It's nothing, Katara. We should go, we don't want to be late" I said right before she finished helping me with my top. I thanked her and we went back outside to meet the others. We were all ready and so we left.

When we got to the theater, we quickly went to our sits since the play was about to begin. I sat between Zuko and Katara, with Aang and Toph at each end of the bench.

Everything up till the intermission was kind of weird; the guys have told me some things that happened before I joined them, but seeing some actors recreating that was extremely funny.

"Look guys, I know it must hurt but what you're seeing up there is the truth" said Toph before going back to our sits.

When it was Toph's moment to appear in the play, she got excited. She was played by some guy and she actually found that extremely funny, and so did I; maybe coming here hadn't been such a bad idea after all.

Or maybe it was. I wasn't in the play, and when they were acting the whole catacombs situation, they made it seem like Katara and Zuko liked each other. I knew they didn't, but it still made me feel weird and I could tell they felt the same. Suddenly, Aang got up and left and a few moments later, I decided to do the same. I sat on the floor with my back against the wall, waiting for the next intermission. It wasn't long till everyone got out, and Toph, Zuko and I stayed there while Katara went to look for Aang and Sokka went backstage with Suki.

"Geez, everyone's getting so upset about their characters. Even you seem more down than usual, and that's saying something" said the earthbender to Zuko.

"At least you guys are in the play, they didn't even mention me" I said under my breath.

"You don't get it, Toph. You get a muscly version of yourself taking down ten bad guys at once and making sassy remarks".

"Yeah, that's pretty great" said the little girl.

"But for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life and shoves them back in my face. Even the ones they don't talk about!" After hearing that, I didn't even think before acting, I just grabbed his hand and started caressing it. He kept talking about his uncle but I didn't say anything; I just stayed there in silence, letting them talk.

We went back in for the last part of the play. To be honest, I was a little bored and just wanted to head back to the house. I could tell I wasn't the only one, and there was a weird tension in the air. We all were a bit shocked at the end of the play, and on the way back to the house we all talked about how bad it actually was. Once we got there, everyone quickly went to bed, and when I was leaving, Zuko told me to stop.

"Is now a good time to talk?" he asked and I slowly nodded. We sat near the fountain, next to each other. "I don't know what the playwright was thinking, but that thing with Katara never happened at the catacombs" he said after a while.

"I know" I whispered. "It was just a play" I reassured him. He nodded and let out a sigh before talking again.

"I have so many things to say but I don't know where to begin with I-" he took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "I just want to make things right".

"I'm not mad at you anymore, Zuko" I said. "I used to be so angry and sad, I guess I needed some time".

"I understand. I'm so sorry for everything that happened, I feel so guilty for betraying you and for hurting you" he said the last part while looking briefly at my arm. "If I could go back to that day, I… I don't know what I would do, honestly".

"We can't change the past, Zuko" I said. "I just have one question and I need you to answer me with the truth. Did you ever feel something for me? Or were you just faking the whole time?" I could tell my heart was beating fast, and I even had some tears that threatened to fall down my cheeks.

"Every single moment with you was true" he said. "I really loved you, and I regret never saying it out loud because I know that it's too late now".

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking at him in the eyes.

"I never stopped loving you, (Y/N). Yes, I came here to help Aang, but also because I wanted to see you again. But after being around you for a while I realized that maybe you're better off without me".

"Don't say that" I whispered, preparing myself for what I was about to say, but before he words could leave my mouth he started talking again.

"But it's true. And I know deep down that I'll always love you, but I can't make you love me back if you don't and I-" I cut him off by grabbing his neck in order to press my lips against his.

"I do love you, Zuko. I never stopped loving you" he looked at me surprised, and I didn't know if it was because of what I just said or the kiss. Nevertheless, I kissed him again, and this time he kissed me back; the kiss was sweet and at the same time kind of desperate, and when I backed off a bit, I could tell he had a little smile on his face.

"I missed kissing you so much" he said, cupping my face to then give me a quick kiss on my nose. "I missed you so much" he whispered.

"I missed you too" I said right before hugging him and placing my head on his chest. He kissed my forehead and suddenly, right here with his arms around me, I felt at home.

