#toph on the other hand finds it delightful

[comradekatara]

How would Sokka rank Gaang members in terms of how often they give him migraine ?

LMFAOOOOOO well.

obviously as his little sister, it is katara’s god-given duty to give sokka as many migraines as possible. every day he sits there while she yells at him until she tires herself out, and he’s just used to that. not to mention her propensity to become infatuated with obvious cult leaders, shady characters, and/or greasy & terrible boys; her staunch belief in astrology and other such nonsense; her proclivity to jump headfirst into danger without considering the consequences on the basis that it was “the right thing to do” (god katara don’t you know morality is relative?); the constant drenching him in freezing cold water and smacking him over the head whenever she feels like it; and of course the fact that she is constantly loudly lecturing him and all of their friends on what she deems the “proper” way to behave. though of course, sokka has also been known to give katara migraines, usually due to his extremely frustrating condescending attitude wherein he loves to imply that katara possesses no logical faculties, but lest we forget “the cactus juice incident.” although then again, to sokka, he thinks it’s a fair tradeoff considering that he was only Like That for 24 hours tops, whereas katara, aang, and toph are Like That every waking moment of the day. he has yet to share this judgment with katara though, as he knows she would only smack him over the head for it. such are siblings.

aang generally gives sokka migraines on the basis that he is katara’s #1 enabler, and therefore constantly helping katara exacerbate the migraine she is currently giving sokka. that said, sometimes he has been known to (attempt to) rein katara in, which sokka greatly appreciates. aang also gives sokka migraines separately from his katara-worship though, such as when he thinks it’s funny to prank sokka first thing in the morning, refuses to follow the very practical route sokka mapped out for them due to his desire to ride a large animal or something like that, or ignores sokka’s logical advice and careful planning because he wants to have “fun.” plus, when aang got momo, he promised that momo would be his pet and his responsibility, but it soon became increasingly clearer that aang only likes momo when momo is being cute, and momo sees sokka as his primary caregiver. as if sokka didn’t see that coming. but his complaints are pretty superficial, if we’re being honest; he loves that little lemur.

toph revels in her role as sokka’s best friend in the world and also giant pain in his tuchus. although honestly, he mostly finds her attempts to annoy him on purpose endearing, and what really spurs on the migraines are her inane and frequent fights with katara, which always end up affecting him in some way or another, despite his being a neutral party dammit! unlike aang, who gives sokka migraines by being katara’s #1 enabler, toph gives sokka migraines by being katara’s #1 detractor. also, she is constantly punching him in the arm, which is still better than a smack to the head, granted, but considering how frequent these punches are, he’s beginning to worry that the bruise that has formed on his bicep might now just be permanent.

zuko is simultaneously katara’s #2 enabler and her #2 detractor. they are either always doing something ridiculous and dangerous together that sokka has to put a stop to before they hurt themselves and/or others, or they are fighting over something completely trivial because neither of them know how to give up on anything ever, whereas they’re great at escalation. also they’re constantly whispering to each other in a way that makes it obvious that they’re talking about him, which wouldn’t even bother him if not for the fact that they’re constantly like “sokka stop listening we are having a private conversation!!!!” to which sokka has to promise them that he couldn’t care less about their conversation and therefore was definitely not listening, and remind them that it’s not actually a private conversation if they’re sitting right next to him, on his bed, in his bedroom. that said, when zuko isn’t around katara, he’s actually usually pretty reasonable, and only gives sokka migraines on those days wherein he clearly hasn’t slept enough and doesn’t check his first instinct to yell and scream and shoot fire everywhere. but sokka has a simple solution to that, which is just to leave the room. #not his problem!

sokka is convinced that ty lee loves saying stupid shit on purpose just to annoy him specifically. for example, what the FUCK is an aura. like. it’s one thing for sheep like katara and zuko to buy into all that horoscope bullshit but ty lee??? he knows how smart she is why is she doing this cmon ty lee you’re better than this!!!!!

the only time mai has been responsible for sokka’s migraines is when she’s made him babysit tom tom, and even then he can hardly blame her for that because she is such a good partner in commiserating over their shared migraines that it basically cancels out.

suki is the opposite of a migraine-inducer. in fact, her mere presence is a palliative. katara and toph could be throwing rocks at each other, but all he has to do is look at her and his migraine abates. TGFS (thank god for suki) <3

#indistinctiveusername #asks #the gaang and #sokka #didn’t include azula here bc. well. it would be too complicated #also fwiw I think sokka finds mai less annoying than toph only because he had to travel w toph during the war #had mai been part of the group instead he probably would’ve found her annoying too #bc she would also inevitably beef w katara #and also just refuse to do things on the basis that ‘it’s gross and I don’t wanna’ #but as it stands sokka sees mai as nothing other than a sheer delight #bc she always agrees w him and is never not funny #(which is also true of toph but he never had to babysit mai either. her brother on the other hand) #katara&sokka #momo&sokka #katara&zuko #aang&katara #katara&toph #sokkaxsuki #okay yeah that’s who I’m gonna tag #shrug

[tickle-bugs]

Wait… ATLA… I need some zuko fics for suree!! ❤️

.. I know you’re not currently taking prompts at this time but maybe something to considerrrr when you arrree :3 hehe

zuko my beloved my skrunkly my sweet <3 headcanons for you as a treat <3

when Zuko snorts, a lil puff of smoke comes out his nose. I know it to be true. Iroh told me.

He has a rly sweet breathy laugh that sometimes goes silent prematurely. very giggle prone and he pretends to hate it, but if he actually did he would barbecue everybody so. checkmate.

This one might be a hot take but I feel like he might actually be great at pretending something doesn't tickle if it's one sensation in one place. I'm choosing this hill because I think it makes things so much funnier if the gaang is trying to catch him off-guard and can't. and he knows. and he's smug.

but, flipside to this coin, he's like a jumpy cat. if you do catch him off guard he will launch directly into the stratosphere and squeak. there's nothing he can do to recover.

if zuko knows you're going to tickle him he will giggle uncontrollably before you touch him, get mad that he's doing it, and then (rare phenomenon) angry giggle. very cute.

Zuko can't firebend if he's laughing because firebending needs air. When he throws his little tantrums or goes to do something reckless (and stupid), whoever is closest to him is quick to poke his sides and the air leaves him in this big woosh. If he tries to firebend (which he probably doesn't, he doesn't wanna hurt anyone), lil sparks come off his hands.

tickling Zuko is objectively funny because he curls up like a lil pillbug, but when you hit a bad spot he uncurls and every limb seeks violence. category six flailing event. Sokka comes back to camp with a black eye and Suki and Katara are ready for bloodshed, but he has to stumble through an explanation of why on earth he thought tickling Zuko was a good idea (worth it, no regrets. not pictured: toph smirking bc she could feel zuko's laughter reverberating through the ground)

mai does not know this about him until Ty Lee finds out. Mai takes full advantage and Zuko pretends to hate it with all his might.

i think if we're exiting the lil utopia bubble here for a sec zuko canonically probably hates being tickled. azula strikes me as the kind to torment him with it. but i'm choosing to remain within the bubble. i like the bubble.

zuko mirrors behaviors that he sees other gaang members doing to try and fit in. and i just. Zuko getting bold enough to poke someone and everyone is delighted because he's graduated to physical contact. and then he's like "why are you all looking at me like that"

i can one hundred percent see the gaang having like a 'days since zuko's last temper tantrum' counter or whatever. like as he mellows out it becomes harder to provoke him. Except one day Sokka goes too far and Zuko jumps him and everyone has a split-second fear that he's like genuinely snapped...until Sokka is shrieking and everything's fine actually. (the counter gets reset).

zuko and toph being touchy besties is everything to me actually and i like to think they are constantly irritating each other with lil pokes and stuff. toph likes to drape herself over Zuko at her own peril.

Aang sometimes won't take his training seriously because he's just not intimidated by Zuko anymore. Zuko's like. well. I can fix that. and aang Flees.

Zuko has so much respect for Suki and refuses to lay a hand on her and hurt her when they spar, but Suki's like. C'mon fireboy. Zuko remembers something about her that Sokka said in passing and he's like well! this will work! (i just have this visual of aang being like 'wow the kyoshi warriors are so cool zuko's so special getting to train with Suki'. meanwhile Zuko and Suki are in a tickle fight so intense that they've smashed and burnt furniture).

#my headcanons #ticklish!zuko #zuko #atla #he is everything to me your honor #i just finished s1 of korra so ive naturally been having lots of tender thoughts about the og gaang #these got long but i love using headcanons as a blueprint for fics so. im sure these will come in handy in the future wink wonk

[orangepanic]

What are your Fire Family ships? (Zuko, Mai, Izumi)

Not adding Iroh because well.

I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you.

I'll acknowledge this right off the bat: I am, perhaps, the only person in the entire fandom who doesn't have a Zuko ship because I am also the only person in the fandom who doesn't really care about Zuko. You'd think having fallen in love with his grandson I'd be into him, but I'm not. Toph was always my favorite Gaang member. I have a lot more thoughts on Toph ships.

