#thank you zukka for existing at the same time as me

[leafsfromthevine]

them 🤍.*🌈₊˚ෆ💭ᯓᡣ𐭩

[leantailean]

I really love Toko, but i feel like its often constrained, largely due to the age gap. Like stories will often either be set in post-canon, or the characters will be aged up. Do you feel like that holds true and if yes do you feel like there's a dynamic that i'm missing. And post-canon is fun to explore, but i feel like the most interesting story telling is generally set while the war is ongoing. Conversely i feel like aging up Zuko would be fairly disruptive to his journey. Not that i think those are bad things, i'm really liking Third Time's the Charm that plays with the latter, and arranged marriage which to feels like a very natural trope for them, and obviously i love your art. They say for a reason that constraints inspire creativity. I'm just curious about your thoughts about that.

Hi! Thanks for the ask and sorry for the late reply (sickness prevented me from replying)

I have a lot to say about this, so let’s begin (it’s a loooooong answer).

Age gap is the most common argument against toko I’ve heard. And, to be honest, I find it really strange. You see, Aang and Zuko have the same age gap, and almost the same have Sokka and Toph, and nevertheless Tokka and Zukaang are quite widespread and supported ships, and no one cares for the age gap. That’s why I don’t really see why people believe that age gap as an issue in Toko.

And this argument sounds strange also because If relationship, even romantic one that are originates from friendship are starting to built it doesn’t mean they immediately become sexual. Kataang is canon and beautiful, but in reality several years should pass for them before they step into that kind of relationship. I’m even uncomfortable to think about Maiko having sexual activity in the canon, when they both are around 16.

Besides, it is difficult to imagine Zuko anything but aro/ace to me.

 Toko's relationship originates from similar life experiences and mutual support for each other. This is not a love at first sight, but a gradually developing "friends-lovers" relationship. Which, by the way, completely similar with other canonical pairs, such as kataang.

Also I think that this argument originates from extremely wrong, primitive fanon interpretation of Zuko and Toph. Usually Zuko is depicted super mature and super experienced dude (all that dadko bullshit, omg), and they prefer to see Toph as some tomboy-ish brat (here in Russia people call such girls “the guy from the next yard”), rude, not serious and childish. Nothing can be farer from the truth.

In fact, Zuko is emotionally underdeveloped, traumatised and rather infantile due to the abuse he experienced. He Is a teenager with serious anger issues and bad social skills.

Toph is, otherwise, one of the most mature gaang members. She is able to understand and listen to other people , and she never demand anything back (“Yes, thank you Toph”. Indeed it woul be very nice of Sokka and Suki to thank her for saving their lives). Despite her guarding her boundaries carefully she is always open to other people and she is in good contact with her own emotions (which is what Zuko lacks). So in their relationship, at least that the very beginning Toph would be the most mature side (although it’s fair for every possible Zuko’s partner, such as Maiko, Zukka or Zukaang).

 So I don’t think that Toko is having any problems in that sense.

On the one hand, I agree that it’s the most interesting when the relationship somehow develops during canonical events, and not in the post-canon. But in this case, this applies to absolutely any couples, except of maiko, kataang and sukka, since they are the only ones developing during the war. Any possible other relationships, such as Tokka, or Zukka, or Zukaang, can exist only in  post-canon if canonical couples break up for some reason. Again, Toko is no exception in this case.

Zuko and Toph's relationship (doesn’t matter friendly or romantic) did not get the development  they deserve in the third season. In fact, their relationship was just thrown under the bus because of the sloppy writing of the entire third season (to give Zuko one episode with each member of gaang  just to check the box, like "mission accomplished" and give almost not developing of his relationship with each of them outside of these episodes. And Toph was robbed even of this). But despite this, toko still has more then any other fanon ships (although “Boiling Rock” is definitely a very Zukka episode). We see that Toph was the first one who believed Zuko, and not just believed - she actively defended him in front of the others and made an attempt to have a chat with him herself. It is important: the fact that Zuko's relationship with Toph is radically different from any other ones with the rest of the gaang member, since she was not with them when Zuko actively hunted the Avatar, and their first close interaction was after his redemption, when he became the best version of himself. Toph has no personal negative experience with him, and Zuko does not  feel guilty towards her, and with her he doesn’t need to make up for anything, and this is very important.

Strangely enough, but, one of the most Toko moments of the show is the moment in which Zuko and Toph do not interact personally: the meeting of Iroh and Toph. She is also the first from gaang who met and even, one might say, became friends with Iroh. Iroh, who has always been Zuko's father figure is talking to Toph about real Zuko. Not about the imperialist prince cruelly pursuing the last hope of the world - the way Sokka, Katara and Aang knew him - but about just a boy only Iroh, his closes person, knew. In addition, Iroh, who knows and loves Zuko, says how much he and Toph have in common (Iroh is the first and main Toko shipper, and I will die on this hill). Narratively and dramatically, this is an amazing moment, and I will fight with anyone who says that Toko has little canonical content: any other Zuko ships can only dream about such a moment.

It is also interesting that it is with Toph that Zuko has the most sincere conversation about his guilt towards his uncle. He talked about it with Sokka and with Katara, but it was Toph who was able to tell him the right words that really comforted him and make him smile (seriously, this is the best smile Zuko has ever seen, and it happens during his conversation with Toph!)

We see that they feel extremely comfortable and open with each other, even though they barely know each other.

Toph is the only girl in the canon made Zuko to blush, just a fact. And Toph, in her turn, openly talks to Zuko her feelings for him (I'm not saying that her feelings were already romantic at that time ). "This is how I show affection" is just the best moment.

We can talk about many other canonical points that are important for toko: the similarity of characters and life experience - both Zuko and Toph are from the upper class, both grew up in abusive families and both know what it is to feel unloved by their own parents. The Blue Spirit/Blind Bandit is one of the most interesting and direct parallels of Toph and Zuko - an alter ego that they needes to get away from theirs social roles (a prince and a young lady from an aristocratic families). This is the same direct parallel as the canonical pair has: The Painted Lady/Kuzon. Just as Aang and Katara need alter egos to help others people which is the core of their characters and unites them,Toph and Zuko need alter ego in order to satisfy their own desire for freedom, which they cannot satisfy in any other way.

They are both disabled, forced to deal with the fact that people judge them by their disability and appearance, forced to prove every day what they are more than their disability. Again: neither Zuko nor Toph share such an experience with anyone else, only with each other.

So canonically, toko has a lot of support - certainly no less than any other fanon ship.

After all, they look amazing together.

Also, I just love the moment with kissing doves. Seriously, ATLA rarely show us such a perspective, why they needed to place such a scene in the same shot with Toph and Zuko as if it were foreshadowing their future relationship? God, I love it!

I really like to explore the post-canon, especially since  I don’t consider comics and LOK to be canon, although it doesn't even matter - nothing in them contradicts the idea that Toph and Zuko could be together at least at some point in their lives.

To explore  alternative universes for toko, such as the arranged marriage plot, is also a very interesting, and it would be great to talk about it another time.

Thank you for the question, I think my thoughts turned out to be a little messy, but I hope it could be interesting to you.

________

Let's talk about TOKO!

[juniperhillpatient]

thank you SO much @missjessefantastico for the tag <3 ALSO EVERYONE READ THIS SERIES ABOUT VAMP WILLOW, THE UNDERRATED HYENA KIDS, & MORE!!! It's so good btvs fans who love underexplored ideas & characters pspspsps

20 Questions For Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 19

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 3,027,073

3. What fandoms do you write for? It's been Avatar the Last Airbender for the past few years. I have an old & probably not-good Rick & Morty fic up. Before that, I had some IT fics. I've got an orphaned fic for scream & one for house of 1000 corpses.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

the benefits of getting a flat tire this is Zuko running away from home & running right into the gaang - also uncovering some family mysteries & reconciling with Azula. modern au. it's Zukka & aw I'm nostalgic for those early days of mine in the fandom

if this were a movie this is basically an ATLA Hollywood Au. Zukka & Azutara. Past Jetko. I was happy with some of the dramatic moments in this fic.

not another high school au lord help me lmao. I'm SO sorry if you are reading this & you happen to love this fic but it's not the thing I'm most proud of. this is basically just me dipping my toes into writing ATLA modern AUs & in that sense I guess it's nostalgic? this is the fic I wrote as a newbie to the fandom just trying it out & I still do lovingly appreciate everyone who was kind & welcoming in those early days!

six feet under ATLA TVD AU MY BELOVED OMG. this is a vampire diaries au. there are no 1:1 translations but azula is damon, katara is a mix of jeremy & elena & so is sokka, zuko is stefan & YEAH. also aang is bonnie & iirc I probably even gave toph something fun to do. ozai is Katherine which is forever hilarious to me. yeah, this was a fun fic.

5. in search of glorious happenings of happenstance this fic is about nothing & everything at the same time. atla/modern world fusion with the four nations existing but also it's modern. all the atla teens/kids are going to college at ember island university & the fic takes place across a year. it's slice of life, comedy, drama, & chaos. lots of ships but I think azutara & jet/zuko/jin are probably, at the end of the day, the romances that are at the heart of this story although platonic relationships are also pretty important in this fic, IMO as much as romances. it's probably my magnum opus or something.

Do you respond to comments? yes <3 I am sometimes slow & I am not perfect but I TREASURE comments & do attempt to let people know as much. I write for myself, I post for the connections I make along the way.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? the devil you know for sure. this is my atla/scream modern au. I talk about it constantly because I'm so insanely proud of it but if you don't know it's exactly what it sounds like. it's horror & tragedy that I feel really proud of & I do think those elements are at the heart of my writing passion despite me usually being a bit nervous about using them. so. I'm proud of this fic. & it has a very bittersweet ending but the tragedy is...there's a lot of tragedy. no more spoilers because I want people to read this!

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? most of my fics have decently happy endings despite me claiming to prefer tragedy lol. I seem to recall the things we leave behind (mailee youtuber au with jetko & auztara. & they were roommates!) having a tooth rottingly fluffy ending lol

8. Do you get hate on fics? not really. it's happened before but it's not a big thing.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? sometimes I write the smutty scenes from my fics then save it only for myself. no you can't see. it's probably terrible. there's some shitty zucest smut of mine out there somewhere but I'm not sure it's any good & couldn't tell you where to find it lol

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I think the AUs I write are called "fusion" because it's more "inserting characters into another world & the characters of that world aren't a thing." but my fic the balance of things was actually a crossover with characters from both wizards of waverly place & atla interacting. also I wrote THIS one-shot that's a crossover between the game the coffin of andy & leyley & the show wizards of waverly place. I didn't post it on ao3 but I'm just saying.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?  I don't think so?