[dirtyrottenraskel]

my take on yueki's personalities

yue 

notes / personality

cocky (but also like understated confidence - r e g a l af) 

kind of a nerd

maybe a little entitled, and a little bratty and suki loves to indulge her or to rile her up depending on her mood

books

seems soft but made of steel

strong sense of duty

socially intelligent - can be manipulative and suki (the dork) thinks it is so hot 

aloof queen bee typa beat

supportive, both in ur day to day and in going after your big moral life goals 

deep water - steady and powerful, often underestimated

untold depths, private yet surprisingly nurturing - master of deflecting away from herself

political nerd - well read, and when she has someone she trusts not to take advantage of her, she goes OFF 

distrusting of most people, has been used and ignored and underestimated her whole life

patient - homegirl knows how to play the long game

excellent at pai sho / chess 

she and suki have epic battles of wits - dif types of strategy but both are really into it and get a little too competitive (multiple board games have had to be replaced over the years)

loves travel bc wasn’t allowed to much, esp when she was sick 

was super repressed growing up - never let her be herself or really have any sort of independence

used to sneak out and wander around in rebellion and casually sabotage plans and decisions she didn’t agree with 

introverted, many opinions but keeps them to herself, discreet but well spoken

weaponizes secrets and information - doesn’t often use it but...she could

definitlyyyyy worries and overthinks and re-evaluates - worries ab social politics a lot

obsessive about picking things - wants it to be perfect

shes growing into her confidence as a leader

prefers quite intimate places

incredibly romantic

classic lit

planner for the future - visionary

kind / sweet / gentle - yes, but that’s also her “front” to a degree (seriously, i feel like she gets painted as so sweet and submissive and one dimensional by the fandom a lot of times and it freakin kills me)

INFJ-T (The Advocate) ((yes this is from 16p which i know is not super accurate but u can still catch her overall vibes from it ya know)

Creative/insightful/principled/compassionate/altruistic

sensitive/reluctant to open up/perfectionist/prone to burnout/not a fan of the ordinary

friendships / relationships

(<> indicates that they’re one of her best friends)

sokka - puppy love crushes, laugh ab it now, get into deep late night talks about responsibilities and leading, water tribe culture, prank wars (no one believes sokka when he says yue is a mean prank master (expect suki comes to see it in action lol))

katara - <> badass women friendship, totally would go to matches and protests together, tough girl shit, waterbending practice/duels - start of cautious, but then get rough in a good way bc they trust each other, they do water tribe food adventures together

toph - indulges her chaos, bonding over stupid royal upbringings, odd yet weirdly endearing pair

zuko - both sort of standoffish gay royals, but once they come to see that they are friends - take up similar spaces though, so only hang out in a group or rarely by themselves, they do hang out at like political parties and stuff when they get more comfortable together

aang - <> he has an impressive world view, yue is super studied and well read, so she and aang nerd out over past cultures together, and also their peace keeping nature, they have tea together often - usually after she and katara wipe the floor w/ each other

clothing / aesthetic:

blues and pale colors

classy and understated wealth

like those cute feminine button down shirts

dresses

like cold weather classy

complicated braids

sort of soft girl aesthetic?

pleated skirts !!!

i feel like she would wear ethically sourced fur (i don’t wear fur but idk how to get it in an ethical way - maybe it’s just fake??)

knit sweaters and skinny jeans and heeled ankle boots

light academia !!!

hella funky earrings - to mark her native pride and also cuz gay

from my readings, tattoos have a lot of cultural significance for Inuit women, and so i feel like yue would totally have some (when she comes of age ofc) 

suki

notes / personality 

extroverted 

also very strategic 

more spontaneous tho - will totally calculate the odds in a spilt second in her head and then just go for it

like still a careful planner, but willing to say fuck it, yolo if it seems right 

reflects on her mistakes, but more in like a healthy way - unless it was a leadership mistake, then it eats her up inside - worries more ab keeping her girls safe and making the right call

likes lively places

total bashful romantic

manages the present and the short term - realist

loves to do lists 

a little punch happy - loves to make violent threats, but also does it out of excitement and she’s just a really physical person tbh

steady, can come off as stubborn and abrasive but she really just wants what’s best for everyone she loves

harsh on herself and worries about her girls a lot 

always ends up in the oddest situations 

totally would kick someone’s ass for being racist/sexist/homophobic/etc 

dedicated to her training and her regime 

not a great cook, but she can manage 

would drink monsters 

has a weird relationship with femininity - took her awhile to reconcile strength and toughness and being assertive and aggressive with also wanting to feel pretty and feminine and embracing being a girl and how those things can coincide and amplify each other

abandonment issues - parents absent/dead 

was imprisoned - obvi she had several almost successful escape attempts, but she got really close to breaking 

was incredibly independent really early, grew up really fast and tries to make up for that now by sometimes being reckless 

tough/assertive/woman of action 

dry sense of humor/sarcastic - not good at nickname/pun humor tho

practical/dedicated/strong-willed/direct/honest/reliable/loyal/patient

stubborn/judgmental/difficult to relax/difficulty expressing emotions/too selfless 

friendships / relationships

(<> indicates that they’re one of her best friends)

sokka - <>  man they’re like platonic soulmates - she beat him up, and now they spar all the time, totally funny and crack jokes all the time, go skating together, they do shitty art together, and then show their lovers after zuko and yue come back from their high society mixers, broke her out of prison, m/f friendship !!! 

