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mdhwrites · 8 months

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So, do you think Sasha kinda is like Zuko on Avatar in a sense too? Sure Zuko got more time for his abusive dad than Sasha for her family, but the core is the same on redemption and all.

Both are

obsessed with their goals in season 1

- are on the run alongside someone serving as a parent figure to them (Grime and Iroh) in season 2

have a moment of bonding with the heroes and seemingly considering redemption before betraying everyone in the season 2 finales

have their full on redemptions in season 3

Heck, it's telling that Aang is the one who ends up defeating Ozai in the end instead of Zuko (who never even faces him in the finale).

TL:DR The two share oversimplified plot similarities (you literally use a third act redemption as evidence when like... That's just literally narrative structure?) but the details of their characters and what their arcs are about are drastically different. It does warrant comparison, as two villains turned good guys by finding peace with their worlds but the details for both are actually very different, allowing for both to be great shows of this sort of general archtype. Their 'core' similarity as you posit is really just a writing trope or narrative structure much more than it is specifically about the two and their arcs.

I never considered the Grime and Sasha parallel though what's fun with that is Grime is absolutely not like Uncle Iroh. Iroh pushed Zuko's better nature while Grime actually fuels Sasha's negative nature. He introduces her to effectively the calculus of war while Zuko's father is the one who did it for him. It's an interesting contrast and part of why I say that while Grime didn't mean to, he wasn't actually all that healthy for Sasha to know, taking her darkness to extremes. Also, 'obsessed with their goals' is just not right for Sasha in S1. Her goal is to get home with her friends but she is explicitly not in a rush to do so. She's here to have fun because she is incredibly self serving. She uses her perceived status as hero for her friend as an excuse. That making her happy must make everyone happy. Meanwhile, Zuko isn't self serving beyond wanting to literally be allowed to go home. He's never doing things just to treat himself or make himself happy until S2 which is explicitly a part of his arc. That he actually needs to care more about himself than what others desire of him and find his own definitions for things like honor, leading to the evil of the Fire Nation's expectations and his long buried, good heart coming to war with each other.

Meanwhile, Sasha's arc is actually much more extrospective than it is introspective but in a really good way. She needs to learn to stop playing in this fantasy of hers that she has created where the world is her toy. Realize other people matter and have desires and feelings that she needs to stop gaslighting, gatekeeping or girlbossing against. That her happiness does not mean the happiness for all.

Honestly, it makes it so that if she shares anything with an Avatar character... It's probably Azula. And why shouldn't it be? Azula is someone who takes pleasure in controlling people and genuinely believes that anyone can be crushed or used for her own desires. She treats even her friends like pawns and Reunion shows that Sasha isn't much better than that. That Anne is still subject to SASHA'S whims.

The difference is that while Sasha sees herself as a hero and so can be confronted with how she hurts people and cares enough about Anne to be motivated to change, Azula believes herself to be a queen. It's actually part of why becoming the Fire Lord fucks with her so hard. This is the day she was always waiting for but the goal post becomes impossible as her father discards it. This thing she has always wanted is now ash and so she loses her mind trying to pretend that it still matters despite her still being number two. Still not being the best despite the fact that she has always perceived herself as above EVERYONE.

Buuuuut, especially with current analytical trends I see, no one is going to think about Sasha with Azula. They don't share enough narrative parallels for anyone to consider it despite how much their characters have parallels. Both have two friends who have varying levels of loyalty to her and differing skill sets. Both are manipulators, both for fun and profit. They will destroy you if you upset them but also believe that once loyalty is given to them, they no longer need to earn that loyalty again.

These are all genuinely character based similarities and based on overall behavior... Which I think people struggle with analyzing nowadays. When I see people talk about arcs, it's mostly with the big ticket moments or the like. With the episodes everyone loves rather than an actual aggregate of the character. This is exactly the sort of thinking that leads to people say Anne doesn't have an arc in S1 or makes people think Marcy treated Amphibia as nothing but a game because the literal only episode they're analyzing is True Colors and specifically her speech.

My blogs are as long as they because I look more for the aggregate. I am as cruel to TOH's character arcs because those writers themselves want to throw away elements of the characters and ignore the aggregate when that's REALLY important.

So yeah, from a very basic, narrow view, Sasha and Zuko seem similar... But only because they're redeemed villains. Zuko in S2 explicitly NEEDS time away from Aang in order to grow. It's why he reverts at the end when presented his prize. Losing the hunt lets him breathe. Meanwhile, Sasha's exile with Grime is not so good for her mental state. She doubles down because she showed a moment of weakness and HATES it. She is at her absolute worst in S2... Until reunited with Anne and Marcy who make her question things. That alone is a DRASTIC difference in how their arcs narratively function as for Zuko it shows what he could be if he chose peace while with Sasha it shows how much she genuinely does care about her girls, even if her need for control and to keep her fantasy intact guarantees she won't change until she hits absolute rock bottom.

The Turning Point for Sasha, pun intended, is when she has nothing left. When she cannot support her fantasy at all and keep doing this. When she realizes that her care for Anne and want to be a hero means that she can't keep only serving herself. Not when she has only brought misery to others for so long. For Zuko, it's when he has EVERYTHING. A hot goth girlfriend, the respect of his people, his 'honor back, etc. but the point is that the Fire Nation is choosing war. Choosing death. Things that Zuko can no longer enjoy and so he has to make the incredibly difficult choice of throwing it all away because he cannot be a part of The Fire Nation anymore. He exiled himself in S2 just as much as Ozai exiled him in S1.

It still makes them interesting to compare, this blog has been a lot of fun for me to write, because they are both villains turned good in very interesting ways... But they aren't the same. Not even close. Every step on their journey is incredibly different simply by the nature of what drives them and who they are as a character. Which... Good. That's how it should be.

The only times you should be able to claim two characters are practically the same is if they're both kind of boring.

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#amphibia #sasha waybright #zuko #princess azula #atla

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asciendo · 3 years

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In too Deep

Your friends with benefits with Zuko was the best distraction from the upcoming battle with Ozai and Azula.

But what happens when you slowly begin to catch feelings for Zuko but Sokka sets him up on a date?

It’s been six months since you and Zuko started your little fling. Both of you were the newest members of Team Avatar, Zuko being the redeeming Fire Prince and you being the daughter of a banished Fire Nation general who Zuko and Sokka rescued from the Boling Rock along with Sukki and Sokka’s dad. You’ve known Zuko since you were children but never interacted that much.

Both of you got on each other’s nerves at the start, both being stubborn on how to teach Aang how to fire bend. You knew deep down Zuko was meant to be Aang’s fire bending teacher but that didn’t mean your suggestions didn’t matter.

“I told you, you should teach him to learn how to flow with the energy, not just shoot fire out!” You rolled your eyes as Zuko huffed with a confused Aang stuck in a bending stance behind him.

“He has to learn how to hit his target, am I right?” Zuko marched towards you as you both continued to argue.

“Uhm, I feel like you both have good points, ha ha ha” Aang was always in the middle of your arguments and tried to defuse them, but he knew trying to control two hot heads was almost as difficult as defeating Fire Lord Ozai.

Your argument continued as Aang fell asleep, tired of waiting for his lessons to resume as you and Zuko were almost at each other’s throats, which resulted in Zuko shooting a fire ball on the tree where Sokka was sleeping. “HEY!”

“See! Look what you made me do!”

“What I made you do?! You threw that fireball all on your own!”

“If you hadn’t interrupted my training with Aang, we would be done by now!”

“If you just listened to someone else’s suggestions, Aang would be a better fire bender!” You and Zuko were literally in each other’s faces now, the only thing missing was smoke coming out of your ears as both of you were fuming at one another.

“If you weren’t such a know it all, I would never have gotten angry!”

“Well, you should learn to control your temper!” At your last outburst, both of you stormed off on your own.

“Am I ever gonna learn fire bending?” Aang sighed as he laid on the ground in defeat.

It seemed almost impossible for you two to start your fling, but one night you were practicing your bending on your own, then you suddenly heard footsteps behind you. Zuko.

“What do you want?” You rolled your eyes as Zuko approached you. “You have to let me teach Aang on my terms. I’m his teacher, not you.”

“I’m not trying to be his teacher, you’re just not teaching him everything.” you hated how he made you feel small and less capable, you knew you were a strong bender, almost beating Azula in a match once, and Zuko made you feel like your abilities weren’t good enough.

“I don’t need your help.” Zuko growled as he stepped closer to you. “What? Your ego can’t take a few suggestions, Prince Zuko?” His eyes narrowed at his title and he stepped closer to you till your back was against a tree. “Don’t call me that.” he said through gritted teeth.

“Why? What are you gonna do?” You teased and Zuko’s face turned into a scowl. Suddenly he was closer to you and your faces were almost touching. His exppression turned from anger to softness and you chucked nervously at how silent he became.

, “Zu—“ before you could finish Zuko’s lips were on yours.

You shot back in shock as you couldn’t believe what was happening. Your relationship with Zuko was more of a complicated one, filled with banter yet, deep understanding with your somewhat common past. Of course you found him attractive, with his shagy black hair, toned body and gold, piercing eyes, but you never thought anything like this would happen between the two of you. “Y/N..I-I’m so—“ this time, before he could finish, you crashed your lips on his. You didn’t know what it was but it just felt right, being with him in this way. His lips were chapped but still soft, although as the kiss went deeper you could feel the intensity in the way he grabbed your back and how you tangled your fingers in his hair.

That started your secret “fling” as you called it. Both of you didn’t want the others to know as they were just getting used to the idea of having two fire benders on Team Avatar. They didn’t suspect a thing as your bickering didn’t stop, but at night Zuko would secretly slip in your tent and you two would spend the night together. This happened every night ever since.

You noticed Zuko change a little bit towards you. He took your suggestions when he was teaching Aang seriously and on missions he’d always make sure he was near you.

There were moments when the both of you would sneak off while the gang was distracted, it was easy since you mostly camped out in the open.

You and Zuko would find an empty cave or under a tree far away and you’d get lost in each other.

Those nights when he’d have nightmares of his father, you’d be the one to comfort him. The same with you when you’d dream about your father, who you haven’t seen since you left the Fire Nation. It scared you how vulnerable the both of you were with one another.

One day, when you were bickering, Zuko went too far and made a snarky comment about your father. You looked at him with not just anger, but with fear, you were letting him in. You backed away and left the camp for a bit. He didn’t say anything that horrible, you were mean to him too. You questioned him about betraying Iroh and he replied by calling you out for not fighting hard enough to stay with your family.