I usually write Zuko with Mai because Izumi kind of looks like Mai, but this is mostly out of laziness. Maiko is fine. Good ship. But other Zuko ships are also fine and good. I have a lot of fandom friends who ship other Zuko ships with a passion and I have yet to find one that I'm really passionate about myself one way or another. I've even read some good Zhaoko. My default setting is crack. Someone please sell me on a good crack Zuko ship.

You include Mai, who isn't really Fire Fam unless you assume she's with Zuko. But my favorite Mai ship is hands down the crackship Mai/Piandao. Age gap knife ship! I love everything about this. Let Mai rebel and marry a kind older man and live in a mansion full of swords.

You did not include Azula. I adore Azula crackships as well. Azula/Joo Dee is my favorite I've written. There's a great Azula/Cupholder Girl fic. But of the more normal ships I'd probably say Sokkla. It's hot. Jetzula a close second. I like Azula with partners who could also maybe kill her back.

Izumi! Now we're in LOK territory, so I've thought more about this. Sadly still a likely unsatisfying answer because my main ship for Izumi is my own OC. Back before Izumi was a named character, Zuko's daughter was given a fanon name, Honora. Later on she became Izumi, but I decided I still liked the idea that Iroh II's mom was Honora. Ergo, Iroh now has two moms, Izumi and Honora, who have been happily married for 35 years. Honora is short, curvy, beautiful, bubbly FN noblewoman who loves food and fashion and tells Izumi to relax before she gives herself a heart attack. They're very good for each other. That aside though, I'm a fan of the crack ship I made up of Izumi/Hiroshi Sato.

And I do have an Iroh ship! Iroh deserves love, too. And he finds it... in Aunt Wu! Iroh x Aunt Wu is a total delight of a ship. There are also some great Iroh/OC ships where the OCs aren't mine.

#fire nation royal family #atla #tlok #headcanons #ships #all ships good ships #zuko #azula #iroh #mai

[attackfish]

more swamp bender korra? its such an interesting idea! it kind of reminds me of kyoshi

Continued from: [Link], [Link], [Link], and [Link].

1. A teacher always learns from their student, and the first thing Toph learns is that Korra is nothing at all like Aang. She's brash, and loud, and when Toph tells her that earthbending is about standing her ground, Korra plants her feet in the mud like they're going to grow roots. If Toph didn't know better, she would think that earth was the girl's native element. She picks up earthbending so quickly that it almost makes Toph wish she could see what Korra would have been like turned loose with some badger-moles. And she reminds Toph a lot more of a little girl who learned earthbending from badger-moles than she does of that girl's first student.

2. Korra presents a problem for Toph. Oh, don't get her wrong, Korra is a delight, and wonderful, and the best kind of trouble, which is to say the kind Toph can encourage and give ideas to, and then hand back to her parents so that they can deal with any resulting mess. But she also presents a problem. And that problem is that Toph ran away to the swamp to get away from the world and its demands. So what does the universe do? It sends her the Avatar, a child, who by the simple fact that she is the Avatar, brings the world with her.

3. And Toph is no idiot. She knows a blatant sign from the universe when she sees one. The universe wants her to stop skulking around in a swamp, so the universe sent the freaking Avatar to her, along with parents telling her that nobody outside the swamp believed them when they told them their daughter was the Avatar. Toph resents this. She wants to be clear about that. She resents the universe interfering in her business in this way. And it's not like she's ever been inclined to want to do what she's supposed to, or what other people think she should do, and this just makes her want to do it even less. So she's going to play around with Korra in the mud for now, and the universe can just wait.

4. On the other hand, it occurs to Toph that when Katara hears about how the Omashu White Lotus chapter reacted to Tonraq, she is going to be furious. And she is probably going to come right down to Omashu give them a piece of her mind, on her way to the swamp. There are few things as entertaining in the world as listening to Katara chew somebody, as long as that somebody isn't Toph, out. And if Toph plays her cards right, Katara will totally allow her to sit in. Hmmm. Okay, the universe wins. She'll tell Katara about the Avatar.

5. Sure enough, Katara is OUTRAGED at the stupidity, arrogance, and cruelty of the Omashu chapter of the Order of the White Lotus, and she kindly informs Toph that she will be leaving on the next ship, and that the journey usually takes roughly fifteen days, And she will send Toph a letter by messenger hawk, now that she knows were Toph is hiding, as soon as she has gotten to the port, after which it will be only a day's journey for each of them to Omashu. Katara knows her so well. When Katara's second letter arrives, Toph packs up and travels to Omashu as fast as her earthbending will take her. She braves the city, an outright assault on her senses after her solitary life in the swamp, and finds her way to the little White Lotus chapter house. Katara is already there, drinking tea, and listening, apparently sympatheticly to the staff of the Omashu branch telling her all about the tedium they have to deal with in a provincial city like Omashu, why they even had a man from the swamp in a few months back trying to say that his daughter was the avatar. Can you imagine. Toph grins wolfishly, throws herself down on the bench next to one of Katara's unsuspecting victims, props her muddy feet up on the table, leans back against the mud brick wall, and prepares for a show.

#legend of korra #korra #katara #toph #tonraq #posts i created #do you want to ask a question it doesn't have to be a question #five headcanons #korra is the polar bear puppy of my heart #katara is the answer #a little toph love

[bard-llama]

WiP Wednesday: Dragon Mama Zuko

Okay, so I have this new ‘verse that I’ll start posting tomorrow (under a side account, but apparently I’m terrible at keeping things separate, so...)

Anyway, the premise of this series is that the Masters (Ran and Shaw) choose Zuko to help repopulate the dragon species. Zuko is not delighted about this, because he basically ends up pregnant with a dragon egg. Anyway, here are some of my favorite scenes because I’m still stuck on Ch 2, but am working on Ch 8, so... yeah. Set during/after The Firebending Masters. Also, this thing is at 20k, so there are a lot of scenes here oops.

TW: eggpreg, crack treated (moderately) seriously 

Shaking himself, Sokka shouted for the others and headed towards the main landing they all gathered on. Appa would probably land there.

There were three odd things he noticed immediately. 

One – Aang was standing in the saddle while Zuko was actually the one holding Appa’s reins. 

Two – Aang’s voice was exasperated as he insisted, “your balance is still messed up, Zuko. You’re gonna fall. Just let me–”

“I’m not gonna fall!” Zuko snapped angrily, jumping down. He did manage to stick the landing, but like… barely. There was definitely some wobbling that Aang hurried to stabilize.

Three – Zuko looked… weird.

“Uh,” Sokka said. “Welcome back?” Was he supposed to ask about the whole weirdly big belly thing or–?

“Hey Twinkletoes, hey Sparky!” Toph called loudly, stomping into the area. Then she paused. “Uh, Sparky, why do you have two heartbeats?”

“What!?”

Well, if they were gonna acknowledge it…

“Better question,” Sokka said, “why do you look pregnant?”

Zuko flushed bright red and huffed out an irritated breath.

“Technically…” Aang started, and Zuko glared at him.

“Aang!” Katara raced to their sides, immediately pulling Aang into a hug – and not so subtly checking him over for any bruises or burns. She didn’t even notice the weirdness of Zuko’s whole look until she was satisfied that Aang was safe and turned to glare at her favorite person to hate.

Then she blinked. 

“What the fuck!?” she blurted out, and Sokka and Toph both led out scandalized gasps.

“Watch your language, Sugar Queen!” Toph scolded, a grin tugging at her lips.

“Seriously, though,” Sokka waved emphatically to gesture to the weirdness of this, “why does Zuko look pregnant? Aang, did you knock the Fire Prince up?” he joked.

Both Zuko and Aang turned scarlet. “What!?” they yelped, oddly in sync. “No!”

Sokka paused. “Wow. That was very convincing. So I repeat my sister’s sentiment: what the fuck?”

“Sparky, are you really pregnant?” Toph demanded. “Where’s the other heartbeat coming from? It’s kinda… weird. Though I guess I haven’t sensed that many pregnant people’s heartbeats.” She frowned in consideration and Sokka suddenly saw an involuntary trip to find pregnant people in his future.

“...sort of?” Zuko said weakly. His face was so flushed that steam was literally starting to rise from his head, which was honestly kind of awesome and hilarious, but Sokka valiantly maintained a straight face.

“You said you were going to an abandoned island,” Katara said, an edge in her tone that was moderately menacing, even though Aang was fine and Zuko was the one somehow pregnant.

A year ago, Sokka never would’ve believed this could be his life.

Aang cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Yeah, so um. The abandoned island was not so abandoned. Also, turns out there are still dragons! Two of them, in fact. And um. No others. Yet. But there will be. Now. ‘Cause of Zuko.”

Zuko groaned, covering his face. His ears were still burning red. 

“...what?”

“Hold on.” Toph had a look of horrified delight on her face. “Are you trying to say that Sparky got knocked up by dragons!?”

Aang shrugged and Zuko let out an annoyed sound, dragging his hands down his face and gritting out, “more or less.”

“What!?”

