#sokka is fucking brilliant

[deangirldisease]

the way jet reacts to aang being the avatar is so Guy At A House Party Who Has A Podcast Finds Out The Girl Hes Hitting On Is A Neurosurgeon

[theotherpacman]

anyway zukka is so fucking good it's about zuko feeling like his bending will never be good enough and then meeting this brilliant badass nonbender boy it's about sokka feeling underestimated/unseen and zuko seeing him as so talented and intelligent that he's literally irreplaceable it's about zuko seeing himself as irredeemable and sokka treating him like an equal

it's about both of them growing up lonely and finding company in each other it's about both of them being surprised by how easy it is to be around each other it's about sokka talking and zuko listening it's about zuko having trouble understanding people and sokka being endlessly patient and helpful

it's about both of them growing up with warrior fathers who expected them to be warriors and turning out to be softhearted diplomats

[soopsiedaisies]

concept: some years after the end of the 100 year war the ember island players are invited by iroh and sokka to perform a play during like a,,, meeting of nations. and they come in and are instantly face to face with the avatar and their country’s literal leader, the latter of whom squints at them and goes “ah! butcherers of love amongst dragons! you got my scar on the wrong side by the way” like how do you deal with that. your fire lord admits to thinking you’re no good, but also admits to having watched the play you guys did and wrote about him and his besties in which he died horrifically at the hands of his currently imprisoned sister, because you obviously were wrong for predicting the avatar would lose. and the avatar’s like “i also didn’t die. surprise!” like you’re not 100% aware of that.

and sokka of the southern water tribe, war hero and brilliant strategist, is like “LOVE your stuff dudes” and tries not to get murdered by his sister (a master waterbender) (very deadly) (not whiny and lovelorn at all) who obviously does not agree with him. the blind (female) (small) earthbender is small and female and also highly deadly holy Shit you got that wrong. there was also a fucking kyoshi warrior you didn’t even know of. general iroh was quite on point but there’s a look in his eyes that reminds you far too much of the hardiest of soldiers returning shaken and volatile from the earth kingdom, but he serves you tea. you’re unsure whether you should drink it (and do it anyway, because the fire lord tells you to and one does not simply say No to the fire lord)

and you’re supposed to put on another play for team - fucking - avatar!! conquerors of ozai and harbingers of peace!! for their enjoyment!!! but the fire lord is glaring at you like he’s contemplating throwing you in prison for being kinda bad at acting and horrible at interpreting plays of literary significance, and it’s kinda scary, and what do you DO at that point????

[sausage-rolll]

The amount of times I said something along the lines of "They would not fucking do/say that!" while watching the live action atla series is insane. It felt so weird to watch because the acting was pretty fantastic and the set design/costumes weren't bad for the most part either, but the writing and direction itself was painfully bad.

I think King Bumi is probably one of the worst offenders of being written completely ass backwards, which is a shame because the guy portraying him did a great job and I think he would have made a fantastic Bumi if the writing was better.

It feels like they missed the entire point of his character. They took his goofy/slightly mad front from the original show and dialled it up to 11 all the while completely ignoring all the nuance behind that front.

Bumi isn't just the mad king they portray him as in the live action, he's a mad genius. Despite his quirks, he's a fucking fantastic fighter and a brilliant ruler. Despite what you may believe from first impressions, it really does feel like he always knows what he's doing.

Even when he's being antagonistic towards the gang in the show, he's never actually putting them in significant danger. The crystals he trapped Katara and Sokka in were ultimately harmless and all the trials he gives Aang were more akin to games than anything. Even when he fights Aang in his episode he's very clearly not giving it his all, as seen when he single handily takes back his city from the fire nation during the eclipse and when he takes back Ba Sing Se with a small group during Sozins comet, when the opposing forces would have been at their most powerful. My point is that if he actually wanted to beat book 1 Aang, he could wipe the floor with him easily. But this version is fucking furious with Aang (wrongfully so this time around because he explicitly did not run away from his duties in the live action) And very much seems like he wants to cause Aang as much pain as possible, but can barely manage to land a hit on him when he's not pulling cheap tricks with the crystals.

-

I'm getting very side tracked but god damn it! This is the man Aang eventually decides to name one of his children after. Their friendship was so sweet and meaningful in the original. Bumi was such an interesting character in the original! And all of that meaning is lost here.

Ironically in an attempt to make Bumi's arc more dramatic and dark, they ended up making it significantly less interesting, along with also missing major parts of his character.

[avatarfandompolice]

Oh, you wanted more bad news out of NATLA that shows that they have no idea what they’re doing?

Well, look no further!

Here’s them acting like they care about representation for blind/low vision actors and then just casting someone who isn’t anyway:

Here’s their very detailed analysis of the purpose of the show going into the second season:

Wow that’s crazy that the live action show is going to have live action versions of the story in the animation! Very insightful! What else is there to say?

Wait, there were brilliant plans from Sokka in Book 1 of NATLA? Katara was actually in Book 1 too? I thought that was just a cardboard cutout of her in the background of some shots!

In all seriousness, what the actual fuck is going on here? “Aang will learn a new form of bending or two” yeah only because you literally had more screen time than the original did and spent all that time shoving in random references to prove you saw the old show while completely butchering the characters and story to the point where you couldn’t fit Aang learning waterbending in. What a fucking joke.

And the slide of “there’s no war in Ba Sing Se” in here just to do the same thing? Are we really just using out of context quotes from the original show to prove credibility in adaptation here? Is that really the extent they can go to say they honor the original? Are they so incapable of coming up with new, interesting details to add that they’re just resorting to putting memorable quotes in places where they make no sense? Guess we know these new showrunners will stay consistent with the original one.

Why in God’s name is anyone looking forward to this. Please please please let this nightmare end.

[fos-tis-zois]

my biggest issue with zutara shippers is how anti kataang they are. like bro please i love these characters more than some people irl too but at the end of the day they are all fictional. and i say this bc seldom do i see kataang posts with "anti zutara" tag but very very often i see zutara posts with "anti kataang" tag like what?!? makes me go like this:

like even though i ship kataang more, i still looove seeing zutara art too, and fics, mostly bc artists are amazing and i love to appreciate their works! but please guys you dont need to hate on one character to love another one (looking at all you *toxic* zuko stans hating on aang for no good reason -_-)

like please multishipping is fine, you can love more than one thing, person, character, ship, whateverrrr. like bro i love shipping zuko with jin, and sokka lol. like let's not hate on a flawless show with brilliant fucking characters just bc you wanna love someone or something "more" smh

[ragzonacamrencruise]

Azutara bending swap?

hehehehe i got it.

okie hear meowt-

Aang didn't know what to think of this at all. Here's Sokka and Toph explaining their 'excellent' plan that Aang sure knows can be done successfully. But the reaction they might get out of this could be deadly.

"I- I donno, Sokka. This could be dangerous." Aang hesitates. "I've never tried it before-"

Sokka interjects. "There's always a first time for everything. And besides, they wouldn't even know what hit 'em! See, all you have to do is . . ."