It was true, you could have been in hiding with them, but you wanted to do something more for the world. You weren’t hurt by his words, but terrified how it was so easy for you to hurt each other, your fling was supposed to be something fun and to forget about the stress of trying to save the world.

You were in your tent, trying to sleep but failing. The sound of someone crawling into your tent startled you, but you already knew it was him.

“I’m sorry.” You didn’t move, you pressed your eyes shut and tried to pretend as if you didn’t hear him.

“I know you’re not asleep, Y/N.” He lowered down and was sitting next to you, “I said I was sorry alright?” his voice was low but husky and you could her traces of desperation.

“No.”

“What do you want me to say, I’ll say it!”

“Shhh! Are you crazy!” You sat up and attempted to cover his mouth but he dodged your hand. “I’m sorry, okay? I was a jerk, I didn’t mean it.” he looked into your eyes and you knew he was genuine. You weren’t being fair to him, you’re not hurt by his words but scared about what you were starting to feel for him. “You just...you just rile me up so much and my temper...you know how I get and I say things I don’t mean...I shouldn’t be that way towards you, I’ll tell Aang you can teach himsometimes..” you stared at him with such confusion, he was rambling. He only rambles when he’s nervous, and he was nervous with you.

“Are you gonna stop talking or are you going to get in here?” you chuckled and motioned to the space next to you. Zuko sighed then squeezed in next to you in the sleeping bag. “I’m sorry, too.”

Zuko sighed then looked down at you. You faced up towards him expecting to feel his lips on yours, but instead, you felt his lips on your temple. That night was the first time both of you just slept, entangled in one another, and in your heart you knew you were doomed.

6 months later...

“I saw you, you know...” Katara winked at you as you both were gathering water at the nearby lake. “What?”

“I saw you.” She followed you as you continued up the stream. “I see you too?”

“No...I saw you...and Zuko.” You stopped in your tracks. “Yeah, we travel together, Katara. We see everyone every day!” laughing awkwardly you began to gather more water.

“Uh-huh.” You could hear the eye roll in her voice as she walked in front of you with her hands on her hips.

“What exactly did you see?” sighing and giving up, you knew it was useless to lie. You were caught.

“Not much, thank god but...try picking a cave not so near the apple trees next time?” Katara chuckled.

You knew exactly what she was talking about. Zuko had a hard training day with Aang and he needed to blow off some steam, which was what you were there for.

It was your turn to feed Apa so you were gathering fruits for him until you felt strong arms around you.

“Zuko, bad timing, I need to feed Appa.” You smiled, but his grip tightened. “I need you, now.” He grumbled, but you weren’t budging.

“Y/N, please.” His breath was hot on your skin and your body tingled, but you liked to tease him so you broke off from his grip and walked away. You turned towards him and you could see the desire in his eyes, the desire for you. “If I feel like it.” you said as you lifted a tiny bit of your top, revealing your toned abdomen.

Zuko growled and walked towards you and pushed you up against a tree. “I need you.” He whispered and you smirked. “Then show me.” You stared at him with longing.

Zuko chuckled then lifted you up, then you straddled him. He spotted a cave near the tree you were picking apples from and carried you towards there. He placed you on one of the rock formations and you pulled him closer with your legs.

“Show me how much you need me.”

He smirked then crashed his lips on yours. Then the two of you were lost in each other once more.

You ended up telling Katara everything, she said was surprised but also not so much. “So you had a feeling?”

“A little, not really? I mean, you guys are always at each other’s throats but he has been a little bit more... I don’t know concerned about you?” She explained how she noticed that he let you give your input on Aang’s training more, and how when they have a new mission, he made sure he’d be paired with you and she even told you how he talked to Aang about how you shouldn’t be anywhere near the line of fire when the war starts. The time when you and Toph went on a mission to figure out where Boomie was, Katara told you Zuko was pacing back and forth and cursing at how he didn’t go with you, and how it should have been basically anyone but you that went on that mission. “I never knew why, but now everything makes sense.”

You sat there for a minute then opened up to Katara about how scared you were about your growing feelings. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, seeing how he’s acting, he probably feels the same.”

The two of you made your way back to camp and found Zuko and Sokka laughing with each other. “What’s so funny?” Katara asked.

‘Zuko just scored a date!” Your heart dropped, but you tried to keep your exterior composure calm. “ What date?” Katara asked nervously as she just heard your story and encouraged you.

“We were in town and the girl at the hat store kept following Zuko, like NON-STOP! He didn’t believe she was into him but it was SO obvious! So I forced him to ask her out and he did!” Sokka punched Zuko on the arm playfully and Zuko laughed. “You should thank me, maybe having a girlfriend will make hot head over here less moody.” Sokka plopped down on the mat next to Toph and all you could think about was torching Sokka to no end. “So, when is this date?” Toph asked boredly next to Sokka. “Tonight?” Zuko laughed, “Well you better get ready lover boy.”

“I’m gonna give some water to Apa.” You announced and Katara followed you. “I’m SO sorry, I never would have encouraged you if—“

“Katara, it’s not your fault, you didn’t know, and besides...maybe this is a sign I should call the whole thing off?” you sighed and Katara nodded slowly.

“Oh sorry...am I interrupting?” behind you was a looming Zuko, grinning sheepishly as Katara stared daggers at him. “No, I was just leaving.” Katara huffed and left you two alone. “What’s her problem...”

You continued to separate the water for Apa as you heard him approaching you. “So...I’m seeing you tonight, right?” you stopped, tonight? Wasn’t his date tonight? Your heart suddenly felt lighter as you thought he cancelled with hat store girl.

“Isn’t your date tonight?”

“I mean...after?” your heart dropped. He was still going through with it. You felt your face turn red with anger, what were you to him? An object he can go to whenever he has his needs?! A simple plaything? It started off as that but you thought you somewhat meant more to him.

“What’s wrong with you?!” You stared at him with a hurt expression, his eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks. “What do you mean what’s wrong with me?”

You grunted and he shrugged in confusion.

“Zuko...we have to talk.”

“Uhm...okay, but I kind of have to get ready—“

“We should stop.” Zuko tilted his head as if questioning what you just said, but you knew deep down he understood what you were saying. “Stop what?”

“This! Whatever we’re doing!”

“Why? Is it because if this date? I just won’t go—“

“No, it was fun while it lasted but we’re just postponing the inevitable...you should go.” you turned away to continue with what you were doing. “Postponing the inevitable? What do you even mean by that?”

“We’re just holding each other back. We know this isn’t going anywhere and we’re just delaying it. Go, have fun. It’s time.”

“You wanted this too, you know! You said it was all fun and just a distraction! No commitments, no promises, nothing! You would remind me every night—“

“Exactly! We had our fun and now it’s over!” you turned towards him and his face was full of anger. “I can go on a date, we can do whatever we want! That was our agreement!”

“It was so why don’t you just go!” you tried to control your voice so no one would hear but it was so hard, you were so angry. “I am! I just told you I was going and you snapped and said you wanted to end it!”

“Because I’m not just some play thing you can get whenever you want! I’m not disposable.” You were inches in front of his face and you could feel the anger radiating from him. “What do you want from me...” he whispered and for a moment, it seemed like he was truly asking you what you wanted him to do, and for a second, you knew he’d do it if you asked. “Nothing.”

“You’re unbelievable!” Zuko, raised his arms in exasperation. “Me?! You’re the one going on a date.”

“You said you didn’t care.”

“I don’t.” You did. You did care, too much. This all started out for fun, but, you were in too deep with Zuko, and you couldn’t let yourself fall for him. “Then why are you ending it?! I don’t understand.”

“I just told you! I’m not just something you can just take when you feel like it!”

“Then tell me what you want!” He was up in your face again, you didn’t know what you wanted. You wanted Zuko, but you weren’t allowing yourself to want him. “I want this to end, and I want you to go on your date.” You said softly, and you saw a glimmer of pain in his eyes. “You want to end this so bad? Fine, it’s DONE. You just lost me.” He said with gritted teeth and began to walk away.

“No Zuko, I didn’t...because you can’t lose something you never had.” He turned around and stared at you with wide eyes that turned to sorrow. His expression quickly turned to anger that you thought you imagined seeing the sadness in his eyes.

“I’m leaving.”

“Go!” and he did. That was it. Your “relationship” with Zuko was over, and he was off with some other girl.

The next day you were on your way to Ember Island on Appa. Zuko had a hood on as people might recognize him when they arrived. Sokka kept asking Zuko how his date went but he would just shrug. “Well sorry for trying to get you some action!” Sokka rolled his eyes and Katara hit him, “Ow! What was that for!”

When you got to Ember Island, the whole gang hit the beach. Sokka and Suki were running around, Aang was making sand castles, you and Katara were in the ocean and Zuko was left sulking on the balcony in his ancestral home.

“I used to come here with his family, you know.” You told Katara as you played in the water. “You grew up together?”

“Not really, my father was a high ranking general so we’d be in the same vicinity, but no contact whatsoever.”

“I think you should talk to him...”

“Nah, I think it’s for the best, better to cut it off while it was still early.” It hurt, being around him, knowing your whole relationship was over. Even if it was nothing from the start, you started to get your hopes up and, it came crashing down.

“I don’t know...you both seem miserable now that you guys broke up—“

“We were never together.”

“Come on, Y/N! You both obviously like each other, you just don’t COMMUNICATE!” Katara rolled her eyes which made you laugh. “I think his date or whatever was a sign...it was getting too complicated, it’ll be for the best.” Before Katara could react, you both heard Sokka’s voice.

“Hey! Some dudes invited us to a party, let’s go!” Sokka yelled and the gang agreed to go, they needed a little fun before having to deal with the larger issue at hand, defeating the Fire Lord.

They were on the way to the house on foot with Aang dancing on the way there, Katara giggling, Sokka and Suki walking hand in hand while you and Zuko walked awkwardly next to each other.

As soon as you got to the house, a guy opened the door and invited you all in. The house was filled with fire nation teenagers and you all dispersed among yourselves. Sokka and Suki were dancing, Aang was showing fire bender girls some tricks, Katara was checking out the house and Zuko was sulking in the corner.

You decided to get some punch then someone tapped you on your shoulder. “Hey, I’m Han.” A tall, tanned and muscular guy was smiling at you. “Hey I’m...” you decided not to use your real name unless someone recognized you. “I’m Hania?” You mentally kicked yourself for choosing a name so close to his. “Hmm, interesting, so close to mine.” He winked and you blushed. He was cute, and from the horrible day you had, you needed some harmless flirting.

