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drunknillawafer · 5 months ago

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right down the line: zuko x firebender!reader | part 2

You grew up close to the Royal Family due to your father's position as a General, but you ran away from home after the agni kai against your best friend. Now, you've joined the Gaang and plan on doing your part in ending the 100-year war.

Part 1 Part 3

helooo thanks for the support on part 1! i have so many plans for this fic like we are going all the way to book 3! again, these characters are not mine, I do not own them. I'm trying to be loyal to the original plot but I'm changing some things, hope that's okay! don't forget to like/reblog/comment if you like it >.< enjoy

⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

“Y/N.” I wake up from my sleep to the sound of Jet’s voice, his hands lightly shaking me by the shoulders while I lay on my back. He stands, towering over me in my room at the hideout, already dressed and awake for the day. He looks like he’s been up for hours.

I open one eye. “What?” Groggily, I manage to reply.

“I’m gonna need your help with something. Get dressed and meet me outside. I’ll lead.” He keeps it brief and short before exiting my space. I let out a sigh. What’d he wake me up for?

I put on my mission clothes, red long sleeves and black boots to help me with whatever lays outside. Black fingerless gloves, black bottoms, and my sword sheath belt. I tie my hair into two identical braids. There, ready.

Immediately after going out the door, out into the wooden walkways built in the trees, I notice Jet to my left with a serious cast over his face.

“I’m ready,” I tell him. He nods and starts walking away with his back towards me.

As we make our way to the bottom of the forest from our hideout in the skies, he bites his tongue on why he needs my help. It’s not until we’re a couple of feet away that he starts explaining.

We walk side-by-side towards Jet’s secret destination. “Sokka’s having some issues understanding the plan I have for this little Fire Nation colony south of the river. So, I need you to go with The Duke and Pipsqueak to make sure he doesn’t go and try to talk to Katara.” He finally says.

“Wait, wait. What plan?” I ask him. Last night, there had been some talk about the boy in blue and his distaste for our leader. I’d heard about Sokka’s confrontation about the older Fire Nation man, but I didn’t think it would lead to anything. The plan was Katara, Aang, and Sokka were going to leave today and start heading to the Northern Water Tribe. Everything was so peaceful when I went to sleep, at least to me.

“We’re going to flood the colony. Getting rid of the Fire Nation in this valley once and for all.” Jet lets out a sinister smirk. “We’re here.” There was no way he could have known. My breath hitched, my heart plummets down to my core. I can’t believe it; he’s going to flood my home.

“We’re here now, so you’re going to have to get used to it. I’m doing important work for the Fire Lord, be honored!” My father scolded me. Standing in our new house, I figured it was safe to complain.

He had us moved to a small Earth Kingdom village to occupy it for the Fire Lord and he could not see the problem. I wanted to stay home. Never mind that it’s only been 6 months since the agni kai, since the banishment. No. I wouldn’t be there when and if Zuko returned. It was slow torture to watch the days roll by without him and I wanted to stay where he could find me.

I didn’t want to move here; I didn’t want to see what my nation does with my own eyes. I had read the propaganda and heard the stories. I didn’t need to witness it. But according to my father’s own words, we’re not leaving any time soon.

The village was small and quaint, full of Earth Kingdom families and culture. I was depressed to see it turn red for the few short months I was there. I’d stay in my room, avoiding the citizens and circumstances as much as possible. Maybe if I never left the chambers, it’d be like I was still home.

But it wasn’t enough. I had to go. The night I left, there was no sun to show me the pain my father had caused. There was no noise or yells to stop me from turning my back and leaving. It was easy to get up and go. I had been fantasizing about it for a while. The hard part was staying gone.

Now, in the morning sun, I am seeing it for myself. The progress my father made in the three years I’ve been gone, and I almost feel gullible for believing I could do anything about it.

But maybe I can save it from Jet. Not alone though, I’d need the boy in blue.

“Okay, got it.” Hopefully, he didn’t notice my slight pause.

As we reach the end of a small cliff overlooking the village, The Duke and Pipsqueak approach us and hold Sokka by his ponytail. I try to meet his eyes but he’s busy putting up as much of a fight as he can.

They drop him on the ground knowing he’d never try anything against the four of us.

Sokka stands from the shove they gave him and stares at the leader in his face as he objects. “You can’t flood the Earth Kingdom town, Jet. There are people living there, families.”

“Small price to pay.” He justifies with a shrug. I can’t believe it.

“You lied to Katara!” Sokka points to Jet in anger. A lot happened while I was asleep. I should’ve put more effort into doing the morning shifts with Longshot and Sneers.

“She wouldn’t understand. Not like Y/N, you, and I.” Jet calmly says, his hands up in defeat. “But I can see that’s not happening for you, Sokka. Take him away, I can’t let him warn Aang and Katara.” He orders. Pipsqueak and The Duke grab Sokka’s hands and tie them behind his back, trapping him in their grip once again. They turn around to head into the sienna forest, but Sokka catches my glance.

“You can’t let him do this!” Sokka pleads with me. I turn away from his blue eyes and face Jet.

Before I can think of something to say, the leader speaks for me. “Don’t worry, we’re going to win a great victory today.”

☆

Pipsqueak and The Duke take the lead and make Sokka walk in front of us. I’m walking behind them, thinking of something I could do to stop this.

“You guys just listen to everything Jet says?” The boy in blue yelled.

“Jet’s a great leader, we do what he says, and things always end up okay.” Pipsqueak defends. It’s true. Jet may not always be clear with his intentions, but he’s fighting on the right side of this war. It’s what I needed when I joined, to taste resistance against the empire. Structure built against the nation that raised me.

I notice a pile of burgundy and crimson leaves with a rope coming out of it. The traps! The bait Jet and I set up days ago to trap some food or… enemies. We could use them against Pipsqueak and the Duke, if Sokka’s fast enough.

Without thinking, I yell. “Sokka! The traps!” Hoping he catches my drift.

Pipsqueak and the Duke face me in confusion. Sokka takes his chance and starts dashing toward the pile of leaves, prompting them both to chase after him.

He’s fast and tricks the two into walking straight over the traps. They spring up into the air just like designed.

I catch up to them and cut Sokka free from his rope, allowing him to stretch his arms out.

“Traitor!” The Duke tells me from above.

I look up to face him. “I’m not a traitor! Jet’s out of his mind. Can’t you see it?”

Behind me, Sokka speaks. “You’re with me?”

I turn around and meet his icy glare. “I’m with you.” I nod. For a moment, we stare at each other, seeing if we can trust one another. I notice the bit of grey in his blue eyes.

His face softens as a small smile creeps on his face. “Good, cause I’m gonna need your help.”

☆

Sokka heads in the direction of the hideout.

“The village is that way!” I remind him.

“I know, I’m getting Appa.” He replies still facing forward. Almost as if on cue to my incoming question, a sky bison appears through the trees with a flying bat lemur by his side. I’m assuming this was how the Water Tribe boy found himself here in the first place.

“That’s Appa?” I question. The bison lands near us, making it easy for Sokka to climb on top. He holds out a hand for me, his eyes urging me to follow him. “No, I’m not getting on that. Are you crazy?”

“We don’t have time, Y/N, c’mon.” Sokka encourages. I sigh and grab his hand, letting him pull me up as I climb onto the bison. Once I’m settled on the saddle, we’re ready for liftoff. “Yip, yip!” He says. My life couldn’t get any weirder.

As we fly through the sky, I spot the village in the near-distance.

“There!” I point out, hoping the bison can hear me. Appa gently dives down to the floor, landing gracefully.

“What a way to travel.” I say to no one in particular. Sokka smiles in response before jumping down to the floor. He looks up at me, who has no idea how I’m going to get off.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here to catch you.”

“Haha!” I joke. I take the leap of faith and land on my feet. “Not any harder than coming down from the trees.”

Sokka laughs at my comment, remembering our first encounter.

We start heading toward the entrance of the village. “Go left, I’ll go right. Let’s get them out of here.” I tell him. We split up into our designated directions, hoping to gather everyone in time to evacuate before Jet blows up the dam.

After successfully convincing 5 families to leave, I find my old home and almost stop in my tracks. No time to pause, I tell myself.

I open the front door. Dust flies arounds me to an empty house. No one seems to be home; the entire place seems to be abandoned. My father must have left a while ago, then. I let out a sigh of relief I didn’t know I was holding in. I guess I’m not ready to face him, not yet.

I run to my room, hoping to find something I can take with me before the water washes it away. Opening the door, it’s almost exactly as I left it. I can tell the servants organized everything I had left a mess.

I go to the drawer next to my bed and open it, spotting the platinum silver necklace that was my mother’s. A turtle duck charm winking at me. It was the one thing I left behind. I was an emotional mess that night.

I grab it and place it in my pocket. Turning around to try and jog my memory on something else I can take.

On the wall in front of me, an old painting hangs. I walk toward it and rub my fingers against the surface. It’s Zuko and I standing side by side, posing for the portrait. I touch his left eye and let the hurt take over me.

“Oh, Zuko.” I whisper to myself. I let the moment linger, sponging up the seconds I can wear my heart out on my sleeve. It’s been so long since I’ve been myself, but there’s no time to waste.

I leave my room and exit my house, saying goodbye for the second time. For good.

I walk to the center of town where Sokka has gathered the citizens, warning them all of what’s to come. They seem panicked, but we reassure them. We have a plan.

☆

“I’ll never get used to this!” I yell at Sokka. Being on Appa as he flies is exhilarating. “I don’t know how you do this.”

“When you’re on him for a couple days straight, you’ll get used to it.”

On our way back from evacuating the town, we follow the river to Katara and Aang. We spot them standing while speaking to someone trapped in ice. Jet.

“There!” I point, and Sokka guides Appa down, landing near the commotion.

Katara and Aang turn around at my voice and gleam at the sight of their friend.

“Sokka!” Katara calls out.

“Y/N?” Jet sees me, betrayal written all over his face. I leap down from Appa and head toward my old leader.

“Jet-”

“You’re a traitor!” I can almost see tears forming in his eyes.

“Sokka and I warned the people of your plan. We evacuated them. It’s over.” I speak.

“You betrayed the Freedom Fighters, you betrayed your brothers!”

“Your plan was insane, Jet. You can’t flood a town!” Sokka defends me.

“We could have freed this valley.” Jet growls.

“Then, everyone would be dead.” I stare at the leader in front of me in frustration. How could he be so stubborn?

Katara and Aang make their way onto Appa, climbing to the saddle and preparing for departure as Jet and I continue our staring contest.

“You’d be dead if it wasn’t for me! When I found you!” Jet argued.

“You’re not any different from them if you think it’s okay to let innocent people die.” I turn from Jet and close my eyes in thought. Where am I going to go now? I’m a lost girl from the Fire Nation and a traitor to the Freedom Fighters.

When I open my eyes, Sokka’s standing infront of me.

“Come with us.” He says.

“What?” What is he asking me?

“Come with us to the North Pole.” Like he read my mind.

“Yeah! Let us repay you.” Katara backed up her brother.

Three years ago, all I wanted was to find a way to fight against the Fire Nation. A real form of resistance that could actually win. I thought I had found it in the Freedom Fighters, in Pipsqueak, the Duke, Longshot, Sneers.

I wouldn’t be any prouder to follow him than I would my father’s footsteps.

Now, I have a chance to join the Avatar. The person who’s destined to defeat Fire Lord Ozai. The most powerful being on Earth. Granted he’s twelve, but he’s learning. I’ve seen him, he’s a talented kid.

It’s not like I got anywhere to go either.

“Okay, I’ll join you.”

#atla #avatar #aang #avatar the last airbender #atla zuko #prince zuko x you #prince zuko #fire lord zuko #prince zuko x y/n #prince zuko x reader #sokka atla #zuko

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3motionally3xhausted · 1 year ago

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Kiss Kiss Fall into another old hyperfixation

Anyway, I randomly wanted to redesign the main cast of Ouran in my style/ with headcanons and my own embellishments

Here's a screenshot redraw, I'll put all the redesigns below the break bc I did all the main characters & wanna talk about the choices I made. Also I made up that uniform redesign on the spot bc I when I was doing the characters I just put them in casual clothes lmao

(I might do some others later, like Renge, Kasanoda, Yasuchika, Benibara, etc.)

Going in order of my least favorite to top favorite. And dont mind that I didn't color the clothes, that's not whats important here lmao

Mori is only at the bottom because I don't like the drawing that much, I still think the design is pretty good. Though, like right when I finished coloring, I decided a bun/top-knot would look better so it's a bit disappointing there. In my head, Mori is kind of struggling to figure out who he is & what he wants to do, which is why he follows Honey around and doesn't talk much. He does genuinely like being around the other hosts though.

Also, the undercut because A) he has the reputation for being the scary one & it kinda suits that, B) uh do I even have to say it? ...its hot He does lowkey look like Sokka from Avatar tho, especially with the blue accents

(edit: I accidentally deleted Mori's file so now this is the only copy so 😭)

Honey is next because again I think the drawing itself is a little off and the design is pretty close to Basil from Omori, which i didn't notice until it was too late lmao. One of the main things I didn't like about his character in the show was obviously how childlike he was & how girls still flirted with him even though he looked and acted 6; So now he still acts a bit childish but doesn't play it up as much & definitely has a more normal voice, not a fckn child's.

Haruhi! I definitely had to keep her glasses cuz they were really cute and kinda sold the whole 'commoner' thing in a way. But other than that I mainly wanted to balance out her femininity and masculinity to make her more androgynous/nonbinary/gender-fluid since she definitely has some of that going on in the show as is. I also gave her dark circles under her eyes to kinda show that she worked really hard to get into Ouran with low status.

Next up is Tamaki of course, getting into the characters I'm most happy with the designs of. One small thing I tried to do for each of them was give them varying hair tones; so even though Honey and Tamaki are both blond, I went very platinum-blond with him. When I started drawing him, my only real thought was "he has to be a pretty boy" so I dont have much to say about my choices, but i do think I succeeded. Don't mind the modern mullet thing, I can't stop it

Kyouya is definitely one of my favorite characters as is, seeing as he has one of the more fleshed out & heart-wrenching backstories in the show. I think the only thing I really wanted to change was getting rid of the Anime Bangs, so I just gave him this kinda sleek, kinda messy pushed-back look with a blue tint. Even though it's simple, I really struggled to come up with anything, until I found a page from the author saying smth like "I don't like the idea of him wearing neat clothes" with a picture of him in like a track suit so I did kinda the same outfit

My absolute #1 favorites, Hikaru & Kauru. They're honestly the ones that started it all because Kauru has been my favorite since I first saw the halloween episode (iykyk).

I don't know why, but I wanted their hair to be fluffier/curly and more of a natural(?) ginger color. I knew I wanted Kauru's to be redder and Hikaru's a bit lighter/blonder, but only subtly. I also gave Kauru a scar on his cheek from that time in Karuizawa, but most notably, I gave them blue and pink eyes as their signature colors. Lastly, their expressions are slightly different, because no matter how much they are in sync and try to match each other perfectly, Kauru's a much gentler soul than Hikaru, so I made Hikaru's smile a bit more snarky while Kauru's is soft.

Thank you for looking at my art/ reading my thoughts, here's an extra little design edit & comparison

(lol, I think they're mimicking Kyouya in this panel idek) (Also here you can see I tried the bun hairstyle w Mori, I think it looks good, but this is a really simple drawing so.)

#ouran high school host club #ouran hshc #haruhi fujioka #tamaki suoh #kyouya ootori #mitskuni haninozuka #takashi morinozuka #hikaru hitachiin #Kauru hitachiin #character redesign #my fanart #my art #screenshot redraw #im hyperfixating again #ouran redesigns #33xhausted art

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therottingwriter · 5 months ago

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Back on my bullshit

MHA x ATLA

Waterbenders

"Water is the element of change"

Toga is definitely a waterbender, she changes shape/adapts like water, and she'd be a blood bender(obviously)

Nieto Monoma is such a waterbender, his quirk requires him to be able to adapt easily which is one of the most important things about being a waterbender.