And so, that night, when the complete Gaang had finally fallen asleep around their makeshift campsite in their respective tents, Sokka wakes up Aang to carry out their mission. It's very simple in Sokka's head, but it's Aang who's sweating under his knees trying not think of what might happen if-

"Shhh." Sokka holds a finger up his lips. "We need to be sleek and stealthy." He guides them through the soft grass, trying not to make a sound.

Aang cannot help but shiver. Sokka has a brilliant mind. But sometimes, just sometimes, it comes up with shitty ideas like this one and Aang cannot help but follow through with them. Call it brotherly love, or genuine curiosity, it doesn't matter.

Sokka suddenly stops before a blue tent. "I'll go and check if she's asleep. Wait for my signal, and then you can come in and do your thing." He disappears quietly inside the tent.

Aang waits patiently for what feels like an eternity but he knows it's only been a few seconds. He jumps out of his skin in jitters when Sokka's head peeks out again. "We're on."

Aang gulps, stepping inside the tent slowly. It's dark inside but he can fairly make out a figure wrapped in blankets, sound asleep. Katara's figure.

He moves near her with surprising speed, suddenly filled with the urge to get this over quickly. He kneels down before placing one thumb on Katara's forehead gently and the other thumb on her chest wrapped in blanket.

A blinding bluish glow fills up the tent before dying down as quickly as it came.

Aang then repeats the process, and this time, an orange glow fills up the tent and dies down again. When Aang opens his eyes, Katara's still sleeping like a log, exhausted from the day's work and training.

One down, one to go.

---

Aang has always been an early bird. But today, he doesn't wanna wake up. Or at least, doesn't wanna sit up and join the others. He's been up all night anyways. Although, he can hear everything that's happening around the camp as clearly as a spirit lake.

That is, Sokka screaming his lungs out. "ZUKO! I CAN'T SEEM TO GET THE FIRE GOING FOR BREAKFAST!! WAKE YOUR LAZY ASS UP AND FIREBEND!!!!"

Aang knows Zuko's still in bed like an old lady. But what he didn't expect is to hear Azula's voice.

"I can help with that." She says smugly.

Aang peeps one eye open, not wanting to miss out on the fun but at the same time, not wanting to get caught in crossfire when things go south too.

Sokka gives her a knowing smirk. "Sure you can." He says sarcastically.

"Now, now, Sokka. Is this how you treat a Fire Princess who's trying to become go- GOO-" She chokes on the word. "God damn it! I can't even say the word!!"

"Well, if you insist . . ." Sokka trails off before standing up and moving aside.

Azula takes a deep breath calming her posture. But it really seems like Aang is the one who's supposed to be taking deep breaths cuz he fears after a minute, these are going to be his final.

When the Fire Princess jumps high, spinning mid-air to deliver a perfectly executed firebending kick, a hugh blob of water appears out of no where, and splashes on the firewood stacked under the pot meant for breakfast, drenching it wet. The force of the splash is so high, Azula gets drenched as well, following Sokka, who's jaw is practically on the floor by now.

Azula is the first to come to her senses. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Aang notices Toph's face turn red as she's trying to hold in her laughter. Azula, not believing her eyes, demonstrates a series of double-punches, all of which results in blobs of water splashing this way and that, hitting every single person present on site.

"What's going on here?!" Katara walks in, carrying another bout of firewood, before getting hit by a water whip straight to her face. "OW!"

Katara looks all around, amazed. Isn't she the only waterbender in their Gaang?! Then who hit her?! Then she takes in the scene before her, mouth slowly falling agape.

"Katara! Check it out!" Suki exclaims. "Azula's waterbending!"

"That's impossible." Katara lets the firewood in her arms drop down to the ground.

"Oh yeah?" Sokka crosses his arms over his chest. "Say that to the wood that is soaking wet right now. All I wanted, was a little fire to light up the stove. But guess who decided to waterbend and ruin it!!"

"Hey! I didn't even know I could do that!" Azula yells at Sokka's head.

"So, you're saying we all knew you could do that?!"

Azula looks confused, squinting her eyes in disbelief. "Wha-?"

"Sokka," Katara looks at her brother suspiciously. "Did you mix cactus juice into our dinner yesterday night?"

"No!" His voice reaches a higher octave. "Why would I do that?!"

"Why are we all seeing visions then?!"

Aang wishes he had some fire flakes right now, snacking on them as he watches this drama unfold. Ember Island Players could never. He's pretty sure Toph's thinking the same too.

"Guys, relax." Toph says, leaning back on Appa, sitting on the ground and crossing her legs. "Katara can easily take out the water from your precious firewood, Sokka. Don't be such a wuss. Right Katara?"

"Right . . ." Katara says, just as she takes a stance, readying herself for some concentrated waterbending. She turns towards the firewood kept under the pot, and moves her hand upwards in one fluid motion.

To everyone's disbelief and shock, the firewood first smokes steam and then suddenly bursts into violet-coloured flames, burning bright before turning to orange, then red.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Aang doesn't even have to look to know who said that.

"Okay, now I'm definitely worried." Katara's face is filled with horror. "I can firebend?!"

Azula pinches the bridge of her nose. "It's too fucking early for this shit-"

"Aang!" Katara calls out. "Get over here!!"

Aww man! Just when he thought things were getting interesting-

"Coming!" Aang calls out as he jumps up and sprints towards the crime scene. "What? What's wrong?"

"This." Katara says, before she catches hold of a screetching Momo and lights his tail on a violet fire.

Azula rolls her eyes before issuing a punch, that hits both Katara and Momo, putting out the fire and bathing them in water. "And this."

Aang knows he's supposed to be acting surprised. But he does a terrible job at it. "Maybe . . . you guys are the Avatars . . . ???" He trails off with a guilty look on his face.

Katara narrows her eyes. "Aang . . ." She threatens him, instantly aware that he somehow knows something. "What is going on?"

She looms over him, casting a glare. Aang tries his best to not pee his pants. "I- I- I donno, I- I just woke up!"

Sokka comes to his rescue thankfully. "Maybe somehow your powers got swapped?"

Katara turns to him, still not getting out of Aang's personal space. "How is that even possible?"

"Yeah." Azula chirps in. "How's that possible? I've got blue flames. That peasant conjured up violet ones."

"Maybe you're just jealous that I got the hottest burning fire." Katara crosses her arms at Azula.

"Maybe I can shut that flame up with a flick of my wrist!" Azula says, stomping her way towards Katara, standing toe-to-toe with her, nose almost bumping with Katara's.

"Uh . . . guys?" Aang scratches his bald head taking two steps back, growing increasingly confused and concerned. "Maybe we can calm down and talk about this-?"

"Maybe you're an idiot to think that you could ever shut me up!" Katara bits back at Azula. paying no heed to Aang's feeble attempt at peace.

"Maybe you're an idiot to think that I couldn't!!"

"Oh!" Katara exclaims. "Do it then!! I dare you to shut me up!!"

"Let's go, peasant. AGNI KAI!!"

"Oh, did you forget, little princess?" Katara asks sarcastically, inching closer to Azula. "You're not a firebender anymore. Maybe you need to get your memory checked."