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I have vague memories of doing this with this girl I was online friends with back in my fanfic.net days, years ago. I think it was Destiel.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? to write? I don't have one right now. I think maybe I got kinda burnt out on everything having to be about one ship or whatever rather than just telling the story & maybe that's a small part of why I'm taking a temporary break from fic writing & focusing on an original story so I'm not staying within fandom approved in parameters & I can just do whatever feels right ya know? I like Cisne's answer about any willow ship tho. me with my faves tbh hehe

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? can't think of one but I can think of fanfic ideas I'd like to return to & fully realize after I get back in the mood

16. What are your writing strengths? I like to think I'm okay at characterization although moving away from fanfic & working on something original has me questioning myself constantly!

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I'm very lazy & often neglect research. sometimes if I don't know how to explain something I just change the whole scene so i don't have to bother.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? could be neat in the right context!

19. First fandom you wrote for? probably family guy lmao

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? maybe 'in search of glorious happenings of happenstance.' I think 'the devil you know' is objectively the strongest. but happenstance is just such a specific version of the characters that's fun to me? it's one of those two that's my favorite, depending on my mood

this is very long so these tags have even less pressure than usual:

@reythespacebae @theowritesfiction @imaslowlearner-butilearn @chasingfictions @hello-nichya-here @matchamarshmallow @akiizayoi4869 @dont-leafmealone @peony-pearl @lunaintheskyforever

also, anyone who wants to do this just say I tagged you!

[levitatingbiscuits]

I love some of ur atla metas revolving katara sm! People are really hard on her, when in reality she suffered the most in the show. I think people try to use her to prop up sokkas barely existing issues so he's more relevant, and as a way to excuse aangs flaws, but you don't do that.

Thank you! I am, first and foremost, a Katara stan. I'm like Aang straight out the iceberg. 10 year old me saw her and was like OH YES SHE'S THE LOVE OF MY LIFE and that hasn't changed in 13 years.

People tend to play suffering Olympics for this show specifically to shit on katara, even though it's primarily her trauma that the narrative focuses on as a lens through which to explore the war. Tellingly, most of her suffering she goes through alone, without the support she offers to everyone else.

People try to play whataboutism with Aang and Sokka's trauma, even though the show straight up tells us that she is their living emotional crutch and the reason they were able to move on. Katara can't move on. No one helps her move on. When she tries to take matters into her own hands, to heal herself the way she heals others, she's condemned by the fandom (and Aang and Sokka that one time), called selfish and cruel and a million other things.

I especially hate when people bring up the Air Nomad genocide as a gotcha, when Katara is also the sole survivor of a genocide, a genocide she personally witnessed and was in danger of dying in. People forget that bloodbending is very obviously a metaphor for the generational trauma she inherits ON TOP of the traumatic murder of her mother, who died in her place. Katara knew very well that Yon Rha was there to kill her for her bending. Her survivor's guilt is actually worse than Aang's, even though it's less focused on, because she never truly gets over it. She spends the rest of her childhood trying to fill the empty space her mother left. And she SUCCEEDED. For her father, her brother, for everyone else she supported and mothered. For the child she named after her mom, a child that carries on the almost extinct legacy of Southern bending the way Tenzin does for Airbending, even though her importance is just as downplayed as EVERY OTHER ASPECT OF KATARA'S LEGACY INDEPENDENT OF AANG'S. Katara fills that empty maternal, caring role for EVERYONE in the gaang but zuko and herself, then she plays the same role for Korra because she's Aang's successor.

That's why it's so galling that she never got to resolve the bloodbending story herself. Sokka and Aang do it for her while she's busy trying to repopulate the Air Nomads, because God forbid she be allowed to do anything separate from her husband. Legend of Korra shits on Katara almost as much as the goddamn fandom. "She doesn't get a statue because she didn't do anything after the war but mother Aang's kids" is the actual justification bryke gave for no one honoring or idolizing her the way they do for the rest of the gaang in LOK. And God forbid she get a fight scene or even attend her own granddaughter's mastery ceremony. After all, that's Aang's legacy, not hers. She was treated like a convenient broodmare still pining for him 2 decades after his death and training and healing his successor and being neglected and isolated by her kids, because of course she's not allowed to move on and be content without him. Katara is never allowed to heal from her losses. She's always, always left to suffer in silence and deal with her pain alone.

No wonder this fandom props up Aang and Sokka by undermining Katara. The creators did it first :/

People didn't used to be such weirdos about Sokka. This is 100% a result of the ex-klance people latching on to zukka due to the superficial aesthetic similarities. Remember all those Lance stans who would insist that he's the one who suffered the most and would shit on every other character to make him look better? And transplant the character traits of other characters on to him, ESPECIALLY the girl of color popularly shipped with his supposed love interest? (Waterbender/moon spirit sokka is just altean Lance with a fresh coat of atla paint.) That's literally what they did to sokka in the "Renaissance." Before that it was primarily the hard-core kataang/aang stans insisting that Katara's narrative mattered less than the male characters'. I still remember the rape and death threats I got back in like 2018 for arguing that she deserved better than to end up a permanently benched housewife healer propping up Aang's legacy rather than securing her own in LOK. Then the zukkas came along and insisted their misogyny was woke because it was in service of fetishizing a gay ship with barely any basis in canon. (Cmon guys, jetko is RIGHT THERE and their interactions are not exclusively about one guy's various girlfriends. Just saying. Hell, Zukaang has the most basis of any atla slash ship, but people aren't attracted to Aang so they don't bother. Mark my words, the upcoming atla movie is gonna cause a zukaang Renaissance.)

That got long lol. This is probably gonna be controversial but I don't care, I'm right. Appreciate you nonnie!

[multishippingtrashfire]

zukka soulmate au opinions/headcanons?

I apologize Anon for how long this has sat in my inbox, but soulmate AU’s are really not my forte, so i had to think long and hard. (no sexy pun intended)

Background information

- Soulmate marks sit on the same place on both parties

- They are there their whole life

- I believe in multiple soulmates, so if one soulmate dies, i think another exists (aka, Hakoda and Kya, and then Hakoda and Bato; Kanna and unnamed Grandpa, and the Kanna and Pakku)

Zuko

- Zuko DREADS the notion of soulmates, only because Zuko believes it is also the universe’s divine order to make his life as sucky as possible. So in Zuko’s mind, he’s like the perfect way for the Universe to punish him further would be one of 3 ways:

1. His soulmate would be the Avatar, because of course he’d be on an impossible quest to literally find and surrender his soulmate for death at Ozai’s hands (also a betrayal to his nation) 

2. His soulmate would be a woman, (because I truly canonically believe that Zuko is a gay)

3. He wouldn’t have a soulmate

Of course none of these guesses are correct, he should’ve looked behind door number 4: His soulmate is from another nation and has had the Fire Nation ferociously take everything they’ve loved (aka Sokka)

Fire Nation tradition also dictates that Soulmates are for common people, not for Prince’s, so his soulmate mark (a glistening black sword), is to be covered at all times anyway. He is thankful that his Soulmate mark is non-nation identifiable, which saves him from Ozai’s wrath if it was obviously Water Tribe or Earth Kingdom. Also sucks, because Zuko isnt even sure where to start looking (not that he would), so he just traces the mark with his fingers as bathes sometimes, wondering if his soulmate is doing the same. 

When Zuko first meets Sokka, he doesnt realize it, he just sorta is like “no point in brutally hurting this person, let me just shift him out my way”, which in my opinion is more restraint than most people get from Zuko at that time. 

Zuko doesnt even know Sokka is his Soulmate until he sees the sword after training Aang at the Western Air Temple, and it all just clicks and Zuko wants to throw himself into the Sun because Sokka has Suki and Zuko just wants him to be happy. 

So really, he was right, he will be alone. 

Meanwhile on Sokka’s side

Sokka’s family have always been very supportive of him and soulmates. Katara’s mark is something that looks like a kite (it’s Aang’s staff but they didnt know that before meeting him) and Katara is wishful for her soulmate. She spends nights dreaming up what it could possibly be or mean.

And tbh, Sokka is against the idea because he’s devoted to the idea of being a warrior, of doing what’s right by his people. And his soulmate mark of a what looks like an exploded burn (the lightning strike Zuko takes protecting Katara) doesnt convince him, because only another selfless person/warrior would understand him in his opinion and he knows those are hard to come by. He doesnt care if his soulmate identifies as a guy or girl or in between. 

Then there was Aang, Katara’s necklace wrapped around his ankle as his mark. And Suddenly, Sokka was confronted with the realization that Aang and helping him become the Avatar was apart of Katara’s fulfillment and that his little sister was growing up and Sokka could see the way Aang and Katara looked at each other. He knew they say lifetimes when they looked into each other’s eyes. 

And then Zuko chases them around the world and Sokka totally acknowledges that Zuko is mental and a dick, but he also gets why Zuko does it. In their travels they heard the story of the banished Fire Nation Prince and his impossible assignment to return home and Sokka understands. He knows what it is to have to feel like you have to prove yourself to your father (Sokka thinks he has to prove himself to Hakoda; Zuko literally has to prove himself to Ozai, per Ozai’s words), what it means to be fighting for your nation as something greater than yourself, and Sokka would never admit to Katara but he empathized with Zuko. 

Sokka wonders if it’s Suki, but Suki tells him honestly that her mark is the mark of the Kyoshi Warriors, because she’s dedicated to this, this is what fulfills her. She loves Sokka and loves romance with him, but she knows Sokka is destined for greater love. And she tells Sokka that companionship is something that he shouldnt miss out, just because he thinks its not the ways of the warrior. Wearing a dress and fighting in fans and makeup wasnt his idea of the ways of a warrior either and he learned how that turned out. 

He thinks it may be Yue, but her mark was always the moon.

And then Zuko abandons Ozai and tries to offer himself up to the Gaang. He’s turnt away, and even burns Toph’s feet before coming back again and tries sacrificing himself to stop combustion man. Sokka is at least a little bit impressed that he would continue to offer himself up to berating judgement of their group because he’s decided what’s right. Then Zuko becomes Aang’s firebending teacher and everyone gets hang out with him and Sokka likes the guy even more, although he’s weird around the sword (he blushes everytime he sees it) 

They never really talk about soulmates, and Sokka’s soulmate mark sits on his thigh, so it’s not exactly easy to see unless he’s undressed. 

Then Zuko takes the bolt for Katara and survives and suddenly Zuko has hung the Sun in Sokka’s sky, because he was so selfless, he was willing to die for Katara. He knows the shape sitting on Zuko’s chest anywhere. Zuko is his soulmate. And then Sokka realizes maybe he was late to this party and that was why Zuko was weird.

When he first sees Firelord Zuko alone afterwards, he asks Zuko how long he knew. And Zuko lets him know that it was long enough that Chit Sang, Hakoda AND Suki knew (which meant by then Toph had probably figured it out too). Basically everyone but Sokka, Katara and Aang had been privy to the information. 