From across the room, Zuko stared at you two by the punch bowl. “Hey, lighten up! They are a bunch of hot girls here!...but don’t tell Suki I said that.” Sokka shrugged and nudged Zuko. “Zukoooo” Sokka tried waving a hand in front of Zuko’s face but Zuko kept his eyes on you and Han. “What are you looking at?” he looked where Zuko was gazing. “Oh, Y/N’s found a boyfriend ha ha.” Sokka chuckled and walked away and left Zuko there fuming.

“So, do you come here a lot? I haven’t seen you around Ember Island before.” Han asked you as he poured you a drink. “I used to when I was a kid, haven’t been back since.”

“Oh, why not?”

“Hmm, I don’t know, things change I guess?” you looked around for your friends just to make sure they were still there, then you locked eyes with Zuko. His eyes were intense and you could tell he was angry. But you didn’t care, you were nothing, you both made the decision to stop whatever you were doing with one another and you needed a little fun. “Do you wanna go look at the moon outside?” Han nodded and you both headed out to the balcony.

Zuko’s heart dropped as he saw you two leave.

“You’re an idiot, you know that right.” Katara rolled her eyes as she leaned next to him on the wall. “What?”

“I-D-I-O-T.”

“How am I an idiot?” Zuko shot up from leaning on the wall and Katara laughed. “You are so into her.”

“No I’m not!” Zuko crossed his arms and turned away from Katara. “I didn’t say her name, how do you know who I meant?” Katara kinked her eyebrow and Zuko rolled his eyes.

“You’re maybe the least happy person I know but when you were sneaking off with her, you were more tolerable for the rest of us.”

“Wa-wait what? Sneaking off—“

“Cut it out, I saw you guys.” Katara smirked and Zuko sighed in defeat. “Fine, we were fooling around. But that was it. I am NOT into her!” he started to walk away but he heard Katara giggle. “Then why have you been shooting daggers at the guy she was talking to all night?”

“B-because! He could be a spy of the Fire Nation! Her father was a recognized general you know! He could be targeting her and we’re all doomed! AND what if he’s working for Azula—“

“Uh-uh.”

“Stop looking at me like that! I’m not in love with her all right!” Katara’s face froze at Zuko’s last statement. “Love?!”

“What?”

“Are you in love with her?!” Katara started to smile as Zuko’s face turned bright red. “I said I’m NOT in love with her! Are you deaf?!”

“Zuko, I didn’t say anything about love in the first place...you said the word first.”

“So! I just said it to make a point, got it?” He leaned back on the wall and hung his head low. “Well, do you?” Katara asked him again.

Did he love her? All the times they were fooling around, he stared at her while she was asleep. He remembered feeling a sense of peace knowing she was next to him. He started to even look forward to their conversations in her tent rather than the physical stuff. He thought of how she’d throw her head back laughing whenever he told her about Uncle Iroh’s prankster antics when he was growing up. How her eyes shined in the moonlight when they’d take walks after dark. How when it was dusk and the sun would reach her eyes just the right amount and you could tell they were actually golden brown.

Zuko thought about the nights when she’d knowingly wrap her arms around his waist when he was having a nightmare about the Agni-Kai with his father. How her eyes lit up whenever she talked about her family. He thought about how he always wanted to protect her, if they had missions he wouldn’t be able to concentrate if she wasn’t near him, or how he couldn’t keep still when she was out on a mission with Toph or Katara, anxiously waiting for her to come back...to him.

“Shit” was all he said and slumped to the floor and buried his face in hands. “I thought so.” Katara smirked then sat next him. “What did I do? Agh! Why am I so bad at this stuff?” he grumbled and Katara just laughed. “You should tell her how you feel.”

“No! She’s off with that bonehead over there! It’s too late, maybe it’s for the best.”

“Ugh! You two are exactly the same!” She rolled her eyes and Zuko shot his head up. “What do you mean we’re exactly the same?”

“You both don’t simply TALK to each other! ‘Maybe it’s for the best’ my ass!”

“Huh?” Zuko looked at Katara with such confusion that Katara scoffed at him.

“You both said the same thing!”

“About what?” Zuko had no idea what she was talking about. “When you went on that date! She said “Maybe it’s for the best” that you guys break up.”

“She cared about that?” Katara stared at Zuko with astonishment; she didn’t think Zuko was this clueless.

“Zuko,,, I know you’re not stupid, but how do you think she felt when she found out you were going on a date?!”

“I didn’t think she cared...”

“Well she did.” Katara threw her hands up in defeat. How could boys be so stupid, she thought.

“Oh...” Zuko looked down and started remembering their conversation. He noticed the hurt in her voice when she accused him of treating her like an object he can just take whenever he wanted. He felt a pit in his stomach, he didn’t mean it to come off that way. “I-I didn’t even want to go it was Sokka!” Zuko tried to defend himself but Katara gave him a knowing look and he sighed.

“Fine..I was...starting to have...feelings for her...every night—“

“Aah! I don’t wanna hear what you guys do!” Katara began to cover her ears. “Calm down.” Zuko rolled his eyes.

“Every night...she’d always talk about how what we were doing was just a distraction...how this would eventually end...how we shouldn’t commit to one another...I mean we were sneaking around after all.” Zuko looked at Katara for her input but she motioned for him to continue.

“I agreed to it at first, obviously. But over time...I-I uhm...” Katara could see how hard it was for Zuko to express his feelings. Which made her feel bad about how much he holds in especially with how hard his past was. “You fell for her.” Zuko nodded.

“I went on that date because I was...scared. I was feeling too much for her and I knew she didn’t see it going anywhere, I wanted to prove to myself it was nothing. That my feelings for her weren’t real and I could just stop whenever I wanted. But when I went on that date...no matter how much the girl threw herself at me, I knew I could have had anything I wanted with her.” Katara rolled her eyes at that statement.

“I just...couldn’t. The whole time I was thinking about Y/N and what she said to me, how it was over and why it was over, I knew I fucked up the second I asked her out.” Zuko finished. “When did you fall for her?”

It was five months into your fling. You and Zuko were tangled up in each other in her tent. You were just talking about their old lives in the Fire Nation and if they’d even be like this with each other if they both have never left. He laughed at how he would still be trying to prove his honor to Ozai and how you would probably be part of Azula’s crew with Mai and Ty Lee. Both were slowly drifting to sleep until you popped your head up and looked at him. “Zuko?”

“Hmm.”

“Your mother would be proud of you...you know, with the choices you made.” You went back to sleep but had no idea Zuko lay awake all night thinking about you said.

“AW! That’s so cute!” Katara exclaimed, “Alright, alright!” Zuko rolled his eyes. “So, what do I do?”

“You have to figure that out for yourself, lover boy.” Zuko winced at that name as he watched Katara walk away.

The moon was beautiful that night. You and Han talked about your lives with you lying about some aspects of course, but it was nice to talk to someone who had no idea who you were and was genuinely interested in you.

“I’m really happy you came tonight, you should come to Ember Island more often.”

“I’m happy I came too.” You smiled. Han was looking down at you and he started to lean in closer. You knew he was going in for a kiss but you weren’t sure if you wanted to. Your huge fight with Zuko was just the day before and at the moment, you couldn’t imagine kissing anyone else. But before you could decide on what to do, you saw a fist fly to Han’s face and he fell to the floor. Zuko.

“ZUKO!” You shouted but Zuko ignored you. Han stood up and glared at him. “What the fuck man!”

“Stay away from her.” Zuko warned but Han didn’t back down, he threw a punch at Zuko but he ducked. Han grabbed on to Zuko’s shoulders then tossed him inside the party, which caused everyone to stare.

“Stop it!” You yelled as you followed them inside. Zuko got up then speared Han unto the table. He was about to hit him once more but you stood in between him and Han.

“Y/N move.” Zuko said through gritted teeth, but you stood your ground. “No.”

“H-hey, what’s going on?” Aang asked nervously as the rest of the gang stood behind him in shock. The other party goers didn’t know what to do as well. You looked around and noticed everyone staring at you. Zuko was still glaring at Han as he struggled to get up. “What’s wrong with you?” you stormed out the front door with every intention to head back. “Y/N, wait!” Zuko ran after you.

“What’s going on?” Toph asked the rest of the gang. “Beats me...”Aang took a bite from the apple he was eating. “No idea but, let’s go see!” Sokka began to follow you guys but Suki pulled him back. “HEY!”

You were trying to get home as fast as you could. This whole night was a disaster and you just wanted to be left alone. “Y/N!” a familiar voice called but you continued walking. “Hey!”

“Y/N will you please—“

“WHAT!” you shot around at him and he froze in his steps. “I just need to talk—“

“NO! what is the matter with you?! Starting a fight?! Really?!”

“W-well if you weren’t trying to make me jealous nothing wouldn’t have happened!” Zuko shouted as he walked closer to you. “Make you jealous? I wasn’t trying to make you jealous!”

“Then what were you doing with that bonehead?!”

“I was having a conversation. Not everything is about you, Prince Zuko.” You rolled your eyes then continued on your way. “But you were about to kiss him. I saw YOU!” he shouted and ran to catch up with your pace.

“Stop following me, Zuko.”

“No.”

You bended fire at his feet and he jumped. “Hey!” you continued walking but he was right behind you. “Zuko, leave me ALONE!”

“No.” you stopped and turned to him then he stopped as well.

“You had no right to hit him!”

“I don’t care.” You continued on your way home but he continued to follow you. “You can’t just hit people for no reason!”

“I had a reason.”

“And what was that?!” you rolled your eyes but refused to face him.

“You were about to kiss him.”

“So what if I was?!” you raised your hands in defeat, if you kissed him or not it shouldn’t even matter. He stayed silent but continued to watch you with those piercing eyes of his. “Whether I kissed him or not, it has nothing to do with you, Zuko.”

You tried to leave again but heard a loud noise. “AGH!” Zuko shot fire at a nearby tree, which caused you to stop.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU ZUKO!” You were in his face and he was breathing heavily with his eyes locked on yours. He paused then grabbed your face then crashed his lips onto yours. You gave in a little but then quickly pulled away.

“No, you can’t do that to me.” You backed away then ran back to house.

As soon as you arrived you ran to your shared room with Toph and Katara then slammed the door. You forgot to lock it but as you were about to, Zuko was standing at the doorway.

“Zuko, will you please leave me alone!”

“NO!”

“What do you want from me, Zuko?!” You yelled at him. You felt so many emotions in the last two days from anger, sadness, jealousy, defeat...and all because of him.