Azula steps even closer, if that's even possible. "Maybe I don't need my fire to shut you up."

"Mayyyyyybeee," Toph interjects, finger up her nostril, picking her nose non-chalantly. "You two need to kiss and save us all the trouble."

"WHAT?!"

"WHAT?!"

Both Azula and Katara turn to Toph with a panicked look on their faces.

"T- That's absurd! What are you talking about, Toph?!" Katara stutters, even as she looks at Azula's side profile for a second longer and takes a step backwards.

"I'm talking about what I'm seeing." Toph says smugly.

"You're blind." Azula states.

"Yeah, but my feet don't lie. Every time you two get heated, and trust me that's a lot of times, you both get in each other's face like this and spew out empty threats as if my feet can't figure out you two are lying! At least, I know you are lying, Katara. I got nothing on Azula except a faster heartbeat."

Azula's eyes narrow to slits, but other than that, there's no reaction from her. Katara steals a glance at Azula once again before she turns to Toph. "What does that have to do with our bending getting swapped?"

"Uh . . . I was the one who did it-" Aang raises his hand slowly, with a sheepish look on his face.

"AANG!!" Sokka cries out. "You made a personal Avatar promise not to divulge this information!!!"

Katara's anger immediately shifts to Sokka. "So you are the mastermind behind this . . ." A captivatingly pretty violet flame lights up in her palm as she slowly moves to Sokka.

"Katara . . ." Sokka gulps. "I can explain . . ."

"Zip it."

"Look . . . your fights were getting pettier and frequent and you both idiots couldn't see what we all were seeing so we thought-" Sokka begins to take steps back as Katara turns her back to Azula and advances slowly towards him.

"We're not giving your bending back until you either make up and be civil or make out and be civil." Toph states firmly.

But Katara wasn't showing signs of stopping anytime soon on her death walk towards Sokka.

Azula rolls her eyes. "Make up and be civil sounds too boring and wayyyy too long for me. And I want my bending back now. So . . ."

As quick as her own lightning, she moves behind Katara who's still advancing towards Sokka. Azula stops her with a hand around her delicate wrist, and pulls her flush against her body. Katara lets out a surprised yelp as she finds herself being whipped around by her waist to face Azula, her breath frozen inside her lungs, too surprised to even blink.

A soft smirk escapes Azula's lips before she places two fingers under Katara's chin, tilting her face up to plant her lips on hers in a gentle kiss. Katara's too frozen with shock to reciprocate. When she finally does, the kiss is already over. Nothing overdone at all. Just a soft chaste kiss against her lips and Katara feels like she needs to sit down, suddenly weak in her knees.

"There." Azula says proudly. "Now give us our respective bending back."

Katara blinks up at Azula, still stuck in a daze. "You . . . traitor! Who gave you permission to just . . . take advantage of me like that?! How dare you-?!"

"You're a terrible liar, Katara." Toph interrupts her.

"Oh, yes you are." Azula agrees with a smile.

"No, I'm not!"

"Oh?" Azula mocks disbelief. "Then why are you still holding onto me like this?" She gestures with her eyes down to Katara's hands.

Katara follows her line of sight and almost has a heart attack as she finds herself completely wrapped up in Azula's arms and her hands holding onto Azula's shoulder and neck desperately.

"UGH!!!!" She exclaims as she lets her forehead fall down to Azula's shoulder, burying her face in embarrassment. "You people are driving me insane!!!!!"

Everyone present on crime scene laughs except Katara.

Zuko walks out of his tent, rubbing his good eye and yawning. "Hey, what are we laughing about? What did I miss?!"

"Okay, who's gonna tell him?" Toph says before escaping the scene.

***

i keep writing mini fanfics instead of drabbles for these prompts and im so sorry 😭🖐🏻 it's like my mind wont stop until i spit out every little detail. it's annoying at this point.

okie lemme know what you think abt what i did with this one!!!!

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

😑😑😑

"Aang is a bad main character because the world has to adapt to his world view. Meanwhile I love Zuko for his brilliant arc that concludes with him making his nation to adapt to his world view now that he is in charge" fuck these people. "Younger generation fixes the problems the old ones created" is only bad as a theme when they don't like the kid in question.

"He has to save Katara, the weak damsel in distress" So we're really just gonna ignore all the times she saved his ass, and how she literally BROUGHT HIM BACK FROM THE DEAD just to pretend the show is sexist?

"He has to pretend the world isn't in agony" Are you high? Aang is constantly pushing himself to do things he doesn't wanna do (go with Zuko willingly, confront Hei Bai, go to the Fire Nation on the solstice, intentionally trigger the Avatar State, cross the serpent's pass despite having permission to go through a safer path, let go of Katara and risk losing her in the battle for Ba Sing Se, and even accepting he'll have to kill Ozai in the finale) just to innocent people won't suffer. For fuck's sake, he has plenty of compassion for the guy that SENT AN ASSASSIN AFTER HIM. Just because he's still holding onto whatever childhood innocence he can, doesn't mean he's blind to the issues around him.

"Zuko's arc is independent from Zuko's" They have a fuck ton of parallels, and entire EPISODES dedicated to said parallels. Zuko himself said chasing Aang fueld his fire - and he said that when he learned a higher form of firebending ALONGSIDE AANG, who had just saved his ass from being burned alive by the dragons by figuring out they were supposed to dance together.

Zuko was so obsessed with Aang he tried to engage in a conversation AFTER AANG'S SOUL LEFT HIS BODY, and he had a weird fever dream where he literally BECAME Aang. We get confirmation in book 3 that Zuko never forgot how Aang mentioned the possibility of them being friends if things were different, and the show ends with them as best friends in an obvious parallel to Roku and Sozin.

You know who had fuck all to do with Zuko's arc though? KATARA, yet these people keep insisting she's totally important to it.

"Episodes centered on Katara and Sokka are good because they ignore Aang" No they don't, he's just not front and center, same for Toph, or Zuko, because that's how FOCUS works.

Also, for all the shit "The Headband" gets for supposedly being "filler", it's shocking to me how people act like "Sokka's Master" was briliant and not at all rushed. It's honestly as irrelevant as "The Great Divide" for me.

"Aang had lots of Deus Ex Machinas" He had one, the lion turtle. The Avatar state is introduced right away, and explained in depth a whole season before the finale, AND it was not that easy to use.

Katara bringing him back from the dead is even less random. In the first episode of season two, we are introduced to the concept of "Aang can still be killed in the Avatar State and that is REALLY bad", to the the character that will kill him and how she'll do it (Azula with her lightining), and to the water of the spirit oasis - which the show goes out of it's way to remind us of before Aang is even dead. That's a fuck ton of foreshadowing and proper narrative set up.

"Deus Ex Machina" does not mean "Protagonist survives major battle" or "Hero defeats a super powerful villain", it means "Day is saved by a thing that had never been mentioned in the story before so the audience could have never guessed what would happen." These people want to talk shit, but only show they have no fucking clue how some REALLY basic storytelling stuff works.