Fuyumi and Natsuo are waterbenders, they both have an ice quirk and obviously had to be pretty good at adapting to things given their childhood.

I think Mirio would be a waterbender, he had to learn how to live completely differently when he lost his quirk. He's very capable of adapting to things and that makes for a great waterbender.

Earth benders

"Earth is the element of substance"

Kirishima and Shigaraki are pretty obviously Earth benders. Kirishima can harden his skin like a rock and shigaraki manipulates the earth with his quirk.

I think Testu⁴ is definitely an earthbender because let's face it he's basically just Kirishima, the fonts not even different they just put him in bold or italics. I also think he'd be a metal bender(for obvious reasons)

With Mina I could really see her as a waterbender or an earthbender but I think I'm gonna go with making her an earthbender also she would 100% be a lavabender

Firebenders

"Fire is the element of power"

Shoto and Touya two are obviously just firebenders that escaped the ATLA universe and fled to MHA

Shoto and Touya both have incredible will. Pretty sure it's cannon that the only reason Touya isn't dead is out of spite, and in order to go through everything Shoto went through and still fight that hard he'd have to have incredible will.

Katsuki Bakugo would totally be a firebender, he's definitely got the power, desire and will of a firebender + explosion quirk, that is a firebender. Also hear me out: combustion bending

Kaminari Denki is a fire bender, he's got the desire to be stronger and the will to go along with that desire. He'd definitely be a lightning bender as well, yes, mostly because of his quirk, but still.

Airbenders

"Air is the element of freedom"

I think Ochako would be an airbender. She is calm and open minded, she accepts people for who they truly are, regardless of their past mistakes. She loves from the bottom of her heart and that would make her a great airbender.

Shoji would be an airbender, he had to learn to live in a world that didn't accept him for who he was and even though people hated him and harmed him he chose forgiveness instead of revenge, he let his anger go, he freed himself of his past. like a true airbender. (Also he doesn't really have a lot of worldy possessions.)

NonBenders:

Shinso - Chi blocker(taught by Aizawa)

Aizawa - Chi blocker

Midoriya - Chi blocker (also he'd definitely be from the fire nation)

Ojiro - Chi blocker

Rody

Hagakure

Ayoyama

Hatsume - She'd be like Sokka with all of her inventions

#atla #mha #water is the element of change #earth is the element of substance #fire is the element of power #air is the element of freedom #avatar the last airbender #my hero academia #crossover #obviously Endeavor is also a firebender but he's not worthy of this post #uraraka is the avatar and she takes endeavor's bending away #no midoriya isn't the avatar and anyone who says he is is delusional😾#honorable mention Nejere and Tamaki would also be airbenders #Jiro and Sero would also be earth benders #they're both metal benders #fight me #jiro can use seismic sense #blood quirk = waterbender #zukka world domination

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eurydicees · 1 year ago

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tagged by @selkiecoded !! ty for the tag <3333

10 characters for 10 fandoms:

ohshc: TAMAKI TAMAKI TAMAKI. he's my special little guy. he's everything to me. i haven't posted about him in a minute but he's on my mind still. he's so special to me.

haikyuu: god. um. i have a short list of characters i could put here that is not actually a short list. but i know i have to go with oikawa. he's everything. he's so complex and also has nothing but volleyball in his head. he was intended to be a pretty boy character but he has an ambition that will tear down everything in his way. he's so biracial bisexual bipolar coded. to me.

uh. do i even like anything else. oh! pjo!!!! percyyyyyy. my beloved main character. truly one of the YA/children's lit narrators of all time.

fruits basket: kyo sohma!!! he's everything . he's so teenager with emotional regulation issues and so much trauma with a side of monstrosity complex and mommy issues. and it's perfect.

dude i'm truly running out of interests i am the most boring person alive i care about, like, three things ever. um. mcu? bucky barnes is sooooo <3333333

blue lock!! BACHIRA. he's my guy. i could wax poetics about him for years. can't believe i forgot him smh. #fake fan

trigun: vash the stampede my dear dear dear love. he's so "i ruin the things i love but god do i choose to love anyways." and it means everything to me.

atla: sokka !!! what a character.

i am truly scraping the bottom of the barrel with fandoms. i love this one but i never talk about it because im too caught up in the tamaki suoh and tooru oikawa of it all. anyways. madoka magica: homura. my roommate once told me i'm just like her for real and that make me a little insane ngl. the problem is that it's so true. i, too, would change the narrative to doom the world but simultaneously doom my love in a fruitless, desperate attempt to save her from said narrative.

oh im so stupid. where did your url come from tumblr user eurydicees. where did your fucking online NAME come from eury. anyways. hadestown: eurydice. fuckin obviously. god. im clearly so tired. love her tho.

also if u have ever tagged me in something and i didn't reply i am so sorry it's not you it's fully my lack of attention span, i probably saw and got distracted by smth else before i could reply/do the tag game. sorry. some crimes can never be forgiven but please keep tagging me in stuff anyways

#tag games

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azucanela · 4 years ago

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OMG I AM OBSESSED WITH YOUR WRITING YOU ARE DEFINITELY ONE OF THE BEST WRITERS ON TUMBLR NO CAP!!! i love ur zuko fics, and i wanted to request some sokka x reader!!! i want u to have complete creative freedom but i love how you write slowburn omg so some enemies to friends to lovers sokka content would be insaneeee! maybe reader is fire nation (zuko’s cousin/iroh’s daughter??) but joins the gaang after crossroads or something?

AFTER | SOKKA X READER

SUMMARY: Sokka didn’t expect the girl who held a knife to his neck to be the same girl he’d fall for. Y/N didn’t really expect to fall either.

WORD COUNT: 10k

WARNINGS: injuries, implications of death, kisses, bloodbending, threats of bodily harm, death threats

A/N: time to give sokka the attention and hype he is OWED, also im SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONGGG but this is quite possibly my favorite Y/N. writing for sokka is hard tho. im not sure how much i like this tbh but its really long omg. also thank you!!!! i feel honored to be considered the best :D you are too kind

When she was younger, Y/N joined Azula’s little troupe of girls. Though she wasn’t some loyal little soldier for her to order around, no, Y/N never feared Azula. Nor did she follow her blindly. No, it had always been a struggle for power between the two. Even when her father was booted from the throne as the rightful heir.

Losing her brother made her wonder if giving up like her father had in Ba Sing Se was the easy way out. Perhaps thats why she promised herself she would never give up. Maybe thats why she challenged Azula to... an unofficial duel when she’d heard her comment. Challenged her and won.

The new Fire Lord’s pride and joy had lost against his niece, a shame.

Y/N hadn’t thought much of it, but it probably would’ve explained why Fire Lord Ozai was rather pleased when Y/N had came to him and explained her intents to go alongside her father and cousin in banishment. She was, no matter how unlikely, another potential heir to the throne. And unlike Zuko, an actual threat. Sending her on a journey to find someone who’d been missing for a century was the best way to get rid of her.

If Y/N was honest, she viewed the banishment as more of a vacation. All her life, she had to deal with banquets, politics, war tactics, all at such a young age. It was tiring, and dull, spending day and night in the palace doing such things. Now, she had the opportunity to travel the world, though her grumpy cousin was rushing them throughout each spot, it was still nice. Zuko certainly didn’t think so, given that they hadn’t found the Avatar yet, not that Y/N believed they ever would but, it is what it is.

A sigh escaped her as she sat, on leg propped up against the other on the deck of the ship, they had arrived in the Southern Water Tribe after seeing an odd light in the distance. Maybe it was cruel, but Y/N sincerely hoped they didn’t find the Avatar. She didn’t want her vacation to end, she didn’t want to return to the politics, and she didn’t want to deal with one of the most powerful people on the planet. Aside from her own desires, Y/N couldn’t help but disapprove of Zuko’s need to please his father, the man who’d hurt him beyond forgiveness.

She sincerely doubted her father approved either. Though their relationship had been strained for some time now. Y/N didn’t hate her father, she doubted that was possible, he was a kind man and a good father. Things between them simply felt... off. She liked to think she’d gotten over it, the initial jealously she felt when she discovered her father intended to join Zuko on his hunt for the Avatar.

When she’d found out from Fire Lord Ozai.

Sometimes she wondered if her father even intended to say goodbye. But she wasn’t a fool, Y/N knew he had recently lost a son, they were both hurting and Zuko needed someone who wasn’t going to hurt him if he did something wrong. Though, Y/N saw him try to save the lives of the soldiers of the so-called great Fire Nation, not do something wrong. Regardless, Zuko needed a father figure, yes. But Y/N needed a father as she grappled with the death of her brother.

Maybe she was just a little bitter about it.

“Are you coming?” Zuko asked, his words coming out harshly.

Raising a brow, Y/N shook her head, “no. Don’t get too violent, though.” She warned, looking at him pointedly, “they’re a small tribe that’s going extinct.”

Zuko rolled his eyes as he exclaimed, “that’s not my fault!”

Sitting up to face him, Y/N smacked him upside the head as she walked past him, “considering the royal family, which you are a part of need I remind you, ordered the genocide of every single Waterbender they had...” She paused, cracking her knuckles before turning to look back at Zuko, “I would say you that everyone here probably blames you for it by assosiation.” Y/N reasoned. She had never liked the history that her ancestors had, much less approved.

Taken aback, Zuko exclaimed, “you’re a part of the royal family too!” Y/N was well aware of the circumstances surrounding his banishment, he’d tried to save lives, but war was the only thing that mattered to the Fire Nation it appeared.

His attempt at defense simply earned him a shrug, “perhaps.” Y/N didn’t consider herself a member of the royal family, and she doubted her father did either. And no matter what Zuko thought, though he was royal by blood, his banishment severed his ties to the throne permanently.

Unless they happened to find the Avatar, though that wasn’t very likely, Y/N decided she would rethinking her life choices should the Avatar be here of all places, as she rested her forearms on the side of the ship and watched Zuko march down his soldiers.

She wasn’t going to tell him that the Southern Water Tribe didn’t have a military, much less benders. As previously mentioned, the genocide destroyed the benders, and the most of the soldiers in the village had headed off to fight in the war against the Fire Nation. Though her brow did raise as she watched him yank an old lady from the small crowd of people, Y/N straightened her back, preparing to get involved.

Of course, a young warrior ended up running at her cousin, war paint and all as he attempted to attack. Key word being attempted. Watching him fall face first into the snow, Y/N realized he wasn’t a warrior, but a boy. The Avatar also happened to be a boy. A very, very young boy. Not a century year old Airbender.

Y/N supposed it was time to start rethinking her life.

Sokka didn’t know what he was supposed to do as he helped Princess Yue onto the Sky Bison. They needed to find Aang’s physical body, quickly, otherwise he wouldn’t be returning to the real world, and they happened to be fresh out of Avatars up until recently so that wasn’t really an option. Not when they needed the balance of the world to be restored immediately.

Sighing, Sokka moved to get onto the Sky Bison, only to be yanked backwards, stumbling before having a knife pressed to his neck. “What the hell!” He exclaimed in shock, garnering the attention of the others that were already on Appa. Katara’s mouth gaping open at the sight of him as Princess Yue cried out in shock.

The knife against his neck is certainly uncomfortable, and he realizes that he probably should’ve stuck around Kyoshi Island long enough to learn how to get out a situation like this. “I’m coming with you. Someone has to make sure Zuko doesn’t do anything else dumb.” Comes a voice from behind him, and Sokka’s brows furrowed in confusion, who was this? And why were they trying to kill him? More importantly, how did they know Prince Zuko, the guy who had been chasing them since Aang had come out of that iceberg. Questions ran rampant through his mind, and he nearly forgot that his life was being threatened.

That was a luxury he couldn’t afford at the moment.

Though he couldn’t see the person behind him, he could see Katara grimace at her demand, anyone associated with Prince Zuko likely had a similar end goal, to capture the Avatar. This wasn’t something they could allow, and Sokka recognized this as Katara asked, “why should we trust you?” Katara’s eyes soon met Sokka’s and he knew that no matter what he said, she would give into the girl’s demands for his safety. Sokka mentally scolded himself for failing to prevent this situation.

The girl behind him scoffed, “unlike my dear cousin,” Sokka couldn’t help the shock that flooded him, cousin? As in Zuko is this girl’s cousin? Or did she mean someone else? He was kidding himself, there was no one else it could be. “I like banishment, it’s like a fun little vacation. I could care less about the Avatar.” The knife draws in closer to Sokka’s neck, nearly drawing blood, likely expressing the fact that she could care less if Katara believed her. Though Sokka doubted she didn’t care about the Avatar, he was one of the most important people in the world.

But Sokka would likely die if she didn’t agree, or at least end up fatally injured. No matter how far Katara had come with her Waterbending, she hadn’t perfected it yet, and healing was only so effective. Sokka sincerely doubted she could beat the speed of this girl and her weapon considering the fact that she’d gotten the jump on them the first time around. Death wasn’t something he wanted, but anyone who knew Zuko couldn’t be trusted, much less someone who shared his blood. If he turned out... like that, Sokka didn’t want to imagine how this stranger ended up.

“Don’t try anything.” Katara warned, eyeing the girl wearily. Though it was an empty threat for the most part, in the air, there was little Katara could do against a foe. Though three, well two if you exclude the princess, against one seemed like favorable odds, this girl seemed talented in combat, even without bending.

She released Sokka, and he turned to see her beaming up at Katara, “happy to be doing business with ya.” Turning to Sokka, she looked him up and down, sizing him up before speaking, “be a gentleman and help me up?” Yeah, she was crazy. The pretty ones are always crazy. That, and she was Zuko’s cousin, it made sense. Though Sokka was fairly sure that she was joking, you could never be too sure.

“Who even are you?!” He exclaimed, exasperated and preparing to whip out his boomerang as he glared at her. He didn’t recognize her, but she’d likely been traveling with Zuko for quite some time now if they were related.

She just shrugged, “you can call me Y/N.” She got onto Appa with ease, Katara on guard a she eyed her, eyes piercing into her soul, Y/N raised a brow upon noticing this, “calm down. I wouldn’t have killed him.”

Katara inhaled deeply, trying to maintain patience as Sokka got into the saddle, “yip, yip.”

Y/N wasn’t really shocked when it turned out Azula was after them. Of course good old Uncle Ozai sent his most valuable asset to bring them back. Though some good at come of it, Zuko cut his ponytail, something Y/N had taken pleasure in bullying him over. Now they were on the run, in the very city that her father had tried to run to the ground all those years ago.

Irony at its finest.

Tugging at the sleeves of her Earth Kingdom garments, Y/N sighed, walking through the streets of the city. She didn’t know where she was if she was honest, and standing in the beautiful plaza, Y/N wondered if maybe, it would be better if she never returned back to that horrid apartment. Her father was starting over, getting them all jobs at a tea shop, even Zuko had tried to move on, going out on a date with a girl.

The Earth Kingdom was an odd place, but here, no one knew who she was. It wouldn’t be difficult to restart, alone. Without the expectations she’d been raised with. Fists balling up, Y/N exhaled slowly, turning a corner. There wasn’t graffiti in this part of the city, she realized, staring at the walls. Though there was an odd poster, squinting at it, she moved closer. It was a poorly drawn image of-

A Sky Bison. The same one she’d ridden on back during the Siege of the North, not that any others existed, the Sky Bison were a dying breed. Which could only mean one thing, the Avatar was in Ba Sing Se.