“You. I want you.” He said, and for the first time he wasn’t yelling and his voice was calm.

Before you could speak, Zuko continued.

“Look, I-I know it doesn’t seem like...I care...about anything really...but...” he paused and you stared at him. “I do care about some things..I-mean—“

“Zuko, you don’t have to—“

“No. You need to hear this.” His voice was suddenly serious and he was staring at you with so much intensity you couldn’t speak.

“I know we both started this thing as a distraction from what’s going on. Escaping from our pasts in the Fire Nation and what might come next with this war. But...along the way...I started...to feel things towards you that I know I shouldn’t and I thought I could control it while we were together I mean...not together like that but...yeah.” he started blushing and wasn’t looking at you anymore. He was nervous and knew it. You suddenly felt your heart warm up to him but you composed yourself once more.

“I thought I could control it, but the more time we spent together, it just got harder. Then that stupid date happened...I never should have asked her out. I know it’s not an excuse but...I just got scared. I mean, hearing you talk about how it’s never gonna work out, how this is just temporary really freaked me out, so I went out with her to try to prove myself that my feelings for you were nothing but...the whole time, I just thought about you...and I instantly regretted it. So I’m sorry for asking her out...I’m sorry—“

“You didn’t do anything wrong with that we aren’t—“

“I’m sorry for acting like I could just take you whenever I wanted. I’m sorry for disrespecting you.” He finished and you knew he meant it with the way he looked at you.”

“Zuko...it’s alright.” He sighed in relief and started to smile. “I think these things had to happen to show us that our time was up. We were going too far with each other and we were just going to get hurt, I mean look at us now, look what happened tonight. We’re not good for each other, and the team might suffer for it later on.” His face dropped when you finished. You could tell he expected another answer from you.

“How can you say that?”

“Zuko, all we do is fight! We argue about everything, we hurt each other and we’re hurting the team with our bickering and disagreements! What kept us going was the physical stuff...and if we don’t have that—“

“Look me in the eyes and tell me it was all physical for you.” He was staring deep into your eyes and you paused. Why couldn’t you just say it? A few words and this could all be over. No more fights, no more drama, nothing. You and Zuko would be nothing.

“Z-Zuko I—“

“You can’t say it because you don’t mean it.” he stated and you stepped back from him. “It’s more complicated than that, you know it!” You turned away from him. “How is it complicated? Yes we do fight, so what? That’s not an enough reason for me.”

“It is for me.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“It doesn’t matter!” You tried to leave the room.

“NO! Tell me what’s so complicated!” Zuko was holding your arm so you couldn’t leave. You bit your lip trying to stop the tears from flowing down your cheeks. “We don’t know what’s going to happen after this war. If I...if you...if something happens, and you know there’s a possibility that one of us...or both of us...” you stopped, you’ve lost your family already, you had no idea where they were, they could be dead, you couldn’t lose someone close to you again. Zuko loosened his grip on your arm, understanding what you were saying. “I’ve lost my family—“

“You don’t know what.”

“I do...and if I lose another person close to me again...”

“I won’t let that happen.” He whispered and you turned to face him. “Zuko, it’s just...I already felt losing you once over this whole thing...I’m not going to do that again and not just because of what the future holds but...how are we sure of any decisions we’re making now? I mean look at us!” Zuko stepped back and just watched you.

“You left your life in the Fire Nation twice and made two different decisions after each time. I didn’t want to leave when my father was banished, then ended up following him to only leave a week later because I felt like I could do more than hide. We’re erratic and unsure of everything, we can hardly make decisions on our own, what more commit? And the fact that there wasn’t even an “us” to begin with?” you sighed but Zuko seemed unbothered by your statement.

“Y/N...I may be unsure about a lot of things. I always think about how...if I’m making the right decisions not only for me but for the Fire Nation. I’m unsure about if this is the path Uncle Iroh wanted for me, if I’m teaching Aang the right skills. I’m unsure about the future because if my father wins, would this all be for nothing. I’m unsure about a lot of things Y/N, but the one thing I’m sure about in this whole fucked up situation is that I love you.” Your eyes widened in shock and his did too. You stared at each other for a couple of seconds, both of you unable to move.

“You don’t need to say it back, I’ve told you everything. I just had to let you know.” He whispered and with that he was gone.

You stood there motionless in the room. Zuko just said he loved you. The same Zuko that drove you crazy, that made snarky comments about your bending, that tested you till you’ve reached your limits. But it was the same Zuko that would hold you at night when you had nightmares, who reassured you whenever you worried about your family’s safety, Who would make sure you were safe whenever you were on a mission, who would secretly hold your hand when you were flying on on Appa because only he knew that heights made you nervous, the same Zuko who just told you he loved you, and you let him walk away.

You broke out of your trance then rushed to his room. You barged in but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, you saw a figure on the terrace looking out at the ocean. You walked outside and saw Zuko facing out with his arms spread across the balcony. His muscles looked tense and his head hung low. Walking towards him, you could feel your heart beat outside of your chest. You’ve been around Zuko a hundred times but this felt different.

You slowly wrapped your arms around his waist has you felt his body jump at your touch then relax. Leaning your chin on his shoulder and pressing your face against his, “I love you, Zuko.” You whispered and you could feel the smile on his face. Zuko turned around to face you and wrapped his arms around your waist. He looked down at you and you knew he was going to kiss you.

“Wait, I’m not Han, just making sure—“

“Zuko!” you slapped his arm then he laughed. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” You rolled your eyes and it felt like old times again.

“I love you, and I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.” Zuko whispered and then he finally kissed you.

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littlemisspascal · 3 years

Text

Pedro Pascal Characters as Element Benders

This has probably been done before, but I watched an episode of ATLA earlier and thought wow, I wonder what Pedro’s characters would be and thus this was written in about 15 minutes. It’s probably not very good cuz it’s so rushed, but read on if you want to see my headcanons for the boys.

Also if anyone out there wants to come up with their own versions, I’d love to see what you imagine ❤

Javier - firebender, definitely. I mean, the guy smokes more than any other character I’ve seen on tv and I love the mental image of him lighting a cigarette using his own hands. His anger, too, at the corruption of the government I imagine as a fire constantly burning away inside of him, making his skin warm to the touch and his snappy retorts scorch the ears of anyone who gets on his bad side.

Max -- waterbender only because he’d totally master bloodbending through it. He’s a vampire so of course blood has to factor in somewhere. His bending skills in combination with his hypnotism ability means he’d essentially be the most dangerous predator in the whole office building, inflating his arrogance beyond measure in the process.

Whiskey - waterbender because if Katara can use a water whip then Whiskey would definitely make use of one too. Enemies would think he carries a flask full of alcohol, but it’s really full of H2O ready to unleash upon them as a powerful wave.

Pero - I really feel like he’d be an earthbender. I just picture him grumpily stomping the ground whenever William pisses him off (which is often) and sending a wall of rock directly at the Irish man’s face. Or if he gets really stubborn then he’ll just build himself a little rock fortress to block out the rest of the world and give him a minute of solace so he can pretend aliens don’t exist.

Oberyn - firebender, no questions asked. I mean, I don’t know much about GOT but I know Oberyn constantly wears a yellow robe with suns on it, plus I’ve seen a lot of interviews where Pedro talks about the prince’s passionate personality makes him impulsive. All those characteristics to me scream firebender and wouldn’t it have been awesome if during his final fight he actually breathed fire?!

Marcus P - this sweetheart is totally an airbender. He just seems like such a tenderhearted man and wants to help anyone in need whether that be sending them a cool breeze in the middle of a hot summer day or helping get a child’s kite down from a tree with one well-aimed current. Aesthetically I imagine his hair always looking fluffy and windblown, making his lover want to run their hands through his hair all hours of the day and he’d love every second of it.

Maxwell - earthbender. It’s canon he has a passion for gemology and an interest in oil and I mean, he literally becomes the dreamstone (sorry, spoilers) so in my mind it stands to reason he’d be a pretty good earthbender. Another spoiler (sorry) from the movie is that scene where the giant wall rises out of nowhere and blocks off the city? Imagine Maxwell doing it because that rich oil man pissed him off with his condescending personality. Everyone would know to never make a joke out of Maxwell Lord ever again.

Marcus M - airbender. I mean, the movie doesn’t really show what Marcus’ powers are precisely other than apparently he’s got a pair of katanas, so I think it’d be cool if instead of just having a really strong bond with a pair of weapons, he bends air to send them flying into his hands. Also that scene where he leaps at the alien and gets captured? It was a super high jump so I could totally see him using his airbending to help give him a boost. (I got nothing in this headcanon to explain why he uses the little droid to fly around though, so let’s just pretend that doesn’t exist).

Ezra - of course he’s an earthbender. Just like Maxwell, it’s canon this guy has a passion for digging stuff out of the ground and becoming rich off of it. I imagine it’d be a little hard for him to relearn how to bend with only one arm after the events of the movie, but maybe he could use his feet like Toph does and master a form of bending unlike any other seen before. He would also use his massive vocabulary and honey-sweet tongue to confuse/charm competing prospectors right before he makes the ground disappear beneath them.

Din - I thought long and hard about this one and I kept coming back to earthbending only because the Mandalorians would teach him to learn metalbending through it. He would use it to get dents out of his armor as well as fix his beloved Razor Crest, but without a doubt the most important thing he’d use his bending for would be to play catch with Grogu and the little metal ball. The cuteness would kill all of us.

Frankie - I see him as an airbender. He’s a pilot at heart, loves to soar above the earth through the clouds. When he was a kid, he definitely had one of those gliders like Aang does in the show and showed off to Santi just how high he could fly (I totally believe him and Santi were childhood friends, you can’t change my mind). There is nothing he loves more than the breeze ruffling his hair and occasionally using his airbending against the boys when they’re misbehaving by sending their hats flying off their heads.

Dave - this murder-loving suburban dad is a firebender. He’s the type to burn at a low simmer, deceiving those around him by thinking he’s calm and collected, but he’ll burn you to ash the second you tick him off or get in the way of his plans. It also would explain why he lost so badly at the end of the movie because the torrential rain would weaken even the strongest of firebenders.