[franceblr]

thinking about the fact that despite modern au Zuko being in therapy for his CPTSD and having made a lot of progress, growing little by little into his kind and compassionate side, some days he's still an utter mess. Thinking about how Zuko is fair and level-headed and yet sometimes his most animalistic and irrational side takes control and locks adult Zuko up in a pantry, while it rages and destroys everything he's built for himself. Thinking about the uglier sides of his trauma, those that he usually bottles up and suppresses until he inevitably can't anymore. Thinking about Zuko going through cycles of impatience, selective mutism, touchiness, defensiveness, starting fights with Sokka for seemingly no reason. Thinking about Zuko being mulish, selfish and unfair, mad with anger and grief like a rabid dog. Thinking about Zuko pushing Sokka away, and Sokka feeling so tired, hurt, rejected, angry and guilty, but not leaving because his love for Zuko is unwavering and he knows Zuko is tearing into him out of sheer desperation. Thinking about how painful it is for Sokka to see Zuko back himself into a corner and hurt himself and those he loves most. Thinking about how Sokka is the only one who possesses the required balance of patience and strictness, putting up boundaries and holding Zuko accountable and yet forgiving him when he eventually comes back around and manages to calm down the angry animal in him. How Sokka is the only one with the self-restraint to not mirror Zuko's aggression and not yell back because he knows Zuko will have a panic attack if he does. Thinking about Sokka's endless love and grace in seeing the worst parts of Zuko and giving them space to exist, and still patiently coaxing out of him the better ones that are kind, responsible, brilliant and forgiving.

Thinking about how brave and strong Zuko is, until he's hit by the cycles where Zuko isn't hostile and irritable, but scared. The phases where he's always sweaty and anxious, waking up with shaky hands and a tight chest. The 2 am mornings when Sokka has to physically keep Zuko from getting up and obsessively checking the door locks for the 6th time because even if Ozai is in jail, Zuko is sure that he'll get out and kill him. The days when Zuko is absent and yet hyperaware, easily startled by noises, incapable of eating or sitting down or doing anything at all that isn't waiting for something horrible to happen; when his muscles are tense and his jaw is clenched so tightly he ends up with a migraine, the pulsing in his temple making him cry as he throws up in the toilet. The phases where he's scared like a child and it's irrational and he feels so pathetic and ashamed but his entire body is paralyzed with fear and he shakes with adrenaline for days, barely able to function. Thinking about the times when Zuko is jumpy and easily triggered and stressed more than usual, and he tries so hard to hide it and pretend like everything's fine, but Sokka knows and misses his snarky and sexy boyfriend who's capable and smart and doesn't walk around the house with bleeding nailbeds like an anxious ghost. And yet Sokka holds his face and promises to him that he's safe and loved and protected and Sokka will never ever let anyone hurt Zuko ever again, he swears, because he loves him, he loves him so much, and repeats the same 5 or 6 simple sentences in hopes they will etch themselves in Zuko's brain and give him some relief from the terrors of his past.

Thinking about Zuko being aware that he's spiralling and not being able to take back control and prevent his self-destructive tendencies from hurting Sokka and Uncle and his friends, and feeling so ashamed and remorseful and weak. Thinking about Sokka being aware that Zuko's actions aren't a matter of poor self-restraint and nastiness, and recognizing that sometimes Zuko just isn't able to help it, and needs a hand. And so Sokka steps in and takes the lead, showing Zuko that he's loved even when he fucks up.

[sulkybender]

gonna be honest Zuko/Sokka/Jet just works so well

it's enemies to lovers all round

feel like Zuko would forgive and accept Jet first in his not-talking-about-it-awkwardly-showing-you-my-affection-by-hanging-around-you way and Sokka would be totally wtf Zuko this dude he fucking sucks and he went out with my sister and I need to punch him but you seem to like him so I can't and why is he always such a jerk and so hot

and Jet is just there like smirking and winding them up and Zuko bieng an awkward lil turtleduck like why can't you guys just get along and idk man it's brilliant

ahh sorry for the late reply! I agree, the smirk is like throwing a grenade into a crowded room. things are gonna explode.

they've got that great "love + physical comedy" dynamic I love about Zukka, just with a little more violence and a lot more hate sex.

[lizardlicks]

WIP Game!

I was tagged by both @rainbowbarnacle and @mercurialmalcontent like. A week ago. And only just got around to setting up a new post for it. AHEM.

Rules: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it!Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Okay SO I did this one a few months back, and there are some WIPs on my list that I have already talked about (but would be happy to talk about more!) so I have marked those down here in bold. Some of the files also have descriptions which I have removed so you ONLY get the titles. Uh. The list has only gotten bigger. Since then. I have a problem.

Learned to Cary Love

Zukka Fire Festival Fuck

In the Spotlight (and I'll make you mine)

Ley Lines

Upward Over the Mountain

Kanna and the Wolf

Wolf Spirit!Sokka & Zuko

Grand Theft Appa

Zuko Took a Shortcut

Like Theseus’s Ship

Your wine stained mouth (on mine)

oh no I'm writing soul mark AU FUCK

Deep within the Borderline

Hair Brained

Zuko sick fic

Pappa bear Piandao

Sokkla prison fic thing idk

Zukka Oops AU

Max Soap drama AU (AKA deadbeat dad Jet AU)

Cold is the Night

Towards the sun but worse

Dragon Zuko: the first Agni Kai

Script for sokka and foo foo’s meeting in Avatar Sokka AU (comic collab project with BMH)

Script for Turn left and left again, circling all the way down

La!possessed cannibal zuko (exactly what it says on the tin)

Shifter!Verse Jee and Zuko (Zuko Not As Alone As He Could Have Been)

FMT Zuko gets sex ed at a brothel

Zukka amnesia fic but it's funny

“Divorced Zukka”

Sokka's brilliant plan to date zuko reveal the fire nation spies

Zuko+Ran & Shaw ovi 

Aaaand I'm not gonna tag thirty odd people so I'm just gonna say if you see this POST YOUR WIP LIST HAHAHA

[jennyandvastraflint]

Xena Reactions S3Ep3

We start with a dude dramatically running away from war... EW. ARES. He just keeps getting uglier

Damn strong armour. Is the armour possessing the guy?

MEDAL OF HEPHESTEUS!?

Cheerful start really

Damn they wanna hurt some guy. Was that Gabby

YEEES XENA AND GABRIELLE

Gosh Xena and Gabrielle are so gorgeous

Is she gathering criminals for a mission XD

OHHH GORGEOUS.

"I am no lady" either way gender.

Xena introducing them

"Just men?" 😂 Gabrielle asking the good questions

Going up against Ares... Blergh. Ares can go choke on his own ego.

Oof, village laid waste

The armour looks so stupid honestly...

Rude!???

Love how Xena's SWORD broke but not Gabrielle's staff 😂

Oh fuck the pretty one was hit

Oh. METAL! Not medal... Yes that makes more sense (auditory processing issues hu)

Blacksmithing fancam

Hate that pretentious guy

CALLISTO SHOUTOUTTT <3

"Wow, nice ceps!" He is GAY. He is so down to suck Ares's dick...