katara - also sparring buddies (suki will throw down at any literally moment (and tbh so will katara)), not close but will hang in a group - go to each other for advice 

toph - <> listen these two wreak havoc together, they help each other out a lot, i feel like they’re shopping buddies (similar enough style to frequent the same shops) toph knows suki won’t judge her for wanting to feel pretty and suki knows toph will be honest, they are both blunt sarcastic assholes and get along like a house on fire 

zuko - <> shows zuko how to like,,,enjoy things (and how to let go of some of that pressure to be always right and the adult and in charge bc they were raised with so much responsibility on their shoulders even tho they were just kids)? she is also super protective of him (once she trusts him), one of the only ppl who can match suki fully in hand to hand combat, both do the Disappointed Parent Look when the group falls into chaos, but by themselves, the two of them end up in hijinks

aang- suki enjoys his optimism and they’re just chill bros, they love exploring abandoned placed together 

clothing / aesthetic

sporty and skater mixed 

ripped jeans, crewnecks, vans 

green and yellow and dark red 

gym clothes/athleisure - lifting style gym clothes - cut off t-shirts and bike shorts

skirts too, likes to play into femininity

she’s a gold jewelry kinda girl - but stuff that won’t hinder her movements 

necklaces that end in the hollow of her throat & occasionally rings

definitely cuffs all of her jeans (it’s just bisexual culture ya know)

so many crop tops - some came like that, some were more of a diy project

yueki’s relationship!!!

nerd/jock solidarity 

feel the burden of responsibility and the weight on their shoulders 

they create a safe space between them, full of trust and warmth and vulnerability 

yue will read suki sappy passages from poetry books while suki polishes her fans 

they slow dance in the kitchen a lot 

they get good at ordering takeout - and they have some weird decision making process that only they understand - bc neither of them are great cooks 

yue would feel jealous of suki and sokka, if it weren’t for how stupid in love sokka was with zuko and yue can see that suki really only has eyes for her 

yue is taller than suki and it amuses her to no end to pick suki up and carry her away from a fight (we all know suki could get away if she wanted to, but when ur hot tall sexy gf throws u over her shoulder,,,,,,u don’t complain)

joke they’ve adopted kataang and zukka, bc they’re all dummies, but in reality every last one of them is stupid LMAO 

they love to do each other’s hair and it’s like super intimate and really cute 

sometimes it’s these epic elaborate hairstyles and then at other times, they try to see how many ponytails they can fit on suki’s head and how many little braid yue can do 

they travel EVERYWHERE 

since yue is royalty and suki is her body guard,,,, well i mean, they totally have to see these kingdoms they are doing trade deals with in person 

it helps that they're friends with a lot of them 

they stay over in everything from camping so they can stargaze to ritzy hotels with hot tubs in the bathroom 

yue gives suki rocks she finds on all their travels and suki lines them up on their mantle around the pictures of them in increasingly weird locations 

suki loves guarding yue’s meetings bc she gets to watch her absolutely rip a new one into misogynistic old men and it never fails to bring her joy 

While yue doesn’t love getting attacked, the ruthless efficiency suki defends her with is like,,,,,stupid attractive 

[welovediaaxx]

| purely physical |

05

masterlist

after their shopping spree, y/n, suki and katara made their way back home. y/n quickly put on some makeup and got dressed in the outfit katara picked out for her. she brushed out her hair in a hurry, grabbed her keys and made her way into her car to pick up toph on her way to zuko and sokka’s apartment. y/n had a special bond with toph, she always felt like she could tell her everything without being judged. toph, although she would never admit i,t liked y/n the best out of their whole friend group.

their friendship goes all the way back to their high school days. she remembers when toph just transferred over to their school, everybody underestimated the small blind girl. they treated her like a fragile child. even the teachers tippy-toed around her, but not y/n. she treated her like a normal, capable human being. toph really appreciated that. y/n introduced her to the rest of the group and the rest is history.

y/n slowly pulled into toph’s building and honked 3 times as she waited for her to walk to the car. as always, toph was waiting for her on a bench near the front door. she quickly got in her car and immediately connected her phone to the aux. they drove for about 10 minutes to zuko and sokka’s place in comfortable silence.

after countless flights of stairs, they finally made their way to the front door where they could hear faint music from the inside. toph knocked on the door. they heard sokka yell “come in!” from the inside. 

when they walked in they were immediately engulfed in hugs by an unfamiliar figure. “ty lee?” y/n exclaimed to her friend “i didn’t know you were coming!”