“Hey guys,” Haru’s voice from behind them made Sokka jump and he whirled around to see their three other companions. “Everything okay?”

“Um.” Was okay a word that could be applied to this situation? “Zuko is pregnant with a dragon,” he said blankly.

Zuko sighed.

“...I’m sorry, what!?” 

Sokka could see the moment Haru, The Duke, and Teo got a good look at the Fire Prince, because their faces turned to a confused kind of fascination. 

This time it was The Duke who swore. “What the fuck?”

Katara gasped. “Who taught him that word!?”

“Katara, you literally said it like half a minute ago,” Sokka pointed out. The answer was most definitely ‘Toph and Zuko’, because they swore like sailors and egged each other on, but there was no need to remind Katara of how much she hated Zuko.

She never really forgot.

“...weren’t you going to learn firebending or something?” Teo asked slowly.

Zuko huffed a breath, then answered. “Yeah. We went to the Sun Warriors temple – and apparently they didn’t die off thousands of years ago. They are also hiding the last dragons in existence.”

Sokka needed a moment to digest that, but Zuko went barrelling ahead.

“The Sun Warriors – who are dicks, by the way – claim the dragons chose me to help repopulate the species because fuck me, I guess and blah blah blah fate and destiny and bloodlines and shit. So, um. Yeah, I’m pregnant with a dragon’s egg. No, I do not want to talk about it.”

“I have… so many questions,” Sokka breathed. 

“Too bad,” Zuko snapped. “Did you manage to hunt anything while we were gone?”

A little later:

Haru raised his hand. “Can we go back to the part where he’s pregnant?”

“With a dragon!?” Teo added.

“No.” Zuko’s voice was final. “Is anyone allergic to peanuts?”

Slightly later:

“Um. Okay? I’ll… go do that?” Zuko suggested awkwardly, more than aware that they preferred to keep him in sight.

Sokka glanced at the others. Yeah, they needed a moment alone with Aang. “Go ahead,” he encouraged and Zuko’s eyebrow arched slightly, but he didn’t question it, instead slipping away to get the supplies from his room and head to the kitchen.

Or – trying to slip away. Apparently Aang’s comment about his balance wasn’t unfounded because he ended up running directly into the wall.

Sokka tried very, very hard not to laugh as Zuko swore loudly and emphatically. And creatively, with several suggestions of what the Sun Warriors and the dragons could do with themselves. Was that even anatomically possible?

“Zuko!” Katara hissed, covering The Duke’s ears. The Duke wiggled out of her grasp, looking like he’d been gifted a present. Toph’s face was mildly impressed and highly amused.

“Ugh!” Zuko threw his hands up in as close to a temper tantrum as he’d thrown since joining them and stomped off down the hallway, grumbling about dragons under his breath.

They all watched him leave for a long moment, then turned back to Aang.

Sokka decided to be the one to start. “What – and I mean this with all my heart – the fuck, Aang?”

Over dinner:

That thought was extremely uncomfortable, so Sokka quickly sought to distract himself. Fortunately, there was a very distraction-worthy source sitting right across the fire from him, next to Aang (which, actually, was kind of interesting, because usually Aang chose to sit next to Katara, and she stayed as far away from Zuko as possible).

“Soooooo,” Sokka drawled, calling attention to himself. He held out his hands and counted on his fingers, “you can cook, you’re pregnant, you’ve got longish hair – are you sure you’re not a girl?”

“Sokka!” Katara snapped at him and oops, okay, he could maybe see why that question annoyed her.

“Actually,” Zuko started and everyone turned to stare at him. He blinked. “Um. No. I am definitely biologically male. But uh, clearly,” he gestured unnecessarily at his rounded stomach, “I’m gonna need a disguise.”

“...what does this have to do with being a girl?”

“Because that’s the disguise,” Zuko said. “Obviously.”

Sokka blinked. “Wait,” he said slowly, “are you saying you would voluntarily pretend to be a woman? Why!?”

Zuko just shrugged, looking remarkably unperturbed. “Why not?”

That just made Sokka sputter in response and Katara pressed her lips tightly together to keep from acknowledging that she was on Zuko’s side in this.

“The Fire Nation doesn’t really have gender roles in the same way the Water Tribes do,” Aang said. “They’re not as loosey duck-goosey as Air Nomads, but–”

“Loosey duck-goosey?” Zuko repeated disbelievingly. “Seriously?”

Aang laughed. “I mean, we are pretty casual about it. And we have over fifty different words for genders.”

Zuko frowned. “Fifty? I only remember like… thirty?”

“Oh yeah, there’s–” Aang started to describe the Air Nomad perspective on gender, but to be honest, Sokka kinda tuned it out, more focused on his food.

Later in the conversation:

“King Bumi?” Zuko asked. “Of Omashu?”

“Yeah! He became King later, though. Not really sure how?”

“Omashu’s King is chosen by tourney combat,” Zuko informed them. “The idea being that the victor is the strongest earthbender in the world.”

“Welp, I’m gonna have to become a King now,” Toph announced and Zuko chuckled. 

“I think you actually have to do the job, unfortunately,” he told her.

“Eh, that’s what advisors are for,” Toph scoffed, and Zuko full out laughed at that.

Sokka suddenly realized that he’d never heard Zuko laugh with anything except bitterness before.

A serious moment in the same convo:

After a moment, Aang asked, “would Azula really hurt her? Aren’t they friends?”

Zuko sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “With Azula, familiarity actually makes it worse.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s…” Zuko paused, thinking about his words. “When she’s interested in you, she wants to see you react. If she doesn’t care about you, then as long as you don’t inconvenience her, you’re safe.”

“That’s not how siblings are supposed to be!” Aang burst out and Zuko scowled at him, but he turned to Sokka and Katara. “Tell him!”

Katara lips quirked into a mean little smile. “I dunno,” she said. “If he was my brother, I’d happily drown him.”

Sokka winced. He got that she hated Zuko, but jeez.

Zuko just nodded, though. “She tried once,” he said casually. “Usually she was more of a fan of smothering, but I’d told her how Father saved me from drowning when I was five or so and she got jealous.”

“Your sister tried to drown you!?” Haru asked shrilly.

“I was just glad we were on Ember Island and not at the palace,” Zuko said as if nothing was the matter. “By the time we got back, she lost interest in that, so the turtleducks were safe.”

“...turtleducks?” Sokka asked with great caution. Zuko was being way too casual about near death experiences.

“Oh, um,” Zuko flushed, clearing his throat. “There’s a turtleduck pond at the palace. I spent a lot of time there. But it can be dangerous if Azula knows you care about something.”

“Why do you care about someone like that?” Aang demanded. “All she does is hurt you!”

Zuko just stared back blankly. “She’s my sister.”

“And Ozai’s your father,” Sokka pointed out. “So what happens when we face him?”

Zuko froze, face unreadable. “Are you asking me to help murder my father?”

“No!” Aang cried out. “We can stop him without killing him!”

“Really?” Toph asked bluntly. “How?”

“I–” Aang faltered. “I don’t know. But we have to.”

“Why?” Katara said, voice level. “If anyone deserves to die, it’s him. Think about all the death he’s caused.”

Aang shook his head. “I can’t take a life. I can’t.”

Sokka noticed Zuko closing his eyes, looking pained. So he wasn’t wholly shocked when Zuko spoke, but somehow he still really was.

“You… might have to,” Zuko whispered.

“What?”

“He–” Zuko swallowed hard. “He’s my Father. I don’t want you to kill him. But he – he won’t stop. Not unless he’s stopped.”

“Then we find another way to stop him,” Aang said firmly. “I can’t kill him. I won’t. Air Nomads consider all life sacred. I can’t – I’m already all that’s left,” he said quietly, voice hoarse. “I can’t betray our teachings. I can’t.”

“Okay,” Sokka heard himself say before he knew he was going to. But fuck, it wasn’t like he could argue with that. “I’ll… try to think of something.”

Aang’s smile was watery, but genuine and it made the commitment worth it.

From a later chapter:

Zuko nodded. “If there were a lot of troops captured, I’m not sure where they’d keep them all. They might spread them out across different prisons. But the leaders – those they’ll keep at the Boiling Rock.”

“The what?”

“Boiling Rock,” Zuko repeated. “It’s the highest security prison in the Fire Nation and it’s located on an island in the middle of a boiling lake inside a volcano. It’s inescapable.”

“Oh,” Sokka said, voice small. He chewed on his lip, thinking about what to do next. He had to rescue his dad. He had to. The entire invasion place was his idea and he’d made the call to keep going, instead of retreating when everyone would’ve made it safely out. It was his fault. He had to be the one to fix it. 

“I’m going with you,” Zuko said.

Sokka blinked. Could Zuko read minds? “What?”

Zuko sent him a flat lool. “You’re about to do something stupid,” he said, and before Sokka could deny it, he continued, “I recognize the signs. I’ve done a lot of stupid shit myself. But if you’re gonna do something stupid, be smart about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I inspected the prison for my Father about a month before the eclipse,” Zuko murmured. “Breaking out of the prison is impossible. However… it could be possible to break in. But not alone.”