BOOMERANG (Sokka is foaming at the mouth in jealousy)

"Cos I'm gonna kill her" no you won't. Shut up and suck Ares's dick you war simp

Gabrielle commanding them as she should.

Boo for them ignoring her.

"Murderers guarding murderers"

"Were they murderers before they met you?" OUCH

THEY WERE LIKE ME

AAAAAAH

"Am I really who I am, or am I what you made me?"

They're playing their funny guessing game again

Jesus can these murderers CHILL

Gabrielle looking, then going NOOOPE

Please these idiots are still standing there

Ahaha they're guarding each other cos none trusts the other to not kill them

RISE AND SHINEEE

"But what are you here for?"

SO VALID. STAB THAT GUY DEAD.

"You know what men are like" lesbian

Ahaha he just fell asleep

"But you're going to buy them"

Yuck, I wouldn't wanna be stuck with that guy either

"I think I've never been part of a true disaster before" "Cynic"

URGH the sexist prick can go die in a ditch

Ew what kinda straight sex shit is this

"Men are so easy" shdhshd

Gosh he's annoying.. Why r all the men in this annoying

NOOOO HE WANTED TO HURT GABRIELLE

And he grabbed Xena...

DID SHE KILL HIM-

Oop

"That's gotta be uncomfortable" 😂

GABRIELLE MY BABYGIRL

"Is this a private get together or can anyone join in?" Oh she knooows

She's happy they're working together

AHAHA She sensed Ares

Why is Ares' beard so fucking UGLYYYY. Like it literally got worse

Ares you snitch. Why are you telling her. Bro as if THAT isn't also interfering?? 😂

Uhhhh... Whomst?

Damn they throw bombs

Gabrielle ur so amazing

Xena I love you sm

Damn. She's defyyying gravity

Mmmmm, dudebro sexist is sus af

Urgh... They tricked her...

GABBY

YUCK. DISGUSTING. I hope she gets to murder him

I love Gabby

HOLY SHIT. HER SHOVING THE OTHER WOMAN AGAINST THE WALL (Gabrielle 🤝 Jenny)

Glaphyra?

Yeah true but y'know, a bit too many men for my liking, and a whole bunch of others stand around doing nothing about it

They really just want money, hu

Is he gonna free them

Ayoooo double double crossing

Ahsdhsh she used the Doctor strategy. Get captured cos breaking out the cell is easier than breaking into the whole thing

EW. ASSAULT. DISGUSTING. Someone give her a wife

"Hey that's not how a princess fights" gosh get some perspective, man

"Amazon Princess" YOU TELL HIM

OH FUCK. GABRIELLE IS JUST SEEING XENA MURDER WITHOUT RESTRAINT

Something something the old Xena showing for a moment

"Why does everyone wanna kill me?" Honestly it's very understandable

"I'm not leaving!" "Like she said"

Ares is like lmao bye have fun dying, loser

All the steaaaam, brilliant. Gotta be pretty hot in there

YEESH That gotta hurt

Kabooooom

"Look after Xena, okay?" awwwww

"I'd sooner fall for a toad" valid

THEY'RE SO GAAAY

"You're Gabrielle" AAAAAH ❤️

"Question is who would I be without you?"

Ahaha them bickering

Ok so as a whole the episode was very, very meh. I liked the Xena/Gabrielle moments tho

[jasbaklonbri]

My issues with the Avatar Live action show. (Spoilers)

before I get on with this… rant I guess, I want to stress that I do not “Hate” this adaptation, I actually think it’s pretty…. decent. Mixed in terms of being an adaptation but as its own thing i do think it actually is good. If a newcomer gets introduced to the franchise through this show, I’d mostly be okay with that (though would still stress to watch the original, especially hinting about the rest of the story if they’re really invested) before I go into my biggest problems I should quickly list its positives.

The characters, for the most part, are done well, they meet the core criteria of what made the original characters so beloved. The acting, for the most part, is good, overall the cast does a really good job at their respective roles. Costumes are amazing, sets, while not exactly 1:1, are still overall awesome. soundtrack is really REALLY good, stellar work all round. The action is not only great, it’s BRUTAL AS FUCK, it does not shy away from the themes of war and death and I love that 😈 some of the expanded editions to the lore are really interesting, big shoutout especially to the inclusion that zuko’s crew is also the battalion he defends in the war room, that was actually brilliant 👌 on top of that, references and inclusions of stuff from expanded material I mostly really liked, from the comics, to legend of Korra to even the kyoshi novels. As for the writing and story…. I can accept no adaptation is perfect and there will be changes, I think it follows the moments of the show decently and that the writing is… adequate. overall rating for me is a decent… 6/10… almost was a 7 but… no.

okay now for the stuff that sucked!

The Characters that weren’t good:

Aang is not bad in this, character wise and acting is overall good, Gordon Cormier does a good job, he looks and sounds the part. My issues are how the character is written. Ill get into more about his biggest issues later on as it mostly has to do with writing and a few particular scenes, but for now I’ll harp on how repetitive and annoying his dialogue can be sometimes, way too many times has the character had the same “guilt scene” which hits the exact same beats: he sees devastation, he says “this is my fault”, he’s reassured it’s not. Again and again.

sokka is awful in this. And to be honest it’s not really the writings fault, Ian Ousleys portrayal does not do it for me, his line delivery is too monotone-ish, his emotional delivery is lacking, he has the same blank facial expression throughout the show. He has a decent one liner here and there, but the comedy and character is MILES away from the over expressive, hilarious and badass original.

zukos actor is decent just enough, and honestly it’s a little unfair to compare Dallas Liu to Dante Bascos performance, but admittedly I felt he was comparatively more underwhelming at times. Though if anything I was more annoyed at the look of his Scar. Don’t get me wrong, its leagues more noticeable than it was in the god awful movie adaptation… but it’s still not great. Remember how grotesque his scar is in the animated show, even at a distance, his skin is shrivelled, he can hardly open his eye, even his ear is half burnt off, they could of gone all out in showcasing his disfigurement, the greatest source of his self shame and most brutal showcase of his fathers cruelty and abuse… but no it’s just a dark red patch around his eye, it’s not even ugly to look at. Disappointing.

Bumi, while acted and portrayed really well by Utkarsh Ambudkar, is written very badly. His motivations have completely changed from the original, and no it is no where near as good, unlike in the show were he “toys” with Aang to teach him lessons about the journey ahead of him, offering wisdom and compassion to his old friend, keeping his identity a secret allowing Aang to realise who he is, making an emotional reunion when he realises another piece of his lost past is still alive: here Aang finds out immediately it’s him, and Bumi instead is pissed and petty that Aang left to the point HE TRIES TO KILL HIM, completely disregarding the point of the message and character from the original show. Oh and not to mention the ending scene with him, but again I’ll get to that scene later.

finally, biggest problem I’ll harp on the characters themselves is the diminishing, lack of focus and editing of the three protagonists flaws. Aangs childish immaturity, kataras inexperience, Sokkas rudeness and distrust. There are reasons why the show took these out or didn’t focus on them, but in my opinion this was a huge mistake to do. Character flaws are integral to character growth, throughout the original show we see the characters learn and grow with and out of said flaws to become more rounded and stronger characters, Aangs journey to embrace his destiny and responsibilities, Kataras growing wisdom and strength, Sokka accepting his wrongdoings becoming more open minded and accepting. Diminishing these ultimately take away a lot from these characters and it does them and the fans a huge disservice to outright ignore them at times.