Then they unpack some of that pesky childhood trauma they’d been carting around and talk about how they both thought the soulmate thing wasnt for them, but then again both of them were completely unusual and extraordinary people, so maybe they just had a more unusual extraordinary soulmate story to live out. Sokka promises Zuko a lifetime and Zuko promises Sokka everyday in between now and when the Sun goes out. They can see it in each other’s eyes. 

Sokka says that Zuko’s scars are beautiful, something Zuko has felt made him a monster all this time. Sokka is the first person to acknowledge them truly and he tells him how enthralled he is by the stories they depict of Zuko. How he was selfless and did not fear the burn of flames because it was more important to do the right thing. 

 And Zuko says Sokka would have the world in the palm of his hand with his intelligence and that spirits knew giving him bending too would basically just make him the avatar anyway. Sokka has always felt inadequate and Zuko makes him feel like he could win a hundred battles blindfolded. 

Zuko sends a search for Sokka’s sword (and recovers it) and Sokka uses it to ask Zuko to marry him.  

They get married at Sunrise, because Zuko sets the Sun in Sokka’s sky and they celebrate until Sunset/moonrise, because their union blessed by the moon herself. It casts an iridescent glow over the Fire Nation. 

It’s love. 

[ezpezlemonsquez]

Okay so I obviously have so much work to do, so what I’m gonna do is rate ships from tLOK, feel free to add your opinion or comment on mine!

linzin (Lin x Tenzin), 10/10, I love those two so much, they have amazing dynamic and I feel they were such a power couple, definitely would like to see them together

pemzin (Tenzin x Pema), 3/10, so I personally don’t really like Pema cuz she doesn’t have much personality imo, basically her only trait is being a mother (which, I believe, is hard enough but shouldn’t be treated as a character trait) and being harsh to Lin. definitely loving linzin more.

masami (Mako x Asami), 9/10, yeah their relationship actually made a lot of sense, later on it was based on friendship and overall was very sweet and I think it had a lot potential but yeah, we got what we got and obviously love triangle had to be involved

kainora (Kai x Jinora), 10/10, hjwuagjd they were so sweet, I loved them together, too bad they didn’t get much screen time in s4 because they were perfect representation of first love and how it lasts, just fluff

makorra (mako x korra), 0/10, now wth happened there?? this was shitty, toxic and undeveloped thing added imo just to spice things up so as to have cOmPlIcAtEd ReLaTiOnShIpS, which, big surprise, didn’t work at all and only made people hate mako (if that was the goal, well done then). as it turned out tho, they worked much better as friends

bopal (Bolin x Opal), 6/10, kinda cute but nothing special, it was nice to see Bolin getting some love after his adventures with korra (1/10, they had fun together but getting him into this mess would just made him even more broken than he already was, thank goodness he got over korra quickly and just stayed friends with her), eska (2/10, i don’t even know what to rate here, this relationship was obviously introduced as comedic relief (which, tbh, worked)) and ginger (0/10, yeah, girl, he’s definitely gonna be your bf now that he’s famous, that’s so nice you see him! cmon). opal being a strong young woman certainly helped him overcome his insecurities and he didn’t have to worry about getting out of toxic relationship (again)

korrasami (korra x asami), 5/10, I honestly couldn’t care less

baayin (baatar x suyin), 4/10, not much to rate here either because baatar also didn’t have much personality but it was nice seeing him staying by her side always, no matter what (even standing up to kuvira for su)

zhurrick (zhu li x varrick), 6/10, I really liked that it was kinda hinted from the beginning, it also made sense they got married so quickly but zhu li changing out of nowhere to whole other person?? like, what??

baavira (baatar jr x kuvira), 6/10, I feel kuvira really did love baatar but was just blinded by possibilities of power (and, well, power itself), I think it’s just tragic history they built for years and then destroyed basically together, breaking each other’s hearts

pheer (p’li x zaheer), 8/10, I WANNA KNOW THEIR BACKSTORY!! what happened there? how did it happen? so many questions ygh! but they worked great together, good thing they didn’t make zaheer indifferent villain without feelings, his ship with p’li was so great.

mingzan (ghazan x ming-hua), 10/10, I consider this canon, sorry not sorry, they had amazing dynamic and it was so obvious they had a crush on each other (remember that scene with Bolin guessing three things about them? do you? huh??), I feel they’d be great together as their relationship is also built on a strong friendship

BONUS (non-canon ships):

wuko (wu x mako), 0/10, yeah, another ship ppl created out of nowhere just to have mlm ship with two handsome guys in the show, same story as with zukka (okay maybe wuko has a bit more basis than zukka but still). I think they’re great friends, learning from each other but would be terrible in romantic relationship (just imagine mako getting so frustrated and angry nearly every time they interact, please, just give him a rest)

kylin (kya x lin), 6/10, for me they have more sibling-like relationship and yeah, I’m a big linzin stan, but i think if I ignored this for a sec, they would be a couple I’d ship, just imagine the sass and power of those two being so badass

amorra (amon x korra), -1/10, why the hell this even exists

[enbies-and-felonies]

Things I Hate- zukka

@ademonwithinternet ily and hope this helps even a little bit

@neo-neo-neo @that-aro-asshat @hotchscrotch @appalyneinstitute1 @loverofallthingssmart @elmoxbigbird 

tw self-hate, self-destructiveness, some swearing and caps

this is angst and hurt/comfort

Sokka was done. He was done being the only one who consistently failed and dragged everyone else down. He was done with making people laugh being the only worthwhile thing about him. He just wished he could stop existing.

He kicked his foot against the floor of the hunting shack he was pacing in, grimacing at himself. He had planned on hunting, but had gotten to his halfway hut and decided against it. Maybe he should stay away from the pitying eyes in the village for a little bit.

“I HATE THIS!!” He screamed as he slammed a fist into the wall of his hut, crumpling as the despair took over and a jolt of pain slithered up through his elbow, jarring his shoulder and making the back of his eyes sting. Vaguely he wondered if his hand would be bruised once he took his thick mittens off, then he decided he didn’t care. He gave another scream of frustration, leaning his back against the wall he had abused and then pulling his knees up to his chest and letting his head fall back against the ice.

Burning tears welled-up beneath his tightly-shut eyes, and he contemplated rubbing them away before deciding it was too late. He was a mistake; a fucking screw-up who never did enough. He clenched his teeth so hard he hoped his jaw would shatter and he felt his chest tightening and boiling like he was a volcano ready to burst.

The first tears slipped down hot and fast, and he shoved a mittened hand into his mouth and bit down as he began to sob, choking breaths getting sucked in between heaves. And, he screamed. He screamed for all the things he never did, and for all the things he did that were wrong. He screamed and choked and sobbed, and he was sure that if he wasn’t wearing mittens his teeth would leave scars across his hands but he didn’t care. In fact, he deserved the scars. He deserved the pain.

His body shook with sobs, and he felt snot dripping from his nose and mixing with the saliva pooling from where he had his mitten stuffed in his mouth. Slowly his voice grew hoarse and he went quiet, shuddering intermittently with ragged breaths.

“I hate myself,” He whispered, “I hate myself, I hate myself, I hatemyself I hatemyself, Ihatemyself, IhatemyselfIhatemyselfIhatemyself. I. Hate. Myself.” He hiccupped and grew silent again, the tears having subsided.

Outside the one-room shack, he could see the light beginning to fade into a dull grey-yellow. He had been crying for hours, and it was too late to head back. Sokka felt too numb to care that he would be alone for the night. Maybe if he was lucky there wouldn’t be enough blankets in the hut and he would freeze as he slept. He found himself feeling a strange mix of relief and disappointment as he remembered that he had been the one to supply this shack and had indeed left extra blankets.

Of course this was the one time he did something right.

He sat like that for awhile more, watching as the last shreds of light slipped from the edge of the world, making way for their cousins, the shadows. Eventually he got up, moving to wipe his face before realizing his mitten was slimy and gross. Ew. He took it off and scrubbed his other hand down his face. He was tired, and not just physically.

Sighing, he went to the chest in the corner and pulled out the blankets and the small pack of jerky. He looked at the fireplace before shrugging; He didn’t have anything to start a fire, and he didn’t really care. He could freeze.

He ate the jerky and went outside to scrub the last crusty traces of tears and snot from his face before heading to the small cot in the other corner of the hut and curling up. And staring at the wall. Damn, he should have added art to the walls or something. It was kinda boring, and he couldn’t sleep.

He still couldn’t sleep two hours later when he became aware of a slight shuffling crunch, and then a crash at the door. He slipped out of bed, heart pounding and stomach in his throat, and he pulled out his boomerang.

There was faint cursing, more shuffling, and then the door creaked open. A figure stood there, panting. They were slightly taller than Sokka, and their hair was indistinguishable from their heavy fur coat. They made it halfway into the room before Sokka called out, “Who are you?” his voice still hoarse from his screaming session.

The person stumbled back, throwing up their hands and causing a small flame to appear, startling and blinding Sokka for a second. Zuko.

Zuko peered into the room, “Sokka? Oh thank Agni, it’s you. Where the fuck have you been? Katara was worried sick. I was worried sick.” He shut the door and swiftly pulled Sokka into a hug. Sokka yelped when Zuko’s frozen nose pressed into his neck. 

“Sorry, it was really cold out there,” Zuko’s breath was warm against Sokka’s skin and he shivered for an entirely different reason.

“Yeah,” He coughed, “Yeah, it must have been frigid.”

“So. What do we do now?”

“We could... try to sleep?” Sokka left out the fact that he hadn’t been sleeping when Zuko came in.

“Okay,” Zuko replied. They stood there awkwardly. Zuko shifted his weight, Sokka rubbed the back of his neck.

“So,” Sokka started, “Should I show you the bed?”

“Agni, yes please.” Zuko nodded vigorously, “I’m freezing.” Sokka pointedly ignored the voice in the back of his head that told him the best way to share heat is skin-on-skin contact. That was NOT helpful right now.

And then they were both in the bed, and even though Sokka was lying with his back to Zuko, who lay stiff as a board, staring at the ceiling, he could still hear the chattering of Zuko’s teeth, and feel the shaking of the bed from the shivers. Okay, so maybe body heat would be helpful. For Zuko. Not for any other reason. Just to keep his pal warm. Because they were buddies. And it was completely normal for buddies to lie in the same bed, under the same covers, snuggling shirtless. For warmth.

“Zuko?”

“Yeah Sokka?”

“Skin-to-skin contact is the fastest way to share heat.”

“O-kay?”

“I’m trying to say take off your shirt.” Gods of snow and ice, he was awkward. Sokka cringed inwardly, but he pulled his shirt off as well and shifted a smidgen closer to Zuko.

“If you uh-” Sokka cleared his throat, “If you go on your side I could go behind you and have my arms around you to keep you warm.” He was blushing redder than the most vibrant of Fire Nation clothes, and was grateful Zuko couldn’t see him in the dark.

Zuko wordlessly turned on his side and scooched closer to Sokka, who took a deep breath before placing his arm around Zuko and pulling him against his chest, hoping that his heart wasn’t beating so hard that Zuko would notice against the bare skin of his back.

