#iroh's content and comments

[aboutiroh]

Just realized atla works as an acronym for avatar: the legend of Aang as well.  That means you’ll never truly know whether someone means avatar: the last airbender or avatar: the legend of Aang. Adds a nice little mystery to the whole thing. 

#I won't take any comments regarding the 'of' #I did grew up with the title legend of aang #soooo #who knows what title I'm talking about #no-one #iroh's content and comments

[jellywoaa]

Just finished the ATLA remake and I have some thoughts so here we go

• I HATE how Sokka is a shell of his original character. Like yeah they wanted a more “serious” tone but Sokka is quite literally the comedic relief character and he’s nothing like the original—the worst part is as his lines have potential to be funny but it’s all said so monotone it falls flat immediately

• Katara is SO stoic?? I think she’s show genuine emotion in her face 3 times in the entirety of S1. Katara is a character that is showing emotions and reacting to things around her!! I’m not saying her actress is bad by any means, but I just wish she put more expression into acting out Katara.

• honestly for Aang I don’t really have a comment? he’s pretty similar,, I do like the cool swirlies on his tattoos though those are nice

• not nearly enough appa content—I NEED MORE

• i think iroh and zuko are my favorite parts of this show, zuko’s actor is AMAZING and he’s really good at bringing out all my favorite parts in his character!! also I love how all through the season iroh is just tolerating zuko’s angsty teen attitude IT MAKES ME LAUGH EVERYTIME

• plus the environment is BEAUTIFUL and is genuinely so pretty to look at, I LOVE THE SET IN THIS SHOW

anyways overall rating for me personally is 7/10, it’s not bad but for a series like avatar it should be better

#atla #atla live action #atla aang #atla sokka #atla zuko #katara #atla katara #zuko #sokka #aang #avatar aang #uncle iroh #atla iroh #appa atla #appa avatar #7/10 #it could be worse #but it also could be way better soooo

[prying-pandora666]

New Episode Preview: Zuko and Iroh Discuss his Marriage Prospects!

This is the start of a political subplot. Zuko is being pressured to provide an heir to secure his claim.

But now that Mai’s dumped him, what will he do?

Try to win Mai back?

Seek out Jin?

Meet someone new?

Watch the clip and decide for yourself:

If you missed it, here’s the clip of Mai dumping Zuko:

Who do you think Zuko will end up with?

If you’d like to watch full episodes and find out if you’re right, check out @book4air!

Here is episode 1, if you’d like to get started.

If you have reservations about the comics, not to worry. We are making our own changes and adding more content to flesh out the characters that didn’t get arcs.

If you can, please support us on Patreon! The show is very expensive to produce and we are a bunch of broke artists paying out of pocket to make this. Donations help us keep going and make content much faster.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #zuko #book 4 air restoration project #Iroh #maiko #jinko #zutara #zukka #toko #zuki #Youtube

[autistic-katara]

said this in the tags of a previous post from like 5 minutes ago but does anyone have any angsty / hurt/comforty zukka fic ideas they cba to write/want me to write? (bcz there are seriously not enough of those like how the fuck have i read like all of them on ao3 that interest me??? anyways conditions(?) for what i write under the cut)

i don’t like aus much so pls don’t include any (just a personal preference // canon divergence is one idm as much but don’t love)

when it comes to hurt/comfort it doesn’t have to be them comforting eachother (me personally i love those “hakoda finds out accidentally and zuko freaks the fuck out bcz fire nation homophobia but sokka’s just insanely embarrassed and hakoda’s a rlly good dad abt it” fics, also love the idea of iroh talking to zuko abt stuff or other members of the gaang finding out+talking abt it)

would prefer if it either included a focus on either queer stuff/coming out or outing/homophobia discussions/etc or mental illness shit (eg. zukos extreme daddy issues or shit like sh/suicide bcz fuck you i like what i like)

piggy backing off that i have no idea how to write mcd so pls don’t suggest it

am cool with making it zukki/suzukka instead of just zukka

the ship itself doesn’t have to be main focus of the fic i just want them in there

idm at all writing stuff that implies/references sex and i don’t really mind including actual sexual content but i’ve never written smut before and don’t wanna write smthn rn thats nsfw-focused so if u include that in ur prompt just be aware i might have to skip and imply the scene or i might not write it bcz yay writers block (it’s connected i promise-)

VERY happy to make either of them autistic and will probably write zuko like that anyway