"Have you seen him?” She heard from behind her. Y/N recognized the voice, it belonged to the boy she’d held at knife point, “the drawing isn’t my best but-”

Turning around she spoke rapidly, “don’t freak out.” This was a problem.

Y/N liked to think she was the least threatening of the Royal Family, aside from her father that is. Though they could both be lethal in their own ways, neither demonstrated the true extents of their power unless it was truly necessary. Maybe that’s why Y/N hoped that the boy, Sokka, she believed his name was, wouldn’t freak out.

Of course, he did. Dropping the posters in his hand, he opened his mouth, likely to scream, only for Y/N to practically tackle him. She slammed his body against the wall, covering his mouth with her hand as she glared at him. Sokka let out a grunt of surprise, immediately beginning to struggle in her hold, “calm down! I don’t have a knife this time around.” Y/N cried out, her voice a hushed whisper. Of course, what she said was a lie, she always had at least three weapons on her. Upon entering the city, she’d knocked that number down to only two weapons, much to her dismay and Iroh’s relief.

She felt him lick her hand, and she quickly removed her hand in disgust, while keeping the other planted on his shoulder, they both exclaimed, “what the hell!”

Sokka’s eyes narrowed at her, “look. I don’t wanna cause a scene, so I’m just gonna go-” He sighed when her hand remained on his shoulder, firmly holding him against the wall as he tried to move away only to be pushed back into the wall. “Or not.”

“Look, you cannot go back to your little group and tell them that I’m here.” Y/N tried to choose her words carefully, if she didn’t need to, she didn’t want to suggest that her father and Zuko were also in the city. “I’m trying to have a permanent vacation, away from the Fire Nation and my crazy family, in Ba Sing Se.” She explained, slowly removing her hand from his shoulder, “think you can respect that?”

He looked at her wearily, during their last interaction, she’d made no attempts to actually injure them. And when she had the Avatar right in front of her, unlike Zuko, she hadn’t tried to kidnap him. Y/N had been honest last time, and chances were, she was being honest now. That didn’t make him feel any better about trusting her though.

“How do I know you won’t follow me and kill me in my sleep?”

Y/N looked at him incredulously, “is that a joke?” She’d considered that too though, the possibility that he’d follow her back to her shared apartment and alert his friends of their location. Y/N refused to be the reason that they lost their new lives in Ba Sing Se, and had already decided to check into an inn for the night.

Raising a brow at her, Sokka gestured for her to give him an answer, and Y/N stared at him momentarily, “well. How do I know you won’t kill me in my sleep?” Y/N retorted.

Sokka rolled his eyes at her, “I’m a good person.” Came his response.

“Debatable.”

Sokka stared at her in disbelief, “I’m trying to save the world here!” He exclaimed, and Y/N wasn’t shocked by his response, her goal had been to fluster him and she had.

Tilting her head at him, Y/N replied, “sure.” Stretching her arms upwards, she waves to him, “don’t tell your friends I was here, and we’re good.” She began to walk further into the alley, towards the other side, “see you around.” If he was here, his friends were probably around the area as well, meaning she had to leave.

His mouth gaped open and he stared at her figure as she stalked off, pausing momentarily before groaning and running after her, ending up at her side. “What do you mean, sure?” Sokka asked, confusion laced in his tone.

Y/N raised a brow at him. “What are you doing?” She wanted to laugh at his reaction, though he was now following her liked a lovesick puppy, which could prove problematic.

Crossing his arms he responded, “making sure you don’t do anything bad.” Sokka eyed her suspiciously, “because I am a good person.” He asserted.

“And I’m a bad person?”

She already knew he was going to say, ‘yes, yes you are.’ After all, she was from the Fire Nation, and Y/N had no doubt she’d done terrible things in her life, especially when she’d fallen into a dark place and taken on... less than favorable coping mechanisms.

And he’s silent for a moment, leaving Y/N to wonder if he suddenly cares about the feelings of the enemy. Only for him to say, “in my experience... good people can do bad things.”

That wasn’t what she expected. Y/N found herself stunned, speechless as she looked to Sokka, though he simply continued to walk alongside her nonchalantly. Quickly collecting herself, she looks away from him and to the nearby food stand, “that didn’t answer my question.” And as Sokka opened his mouth to likely continue his statement, Y/N realized she didn’t want to know the answer as she spoke, “you want food? I want food. Let’s get food.”

Sighing, Sokka followed her, “as long as you don’t poison me.”

Y/N’s brows furrowed at his comment, looking back at him, “do you-” A small laugh escaped her, “do you think I just carry around poison?”

Sokka didn’t know why he swelled with pride when he made her laugh, “in case you run into your enemies, absolutely.” It was probably because she was the enemy, and it took real talent to make someone who hated you laugh.

“How often do you think I run into my enemies and invite them to get food with me?” She asked, picking up a few things from the stand, before heading over to pay.

Frowning, Sokka watches her pay, “I thought we were bonding over,” he paused to take a meat bun from her and shove it into her face dramatically, “meat! Yet, I’m still your enemy.”

Y/N simply shrugged, “this is a one time thing.”

It was not a one time thing.

Sokka found himself ‘coincidentally’ running into Y/N, more and more often. She’d be walking through the streets of the upper ring about once a week, though she had started walking through the streets of the inner ring of Ba Sing Se far more frequently than normal in recent weeks. He’d been meaning to ask her why, maybe she’d also grown accustomed to their meetings and started to come around more. During their meetups they’d talk, about things other than the war, which was a conversation difficult to come by with the others. Though he cared for his friends, talking to Y/N felt different, a good different. She wasn’t overbearing like Katara, or mean like Toph, but she also wasn’t as passive as Aang.

It was odd. Knowing someone who had once held a knife to your neck in a more friendly way. Though, if Sokka was honest, he didn’t trust her, and she likely didn’t trust him either. They’d both taken precautions due to the mistrust between them, not that be blamed her. At the end of the day, they were still on opposing sides, kind of. Y/N had never seemed to care about finding the Avatar, but she was certainly loyal to her family above all else.

She’d demonstrated that in the Northern Water Tribe.

Sokka was the same, if he had saw an inkling of betrayal as a possibility, he wouldn’t hesitate to tell the others. Their safety was his priority at the end of the day, and Y/N didn’t owe him anything, just like he didn’t owe her anything. Maybe that was the beauty of it all. But for now, everything remained peaceful, calming, and simple.

Of course, all good things must come to an end.

Katara had oddly disappeared after Aang arrived with news of his vision. And then, as though things couldn’t get any weirder, Iroh arrived, Y/N’s apparent Father Iroh. Toph seemed to know him well, which certainly came as a shock to Sokka and Aang. “I need your help, Prince Zuko has been captured.” He explained, opening his mouth to continue only for Sokka to interrupt. He couldn’t help it when his brows furrowed in both confusion and frustration, Y/N had never suggested that the rest of her family was here.

“Are you crazy? You guys were trying to capture Aang not to long ago!” Sokka pointed out, throwing his arms outwards, “why not get Y/N to help?” She was certainly capable of raiding the palace and retrieving her cousin.

At this comment, Iroh’s face darkened, “we were separated in the palace. I’m unsure if they managed to capture her or if she escaped.” Oh. So that’s what he was going to say.

Sokka couldn’t help it when his face dropped, looking to Iroh he exclaimed, “well- why didn’t you lead with that!” Pushing past Aang who had been prepared to start giving a speech on why they should assist Iroh, only for his mouth to gape open as Sokka headed for the door.

“Why are you so eager?” Toph asked as they began to follow him out the door.

He faltered, quickly trying to think up a good excuse as he replied, “no reason.”

Toph’s frowned, “I can tell when you’re lying Sokka.” She reminded him.

“We can discuss this later!” He exclaimed, flustered. “Let’s go.”

Y/N had contemplated killing Zuko before.

It had never really been serious, as far as she would’ve gone was maybe injuring him badly enough that she got her point across. But at the end of the day, she protected Zuko to the best of her ability, and tried to keep his mind from being poisoned by the Fire Nation ideals that she’d once lived by unquestionably.

Now she actually wanted him dead. He stood alongside Azula, who had offered Y/N her spot in her little gang hours ago, though she’d rejected the offer much to Azula’s chagrin. But she seemed sure that Y/N would accept some time soon. Perhaps it was because Zuko had betrayed her father and left him to the Dai Li.

He had betrayed her father, the man who had practically raised both of them.

Y/N had a violent past, she wouldn’t deny, and she liked to think that she was past all that. But looking at the situation ahead of them, watching the Waterbender, Sokka’s sister, Katara, cry over the body of the Avatar, she realized that maybe violence was the answer. Just this once.

So, when she hopped in front of them, she had a plan. A violent one.

“Pull yourself together.” She snapped at Katara, who looked up at her, bloodshot eyes and tears streaming down her confused face, “he’s getting out of here alive. But first, I need you to soak them.” Y/N gestured towards the troops coming towards them, Zuko and Azula accompanying them. Katara opened her mouth, and Y/N didn’t care what she was going to say as she ordered, “now!”

Katara’s brows drew together as she released the Avatar’s head onto her lap, raising her hands to use the waterfall behind them to successfully drench the soldiers, who groaned at the discomfort but pausing temporarily before they continued towards them. “What did you think that would accomplish? What a pitiful-” Azula’s taunts were paused when she watched as Y/N drew her hands together, inhaling deeply, and Azula stopped her movement. “That’s not possible.”

Suddenly, lightning was between Y/N’s fingertips, and she extended her hand into the large puddle of water that Katara had created. Y/N had learnt to bend lightning soon after she’d mastered Firebending, from her father, he’d insisted that she only use it when necessary, so she kept her ability to herself. This was necessary, she decided, hand touching the water and sending a shock throughout everyone with it, successfully putting all of the soldiers out of commission.

Unfortunately, Azula recognized the signs of lightning bending, and withdrew alongside Zuko, and the two were now coming to attack from above at a rapid rate. Y/N whipped her head around to see Katara, mouth gaped open at all the fallen soldiers. “You two need to leave, I’ll hold them off.” She began to move to create another strike of lightning

“No.” Called out another voice, and Y/N whipped her head over to see it was her father, Dai Li agents likely nearby as he moved in front of Y/N. “You all need to leave. Take Y/N with you, she will help the Avatar reach his destiny.” Y/N wanted to laugh at that, how could he be so sure? If the boy did die, then this would all be for nothing

Y/N scoffed, “are you crazy?” She moved closer to her father, “unlike Zuko, I’m not leaving you.” She exclaimed, exasperated.

Iroh simply smiled at her as he said, “I’m proud of you, Y/N.”

Sokka knew he seemed dumb. He knew how others perceived him, as the ‘extra’ member of Team Avatar, the useless one, because he lacked bending. At the end of the day, Sokka was the brains of their operations, he was observant, and this helped him develop plans that most people would never even consider.

Not that anyone else knew, but Sokka was the only one that had actually interacted with Y/N prior to what happened in Ba Sing Se. Sure, they’d all met once or twice in the past, but Sokka had a knife to his throat then, so Y/N probably didn’t seem that appealing to the others. And he doubted they understood how odd it was that she was so... apathetic. Normally she’d tease, and joke alongside him but now?

It was odd, and nobody else could notice the shift in her personality but him, and he was concerned. Y/N had lost her father, and been betrayed by her cousin, and she had yet to talk about it, at all. Sokka liked to think that they were close enough to discuss such things, and he’d tried to get some sort of emotion out of her, the key word being tried.

Despite her apathetic personality, the others had warmed up to her for the most part. Apparently Toph had met Y/N in the past, during the time she’d run off and encountered Iroh. So, the two got acquainted fairly fast, Aang was happy to have a Firebender, and insisted that once he was back to full strength, and they’d found a better place for practice, he’d learn Firebending from her. Y/N had agreed but it was clear Aang wasn’t as excited as he was acting, Sokka figured he still associated the time he hurt Katara with Firebending.

Katara had been far less weary of Y/N than Sokka had expected, but given what Katara had told him when she’d first joined, that made sense. Y/N was a powerful Firebender who had betrayed her entire nation to help save Aang’s life, and though Katara didn’t approve of everything she’d done in the past, she tolerated her. Which was better than nothing in Sokka’s book.

They were currently camped out in the woods beside a Fire Nation town, everyone had scattered to prepare for the few nights they’d likely stay in the area. Katara had gone to the town with Toph and Aang, in search of supplies and food, while Sokka and Y/N set up the camp and collected wood to help start a fire. Y/N had insisted that she could maintain the fire without any wood, but Sokka viewed this as an excuse to get her alone and force her to discuss her feelings.

“So...” Sokka mumbled, looking to her as she leaned down to pick up another piece of wood, “lovely weather we’re having.”

Y/N turned to him, raising a brow before nodding, “yeah.” It was clear she wasn’t entirely paying attention the nonsense that was coming out of his mouth as he tried to get her to listen to him.

Sokka grabbed another piece of wood, “how have you been?”

Tilting her head at him in confusion, Y/N brought another piece of wood into her arms, “fine.” Looking up at the dimming sky she frowned, “we should start heading back to that spot we’d found earlier.” Y/N turned to begin walking, and Sokka struggled to match her pace.

His brows furrowed in frustration as he stared at her, the light of the falling sun filtering in between the trees and onto them. Y/N seemed to glow as she maneuvered between the trees, “how have you been sleeping?” Even Sokka sounded confused at the question he asked, but he didn’t know how to broach the topic with Y/N.

She simply paused her movement, turning to him, he stumbled slightly due to the abrupt stop, and met her eyes. “Just ask what you wanna ask, Sokka. Stop dancing around whatever it is.” Y/N sounded tired, looking to him expectantly as she awaited his question. Sokka scolded himself for being so obvious that she’d noticed something was up.

He sighed, “are you okay?” And she opened her mouth to respond but he continued, “actually? You can say that you are okay, and not mean it. Y/N you lost your dad and were betrayed by your cousin, and you-” Sokka grimaced as he met her eyes, “you haven’t been the same since you joined us.”

Y/N is silent for a moment, then her eyes were piercing into his, “how would you know that I haven’t been the same?” She asked, turning away to continue walking back to the chosen campsite, “it’s not like you know me.” His statement had set her off it appeared, but her response had easily done the same for him.

“Are you serious? Not like I know you?” He scoffed, jogging to catch up with her, “I know that you do whatever it takes to protect the people you care about. I know that you really like Earth Kingdom food because most of the food within the Fire Nation is on the spicier side.” Y/N didn’t seem to be listening, and the camp was in sight, but Sokka continued, “I know that you get really cold easily unless you regulate your body temperature with your Firebending. And I know that you can’t pick a favorite color because you are very indecisive.”

Aggressively, Y/N dropped the sticks into the center of the campsite as they arrived, turning to him, “you can stop now.” Her voice was almost taunting as she spoke, sarcastic in a way.

Sokka simply followed suit, placing the firewood in the center and facing her head on, “and most importantly, I know what it’s like to lose someone.” He takes her hand, and Y/N practically growls at the contact, attempting to yank her hand out of his grasp, she ends up pulling him closer towards her. Sokka clumsily topples onto her, knocking the both of them down into the dirt with a grunt. His forearms preventing him from crushing Y/N under his body weight as he held himself up, his eyes meet hers.

Y/N finds herself glaring daggers at him, while Sokka finishes his little speech with, “you don’t have to deal with this alone.”

And in that moment, he looks at her, really looks at her. And she’s really pretty.

Y/N opens her mouth to say something to him, only for someone else to begin speaking, “are we interrupting something?” Toph. Looking up, Sokka sees the others as well, Aang looks rather smug as he wiggles his eyebrows at Sokka, and Katara gives him a pointed look, likely disappointed that he’d fraternizing with the former enemy. He can’t help it when he feels his cheeks warm, and before he can move to get off Y/N, she’s launched him off of her, and he’s flat on his back on the ground. Toph laughs at the actions, bending a seat of earth for herself and the others before falling backwards into it, the girl seems to wish she had popcorn as she watched the moment unfold.