Aang and Kataras bond is there… but it’s Seriously lacking!

I’m a Kataang shipper. Before I go into detail with this I think it’s important to point out a certain bias I might have with this, but regardless of any opinions about the original shows romantic themes, I’d still argue that Aang and Kataras relationship is one of the core and integral bonds of the original show (the others being Katara and Sokka, Zuko and Iroh, Aang and Zuko and Zuko and Azula (book 2 onwards) so getting this right is in my opinion important to any adaptation. Overall their relationship is fine in this iteration, but MAN it’s just not as good.

Imagine my utmost disappointment When in this version: Katara is not the first person Aang sees when he wakes up! Now I know that seems like a petty thing to harp on but really think back to the original show, how beautifully written their friendship was, how they constantly support and empathise with each other, how Aang is a source of Kataras hope, how Katara is an emotional rock for Aang when coming to terms with his loss and grief. All of it starts with the foundation of their first meeting in that first episode. After a hundred years of sleep, Katara accidentally discovers Aang (with Sokka) and rushes to save him, the first person Aang sees as he opens his eyes is her, he immediately, and essentially asks her out. Katara introduces him to her village, she’s enamoured by his playful attitude and abilities, there are hints of a blooming crush between them (mostly from Aang) they promise to explore the world together, they go penguin sledding, until finally, when Katara realises and breaks the truth about Aangs 100 year absence and slow realisation that everything and everyone he knew is likely gone, Katara tries to reassure him mentioning there may be a bright side: Aang responds with “I did get to meet you”. all of that build up and setup of the friendship (and budding romance) of our two leads is masterfully established in one, 23 minute long episode. Really think about that. It takes the original show 1 episode to set the core points of the two lead’s relationship in what takes this show AN ENTIRE SERIES TO PROPERLY ESTABLISH! Not only is all of that practically absent in this iteration, but plenty of scenes and moments are either missing or lessened, Such as when Katara calms Aang out of the Avatar state, or how they begin to train and learn their waterbending together (more on THAT later), cave of two lovers is now given to Katara and Sokka?? (really missed the point of that episode) or how about the mutual understanding of each others grief through their own grief, oh yeah that’s another thing, in this version Katara, nor Sokka for that matter, ever mention to Aang that their mother is dead?! Not once. I don’t even think he ever knows, or maybe he finds out off screen? Big thing to not mention guys??

Now there are plenty of scenes in the show that do help build up their friendship here, but by missing core scenes, especially those from the first episodes, it just makes it harder for the show to establish that bond towards an audience, and again just pales in comparison.

No statue room???

I’ll be a little more brief here, but the fact that this moment is completely missing infuriates me. You have the quintessential moment where Aang is in full view of the scope of his legacy, a monument to hundreds of all the past avatars, a moment for our characters and the audience to visually realise the weight and burden that Aang Carries upon his shoulders… and you completely take it out??? What the actual FUCK???

Kyoshis premonition almost ruins the show! as awesome and badass as Avatar Kyoshi was in this version, this one tidbit is by far not just a weird addition, it’s arguably one of the biggest fundamental flaws of the show, not as an adaptation, but the show in of it self. The idea apparently (according to behind the scenes comments) is that kyoshis premonition to Aang of the northern watertribes destruction is to give him more of an assentive to head “straight to the point”, removing the unnecessary detours and filler of the original. The problem with that is even for that reason, this addition is completely pointless, because Aang already has enough assentive to head to the north: LEARN WATERBENDING!!!

In the original show after Katara and Sokka save Aang from zukos ship in the 2nd episode, they establish that they must find Aang a water bending master so he can begin his first step in becoming the avatar, in fact rewatching the first few episodes, AANG MAKES THE SUGGESTION FIRST TO KATARA SO SHE CAN MASTER HER WATERBENDING! Even the god awful movie understood that that was enough reason to head north! And if you really want more reason and imperative for them to get there as soon as, why not just reiterate that there is a WAR GOING ON! The attack on the south, the genocide of the air nomads, accidentally bringing an invasion to Kyoshi island, these are all good enough reminders for the Gaang to showcase the need for Aang to head to the known one place in the world where Aang can possibly master an art integral to achieving his destiny. But even worse than that, this addition seriously hurts the show going foward, because now, after Aang has been shown the impending doom destined for the north, he STILL detours from it, not once but twice! (And according to one gossiping bartender, possibly a few more times!!) in an attempt to try to showcase his nobility and compassion to always help those in need, every time he decides to stop to help a new problem, HE IS LITERALLY RISKING THE DESTRUCTION OF AN ENTIRE CIVILISATION!!! Priorities dude!!! It’s not like he’s given a time frame, for all he knows this premonition could happen at anytime, it could be already happening??? It is by far one of the biggest, if not THE BIGGEST flaw of the show.

Muddying the rules of the spirits and spirit realm

Aside from kyoshis future sight, too many instances does this show, in an attempt to expand ideas of worlds spirituality, often just make things more confusing. Another example is when Aang accidentally drags Katara and Sokka into the spirit world, which even with the reasoning they give it makes no sense whatsoever and it only serves an excuse to combine moments from other episodes into one. Or how about when wan shi tong… for some reason… explains that spirits can only talk to the avatar and only they can communicate with and talk to spirits… except that rule is completely ignored when Katara and Sokka can clearly hear what koh is saying? ooops???

Hai Bai has no agency or resolution in his inclusion here, he’s not even the central threat despite HIS forest being burnt. Instead of going on a full rampage against humanity for their destruction, he’s now just really angry about being wounded? Instead of hai bai kidnapping people, it’s now Koh, who while still really creepy in this version, his abilities are now greatly diminished. Instead of his lightning quick speed to remove the faces of anyone who show any ounce of emotion in his presence, here he can only prey on negative emotions, and is never shown to be especially fast (except the two jump scares). again it just pales in comparison to the intensity of the original scene.

Kuruk should know why his advice is horseshit!

while I like the inclusion of some details of the lore outside the original show, using it during Aangs scene with Kuruk significantly hurts his first scene, because now we have the writers completely miss the point and lessons of Kuruks life. Kuruks advice to “walk the path alone” to “distance himself from his friends” is not just obviously poor advice on its own, but considering that the past avatars are aware of events after their death, it especially doesn’t make sense coming from Kuruk! Avatar Kuruk HAD friends! the kyoshi novels go into detail about his closest companions as well as his secret deeds of hunting dark spirits. Yes Kuruk did it in secret and inadvertently and purposely distanced himself from the people he loved so that he could in his mind protect them, and that’s excusable because Avatars never have hindsight about some of the consequences of their actions, in fact past avatars often use their mistakes and their consequences as advice and warnings to the current avatar. KURUK SHOULD BE ADVISING THE EXACT OPPOSITE!!!