Which, Sokka realized, was actually really warm and comforting. And then he didn’t notice it anymore because he was asleep, face pressed gently into the back of Zuko’s neck.

~~

Zuko woke up slowly, like the tide going out, and he smiled when he realized how they were laying. Sometime during the night he had turned over and now Sokka had his legs around him, one between his and one on top, and their foreheads were pressed together, causing their noses to be dangerously close to touching, breath gently mingling in the chilly air; the covers only reaching the tops of their shoulders, making them curve towards each other as a tree bends towards the earth; Hungry, yearning, hopeful.

Zuko wanted to kiss him.

But he didn’t. Instead, he shifted forward, just enough that their noses touched, and closed his eyes again, basking in the warmth of Sokka’s touch. Sokka’s grip tightened imperceptibly and then loosened again.

Zuko wondered if Sokka had given thought to the fact that Zuko could use Breath of Fire to keep himself warm(and if he was suspicious or had come up with some rationalization for him being so cold last night), or if he had simply not remembered. Briefly, Zuko felt guilty for letting himself feel freezing in order to cuddle Sokka, but he hadn’t known Sokka would tell him to take of his shirt. Plus... Zuko liked the warmth of Sokka’s skin. It was smooth, and its softness comforted Zuko.

Abruptly he heard Sokka’s breathing change, and Sokka stiffened slightly against him. He held completely still, consciously keeping his breath shallow and long. 

“Zuko?” Sokka whispered, miraculously keeping his forehead and nose pressed up against Zuko’s, “Are you awake?”

Zuko didn’t stir.

And then Sokka did the unthinkable. Slowly bringing his hand up from where it had rested on the lower part of Zuko’s hip, Sokka tenderly cupped Zuko’s chin, then he tilted Zuko’s face, just barely, and feathersoft he brushed his lips against the spot where Zuko’s scar met the unblemished skin of his cheek. It was so soft Zuko wondered if he would have missed it if his stomach hadn’t burst into the wings of a thousand butterflies. But no, he wouldn’t have. Because Sokka kissed him again, putting slightly more pressure behind it, and then rolled away.

~~

He kissed Zuko. Holy shit, he kissed Zuko. He kissed Zuko.

YES it was only on the cheek and YES he was asleep, but HOLY FUCK  HE KISSED ZUKO.

No time to think (besides that two-second panic), he rolled out of the bed, sucking in a breath as the blankets slid off and the cold air enveloped him.

“What the FUCK, Sokka?!” Zuko’s voice came from behind him and Sokka froze.

He wasn’t asleep.

“It’s fucking cold Sokka, maybe wake someone up with something a little lighter than a full-body assault of  c o l d.”

Thank the spirits, it was just the cold that had him yelling.

They quickly grabbed their shirts, and Zuko moved to the fireplace.

“You could have told me we had one of these in here,” He griped at he lit it.

Sokka rolled his eyes, “There’s still some jerky if you want it,” He offered, but Zuko shook his head.

“I’m okay. I do have a question though,” He swung his legs as he sat back on the edge of the bed, waiting for Sokka to turn and face him.

“What’s up?” Sokka turned as he wiggled into his shirt, oomphing when his arm got caught.

“What’s the real reason you didn’t hunt, and you stayed out here?”

Sokka’s mouth went dry.

“I-” He stopped, “I just-” Should he be honest? He couldn't lie to Zuko!! But, did he want to deal with the consequences of honesty?

“Sokka,” Zuko said quietly, “It’s okay. I’ll just listen until you’re done. Okay?” He patted the space on the bed beside him, and after a brief hesitation, Sokka joined him.

“You know when... when you make a mistake, and everyone tries to tell you it’s okay? But, even though everyone says that, you know you screwed-up so bad, and you know you’re a failure and you always screw things up, and maybe you would feel better if they just admitted that you always fuck things up? But even after you know you screw things up, you can’t stop. You can’t stop being fucked-up, and you’re a mistake and everyone else is helpful and essential but you’re just the nonbender who can’t do a fucking thing right, and you just hate yourself. You know?”

 He took a breath, “Except, you can’t know, because you’re strong and you managed to fix yourself and be better than you were and you can firebend, and I’m just. Well, I’m just me.” He finished, face gloomy.

All of the feelings of yesterday had come flooding back, and now Sokka was wishing the cold had gotten him. 

“Sokka,” Zuko’s voice was soft and low, calming Sokka down from his spiraling thoughts.

“You wanted me to tell you,” Sokka said, bitterly. Zuko grabbed Sokka’s hands from where they had rested in his lap  and made Sokka look at him, not wavering even as he felt Sokka’s gaze trace his scar.

“I did, and I’m glad that you did. Not believing that you’re enough... that’s hard. It’s hard as hell and it’s even harder to open up about it, but you did Sokka, and that’s brave.” Sokka found himself drawn to the earnestness in Zuko’s golden eyes, and he nodded slightly to show he heard Zuko.

“Not that brave,” He mumbled, but Zuko’s grip on his hands tightened and he interrupted.

“No, that was brave Sokka. YOU are brave.” Zuko was silent for a moment, eyes flickering between Sokka’s eyes, then lips, then a place behind his ear before going back to his eyes.

“I wish you could just, know how I see you. Know how wonderful you truly are, but I’m willing to tell you.

“Sokka, you are one of the bravest men I have ever met, and I admire you. You are a fucking genius, you invented air balloons and more!! When you are wrong, you acknowledge it, and you fix it. Sokka, look at me-” he made eye-contact with Sokka again, and Sokka realized that he was rubbing soothing circles onto the knuckles of Sokka’s clenched fists, “- you are so talented?? I don’t even know how you do it? No one thinks youre a fuck-up, and if they did I would personally... persuade them to change their mind.” Sokka didn’t doubt the hard glint in his eye.

“You are one of the greatest warriors I know, and you are my closest friend. Hell, I love you, okay? Don’t for one second doubt that you are worthy of it either, because you are.” Zuko’s cheeks were pink, but his voice was just as earnest as his eyes, and Sokka found himself tearing up.

“Are you sure?” He murmured, “Because I’m still just me.”

“Sokka, I wouldn’t want you to change one bit.”

Maybe it was the soft adoration in Zuko’s gaze, or the way his warm hands still traced gentle patterns into the knuckles of his cold ones, or maybe it was the memory of waking with his forehead pressed against Zuko’s and their legs tangled together, but Sokka leaned closer.

“May I kiss you?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

Zuko swallowed hard, but his voice was just as soft, “Would you? Please Sokka-”

And then their lips were pressed together and it was like the northern lights had made their home behind Sokka’s closed eyelids.

Kissing Zuko felt right in all the ways he had felt wrong, and Sokka knew whose arms he wanted to spend the rest of his life in.

[trashmouthnerd]

Just dudes being dudes...

Fandom: Avatar, Zuko x Sokka

Summary: Inspired completely by @firebendcr “Zukka are the gay friends who constantly flirt “as a joke” but would say yes in a heartbeat if the other asked them out” Yes so he is the absolute genius that came up with this. Follow him please :)

A large, drawn out sigh escaped the not so new but still incredibly inexperienced fire lord. He ruled over the entire fire nation with confidence and grace but evidently could not face a social event with even a fraction of the same attitude.

"Relax would ya? The whole gang is going to be back together for the first time in a year. You should be excited" A familiar teasing came from Zuko's bed. Sokka had let himself in earlier this evening, already dressed in his best attire, and dropped theatrically on Zuko's freshly made bed.

"How can I relax? This outfit looks ridiculous Sokka, and what if they don't like me anymore? Spirits this is dreadful, maybe I can call it off-" Zuko rambled, hands patting down the red fabric frantically.

"Alright seriously, chill. They love you and you know it so shut up, and hey that outfit is barley different from your usual"

"It's tighter" Zuko complains. Sokka groans, pulling himself off the bed reluctantly to stand behind Zuko - who was glaring into the mirror as though he were waiting to grow a second head.

"Just shows of your rocking bod more" Sokka winks, slapping Zuko's ass playfully before turning his friend around and flattening the collar properly.

"Shut up, like you know what looking stupid feels like. You look ridiculously hot in anything it isn't fair" Zuko pouts, his head falling in defeat to rest on Sokka’s shoulder.

"Hey, that's just my natural charm, can't blame me for that" Sokka grins, it only widening as his remark earns a groan from Zuko.

"Seriously though, you look great alright? Now stop being such a baby" Sokka said, rolling his eyes when a glare was sent his way. Zuko made his way to the mirror once again, prepared to compulsively check over his appearance when a rather loud knock sounded at his door.

"What is it?" He called, making his way over to the doors, barley keeping himself from tripping over his robes when an excitable Sokka shoved ahead of him.

"Oh ambassador Sokka, please could you inform Fire Lord Zuko that the guests are arriving now" A soft voice came from the doorway and Sokka nodded his head triumphantly.

"You hear that Jerk-lord, party's starting" Sokka winked, grabbing Zuko's hand and dragging him out of the comfort and isolation of his room.

"Fantastic.." He muttered as he allowed himself to be pulled around corners and through hallways.

They reached the main hall moments later and were utterly flabbergasted at the outcome of the last few days. Rows of brightly lit lanterns were hanging from the ceiling, tables of the finest food lined the back walls. It was completely decorated with Fire Nation scrolls and paintings in any areas that might have looked uninviting had they not been there.

It all looked so official Zuko had to take a deep breath.

He never would've hosted a party if Sokka hadn't been so spirit damned adamant about it. But maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all...

Sokka smiled, nudging his friend before taking it all in himself. Crowds of people who were well aquatinted with each other were beginning to form in small circles. All sorts of people, there were friends from past adventures, officials of every kingdom and special guests Zuko had invited from the fire nation villages he'd visited.

"Will uncle be coming?" Zuko turned, his eyes trying to submerge the hope until he received an answer. Sokka smiled sympathetically.

"Not tonight, but in his letter to me he said.. never mind" Sokka stopped, his eyes widening as though he'd said something he wasn't supposed to.

"He said what, Sokka?" Zuko glared, staring ferociously to encourage an answer.

"Oh alright.. he's planning on surprising you this week but I wasn't supposed to say anything.." Sokka frowned, knowing he'd missed the chance to see the light in Zuko's eyes upon Iroh's sudden arrival.

Zuko smiled anyway, thankful he'd see his uncle again soon.

"Oh.. Well good, it's about time the old man visited"

"Sokka! Zuko!" A familiar voice called from the crowd. The pair turned to see three smiling faces running towards them at full speed. Aang got there first, nearly sweeping the two off their feet as he jumped into a sudden hug. Katara following soon after, engulfing them further into the warmth of their friends.

"Guess I'll join in on the sappy reunion too" Toph smirked, her arms wrapping around the group as her cheeks squished against Katara’s back.