Permanent Taglist: @promiscuoussatan, @vintagesaph, @sylphene, @over300books, @aerynwrites, @softly-sad, @chibi-yuki, @theocatkov, @oh-no-a-whovian, @freeshavocadoooo, @you-and-i-deserve-the-world, @randomness501, @lin-djarin, @happiestsparkleofall, @gallowsjoker, @rogertaylorsfalsettogivesmehives, @captain-jebi, @absurdthirst, @coaaster, @leilei-draws, @melobee, @stilllivindue2spite, @pointy-sharp, @artsymaddie, @disgruntledspacedad

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alfredolover119 · 3 years

Text

zukka fic rec list (post-canon)

howdy! i’ve been collecting zukka fics i like since uhhh june and now i am sharing my lists with the world. i’m splitting it into three posts so it hopefully wont be too long. this is the second one: post-canon fics! the other two will be canon era and modern au. [side note!! if youd like a specific type of rec list,, i.e. soulmate au, fake dating, ambassador sokka,, hmu and i’ll post a list !!]

within this post, the fics are in word count order! also, if you’d like a soundtrack for your reading, i might recommend my zukka playlist :^) happy reading!

speak ill by @moonsongdotmp3

-4111 words, teen

-developing/established relationship, ozai hate <3

"I hate your dad so much,” Sokka considers for a second. He tries to mix it up as often as he can when they play this game. “That I have considered starting an official petition begging Aang to reconsider his commitment to nonviolence.” // It’s quiet for a beat. He’s afraid he’s miscalculated, but Zuko laughs, broken and sincere. // (Or: 5, 8, 15 years after the war, Sokka talks shit about Ozai.)

Friends Don’t Let Friends Fake Date Each Other by @d-naggeluide

-5349 words, general

-fake dating, coming out, kinda crackfic

Toph demands that Zuko fake date her. This goes just about as well as can be expected. Sokka steps in to show them how it's done, and this goes a bit better than expected.

Oh, How We Find Our Way by @donvex

-6043 words, teen

-bed sharing, hurt/comfort, domestic fluff

In which Zuko doesn’t sleep nearly enough once he takes up the throne, and Sokka isn’t having it. And maybe they get to fall in love on the way, as a treat.

(let me be) there for you by @bisexuallsokka

-8471 words, teen

-friends/idiots to lovers, mutual pining, getting together

Sokka pulls out a clean piece of parchment and starts to write: Reasons Why Sokka Would Be A Great Bodyguard for Lord Zuko // He smiles in satisfaction at the title. Seeing it in writing only makes him feel more confident in this brilliant, two-minute-old idea of his. Zuko is one of his closest friends, and Sokka is a great fighter, he would be the perfect bodyguard! He has the entirety of his trip in the Fire Nation to prove it to Zuko. This is going to be a piece of cake.

This Isn’t My Idea of Fun by @khaleeseas

-8921 words, explicit

-royalty/moon spirit!sokka, childhood friends to lovers, no war au, mutual pining, fluff and angst

If you asked Zuko, he and Azula saw far too much of Chief Hakoda of the Northern Water Tribe’s children growing up. It wasn’t until they were older, and Azula pointed out that - duh - their families were trying to set them all up, that he realized why. // He was told by his mother to be polite. These people were their friends and allies, and though their nations were as different as they came, harmony between nations was the most important thing. // It wasn’t his fault the Chief’s children were so annoying.

the thing about dancing by anodymalion

-9713 words, teen

-trans sokka, family angst

The first time a attendant spills Zuko’s tea and doesn’t immediately fall to her knees, begging the Fire Lord’s forgiveness, it is not anger but a resounding warmth that fills his chest.

Will You Fake Date Me (But This Time For Real)? by AlyssiaInWonderland

-10520 words, not rated (teen, i think)

-fake dating, mutual pining, idiots to lovers

Zuko is determined to convince his Uncle that he is not, in fact, pining after Sokka. // Sokka is desperate to convince Katara and Aang that he is not, in fact, pining after Suki. // When Sokka's scheme to avoid pity means Zuko and him must fake date for an entire diplomatic event, shenanigans, realisations and confessions ensue.

i could (never) give you peace by @zukkababey

-10540 words, mature

-ambassador!sokka, friends to fwb to lovers, angst with a happy ending, miscommunication

Zuko almost said it. He almost said the words I think I’m in love with you, but he choked them back down at the last second. // Zuko would never be able to be what Sokka wanted. They might have needed each other during the summer, when two boys with too much weight on their shoulders found comfort in each other in the only way they knew how. // But now Zuko was Fire Lord, and Sokka was leaving.

Operation: Get the Fire Lord a Boyfriend by @rejectscanon

-10679 words, teen

-established relationship, attempted matchmaking, fluff, hurt/comfort, 5+1

5 times the people of the Fire Nation tried to get Zuko and Sokka together, and 1 time they realized they already were.

a study in matchmaking by @verdanthoney

-12218 words, general

-friends to lovers, mutual pining, idiots in love, bg bakoda and kataang

Zuko and Sokka try to play matchmaker, but things don’t go exactly as planned.

Always read Your Peace Treaties Carefully by preciousbunnynoiz

-14039 words, teen

-arranged marriage, miscommunication, found family, fluff, non-linear narrative, angst with a happy ending

Zuko and Sokka have been engaged to be married since the peace talks. Only they were the only ones who didn't know. // Everyone else thought they not only knew but that they had already been dating the entire time. // This is also news to Zuko and Sokka who have definitely NOT been dating but maybe they aren't as uninterested as they are protesting.

this love burns so yellow (becoming orange and in its time, exploding) by @meliebee

-18767 words, teen, major character death (NOT ZUKO OR SOKKA OR ANY OF THE GAANG)

-found family, slowburn, fluff and angst, hurt/comfort, mutual pining

Ten months after Zuko is crowned at seventeen, he faces his first coup.

All the Little Things by @voidcenturyscholar and @romancedawning

-23575 words, general

-fake dating, friends to lovers, mutual pining, bed sharing, fluff, miscommunication

Sokka receives an offer of an arranged marriage from the Northern Water Tribe. On the one hand, accepting would strengthen ties between their tribes. On the other hand, Chief Arnook has suggested Hahn as a potential match, and Hahn sucks. But with the future of the Southern Water Tribe Reconstruction project relying heavily on the good will of the North, Sokka doesn’t know how to say no. // (Katara doesn’t have to deal with this. Katara is dating the Avatar.) // Zuko has a solution. Sokka just wishes he’d realized he was in love with the Fire Lord before he agreed to pretend to date him.

isn’t this the vision that you wanted by @goldrushzukka

-34633 words, teen

-pining, matchmaking, coming out, friends to lovers, bed sharing, internalized homophobia

Firelord Zuko - ender of the Hundred Year War, ruler of the Fire Nation, payer of respects and reparations - takes advice and counsel from representatives of every nation, division, and specialty. // But teenage boy Zuko - friend of turtleducks, wielder of fun looking swords, stumbler over words and feet in the presence of cute boys - only listens to two people, and they are conspiring together to ruin him.

(do you take this jerk to be) your one and only by @jatersade

-55855 words, teen

-enemies to friends to lovers, (not actually) unrequited love, slowburn, sharing a bed, alternate universe, arranged marriage, huddling for warmth, fluff

Under the leadership of Fire Lord Iroh, the Fire Nation has made every attempt to restore peace and make amends for the harm they inflicted during the Seventy-Year War. Their newest proposal is a literal proposal: a marriage to unite the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes. // The Fire Nation offers Prince Zuko’s hand. // The Water Tribes offer Princess Yue’s. // Sokka is apparently the only person in the world who has a problem with any of this.

Wooing the Water Tribe by @dameferre

-56839 words, teen

-didn’t know they were dating, i mean IDIOT idiots to lovers, ambassador!sokka, mutual pining, himbos istg

Zuko is courting Katara, and with every passing day finds new and insane ways of showing that he would quite literally move the spirit world and earth to make her happy. // In hindsight, it probably would've been better if Sokka had realised he was in love with Zuko at literally any time before this. Or preferably, never fallen for his best friend in the first place.

In the Soft Light by @voidcenturyscholar and @romancedawning

-83901 words, teen, graphic depictions of violence

-moon spirit!sokka, ambassador zuko kinda, hurt/comfort, slowburn, pining, canon divergence, miscommunication, sickfic, huddling for warmth, angst with a happy ending, enemies to lovers, underage drinking

As the newly appointed cultural liaison to Northern Water Tribe, Zuko is the first Fire Nation Citizen to step foot inside the city's walls in nearly a century. He's determined to prove himself—to the Fire Lord and to his father—even if the Water Tribe's spirit-touched prince seems to want nothing to do with him.

#zukka #zuko #sokka #atla #avatar: the last airbender #fic recs #zukka fic recs #fanfiction #rec list

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eulaties · 4 years

Text

how i view each a:tla character

hoo boy this is a long one

sokka:

- highkey smartest guy on team avatar

- but with aang they're like the equivalent of the my two braincells meme

- boomerang, ponytail, and space sword guy

- comes up with the best nicknames and jokes

- best friends with aang

- his sexism literally saved the world

- but dw he drinks gallons of respect women juice a day now

- has the baddest gf suki who could kick his ass at any given moment

- wanted momo for a week (why??)

- sokka walked so eboys could run

- roasts zuko constantly

- officially known as mr wang fire

toph:

- baddest bitch don't mess with her

- small but will not hesitate to kill you

- I AM MELON LORD

- I emit a super sonic wave from my mouth in order to see

- AHHHHHHHHHHHH

- let toph say fuck

- secretly misses her parents

- her way of showing affection is beating you up

- "do you think friendships can transcend lifetimes?"

- literally so badass she invented a new form of bending

- the greatest earthbender alive

zuko:

- zuko, you're gonna get a kick out of this... YOUR HONOR WAS IN MY SLEEVE THIS WHOLE TIME

- undergoes the best character redemption arc of all time change my mind

- his scar is on the wrong side

- WHY AM I SO BAD AT BEING GOOD

- lowkey emo

- "im never happy"

- hes always happy around his goth gf mai tho

- got his life ruined by ozai, fuck him

- uncle iroh is now his dad, ozai who?