“No.” Y/N mumbles, bringing herself to her feet and dusting herself off. “I’ll be in my tent if you need me.” She retreats into one of the tents they’d set up earlier, and Sokka groans as he lets his head fall backwards into the ground and runs his hands over his face.

When he removes them, Aang is standing over him, along with Toph, while Katara organizes the firewood. “So... did we interrupt something?” Toph asked.

Sokka just sighs, his plan failed. This time at least. Next time, his goal would be to make her laugh, to make her smile. At least she had expressed some emotion, anger was better than nothing.

Anger seemed to turn to annoyance, since Y/N doesn’t leave her tent until nightfall and Sokka can’t help but wonder what was entertaining enough to keep her in there for all that time. When she does exit, she uses her Firebending to light a fire, and uses the firewood they’d collected earlier to ensure it stays alight. The rest of the group was seated around the center of the campsite, and Sokka wonders if she’s going to go back to her tent when she realizes the only open seat is next to him.

She doesn’t return to her tent though and he’s grateful. Though she sits as far as possible from him on the bench that Toph had created, half-heartedly listening to the things that the others are saying. Y/N can feel herself getting cold and can’t help the resent that bubbles up in her chest as she recalls what Sokka send earlier. Exhaling deeply, a puff of blue fire escapes her mouth and Y/N feels nauseous at the small reminder of Azula.

This catches Sokka’s attention, though the others are too enraptured in the story Aang was telling, Sokka turned to her, “cold?” He asked, leaning to the side to grab a blanket from his small pack, he offers it to her.

Y/N knew she wouldn’t be able to regulate her temperature when she fell asleep, but accepting the blanket from Sokka felt like... it felt like accepting him and everything he had said about her. So, when she doesn’t take the blanket from his hands, Sokka sighs, moving to put it back, only for Y/N to snatch the blanket from his hand and wrap it around herself begrudgingly.

This was her way of apologizing, moving closer to Sokka on the small bench she huffed as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself and turned her attention to Aang. She’d been mean, she wouldn’t deny, but what was she supposed to say? Exhaling deeply, Y/N closes her eyes temporarily, allowing drowsiness to consume her for a moment, before looking back to Aang.

It isn’t until Sokka feels a weight fall onto his shoulder midway through his own story that he realizes Y/N has fallen asleep, his mouth gaping open in shock as he pauses his words. He quickly shakes off the shock, cheeks warming as he turns back to the rest of the group, who all regard him curiously. Aang once again wiggles his eyebrows and Sokka ignores the action, continuing his story. Though he’s more weary of his vivid hand movements in fear of awakening Y/N, and noticeably quiets his voice. Sokka finds himself wishing he was Y/N as he listens to Katara’s Water Tribe horror story intently, after all, this is the most peaceful he’s ever seen her.

It doesn’t last long, because she’s soon startled awake, hand going to her side where she keeps her dagger as she and Toph speak simultaneously, “someone’s coming.”

As an old woman emerges from the shadows, Sokka practically holds Y/N down to keep her from lunging at her and attacking as the woman speaks. And of course, Y/N’s distaste for the woman doesn’t stop there, even when she invites them into her home, though Sokka doesn’t blame her. She’s a suspicious woman.

It’s not until he and Aang are attacking each other that Sokka regrets preventing Y/N from attacking the old woman when she had the chance. Katara is struggling to move, and Sokka can only hope that Toph and Y/N return from the cave soon as he yelps upon nearly making contact with Aang, the old woman laughing cynically. Sokka watches as she shifts, hand outstretching behind her, “don’t think I forgot you little Firebender.”

His eyes widen in both shock and fear as Y/N’s body is suddenly thrown onto the ground in front of him. Her body rising almost mechanically, back to a stand, Sokka realizes there’s lightning at her fingertips, the woman manipulating her body to aim for Sokka. “A shame you’ll be the woman to end your friend’s life isn’t it,” She’s making eye contact with Katara who is crying out and begging for her to stop.

Sokka can see the panic in Y/N’s eyes as the her hands aim towards him, “Y/N. It’s okay.” He calls out her, in an attempt at assurance that he doubts does much to soothe her. “It’s okay.” He repeats, squeezing his eyes shut as he prepares for the lightning to hit him. Except it never does, instead, it goes upwards into the sky as Y/N cries out in pain, having moved her body despite the woman blending her blood.

She had overpowered Hama’s bloodbending, something that clearly came as a shock to the old woman as Y/N turned around sluggishly, staring at the shocked old woman as blue fire left her mouth once more, chest heaving. Sokka could feel the weight on his bones slowly disappear, leaving behind an ache, the woman likely intended to focus her abilities onto Y/N, who was struggling to walk towards her.

“Scared?” Y/N asked, looking up at the woman, “you should be.”

The next time that Team Avatar feared Y/N. She was face to face with Zuko.

He’d approached them as they sat in the Air Temple. And Y/N had practically jumped out of her seat, preparing for a fight as lightning seemed to dance at her fingertips. Though Sokka knew better than to allow her to attack her cousin, and grabbed her arm. “Can you guys handle this?” He asks the others, maintaining eye contact with Y/N. The others looked to them understanding what would likely occur if Y/N was allowed to be involved.

Zuko wouldn’t walk away from that fight.

“We got this Sokka.” Katara assured, pure hate in her eyes as she stared Zuko down, and Sokka couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he should remove both of them from the situation.

Sokka’s hand found Y/N’s, and it was almost burning hot, a sparks seeming to fly between them, he pulls at her hand. Y/N hesitantly allows him to drag her away, though she turns back momentarily to meet Zuko’s eyes. “I’ll kill you later, cousin.” She promises, and her voice is scarily calm. “For my father.” The condescending tone in her voice and the wince Zuko has in response is enough for Sokka to know that her intent was to hurt him emotionally if she couldn’t do it physically, and it was clear she had been successful.

Inhaling deeply, Y/N closes her eyes temporarily as Sokka brings her into one of many abandoned rooms in the temple, sitting her down onto a bed before kneeling down in front of her. “Are you good?” He asks.

“That’s a stupid question.” Comes her response.

Sokka tilts his head at her, giving her a smile, “well I’m a stupid guy.”

He’s rubbing gentle circles in her hand as she shakes her head, a small laugh escaping her, “no you’re not.” Her voice cracks and she cringes at the sound so she clears her throat, staring at the wall beside her. Sokka can’t help the way his heart swells at this comment, because for once he doesn’t feel like the comic relief, he doesn’t feel like the side character. Though he appreciates the rest of Team Avatar and loves them all dearly, at times, they didn’t take him seriously.

Y/N makes him feel important. Though he doesn’t say this as he looks at her, clearly shaken by Zuko’s sudden appearance, she speaks once more, “are you sure I can’t kill him?”

This time Sokka laughs, shaking his head, “I’m sure Katara would love to help you with that, but I doubt Aang would approve.”

Y/N nods slowly, letting out a shaky breath as a tear escaped her, though she quickly wiped it away and looks to the ground. “You wanna sit with me?” She asks, patting the spot on the bed beside her.

“Sure.” He replies softly, moving to sit on the bed with her. One he’s situated, Y/N leans her head onto his shoulder, and Sokka finds his hand wrapping around her waist. And they sit like this for several moments.

Taking a deep breath, Y/N removes her head from his shoulder and looks to him, “thank you.”

Sokka raises a brow, “for what?”

“Being here.” She replies, bringing her hand to move a hair from his face, Sokka watches her actions intently and in awe. “With me.” Her hand remains on his face for longer than necessary, and when she moves to let it fall back into her lap, Sokka’s hand cups hers.

They’re both silent when Sokka’s hand releases hers, and his other hand leaves her waist, both coming to her face. The look in his eyes tells her enough, and she nods to him.

The kiss felt like the first breath of fresh air in a while. Maybe it’s because it had been long overdue, but as Y/N brought her hands to his arms to pull him closer, she felt her head empty of all thoughts.

He pulls away momentarily, their foreheads resting against each others, he can see her eyes are shut, lashes pressed against her cheeks. “I hope,” Sokka pauses, and her eyes flutter open to look at him, he can feel his cheek warm as he continues, “I hope I can always be here, with you.” It’s a confession in its own way, and Sokka understands the weight of his words as he watches her reaction.

She opens her mouth, likely to reply, be closes it quickly, and Sokka can’t help the panic that floods him. Though this is quickly replaced by the feeling of her lips on his as her hand collides with his chest and pushes him down on the bed, earning a grunt from him.

“Guys, Zuko is gone-” Y/N throws herself onto the floor as she rolls off Sokka, and he sits up immediately. “Am I interrupting something now?” Aang asked, giving Sokka a look.

Y/N clears her throat, “no.” Sokka couldn’t help it when his brows drew together at this comment, bringing a hand to his temple as he sighed, and Y/N stood, dusting off her thighs as she mumbled, “see you guys later.”

She started avoiding him after that.

When Zuko joined the group, she’s also made a point to avoid him no matter how hard he tried to apologize to her. And of course, when Sokka first showed him to his room they had a... chat. To put it simply, Sokka had threatened him.

Just a little.

“So yeah, here it is, your room.” Gesturing to the room, Sokka gave Zuko a tight lipped smile, watching him wearily.

Zuko’s back was to him as he placed his stuff down, “thank you.” He said, expecting that to be the end of it, upon hearing the door close he assumed Sokka had left.

When he turned around, Sokka was still very much there. “Let’s have a chat, Prince Zuko.” It didn’t go unnoticed by Sokka how the boy grimaced at the use of his title, though that didn’t stop him from moving forward and placing a hand on Zuko’s shoulder a little too tightly. “Y/N does not want to speak with you.”

“I know,” Came his reply. “Thank you for keeping her from... killing me. The other day. I intend to apologize-”

A small laugh escaped Sokka, “next time. I won’t stop her.” This was for multiple reasons, one of which being that Y/N was avoiding him, and the other being that he wished to respect her and her feeling about Zuko. “And you need to respect her wishes. One of those wishes being, avoiding you. Until she approaches you, leave her be.”

Zuko’s brows furrowed at this comment, “she’s my cousin. You can’t expect-”

“Leave. Her. Be.”

Zuko became silent, nodding slowly as he looked to Sokka curiously.

And now, to avoid some of his problems and solve some of them, Sokka ended up running away in a hot air balloon with the person he related to the most at the moment, and the person he threatened rather recently. Zuko. Both of them were being avoided by someone important in their lives, and they both had slightly crazy younger sisters. Though their conversations were certainly... odd.

“My first girlfriend turned into the moon.”

Zuko looked at him for a moment before saying, “that’s rough, buddy.” There was silence after this, a temporary lapse in conversation that Zuko seemed determined to fill. “So...” Zuko mumbled. “You and my cousin huh.”

It wasn’t a question, Sokka realized this, but he disregarded it as he responded, “what about us?” Playing dumb would hopefully get him to drop the subject.

Zuko raised his brows at Sokka, “us?”

Scolding himself, Sokka realized he’d unintentionally dug a deeper hole for himself when he said this as he tried to avoid Zuko’s gaze. “Not really.” Sokka replied, “she’s avoiding me too.”

Nodding, Zuko gave him a tight lipped smile, “what did you do?”

“I wish I knew.” Sokka could only make assumptions about why Y/N had begun to avoid him, but at the end of the day was confused over it.

He really needed to talk to her.

As the day of Sozin’s Comet drew closer, Sokka had started trying to talk to Y/N more and more, she’d keep basic conversation but whenever he tried to address... the kiss, Y/N would shut down the conversation. And now, it was the day of Sozin’s Comet, and they established that Zuko and Katara would take on Azula, Aang would take on Ozai, and the rest of them would go after the army that was heading for the Earth Kingdom.

It seemed that Sokka intended to try to speak with her once more as he approached her while she strapped a dagger to her thigh. “We need to talk.” He said, plopping down onto a rock beside her.

“About battle strategy?” She asked, looking to him, “I had some ideas.”

Play dumb, play dumb, play dumb.

Sokka’s brows furrowed as he shook his head, “about the kiss, Y/N.” Y/N tried to hide her shock at his forwardness, he’d never been this blunt before, during his previous attempts to discuss this with her. Turning to him, she prepared to speak but he silenced her, “you’re going to listen this time.” Grimacing, he looked away, towards the horizon. “I don’t know what’s going to happen today. And if something goes wrong, I need you to know-”

“Nothing is going wrong.” Y/N stated firmly. “Nothing. So, we can have this conversation after.”

Sokka sat up from his place on the rock, moving in front of her, “there’s no way to guarantee that Y/N.”

Squeezing her eyes shot, Y/N took a deep breath, “I’ll make sure nothing happens to you guys.” She promised, “and I swear we can talk about this after.” She grabs onto his hands, holding them in hers as she looks away. Y/N knew why she was avoiding it. He was right, it was totally possible for one of them to die, and a relationship in the midst of a war was the worst possible idea. After would be better, or at least that’s what she’d told herself.

The pleading look in his eyes almost burns through her resolve as he asks, “will we?” It almost hurts that he doesn’t believe her, but Y/N can’t blame him.

“We need to go.” Her voice was almost a whisper as she releases his hands. Even if she wanted to continue discussing the subject, they needed to begin the battle soon.

Sokka frowned though, “if you don’t want this, just tell me and I’ll-” He sighed, bringing a hand to his temple. “I’ll stop bothering you.”

Y/n began to shake her head, “you are never a bother to me I just-” Sighing, she looked into his eyes, “I want this. I do, I’m just scared, and we’re in the middle of a war Sokka!” She exclaimed, the words spilling out of her mouth before she can stop them.

“You think I don’t know that?” Sokka cried out, exasperated. “Y/N I’m so scared that something is going to go wrong, and I’ll never get to tell you that I-”

“Don’t say it.” She interrupts, fear in her veins as she watches him.

So, he didn’t.

If she didn’t feel like she had something to come back to, maybe that would make it easier. Sacrifices would have to be made to reach victory, and Y/N wouldn’t hesitate to be the one to make them if it meant the others survived. They deserved to see the new world, the world of peace, prosperity, and freedom, the one that came after all this.

Y/N could feel the power flooding her as the comet drew closer, pure and raw power. Though this accompanied by her skill would likely help her in the upcoming battle, dozens of Firebenders with half her skill and the power of the comet was something she was definitely worried about. Overpowering them all was unlikely, and in the best case scenario, Y/N could slow them down. But she wasn’t a fool. In war, there were always casualties, and she was prepared to become one of many.

Then there were the thoughts in the back of her mind. Though nobody had discussed it, the throne could potentially go to her after all this, and that wasn’t really something Y/n was looking forward to debating. Perhaps it was selfish, but Y/N didn’t really care. Was it wrong of her to dream of escaping the shackles that bound her to the Fire Nation since birth, to leave behind the politics and the lies and the pain of it all?

Maybe.

Sokka knew Y/N had a lot going on in her mind right now. And he knew she was scared of what was to come, and no matter how much it hurt him, he respected her wishes to wait until this battle was over to discuss whatever it was between them. He knew where he stood. But now that Suki had left them, he found himself beginning to regret it. On the top of the Air Balloon, Toph was practically blind, and Sokka could do little in terms of long distance, aside from his boomerang. Which left Y/N to do her best to defend them from the Firebenders that had begun to swarm them.

“Go!” She cried out, knocking one of the Firebenders off the balloon. “Take out the rest of the fleet.” Y/N dodged the oncoming flames, intercepting them with her own to prevent the others from getting burned.

But Sokka wasn’t going to let anyone die today. “You still owe me a conversation,” came his response, looking down at the bridges on the Air Balloon. “Jump!” Sokka cried out as another ball of fire rushed towards them, he took Toph by the hand and hoped that Y/N followed.