PLEASE if u have an idea but think it’s cringe or weird or whatever just send it (on anon if u want) and if u have an idea but are not sure if it fits just send it with a disclaimer, i’d rather have a lot of bad ideas like what happens everytime i ask for bsd ideas than nothing bcz the eldritch horrors have maybe allowed me to write for the first time in ages and i rlly wanna put a fic out

please don’t be super vague i’m too autistic for that 😭

plz send the requests as asks, not a reblog or comment (just so i have them all in the same place)

sorry this was kinda long and idk if anyone’ll respond to this but yeah there’s srsly not enough of this kinda fic in this fandom (and i’m not even gonna mention how i wrote my kyoshi fic in april and it’s STILL the only fic like that abt her so what the fuck)

oh also yeah my ao3 is Raines_Adopted_Son

#zukka #atla #zuko #sokka #gay zuko #bi zuko #bi sokka #ao3 #fanfic #fic requests #atla fanfic #zukka fanfic

[aanglican]

natla s1e6 reaction liveblog

zuko flashback with hair

”what is it” “nothing” “tell meeee”

i’m just realizing this is his room

zhao: this is my ship now

we’re at the temple heyyy

this show isn’t unbearably dark but still has a harsh quality to the lighting/color grading that i’m really not loving ughhh [insert nth comment about wishing this looked like house of the flying daggers instead]

lmao roku got jokesss

“anything you need—” “koh.” “anything but that” 💀

“friends can be a liability” oh i’m sure you know that now roku

so there’s no huge fanfare at the fire sage temple and june catches aang instead. we switched out roku possessing aang for kyoshi instead. i guess emphasizing kyoshi over roku was done to avoid giving roku the opportunity to tell aang when the comet is coming. if roku spends any more time with aang then the topic of the comet’s return will be bound to arise, but since the writers don’t know if and when they’re getting a second season then we can’t mention that for now. hence less roku.

love how aang is realizing there’s people who don’t even want him anymore because they would rather live under familiar chaos over the promise of risky liberation

so THAT’S where the chocobo promo still is from

aang psychoanalyzing zuko lol

ozai testing out zuko’s intelligence in front of everybody ouuu

i love dallas’ delivery on “but they’re gonna he lost”

ozai went straight to the agni kai damn okay

“disrespecting me means dishonoring your father”

“ozai was gracious enough to lend them to me” not fire lord? send him to the gulag

they’re not calling it hari bulkan but capital city hmm*

this exchange is so uncle-nephew i love it

zhao thought he ate that… FLOP!

here comes the fire nation supremacist speech.. ken leung slaystress

fire spitting? these fn drinking games get crazy huh

i love this escape sequence

zuko got hit and aang found out it was him under the mask and now he’s saving him ouuuu

THE HAND SLAP LMAO i love this dynamic

when are katara and sokka coming back i just realized it’s been a while

aang asking after zuko’s calligraphy and stationary awww

“the monks are all gone so all i have is your notebook” 😩

AZULA BANGS NAURRR

OZAI AND IROH SCENE

filial piety and feudal hierarchy hitting hard right now

not zuko fighting back

is this a reference to aang’s almost-killing strike on ozai in the series finale?

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG so zuko’s crew is the same as the new recruits that were bound to die by the machinations of the war room?? the 41st division???

“sometimes the weak can become stronger [if] you gave them a chance” “i have made a mistake”

URSA MENTION

lieutenant jee was gagged !!

one thing about waiting for this remake has done to me is make me a lot more interested in the fire nation royal family

momo keeping guard over katara and sokka’s bodies aw :(

after all the zuko backstory i’ve completely forgot about the hei bai spirit lol

i still don’t understand why koh and wan shi tong are here like huhhhhhh? i guess they wanted to involve comic content and couldn’t find a place to put the mother of faces more seamlessly?

gyatso is gone again 💔 “can we talk about it when we get back?” UGHHHHHH

this is kinda the best episode of the series 🤭🤭

*so i checked wikia: Hari Bulkan,[4][5] also known as Royal Caldera City,[6] a residential district situated within the crater of a dormant volcano hosting the Fire Nation Royal Palace and various homes of Fire Nation elite.

#natla lb #mytext

[the-hopefulpenguin]

Commentary on this exchange from The Isoru Airlift?

Excerpt from Princess Ursa’s Remarks to Republic City Press Corps:

“We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the United Republic in opposing abuses of human dignity and defending the rights of citizens, wherever they may be. But we cannot send Fire Army troops into the Earth Kingdom. To do so would revive the memory of the Hundred Year War, fuel the grievances which empower warlords and genocidaires, and undermine any hope of a lasting peace.”

—

Republic City Gazette: Fire Nation Refuses Military Support to Isoru Evacuation, Citing Escalation Risk

Yue Bay Times: BETRAYAL! Fire Nation Princess Stabs Brother in Back

Star of Teyana: FINE, WE’LL DO IT OURSELVES: Sixteen retired officers make the case for the war, exclusive on page 3.

The Times of Caldera: United Republic, Fire Nation, “Shoulder-to-Shoulder” for International Peace, Says Princess Ursa

Equality Now: Arrogant Fire Nation Once Again Abandons United Republic

—

Iroh,

You won’t be surprised to hear I’ve been following the news closely. I think I can help.