- bad at making jokes but he tries his best

- once his anger got stripped away he just became a socially awkward person

- awkward legend

- hello, z u k o here

- gets accepted into the gaang™ and gets a new family :)

- his friendship with aang is everything

- pretends to be annoyed by aang but secretly treasures their friendship

aang:

- powerful af and can literally take your bending away

- but honestly hed rather everyone be happy

- epitome of a cinnamon roll

- he deserves the world

- mentally strong af as well, i mean he had to cope with a GENOCIDE in the third episode

- "some friendships are so strong they can transcend lifetimes"

- unashamedly so in LOVE with katara

- gushes about her all the time

- peppy

- in touch with his ~feminine~ side

- his smiles and laughs are contagious

- so freaking friendly its impossible to hate him, i mean how could you

- hes so friendly he seems like hes flirting but hes not, thats just how he is

- has the best eyebrows

- friends with everyone

- showers appa and momo with the affection they deserve

- best friends with sokka

katara:

- the mom friend™

- absolutely WHIPPED for aang god she loves him so much

- everyone looks up to her. literally was the only thing keeping the group together at some points

- has a big af temper tho

- will cut a bitch

- when shes pissed off shes pissed OFF

- dont fucking hurt the people she loves or she will COME for you

- her power crawl is everything

- can literally bloodbend or heal you, your choice

- denies any relation to sokka whenever hes being stupid

- her outfit in the fire nation SLAPPED

- regularly schedules sleepovers with suki and toph (although she has to drag toph to the sleepover)

- what if we kissed? 😳 in the cave of oma and shu 👉👈 haha jk jk... unless

suki:

- sexism is no more

- takes down sokka's sexist ass easily

- strong af dont underestimate her

- sweetest gf tho

- loved the atrocious sand sculpture sokka made of her

- kidnapped a prison warden all by herself

- honestly underrated

- appa likes her

- singlehandedly saved sokkas and tophs lives

- in kyoshi we stan

iroh:

- the wisest character ever

- guides zuko into the right direction

- "i was just worried that you lost your way"

- zuko and irohs reunion made me SOB

- makes the best tea and owns a successful business, the jasmine dragon

- LEAVES FROM THE VINE FALLJNG SO SLOWLY

- IM NOT CRYING YOURE CRYING

- r.i.p mako 💔

ursa:

- went to get some milk 9 years ago and never came back

azula:

- the prodigy kid that all parents compare you to

- got groomed by ozai from an early age

- favorite child

- loves power and intimidating others

- top of the food chain

- can absolutely BREAK you with a snap of her fingers

- badass but not in a good way

- dont play beach volleyball with her she'll absolutely destroy your career

- wow, your outfit is so... sharp. careful, it could puncture the hull of an empire ship and leave hundreds of soldiers to drown at sea! because... its so sharp.

- mental health slipping after she gets betrayed by her two best friends

- got that quarantine bangs haircut

- honestly the last agni kai was really sad

- just wanted to be loved by ursa

- certified insane

ozai:

- ruined zuko's and azula's life

- career literally got ended by aang

- nothing else to say fuck this guy

ty lee:

- an absolute ray of sunshine

- her aura has never been pinker

- got the happy ending she deserved with the kyoshi warriors

mai:

- deadpan snark

- goth

- will cut a bitch from afar with her throwing knives

- you miscalculated

- I LOVE ZUKO MORE THAN I FEAR YOU

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idk-my-aesthetic · 4 years

Text

Let’s talk about Azula

For a long time I’ve had really really mixed feelings about her. She’s a kid, only 13 years old, and was abused by Ozai just like zuko was. Only in a different way. She’s a victim in her own right, the show makes that more than clear with her and Zuko’s final battle. It’s a tragedy that these two are fighting, not a triumph like the airship battle or the battle between Ozai and Aang.

But also.... she’s toxic. She controls people by fear, even her friends are terrified of her. She smiles when Zuko’s burned, and she suggests destroying the earth kingdom. She tries again and again to kill zuko. I never thought it was really her fault or who she really is, but I also thought she was just too far gone. that her mind had been too poisoned by Ozai and that she was by that point just a tragic image of what could have happened to zuko

Even saying that, I really wanted her to be redeemed. I’d read some fics with it but it never felt quite right or in character. I thought she was just too far gone to be redeemed

And then I rewatched the finale

And honestly.... I’m realizing I was wrong about her

I think that there are kinda a lot of misconceptions about Azula. In part bc the fandom in general is..... not really nice to her. Which I get!! Her character and the abuse she went through is even more complex then Zuko’s (which is saying a lot). The show focuses almost exclusively on her toxic side, and we don’t really see the more hurt/broken side of her until literally the final episode. Plus we don’t really see who she was before Ozai’s influence like we do with Zuko.

All of which is an unfortunate consequence of a real redemption arc being planned for her and then later cut for time.

So bc of all that her character is really really complex. And I think that with how difficult she is to understand + consuming fan content with how a lot of ppl misinterpret her, she ends up becoming a straight villain like Ozai in most people’s mind’s

Which, again, I don’t blame ppl for. I had the same mindset for a long time

And it’s easier that way. In order to understand her you need to put a lot of energy into trying, and most ppl don’t want to. And I don’t blame them. Azula as she is in the show is incredibly difficult to like

But I think if you do take a look, specifically at the things she says in the final episodes, you’ll see that deep down she’s just a scared kid. A lot like zuko.

If you look closely at Azula everything she does is motivated by fear. Fear others have for her and fear she has of her father

Azula is terrified of their father. In a way I don’t think zuko even is. Because he at some points wants their father’s love but Azula never seems to want that. His favor, yes, but never love

There’s a handful of scenes during the Sozin’s comet 4-parter that I think explain who Azula really is.

First, when Ozai starts to tell her she’s being left behind on the day of Sozin’s comet she panics. She’s terrified that she did something to lose her father’s favor, and starts desperately explaining why she still deserves it

And she says something insanely revealing. “You can’t treat me like zuko”

And I think that explains so much about her relationship to zuko. She grew up seeing how much her father hurt him. And she was so terrified of her father.... she didn’t want that to happen to herself

So she had two options. Be “weak” like zuko, or hurt him to gain Ozai’s favor and protect herself. I think it’s pretty clear what she did.... though I can’t really blame her. She was a scared kid trying to survive.

The whole reason the two of them have such a bad relationship is because she wouldn’t let them have a good one. She couldn’t let them have a good relationship, not if she wanted to survive living with their father

And when I say survive, I mean it. Azula does not love him or follow him out of a sense of duty like zuko. She relizes way earlier than zuko does that Ozai is a cruel horrible person. Everything she does is an attempt to not get on his bad side.

She literally says to the hallucination of their mother that the only thing that can control people is fear. And there is only one person who Azula will listen too. Her dad is the only one to have any control over her because he is the only person she is afraid of

And Azula doesn’t like doing this. She doesn’t enjoy being cruel. She convinces herself that she does, because if she acted differently she’d lose their father’s favor

How do I know? Literally look at the whole deal with her and Ursa. Azula knows Ursa was uncomfortable and unsettled when she started acting like Ozai. she kept doing it to protect herself, but when she talks about how her mother “thought she was a monster” she clearly hates herself for it.

She doesn’t want to act like this. She does it to protect herself. And then she justifies it again and again and again because she knows it’s wrong but she wants to be right. she wants to be good

She tells herself she has to treat zuko badly because he is bad at everything. That he deserves all the things that happened to him bc he isn’t worthy, or he’s untalented, or he’s a traitor, or he’s weak, or whatever.

She tells herself that she can’t have friends. That the only way she can control people is by making them fear her. That if they fear her, like how she fears her father, then they can’t betray her

She tells herself that love and kindness are weak, and that the only way to survive is to be cruel and ruthless

She makes herself believe all that BS and completely internalized it, all to seem strong to her father. All because she’s afraid of him.

And the second that those beliefs, beliefs that have kept her safe from her father’s wrath, are challenged, she snappes. Because mai and ty lee aren’t scared enough of her. They betrayed her.

She’s not terrifying enough to be safe. She’s not terrifying enough that people won’t hurt her. If they’re not afraid of her, then they’re going to hurt her.

She slowly unravels through the final episodes. She’s convinced everyone in the palace is trying to hurt her, because she’s not terrifying enough to be invincible.

And she’s struggling. She’s confused. Because if fear isn’t keeping her safe, then what was the point of all this? If it’s not keeping her safe, then turning into a monster that her mother hates was for nothing

But also.... maybe she was just weak. Maybe she just needed to be stronger, crueler.

And the whole time she’s walking on ice. Terrified of her servants and the dai lee and lee and lo. But she needs to keep her composure, needs to pretend every thing is fine.

Because she is so, so much more terrified of her father. Terrified she’s not composed enough, not cruel enough, not strong enough for him not to hurt her

So. Yeah. Sorry for the angst. But.... Azula is a very complex character. And most people try to just turn her into Ozai jr and... she’s not. She’s pretending she is, so well that she’s convinced even herself

Edit: BTW I’m in NO way saying that this excuses any of her actions. I’m just saying she deserves a chance at redemption while others like Ozai do not. And trying to bring attention to some aspects of her personality that I think are less noticed or misinterpreted

#avatar #atla #zuko atla #azula atla #mai atla #long post #atla meta #ty lee atla #princess azula #avatar the last airbender #avatar tla #child abuse tw #child abuse #abusive father #tagging for blacklist

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scarletemeterio-thesecond · 4 years

Note

hello, I'd like to request a zuko imagine with an earthbender reader, i was thinking maybe like he likes them but he thinks there's something between reader and sokka so that's why he doesn't say/do anything? and I'd love it if reader was toph's older sibling

I really liked this request! I wanted to try and do something different so it's written from Zuko's pov. It took me like three days to write this and it's pretty long, hope you like it!

-Mica :)

•••

Heartfelt Confessions (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: None

Genre: Fluff

Fandom: Avatar, The Last Airbender

Summary: See request

Word Count: 2553

Zuko's POV:

Here I was, in front of the people I once tried to defeat, trying to make things right. I really wanted; I needed this to work out. I knew I was destined to help the Avatar.

"Hello, Zuko here" I said. Why did I say that? Of course they knew who I was; I had followed them for a long time!

As soon as I said that, they all got ready to attack and to be honest, I didn't blame them at all. I explained myself as best as I could, which wasn't actually very good at all, and then I waited for their response.

"You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you?" said the waterbender girl.

"One of you has already! And I've done some good things" I said.

"What do you mean by one of us?" asked the little earthbender girl.

I immediately looked at the other earthbender in the group, whose eyes now were full of despair. And as I did that, everyone else did too.

"Back in Ba Sing Se, we ran into each other once" I began, now looking directly at them. "I knew you could tell who I was, I figured you were with the Avatar but you never told them that I was there when you faced Long Feng, did you?"

"What!?" said the earthbending girl. "How could you hide something like that? We could've known Zuko was in Ba Sing Se? I'm your sister, (Y/N); I thought we told each other everything!"

"Just tell us what happened, (Y/N)" said the waterbender, a bit strongly.

"The Dai Li had opened some kind of tunnel to get me away from you. I tried to come back as soon as possible but I found him instead" they said, looking at me. "I never said anything because so much had already happened... between Jet and the entire Long Fend thing I- I'm sorry, I should've told you. I didn't think he would do what he did later in the cave, he had freed Appa and I thought that maybe... He had some good in him. I'm sorry".