Thankfully, she did, he took notice of her as he fell towards the bridges extending from the giant hot air balloon. They were all screaming as they fell, and Y/N grunted in pain as she hit Sokka, tumbling over him and off the edge, yelping as her hands grasped the bridge, with little leverage. Toph similarly went over the side, her screams filling Sokka ears as Y/N released one of her hands from the bridge and caught Toph’s wrist.

Panic flooded Sokka as he scrambled to the edge of the bridge, Y/N’s hand slipping, “Sokka! Hurry up-” Another scream rips out of her as she loses her grip on the edge.

Nearly falling as he grabbed her hand, his chest heaved. “It’s gonna be okay.” He promised, looking into Y/N’s panicked eyes. “It’s gonna be fine Toph!” He cried out to her.

“Yeah, right!” She called out into the wind, the fear evident in her voice despite the sarcastic nature of the comment. “Y/N I don’t wanna die.”

Y/N almost can’t hear her, too focused on maintaining her grip on both Sokka and Toph’s hands. She exhales slowly, eyes falling on the soldiers that are beginning to make their way down to them as she replied, “you’re gonna be fine, I promise. I’m gonna get you to Sokka, okay?”

Sokka was internally panicking, he wouldn’t be able to fight back against the incoming soldiers if both his hands were occupied, but his grip was faltering and he couldn’t pull them both up. Grimacing as he looked down at the two, he nodded in agreement to Y/N signaling that he was ready. It made sense in his mind, she would be able to use her free hand to Firebend, which was far more useful than anything he could provide at the moment.

Inhaling deeply, Y/N looks to Toph, “Toph, I need you to climb up my body, and grab Sokka’s free hand, okay?”

Toph’s death grip on her hand seems to grow stronger, tears brimming her eyes, “I- I don’t think I can.”

Y/N shakes her head at these words, “yes, yes you can. Bring your legs up to grab my lower body, and then make your way up, okay? Like a tree.”

Toph shook her head rapidly, “I’ve never climbed a tree!”

Sokka couldn’t help but grow impatient as he exclaimed, “there are soldiers coming, Toph please!” His hand was growing sweaty as he used his free hand to throw his sword at one of the oncoming soldiers, effectively knocking him down.

Y/N felt her arm swing slightly, and watched as Toph blindly extended her legs, finally managing to wrap them around her legs. She released Y/N’s hand and wrapped both arms around her lower body, slowly inching upwards until her legs were around Y/N’s waist and her arms were on her shoulders. “Good job, now reach up, as far as you can, and Sokka’s gonna grab your hand.” Y/n instructed using her free hand to pat the hand that Toph had wrapped around her.

Y/N could feel the young girl’s tears fall onto her shirt as she extended her hand upwards, Sokka’s freehand moving as far down as possible. The strain on Y/N’s body slowly becoming too much as tears leaked out of her eyes.

Maybe it would be better to just... let go.

She quickly shook off those thoughts, Toph, Toph, Toph, she couldn’t do anything brash until Toph was safe. Y/N watched as Sokka’s hand narrowly missed Toph’s. “Sokka, please.” Y/N whispered, looking to him with pleading eyes.

Maybe it was the desperation he heard in her voice that moment, or maybe it was pure luck, put his fingers grazed Toph’s and he latched on, extending his arm as far as possible and gripping her hand. “Now let go of me, and Sokka’s gonna pull you up, okay?” Y/N explained, looking to Sokka, his eyes meeting hers. Y/N quickly realized he couldn’t lift either of them up. Just like her, this was straining his muscles, and Sokka was struggling to keep both of them up.

“Sokka.” She said, demanding his attention, his eyes met hers, filled with fear as Toph relieved Y/N’s body of her weight and evened out the distribution on Sokka’s body. “You can’t fight back with both your hands taken.” More tears were streaming down her face as she spoke, “a-and... you can’t pull us both up.” Sokka was crying too now, shaking his head rapidly as Y/N simply pointed out the facts.

Toph’s grip on his hand tightened, “we’re all going to die.” There was resignation in her voice, and it hurt Y/N to hear it.

“We’ll figure it out. We are all going to be okay.” He stated firmly, a shaky breath leaving him as he made an attempt to pull them both upwards, a failed attempt.

Squeezing her eyes shut momentarily, Y/N allowed herself to imagine it, a life with Sokka and the rest of her friends. A life where they were all happy. Where everyone made it out of this war alive, and they helped bring balance to the world.

To give them that world, they had to end this war. And what was war without death?

Opening her eyes, she looked to Sokka, and he was panicked, noticing that far more soldiers had surrounded them and were preparing to mercilessly throw them off the balloon. “Sokka.” She repeated, and he looked to her with a tear streaked face.

“I love you.”

Everything seemed to slow as she spoke this words, and Y/N didn’t see the horror on his face for long as the grip of his hand faltered when she released it, he was screaming, crying, begging for her to stop. Toph clearly didn’t understand what was going on as she began to call out Y/N’s name in a panic.

And then she was falling.

It appeared there would be no after.

It felt peaceful, she decided. Falling. The stress on her body had dissipated and she caught one final glimpse of Sokka’s mortified face before going through the clouds. The comet was visible from where she was, the horizon, it was a beautiful way to die. But staring at the comet she realized she wanted to know what would come after, she realized that Toph was practically helpless and all Sokka had was a boomerang against dozens of Firebenders.

They would die. So, what was the point of her sacrifice? What was the point of her dying?

No, she wouldn’t be dying today.

Inhaling deeply, Y/N felt the power course through her veins, and she reminded herself that she was Y/N L/N, a force to be reckoned with. Nobody would forget that as fire tore through the soles of her shoes, and extended from her hands, propelling her upwards.

She was the daughter of the famed Dragon of the West. And she would take on his mantle, she decided, as she flew upwards and through the clouds.

She could see Sokka had managed to bring Toph upwards and onto the platform alongside him, and they were surrounded by Firebenders. It was clear that they’d seen her when their mouthes gaped open, and a few of the soldiers began to retreat, much to the chagrin of their commanding officer. Y/N found herself ceasing her Firebending and falling towards the platform, she landed in a roll and rose on one knee before opening her mouth and allowing fire to pour outwards.

The Firebenders fell off the bridges beside them one by one, and those who didn’t retreated back inside along with the others at the sight of the Air Balloon that Suki had evidently comandeered.

Closing her mouth, Y/N’s chest heaved, and she felt Toph tackle her from behind, “you’re alive!” She exclaimed, punching Y/N’s arm roughly, “idiot.” She dug her head into Y/N’s shirt.

“Yeah, I am an idiot.” Y/N replied breathlessly, holding the girl tightly.

When Toph finally released her, she gave her a smug look, “I’ll give you and him a minute.” Though this was partially an excuse to head back inside and into the safety of the balloon, maybe even attack some of the remaining Firebenders, it was also because Toph could read the room.

And there stood Sokka, mouth gaping open, tears streaming down his smiling face as he looked at her, before lunging towards her similar to how Toph had. Except his hands came to her cheeks as he brought their lips together, effectively knocking the two onto the ground of the platform, be pulled apart from her with a smile on his face, “I love you too.”

Yeah, after was looking pretty good right about now.

A/N: i hope you guys liked this SUPER LONG THING WOW, that was an accident. i was super close to like breaking everyones hearts and killing Y/N but then i felt bad so be grateful i was nice ksaljdlahfkj

anyways take care of yourselves!

taglists:

atla: @bubblebars @jada-cleo @art-flirt @the-deli-meat

#sokka x reader #sokka x you #sokka x y/n #sokka atla #atla sokka #atla sokka x reader #sokka atla x reader #atla sokka x you #atla #avatar the last airbender #lok #legend of korra #sokka is a bottom change my mind #im sorry ignore this #i hope no one reads tags #anyways have a nice day #drink water

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stay-flaming · 4 years ago

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Katara: Hey zuko, I like your top!

Sokka: I have a name you know

Katara:

Katara: I could have gone my whole life without hearing that

#bottom zuko #top sokka #just try to change my mind you cant #zukka #atla incorrect quotes #atla #avatar the last airbender #katara #katara atla #sokka #sokka atla #zuko #zuko atla #zukka nation

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volkswagonblues · 4 years ago

Text

a lil guide to the Fire Nation for the ATLA fic writers out there

(aka. a no means exhaustive primer on east asia by an asian person)

This is a guide for fic writers want to write a canon-era story set in the Fire Nation, or featuring Fire Nation characters. A quick little primer on the tiny details of everyday life that you might not think about, but certainly stuff that would make me, an asian person, wince if I were to encounter it. BRUSHES, not quills. CHOPSTICKS, not forks.

(note #1: this was partly inspired by a chat with @elilim)

(note: #2: I originally intended it for zukka fic writers before realizing that other writers might find it useful. so apologies for a slight Zuko-bias for that reason)

(note #3: this is all stuff i was thinking about when writing firebender’s guide, in case anyone was wondering)

1. CLOTHING

Okay, I think the most straightforward way to describe what everyone’s wearing most of the time is “tunic”. They’re all just...tunics of different colours and varieties. Later when Zuko’s the Fire Lord he wears robes. The show provides a better visual guide than I could, here are a few notes to keep in mind:

a) Japanese people wear their collars LEFT crossed over RIGHT

I don’t think this would come up in writing as much as it would in art, but it’s considered bad luck to do it the wrong way because that’s only for dead people. Let my boy Zuko demonstrate:

b) There are no buttons

This is picky, but Wikipedia says “Functional buttons with buttonholes for fastening or closing clothes appeared first in Germany in the 13th century.[6] They soon became widespread with the rise of snug-fitting garments in 13th- and 14th-century Europe.” I kinda believe it. If you look closely, characters’ clothes are always tied together or wrapped in some way with a belt. If there are fasteners, they’re braided frog closures that go into a little loop, like the qipao-style dresses women wear in Ba Sing Se, or Zuko’s casual prince’s clothes in the topmost image. Anyways, I don’t think Zuko or Azula or the Gaang would technically button or unbutton anything when they’re changing clothes. Clothing is designed to be tied, not buttoned.

[so much more under cut]

c) This isn’t a real rule, but there’s something called koromogae, or the seasonal changing of clothing in Japan.

This is something I learned when I was writing firebender’s guide, and I just liked the fun detail about there being a strict calendar for when to wear something. I liked the idea of someone like Zuko, who actually spent most of his formative years outside of the Fire Nation, coming home and just suffering mutely through the summer heat because upper class etiquette says no changing into cooler clothes until August 15.

From My Asakusa:

And this website:

Generally, people change from thick, heavy, dark-coloured clothes for winter to thin, lighter, bright-coloured clothes for spring and summer. In traditional Japanese culture, particularly in formal settings such as tea ceremony, it is important to acknowledge the changes of seasons—in such circumstances, not only the patterns and colours of the kimono that are worn but also the utensils and furniture that are used are required to change. By changing their clothing, people notice and appreciate the change of seasons. [Japan Foundation]

Here are some visual guides from the official creators for clothes: (notice how it’s pretty much always left over right)

2.FOOD AND EATING

a) Traditional cuisine

It seems like the most common foods in canon are Fire Flakes and meat, to the point where poor Aang had to eat lettuce out of the garbage at some point.

HOWEVER, the Fire Nation seems to basically a big subtropical archipelago, so I would guess that seafood and rice are common. If you want to write about characters eating, a. quick google for “traditional japanese cuisine” would help you come up with a menu really quickly.

Wikipedia says:

The traditional cuisine of Japan, washoku (和食), lit. "Japanese eating" (or kappō (ja:割烹)), is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes; there is an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. Side dishes often consist of fish, pickled vegetables, and vegetables cooked in broth. Seafood is common, often grilled, but also served raw as sashimi or in sushi.

But before we get too serious, at one point the Gaang eats a “smoked sea slug” (Sokka’s Master)

Oh ATLA, never stop being you.

b) Utensils

One thing to keep in mind is chopstick etiquette. Someone like Zuko or Toph, for instance, would have completely internalized all of these.

Another thing is that there are no glasses. Cups and bowls are made of ceramic or clay. Let the Gaang show you:

And another note: characters won’t eat “bread” in the European sense, ie. a baked lump of dough. Steamed buns, yes. Fried pancakes made from batter, yes. Flatbreads, okay I’ll give it a pass. Rice or noodles should be the most common carbs of choice.

3.ETIQUETTE

“In the homeland, we bow to our elders” - angry schoolmistress in The Headband.

Japan Guide has a list of etiquette rules for visiting Japan, which is interesting but not too necessary to read. In general, based on what The Headband tells us, Fire Nation characters would have been raised with a strong nationalist curriculum that values communal contribution over individualist expression. Even someone like Zuko, who openly rebels against that, probably couldn’t help but be affected by it. In general the Fire Nation seems to have an East Asian-ish set of values. It’s patriarchal, all the positions of authority are filled by men; there seems to be a strong emphasis on patriotism; there’s a sense of diffidence and respect towards one’s elders; and finally, there’s an emphasis on “knowing” one’s place in society and fitting into what’s expected of oneself.

I don’t really know how to describe it, but in China and Japan I sometimes feel like there’s rules for everything, and even people born and raised there acknowledge it could be stifling at times. You could go down a rabbit hole researching points of etiquette (for instance, rules on who has to sit where in group dinners...), but to me the most important thing is acknowledging that Fire Nation has a rigid system of etiquette, and also, they’re an imperialist power who’s pretty prejudiced against foreigners. Poor Aang/Kuzon gets called “mannerless colony slob” just for being slow on the bowing action (!!!)

(in firebender’s guide I had a lot of fun imagining the stupid microaggressions Ambassador Sokka has to face in the Fire Nation, so obviously I’m just biased)

4.WRITING AND DESKS

Characters would probably write on paper, with a calligraphy brush. Not quills or pens -- a brush. Technically, old Japanese and Chinese texts should be written top to bottom, right to left, but the show itself doesn’t do this, so I think you’re fine.

One fun thing about traditional calligraphy is that you don’t use bottled ink. You have something called an ink stone, and then you grind your ink yourself by rubbing the ink stone in a special little dish with a bit of water. In my (very few) encounters with this stuff in the calligraphy lessons of my youth, the ink stones can be plain or have beautiful designs on the side. It looks something like this:

ATLA is an East Asian-ish universe, so characters are likely to be kneeling at a table, not sitting. To demonstrate, here’s my boy Sokka doing his famous rainbow at Piandao’s:

and here’s the war chamber meeting when Zuko speaks out against a general’s plans to sacrifice some soldiers:

THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS: This is Zuko’s cute little setup when he’s writing his goodbye letter to Mai. In this case he’s writing in a chair and table. It’s possible that some furniture items, like a sitting desk and a bed in a bedframe (not a bedroll or futon) are special royal palace features. Normally in a private setting we see characters sitting on the ground or on a slightly elevated platform with a low table. Maybe Caldera is just different? Or rich people are just different: the Bei Fongs also have a sit-down dining table + chair setup.

(That little rectangular box is his ink dish!!)

5.A NOTE ON GENERAL CULTURE

It’s worth talking about a few general points of East Asian culture. I can’t claim to speak for ALL of Asia, and I don’t think I should. But I do think ATLA fic writers who want to set something in the Fire Nation should take a few moments to at least skim the wiki pages for filial piety and Nihonjinron (literally, "theories/discussions about the Japanese"). There’s a certain...vibe to...asianness... that I’m not sure I can explain without like, a doctorate degree in sociology.