A. Sato.

Isoru! The fic I really ought to get back to and a setting I am keen to talk about, so thank you for the ask! There’s a few different components in this, so apologies if the reply rambles a little.

First, ref: Ursa’s remarks, I think there’s some commentary on both the context of including it, and the content too. On context, I wrote this with a bit of an eye towards the sort of role a member of the Fire Nation royal family might have in a crisis situation. My sense was that while Ursa is not a professional diplomat, as a very visible symbolic representative of her country, she has particular utility in public diplomatic efforts (this leaves aside the liaison value-add of her brother being the UF military C-in-C, of course). Hence, it felt appropriate to have a major intervention in the narrative come via comments to press.

Regarding the context of her remarks, the language is quite modern/real world in some respects (“We therefore, here in Britain, stand shoulder to shoulder with our American friends” to quote Tony Blair), but the sentiment is linked into the LOK world-state. I think the Fire Nation, while far from abandoning the military instrument of national power, has huge sensitivities regarding deployment of ground troops into the Earth Kingdom. This is both a cultural piece, but also political; leaving aside the textual comments Ursa makes about their reception in the EK, there are likely domestic revanchists in the Fire Nation who would be emboldened.

Also – the reference to abuses of human dignity is a stealthy shout-out to the Conventions on the Protection of Innocents and Respect for the Dignity of the Human Person (also known as the Cranefish Conventions), from another one of my fics.

Second, the newspaper headlines; I love newspapers very much! The thinking here is to represent a spectrum of opinion – of course The Times of Caldera dodges the whole issue and notes only the joint resolve of the two nations, while the Gazette is an even-handed broadsheet. Equality Now is particularly interesting (I think, anyway) because it references a broader headcanon I have that the Equalist movement had strong nationalist shades, focusing its ire on foreign benders. And Star of Teyana being militaristic is a reference to some of my thinking on the United Forces’; Teyana is a major base for them.

Last, with Asami! So the Airlift was initially envisaged as part of a series of stories called ‘Sato’s War’ which was predicated on the assumption of Asami Sato becoming heavily enmeshed within the United Forces’ and Kuvira’s efforts to manage conflict in the Earth Kingdom* - with all the moral peril and interesting high-tech shenanigans involved. In general, I think she is the sort of woman who wants to solve problems, particularly technical ones, and whether one is an Irohsami shipper or not, she definitely has a working relationship with Iroh in any event.

*Chapter 3 of the story would feature Asami flying on a secret diplomatic mission to Kuvira to request her army supports United Forces troops cut off in Isoru; in my notes, I have a line from Iroh where he muses that Asami “has a face which could launch a thousand ships; no doubt her words could re-route an armoured brigade.” On a less self-indulgent note, I think there is some rich story-telling material in the connection between Kuvira and the United Forces during the timeskip which would be great to unpick.

Thank you again for the ask!

#lok #lok worldbuilding #asami sato #iroh ii #irohsami #asami solves problems!

[yell0wsalt]

10,14,30 ☺️

Loved the questions, many thanks! 💕

10. How do you decide what to write?

Sometimes I’ll get ideas engaging with those who comment on my fics. Suggestions help me think about characters in ways I may not have known and gives me feedback on where I can improve next time. 

Also scrolling through platforms such as Tumblr or Twitter. Maybe there is a dynamic being expressed in a photo or art. It will make me think “ooh I think I want this for my OTP. This could work for them. Maybe I’ll give it a shot,” and I’ll hold onto it as a reference. 

Music also helps me decide on what I want to write. I have several songs associated with my different OTPs and if there’s a song I’m more attracted to in the moment, it inspires me to work on the WIP I have for them.

14. Are there any tropes you would only read if written by a trusted friend or writer?

Several, actually! I partially answered that for the soulmate trope in this question. But a lot of what you write actually haha. You take such care with your characters in writing explicit and kinky content. Not always writing smut for the sake of smut (Though that can be fun!). You go into the characterization incredibly well for mature characters and are exploratory with the kinks you write with taste. It’s nothing short of incredible.

30. Have you ever written something that was out of your comfort zone? If so, what was it, and how did it affect your approach to writing fic thereafter?

WOAHHHH OKAY! So literally any of the explicit content I’ve written recently. In particular Ride like My Honeydew. It made me laugh too many times writing it because the fic came from hearing about the Coconut Challenge on TikTok and Twitter. Particularly Cardi B’s reaction video to it. I was like “omg she’s so silly.” Then finding out what it was, I was like “Wouldn’t it be funny if Iroh and Asami did something similar?”

…Yeah. 

Hilarious.

Right…

 *Opens up another Untitled Document*

It was one of my writing goals for this year to push myself more with explicit content and  I think Ride Like My Honeydew, I Wanna Swim in Your Skies, and Say It are some of my favorites in how I’ve taken mature content thus far. Helping me get past that hump of embarrassment for being more exploratory in my writing. It's a start.

fic writer asks

[orangepanic]

Hope you’re having a great Saturday 💖

For the fanfic writer ask : 🍭 💋 🕯️ 🍉 🦋💫

🍭 and 💋 I already answered here and here.