"I missed you so much, even if you are a pain" Katara smiled to her brother warmly as Aang told Zuko a long winded tale of his adventures on the way to the fire nation.

"Ha ha, you too sis. Keeping this one in check isn't an easy job" Sokka sighed, punching Zuko in the arm playfully.

"Speaking of which, spirits look at you Zuko..." Katara started, looking him up and down.

"Yeah, tell me about it.. You look so.." Aang trailed off.

"Handsome? Hot? Flaming Hot?" Sokka rambled, doing his duty of helping his friend in finishing his sentence.

"I was going to say fancy" Aang laughed.

"You look the same to me" Toph shrugged. Sokka laughed, touching her arm gently. It felt nice, right, being all together again.

Hours passed and the party was still going strong. Sokka had eaten most of the buffet but everything else had gone according to plan. Zuko had met with a few officials to greet them, doing his absolute best to win them over.

Other than a few short conversations Zuko had spent the entire night in a spare room with his friends, sending Momo every now and then to retrieve some snacks - which never worked in their favour.

"So come on then Zuko, spill the beans" Toph teased but Zuko only raised a brow.

"Oh come on, you're telling me you're the Fire Lord and you haven't gotten any" She went on, her own brows furrowing together in disbelief.

"Huh? Oh no, I guess I haven't" He shrugged, it's not as though he'd really thought about. Yeah there's a few cute boys but he's busy enough ruling the fire nation and rebuilding what Ozai broke to think about dating.

And by a few cute boys he means that one cook that works mornings, the guy he met down the market place once, and his painfully perfect best friend.

"Lame" She finished, stretching her feet out onto the table.

"Why do I need a relationship when I've got hot stuff here to help with me everything anyway" Zuko smirked, eyeing the boy beside him mischievously.

"It's an honour, Fire-Jerk" Sokka smiled, biting his bottom lip suggestively while maintaining eye contact. The two were so absorbed in their teasing they failed to see the confused glances their friends were sharing.

"Get a room!" Katara said, turning her nose up in fake disgust.

"We have one" Sokka winked, Zuko seemed to have found this amusing as he nudged his shoulder against his friend’s, scoffing slightly.

"So have you two been like this since we left or...?" Aang asked, sitting forward as he snatched a carrot from the bowl in front of him. Tilting his head as he awaited the highly anticipated answer.

"What do you mean 'like this'?" Zuko asked, turning to Sokka for some sort of assistance.

"Acting like you're married" Katara provided to the dumbfounded idiots sitting directly ahead of her.

"Dunno what you're talking about sis, this is completely normal bro behaviour" Sokka shrugged, his hand resting on Zuko's thigh. Katara looked at said hand suspiciously and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah.. sure.. friends always flirt with each other non stop" She said sarcastically, eyeing her brother knowingly.

"Flirting? We are not flirting!" Zuko frowned, shoving the hand off of his thigh.

"Yeah! We always act like this!" Sokka added. Raising his hands to drive home his confusion.

"That's completely normal.. just guys being guys.. nothing romantic about it" Aang smiled, looking towards Katara in knowing agreement.

"Exactly!" Zuko shouted. Arms crossing over his chest in realising that touching Sokka right now was off the table, he didn't want his friends to be suspicious about nothing after all.

"So you're saying neither of you would go there with each other?" Toph smirked, knowing her question would give her plenty entertainment.

"Well-" They both said in unison. Sokka's eyes wide and Zuko's cheeks tinted red.

"You go first"

"No you”

"Fine. Well I'm a good friend you know, if my buddy here wanted to do something then who am I to decline the Fire Lord?" Sokka explained, shrugging as though he weren't declaring the tension between them was existent after all.

Zuko's eyes widened at his best friends confession. If he'd known that were the case then for what dumb reason weren't they doing that already?

"Yeah and I mean, have you seen those eyes? I'm not saying no to them" Zuko stated, grabbing Sokka’s chin, tilting it up with his finger as he smirked.

“You wanna go out with me? I wouldn’t mind giving you the pleasure of having such an incredibly good looking boyfriend” Sokka smiled, his eyes glinting as Zuko tilted his chin just a little further to kiss him with a warm smile.

"Idiots, the both of you" Katara shook her head, smiling as she watched Sokka throwing his arms around his totally platonic best friend, planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

[natequarter]

YES give all the kayumai thoughts.. :]

- ok so it starts as three separate relationships

- katara & yue first, after sokka gets with suki (zukka does not exist here bc i don’t want it to)

- water/moon parallels yue sacrifices herself to save the moon and seeing the kindness yue shows the ocean spirit gives her back her life, along with some fucking normal hair

- kataang qpp in the background throughout bc i can do what i like

- katara & yue don’t actually, like, realise they like each other until the sokka & suki reunion (the one w the baby hope and going to ba sing se) at which point sokka is like AAAAAAAA why does katara keep on stealing his crushes (yes this includes jet)

- yue runs into mai at some point when mai is just wandering around ba sing se and is like. hm. pretty girl. they have a brief ambiguous thing and when yue disappears mai just... assumes she’ll never see that pretty girl with the bow and arrows (yue learns archery at some point) again :(

- mai runs into yue again

- and again

- they keep running into each other mai who is slightly head over heels for pretty girl yue who is v confused as to how they keep meeting again

- it’s yue who gets mai out of jail (and ty lee. ty lee is like ‘moon girl did you know my name is short for thank you lee?’)

- (has anyone ever considered yue and ty lee)

- yue and katara meet up again for the finale and aang is like :DDD my girlfriend is happy with her other girlfriend it’s all very sweet

- yue and mai in the finale: *spiderman fingers guns meme*

- katara: KNIFE GIRL HAS BEEN CORRUPTING YUE THE WHOLE TIME???

- ty lee: KNIFE GIRL HAS BEEN CORRUPTING MOON GIRL THE WHOLE TIME!!!

- ty lee is trying to get the 3 of them together

- katara wants absolutely nothing to do with mai

- mai keeps stabbing things (no ozai is not a pincushion mai) bc she has a crush on katara and can’t figure her feelings out

- katara keeps freezing things and nearly re-refridgerates aang in frustration for exactly the same reason

- aang and ty lee: GUYS TALK TO EACH OTHER

- katara and mai: NO!!!

- suki sokka and ty lee eventually team up to get them to work together

- yue: can’t we all be nice to each other??

- zuko: this is giving me nostalgia to how i almost drowned and zhao got eaten by a fish

- everyone: he WHAT

- katara and mai eventually befriend each other and start bullying the fire lord (affectionate) together

- katara & yue and yue & mai are both vaguely together and eventually yue goes. look. you two are dating now

- ty lee goes ‘you’re blessed by moon girl’ and now there’s nothing they can do about it

- aang and zuko try to throw a party

- mai tries to stab them

- good times

[firelxdykatara]

I may or may not have inhaled almost all the Zutara and atla meta on your blog in *cough* a short amount of time. (#noregrets) I only realized atla was A Thing this year, so your blog is just content gold for *gestures* atla things. Oh! Question: What are your thoughts on ZukoxSokka? I'm in the Zutara OTP ship, but I don't hate Zukka. I guess I'm generally indifferent on that pairing.

EDIT: (bc i realize i didn’t address the first part of your ask at all) THANK YOU! i hope you enjoyed the meta bc I have. written A Lot Of It, some saltier than others, but at the end of the day I quite like validation and it’s nice to know people actually read and appreciate my metas!!!

As a ship, I actually don’t mind Zukka. They definitely look good together, and I can appreciate how a lot of their scenes in the Boiling Rock two-parter provided a lot of ship fodder, though they could never be my OTP because, as a ship and as a series-long relationship arc, Zukka just doesn’t have the range that Zutara does. They have two episodes for a cool jailbreak, and that’s........pretty much it. Zuko and Katara, meanwhile, have moments in episodes spanning all the way back to book one, they have all of the parallels and the symbolism, they have the Cave of Two Lovers story pretty explicitly mapping directly to their own journey, up to and including sharing a tender moment of connection in a cave with glowing green crystals, they have the fire/water and sun/moon associations, shared trauma and emotional support..... anyway. Yeah, for me, zukka is cute, but not in the same league.

However, I have the ship blacklisted and a fairly negative kneejerk reaction to seeing it, now, because of the shippers.

It wasn’t nearly so bad before the atla resurgence (when, I assume, the bitter klance fandom found proto-klance in Zukka and latched on hard--and, as someone who’s seen vld, I will say that Zukka is, by and large, what they wished Klance could have been), but even then some of the most prominent zukka shippers hopped on the ‘zutara is racist and if you ship it you’re racist’ train with absolutely zero self awareness, and that take became so hard to avoid that I just blacklisted the whole ship and washed my hands of it.

Which hasn’t stopped people from crosstagging, but there’s only so much you can do, you know?

I also don’t like how zukka shippers tend to dunk on Katara in service to their ship, and either forget Suki’s existence entirely or tack her onto zukka almost like an afterthought, especially since sukka is the only canon romance that was actually written and developed well across the series. And they’re usually perfectly happy to leave Katara with Aang and I’m not gonna go into all the problems I have with that here because I have this wordvomit problem and would never stop, but if you’ve been reading my metas then you know, and i just....idk it feels like they either don’t like Katara or just want to keep her out of the way and don’t care how badly she wound up being shafted in canon after atla’s timeline, and considering she’s my favorite character??? Yeah I don’t like that at all.

Anyway, at the end of the day, I have no problem with Zukka conceptually, though I do have a problem with the people who will insist that Zutara is problematic for -insert list of things that also apply to Zukka here-, and I don’t like how Katara and often Suki are typically treated in those narratives, so I have the ship’s tags blacklisted and have had a happier fandom experience because of it.

[fearfulkittenwrites]

Zukka Youtuber AU (pt 1)

Youtuber au inspired by @ratatosk-express – Link to the post (https://ratatosk-express.tumblr.com/post/622032956613115904/okay-so-idk-if-youtuber-aus-are-still-a-thing)

Sokka has a channel dedicating to his inventions and other projects, but his live streams are particularly famous for the amazing stories he tell.

Basically everything is the same, except it’s in a modern setting and Sokka is relatively internet famous.

** Hey, just a little heads up, I change some things from the original post, I hope it’s not a problem! **

Sokka tells his audience a lot of stories during his streams. Most of them are from his journey with the avatar, although he occasionally talks about his childhood in the Southern Water Tribe. Many of his fans watch these streams because of them, even if the overwhelming majority believes them to be fake. After he came back and decided to expand his content, Sokka found out he is particularly good at storytelling, and it granted him an audience that didn’t even followed his main channel but appreciated the contents of his lives.

He got annoyed sometimes when he recieved comments that treated his life experiences as a fantasy. His biggest mistake was sharing Yue’s story with his fans; all of the teasing and ‘yeah right’ comments really got to him, but there wasn’t much to be done. It was quite a surreal story, and if they wouldn’t believe him there wasn’t much he could do to prove it. Too many people have already forgotten the old spirits of the moon and the ocean and how crucial they are to water benders, so if they didn’t believe that, they wouldn’t believe Yue’s sacrifice.