One of the major consequences of pushing his friends and keeping secrets was that when he eventually died mysteriously at a young age, his companions felt they had failed in their mission to serve and protect their friend, pushing one of them, Jianzhu, to fall into a path of political meddling and corruption, and being consumed with keeping his power and influence through back handed tactics like kidnapping, torture, intimidation and murder, eventually becoming Kyoshi’s earliest nemesis and one of her greatest enemies (highly recommend reading the Kyoshi novels 😍) Not to mention that Kuruks “advice” leads to an incredibly forced scene and trope where our hero attempts to push Katara away and “nobly distances himself to protect his friend”, only for the advice to be immediately ignored a few minutes later, making it entirely pointless.

AANG NEVER LEARNS WATERBENDING???

yes, through the entirety of BOOK 1 WATER, Aang never learns waterbending! Katara offers to show him some techniques she knows in one scene, but for some reason he’s hesitant to take her offer, which would have been interesting to explore, except they never really address it?? Worse even when they finally reach Pakku in the north, all that happens is that he’s kind of scolded for not starting his training, but not once is it seen or mentioned by pakku that he’ll teach him ANYTHING. If there’s enough time to have Katara shown water healing lessons as well as arguing and fighting Pakku to teach her combative techniques, WHY THEN DOES EVERYONE IGNORE TRAINING THE GOD DAMN AVATAR!!! The fate of the world rests on Aang learning the 4 elements, but for some reason they completely leave it out?

Now Katara is mentioned to teach him in the future like in the original, but the problem now in this version is that while Katara is gifted and talented, unlike the original show she’s never formally trained (outside of healing lessons) by Pakku or a master to warrant her to become Aangs official waterbending teacher. They are literally leaving the training of the most important person of their time to an AMATEUR!!!

a baffling diversion?!?!

Finally my last big problem with the show is the handling of the ending scene. Take in mind that the fire nation sends an entire fleet, no, hundreds upon hundreds of ships to invade, subjugate and snuff out an entire civilisation, and to take out the avatar, once and for all. Also consider the sheer loss of life and devastation that was unleashed by the ocean spirit upon them when zhao murdered the moon spirit, they got hit back hard and then some, honestly it was spectacular to watch! The problem, according to Ozai: “it was all according to plan”…..

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKING FUCK?!?!?!

apparently it’s revealed that the North Pole wasn’t the “real target”, but instead a “clever ploy” to instead… invade Omashu?? First of all, who are you creating a diversion for??? We don’t see earth kingdom soldiers coming to assist the fight in Agna Q’ela? It’s not like we ever see waterbenders helping to defend Omashu when we were there earlier, it’s not like anyone outside the protagonists was aware of Aangs premonition (oh by the way why didn’t Kyoshi warn Aang it was a “diversion”??) WHO ARE FUCKING TALKING ABOUT???

and again, just to reiterate, you are saying you sacrificed an ENTIRE INVASION FORCE, big enough to destroy a whole society, which led to a huge loss of life and ships which YOU CLAIM was “to be expected”…. In order for you to take one city???? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING JOKING??? That’s not just bad writing, that is beyond STUPID!!! Oh and just to add, unlike in the show where Bumi willingly surrenders to avoid the destruction of Omashu, instead opting to wait for the right opportunity to free it later, saving his people doing so, here we see him bruised and bloodied after a siege! Yeah, one of the most powerful earth-benders in the world is taken out offscreen!!! CHRIST ALL BLOODY MIGHTY!!!

okay… rant over… 😮‍💨😮‍💨

[erisenyo]

oh god.. you've got me thinking about sokka and older men. I actually had a fic planned out that was sokka/bato, it was kind of angsty because bato was in love with hakoda and sokka looked so much like hakoda as he grew, never got round to finishing it though. but piandao/sokka has so much potential, i went to ao3 and it really doesn't have many fics? blasphemy. i can imagine sokka all starry eyed with piandao, only to realise wait. i want him to fuck me. but also its just so soft, piandao genuinely thinks sokka is brilliant, and like you said, sokka reminds him of the joys of life. piandaos a tad depressed, locked away in his manor and feeling guilty over the fire nation, but sokka reminds him its okay to let loose and have fun. definitely into the student/teacher dynamic.. piandao could definitely teach sokka a thing or two in bed, or even just with things like kisses, sokka may be inexperienced but he is very eager and piandao is willing to teach. and so, so many sword jokes.

Ohhh anon that sounds like some *peak* angst. The drama of Bato struggling over whether his feelings are for Sokka or Hakoda? And Sokka struggling to believe him? And the inevitable playing into Sokka's issues with trying to live up to his father's example, now dialed up to 11 with sex in the mix? The inevitable revelation that Hakoda's best friend is sleeping with his son?

If you ever get around to finishing it, definitely drop a link!

And the lack Piandao/Sokka is absolutely a tragedy! (One that a few authors are very valiantly taking efforts to correct, recently, which is greatly appreciated)

That moment when Sokka isn't sure if he admires Piandao, wants to be Piandao, or wants to be fucked by Piandao? (All three, obviously) The discovery of play and fun together post-war, and training for the simple pleasure of mastering a craft and not for utility.

And all the different places lessons can take them, of course. Not just teaching him how to kiss but teaching him how to earn his rewards, how to temper all that eagerness with patience, how to stay focused no matter what is distracting him...

Piandao is oh so willing to teach. And truly, so, so many sword jokes lol

[myhyperfixationisiforgot]

literally any choice sokka and katara make regarding the fate of the fire nation's royal family would be valid.

like, sokka kills azula on day of the black sun? good for him, she had it coming. katara kills azula during the agni kai? brilliant, poetic fucking justice. either one of them deciding to leave zuko in the dust because feeling bad really doesn't take back the destruction of their nation? completely understandable.

bringing zuko along on the adventure as equal parts atonement and redemption? perfection. break azula out of prison because none of them can do taxes? great, what a vibe. execute ozai for his war crimes, make it a team effort? 100% behind that.

anyways what i'm getting at is that katara and sokka could do just about anything in the fire nation and i would think it was a worthwhile and reasonable choice.

[zukosasukelovebot]

FINALLY WROTE OUT MY ZUKKKA MAKE OUT AT BAR FIC

IF YOU WANT TO READ IT ON A03 HERES THE LINK at the deep end .

if you want to read it on here the fic is under the more button.

The music pumped loud in Zuko's ears. He didn't know why he allowed Ty Lee to drag him to a seedy club in Ba Sing Se. But here he was in a casual red t-shirt and black pants as they weaved through the many people in the club. Zuko couldn't even remember the name. TEROTA or something like that. Zuko didn't care to remember; he was NEVER coming back here anyways.

"Let's get something to drink!" Ty Lee shouts over the music, Zuko barely hearing her. He hummed something in response, letting the energetic girl lead him to the bar.

To the bar's credit, the bartenders were ridiculously good looking. And in particular there was a dark skinned man that was expertly shaking up a cocktail for a pretty girl that was obviously flirting with him. By the time the man was done they had made their way to the bar.