🕯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

First of all, it doesn't always or even mostly create healthy experiences. I've seen a lot of good people pushed out of the Avatar fandom by the way others chose to engage with them, and sometimes this is even done in the name of a "healthy" fandom experience by which they mean gatekeeping and deciding which ships, tropes, interpretations, and individuals are "good" and "allowed" and what's "problematic" or "toxic." I have zero patience for this version of a sanitized fandom experience. All ships are good ships, all headcanons are good headcanons, and beyond accurate tagging it's not ever a creator's responsibility to make your fandom experience comfortable and harm-free for you or cater to your or anyone else's tastes and preferences.

Fandom at its best, however, is just the opposite of this. Finding a collection, no matter how small, of people who are open and accepting and enthusiastic, has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Ultimately, fandom at its best is really about love. Love of content, of characters, of creations, and of the people you can talk to about it. The sharing to me is enriching. I've borrowed so many headcanons from others that make my own work better. I think it's fantastic that I can give a work kudos just because I'm glad it exists. I don't even have to like it. I'm just happy someone took the time to write it and share and I wanna say "Good job!" I think it's amazing that people who don't even like the ships I write will still be friends with me because we both appreciate non-canon pairings, or like the same single character, or just appreciate that we're putting weird stuff out there in the world. I think this is especially important in the rare pair community, where it's easy to feel isolated and also easy to feel like you're "wrong" for seeing the potential in a ship most of the fandom ignores or actively hates. I can almost guarantee I wouldn't still be writing fanfic if I hadn't found a bunch of weird little friends to play with through AO3, tumblr, and various events. And I think the anonymity of the online experience is helpful to people who maybe aren't as social in real life because it's easy to turn off and on.

🍉in what ways has writing helped you process trauma and/or navigate through your own life?

I'm not really someone with trauma so I can't answer that, but I have a few fics that are absolutely about me processing other things going on in my life. I wrote Team Bosamiroh during the 2020 U.S. elections, The Mango Tree and Endgame when my grandparents died, and Iroh Alone as a way to sort through my own feelings of isolation and loss of purpose during the middle of the pandemic. I'm sure there are more. I try hard not to write self-insert fics, but sometimes it's helpful to see the emotions you feel mirrored in others.

🦋what are you most insecure about when you post a fic?

Primarily if anyone will like it, but I also know I have a tendency to drop words from sentences. I'm always mortified when I go back and find mistakes.

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

Really, any. I adore comments of all kinds. There's always a special place in my heart for very long comments, yet at the same time some of my very favorite are just people screaming at me in all caps "ORANGE YOU NEED THERAPY WHAT ARE YOU DOOOOOOING????" I like to know I've gotten to someone.

Fanfic writer asks

#fanfic writing #ask game

[sokkastyles]

Hello, i need to surround myself with people who don't hate on zuko and zutara as well as don't try to justify azula's abuse of her brother 😭. Please, i just want the chance to avoid jumpscares on my dash I'm so close to leaving the fandom altogether because the things i see either break my heart or make me so unrealistically angry.😭😭 I'd love to follow zukka accounts too, but i don't know which ones are okay. Zukka shippers can be massive kataangers, or azula lovers... of which the latter make me sick. Do you have accounts you know that would be amazing to give a follow? I just want to drown out the noise...

I want to enjoy atla again 😔.

I would recommend curating your experience. I only follow select people, and you can also filter tags and block people who post things that upset you. One of my favorite accounts is @royaltealovingkookiness, they are mostly an Iroh and Zuko and zutara blog but they also like zukka and maiko and Azula.

I don't look for zukka content so don't know many accounts but if anyone who follows me fits the above criteria, feel free to comment on this post.

[depressedtheatrekiddo]

MAYBE FOR U THEY'RE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

For me, for me they're a piece of my soul, as the poets says.

I want to talk about my relationship with fandoms and all so, that's my experience and my opinion, feel free to comment ur own, but before we start have some tea from Uncle Iroh 🍵<3

Okay, I have many things to say I think, I never talked about it and put all my thoughts so idk how this is going to end. Also, English is not my first language and this is gonna be large I think, so that's it, whatever errors I have I'm sorry if it hurts ur eyes so much to read (my teacher when I forget to put an accent:)

The first time I entered a fandom LIKE reading fanfics and all was when I was ten I think, I started reading Harmione, Black Widow x Captain America and Adlock fanfics I KNOW I KNOW MY 10yo IT'S NOTHING LIKE ME RIGHT NOW (now I entered to the queer side of fandoms and I'm never leaving it<3)

I read them without a Wattpad account u know? Just searching in internet and then picking on them it was so random and I deleted the historial after everything bc tho I didn't read any mature content (I WAS 10 WTF) I was very ashamed, like let me explain it in another point.