"That's right, you should've told us" began saying the guy from the Water Tribe, "but we know you didn't mean any harm, (Y/N)". After that the boy put an arm around (Y/N)'s shoulders.

"S-See! I could've stolen your bison but I set him free! That's something" I said, still trying to get them to trust me.

"Appa does seem to like him" said the little girl.

But they still were suspicious, and things got even worse when I admitted that I had sent an assassin after them. They rejected me and told me to leave, so I did. Thankfully, the following day, after so many mistakes they allowed me to join them and teach firebending to the Avatar.

Aang and I started practicing as soon as possible, but shortly after we were forced to stop; for some reason I couldn't firebend.

"Hey, jerks" suddenly said Sokka. "Mind if I watch you two jerks do your jerk bending?"

"Sokka, don't say that!" said (Y/N) while passing by.

"Get out of here, Sokka!" I screamed, clearly annoyed.

Sokka left while laughing a bit, but the earthbender decided to get closer to us.

"Hey, what's going on, guys?" Is everything okay?" while saying that, they sat right next to Aang.

"I think Zuko lost his firebending".

"I didn't!”

"Well, I think someone's a bit on edge right now. I'm gonna go and do some earthbending with Toph. Maybe I'll be able to annoy Sokka a bit, too" (Y/N) said as they let out a little laugh.

I couldn't avoid looking at them and think about how sweet their laugh was until Aang snapped me out of my thoughts. I really had to do something about my firebending.

After going back to the Western Air Temple with Aang, we quickly got back to training. Although that didn't last long since this time I was going on a trip with not only one but two members of the group.

"I still don't know why you came".

"You have to understand, Sokka, there's no way I would've let you do this by yourself" said (Y/N), still slightly arguing with the boy.

"I wasn't! Zuko was gonna come with me".

"And now I am too. I couldn't just stay there and lie to Katara and everyone about your trip, and I couldn't just do nothing!"

"I just don't want anything to happen to you, (Y/N); I care about you, okay?"

"I care about you, too, Sokka. But we're in this together. All of us" after saying that, they both made a pause, and when I turned around to look at them, they were already looking at me. "We're all on the same side now".

We all nodded in agreement and suddenly there was silence in the air.

"You know, a friend of ours designed these balloons" Sokka said, starting another conversation.

I paid attention to him but I could tell (Y/N) was lost in their own thoughts before drifting off to sleep while sitting next to Sokka. It felt so weird to have a crush on someone who was with another person. It even felt wrong. Ever since I joined the group I've tried to get them off my mind, I've even tried to stay away from them, but it just didn't seem to be working out. I sighed before turning my gaze back to the sky in order to distract myself from my own feelings.

When we got to the Boiling Rock, we decided to pretend to be guards. Shortly after that, Sokka got sent to take someone to the 'cooler', leaving (Y/N) and me behind. On lunch time, we tried to get some information about the prisoners, trying to find out if Sokka's father was here, but we weren't lucky. When we reunited with Sokka, I told him that there were no Water Tribe prisoners.

"What? Are you sure? Did you guys double check?"

"We did, Sokka. I'm afraid he's not here" said (Y/N) while taking his hand, trying to calm him down.

"I'm really sorry, Sokka".

"So we came all this way for nothing? I failed... again".

"Ugh, what would uncle say?" I wondered, trying to be positive. "Sometimes clouds have two sides, a dark and a light, and a silver lining in between. It's like a silver sandwich! So when life seems hard, take a bite out of the silver sandwich".

"Maybe we haven't failed after all" Sokka said, now a lot more hopeful.

"That's the spirit! I can't believe that worked, I didn't even know what I was saying".

"No, what you said made no sense at all".

"Yeah, Zuko, for real" said the earthbender, laughing at me.

"But look... It's Suki".

"What? I can't believe she's here!"

Sokka left quickly to wherever this girl was.

"Who's Suki?" I asked a bit confused.

"She's a friend of ours, and she had something with Sokka a while ago" they explained. "Come on, we have to go!" they grabbed my hand and took me out of there, going to wherever Sokka had left. I couldn't help but blush, thankfully it wasn't noticeable because of my helmet.

(Y/N) and I decided to keep guard outside of the cell, letting Sokka go inside.

"You seem pretty chill about this" I commented, without fully understanding the reason why.

"What? I'm completely terrified; we could get caught in any minute! I'm just trying to remain calm".

"That's not what I meant, I-" I realized a guard was coming towards us, so I stopped talking and knocked on the door, letting Sokka know that we had company.

To say things didn't go well was an understatement. We couldn't just let her get into the cell, so we had to fight back. Now, (Y/N) and I had been arrested for being impostors, which wasn't wrong of course, but it definitely wasn't what we had planned. I was sent to my cell, where Mai's uncle threatened me and then we were told to clean the floors.

"Listen, I think I have an escape plan" said Sokka once we were all together. "I checked out the coolers again. The whole point of them is to keep firebenders contained, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So they're completely insulated and sealed to keep the cold in. Well, to keep the cold in it also has to keep the heat out, right?”

"Just get to the point, Sokka" said Suki.

"Yeah, my brain is starting to hurt" agreed (Y/N).

"I'm saying it's a perfect boat for getting through the boiling water".

It wasn't going to be easy, but we had no other choice; we had to get out of here no matter what.

Once I was sent to the cooler I started taking out every single screw. Sokka came to take me out and we overheard some guards saying that some new prisoners were coming in tomorrow. Some war prisoners, specially.

“It could be your father” I said.

Sokka nodded and I asked what we were going to do.

“I don’t know. Is it right for me to risk Suki’s freedom- all of our freedom- on the slim chance that my dad is gonna show up?” he asked. “What if we get hurt or caught? What if something happens to (Y/N)? Oh my god, Toph would literally kill us!”

“Hey, calm down, Sokka. It’s your call; we’ll do whatever you say”.

We decided to go to the shore after all, it’s not like we could keep the others waiting.

“Are you sure you want to go? You’re the one who said you wanted to redeem yourself, redeem your honor” I said, still not sure about Sokka’s choice. “Rescuing your dad is your chance”.

“What do you mean? Is Hakoda here?” (Y/N) asked, looking at us.

“No, but we heard some war prisoners were coming in tomorrow” I answered.

“I’m going to stay, you guys go. Suki, you’ve been here long enough”.

“I’m not leaving without you, Sokka” the girl said.

“Yeah, there’s no way we’re gonna do that!”

“I’m staying too” I said. (Y/N) was right: we’re all on the same side now.

The others ended up getting caught, and quickly we were in a lockdown.

“The gondola’s moving” said Sokka. “If my dad’s not here we risked everything for nothing”.

“We had to” as Suki said that, she grabbed his hand. I couldn’t help but look at (Y/N); not only because I wanted to hold their hand too, but also because I was afraid that little action could hurt them. Still, they didn’t seem to bother.

Sokka’s dad was in the gondola after all, and we speedily went back to our cells. Not much later, I was taken out of my cell and sent somewhere else, where I saw Mai. I didn’t think I’d see her again, at least not until all of this was over. I guess I was wrong. We had a talk about me leaving her, but when I had the opportunity, I ran out of there, I had to go and meet the others.

“Great, we’re all here. Now all we need to do is grab the warden and get to the gondolas”.

“Good, how do we do that?”

“I’m not sure”.

We started arguing about him not thinking this through but we were cut by (Y/N)’s voice.

“Could you just shut up? Suki’s taking care of it!”

And they were right. Suki was heading towards the warden, successfully making him our prisoner. We ran to them and then we started running to where the gondolas were.

It was difficult, but we managed to escape, mainly because of Mai. I figured Azula had to get there somehow so we took her airship and left.

We had been travelling for a few hours, and everyone had fallen asleep, except for (Y/N) who was looking at the sky.

"Aren't you tired?" I asked.

"A bit, but I like looking at the stars".

"Be careful, I wouldn't want you to fall off".

"I'm fine, dummy, you don't have to worry about me" they said before giving me a soft smile. "The girl who helped was Mai, right? Your girlfriend?"

"My ex-girlfriend, and yeah. I wish I could thank her".

"Was it difficult seeing her there?" I stayed silent for a moment, trying to figure out why they were asking me this, but when they spoke again, it seemed like (Y/N) had read my mind. "I'm asking you this because you're with us now, and I care about you, Zuko".

"Its was… weird, but not difficult. I did feel a bit bad for getting over her and liking someone else, though".

"Ooh, who is it?"

"I'm not telling you".

There was a brief silence between us before (Y/N)'s voice cut it.

"Well, if any of us looks tired then it's you" they said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, well, I'll sleep once we get to the Air Temple" while I was saying that, I saw (Y/N) getting closer to me. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry, it's just that- You're pretty warm and in case you haven't noticed, it's cold". I didn't say anything, I just stood there. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to annoy you or anything, I know you don't really like me".

The last words were said in a soft mumble, but I still heard them. I raised my head, looking at the earthbender's eyes with confusion.

"What do you mean? Of course I like you".

"It's just that, you know, you kind of avoid me so… I figured you didn't like me".

"No, I- I didn't want to come in between you and Sokka so I just stayed away, you know?"

"Between me and Sokka? What do you mean?"

I took a deep breath and turned my gaze away from theirs, trying to think about what I wanted to say.

"You and Sokka are really close so I thought you were dating or something so I stayed away from you in order to not come in between you guys because I kinda like you and I know that's wrong and I- What are you laughing at?" I cut my own words once I started hearing them laugh.

"You really thought that Sokka and I-?" they kept laughing and I had to tell them to be quiet, we didn't want the others to wake up. "Oh, that was funny, I really needed that".

"Yeah, you're welcome" I said under my breath, hoping that my little confession had gone unnoticed.

"Wait, did you just say you like me?" they said, processing my words. "I-I didn't know you liked me like that" I closed my eyes, clearly not ready for the rejection.

"Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I know you probably don't-" I was cut by a pair of lips on top of mine, giving me a soft kiss. I didn't have any time to react before I felt their lips separating from mine.

"I like you too, Zuko… like that" I smiled cheesily at their words before pressing my lips against theirs again.