Sokka was quiet for a moment. “It might be a one-way trip,” he whispered.

“Not if we do it right,” Zuko countered. “So let’s make a plan. That’s your thing, right? I can tell you what I know about the prison and its layout.”

Biting his lip, Sokka glanced back at the fire-lit circle they’d left. “I – I don’t want to tell anyone,” he said quietly.

Zuko tilted his head. “Why?”

“This was my fault. It’s my mistake and I have to fix it. I have to regain my honor.”

“That’s something I happen to know a bit about,” Zuko said with a wry smile. “And here’s the thing I learned about honor – it’s not something that you manage alone.”

Sokka frowned. “What does that mean?”

“Honor doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” Zuko said. “It comes from our actions and how those affect other people. And to treat those other people honorably, sometimes you have to ask for help.”

Scoffing, Sokka crossed his arms. “Sorry, are you seriously saying that?”

Zuko rolled his eyes, “I said it was something I’d learned, not something I figured out how to do yet. Anyway, the point is, don’t rule out the others’ skills and capabilities when thinking about how to do this. If you wanna keep it quiet, fine. But we should at least tell Toph.”

“What?” Sokka blinked. “Why?”

“Because she can help us build a miniature of the prison for you to use,” Zuko said. “But mostly because she’s already eavesdropping on us and will be pissed if we don’t.”

“Oh.”

A tongue clicked, “busted.” Toph laughed. “So, what can I do for you gentlemen?”

“Not sure Zuko counts as a gentleman,” Sokka muttered, covering his face. This was spiraling out of his control rapidly. 

“Hey!” Zuko looked offended. “Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I’m not a man! I mean, I’m not, but like, there’s no correlation!”

“What’dya mean, ‘you’re not’?”

Zuko shrugged, “I thought I was for a long time, but turns out, I’m not.”

“So… what are you?” Sokka asked, and even Toph looked curious.

“I think only the Air Nomads have a word for it,” Zuko said, “but I’m some flavor of nonbinary. They have more specific words, but none really felt right.”

“Nonbinary,” Toph repeated. “What’s that mean?”

“Mm, it can mean a lot of things, but for me, it’s like something in between man and woman? But also like, not part of the spectrum at all? I dunno, it’s kinda hard to describe.”

“Hmm. I like it,” Toph decided. 

“You should talk with Aang about how Air Nomads view gender,” Zuko advised. “I mean, like he mentioned, they have over fifty different words for very specific genders, so…”

“See, that much is just too overwhelming,” Sokka said.

“Yeah, that’s why I choose nonbinary,” Zuko nodded. “It can be an umbrella for a lot of things, but it’s also… simple. Er, I guess.”

“Cool cool,” Toph said. “By the way, you two sneaking off to talk looks super suspicious, so the others definitely think you’re up to something. Which you are, but we can’t let Sugar Queen ruin our fun.”

“...our?” Sokka asked with some measure of resignation.

“Yeah, I’m definitely coming,” Toph said. “You’re going to a big hunk of metal, right? So the world’s only metalbender might come in handy.”

“She’s not wrong,” Zuko pointed out.

The next day:

“What happened?” Aang asked, stepping further into the kitchen to stand between Katara and Zuko.

“I told him who gave me my scar,” Zuko said, something tired and resigned in his voice. Sokka was kind of surprised to discover that he didn’t like it. Zuko was many things, but defeated had never been one of them. 

“Oh.” Aang’s face did something complicated, shadowed with horror, grief, and heartbreak.

“So… should we ask who?” Haru ventured uncertainly.

Zuko’s lips twisted. “They can tell you,” he said, waving at Aang and Sokka. 

Then, literally in the span of seconds, he was suddenly gone. Sokka blinked, trying to figure out where he might’ve gone, brain lagging with fatigue.

Aang ran towards one of the huge open air windows that lit up the kitchen (sunrise had begun). “Zuko!” he shouted, something like panic in his voice.

There was an annoyed groan from somewhere above them. “I’m fine,” Zuko said, still sounding so utterly tired that it made Sokka’s body feel heavier in sympathy. “I’m going to meditate. You can skip today’s, but you’re doing extra sets. Find me when you’re done.”

Sokka listened hard, hoping he would be able to figure out where Zuko was, but once he finished speaking, there was no noise at all.

“How did he even do that?”

“Zuko’s a ninja,” Aang said seriously, slowing moving away from the window with a frown. “He did break into Pohuai, so he’s probably fine climbing around the temple. And he’s been here before…” 

“Why does it sound like you’re trying to convince yourself?” Toph asked.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up.” Haru held up his hands. “He broke into Pohuai Stronghold!? When? How?”

“What even is Pohuai Stronghold?” Sokka asked.

This time it was Aang who sighed explosively. “Okay, so, it was just a couple of weeks after I first woke up. We flew through a really bad storm, and Katara and Sokka got sick.”

“You made us suck on frogs!” Sokka said accusingly.

“...what?” Haru looked completely lost. 

“I found an herbalist nearby and she said that they had to suck on the frozen river frogs,” Aang explained. “So I went to go get some. But I was attacked and captured – by Zhao.”

Haru’s face showed no signs of recognizing the name.

“Admiral Sideburns,” Sokka provided.

“Ooooh,” both Toph and Haru said. 

“At the time, Zuko and Zhao were both hunting me. But even then, I don’t think Zuko would’ve ever strung me up like that and threatened – well.” Aang cleared his throat. “Um, so I was captured by Zhao and I couldn’t move like at all, not really. I would not have been able to get out of there without help.”

“You said it was Zuko,” Sokka murmured, “who saved you.���

“To capture you for himself,” Katara corrected.

“Maybe,” Aang shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll ask him some time. But whatever his reason, he helped me and he committed treason to do it. And I think it cost him, too. Did you know Zhao blew up his ship?”

“Wait, seriously?”

Aang nodded. “Um, anyway, Zuko rescued me from Pohuai Stronghold. He managed to sneak in, cut off my restraints – oh yeah, did you know he has swords, too? – and we almost got out without incident just by sneaking. Zuko is like really good at sneaking. And I’ve seen him scale a building, so climbing up the temple shouldn’t be that hard.”

“...he literally walked into a wall yesterday,” Haru pointed out.

“Yeah, but that was because – oh monkeyfeathers! He’s still pregnant!” Aang slapped his hand to his face, then leaned out the window and called, “Zuko! Come back! You’re gonna fall!”

There was no response.

“Should we… look for him?” Sokka suggested slowly, not quite sure how worried he should be.

“Eh, he’s fine,” Katara sniffed.

“Relax, Twinkletoes, he really is fine,” Toph announced, wiggling her toes. “And honestly, if he’s already compensated this well for the new weight distribution and shit, then I wanna see what he’s like with swords.”

“You can’t see anything,” Sokka said, extremely proud of himself for catching the joke. But his amusement faded as he thought about it. “Neither can he. Er, I mean, not from that eye, anyway.”

“Oh.”

A little bit later in the same convo, but after Aang leaves:

Sokka sighed, catching Haru’s eye over his sister’s shoulder. He jerked his head slightly to the side and Haru nodded, quietly slipping away.

“Katara,” Sokka said. “Talk to me.”

“About what?” she asked, a mulish twist to her mouth that indicated she knew exactly what.

“I get being mad at Zuko. I get not liking him. But–”

“But you’re being a bitch,” Toph said bluntly.

“Excuse me!?” Katara screeched. “Have you forgotten what he’s done!?”

“I remember,” Sokka said. “I can also see that the Zuko who’s here with us now is miles different from the Zuko that crashed into our village. Which he even apologized for.”

Katara scoffed.

“You just learned that a kid had his face burned off by his father,” Toph said, “and your response was to call him stupid. Yeah, you’re being a bitch.”

Sokka held his hands up placatingly, “look, we’re not asking you to be friends. But could you maybe lighten up a little? Where’s the girl who faked Appa being sick just to help some Fire Nation villagers, huh? You said you’d never turn your back on anyone who needs you.”

“Zuko doesn’t need me,” Katara spat. “And I wouldn’t help him if he did!”

“We all know that’s a lie,” Toph said.

“No, it’s not! He’s – he’s – he deserves–”

“Don’t you dare finish that, Katara,” Sokka warned. “He told me he can’t really see or hear on his left side at all. He said he was used to it and that the dragons must’ve healed him because he isn’t in pain anymore. As in, he’s been in probably constant pain for three years, Katara. I don’t care what he’s done, you can’t wish that on anybody.”

Katara swallowed hard. “He’s the face of the Fire Nation. He’s everything I hate about them,” she whispered.

“Is he, though?” Toph asked, voice surprisingly gentle. “Or is that what you want him to be so that you can hate him?”

Katara didn’t answer.

Okay, I think that’s all for now lol. Hope you enjoyed!

#atla #dragon mama zuko #chronic pain zuko #wip wednesday #mpreg #technically

[outpastthemoat]

I posted 6,201 times in 2022

That's 1,331 more posts than 2021!