“of course we came, it’s not an actual party without us” said a second voice. she turned around and looked at azula who was holding a red solo cup, sitting on the couch next to katara, mai and sokka. 

“oh zuzu, you’re here too!” said y/n. she could hear a few snickers in the background probably coming from sokka, but she focused her view on azula.

“i told you to stop calling me that,” azula said as she rolled her eyes. y/n smiled and hugged her. “it’s good to see you” said azula

y/n smiled at her and made her way to say hi to everybody else. (and give some special attention to aang’s fluffy dog, appa).

she noticed a certain boy missing from the bunch but she didn’t think much of it. y/n made her way to the kitchen to get a drink, after filling her cup, she plopped on the couch next to sokka.

 “hey, i need to talk to you in private” sokka said “oh, okay.let’s go to the balcony then” y/n responded as they both got up and started walking towards the balcony.

they were a few steps away as y/n’s body collided with a tall figure. she looked up and realized it was zuko who she spilt her whole drink on.

 “zuko! i’m so sorry i-i wasn’t looking where i was goi-“ y/n started “it’s fine y/n, you can make it up to me by helping me pick out a shirt,” zuko said. y/n glanced at sokka and sent him an apologetic look, sokka nodded and quickly told her he’d wait for her outside.

“god zuko i’m so so sorry” y/n apologized for the 100th time as zuko started looking for a shirt in his drawers. “y/n it’s just a shirt calm down” zuko said with a grin on his face “stop laughing at me you jerk i’m just sor-“ y/n was interrupted by zuko’s abs as he started taking off his shirt. she was speechless to say the least.

although she wanted more than anything to look away, she couldn’t. this was a different feeling for her, she never looked at zuko like this before. they’ve been best friends since childhood she couldn’t have possibly have feelings for him, could she? “you should probably stop staring at me, it’s not a good look on you” zuko snickered.

y/n could feel her cheeks turning bright red. “oh shut up i wasn’t staring at you, i was-uh looking out the window” y/n said as she tried to look at anything but his toned muscles. “oh yeah, nice save,” zuko said as he put his shirt back on.

y/n made her way to the loveseat under his window in an attempt to hide her flustered face. “i need to talk to you about something,” zuko said as he sat next to her and looked out the window “

what’s up zuzu?” y/n responded. she couldn’t stop herself from looking at his beautiful face. the moonlight enlightened his face perfectly. “we’ve been friends forever, and i appreciate this friendship a lot, i appreciate you so much. you were there for me through everything, through thick and thin. i don’t know how i would have dealt with my teenage years if you weren’t there for me. i probably wouldn’t have met any of our friends if it wasn’t for you. azula and i would still hate each other if it wasn’t for you. i guess what i’m trying to say is that… i love you y/n. always have, always will. i know you probably don’t feel the same way and you see me as just a friend but i really have to get this off my chest”

y/n sat there, wide eyed still processing every word he just said to her. she never thought about zuko in a romantic way but she didn’t mind this. after months of being fuck buddies with a guy she knew she could never have in a romantic way she liked this kind of attention from zuko. she liked the feeling of being loved, being needed. without thinking, she crashed her lips into zuko’s and he immediately kissed back. the kisses were desperate and passionate. zuko was a good kisser, y/n had to admit. they pulled away after a minute, both of them out of breath.

zuko just stood there, admiring the features of the beautiful girl sitting in front of him. “so- uh … does this mean you feel the same way about me?”

“y-yeah. it does mean that. i think it’s kind of obvious, but i want to take things slow, i hope you don’t mind” she said. “no, of course not. i’m just so glad you feel the same way - you have no idea how happy this makes me feel” zuko said with the biggest grin on his face. “come on we should probably make our way to the living room, we don’t want everyone getting too suspicious,” y/n said. they got up and walked to the rest of the group hand in hand.

 what they didn’t see or hear was the fact sokka saw everything. he saw them kissing, zuko expressing his love for the girl he loves. he didn’t blame him, she was perfect in his eyes, he couldn’t understand how anybody wouldn’t want her. something that y/n didn’t know is that while kissing zuko, she was the one that broke a piece of sokka’s heart.

 an: y/n do be having issues tho. i rly didn’t want to glorify the reader like i see in a lot of these fics. she obviously isn’t perfect and I don’t want her to be. anyways ty for reading this and supporting me 😊

me writing the little azula part: “are we about to kiss rn”

 taglist: @justab-eautifulmess @royahllty @khaleesi-of-assassins @zuko-and-sokkas-simp @cosmicqueenieb @emogril @sonotvic @astralsaf