It’s a bit like gender, I guess. There’s no definitive checklist to what is a woman and what is a man, and we can argue that gender is performative, that it’s a construct, but at the end of the day gender is still (tragically) real in the sense that it still shapes people and affects how we walk and talk and dress and think. Nationality is the same. Obviously, the Fire Nation is a made up place in a made up show, but out of respect to the cultures that inspired it, I do think it’s worth familiarizing yourself with some of these cultures’ codes and values.

Also, ahem, if I can direct you to war crimes in the Japan’s colonial empire. Again, worth remembering that the Fire Nation was an imperalist colonizer too.

I might do a continuation of this post and talk through my more abstract takes about Fire Nation culture - Is Zuko an example of filial piety gone right or filial piety gone wrong? Why I think Zuko’s flashbacks are like, at least part teenage melodrama bullshit (the reason is son preference), how someone like Sokka might be treated once he’s openly Water Tribe in the Fire Nation (probably with racism...), specific aspects of asian homophobia and racism, etc. We’ll see.

This is not a definitive guide. Comments and critique welcome.

If you think there’s a factual mistake, PLEASE hop in my asks and let me know. I also think there’s a huge blind spot in ATLA for South and Southeast Asian representation, so I acknowledge that I can’t speak for all Asians, and there is no such thing as a “pan-asian” identity.

If there’s something else you’re curious about, I’m not a historian or anything, but I like research. Ask me and I’ll try to answer the best I can.

And oh, one last thing, this is how I do research when I wrote firebender’s guide, in case anyone’s interested in learning more (LINK)

#Avatar The Last Airbender #zukka #atla fic #my fic #fire nation

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theclockworkmonk · 3 years ago

Text

Taller

Written for @kataang-week

Day 1: Height Difference

Words: 1,546

Read on AO3

Readon FF.net

******

Despite the ever-present cold, Katara wiped sweat from her brow as she stood back to look proudly at the building made of ice she had just finished. The Southern Water Tribe was swelling faster than anyone had anticipated, and now looked much more like its northern counterpart, with actual streets, canals, and buildings carved with waterbending, instead of the hodgepodge of tents and igloos that Katara had grown up in.

A large part of it had been personally built by Katara herself, and if she was being honest with herself it had long since become unnecessary. A migration of people from the Northern Tribe had come to help rebuilding, swelling the population, and even some Earth Kingdom natives had taken up residence, hoping to establish trade between the two nations for the first time in a hundred years, but they still weren't enough to compare to the population of a proper major city, so large sections of the construction Katara had been working on would remain empty for the foreseeable future.

She knew why she kept going, though. It took her mind off how much she missed Aang.

They had gotten a few months together in peaceful, laugh-filled bliss. But ironically, the same newfound peace that had allowed her to finally slow down and sort out her feelings for Aang, was also what made her finally realize how homesick she was. She had been running all over the world for close to a year, never really having time to think about Gran Gran or all the other people she had left, but as happy as she was in her new daily routine, it still didn't feel like home. Plus, her father had been away from home even longer than she had, and she wanted to make up for lost time. So when he had told Katara and Sokka that he was about to make the journey south, they had both known that they had to join him.

But the world still needed their Avatar, and they needed him in the thick of things, not at the bottom of the world. A hundred years of tension and hostility between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom hadn't vanished overnight, and new fighting threatened to break out every day, even if it wasn't being ordered by the Earth King or Fire Lord, so Aang had his hands full with his duty as peacekeeper and mediator. He couldn't go home with her.

It had broken her heart, and she hadn't known how to tell him she was leaving, but of course she hadn't needed to. With a smile, her sweet boyfriend had been the one to bring it up, insisting that she needed to go with her family, or Sokka would surely cause some kind of catastrophe without her there to look after him, and promised that he would follow her as soon as he could.

That had been seven months ago, and while the pain of missing Aang wasn't as sharp anymore, there were still multiple times a day when she thought about looking down into his gray eyes, or how nicely he fit curled up against her as they lounged on sofas or grassy hillsides.

And her inability to get Aang off her mind certainly wasn't helped by the fact that everyone in the tribe was constantly teasing her about being the Avatar's girlfriend. Every time she would walk past a group of younger girls, they would giggle loudly with each other and, if they were feeling bold, ask if the Avatar was a good kisser. Even Sokka was still coming up with new immature jokes every day; one would think he would get tired of it by now.

So here she was, enjoying her rare piece of solitude on the outskirts of the ever-growing ice city, making it even bigger.

"You know, the basic idea of going home to your family is to actually spend time with your family." Sokka's voice from behind her made her jump.

"Only if Gran Gran stops making wedding plans for both of us," she answered over her shoulder with a laugh.

"You're in luck, it's actually far worse than that," Sokka sighed, putting an arm around his sister's shoulder. "Her target has shifted, now she's of the opinion that it's time for Dad to find another wife."

Katara spun away from him to face him and her mouth gaped open. "WHAT!?" she shrieked so loudly it echoed off of the surrounding ice.

"Yeah, so stop being a loner and come back with me, we need a united front to squash this," said Sokka, and Katara was more than willing to start following him back towards the center of the settlement.

They were approaching their family's hut, right near the edge of the ice shelf where most of the villagers were still clustered, when something made both of them stop dead in their tracks.

To the north, across the water, she heard the distant sound of a loud, low roar. The unique sound of the roar of a sky bison.

Katara and Sokka looked at each other and their faces split into wide grins. They forgot their current familial crisis and ran towards the edge of the ice, waving frantically at the dark dot growing bigger in the distance. Katara was jumping up and down by the time Appa came in for a landing and she could make out Aang's beaming face. The bison's feet hadn't even touched snow yet when Aang leapt off his head and landed in front of Katara, and they both threw their arms around each other and shared a passionate kiss, trying to pour seven months worth of affection into it.

Katara felt like she was floating. She couldn't stop a very girly giggle rising up from her throat as she pulled Aang's face down to kiss him harder—

Wait. Down?

Her eyes snapped open and she suddenly pushed him away to arm's length.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she looked up and down at her boyfriend. No, she hadn't imagined it. He now had a few inches on her. He had shot up so far so fast that he looked like he had been stretched like taffy, his build skinnier than ever and lanky.

Aang frowned in confusion at her reaction. "What's wrong?"

"You're taller," said Katara, like this was a grave betrayal on his part.

"Than what?"

"Than me."

"I've always been taller than you!"

She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at him to say, Really? But Aang maintained his completely straight face. "Aang, everyone knows, I'm the tall, intimidating waterbending master, you're my tiny, adorable squirrelmunk of a boyfriend."

"What? NO!" Sokka's voice called from Appa's side.

Katara and Aang turned to see Sokka's look of despair. He had finally noticed Aang's change after helping a very grumpy and now-actually-blind Toph down from Appa's back and onto the ice.

"Ugh, I know, right?" grumbled Toph. "I've had to switch from short jokes to skinny jokes, which aren't nearly as fun."

"But I've got seven months worth of short jokes I've been sitting on!" Sokka whined pitifully. He, Toph, and Zuko had greatly enjoyed making fun of Aang for being shorter than his girlfriend.

Katara looked triumphantly back at Aang, daring him to keep the charade up, but he couldn't keep it in anymore and his face broke out into a mischievous grin, and soon he was laughing heartily, which Katara joined him in, despite her best efforts.

"Okay, you got me," said Aang. "But in my defense, I never expected you to get this….upset about it? I actually thought you'd be impressed, and maybe more than a little attracted. Is it really a bad thing that I'm taller than you?"

"Well I don't know….maybe," she said with a pout she hoped looked cute. "You were the perfect height for me to kiss you on the forehead. Now I have to pull you down." She did exactly that and planted a kiss in the center of his arrow. "See? Far too much effort."

"You're right, I'll miss that," admitted Aang. "However, if I may make a counterpoint," he pulled her close and easily planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Hmmm," Katara hummed in contentment, closing her eyes and smiling. "I suppose we can make due with that."

Their romantic moment was interrupted by Sokka and Toph doing a loud duet of simulated vomiting noises.

"Oh, like you wouldn't be doing the same thing if Suki were here!" said Katara nastily.

"Yeah, sorry Sokka, but the Kyoshi Warriors are providing additional security for Zuko," said Aang more kindly.

Sokka's face fell, and he sighed. But then, his face lit up and he gave a wicked smile that Katara didn't like at all. "Well, there is one upside to that. That means all the attention will be on you two."

"What attention?" asked Aang.

Leading Toph with one hand, Sokka placed his other one on Katara's shoulder and started leading her back to their family hut.

"Come on, sister, with the Tribe's biggest golden couple reunited again, it won't be Dad's love life that Gran Gran is sticking her nose into."

Katara groaned and considered jumping into the ocean.

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dl4draws · 4 years ago

Text

okay so here is my little bullet point story for the httyd au lol, hope you guys like it

love amongst the dragons

this is a zuko centered au but the story actually begins with how sokka got foof

sokka and hiccup are one no one can change my mind

the swt hunts dragons because dragons hunt them, same thing as httyd

so basically the httyd storyline isn’t zuko’s story but sokka’s

he shoots foof (sprinkle of saber tooth moose lion mixed with night fury, mostly changing the size and teeth – foof would look almost exactly the same as toothless but is taller, has bigger legs, is bigger in general and well the saber tooth of course – also night furies aren’t extinct!)), not because he cant actually participate in the hunting, he’s perfectly allowed, but he creates these machines and people are like just use a spear like the rest of us lol

he shoots the saber tooth night fury down and no one believes him so he’s like “okay fuck it im gonna go find it”

he does indeed find him, foof is too cute, sokka instantly loses the battle, he doesn’t wanna fight dragons anyway

he keeps foof a secret until katara one day sees sokka sneaking away while she’s practicing water bending (the war doesn’t exist, there’s just problems in the fire nation – so the SWT is full of people)

katara is like sokka what the fuck are you doing

sokka cant lie to katara, he can charm anyone else but not katara,, sisters are charm proof

anyways events of httyd proceed to happen

sokka learns how to fly, learns stuff in general about dragons

katara is kinda like the astrid but she’s like confused at the beginning bc sokka’s getting too good at handling dragons and she’s sus

they both get good with dragons after that

until they find another dragon when they were flying around

a Very Large tm dragon

basically a water dragon, inspired by the unagi but from the south pole, it can leave the water but it prefers to live in the deep ocean

katara loves her, she starts “practicing” water bending at a special spot so one can find her, only sokka and her know where it is since they found it while flying

blah blah blah the swt proceeds to have a happy ending and everyone gets a dragon

the swt starts a life with dragons this time and they believe they are the only ones doing this (aside from the air nomads) (there is no war so aang is born 100 years later)

BACK TO ZUZU

Crown prince zuko and soon to be chief of the swt sokka are penpals, they’ve met eachother once or twice, sokka never tells him about the dragons

The fire nation has few dragons left

The fn is the birthplace of all dragons, but they have very little dragons now, they hunt them for fun

It is a ritual for the crown prince to kill a dragon and bring to the palace its heart

ozai is aware that there’s only one dragon left in their territory and the last dragon nest is weeks away

he sends zuko anyway and zuko goes, but he really doesn’t want to kill a dragon

he finds one, he goes through all that same stuff sokka (hiccup) went through with “he looked just as scared as I was” so he lets the dragon free, the dragon isn’t hurt so he can fly away but he doesn’t

he knows zuko won’t do anything to harm him so he stays with him

zuko doesn’t know wtf to do so he does what he knows always sets him in the right direction

he writes sokka a letter and tells him exactly what happens, about the dragon (his name is druk obviously) and how he doesn’t have any idea about what to do, he hopes sokka can reply as soon as possible and if he has time he can come to the fn and help him, he’s an engineer right? He can help him build stuff for druk, right??

He sends the hawk with the letter, knowing it’ll reach sokka in about week, since he’s farther south right now, so he expects sokka’s answer in two weeks

He most definitely is not expecting sokka to get there a week later riding a dragon the color of the night sky, you’d think the dragon was black if it wasn’t standing under the sunlight

Zuko hasn’t seen sokka in a few years, so he’s not exactly the same as he was back when they were still 19 (they’re 21 and 22 now)

Sokka isn’t expecting to see zuko with a supposedly extinct dragon when he gets there tho

He’s fascinated by druk (also zuko looks very pretty)

Sokka teaches zuko everything he knows about dragons, how to fly them, how to treat them, everything (they’re like little dates but they don’t mention that, they’re buddies tm)

Zuko comes back to the fn and he finds out that ozai is planning to wipe out the last nest, so zuko tries to stop him

And ozai lashes out so druk appears to protect him, and ozai is like oh bitch you’ve done it now and his little army is about to attack both zuko and druk when sokka and foof (both were hiding there in the palace) do a sneak attack and get them both out

Azula sees all of this from the shadows (this is important)

Zuko and sokka grab some stuff and leave the fn

They fly to the swt, zuko’s nervous about ozai’s plan but sokka knows that once they get home and set up a plan he’ll be okay

Once zuko lays eyes on the swt he goes holy fucking agni and sokka laughs so hard he almost falls off foof

The swt is built to house dragons and such, it really is a sight to see

They make a plan and basically go all out, the swt and the air nomads are good buddies, so aang is there with his cloud jumper (appa!!!!! Flying bisons exist but they’re like very important to the air nomads and people don’t ride them, they just vibe)

Aang is the avatar, so he has a deep connection with alpha dragons (the bewilderbeast)

They all make a plan, and they start flying to the fn, katara takes her big ass unagi like dragon, but she goes underwater with aang following her from the skies (they’re trying to find an alpha to ask for help)

They get to the nest before the troops, and stand their ground

It seems like they’re about to lose when katara appears with her dragon, the cloud jumper and aang in the avatar state on top of an alpha

The battle ends quickly after that and zuko and sokka are like !!! we did it and they share a sweet little kiss bc I say so (currently listening to coming back around and it’s making me emotional)

Azula appears after all this in sokka’s room (he’s staying at the fn palace for a bit to help the fn get adjusted to the new dragon rules) sokka hasn’t gotten the chance to talk to azula much, but he knows she isn’t opposed to dragons (or that is what it looks like)

His answer comes in the form of azula actually asking him for help, because she’s been hiding two dragon eggs for about two years

Sokka’s like!!!!!!!!!! Yes I can help!!!

She takes him to the eggs and he realizes that he hasn’t seen those types of eggs before but the coloring of the egg indicates that they are fire nation born dragons (they’re bright orange at the top and dark red at the bottom)

He asks if she found them near a volcano and azula’s like, hm yes but are you aware this palace is IN a volcano, and sokka’s like oh yeah right, and he tells her those are most likely dragons that live inside volcanoes and they like extremely hot temperatures so she should keep them near lava or with constant heat

Azula takes note of everything, and she starts going to sokka if she needs advice with her dragon eggs

Azula: how long until they hatch? Sokka: you gotta wait, depending on the dragon they can take from 2 to 5 years to hatch Azula: hm okay

Time passes, zukka dancing and singing to the dancing and the dreaming is all I need in life (will draw tomorrow)

Anyways yes sokka and zuko start living their best life riding their dragons under the moonlight and early in the mornings watching the sunset from between the clouds the end <3

#love amongst the dragons #hehehehehhe #yes #zukka #atla #delfi talks

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seyaryminamoto · 9 months ago

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I know I just put an ask in this morning, but do you happen to have any good Sokkla birth fic recs? I mean pregnancy is fine too but I'm lacking on actual birth scenes and the few I've seen are so sweet 😭 something about those two's personalities is so intriguing in those fics idk Sokka by Azula's side while she's in physical pain may be my weakest point when it comes to Sokkla and I'm unapologetic

Hmmm, off the top of my head, Proving you Wrong came to mind, even if that's not the core subject but I very much remember a birth scene there haha. I have a lead-up to birth but I didn't actually write the birth itself in Matching Heartbeats Chapter 2... Sorry, it's just insanely challenging to write childbirth, hahaha 🤣 There's also I'll Meet You At The Bottom? I no longer remember if it went in depth with the birth because it's been a while but some part of me thinks it did... For pregnancy there's Yeet!, Changings, and Singing Metal. If you want, you probably can find a lot I haven't had a chance to read just yet in this particular filtered search, while I can't attest to high quality every time, I'm sure you'll find plenty of good stuff there regardless!