336 posts created (5%)

5,865 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@gffa

@wrennette

@peony-pearl

@quiobi-art

I tagged 6,185 of my posts in 2022

#atla - 2,051 posts

#zuko - 725 posts

#obi wan kenobi - 569 posts

#important things - 546 posts

#obi wan and anakin - 238 posts

#diana wynne jones - 206 posts

#sokka and zuko - 205 posts

#spn - 177 posts

#howl's moving castle - 176 posts

#iroh and zuko - 165 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#*qui gon high on space weed describing like. the soundwaves of the force to his long suffering padawan* 'ah yes....the force.....evervesent

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

can’t get over zuko’s ba sing se look and how his clothes mostly fit him, but are just the SLIGHTEST bit too big. 

the shoulders of his tunic are just a little too broad to fit him perfectly.  the sleeves are just a little bit too long and often fall over his hands.  the cut of his tunic is just a little loose and the extra fabric bunches up over his waistband.  the collar of his tunic comes up just a little too high on his neck.  his hair is just a little too long and has begun to fall in his eyes.

it’s quite a contrast to zuko’s book one look, where he wore the same military uniform as his fire nation crew and looked like an adult.  someone else pointed out that his time in ba sing se is the only time zuko looks like he’s eating well.  his face has lost some of gauntness it had during his wandering through the earth kingdom and his cheeks are rounded out from having regular access to food.  

this:

See the full post

5,074 notes - Posted March 27, 2022

#4

personally i feel that the happy medium between “zuko knows zero cursewords” vs. “zuko knows cursewords that would send toph into frenzies of delight and cause aang to astroproject himself straight to the spirit world” is “zuko can, if suitably provoked, swear with the mouth of a sailor on leave, but would never dare curse in front of iroh because he’s been brought up to have better manners than that, and shocking and disappointing his elderly uncle by the liberal application of foul language is a line that has not yet occured to zuko to consider crossing” with the addendum of “and zuko learned the filthiest and most shocking turns of phrase while listening to iroh playing pai sho with lieutenant jee in the boiler room when they thought he was asleep in his cabin”

5,827 notes - Posted July 12, 2022

#3

personally i think there should have been at least one episode where sokka collects aang and zuko and is like, “looks like we’re running low on supplies.  time for a GUYS-ONLY field trip.  three days of hunting and fishing and polishing our swords.  y’know, manly warrior stuff.  (aang, sotto voce: actually sokka i’m a vegetarian as you know--)  you girls have fun sitting around braiding your hair and talking about your crushes” and then the entire episode is just zuko and sokka lying around by a river, plucking blades of grass and staring up at the stars confiding in each other their deepest feelings and most secret insecurities while aang braids flower crowns, and whenever the screen cuts back to katara and toph and suki, they’re fighting and screaming and hacking away at river pirates and evil spirits and legions of assassins and hired mercenaries with swords.  you know, as girls do.

and when the boys finally drag themselves back to camp (they stayed up way too late discussing what true leadership really means and whether or not power always corrupts)  they find suki and toph and katara lounging around with black eyes and fresh bruises and bloodstained weapons and sokka shrieks, “what were you guys DOING while we were gone???”  and karata just shugs innocently and says in her sweetest voice, “oh, you know.  just girly things”

8,232 notes - Posted September 19, 2022

#2

there’s a little detail that i didn’t notice about “the blue spirit” when i first watched it.  when zuko returns to his ship after his misadventures at ponhuai, avatar-less and honorless and still puzzling over aang’s speech and having made an enemy of zhao and probably severely concussed, iroh is there on deck.  

music night happened the previous night.  and yet it’s morning when zuko returns, and iroh is still playing the tsungi horn on deck.  

iroh waited up all night for zuko to come back.  

it’s such a small detail, but speaks volumes about their relationship.  iroh not only allows zuko to sneak out in order to free the avatar in order to preserve his chance at regaining his honor, iroh actually subtly encorages zuko to free aang from ponhuai, even though he clearly knows that there’s every possibilty that zuko will be caught by zhao and iroh will not be able to save him.  

as the guardian of a teenager, iroh’s influence over zuko is limited.  iroh must allow zuko the freedom to chase after the destiny he thinks he wants, iroh cannot always protect zuko or keep him out of danger, iroh cannot even demonstrate affection to zuko in the way he would clearly like to because zuko is too hurt and guarded to be able to accept it from him - 

- but iroh can wait up for him.  

iroh can sit up all night, just to make sure that zuko gets home safely.  

and it is such a striking element of their relationship, because I waited up all night for you becomes the unspoken love language by which they communicate caring and affection for each other.  

iroh waits all night for zuko to return safely from ponhuai stronghold. iroh stays up while zuko sleeps on the ferry and waits up for zuko to return home from his date with jin. iroh sits up all night watching over zuko when he is sick and feverish.  

See the full post

13,964 notes - Posted April 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

one of my personal favorite dichotomies in atla is how iroh, once the top strategist and highest-ranking general of the fire nation, now directs all his energy and considerable tactical experience towards attempting to keep his teenage nephew from throwing himself into life-threatening situations AND IROH REGULARLY FAILS TO PREVENT HIM FROM DOING SO.

he lead a six-hundred day siege and now iroh can't keep up with a sixteen-year-old armed with two swords and a passionate deathwish. zuko's motto is "act first, think never" and he's running rings around his uncle. it's like!!! who's gonna come out on top, iroh's west point education vs. zuko's deep and abiding commitment to always choosing the stupidest possible course of action, and zuko manages to win every single time

31,094 notes - Posted May 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[lifewtr]

Don't Cout Me Out | M for Mature | 13/?

Summary: Incomplete ZK fic ideas (12: Katara thinks that Zuko is hilarious).

Katara has met Mai a grand total of three times—over shared lunch, over shared coffee, and then the one time she’d been walking out of Toph’s place looking thoroughly kissed, while she had been walking in with five-flavor hangover soup. Needless to say, each occasion had been a relatively good one, though it certainly helped that she liked Mai, who was gracious and curt and wonderfully witty in a way that surprised her. In a way that brought a rare, thousand watt grin to Toph’s face.

She has never met Mai like this before.

The place they pull up to is one of the more popular lounges in Ba Sing Se, one with a line that wraps around half of the block. If she weren’t familiar with Toph’s penchant for grandeur from years of friendship—or familiar with the weight of her own prestige—she would most certainly feel out of place coming here.

Toph has Rei let them out directly at the front doors, where they are immediately stopped by security for skipping the line. Stopped, with Toph just about to give the “do you know who we are” spiel by the look on her face, until a woman in a training summer dress of swirling maroon and gleaming gold jewelry quickly swoops in, parting the throng of security down the middle with her mere presence.

“They’re with me,” she announces shortly, not sparing the guards so much as a glance. The smallest of smiles lifts her red lips. “Toph, we’ve been.. Wow. I can’t wait to get you out of that.” It’s Mai, Katara realizes, recognizing her voice with a note of shock as Toph’s ears dust pink. “Katara,” Mai greets her, cool hazel eyes glinting, “I like your shoes—if you’re headed to the rodeo, that is.”

Next to her Toph coughs into her fist, no doubt fighting off a snort of laughter at the jab. Katara saves her curiosity for the dinner table—because the way security moved aside was very telling—and only steps a leg out to show off the shoes in question, happy to give what she gets. It’s just another reason why she likes Mai so far.

“Just as well,” Katara smirks back, “I’ve always loved a long, hard ride.”

One of the guards blushes and then promptly returns to line duty with a shake of his head. Toph’s snort escapes with a burst of laughter, and Mai lets out a quiet chuckle to match, beckoning them forward, inside, as her gaze brightens and her lips part for a quip in return.

It isn’t her mouth that the response sounds from.

“Can you?” Comes the rumbling, smoky timbre, and in the next second Katara finds herself looking over Mai’s shoulder and into a pair of intense golden eyes, set into sun-touched pallid tones and a sweep of comet red. “Can you ride in them, I mean.”

Katara slowly arches an eyebrow at the man stepping out from behind Mai, who is now hiding an even wider smile than before behind her hand.

“Sparky!” Toph greets. She hops forward and gives the newcomer a solid punch on the arm, a sign of genuine affection.

Katara’s brow only climbs higher in disbelief. “This is Sparky?” A smirk pulls at her mouth as she appraises the man again—open tailored maroon suit with only a black tee underneath and about as much gleaming gold on him as Mai. “I thought Sparky was a pet dog.”

It’s Mai’s turn to snort, a burst of raspy laughter bubbling out of her. Toph cackles, and to Katara’s delight a dusting of pink spreads across the man’s unmarred cheek.

“Ah. A dog,” Mai wipes away a fake tear, her smile full and her hazel eyes bright with a certain glee, “among other things Katara,” she chuckles, then, turning to introduce them properly, “Zuko, Katara. Katara, Zuko. Please be this entertaining at the table. Now c’mon. The sooner we eat, the sooner I can leave with my girlfriend.”