Up close, Zuko could tell the man's eyes were blue. But blue felt like such an inadequate word to use for them. His eyes told stories without even him ever needing to say anything. Underneath the blinking lights Zuko could tell they were a brilliant piercing blue, one that could pin you down to the floor the moment he looked at you.

Zuko breathed in deeply. He seriously wasn't immediately crushing on a bartender he probably would never see again was he?

"Ty Lee!" The bartender said happily. Of course she knows him. She frequents here when she has down time.

"Sokka! I managed to drag my best friend in with me today!" She yelled over the bar, jabbing a thumb over at Zuko with a mischievous smirk.

The fire nation man froze in his space once he saw that smirk. Oh no. Nonononononono.

Sokka's eyes slid over to Zuko and Zuko wanted nothing more than to melt into the floor.

"He's cute but I'm almost certain your friend is straight by the way he looks like he'd be anywhere but here," he said with a laugh.

Ty Lee rolled her eyes. "He just needs a few drinks in him. And trust me. He's flexible," she said with a wink, ordering drinks for both of them.

A couple of hours passed and there was a pleasant buzz of alcohol in his system. He danced with plenty of pretty boys and girls in the club but there was something about the sun kissed man at the bar. They didn't have the same allure as him, especially when he turned his head to see what he was doing. He would sometimes catch the other man watching him and catching eyes with each other. Zuko wasn't ignorant to the sparks that he was feeling whenever he looked or even thought about the other man, but he did NOT come here for a hookup , much less a staring match with a random bartender.

So he shook his head to rid the thoughts.

"Wanna come back to my place?" The man he was dancing with asked, his lips almost touching Zuki's ear with how close he was.

"Uhm.. no thanks. I don't sleep with people when I'm drunk," Zuko said, pushing against the man, who was stronger than him.

"Come on. I can make you forget about the last guy you slept with," he rasped in his ear.

Zuko cringed at the shiver that went down his spine at the feel of the man's breath on his neck.

"I said no!" He said louder, pushing again.

"I dont know who the fuck you are-"

The man was cut off with a rough push . Zuko stumbled a little before catching his balance.

"He said no," the voice said, loud and commanding. The grip on the man's arm was tight and purposeful.

"Hey man, I was just talking."

Sokka glanced at Zuko and he shook his head.

"Out of my club," Sokka said, pushing him and keeping his grip on his arm.

"What the fuck? I wasn't doing anything!"

"Yeah yeah tell that to the wall you'll find yourself passed out next to in the next hour."

Zuko breathed out in relief as he saw the man retreat to the exit.

Zuko needed another fucking drink. So he made his way to the bar and waited for Sokka to come back.

It took five minutes for the other man to come back.

"Sorry about that. What about a drink on the house? I nearly finish my shift so I can give you a dance too?

Any other time Zuko would NOT have accepted his offer but he was still riled up from the man and the alcohol already in his system.

"Sure. I don't see how it can get worse than this," he said with a snort.

"Great. I'll come find you."

Zuko watched him slink off to the bar, ignoring the way his heart beat a little faster when the other man winked at him once he was at his post.

Maybe 20 minutes passed and Zuko was absolutely fucked. Hands were on his hips and he was swaying unabashedly to the music playing in the background. The other body behind him was so warm and it fit him perfectly. He had an arm snaked around the man's neck and his fingers were splayed out on his neck, keeping himself steady as he danced.

Zuko moaned loudly when he felt hot lips press against his neck.

His eyes fluttered shut. "Fuck, Sokka."

He felt the other man smirk against his neck, the action making his stomach flutter.

"My apartment is a couple blocks away if you want to…" Sokkka said, trailing off, hoping Zuko would get the hint.

"I don't fuck when I'm drunk," Zuko mumbled, regretting this one rule he set out for himself. He wished he could fuck drunk like Ty Lee. Forget the person's name in the morning. But he didn't think he could do that. Not with Sokka.

Sokka chuckled. "Yeah I know that. You practically yelled it at that man earlier. You can stay at mine tonight because ain't no way you're going home. Ty Lee has gone and fucked off somewhere."

Zuko's breath hitched. Alone. With Sokka. Spirits help him.

"Sure. Let's go."

..

After lots of making out Zuko managed to fall asleep. He had taken the couch, not knowing what he'd do if he shared a bed with the handsome man next to him.

He woke up with a jolt and looked around for a clock. He found a digital one on the TV stand and it read 5am. He groaned and reached for his face with his hands. He dug the heel of his hands into his eyes and groaned again. His head was fucking ringing. It was dark but it was still too light for him.

He reached for his phone which was in his back pocket and opened it; almost regretting it, the light making him momentarily blind.

He quickly lowered the brightness and checked his phone. No messages from Ty Lee which meant she was staying at some random house and would call him later. He rolled his eyes and shut it off. He turned to lay on his back and stared at the ceiling.

He could get up, grab his things and leave and never see Sokka again. Or see where this thing went.

It seemed though he didn't have much choice considering Sokka came out of his room, moving sluggishly. He was rubbing one eye and yawning loudly. His hair that was braided neatly on top of his head was out and down to his shoulders, giving him a childish look.

"Mornin," he said, his voice deep with sleep.

Zuko felt desire fill his stomach.

Sokka walked into the room, his sleepy movements almost hypnotising as he watched the other man's silhouette move about, doing what Zuko assumed was his daily movements. He hissed when Sokka opened up the curtains, the morning fog blinding him once again.

"Sorry. I'll go get you some water for your head," Sokka said, walking out of the room for a couple moments.

Zuko had hit a new low, he was sure of it. Hung over at a man's house, who by the way, he had met just the day before.

He wasn't usually this brave but something about Sokka told him he couldn't risk it.

Suddenly a glass of water was thrusted into his hands. "Drink."

And he did , the cold water going down his throat and soothing his sore throat. It felt like heaven. It must have been a tall glass because it took a couple of seconds to fully drink it. He put it back in Sokka's hand which was waiting for the cup again.

He panted slightly once done. "Thanks man."

Sokka chuckled. "Anytime, buddy," he said, putting it on the table in the room.

Sokka then sat on the couch next to Zuko who was now sitting up and legs pulled up to his chest.

Sokka's hand easily found purchase on hos knee, as if they did this every morning.

'I wouldn't mind this every morning,' Zoka hears himself say.

"Your hair is super pretty when it's down," Sokka said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He blushed a little. "Thanks. I usually have it down but Ty Lee insisted on braiding it."

Sokka reached with his other hand to touch it but Zoko slapped his hand away in reflex.

"S-sorry. I'm just… I don't usually let people touch my hair. It's.. custom."

Sokka looked confused. "Oh. Okay. Sorry."

Zuko wanted to kiss the look off his face.

So he did.

He heard the sound of surprise Sokka made but he quickly got over his shock and kissed back. It was different from last night, not induced by alcohol but by emotions. And it felt amazing, being able to feel the plump pressure of Sokka's lips on his.

Sokka parted, panting heavily.

"Uhm… do you like…. Want to maybe go out for lunch today? "

Zuko's heart fluttered. "Yeah. I'd like that."