They did believe his stories about the Kyoshi Warriors. After all that happened the girls became quite famous, and even if they thought the details were too exagerated and fake (I mean, the avatar was there? And he dated one of the warriors? Please.), it wasn’t impossible, that’s for sure. I mean, he did talk about attending formal events with his boyfriend, so, yeah, why not? The Kyoshi Warriors attend those too, don’t they?

Speaking of his boyfriend, he told them little about him. His audience knew he existed, but he was never seen on camera and there were many stories or commentaries involving him, but he never went too deep into it. When asked about it, he told them his significant other was a private guy, and he himself didn’t feel like there was a huge need to share their romantic lives online. Most people were pretty respectful from that point onwardars, although there are always some exceptions.

More often than not, his quick comments about his daily life involved him, and everyone though they were super sweet, although most of them gave his audience the impression that he was dating a very socially awkward and overly emotional man. They weren’t exactly wrong, they just didn’t have the whole truth; still they always asked Sokka to see them at least once during his lives. One of the most know and loved stories about him had been told in a stream as he built a new house for the turtle ducks’ lake. The last one was getting too old, and he had nothing else to do with his time.

“Hey, did I ever tell you guys about the time my boyfriend brought like, eight little turtle ducks home?”

The comment section was filled with negative responses, although some were very panicked.

“Yeah, it’s true. Happened about two weeks after I moved in. They were all babies and their mom got hit by a car? Some jerk was probably speeding and the poor creature died, leaving her children behind. He brought them here because they were too young and he was afraid they’d die if left alone.”

Many comments were praising him for the action, and some were worried about what happened to the little creatures.

“It was kinda of cute but I got a little freaked out about where to put them. Then he told me we have a pond? I swear, this place is so big I could die from starvation after getting lost on my way to the kitchen.”

He laughed. Once again, a lot of comments talking about how full of shit he was flooded the chat.

“I’m serious guys. I’d rather bring him to my tribe, but that’s really not an option, unfortunatly. So I moved here, and I think I only know about 30% of this building even after being here for like, almost a year.”

Someone told him to write a map.

“Hah, yeah, I should probably do that.” He smiled. “Actually, that reminds me of that time me and my friends got stuck in a cave with a bunch of crazy hippies while trying to get to Omashu. We were looking for an earth bending master for Aang. It was wild, the tunnels kept moving so I couldn’t keep a map of the labyrinth, and a badger mole almost ate me.”

The comment section went wild again. Some people were excited because he was finally telling a story, some people were calling bullshit on the moving tunnels... It was chaotic, and Sokka loved that. He was pretty chaotic himself, so this crazy comment section always amused him.

Sokka didn’t care that his stories weren’t believed. He understood that his situation was... unusual. Besides, many stories he told were of public knowledge already, he just set the record straight for most of them, adding unknow details or straight up correcting lies. There was only one thing he couldn’t stand being questioned on; his skills. When he mentioned he once built an armor for Aang’s sky bison, he wasn’t mad when they laughed at the idea that he was the avatar’s friend, no, he was mad when someone commented that he was lying about knowing how to build an armor. After that, he put out a series of videos on his channel in which he forged an armor for himself from scratch, even if he knew he’d never use it (And every single one of them started with a screenshot from said comment).

So his irritation at this moment really shouldn’t be a surprise. After showing off the sword he made for his channel, he told his audience about how he learned all he knew in the art of the sword from Piandao, who told him he had great potential to surpass even him. Of course, the comment section laughed again.

“It’s true!” He exclaimed, exasperated “Why would I lie about something like that? Okay, I see why I would lie about something like that, but really, I’m not lying. I swear!”

The comments still went on.

“Okay, you know what? I’ll prove it.” He got up and moved some furniture around to open enough space for a duel “HEY JERKBENDER,” He yelled from his door “GET IN HERE! AND BRING YOUR SWORDS!”

The audience heard a voice.

“What is it, Sokka? Did something happen?”

“No babe,” They heard Sokka answer, with a much softer tone this time, before planting a kiss to the other’s face “My viewers think I’m lying about being a swordsman, so I need to prove myself.”

“Really?” They heard an unimpressed voice.

“Hey, you’re all about honor, aren’t you? Help me defend mine for once.” Sokka apeared in the picture again, smiling, followed by Zuko, as in the Firelord Zuko. Many jaws were dropped.

“Fine, but I won’t make this easy.” He swung his dual swords.

“Me neither.”

They attacked each other for some time, occasionally getting out of the frame before jumping back in. Sokka eventually tossed an used shirt at Zuko’s face to throw him off. It made him confused, but he didn’t give up so easily.

“Unfair!” He exclaimed, getting up and defending himself from another one of Sokka’s attack “I’ll fire bend if you keep this up.”

“You’re getting me a replacement for anything you burn!” Sokka complained, jumping on his bed for leverage, but Zuko kicked it and he fell with an emasculating yelp. The fire bender had the upper hand now, but Sokka was quick to get up.

Eventually, Sokka managed to disarm Zuko, and used the tip of his sword to lift his chin up.

“You really ought to practice more with the swords.” He said, a smug smile on his face.

“Shut up, you dork.” Zuko answered, a little frustrated from the loss, but mostly proud of his boyfriend’s mastery.

He walked up to his boyfriend, replacing the blade with his fingers.

“Thanks baby. You’re the best.” He leaned in and softly kissed him. Once he tried to step back, he felt Zuko gripping him by the waist, holding him and deepening their kiss.

“I miss you. We barely had any time together this week.” Zuko complained “Go by my room when you’re done, okay?”

“Sure babe.” Sokka smiled, still being held by Zuko “Wait, why don’t you say hello, then I end the transmisson, huh? They’ve been wanting to see you for a while.”

“Really?” Zuko asked, a little amazed and curious.

“Yeah! I think they fell in love with you after I told them about the turtle ducks. But, honestly, who wouldn’t.” Sokka smiled and guided him to the camera “See guys, I told you I’m a...” He turned his face to the screen again “Oh.”

“Oh.” Zuko mimicked, watching as the comments rolled in faster than he could read, all of them some sort of variation of ‘Is that the fucking Firelord?’.

“I-I...” Sokka stuttered “I mean, I’m pretty sure I mentioned his name.”

A comment said ‘Yeah but there are many Zukos in the world’.

“It’s not my fault you don’t believe my stories! I told you I travelled with the avatar, the same avatar who is friends with the Firelord, who happens to be my boyfriend. I thought it was kinda obvious.”

‘Wait’ Said another comment ‘SO IT’S ALL TRUE???’.

“What do you mean it’s all- Yes it’s all true. Of course it is.” He looked at the comments flooding in and sighed. “Y’know what? I’ll deal with this tomorrow. I love you guys, but I’m a little too tired to do this now. Byeeee!”

With that, he turned the stream off. Zuko had an amused smile on his face.

“What?” Sokka asked.

“Nothing.” He answered “I’m just... I don’t know, when you said they wanted to see me I thought it was because I’m the Firelord and all. But... They didn’t know. They wanted to see me from the dumb stories you tell them about me.” Zuko smiled at the ground “You must’ve painted me in a very kind light, love.”

“I mean... There’s no way I can paint you in a bad light, really.” Sokka placed his hands in Zuko’s waist “You know that, don’t you?” Zuko kept his gaze fixated on the ground “Zuko, baby, you’re a great, kind, brave man. And I’m madly in love with you because of it.”

“I love you too Sokka.” Zuko smiled, but still couldn’t bring himself to look at Sokka. After some time together, Sokka figured it was best to just let him look at wherever, if it made him comfortable. He already had to sustain too much eye contact as fire lord, so when he was in his arms, Sokka just wanted the man to be at ease. Even if that meant he wouldn’t always look him in the eye.

“C’mon,” He squeezed his sides slightly “Take me to your room, my lord, because mine is too messy for the cuddles you deserve.” Sokka teased, getting a small chucke from Zuko as he turned to walk out of his boyfriend’s chaotic room.

“It is impressive how messy your room is, considering our maids clean it everyday.”

“What can I say? It’s one of my many talents.”

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I know that originally Zuko’s supposed to win, but like... In my mind, after all that happened, their skills were pretty much on the same level, and considering that Sokka would have more free time to practice than the Firelord would, well... I think his victory is not all that surprising plus i think his smug smile directed at zuko would be so cute and make him melt af

[y--o--b]

 yob’s roleplay rules

general info

i don’t play real people and i refuse to play real people <3

i can roleplay thru reblog chains, but messages are preferred

my motivation and my sleep schedule and my everything are often inconsistent. i’ll try to let you know when i have to disappear, but sometimes i just... don’t. i’ll try n work on that

i’m okay with mature topics like gore and death, though if it’s, like, smut... i don’t know. maybe if you can confirm that you’re also a minor but above 13. also only done in private messaging. also i don’t like making smut the whole basis of a roleplay.

i’m usually semi-literate to literate, using “quotes” for dialogue and writing actions as you’d read in, like, a book. but i’m pretty flexible with my style and can use *asterisks* if you do the same. basically i kinda just mirror my partner.

i only do 1x1 roleplays, sorry lol. groups overwhelm me :’)

i use (parentheses) when talking ooc

triggers

pedophilia: pedophilic ships are one thing, that i will be covering in another part of this post. but what i mean is if you’re going to say, “[]’s dad looks at them funny,” or “[]’s whoever touches them in inappropriate places,” whether in their backstory or not, i’m leaving. pedophilia triggers me bad enough that i get uncomfortable when it’s mentioned, in general.

rape: similarly to suicide- if it’s mentioned in a character’s past, then... maybe. i know scumbags exist but if you’re going to have a character get raped or attempt to rape another i’m leaving.

self-harm: if it’s really essential to the plot, then i guess you can do so with your character- just, don’t go into detail about it. other, non-self-inflicted gore of any kind is okay in any amount of detail tho.

suicide: not as lenient as the one above. you can incorporate death-by-suicide in a character’s backstory(like a family member or something) and you can include non-descriptive past attempts, but if any character actively attempts during a roleplay i’m gone.

base rules

you should tell me your rules and triggers, too- you don’t have to be so extremely detailed if you’d rather not, but i just need a basis of what you are and aren’t comfortable with. if you have a post outlining your info you should link that, too :)

don’t feel obligated to, but if you message me it’d be absolutely appreciated if you have some sort of idea of the kind of plot you want. i can provide my own plots and do have some pre-set starters, but it’s also cool if you want to provide your own or have us create one together or just go with the flow without a starting plot.

that said, once we fulfill the requirements of a plot, it’d still be cool if we could keep going and just add onto it! or if you feel like it, i’m still okay with ending a roleplay at whatever point.