10/11/12yo me was ashamed to say that I was reading fanfics or to think I was part of a fandom, the people that were close to me knowed that I writed but I never shared anything with anyone bc my first WIP's were fanfics.

Also I was ashamed bc I felt like when my friends and I watched a movie or a series or read a cool book in class they were like "oh cool" and I became obsessed with all for like a week (at least), so u know? I used to think something was not okay and that I was alone. Also couldn't talk about it with everyone bc I had to be the perfect girl, like I was (still but no) someone who had the best grades and perfect attitude, I was the perfect child (till I came out) and had to be the best example to my little siblings so that.

At twelve (I think), before starting 1st of ESO (I'm from Spain), my parents got me a phone (I still have the same, like this guy it's still here with me and my silly things) and so they told me it's to communicate with them and friends because I was going to go home alone or met up with friends at the town without parents, so I created a Wattpad account through google (bc I hadn't the guts to download it bc what if— GAIDNS)

So I entered to the marauders fandom (AKA MY HOME❤️‍🩹🫶🏻) through Wolfstar, bc I read them while reading Harmione a little younger and thought that at that time that I was questioning my sexuality it would help a little to read about queer people but at that time I didn't know where to start so I started with fanfics.

And I don't really remember the names of the fanfics that I read in the past because it's been like two/three years almost but I remember reading them and founding comfort and joy, I remember how I compared myself to every single character and to make a space for them in my soul, because they're a part of me, while struggling with sexuality/gender/family/emotional issues they were there all the time, I remember going to the comments and feel how my heart full filed itself slowly, finding a safe place, sometimes bad people were there ofc, but it was like feeling free and loved and I also loved all this people who maybe didn't know they made a someone's day bc of their silly comment, their kind words or their beautiful work❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

As the time passed I now find myself in very lovely fandoms and I love every single one of them you have no idea, they're all so beautiful and always have a piece of my soul, because I just love them so so much and everywhere I go I can find them there and smile. Now I do my personal things and think "Wtf are u doing up at 5am to go exercising, James Potter it's that u?" or find my relationships with people in characters, that helps me to understand and also makes me smile bc I will always thought of you if you're similar to a character<3

Now in my life I have found better people who listen to me and I listen to them, people who sparks with pure joy and enthusiasm as they show me a piece of fanart of a series I didn't watch but I don't care bc they're just so beautiful and lovely and I always try to listen to them because my younger self would loved to be listened🫂💗

So now I'm not ashamed to say that I'm part of a fandom or to throw references here and there bc it's a part of who I am, a part of my soul, and I think it's so beautiful and that nobody deserves to feel ashamed to be part of something so joyful as a good fandom🫶🏻

Thank you for being part of it

Thank you for writing, your words touched someone heart and made them felt listened, your words created a escape from reality for a while and become a home to come when tears roll down my face🩷

Thank you for drawing, your art helped us to smile everyday seeing our lovely ships there in ur amazing style, u are doing great and we thank you for letting us enjoy ur art<3

Thank you for that lovely cosplay, you make me smile so bright (and feel gender envy😭😭 // luv u, u're beautiful)

Thank you for that headcanons that made me go "Xie Lian didn't know wether to laugh or cry" bc u break me but also put all my pieces together

Thank you for that random comment you left in a fanfic that made me want to laugh at the top of my lungs but I had to held my laugh because it was 3am, u made my shit day better💖

Thank you for that beautiful comment that made me feel listened and comprehended, you are a kind soul and I wish you well:3

Thank you for that gorgeous edit (tell me ur secrets I tried and did shit BAJAJAJ), they made me smile and cry, maybe at the same time or depending on the edit:)

Thank you to everyone for being here, I wish you have a really nice day, week and year, sweetheart you deserve great things and people who loves you, until someone else can be there don't forget we are here🫶🏻🫂❤️‍🩹

Thanks for reading<3

#fandom #sorry for all the shit #I love my fandoms so so much #they're my home #a piece of my soul #:) <3 #I'm gonna tag some fandoms I think? like atleast the mentioned ones idk I'm shit at this:') #marauders fandom #gay dead wizards #dead who? #not them #atla #good omens #wolfstar is canon #idk what am i doing #so I'm going to leave it there #have a nice day<3 #and remember to stay hidratated🫶🏻

[aboutiroh]

You know what’s astonishing about Katara? She grew up in a world without bending.

It’s not surprising that Sokka calls her bending ‘magic water’ in the first episode. It might as well have been magic to them at that point; they had never seen it in practice until they meet Aang.

So not only did Katara not have any teachers, she didn’t have any kind of guidance, no visual aids, no idea of how bending is supposed to look or work. The first time she ever sees actual waterbending movements is when she steals the waterbending scroll from the pirates. The first time she meets another waterbender is when she reaches the North Pole, where within weeks she outmasters pretty much everyone and goes on to teach the Avatar.