Toph cheers—“Hear, hear!”—and accepts Mai’s hand with a blinding grin. Katara moves forward, content to let them lead, content to let Zuko decide when he wants to break the proverbial ice, but he surprises her by silently offering his arm and easily matching her stride.

Her steps falter at his proximity; as she stares at the man’s offered arm—not upset about the dog thing?—and then stares up at him. She hadn't thought much about it when he was next to Mai—Mai was tall in her own right, and next to Zuko the difference didn’t look like too much—but now that he’s next to her, she can see that Zuko is tall. Tall enough to make her tilt her head back enough to be annoyed, even in her heels. He’s dreadfully handsome, even with the mark that she currently can’t see—did he purposely choose to stand at her left?

Spirits, Katara’s thoughts instantly derail as she gets a whiff of his cologne and nearly drools. Damn. Wait. I might actually be done for.

Zuko chuckles at her pause, and Katara suddenly has to press her tongue against the inside of her cheek because how unfair is that sound coming from that voice?

Zuko’s brow flicks up; drops down as he watches her. The corner of his mouth curls back in the tiniest flash of pearly whites. He never once lowers his arm.

Katara’s insides come to life with a miniscule flutter.

“I don’t bite,” Zuko says pointedly.

If Katara knew any better, she’d say that the tone was almost playful. The flutter in her gut kicks up a notch. Not to be outdone, or to make a fool of herself, Katara slides her arm through his and gives his bicep a friendly pat; resumes her interrupted stride.

“Unless,” she says breezily, eyes forward.

A beat of silence, and then Zuko chuckles again, the low, quiet sound as warm as breakfast honey and just as thick. The rumble of it pours right through her, oozes down her spine and settles heavily into her belly.

Damn.

***

“So.” Katara lifts her flute of freshly poured champagne and cooly settles her eyes on Mai, who sits diagonally from her across the table. “How long has it been since you broke up with him and why are you dumping him on me tonight?”

Him being Zuko, whose stare she can now feel burning a hole into the side of her skull. “Aww shit,” Toph starts from her place at Katara’s side, “going in with a banger aren’tcha Sugar?”

“Well.” Mai’s hazel eyes glitter; with approval or simple acknowledgment, Katara can’t exactly tell. “He broke up with me in highschool—”

“—and I invited her, thank you very much.”

“And you still finish each other’s sentences.” Katara’s gaze swivels away from Mai to catch Zuko taking a large sip of his drink, something dark and amber in a crystalline tumbler. “Very cute. Y’know, not many people stay friends with their ex. I’m guessing you guys go way back?”

Intense sunrise eyes meet her unabashed stare. Before, Zuko’s eyes had seemingly blazed, much like the morning sun they so deeply reminded her of. Now, as he regards her from behind his glass, she ponders how she’d never thought that gold could appear so very.. cold?

“Decades,” he answers her gruffly, curt; with something unreadable gleaming in his sharp look, “you’re not one for much tact, are you?”

“Excuse me?” Katara nearly snorts. “You’re friends with Toph.”

“Point: Sugar Queen.” Toph snickers. “She’s got you there, dude.”

Mai raises her brows. “Sugar Queen?”

“Better than Sparky,” Katara assures her with a chuckle.

A smile suddenly breaks across Zuko’s face, aimed right at her. Katara glances at him with a note of confusion as she sips her champagne—something about his smile is deceptively off. Like he’s trying to show her his teeth without showing her his teeth.

She can’t help it. Slowly, she smiles back.

“Gods,” Mai drawls with silent mirth, “get a room.”

Toph lets out a peel of laughter as she playfully makes a lewd remark. Katara slants a coy look at Mai as she fixes her mouth to retort with something snarky, even as her heart takes on a hard thump at the very thought of Zuko, who she cannot deny is insanely attractive, alone with her—“Are you sure?” She wants to say, ”I wouldn’t want to ruin your old reputation or anything,”—but fate has brought them their waiter, who has brought them the first course of their meal along with another bottle for the table.

A collective hush falls over their group at the appearance of steaming hot food. Katara reminds herself not to trade bits and pieces from Toph’s plate to hers, not wanting to take the chance away from Mai, but their talk hovers comfortably around the topic of entrees for a moment as she quietly describes the contents of Toph’s plate to her.

Mai catches her eye curiously as she does, though her conversation with Toph does not stray. Katara merely gives her a nod and a soft smile, understanding that Mai wants to understand what it is she’s doing for her best friend, and understanding that she’s only watching so carefully so that she’ll learn. It makes Katara’s heart warm, and she secretly awards the woman more brownie points for her attentiveness.

By the time Katara chances a glance at Zuko again she has to force down a startled jump of her shoulders, lest her bite of rice go down wrong. Zuko is already looking at her, features half hidden behind his drink again, the blaze from before returned to his sunny gaze. His lids are hooded, and he meets her stare without so much a lazy blink—meets her stare as if he’s been observing her this entire time and has become quite content with the act. As if he has no qualm with being caught, or holds no intention to stop.

It makes a fine sheen of heat sweep in a cold-hot wave across her skin underneath her dress.

“Something on my face?” Katara teases.

Zuko’s gaze narrows a fraction, something she would’ve missed were she not paying attention. Abruptly, she realizes the possible implication of what she’s just said. “Oh, no,” she scrambles, resting her chopsticks. Her brows snap down, her eyes widening in horror; for all of her banter, she never once truly meant to insult him in any way. “La. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“It’s fine.” Zuko stops her with a little shake of his head; a tiny thing of a smile as he flicks his gaze over her. “Really.”

Katara pauses. She isn’t so sure that he’s talking about her blunder as much as he is her, and it makes the fluttering in her gut return with a crash.

Oh. Is he..?

Toph nudges her foot gently under the table, a familiar, encouraging gesture. Katara almost turns away to ask her best friend if she’s lost her mind because nobody said anything about this, but Toph hasn’t stopped her chat with Mai in the slightest. She only nudges her again, this time somewhat impatiently.

Tui on ice, Katara thinks, is she actually trying to set me up?

She blinks down at her plate, then to her drink, mind going a mile a minute as she absently picks up her chopsticks. Was this not what she’d been longing for just earlier, before getting dressed to show up here? Having someone to fool around with? Having someone else bring her to completion for once? Has she.. has she been extra cranky because of it lately? She certainly didn’t think so, but stranger things have been known to happen and—wait! Even if she was, why wouldn’t Toph just tell her plainly like usual instead of—?

Toph nudges her foot again, just as she remembers that this dinner was a bring-a-friend-for-my-friend thing; that Zuko had admitted that it’d been him to invite them, which could only mean..

Ah, she concludes as she sips her champagne, I suppose I am here for him.

Katara flits her gaze up and finds intense gold, set into a sweep of red and aristocratic angles over sweetly tanned ivory; has a brief flash of an image of that blazing stare above her. Below, and then looking up with a certain sort of reverence.

A shiver works its way down her spine.

Fuck it.

“... Yeah, okay, sure,” Katara starts—if this is happening, then it better be worth her time. Zuko might be unfairly blessed in the looks department, but it didn’t count for everything. “Tell me a joke,” she demands of him casually, “I’ll give you two chances to make me laugh.”

“Agni.” Mai stops mid sentence to let out her own bark of a laugh just as Zuko’s brow arches neatly towards his hairline. “Is she always like this?”

“Fortunately, yes,” Toph grins merrily, proudly, no doubt relieved that Katara has finally caught on, “it’s the exact reason why we’re even friends.”

“Only two?” Zuko asks, amusement obvious in his smoky timbre. The blaze in his eyes seems to brighten as his smile widens a fraction. It’s that same strange smile from moments before, only this time she’s pretty sure she’s got a clear idea of what it means. “I’m not sure that’ll be enough,” Zuko continues, “I’m not really that funny. Not a single funny bone in my body. It isn’t something that runs in my family.”

[Read the full chapter on AO3!]

#zutara #zutara fic #atla fanfic #atla #avatar the last airbender #zuko x katara #*** #someone make me finish writing this #better yet someone adopt all of these lol

[vvienne]

ZUTARA FIC RECS

(Don’t) Follow Me Down by eleventy7

Katara is the dread queen of the underworld, ruler of the dead, destined to reign her cold kingdom alone. Until a sun god catches her eye.

they call you refugee by akaiiko

Zuko goes into exile with a scar, a mission, and a wife.

The girl wears ill fitted ceremonial silks. She is too thin, with jutting bones and hollowed eyes. Dirt smudges her cheek. Her lower lip has a healing split in it. Gaudy as her finery is, she wears it like prisoner’s rags.

All of this Zuko registers in the time it takes him to reach the dais and bow. Every muscle aches with the remembrance of what happened the last time he knelt before Father. This time there is no begging, no roar of the crowd, no burning. Still—Zuko’s grateful to stand once more.

Slipping into soldier’s parade rest, he waits for what will come next, all too aware of the girl’s defiant body next to his.