Hope that helps and happy reading!

#vanilladrizzlequeen #not that i wanna spoil but there... IS... a childbirth scene...#in a certain massive story...#it may not be exactly what you'd like because well plot reasons #but it miiiiight be closer to what you'd like than you'd expect??#does that make sense??#it's possibly the one time I wrote childbirth for Azula #it's soooo hard to get it right more so in settings that are not exactly modern #like man i legit read myself a full pdf on Ancient China childbirth techniques and traditions #to try and make it as legitimate as possible #it's a scary thing to write almost scarier than massive battles (?)#... kay not really big battles are the worst #after Gladiator I'm quitting my job as an epic battles writer and I'll just write slice of life (?)

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melzula · 4 years ago

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Hi! Can you write a blurb about when the gaang finds out what exactly Zuko did to the reader?

~ see the fire lilies trilogy for context ~

“Here,” Sokka says as he drapes his blanket over your shoulders. “You looked a little cold.”

“Thank you,” you murmur with a meek smile, slowly sipping the bowl of soup Katara had given you for dinner. “How’s Aang doing?”

“He’s gonna be okay. He just needs to rest,” Katara explains weakly. You haven’t been with the group long, but it’s obvious how much she seems to care for the Avatar. “What about you? How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay...”

“Well that’s a lie.”

“Toph!” Sokka scolds.

“What? It’s true! I’ve never felt a sadder heartbeat in my life!” The younger girl exclaims.

“She’s right,” you sigh with a teary eyed smile. “I’m not okay at all. Not even close.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Katara asks gently, resting her hand on your shoulder. It takes a moment for you to gather your thoughts and swallow the lump in your throat so you can get through your next few words without crying.

“I know it must sound crazy considering all the terrible things he’s done, but Zuko used to be good. He was sweet and gentle and kind, he made me feel so special. We kept our love a secret for a long time until my father found out, and even when we were forbidden from being together he still found a way to see me. We had our own secret tunnel,” you smile faintly, and Sokka shudders at the thought of a secret tunnel.

“But then I became engaged to someone else, and Zuko was challenged to an Agni Kai. I still don’t know what happened, but I know that it changed him. He wasn’t the same after that, but still I believed everything would be okay as long as we got to Earth Kingdom. So I left everything behind and ran away with him.”

“That’s why you left,” Katara murmurs thoughtfully. “For a while everyone thought you had been kidnapped.”

You smile weakly, guiltily, and nod.

“If I had known that running away with him meant having to sit idly by as he hunted the Avatar I never would have left home. He was always angry and upset, his temper was frightening, but he never hurt me. While he was busy attempting to restore his honor I turned to my bending, practicing what I could and coming up with ways to strengthen my power. Sometimes General Iroh would aid me in form and technique, but I never used it to help Zuko. Not unless he had wounds that needed healing.”

“He couldn’t see that I was unhappy until we made it to Ba Sing Se. I could be free there, I could get fresh air and move about as I pleased without being confined to a stuffy ship. And for a while things were okay. He was better, we worked at a tea shop, he was almost like his old self again. I should have known everything would change once Azula and her little minions came along.”

“I could never be enough to make him want to be good. You can’t change someone who... who doesn’t want to change.”

“You think I’m a monster.”

“By the time I realized that it was too late. Turning your bending on someone you love is...” Tears begin to well in your eyes as the scene from the cave replays over and over again your mind. Both Katara and Sokka throw comforting arms around your shoulders as your bottom lip begins to tremble. “I did what I had to do, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help you end the war.”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Katara consoles, her motherly instincts kicking in the minute you begin to cry. “But you did the right thing. You don’t have to suffer for Zuko’s mistakes.”

“I just wish I would have gone with you the first time you offered back in the South Pole,” you weep.

“All that matters is you’re here with us now,” Sokka says with a small smile. “You’re one of us now.”

The siblings hold you as you cry, and even Toph somehow finds herself wrapped up in the group hug. You’re part of Team Avatar for now and forever, and your new family will be able to give you the love and care that Zuko never could.

#zuko #zuko x reader #zuko imagine #prince zuko #prince zuko x reader #prince zuko imagine #katara x reader #sokka x reader #toph x reader #team avatar #atla #atla x reader #blurb #fire lilies

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thinkingisadangerouspastime · 3 years ago

Text

warmth

Then her shoulders fell, the inky shadows deepening across her face as Katara sighed and pulled her knees into her chest. “I just—I have to know you’re okay, Aang. That’s all. It’s not a big deal.”

Aang blinked, her words sinking into his heart like a stone into quicksand. “Know I’m okay,” he repeated, “or know I’m alive?”

When Aang falls, Katara is always there to catch him. But maybe that’s part of the problem.

(Written for Day 5 of Kataang Week 2021: Healing, hosted by @kataang-week. Read here on AO3 or continue reading below.)

Aang loved Katara. Plain and simple. Under only the watchful eye of the moon—hope all is well with you, Princess Yue, Sokka is doing just fine—Aang might even be willing to admit he was in love with her. It wasn’t a secret, per se, but to love was to be vulnerable and despite the infinite lives he contained as the Avatar, Aang was still only human.

All the same, Aang had no shame in acknowledging that he liked having Katara’s attention on him, and moreover that he liked reciprocating her attention with his own on her. He liked how they were touchy-feely with each other in a way they were with no one else, liked how they would stay up together to count the stars and talk about anything and nothing, liked how they could make each other smile at even their lowest points.

But ever since Ba Sing Se…

Something had changed.

For better or for worse, Aang wasn’t quite sure. Because now, now it seemed more of Katara’s attention was on him than before. And at first, Aang thought he’d understood why. He’d died, he’d been in a coma for weeks, he’d flirted with death while Katara had been the one keeping constant vigil at his bedside. Though his outward wounds had long since healed into scars, there were lingering aches and pains below the surface that still could make him stumble.

Katara was always there to catch him when he fell.

But that was the—that was the problem, for lack of a better word on Aang’s part. Katara was healing him all but constantly, never letting him out of her sight for more than a few minutes at a time. The only exceptions had been his time at the Fire Nation school and her secret trips to Jang Hui as the Painted Lady. She’d almost burst into tears when he’d gotten the smallest of scratches across his thumb the other day, and that? That was not normal.

Whatever was going on, Aang knew he couldn’t let her face it alone any longer.

One night during their usual stargazing, lying down with their backs against the grass on the flattest ledge in their camp, Aang seized the moment.

“Is there a reason you’ve been so… protective of me lately?” he asked, trying to keep his tone as even as possible. It was like trying to approach a baby deer-cat—he didn’t want to spook her by storming into the subject.

Katara stiffened, and though she didn’t flee, Aang idly wondered if he’d underestimated how painful this conversation might be. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way,” Aang tried to reassure her, turning in the grass onto his side so he could face her properly. “You’ve just seemed a little on edge the past few weeks. Talking about whatever’s on your mind might—might help.”

“Doubt that,” Katara muttered bitterly, keeping her eyes averted from Aang’s own as she picked at a blade of grass. The moonlight breaking through the tree branches to their right cast dark shadows across her face, like rivers of ink winding down her cheeks. “I prefer not thinking about it, much less talking.”

Well, at least she’d admitted something was bothering her. Aang counted that as a small victory. But her aggressive resistance did mean he would have to prod a little more to get her to open up.

“I know you’re worried about me,” Aang said after a pause. He sat up, bracing himself with his hands behind him. “I don’t know why, but I know you are.”

Katara sat up and opened her mouth, probably to argue, but Aang pushed forward, not giving her the chance to disagree. To lie, really.

“I can tell because you’ve… you’ve been healing every little scratch I get. Which is kind, but”—he pursed his lips, shaking his head—“I can’t be your priority, Katara. Not all the time. Not over healing Sokka or Toph or yourself, when someone else’s injuries are worse. Okay?”

Katara’s jaw was tight, a clear sign Aang had struck a nerve. Hopefully not one that stung too sharply, bit too deeply, because hurting Katara was the last thing he wanted to do. What he feared more than anything.

Then her shoulders fell, the inky shadows deepening across her face as she sighed and pulled her knees into her chest. “I just—I have to know you’re okay, Aang. That’s all. It’s not a big deal.”

Aang blinked, her words sinking into his heart like a stone into quicksand. “Know I’m okay,” he repeated, “or know I’m alive?”

Aang had only the faintest memories of Ba Sing Se, of waking up for but a few seconds in Katara’s arms as the most radiant, most relieved smile he’d ever seen had graced her lips. The relief hadn’t matched the exhaustion—the terror—in her eyes, though. After that, he’d… disappeared, vanished somewhere into the depths of his own mind for more days than he could count.

Katara chuckled, the sound tinged with a deep-seated weariness. “Maybe a bit of both?”

“Katara—”

She silenced him with an icy look. “Don’t. Don’t use that pitying tone with me, Aang. I know it’s an irrational fear, I don’t need you to tell me that.” Katara huffed, throwing her hands up and shaking her head. “See? This is why. This is why I don’t like thinking about it.”

Aang bit his lip. Tempted as he was to swear up and down that no, he hadn’t meant to strike such a tone, he hadn’t meant to invalidate her concerns, there was a far more important direction their conversation needed to be taken in.

“It’s clearly not irrational if you can’t shake it off,” Aang said after a pause. He hesitated, then placed a careful hand on top of hers, which had returned to resting on the grass. When she made no move to pull away, he continued. “But if you’re really worried… why don’t you explain it to me?”

That offer caught Katara’s attention, and she stared at him with a mixture of shock and confusion permeating her features. Furrowed brow, head tilted at a slight angle. “What?”

Aang shrugged. “Tell me what’s making you so anxious, and then I can confirm whether or not your fear is rational.” He suspected it would be somewhere on the perpetually sliding scale between rational and irrational, as most fears born of traumatic experiences were. He had a few of his own. No shame in admitting that.

Katara hesitated, her gaze flickering over his face from top to bottom, as if searching for any hint of doubt or suspicion or—spirits forbid—pity. But Aang knew she wouldn’t find any, and he was right.

“Okay,” she murmured, averting her eyes from his own to stare at the grass they still sat upon. “Maybe I do need to”—she shook her head—“maybe that would help. A little.”

Katara’s current discomfort was clear to Aang, and he hated seeing her like this. Shaken, weary, broken in more ways than one. But what he hated even more was to see Katara terrified, and terror was the only expression written in her eyes each time she watched him get hurt, no matter how minor the injury. So if she would talk, Aang would listen, and he would do whatever he could to reassure her.

“This war has been going on my entire life,” Katara said after a pause. “So I’m not—I’m not unfamiliar with death”—a low chuckle escaped her lips—“although not for a lack of trying on Sokka’s part.” She heaved a shuddering sigh, picking at a blade of grass with her hand that wasn’t beneath Aang’s. “But warriors died in battle. Babies didn’t always survive birth. I—I saw my own mother’s corpse when I was only eight years old, Aang, so burned up you could barely recognize her—”

Katara snapped her jaw shut as her voice neared a fatal crack, and she blinked back tears.

Before he could lose his nerve, Aang turned Katara’s hand over, the one still beneath his own, and carefully laced their fingers together. I’m here, he tried to say, not knowing how to say it. His touch seemed to do the trick, though, as Katara exhaled a shuddering breath and moved to rest against his side, their shoulders pressed firmly together.

“I was never… never close, though,” she murmured, her voice having regained stability. “Never touched the bodies. Not even my mom’s.”

The note of grief in Katara’s voice rang sharper than a wind chime, and Aang had to fight down the urge to pull her into his arms then and there. He couldn’t. Not yet. Not until she was finished, not until she was ready. So though Aang’s heart ached with an identical loss—You turned your back on the world!—he said nothing, and he let her continue.

“But I… I caught you, Aang.” Katara’s grip tightened around his hand, but Aang didn’t pull away, not even when her nails began digging into the skin just below his knuckles. “When you fell, in Ba Sing Se. After Azula. I caught you, I held you when you were—”

“Gone?” Aang supplied when her voice vanished, and Katara nodded, rubbing her eyes with the back of her free hand.

“Yeah.” She took another slow breath, clearing her throat. “And, you know, people always say that death is—that death is cold. It’s life, energy, stolen from the body. But Aang, you were”—Katara shook her head, eyes brimming with tears that glowed like droplets of liquid silver in the moonlight—“you were so warm, I could almost believe you were sleeping and would wake up in my arms any minute.”

Aang swallowed a lump rising in his own throat. “And I did wake up,” he said gently, once a beat had passed. “Because you saved me, Katara. You brought me back.”

Katara gave him a sorrowful smile. “Don’t you get it, Aang? That’s the problem.” Her free hand clenched into a fist, and she slammed it a single time against her chest—right over her heart. “I had the water from the Spirit Oasis. I had control, that was why I was able to heal you then, that was how I was able to make everything okay. But now?”

Katara’s hand uncurled, falling weakly to her side as she shook her head. Another silver tear traced the edge of a shadow that still haunted her cheek, the drop trickling downward. “Now, I don’t have miracles to rely on for help anymore. The only control I have is me, my own abilities, and Tui and La, Aang, I can’t—I can’t lose you again!”

Her voice broke, and Aang threw all forethought to the wind, releasing Katara’s hand to pull her into a hug fiercer than any they’d ever shared before. He didn’t care how her tears wet his shoulder, he didn’t care how desperately her arms locked around his body, no, all he needed was for Katara to know that he was there.

“I’m so sorry,” Aang finally whispered, pathetic and useless as the three words were.

Katara shook her head, face still buried into his shoulder. “Not your fault.”

For the first time since they’d met in the South Pole, Aang had no idea how to comfort her. It won’t happen again, I’ll always be there for you, you’ll always be there for me, we’ll both make it through this—they were empty promises, cheap vows he had no way to guarantee.

“We’re here now,” Aang murmured, pressing the lightest of kisses to the top of her hair. A new three words, a different but still simple action—something about the combination of gestures must have soothed Katara, as Aang could feel her exhale and her body relax against his own. “We’re here now.”

The present was all they could count on.

#kataang #kataangtag #kataang week #katara #aang #kataangst #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla fanfic #tw: discussion of death #amy writes

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therottingwriter · 5 months ago

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Back on my bullshit

MHA x ATLA

Waterbenders

"Water is the element of change"

Toga is definitely a waterbender, she changes shape/adapts like water, and she'd be a blood bender(obviously)

Nieto Monoma is such a waterbender, his quirk requires him to be able to adapt easily which is one of the most important things about being a waterbender.

Fuyumi and Natsuo are waterbenders, they both have an ice quirk and obviously had to be pretty good at adapting to things given their childhood.

I think Mirio would be a waterbender, he had to learn how to live completely differently when he lost his quirk. He's very capable of adapting to things and that makes for a great waterbender.

Earth benders

"Earth is the element of substance"

Kirishima and Shigaraki are pretty obviously Earth benders. Kirishima can harden his skin like a rock and shigaraki manipulates the earth with his quirk.