Everything she does is so incredibly impressive, and yet I can’t help but feel the most proud of her when she catches a fish on that little boat.

#iroh’s content and comments #atla #avatar: the last airbender #i was actually thinking about Sokka and how his opinion on bending changes throughout the show #but this turned into a Katara post anyway #I’ll leave my Sokka thoughts for another day

[zuko-always-lies]

Iroh’s finest moment--at The Crossroads of Destiny

I’ve written many, many negative posts about Iroh in the past, but here I want to talk about what I regard as Iroh’s most positive moment in the series,  although I’m not sure what exactly his thought process was. In the Catacombs below Ba Sing Se, after Azula has struck down Aang with lightning, Iroh interposes himself between the fire siblings to allow Katara to escape with Aang before allowing himself to be captured, essentially sacrificing himself for their sake.  I consider this to be Iroh’s finest moment since his aid to the Gaang in the “Siege of the North” seems to have mostly inspired by his knowledge that killing the moon would fuck over literally everyone in the world, including the Fire Nation, and he didn’t seem to expect to face the consequences he ended facing over that, while Iroh’s actions in the series finale were a writing mess. Here, though, Iroh seems to have sacrificed himself to protect the Avatar and his friend.

Why did he do so, though? Iroh tends to be very passive, and his overriding concern in the first two books tends to be protecting Zuko.  He was in fact OK with Zuko hunting the Avatar for all of Book 1.  Book 2 Iroh makes almost no comments which could be interpreted as anti-imperialist, and makes no such actions, at least before this moment. In fact, as recently as last episode, Iroh was urging Zuko to be content with a quiet, peaceful life, instead of urging him to save the world.  Now, not only does Iroh want Zuko to help Team Avatar “restore balance to the world” or whatever, when Zuko rejects this, he’s willing to apparently sacrifice his life to help them.

What’s the meaning of this change, of this sudden sacrifice? Why did Iroh decide to do this, especially with the Avatar likely dead? Maybe he assumed that Azula would capture him and not kill him, and that he could easily escape whenever he wanted? Maybe he was basically throwing his life away to manipulate influence Zuko? Maybe Iroh didn’t realize that Aang had been directly struck be lightning, so he thought giving his own life to protect the Avatar was a worthy trade? Maybe Iroh thought the Avatar was probably dead, but he felt personally obligated to protect Katara and Aang since he had personally allied with Team Avatar? I find the last of these possibilities the most likely, and the most compelling.

#Iroh #Iroh meta

[metalwarrior22]

Take What You Want

Read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/XgtBnRF by BigMack42 Korra Taqqiq wasn't always the underdog. Before her accident, she had been one of the best motocross riders her age and she had been close to getting into the class A races. After three long years of recovery, it took her almost another year to work her way back up to the top. And now she was the underdog, ready to dethrone the Queen of Motocross: Asami Sato. Sato was the three-time winner of the WMX class at the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship. Korra couldn't stand her. She couldn't stand her when they were in B class together as teenagers, before her accident, and she certainly couldn't stand her now. A well timed comment to her competitor has surpring results, but things are never as simple as they seem. Will Korra be able to win the championship? And what will happen after that? Will Korra finally get a factory to sponsor her, like she had been trying for? Races, smut, drinking, depression, love, and heartbreak all ensue while Korra finally learns the true meaning of strength and Asami learns to stand in her truth. Words: 3824, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Avatar: Legend of Korra Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M Characters: Korra (Avatar), Asami Sato, Mako (Avatar), Bolin (Avatar), Opal (Avatar), Huan (Avatar), Wing (Avatar), Wei (Avatar), Kuvira (Avatar), Baatar Jr. (Avatar), Baatar Sr. (Avatar), Suyin Beifong, Hiroshi Sato, Iroh II (Avatar), Amon (Avatar), Tonraq (Avatar), Senna (Avatar), Tenzin (Avatar), Jargala Omo, Jet (Avatar), Kai (Avatar), Jinora (Avatar), Prince Wu (Avatar) Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato, Korra/Opal (Avatar), Korra/Kuvira (Avatar), Mako/Prince Wu (Avatar), Bolin/Opal (Avatar), Baatar Jr./Kuvira (Avatar), Jinora/Kai (Avatar), Baatar Sr./Suyin Beifong, Iroh II/Asami Sato, Senna/Tonraq (Avatar) Additional Tags: Motocross, Motorcycles, Racing, Motocross Racing, Motorcycle Racing, dirt bikes, Lesbian Sex, Explicit Sexual Content, Explicit Language, Injury Recovery, Minor Violence, Enemies to Lovers, Smut, Family Drama, Hiding, Secret Relationship, Fuck Boi Korra, Strap-Ons, Jealousy, Self-Esteem Issues, minor alcohol abuse, Dom/sub, Sex, Depression, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), sexual awakening, Korrasami - Freeform, Korrasami Is Cannon, korrasami is endgame, Alternate Universe - Racing, Alternate Universe - Sports, Hiroshi is nice here, Competition, Eventual Happy Ending, Coming Out, Sexuality, Sex Toys, Korrasami centric, hiding relationship, Sexism Read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/XgtBnRF

#Ao3KA

[nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice]

Any more Toph & Zuko headcanons? (In the family/friendship sense!) I absolutely LOVE this dynamic and makes me wish there was more content on them together!!

well well well

if it isn’t an opportunity to discuss my favorite BROTP of all time... 