pairing rules

i can do platonic, romantic, familial, and other kinds of relationships within a roleplay. ngl, i mostly focus on romantic, but if you want to try another kind of relationship don’t be afraid to say so

in any fandom, i can do cc x oc, oc x oc, and cc x cc-- while, minus the ones where i specifically say i can’t play ccs dhsnfjm. most of the time though, i’m happy to play either cc or oc

being mlm myself, i mostly focus on mlm pairings. still though, i can do wlw and straight relationships, plus relations between characters with diverse genders!

i refuse to do any pedophilic or incestual ships. if we do a pairing and it gets abusive though, i can tolerate that as long as we aren’t looking at the abuse as a good thing. and as long as the character/s getting abused get out of those situations, eventually.

also i can do aged up aus, like adult!izuocha, but i’m not going to age up a character to ship them with another one that’s already an adult.

oh and yandere makes me uncomfortable lol sorry

atla/lok-specific

ships i particularly like are zukka, sukka, meilee, korrasami, and wuko

i could probably play sokka, zuko, bolin, and mako... but like. i don’t know.

i’d prefer sticking to ocs, but i can try playing canon characters

bnha-specific

ships i particularly like are shintodo, bakutodo, izuocha, kiribaku, and tokokure.

ccs i play best are shinsou, todoroki, bakugou, and tokoyami

i can play canon characters or ocs! if it’s oc x cc i actually usually prefer being the cc, with this one. but i have like a million bnha ocs that i’m happy to use

i don’t ship any of our current villains with the ua kids! i can do villain x student if it’s an au or ocs, though

fe3h-specific

i actually.. don’t have any fe3h ships lol. maybe self-ships. but i do have a headcanoned friendship between petra, ashe, and felix, thanks to one of my playthroughs

ccs i play best are byleth, claude, linhardt, and mercedes

i can play most canon characters or ocs! ngl, if it’s oc x cc, i usually prefer being the oc.. with canon characters, i’m most well-versed in the blue lions, but i really do want to branch out

oh but i hate leonie with a passion lol. i can’t play her no matter how hard i try.

haikyuu-specific

once again i don’t have many ships in here lol... but i think kuroken n yamshima are pretty cute, when i think about it :)

ccs i play best are hinata, kenma, tsukishima, and kageyama

once agian, i can play canon characters or ocs. but ngl, i generally prefer using ocs, unless i can play tsukki or kageyama. but then again i should always work on expanding those horizons-

mlb-specific

i ship ninalya, marcaniel, julerose, marichat, and ladrien (but chatbug and adrinette are good too!)

i have 0 experience playing ccs lol. but i imagine i could play nino and marc pretty well

ngl, i prefer playing ocs over canon. but i’m willing to try playing canon!

stardew-specific

ships ships ships, as always- sambastian, abisam, sebigail, abisambastian. just... that trio.... love that trio <3

ccs i play best are sebastian, shane, abby, and alex

i’m happy playing any canon character or ocs. if it’s oc x cc? i prefer the cc.

but also pierre is weird and i have a hard time playing him so, ehh, yeah no-

[avatarnao]

A Million Dreams CH. 5

Pairing: Zukka, Kataang

Soulmate AU, College AU, Roommate AU

First, Previous, Next

A03

******

After the initial shock seems to wear off, Suki and Aang manage to wrangle Katara, Sokka, and Toph into their seats. Toph can’t seem to stop laughing and Sokka won’t stop staring at Zuko like he’s grown a second head. Katara won’t stop glaring. Aang seems to be halfheartedly trying to talk her out of committing murder in broad daylight.

Zuko wouldn’t mind any of this so much. In fact, he’d be completely okay with ignoring their presence while he works. If only Jin hadn’t sat them at the only open table left in his section. Now he has to talk to them and interact with everyone and Sokka still won’t stop staring at him.  

He disappears into the safety of the kitchen, if only to have a moment to himself. Unfortunately, his uncle never seems to leave the room, busy making tea and treats for everyone. Zuko huffs and stalks past his uncle to the back door. Iroh’s worried inquiry goes ignored as the door slams shut behind him.

Out behind the teashop, away from customers and his uncle’s prying questions, he can actually think a little. So… Sokka, his roommate, is apparently the same Sokka Aang mentioned in the few times he came to practice with Katara. He’s not sure if he should feel guilty for not picking up on the names… then again, he also didn’t want to assume everyone from the Southern Water Tribe knew each other… or were related. Sokka could’ve been a common name and maybe that’s just how he justified it.

Only Sokka and Katara are related and Katara hates his guts. Zuko presses his back against the wall and slides to the ground with a groan. Of course she would hate him, and he doesn’t exactly blame her but… Sokka’s never said anything about his sister. He’s definitely never mentioned being friends with the avatar of all people.

…

Has Sokka ever mentioned knowing the avatar? No… no, he’s sure he’d remember something like that.

Why doesn’t Sokka hate him for nearly hitting his sister? Surely, she told him about that… but Toph is also their friend apparently. Maybe she vouched for him? No… that’s dumb. Why would she do that?

And then he just… walked away…. Shit… why did he just walk away? What if they complain about him being rude? Uncle doesn’t need that sort of negativity….  

No… that’s stupid. They definitely won’t complain to Uncle of all people. Besides, the tea is already free to students.

Zuko blinks, frowning. How… how does Sokka know about this event? Wasn’t it only meant for his uncle’s students?

“Oh, Agni, ” he hisses, eyes going wide. Does that mean Sokka’s taking his uncle’s class? No wonder Sokka was giving him funny looks… wait, no… maybe he doesn’t know they’re related yet. Maybe Sokka isn’t even in his class. It could just as easily be Toph or Katara or Suki…. Only… what if they’re all taking the class together?

He jumps to his feet at the thought. If none of them know, they sure as fuck are about to find out. Especially if Uncle decides to venture over to the table. Which he most likely will the moment someone tells him the avatar is visiting.

The door swings open just as he steps up to it, smacking him in the face.

“Oh, nephew,” he hears his uncle say. “ There you are.” Zuko glowers at the man, rubbing his cheek. The smile on Uncle’s face drops. “What happened to you?”

“Nothing…” he grumbles. “Did you need something?” Uncle hums thoughtfully, perking up as he seems to remember what he came outside for.

“Oh, yes,” he replies. “I’ve been told the avatar is joining us today. You must come and meet him!” Zuko hesitates. He hesitates because the avatar is hanging out at the exact table he’s trying to will out of existence. Maybe he can just force himself to throw up and go home for the day. That would probably be rude though and he can’t do that to his uncle after everything the man’s done for him.

Zuko reluctantly follows his uncle back inside. They pause in the kitchen to load up a couple trays with food and tea, then head out to the dining area.

Toph’s howling laughter greets them as they step out of the kitchen. Sokka’s hunch over with his face pressed into the table. Zuko eyes him, curious as to what transpired but remains quiet. Uncle perks up the moment he takes in everyone sitting with Aang.

“Suki! Sokka! What a pleasure to see you here!” Uncle greets. Zuko swallows a groan. Of course those two would be in the class. He quietly sets the tray of food on the table and begins helping Uncle serve tea. Suki’s watching him with a sort of smug amusement as he places a cup in front of her.

“Is he your uncle?” she asks, mirth glinting in her eyes. Zuko stares at her for a long moment and he just knows . Suki must know too because she smiles softly and says, “Thank you for the hot leaf juice.”

“ Uncle ,” he hisses, turning on the man. Said uncle just gives him a sheepish look as Zuko presses on. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone!” That seems to knock Sokka out of whatever dilemma he was having. He slams his hands on the table and looks between Zuko and his professor like they’ve both grown an extra head. Okay so maybe Sokka’s crisis is still ongoing.

“ You’re his nephew?” Sokka snaps, voice loud enough for the whole shop to hear.

“Honestly, Sokka,” Katara scoffs. “Do you know anything about the person you’re living with?”

“ Me? ” Sokka retorts, turning on his sister. “How did you not know Zuko was my roommate? It’s not exactly a common name!” Zuko wants to argue that he’s standing right here, but decides against it as the siblings launch into a passionate argument. Instead he continues giving everyone tea. He wants to argue that he probably should have known too considering Katara’s brought Sokka up at least once. He didn’t want to just assume though, that everyone from the Southern Water Tribe was related…. Or that they knew each other.

“Oh yes,” Aang is saying by the time Zuko gets around to him. The avatar and his uncle are deeply engrossed in a conversation of their own. Aang takes the offered cup with a grateful smile as he says, “Katara’s my soulmate so I’m staying here with her while she’s in school and travelling when I need to.”

Once all the tea is passed out, Zuko quickly makes his exit under the guise of tending to another table. He spends approximately ten minutes checking on other customers and filling orders when Toph loudly calls him back over. Doing his best to conceal a grimace, Zuko drags himself back over to the one table he’s been avoiding as much as possible.

Toph’s giving him a shit-eating grin by the time he comes to a stop at the table.

“Can I help you with anything?” he asks. Toph pulls out an empty seat and gives it a pat.

“Iroh says you’re on break now, so have a seat.” He stares at the seat, then at Toph. Back to the seat, and then at everyone else around the table. Katara still looks like she wants to murder him but that’s not exactly new.

“Um…” He glances over toward the kitchen. “Let me just check with him first…” And leaves before anyone (Toph) can force him into the seat.

Sure enough, his uncle insists he go spend the afternoon with his friends. Zuko reluctantly agrees to the break, unable to stop the feelings of guilt from weighing on him. He’s supposed to be working today, not having tea with practical strangers. Well… Sokka’s not a stranger. He’s probably the closest to friend out of any of them, and Toph and Katara are his teammates… and Aang would probably be sad if Zuko didn’t consider him a friend. Not that Aang would say anything about it, but he’d be sad deep down and that just makes Zuko feel even more guilty. Okay, and Suki is definitely a sort of friend. They spend enough time together during meals and study sessions for it to count, right?

Now that he’s thinking about it, Katara might be the only questionable one at the table.

Giving himself over to his fate, Zuko returns to the table and takes a tentative seat between Toph and Aang. Katara sits next to Aang and next to her is Sokka, then Suki. Sokka slouches in his seat, stirring his tea with a pout on his face. Zuko gives Suki a questioning look but she just smiles and shakes her head.

“Sokka’s just upset because he didn’t know you were such a talented bender,” Aang explains easily. He leans closer, shielding his mouth with his hand. “You know, because roommates don’t keep secrets or whatever.” Zuko frowns. He wants to argue that he’s not really that good. Wants to tell them he knows of others who are far more talented than he’ll ever be. His sister is a prodigy for Agni’s sake.

“I guess it just never came up,” he says instead. “But it’s only because I learned from the best.”

“Well it just so happens that Aang needs a firebending master to teach him,” Katara chimes in. “So if you could point us in their direction that would be great.”

“I don’t think he’s taking new students right now…”

“Oh,” Katara scoffs. “So he’ll teach you but he’s too good to teach the Avatar?”