#prince zuko fic #prince zuko fanfic #fire lord zuko #zuko imagine #zuko x reader #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla imagine #atla fanfic

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southslates · 4 years

Text

yup, Zutara’s got an evil kid. I wrote about slightly evil steambaby in one of my fics, and I got a bunch of crit for that, so lemme explain why evil steambaby is a thing alright?

who’s the steambaby family tree? Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Azula, and then further out you’ve got Hakoda, Ursa, Kya, Ozai

putting aside the crazy Fire Nation genes that could easily pop up down the line, let’s focus on the four important people.

so you’ve got Zuko as this kid’s dad. Zuko, even though he’s awesome now, was a struggling villain for a bit. and a key aspect of his personality is his dogged determination. Zuko was literally so blindly dedicated to his honor he was about to die in the North Pole. Zuko has got a lot of blind faith when he believes in something, and unless his world falls apart he’s loyal to a fault. three years on that ship, and he stayed dedicated to finding a dead man. and we’ve seen him practice with Aang. Zuko’s entire personality is about hard work -- he works for everything he’s ever got. so, yeah. from Zuko we get stubborness and dedication to an ideal, and a severe lack of thinking-things through

then you’ve got Katara. now the reason Zutara is great is that it has Katara retain her utterly fiery spirit, and Zutara work together because they’re both really passionate. Katara also has a lot of faith in her convictions, and she will go the extra mile when she thinks she’s doing the right thing; case in point offering to heal Zuko’s scar under Ba Sing Se. when she thinks she’s doing the right thing. Katara can also be a little hot-headed and stuck in her ideals. she found a random guy in a block of ice and followed him halfway across the world. she’s also not the best at thinking-things through

who does think stuff through? Sokka and Azula, this kid’s uncle and aunt. let’s go on with Sokka. we saw it with the painted lady; when Sokka is on a mission, he’s on a mission. he plans everything out, and nothing gets in his way. Sokka follows through on his plans and is a bit of a perfectionist, something he shares a bit with Zuko. Katara is Sokka’s moral half of the equation. Sokka is a warrior and a friend, and Katara and Aang and Suki keep him in place, but he would do a lot for his people. he has that determination

and then Azula, which is kinda a Sozin’s line lump-sum. she thinks everything through, and is such a perfectionist that she literally goes crazy (the hair symbolism) when everything isn’t working properly for her. this is a trait she and Sokka share, and why she sees him as such a threat. they are both leaders, planners, warriors, and thinkers. and both tend to give up on their morality sometimes to make it work, being insanely realist and not idealist

where am I getting? this combination of traits works in these ATLA characters. but here’s the thing; Zuko and Katara’s moral holdbacks stop them from getting swept up in their passion. Sokka and Azula’s ruthlessness and ability to calculate and think stuff through has them holding themselves back. when you mix these two things up?? um

you got a kid who fixates on something and decides that they want it, no matter what. this kid has Sozin’s blood in his veins, and it’s easy to feel ostracized in a mixed-bending family, especially if they’re the firebender or nonbender. they have the indignation of Zutara and the follow-through capacity of Sokka and Azula, and they don’t always have someone to hold them back, because parents make mistakes too

I just genuinely don’t think that Zuko could run away from his father and sister that quickly. it’s nice to idealize Zutara and their relationship, but it’s definitely likely that they’d have a problem child that could easily get carted away into some extreme pro/anti-FN group, because teens and kids are like that -- they get carried away easily, especially when there’s a lot of pressure on them. and maybe the kid gets the redemption arc, maybe they don’t, maybe it’s soft.

even though I love Zutara, I don’t want to pretend that some genetic drive doesn’t run through their veins. I also wrote an entire fic about this headcanon and didn’t entirely redeem my ZK kid, because people aren’t always black and white, you know?

like the ATLA world is a kid’s show, but murder definitely occurred in it. and when I say morally ambiguous, I don’t mean softly. I mean hardcore evil Zutara kid. potential story villain. might kill some people. think Azula + emotional capacity and genuinely not caring about that emotional capacity without suffering abuse of any kind. some people are just. a little inherently bad. and telling stories about those people is cool

(tbh there was so much potential in canon for an evil Zuko kid or even K/ataang kid and I’m sorta sad that was a dropped ball, I love the evil kid dynamic)

this is a terrible ranty essay, but this is why I believe one of Zutara’s kids is evil. *mic drop* I’m sorry, goodnight, and thank you for listening

#zutara #zuko x katara #steambabies #evil steambaby #dee is a mess

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zvtara-was-never-canon · 11 months

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5 - Be a team player.

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

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

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

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

I rest my fucking case.

#anti zutara #anti zukka #pro mai #pro maiko

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boomerang109 · 3 years

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If it isn't impertinent to ask, how did you know you were non-binanry? Have you struggled with family or have they been accepting?

as long as you’re asking respectfully and because you’re actually curious, i’m happy to answer questions about any aspect of my identity. (that’s my way of saying you’re not being impertinent at all and everyone should feel free to drop into my inbox whenever they’d like)

also, warning for a long post cause i’m a wordy bitch who doesn’t know how to add a read more on mobile

so my experience is pretty much directly transposed onto aang in chapter 8 of wwda so if you’re asking about my actual thought process, you can kinda visit there. (and it occurred to me later that suki being aang’s first place of comfort could possibly fall into the ‘cis-savior trope,’ but that wasn’t my intention and simply was a reflection of the friend who most helped me with my gender crisis).

i had always known people used they/them pronouns, but i don’t think it was until i was regularly talking to friends who used those pronouns that my brain really comprehended those were an option. and i kinda was there like damn they’re so lucky they have the coolest pronouns and at some point it occurred to me that being jealous of someone’s pronouns probably wasn’t normal. and it’s definitely weird cause I’ve always personally felt that vibe of not being feminine enough OR masculine enough (not being a girly-girl or a tomboy as a kid), but i know as a kid i identified that ‘feeling like i didn’t fit in’ emotion as a sort of ‘girl power’ thing, like “I can wear dresses AND have swords!” (which i still do both, but now i know any gender can do this) whereas now i see it as being not a girl, but who knows. gender is such a social concept, i’m constantly like 🧐 what’s my gender? idfk. but another thing that did help me figure out my identity was my dysphoria (which not everybody experiences!!). i’d always thought it was an ace thing that i hated my chest, cause i didn’t understand why it was sexualized and whatnot. (but now i bind and just !!!! everytime makes me so happy, even though i rarely can cause my lungs are SHIT) but, i think most people are like connected to their bodies? and i very much just am not. that’s part of why it was so easy for me to ignore my identity cause i can put on clothes i HATE and i’ll only think about it if it’s actively uncomfortable or there’s a mirror. otherwise, i am just not aware of my body. i went most of middle school and high school not looking in the mirror and i used to say ‘what i look like is other people’s problem, not mine’ cause y’all have to look at me, i don’t. but i’m just good at ignoring things in general, from gender to sexuality to neurodivergence, i’m so busy pretending to be what i think everybody wants me to be, that i barely know who i am. also for a long time i felt really bad cause i thought i was lowkey transphobic cause i internally would invalidate non-binary identities (but out loud was always very supportive and would be mentally berating myself for being a fake ally) and uhhh. i know am aware that the only things i was transphobic about were the exact things that apply to me, so uhh. that’s just some internalized shit. also my name irl is technically gender neutral and i think i’m much closer to dressing neutral/masculine now, but people still completely identify me as female which kinda sucks. but also I’ve been performing as female for my fam so it kinda works. idk it’s all weird ngl. but the actual answer to your question was i realized it when i was ‘jealous’ of other people’s pronouns (which actually one of my friends did the same thing where they said like ‘oh you’re so lucky you get to be non-binary’ and the person they said that to had to be like, ‘if you want to be non-binary then that probably means you are’ and my friend was like 👀)

family is an interesting question cause i’m not out to them. but i also have my pronouns (they/them) in my Instagram bio and 4 of my 5 siblings are on Instagram, as well as my dad. i don’t think they’ve noticed yet. i’m very lucky in that i know my family would never kick me out or anything drastic (although i did realize that i have a piece of my bank account mentally stored for ‘if i get kicked out and need to figure shit out by myself’ which was just a strange realization) but right when i was considering coming out to my dad, he decided to make jokes about how weird they/them pronouns were. (he saw i was uncomfortable and reminded me, ‘oh, but you know i always support you’ but, i had really bad experiences with both my parents the first times i came out to them as bi and/or ace (even though they both meant well) so it’s just not something i’m looking to repeat). my mom honestly should have figured it out cause i told her about it one day when i was questioning and then refused to talk about it once i realized i was non-binary (i don’t trust her to keep a secret) but instead she just keeps teasing me for being like my one sister whenever i mention shopping for boys clothes. and since that sister was the one who ignored me for most of her teenage years, i don’t really appreciate the comparison. (also i realized that my entire fucking childhood she always always told me how grateful she was that i was a girl cause she’d always wanted a daughter. and without realizing it i think i internalized that and was like ‘yes i’ll make sure to be a daughter for sure’ even though i don’t think i am one)

and so, that was a very long way of saying, it’ll be a big blow up when i come out to my fam so i’m avoiding it (even though that means getting misgendered allll summer) as long as i can, but i do know it’ll be okay cause my family always means well underneath all the bs

but i have had a really positive time with my friends. it’s hard at university cause people will still call me she/her and i don’t have the courage to correct them, but my two friends both use she/they so they’re obviously good about it. and i got one of my friends at home to tell a bunch of my high school teachers for me cause she was emailing them and mentioned me and i was kinda like ‘hey one less coming out for me’ which was nice. and i told two other friends right before i left and they literally clapped (which i felt like was a very awkward reaction ngl, but it was nice). and one of those two kept accidentally calling me she, but would apologize when i corrected her. also i think that friend might be using she/they pronouns now too, so idk if that’s another example of me transing my friends’ genders (as i did to clara😉) or just the fact that queers find each other

i don’t know if you wanted this much detail, but i’m not really one for being concise lmao. if you were asking just out of curiosity i think i probably fulfilled that, but if you’re questioning or anything (or just curious, that’s cool too), feel free to ask more questions. i cant promise i’ll answer as quickly as i did this (cause i’m about to go pack b/c tmrw we’re going to visit my sister and her baby ☺️ so i’ll be busy prolly) but i’ll answer eventually

i hope this was helpful and/or enjoyable? if anyone actually read all of it ahdhdjsk

#long post #ask a boomerang #grace tag #boom stop using tags as an excuse to stay in bed. it’s time to paack #WHAT THE FUCK THAT JUST POPPED UP AND THATS WHAT IM DOING RN NO FAIR #tumblr how dare you call me out for being predictable #i literally don’t even travel much cause we’re in a literal pandemic yet apparently everytime i do. I procrastinate packing

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