The first night at the temple, Toph was planning on going to Zuko’s room at night to get back at him for burning her feet, but found him still awake and extremely anxious. Instead of getting back at him, she went to ask what was up and when he deflected, she debriefed him on everyone’s names and stuff he should know about them so he would have an easier time getting on their good side. 

When Toph found out that Zuko was the Blue Spirit, his coolness factor went up by 20 in her books and she was just glad that somebody there appreciated committing casual misdemeanors as much as she did. 

On Zuko’s third day at the temple, Toph asked him to carry her to somewhere because her feet were still burned. Everyone else, including Zuko, was super confused as to why Toph was showing so much trust for him and she just brushed off their concern with “he’s the one who burned my feet in the first place, he’s the one who’s going to carry me around, deal with it” 

When the gaang crashed at the Ember Island house, Toph spent as little time inside as possible because most of it was made of wood and she couldn’t tell where she was going. Zuko picked up on this and 1. helped her find the general layout of the house without saying anything about it (and she did the thing where the clings onto people’s arms when she can’t tell where she’s going) and 2. also spent as little time in the house as possible because he just didn’t like being in there. 

One night Toph was practicing her sandbending and Zuko came out to watch her. She asked if he could help her practice and he agreed, not knowing that ‘practicing’ meant burying him under the sand so only his head was poking out. 

Zuko got back at Toph for this by tricking her into eating some extra spicy fire flakes (aka saying they were too spicy for her knowing that she would eat them to prove him wrong). This was one of her few regrets in life. 

Toph convinced Zuko to try and create glass with their combined bending. They accidentally created a small crater on Ember Island. 

Zuko is Toph’s favorite person to cling onto when they’re riding on Appa because he’s got that firebender warmth and he’s constantly regulating his breathing and she can focus on that to help calm her down 

After the war, Toph didn’t want to go back to her parent’s house and just kept making excuses about why she needed to stay in the Fire Nation to back Zuko up on the whole Being the New Firelord thing. Eventually, he picked up on the sense that she didn’t just want to stay to support him and asked her what the deal was. She opened up about not wanting to live with her parents and he was like “okay please stay here as long as you want, you don’t need an excuse.”

Zuko is one of the few people who is allowed to carry Toph on his shoulders. She likes clinging onto his head because his hair is super soft. 

Toph knew about the whole ‘where Zuko got his scar thing’ from hearing passing comments about it in the Earth Kingdom. She kind of just assumed it was common knowledge (which we’ve seen it kind of was in Zuko Alone) and kind of just assumed the gaang knew about the whole thing. This was part of the reason why she thought he was trustworthy and didn’t understand why the rest of the gaang wouldn’t believe him when he told them he had cut himself off from the Fire Nation. 

Toph was the one to escort Ozai to prison because of her metalbending and beat the crap out of him once she got the opportunity “for hurting Sparky.” She did not tell Zuko about this. 

Zuko makes Toph tea when she’s obviously upset about something. When he’s oblivious to her being upset about something, she’ll request tea as a nudge that ‘hey something’s up right now and I need to feel better’ 

After Zuko got shot with lightning, Toph metalbended the door to his room so he had to stay in bed. 

Toph returned to Earth Rumble later on just for a little bit. Zuko secretly attended her matches and fucking loved watching his friend kick everyone’s ass. He made a Blind Bandit sign to wave around. 

Iroh was the one who showed Toph what it was like to have a parental figure who believed in her abilities while still wanting her to accept the love and support of other people out not out of the notion that she was helpless, but just because people cared about her. (Similar to how he showed Zuko that the love a parental figure should be unconditional). Toph spends a lot of free time with Iroh. The three of them have many family dinners together. 

They go back and forth with threatening each other with “if you don’t start taking care of yourself, I’m going to tell Uncle” 

When Toph finally decided to confront her parents about how they treated her, she brought Zuko as backup and had to hold him off from just decking Lao in the face. 

Toph likes to bring Zuko to crappy plays so she can listen to his commentary on them 

Toph and Zuko have the kind of friendship where they’re comfortable just sitting in a room not talking, just enjoying each other’s company while they do their own separate things. 