“It’s okay, Katara,” Aang replies. “I’ve already spoken with Zuko’s teacher and he’s a little busy at the moment.” He perks up. “In fact, he suggested someone who should be just as good. I’m going to see him in the morning.”

“When did this happen?” Katara asks.

“Just a little while ago, when Iroh was over here he-”

“ Iroh taught you?” Katara turns her attention back to Zuko with a strange look on her face. Sokka scoffs, waving her question away.

“Of course he did,” Sokka says. “Iroh is his uncle. Why wouldn’t he teach Zuko?”

“He runs a teashop, " Katara points out. Toph snorts, and sits up in her seat.

“Don’t you know anything?” she asks. “Or are you too low class for something like that?” Katara gasps and slams her hands down on the table. All the dishes on the table rattle dangerously. Zuko quickly reaches into the center and stops the teapot from falling over. His uncle would be upset if such a valuable set were to break. Zuko doesn’t even know why he uses such fragile tea sets to begin with, and at this point there’s no point in asking. Only he’s turning back into the conversation and Toph’s still talking.

“Iroh is very well respected in the upper crusts of society,” she says. “He’s from a very well respected family in the Fire Nation. You might have heard of them in fact since he-” Something jumps into Zuko’s throat, and he’s leaping from the table before he knows it. Anxiety spikes through him, fear sending sparks of electricity into his fingertips.

“Toph,” he snaps, voice pitched high and far too tight to come off as anything less than tension. “I think my uncle wanted to see you in the kitchen.” He shoves the teapot toward her. “Would you mind getting us a refill while you’re there too?”

“Fine.” She snatches the teapot from his hand, and pulls him close. “But just so you know, I can tell when people are lying.” He watches her stomp away from the table, trying in vain to steady his racing heart.

“Uh… Zuko?”

“Sorry,” he snaps, turning back to everyone else. “My uncle just doesn’t like talking about his family is all.”

“Unless it’s about you, right?” Suki teases, grabbing a cookie off a plate.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “We’re very close.”

“You should hear the way he talks about you in class,” Sokka adds, grinning a little.

“He’s very proud of you, that’s for sure,” Suki agrees. Zuko finds himself smiling a little despite the near slip.

“I don’t know where I’d be without him,” he confesses, because Uncle helped him through the lowest lows of his life. He was there for Zuko when… everything happened, and he was there for him afterward too.

Eventually, Toph returns with fresh tea and treats for everyone. The conversation turns to lighter things, and even Katara loosens up enough to joke around with Zuko.

By the end, everyone’s leaving with smiles on their faces and Zuko’s returning to work feeling like he’s gotten closer to calling their small group friends.

Despite the rocky start, Zuko would have to say this ended up being a good day.

A really good day.

There’s heat. Heat and fire everywhere. A roaring sound rushes through his ears. He flinches as something flies towards him.

Pain, blinding, sharp, and hot stabs through him. It burns at his flesh, eats away at his mind. He distantly hears the sound of screaming and belatedly realizes it’s him.

The burning fades but the pain doesn’t.

It consumes him until darkness washes over him.

The screaming never stops.

[wisdomsfromeast]

Namaste 🙏

Welcome back guys! I was literally out for 2 months searching Fanfics which can compete my or replace my Azuko ship for the reasons I will tell you. Firstly some part of my morality and culture etiquette where I live in and traditions which are dear to me were heavily conflicting in my mind that should I support this Incest shipping or not. Some said should and other said shouldn't. The other one overwhelmed plus having a sibling elder sister made me more conflicted that how could I? it's so taboo? If I write one what my public image would be? So I stopped supporting Zucest uninstalled the app and started searching good Fanfics of Other shipping which can counter Azuko. I literally read 5 to 7 fanfics a day just to have Zuko or Azula have peace in their life with their partners and you know what I got unnatural hatred or bashing of either Sibs which made either of their life miserable which I hated the most. Zuko centric ones got Azula either dead or made her total maniac. Azula centric ones made Zuko's future miserable or nearly made him small as if he was weak and Idiot from birth and Ozai was right. So let's start with shippings with their fanfics which could have countered Azuko

Zutara

The most celebrated pairing will ever find in ATLA fandom. Every day you will find thousands of writers write for this pair in FF.NET . Even though I hated this pair so much because of three main reasons. First Mutual distrust from the beginning. Second Opposite mindset. Third Impatient Katara.

I gave in through I read one of the best ones My Heart Burns for you

Sometimes it's just only beginning

Around the Sun

Fall of the White Lotus

AU ones like The Undying Fire Series

The Palace etc.

All of these are literally lack the most important thing attraction through sight even though writers force it its still not appealing. The dangerous thing which writers miss is suspicion my lord even though they are friends and Zuko sacrifice everything for stubborn Katara she always suspects and can't even read him. Zutara whatever you call it. It's failed creation just to feel love life for Zuko.

Sokkla

Reverse Zutara really. Sokka has brains and can control strong girls like Toph and Mai but Azula is too much for him to bear I series he outright fear her. Only in The Day of The Black Sun episode had some courage because she didn't had her bending when she got back he screams literally screams. I read

Gladiator 107 chapters

Airship Down with its sequel

Retroactive

Smoke Demon Series of MadameAtomic Bomb

Opposite Elements AU

Gentlemen of Weapons AU

Dishonoured

These are the best ones but what found the worst is they are not at all commited to each other especially Sokka is shown so reluctant and Azula is as casual as Ty Lee which both of them aren't. Sokka either cheats or leads himself in love triangle which I hate the most because one of the life either gets destroyed or damage.

Maiko

The worst one for me I really feel sorry for Mai but she should have encourage herself to be with Zuko in his childhood days if Zuko could have spoke in War room out of turn she could have been with him in banishment. She could have shown the courage which she have show in Boiling Rock I liked that. Zuko could have known more If Mai led herself open up more. Zuko even left her this show only one side love or to say infatuation Zuko is so cold in Maiko which he isn't. Even though few writers really focus them like.

Miscalculation and Equivalent Exchange by Ablaster86 (I read them)

They are literally used as side couple for Tyzula or Kataang which doesn't show how their relationship can develop and become one. Either their Marriage fails or they breakup which hurts me the most.

Tyzula

Yes most popular even though why I don't know. No Offence to LGBT community neither in the show both of them are shown homosexuals Ty Lee is flirty with cute boys as she claims and Azula is bitchy and frustrated that how boys hover around Ty Lee not me even though she so beautiful as jewel but boys fear her. No signs of romantic feelings for each other rather Ty Lee is bullied by Azula every time as a servant to keep her under her feet. Dominant love relationships exists I like those but Azula and Ty Lee's relationship is like Lion and Cheetah. Once got a chance strike back and free yourself. Just because Korrasami was promoted by creators bring Tyzula in counter. Just because Zuko has Mai and boys fear Azula bring Ty Lee with her who is most terrified from her. Somehow I read some

Restraint and Aphelion it's sequel

Broken Dragon and Fireflight by Nikipinz

Both in them Ty Lee acts like a friend in need but again Ty Lee is OOC a girl who freed herself from a Psychotic girl may help her in future but not sacrifice herself for friend she hated inwardly.

Zukka

Really they are Bros and thanks to Zuko he got his trust from a guy called him in names Angry Jerkbender before.

Jetko

Seriously I don't get just pair Zuko with everyone. I read

Foxfire and The Viper lizard tales

I couldn't get it what those writers wrote. How could Jet tolerate Firebenders or Fire Nation citizens. It will require whole character arc for Jet to understand Fire Nation like Zhao to believe in balance and harmony amongst nations in Rufftoon's Water Tribe.

Jetzula

The Palace

Again you know it will so hard for Azula even redeem one to have a peasant as a partner for life same goes to Jet to accept a Firebender.

Zukkaang

To much 😧😧 Zuko and Aang are friends please for God's sake bring characters those are ingrained with same sex attraction. I can't stand this ship didn't even bother to read any of its fanfics.

Azutara

Enemies till last breath and one killed one's last hope. One lost by one in her day of coronation anytime each see one another either of one will die. This pairing can't be supported because each caused huge pain which can't be relieved they can be distant friends but can't lovers. Even though I read one

Measure Each Step to Infinity

This one made me sad of Aang and Katara is too much selfish which she isn't. She likes to be concubine of her former enemy but hates to like live with a man whom she had all hopes of world peace and gave her life to save him. This is impossible! Writer didn't gave good reasons sudden changes.

Toko

This is a very interesting pairing Toph knows Zuko very well and in future they can understand each other as couple but one flaw which only limits them just to be friends is that Toph is a freedom loving girl and Zuko is honour bound to traditions and destined to be a good Fire Lord.

Embers

Lava and it's sequel

Just a Girl I recommend this one

Toph made Zuko to come out of his turmoil and become a master I just didn't like Azula being killed that was extreme.

Jinko

I read Ashes to Ashes but Zuko and Jin again I must say infatuation from Jin side. Zuko is really dork.

Zuki

Lost cause what can I say just to counter Zucest these ships are being made

Lost and Found by Tubendo

Addicted to Love

First one writer didn't knew when to start where both start to like each other. Second is just nonsense a Lord of a Nation started having crush on a Guard who has a love in her life more stronger than other's attraction come on Zuko isn't that kind of guy.

Ty luko

"I know you" "You don't know me" Those are heavy words Ty Lee used for Zuko she knows his depression and messed up life give by his parents. Even though show doesn't show any direct interaction between them except "I know you" Zuko acts as a moral support for Ty Lee. Boiling Rock is another big example Zuko's freedom gave Ty Lee hope to be free.

I know you

Good Fanfic I recommend.

One remained (Azulaang) I will give my detail analysis of mine in a next post because I read 10 of them and it's huge and I am not satisfied.

After whole lot of reading, self introspection and guidance from which I believe Scriptures. I literally fought a battle inside me and tried to find out which will win and Honestly Zucest won seriously just because it was incest I dropped it by societal norms. I was writing a Fic but stopped because what people will say? Crazy, deranged? But I can't resist it's too hot for them to be siblings and not to be intimate other wise I find that if they really wished to repair their relationship stop their all hatred of all those years they need love which will break those barriers and too much love always brings eros. So what's the big deal.

The Fire Royals allow Females to be Fire Lords so how come line continues if Female becomes Firelord and marries a noble even a sage which are below the rank. Household norms in every medieval culture is patriarchal. Which means child first belongs to man and to his family which results child to be a noble and not royal from his mother's line and that child will become the Fire Lord from that line of Family and the Royal line will end. Could it be possible for Princesses of Fire Nation got married with nobles or aristocrats and not to loose their claims to the throne are the Fire Royals that stupid that this will end their line if their females get the throne. Inbreeding is persistent among royals only just keep their divine status

As Azula says "Power is something you are born with" will her child get that power if she marry noble which are below the rank. Big No

Wisdomsfromeast

Timeout !!!