“I am told that this is Katara of the Southern Water Tribe,” Father says, cruel amusement oiling his words. The phrasing makes the girl sound like a thing. “The last waterbender of their pathetic tribe.” Flames conceal all but his shadow, yet Zuko knows from long experience the exacting blade of his father’s smirk. The smirk he must surely wear now. Because he has built up his insult and now he lets it fall. “Your bride.”

the poison leaves bit by bit by paintingcranes

After the war, Katara struggles to breathe.

She’s always known who she is and what her duty was - now she hasn’t got a clue. She didn't realize that learning to live, after just surviving for so long, would be this hard.  

OR: Katara falls in love with Zuko, but first she learns to love herself.

OR: Katara travels the world, Zuko supports a political revolution, Aang faces his trauma, Toph accepts help from her friends, Suki inspires other women, Sokka leads, and everyone heals.

Pulse by damagectrl

The war of conquest comes to a crashing halt when the death of Azulon puts brother against brother, with anti-war Iroh claiming victory.  A young Zuko escapes capture and flees to the former colonies, hiding out for ten years, evading his uncle’s men.

While Zuko was prepared for any Fire Nation detectives and soldiers after him, he finds himself grossly unprepared for a waterbending prodigy turned bounty hunter who has yet to fail to bring in her target.

Practice by ama

Post-Ember Island Players, Zuko and Katara discuss boys, the kissing thereof, the inherent confusion of adolescence, and why love is like fish.

a deep delight of the blood by eruthros

"Me. You could practice on me. If I'm telling you that you can do it, it can't be wrong to practice - just in case - "

The Simple Joys of Tying Up Boys by Letterblade

“So, uh, Suki,” Katara says, worrying at one elbow with her other hand and trying not to let her face light on fire. “Can you teach me how to tie up boys?”

Lovable by LadyCharity

Zuko knew that he could not save Azula. He could only try to forgive her. Fittingly enough, those two were one in the same.

The Scourge of the Mo Ce Sea by ajstyling

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and with one look at her face he understood the truth of her words. She would kill him and not lose a minute of sleep.

---

Following the destruction and conquest of their home by the Fire Nation, the Southern Water Tribe turned to piracy in order to survive. Katara, Scourge of the Mo Ce Sea, the most infamous of the Southern Water Tribe pirate captains, devises a plot to capture and ransom the Fire Lord's son, but quickly realizes that Zuko is nothing like she expected.

The Worst Prisoner: The element of change (Book 1) by emletish

What if Sokka was there during the events of the Blue Spirit? What if he accidentally kidnapped Zuko? It's not a poor life choice of it's an accident, right?

Once Around the Sun by eleventy7

Later, Katara can see how it all fell apart. Azula in her cell, growing roses; Zuko surrounded by enemies, slowly dying; their friends in the Earth Kingdom, safely escaping. And herself at the centre of it, saving lives and breaking promises. Set after finale, eventual Zutara.

The Blackfish and the Dragon by ama

Katara grew up in the Southern Water Tribe under the tutelage of Hama, the only waterbender ever to have escaped Fire Nation captivity. When Zuko arrives at the South Pole, seeking the Avatar, they are more than ready to defend him. Iroh watches as his beloved nephew throws himself at the ice walls again and again in an impossible siege–-and resolves to do anything it takes to save his nephew from himself. With the assistance of the Order of the White Lotus, he deposes his brother on the Day of Black Sun.

A week later, the Southern Water Tribe receives a petition for peace, and a proposal of marriage.

Fire On The Ice by Dyce

Lu Ten survives the siege of Ba Sing Se, and Iroh returns home to depose the usurping Ozai. Determined that no more sons or daughters will die in war, he begins peace negotiations with the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes.... offering Zuko and Azula, his secondary and tertiary heirs, as marriage-pieces. Zuko is offered to the Water Tribe... specifically, to Hakoda and his daughter Katara. Mild smut.

Journeys by Smediterranea

Katara, in her final year of medical school, spends her time studying and working without having very much fun. That might change when she meets another workaholic named Zuko... Modern AU Katara/Zuko, with a sprinkling of the other members of the Gaang throughout.

“This tea is delicious,” she says politely.

“I didn’t make it,” Zuko says. “I’m not allowed to handle the tea.”

“Not allowed?”

Zuko flushes and rubs the back of his neck.

“I told Uncle Iroh that tea was just hot leaf juice when I was a teenager and he’s never let me handle it since.”

Catalyst by devNdev

Zuko is captured by the Dai Li in Ba Sing Se. While held in the darkest part of the Crystal Catacombs and certain all is lost, unexpected visitors arrive. Uneasy alliances are made and the motivations behind them are quickly tested. Zuko must fight to survive and heal, facing uncomfortable truths and lies, answering the big questions, and finally fighting his greatest enemy yet.

An end of Season 2 AU leading into Season 3.

oracle bones by orphan_account

The foreign, pictorial characters that bracelet Zuko's left wrist have never been covered in any of his lessons. He cannot read them.

And then he turns thirteen, and his father burns his wrist along with his face.

like we're made of starlight by Naladot

Katara leaves her post as the ambassador to the Fire Nation to take up a new one as the ambassador to the Northern Water Tribe. Her absence makes Zuko realize that he's got an unfortunate crush, which he is determined to keep secret. Unfortunately for him, subtly has never been one of his strengths—especially when he arrives in the Northern Water Tribe and she keeps taking him on what seem to be dates.

side of the highway by visibleworlds

“Why the fuck,” Katara asked, “were you making an omelette at three in the afternoon.”

—

Zuko moves, tries to repair his relationship with his sister, almost burns the house down, and falls in love. It’s a grand time.

The Perfect Color by ParadiseAvenger

A Soul Mark could be left for any kind of love—familial, friendly, romantic, pure, fantastical. Each color represented a different bond between the people that touched skin-to-skin. The colors stayed the same until the death of that person. Then, the Soul Mark would turn grey.

Katara had never seen someone without Soul Marks.

But Zuko’s skin didn’t have colors—it only had scars.

#zutara #zuko #katara #atla #atla recs #fic recs

[comradekatara]

the hardest thing about raising zuko for iroh is that he is simply too much of a chad to understand zuko’s sexual repression. emotional repression? yeah, he gets it. he was raised in the same environment, after all. but zuko looking like he wants to die when iroh informs him that jin is into him is just. completely new territory for iroh. yes azulon raised him to be a ruthless general but it’s not like that ever stopped iroh from getting mad pussy. he never had this problem with lu ten bc lu ten was also such a fucking chad. but no one ever gave iroh a handbook on how to raise sensitive gay boys, and for that reason alone iroh embarrasses zuko daily. smh uncle, smh

#iroh #zuko #lu ten #azulon #iroh&zuko #iroh&luten #sort of #we know nothing about lu ten but what i do know is that theres a 100% he FUCKED #its in his genes #wait i just realized zuko is the only non-chad in his friend group #sokka? obvious chad. suki? DUH. katara? absolutely. aang? hes only twelve and hes already got game (so... papaya excluded) and toph too #meanwhile zuko is romantic but hes simply too repressed! #and the more iroh tries to encourage him the more he retreats into his shell #scarred by uncle giving him The Talk ... with many ...colorful metaphors #nooooo uncle please why this uncle anything but this 😭😭😭 #toph on the other hand finds it delightful #which zuko is also appalled by bc shes babie #toph calls him a prude

[zukosgal]

Day 6: Zutara From Other’s POV

Just a short and silly fic about Toph and Sokka getting up to some ~shenanigans~

“You know, Zuko’s wound is probably healed by now,” Toph said, loud enough for Sokka to hear but not Aang. This was Toph’s not-so-subtle way of getting his attention, because she knew Sokka couldn’t resist the juicy possibility of gossip, especially involving his sister. He slid over and leaned entirely too close to Toph’s ear to whisper – she was blind, after all, not deaf.

“I don’t know much about healing or magic bendy water, but every other time she’s only needed to heal them once. Why does she need to keep going back to his tent?”

“Maybe because he took a lightning bolt to the chest,” Suki said, startling them both. “He nearly died. I’m sure it’ll take more than one session to heal.”

“Yeah, sure,” Toph huffed. “I don’t buy it. She sneaks in there an awful lot. And last time when I caught her leaving I asked how Zuko was doing; her heart rate shot up. It was definitely a law, I just don’t know which part of it was a lie.”

“Maybe he’s dying,” Sokka said somberly, and Suki hit him upside the head with a sharp twack.

“Don’t even joke about that,” she said, though the venom of the threat wasn’t there. “Look, you two are going to get into trouble, nosing around the way you do. Leave me out of it.”

Suki went back to the fire, and Sokka turned back to Toph. He had a conspiratorial grin stretched across his face, and though Toph couldn’t see it, she just knew it was there.

“How about we do a little reconnaissance tonight?”

It was something he wouldn’t have to ask her twice.

-

The plan was simple – they would set up outside Zuko’s tent on a stakeout, and then wait. Toph wanted to ambush them, but Sokka wasn’t on board with that plan – at least, not yet. He wanted to wait it out, see what was going on. If she was really just going to heal him, then it would just be embarrassing for him and Toph to admit they had been spying in the hopes of finding something more scandalous.