I don’t necessarily have any particular headcanon for Toph’s sexuality, but if she were to come out as anything, Zuko would be the first person she’d tell 

Toph was Zuko’s Best Woman at his wedding

#toph and zuko: brotp #toph beifong #zuko #atla #avatar the last airbender #bitchlord ozai #iroh #headcanons #the babes are asking #their friendship is just really special to me okay #hot leaf content

[innocentimouto]

Personal stuff

People make Zuko into poor innocent angsty soft always good was taught better by his mother everyone should love him how dare anyone not baby boi

And I say let them.

Hear me out.

I like to look at a blog as a semi-public journal, made for oneself and other likeminded people. And once you do that, it’s not exactly reasonable to try to go into their journal and scribble on pages about why they’re stupid or ruining the fandom.

And even when I find it annoying that they woobify Zuko, because my whole point of liking him was that he was abused and acted out in anger and that’s a rare depiction of abuse in children’s media because it’s messy and not easy to deal with in real life like he was cruel to Iroh and felt entitled to things because he was royalty he stole from Song and we never see him feel guilt over that and he was angry let him be unreasonably angry exactly what are you saying about people with anger issues

Even if I dislike when people take all that away and use the defense that ‘you think being soft isn’t masculine’ when that isn’t the point, even then, if you look at their posts just talking about Zuko (and not demonizing other characters, which some don’t), they’re so happy.

Is it weird to feel happy for them? Like I got into the fandom late. I always saw numerous Zuko fics but each time I lost interest because he wasn’t Zuko. He never did anything messy that made me interested in his character in the first place. So I just got out of the fandom, but so many people are fed up with others always talking about him and making uwu fics.

But it’s genuinely amazing that so many people, from across the world, can get together and gush about something they love. If it’s in their own space, then don’t attack them.

It may be irritating to me that they’re changing a character. At the end of the day though, what exactly are we supposed to do? Attacking them accomplishes nothing, if you somehow forget they’re actual people and we should never do that in the first place. There’s much more merit to people making their own posts against those misconceptions because more people will see it and not worry too much about getting caught in drama.

(And you won’t ruin other people’s fun, which I think we should consider more even with people we disagree with.)

Also, on a more extreme side that’s not really specific to anyone, it may help to remember that if someone goes as far as to call a 12 year old a rapist or sympathize with Zuko or Azula but call Jet an irredeemable monster, or some other extreme take, then it is very unlikely anything we say to them will change their mind. Better not waste energy and your happiness on those people and focus on producing content to counter that.

Since it’s entirely fictional, I think people should be able to change a character if they want to. (Personally I just wish they acknowledged that and didn’t attack others for sticking to canon. Or reducing characters because they erase the flaws but keep the reactions of the rest of the cast, which can only result in demonizing them.)

I understand the urge to see your favorite character in everything, to never shut up about them, to consider writing them in numerous different situations. And I find it very freeing to watch people get happy talking about Azula, Zuko, etc because it’s their blog, their hobby, their words.

This is coming across as strangely at peace with it all when in reality I get so fed up with all the Tim Drake fics that put down Dick or Damian or any other character. Or just how he straight up steals their character traits, their backstories, etc, in the comics.

My solution to that isn’t ideal as I’ve essentially stopped reading most fics in the DC fandom.

But I still hate the idea of commenting on those fics to point out why I hate them, or going to Tim Drake blogs to tell them how much I hate his character. Because why?? Those are people. I may disagree with them strongly, but ultimately I wouldn’t want them jumping onto my work and putting down my favorite characters.

It’s a work in progress, but I think I’ve managed to get to the point where I feel happy for anyone who gushes about a character, fanon or otherwise, so long as they don’t reduce other characters as a result.

#Atla #anti fanon zuko #Zuko #Should I tag this zuko critical? it's basically canon though #anti Tim Drake #DC fandom #sort of unrelated

[azucanela]

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

AFTER | SOKKA X READER

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

WORD COUNT: 10k

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When she’d found out from Fire Lord Ozai. 

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

Maybe she was just a little bitter about it. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Irony at its finest.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Debatable.” 

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

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

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

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

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

“And I’m a bad person?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was not a one time thing. 

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

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

She’d demonstrated that in the Northern Water Tribe. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Y/N had contemplated killing Zuko before. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zuko wouldn’t walk away from that fight. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sokka raises a brow, “for what?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She started avoiding him after that. 

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

Just a little. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Leave. Her. Be.” 

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

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

“My first girlfriend turned into the moon.”

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

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

Zuko raised his brows at Sokka, “us?” 

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

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

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

He really needed to talk to her. 

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

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

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

Play dumb, play dumb, play dumb.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, he didn’t. 

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

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

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

Maybe. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I love you.” 

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

And then she was falling. 

It appeared there would be no after.

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

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

No, she wouldn’t be dying today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yeah, after was looking pretty good right about now. 

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

anyways take care of yourselves!

taglists:

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

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