With Mina I could really see her as a waterbender or an earthbender but I think I'm gonna go with making her an earthbender also she would 100% be a lavabender

Firebenders

"Fire is the element of power"

Shoto and Touya two are obviously just firebenders that escaped the ATLA universe and fled to MHA

Katsuki Bakugo would totally be a firebender, he's definitely got the power, desire and will of a firebender + explosion quirk, that is a firebender. Also hear me out: combustion bending

Airbenders

"Air is the element of freedom"

NonBenders:

Shinso - Chi blocker(taught by Aizawa)

Aizawa - Chi blocker

Midoriya - Chi blocker (also he'd definitely be from the fire nation)

Ojiro - Chi blocker

Rody

Hagakure

Ayoyama

Hatsume - She'd be like Sokka with all of her inventions

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alextir-creates · 3 years ago

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Zutara Fankids by Tigrette-of-Fire

…Look, I’m a little embarrassed about the fact that I ship zutara, given how polarized the atla fandom can be about shipping, but I had so much fun designing Taiyin and Arnaaluk I just couldn’t resist.

In all honesty, this was more an exercise in mixing genetics and expressions of two cultures than anything else (I mean seriously, I wasn’t exactly inspiredor anything when I named them lmao). Like I said in my Sukka fankids piece, I’m a mixed-race, multi-ethnic person – and getting to design characters that are of more than one culture and thinking about how to best visually express a connection with both sides of that character’s heritage is really fun for me. Zutara fankids are a goldmine for that kind of thing.

More info and image ID under the cut!

Unlike Taiyin and Arnaaluk, these guys can’t exist in a largely LoK-compliant verse. However, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I would’ve changed on the cultural sensitivity front in LoK, and honestly if I’m going to put the time and effort into doing that… I’m going to be self-indulgent and add my preferred ships, even though – and I cannot stress this enough – shipping has no bearing on why I dislike LoK.

So, welcome to the Hijack!Verse, I guess (which is to say the AU where I hijack the AtLA post-canon and do what I want); it’s completely self-indulgent and I’m sorry in advance. Taiyin and Arnaaluk absolutely exist in this verse too – and tbqh, most of the content I plan to make for them will be Hijack!Verse, not LoK compliant. Sorry again.

In any case, onto the Zutara kids! Let me give you a short run-down.

Kya (pictured at 16 in this drawing), Crown Princess of the Fire Nation and firebender, is the eldest. She’s outspoken, cheerful, and is a touch more mischievous than she perhaps should be (all in good fun or in the name of fucking with bigots, of course – she and her cousin Taiyin are two peas in a pod about this. I already have ideas about a Fire Boomerang Incident in mind when it comes to the two of them putting their heads together). Izumi (pictured at 15 in this drawing), is the second child. She’s likely a non-bender, and trains to mastery both with a spear in the Southern Water Tribe’s style and with a bow and arrows under the Yuyan Archers. On the more introverted end of things and fond of organization (Izumi is definitely on the autism spectrum), she likely grows up to be Kya’s Minister of Finance. Lu Ten (pictured at 13 in this drawing) is the baby of the family – on the shy end and emotionally intuitive. He’s a waterbender and chooses healing as his focus. As an adult, Lu Ten probably moves to the Southern Water Tribe pretty much full time – though, of course, he makes time to visit his sisters and vice versa.

I uh, honestly have more planned, but this is getting really long so I’ll save that for another time. I do want to say though that Kya, Izumi, and Lu Ten split their time growing up between the Fire Nation and the South Pole. It’s really important to me that they get to have equal connection to the Southern Water Tribe and its culture as they do to the Fire Nation – and frankly, there’s no way Katara wouldn’t make sure that they did. (This also means that Katara – and to a lesser degree, Zuko, given his responsibilities as Fire Lord – is splitting her time as well. There will be no cutting Katara off from her homeland OR stymying her drive to interact with the world/be a major global figure in this verse, no siree.

Art © Me

[Image ID: Neck up headshots of three teenagers. The teen to the top right, labelled “Kya,” has light-to-medium brown skin, black hair, and blue eyes. She’s smiling widely enough that you can see her teeth, and is drawn at a three-quarter view facing the viewer’s left. She has two looped braids hanging from each of her temples, which are each secured with dark blue ties with gold trim. The rest of her hair is pulled up into a topknot, on which she is wearing a crown consisting of a red band and two stylized gold flames – the same hairpiece Avatar Roku is depicted wearing. To the lower right of her is a stylized drawing of the Fire Nation’s pre-imperial insignia, drawn in red.

The teen to the middle left, labelled “Izumi,” has light-to-medium brown skin, dark brown hair, and gold eyes. She is also drawn at a three-quarter view but is facing to the viewer’s right. Her expression is somewhere between concerned and amused, and her mouth is open as if to comment on whatever is causing that reaction. She sports the same “hair loopies” Katara does in the series – each adorned with a pale blue bead. The rest of her hair (and where the ends of the ‘hair loopies” are secured) is in a high ponytail (in universe called a phoenix plume) reminiscent of Zuko’s pre-banishment hairstyle. Her phoenix plume is secured by a red ribbon and has a small hairpiece shaped like a flame (similar to the crown we see Azula wear) in front of the tie. The motion of her hair implies that she is turning to look in the viewer’s direction.

The teen to the bottom right, labelled “Lu Ten,” has light brown skin, dark brown hair, and gold eyes. His expression looks vaguely surprised. He is also drawn at a three-quarter view, facing to the viewer’s left. His hair is shoulder length, with the top portion tied back into a warrior’s wolf-tail. His wolf-tail is decorated with the same, flame-shaped hairpiece Izumi wears. He is wearing an cream colored necklace akin to the one Sokka wears in the series. To the immediate right of him is the Southern Water Tribe crest, drawn in pale blue.

All of these headshots are circumscribed by a purple rectangular “frame.” The artist’s signature, reading “AlexTir” is in the bottom right corner

End ID]

#atla #fanart #digital art #captioned #my art #cartooning #original character #fandom ocs #my ocs #fanchildren #let me know if I should tag as lok critical

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livinghostly · 4 years ago

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oogies!

sokka x reader

not my gif!

words: 2119

request/summary: sokka gets the oogies around aang and katara, but you have a feeling it's something more than that.

a/n: sokka bby i love u

it started months ago, when you first had been recruited into the gaang. you knew katara and aang were close, but you wouldn't have noticed the romantic tension between them if it wasn't for sokka.

at first he didn't acknowledge it so much, the occasional eye roll here and there. then, it all became too much for him to bear: the longing glances, always taking each other's sides, constantly having to be around each other or else panic mode would ensue.

"you guys are giving me the oogies," sokka said offhandedly, crossing his arms.

huffing, katara stomped her foot. "sokka, would you stop that?"

his total disgust towards the couple bothered you some, only because you liked him. it was a feeling you couldn't shake, a constant flutter in your chest when you looked at him. he was charming and unapologetically himself, always able to draw a smile to your face even if it meant embarrassing himself. he'd been there for you through your hardest times and despite his usual pessimism, he showed you things would always be okay in the end. and he'd be there with you.

"oogies?" you echoed aloud, looking between the two siblings. your eyes landed on aang between them, who seemed to be just as confused as you were.

"aang and katara!" the water tribe pointed a finger accusingly at them. "keep the couple stuff to yourself, please."

"we–" katara shook her head, blushing furiously. her eyes were closed tightly so she couldn't see the bashful grin aang had. "we are not a couple!"

you were gathered around a campfire with your friends– except for toph, who was desperate for some sleep after a rough past few days. she retreated to her impromptu tent next to appa. you shared a log with sokka, poking at a fire with a stick you'd found.

sokka reached into the food bag, searching for something other than aang's ridiculous fruits and grains. "do we have any fish? or meat? i'm starving."

from the opposite side of the fire, aang erupted into a nervous fit of giggles. you raised your stare from the flames to see katara's hand placed gently over his, the two of them blushing messes. she smiled softly and looked at the ground.

the midst of a war wasn't a great time for dating, you knew, but at the same time you didn't understand why they refused to confess to each other. their entire relationship was beating around the bush. but you liked seeing them together, they made each other happy. you wanted something like that.

beside you, sokka looked between you, and then the couple, and then back to you. his eyebrows twitched upward with a sudden sadness, but he shook his head to get rid of the feeling.

not noticing his fleeting glances, you looked back to the fire, before throwing the poking stick in front of you. attempting to be subtle, you scooted closer to him. the actions made your cheeks warm.

"nevermind, i think i've lost my appetite," he tossed the bag off to the side with a sudden frown.

you smiled to yourself, watching him cross his arms and scoff at the two. they didn't pay enough attention to him to notice the sudden change in his attitude, but you nudged him softly with your elbow. sokka lifted his head and met your eyes again, so you could see the pout dawning his features.

"you're acting like a child, you know."

"i am not!" he argued loudly.

with a playful smirk, you raised your eyebrows. his defensiveness faltered as he realized he was only proving your point, and he hunched over to hide the blush that was forming.

his volume caught the attention of your friends, averting their gazes from each other with wide eyes.

katara pulled her eyebrows together in concern. "you're not what?"

"not minding his own business," you said casually, holding back a smile. he huffed in annoyance, shaking his head.

"so, nothing new," aang chimed in with a bright grin.

"alright, alright!" sokka cried, throwing his hands in the air. he stood up, and you rolled your eyes at his dramatics. "i'm going to bed, you've officially ruined this fire for me."

he took one step away, and your hand flew out to catch his. you effectively stopped him in his place, and he turned to look at you with wide eyes.

you loosened your grip, but tugged him back towards you. "come on, sokka. we were just joking, don't leave!"

a sense of pride blossomed in his chest, and he squeezed your hand. "maybe i'll come back out when the lovebirds find their nest."

his hand slipped from your grip and he began to walk away, now able to let himself smile brightly. he missed the feel of your hand on his again, knowing he didn't appreciate it enough the first time around.

katara was glaring holes into his back. she called out to him, "you know what, sokka? you give me the oogies!"

"doesn't make any sense when you do it, katara!" he disappeared into his tent.

"it doesn't make any sense in the first place!" she let out a scream of frustration.

after a few days, you and the others moved locations, slowly but surely getting closer to the fire nation. aang found an empty field for your temporary homes, much to toph's liking, a good place to practice earth bending.

aang wasn't as interested in that, though. he wasn't too far down at the beach, with katara. the two of them were splashing around in the water together, creating the biggest waves they could muster and slamming them down on their opponent.

their laughter echoed through the empty field, only to be broken by a frustrated groan from a few feet away.

sokka was leaning against one of the trees bordering the forest, glaring towards the two. he was sharpening his sword, getting more aggressive as time went on. though he knew he caught your attention, he didn't elaborate on his annoyance.

setting down the basket you had, you pulled the sword from his hand, and slid it back into it's holster. "what's wrong, sokka?"

"it's the oogies, they're bringing me down," he drawled with a frown.

you hummed thoughtfully looking at the beach, then turned to him. "you want to come picking berries with me?" you offered, holding out an extra woven basket.

sokka glanced at you, to the basket, back to you. he did that a lot. and he had a landslide of a preference for meat, you knew that, but you also knew he'd rather get away from the campsite if his sister and aang were going to be flirting the entire time.

"i'm the meat guy," he mumbled, mostly to himself. nevertheless, he gently took the basket in his own hand and pushed himself off the tree. a playful grin pulled at his lips, and he leaned into you, "but i guess if you really, really want me to."

"i wouldn't want anybody else," you teased, nudging him softly with your arm. he didn't budge, and you instead knocked yourself into him and staying at his side.

sokka's eyes seemed to light up at your comment, his smile breaking through. all thoughts regarding katara and aang were long forgotten, and he sighed contently as he looked out to the forest. he marched happily, leading the way towards a bush of orange berries.

"y/n, look at these!" he picked the branch off of the bush, holding it out for you to see. they were practically mesmerizing with their color and the strange shape they held. he quickly popped it into his mouth.

you giggled at his excitement. "you know, those could have been poisonous."

horror flashed across his face, and he was instantly spitting it back on to the ground. he threw the broken branch along with it. "are they? poisonous?"

"no."

his expression turned to one of betrayal. if he wasn't the victim of your prank, he would have been laughing. he turned his back to you to find another bush. "that was a cruel joke, y/n."

you were quick to follow him, not wanting to him to stray too far in unfamiliar woods. if sokka slipped into panic mode, things would get ugly. "could you find it in your heart to forgive me?" you asked sweetly, maneuvering in front of him. he turned his head away, holding his chin high so he didn't have to face you.

"no, i don't think so."

falling next to him again, you groaned playfully, giving up easily. instead, you pulled your mouth to the side and analyzed the forest you dragged your feet through. you didn't catch the way he looked at you, watching as your eyes lit up when you spotted another bush.

silence fell between you, the only sounds being his aggressive pulls at the branches and the looming creatures ever-so-slightly running over sticks and leaves in the distance. though you were sure he didn't mind, it bothered you. you had questions, and he was acting as if nothing was wrong.

"so, why do aang and katara bother you so much?" you asked, raising an eyebrow. you kept an eye on him as he inspected a pink berry carefully, and then dropped it into his basket.

"they don't bother me," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

you stopped in place with an confused expression, letting your arms fall to your side. "you could've fooled me, all you do is complain when they're together."

sokka's shoulders dropped, and his movements seemed to slow. he picked a purple berry from one of the bushes and began to toy with it in his hand. "i'm glad they have each other, you know, it's just..." he shook his head. "i feel like they're rubbing it in my face sometimes. like a reminder i'm not going to have that with..."

"oh." you felt your stomach sink, and pulled your lips into your mouth for a moment. "is it because you miss suki?"

"what? i don't miss suki. not like that, anyway."

"yue?"

"no, y/n–"

"are you talking about that one girl from the earth kingdom vill–"

"no!" sokka squeaked. he was blushing furiously, and had nearly poured all the berries out as he fumbled the basket in his hands. he tried to bring his voice down to it's normal octave, "it's none of them. it doesn't matter, anyway, the girl want all that stuff with doesn't want it with me. and it's okay."

you pulled your bottom lip between your teeth. it was a sucker punch to the gut, depriving you of your composure. "so, there is a girl?"

he took in a deep breath, "yeah– and, and she's great. i mean, we've been through a lot together and looking back on everything– i can't imagine being without her." he shook his head, finding a tree stump to sit on. "but i can't have with her what aang has with katara. she doesn't like me like i like her."

setting your basket down, you sat next to him. he was playing with the handle nervously with his head ducked down and shoulders hunched, refusing to look at you.

"sokka, what?" you let out a weak laugh, finding what he said unbelievable. "i mean, that's crazy. how could she not like you?"

he stayed silent, and you continued.

"if she really doesn't, then she's not worth your time, sokka. don't waste your energy on unreciprocated feelings, it just ends up draining you–"

"you're the girl, y/n."

you stopped, leaning back just the slightest in surprise. he looked up at you, gently setting the basket on the ground. "me?"

"i didn't want to say anything because i didn't want to mess up our friendship. i thought it would go away after i first met you, but it hasn't. i just– i want to be your friend."

a smile tugged at your lips, "well, i don't want to be your friend, sokka. it seems silly now."

his shoulders dropped further than they were, and he looked in the opposite direction. "i get that. i'll leave you alone, if that's–"

softly, you placed your fingers under his chin and pulled it towards you. before he could ask why, you kissed him. he hesitated, and then kissed you back. he held back his smile as he hand found your cheek.

"y/n, toph and i were wondering if you–" katara stopped herself short, eyes widening in horror as she spotted the two of you. "oh, spirits!"

you broke away from sokka in surprise, pulling his hand from your face and interlocking your fingers instead. your mouth opened, you weren't quite sure what to say, but you could tell she wasn't either. her jaw was agape as she stuttered, processing the whole situation.

she pointed at you. "you guys– you're– oogies!" she smiled triumphantly. "oogies!" she turned around briefly, calling out to your camp. "aang, oogies!"

"you started this," you raised your eyebrows, looking at sokka accusingly. "this is on you."

"you kissed me!"

#sokka x reader #reader x sokka #sokka imagine #sokka oneshot #atla x reader #avatar the last airbender #avatar x reader #spleen writes

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