They had to wait until the moon, full and bright, was nearly at its highest point. Certainly an odd time to be paying a visit just to heal. Sokka and Toph were perched behind a rock, where Toph could feel every step and Sokka could hear hushed words coming from the tent.

“What are they doing? I can’t understand them!” Sokka hissed, and Toph swatted him away.

“Dunderhead, maybe you can’t hear them because you won’t shut up. Would you just concentrate?”

Sokka grunted but relented, straining his ears in an attempt to make out the words. He could hear a few – “healing” and “scarring” and some other words about bending he didn’t really get. It went like this for about fifteen minutes, and Sokka could feel himself dozing off. He was glad Zuko was doing fine. He could still remember the horrible first minutes when he’d heard Azula and lightning and “saved me”, Katara tearfully recounting the story of the last agni kai (though not so tearful, he noticed, when it got to the part where she just wrecked Azula). At first, he’d thought he was dead, the new Fire Lord, the surprise friend he never thought he’d have. To find and lose the person who’d helped him rescue his father – it was like when Aang had nearly died in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se.

To his relief, that hadn’t happened, and now the heir apparent was roughing it up with them, instead of living in the castle. Because he needed constant supervision for his wounds, and Katara was the best healer he knew, so of course he could follow her around for a few months. Anything to get the best care he could.

The voice had gone quiet, and Sokka stretched as he let out a yawn. He assumed that Katara was about to return to her own tent, her work done. Nothing particularly exciting, but playing spy had been fun. That was, until Toph grabbed his wrist and yanked him down again, head so close to hers they nearly collided.

“Sokka, they’re kissing,” she hissed, the delight apparent. Sokka felt his cheeks grow red. He knew is sister had kissed Aang before, would kiss in general, but it was always weird to be reminded of it.

“Are you sure?”

“Oh, I’m sure they’re doing more than that, but I don’t think you need to know what my feet are hearing.”

This was enough to drive Sokka over the edge. How like Toph to make it as uncomfortable as possible! He’d take his trusty boomerang and he’d prove Toph wrong. With an expert throw, the boomerang slid between the tent flaps and hit one of them with a satisfying twak. He would guess it was Katara, with the high-pitched yelling that followed. Her appeared, a dark red blotch forming on her forehead and her eyes filled with murder. Her hair was mussed, as if – as if hands had been tangled in it.

Sokka realized simultaneously that Toph was very, very right, and he was very much a dead man. At least he had a head start as Katara gave chase.

#zutara month #zutara month 2021 #zutara month day 6 #zutara

[queenmagnusao3]

Bedtime - Lin the Babysitter

“Meelo! Get down from there this instance! I swear if you wake your brother after I just spent an hour getting him to fall asleep I will-“

Lin was cut short by the young airbender hopping down from the roof and landing, very expertly, on Lin’s shoulders. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth got very thin in obvious annoyance.  Meelo crossed his arms on the top of her head and rested his chin on them.

“Where are your sisters?”

“IKKI, JI-“

Lin’s hand shot up and quickly covered the airbender’s mouth.

“What did I just say about waking your brothe- ugck!”

She pulled her hand back down, shaking it furiously.

“Did you just lick me?”

He giggled in response, thumping his heels against her metal chest plate. Having had enough, she grabbed him by one ankle and pulled him from her shoulders so he was hanging upside down in front of her. He laughed uncontrollably and she lifted him up so she could look him in the eye.

“Now you listen to me. We’re going to find your sisters and then it’s time for you all to go to bed. Do you understand?”

“No!”

He wriggled against her grip and Lin felt her stomach drop for a moment when he slipped out of her hand. It was short lived, however, as she was quickly reminded that he was an airbender. He merely twisted around mid-air, landing on his feet like a cat before immediately taking off in the direction opposite the house.

Lin let out a loud groan, throwing her head back in frustration. How did she EVER let Tenzin convince her to babysit his herd of brats. He and Pema had wanted to have night to themselves for the first time since the kids had been born and somehow they had thought she was the best person to keep the children in line. They had sent Meelo to try and sweet talk her and she cursed herself for being unable to say no to his toothy smile as he fed her some bull about her being his hero or something.

As she watched him running farther away from her she made mental note to never fall for his antics again. Deciding that it was best to act before he was completely out of her range she stomped her foot to the ground. Too distracted to be paying much attention to his surroundings, Meelo quickly found his entire lower body encased in earth, his hands trapped by his sides.

“No fair!”

Lin couldn’t help but smirk as she slowly sauntered towards him.

“Meelo, what did you do?”

“She said we have to go to bed!”

“But I don’t want to go to bed!”

“Ikki, Meelo, the sun is setting. You know that means it’s time for bed.”

“Jinora, just because you’re the oldest doesn’t mean you’re the boss of us!”

“No, but I am.”

Jinora and Ikki were walking up one of the grassy paths when they came across their trapped brother.  Lin put her hands on her hips as she approached in an attempt to look more intimidating. She could regularly make grown men nearly wet their pants with a single glance but these kids weren’t even phased by her general authoritarian demeanor.

“B…but Aunt Lin! Why do we have to go to bed?”

“Because I said so. And don’t call me that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not your Aunt.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not.”

“Lord Zuko isn’t our dad’s uncle but he still calls him that. And he calls your mom Aunt Toph.”

“That’s because he had a close relationship with both of them growing up.”

Lin released Meelo from his earthen prison and made a motion for him to reclaim his perch upon her shoulders. He squealed with delight before launching himself back up, squeezing his legs tightly against her neck.

“No fair! I want to ride on your shoulders. Meelo always gets to!”

“Meelo, stop squeezing so hard. Ikki, you can ride on my back if you want, just don’t knock your brother off.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Ikki jumped into the air and latched herself onto Lin’s back. With Meelo on her shoulders there wasn’t much space for Ikki to hold on so Lin flicked her hand so one of her cables wrapped around the girl’s behind and crisscrossed over her back like a harness.

“Let’s go!!”

Lin looked over to Jinora with what she hoped was a sympathetic look.

“Sorry, I don’t have any other body parts for you to climb on, kid.”

“EW MEELO FARTED!”

Lin stumbled a bit as she tried to stay upright while Ikki struggled against her back. Meelo was laughing hysterically and kicked his legs hard against her chest. She and Jinora shared a look, both deadpan and completely done with the younger airbender’s antics.

“It’s okay. I prefer to walk.”

Twenty minutes later Lin had managed to get them all into bed. Not their own beds because apparently that was asking too much. Instead she had convinced Jinora to share their parents’ bed with her younger siblings. Lin had formed a silent alliance with the girl and she hoped she’d be able to keep them in line should they decide to rebel against bedtime… again. She carefully pulled the blankets up over the trio, pleading silently with the universe that they’d just go to sleep.

“Now, you all go to sleep and no getting out of bed. Or else.”

“Or else what?”

“Yeah! Will you throw us in jail?”

“Oh! I’ve always wanted to see what jail is!”

“Me too!”

Meelo was already halfway out of bed when Lin finally lost her temper.

“NO! You. Get back in that bed right now.”

She really did try to not use her police chief voice with the kids but she was just so exhausted and wanted nothing more in the world than for them to go to sleep. Then she saw the looks on their faces. Meelo was frozen, eyes wide as he stared at her. She hadn’t meant for it to come out so abrasively but then Ikki started to cry and she actually felt bad.

“Ikki, don’t cry. I’m sorry. I got a little frustrated.”

“It’s okay. We have been kind of bad, haven’t we?”

Lin, once again, felt bad for making the kids feel like she was upset with them. They definitely were a burden but she didn’t need to make them feel bad about it. They were children. She spent every day dealing with adults who behaved more poorly than Tenzin’s kids, she supposed she could give them a little leeway. She sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled at them.

“No. You haven’t been that bad. I’m just still getting used to looking after you. I don’t have much experience with kids.”

“That is painfully obvious.”

Lin looked to Jinora in surprise and found the young girl giving her a cheeky smile. Oh, she most definitely was becoming Lin’s favorite.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, kid. Now, back into bed. You really do need to go to sleep.”

“B..but I’m not even tired.”

Meelo yawned, not fighting Lin as she covered him back up with the blanket. Ikki already had her eyes closed and she walked around to the other side of the bed, making sure Jinora was comfortable as well. To Lin’s surprise the girl sat up and wrapped her arms tightly around her neck.

“Thanks for watching us tonight, Aunt Lin.”

Lin didn’t correct her this time, giving her a quick pat on the back before Jinora nestled back into the bed. She surveyed the three of them for a moment. They’re much cuter when they’re quiet. She quietly walked to the door, thinking she had finally achieved the impossible when…

“EW! MEELO!”

Ikki was yelling again while Meelo waved the blanket up and down wildly.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help that I’m so full of air. It just has to come out.”

Lin felt like crying. She really did. They had been so close.

“Meelo, Ikki, lay back down. There, the smell is gone.”

Jinora had taken control of the situation before Lin even had a chance to turn back to them. Sending a jet of air around the room to clear it of any unpleasant smells produced by her disgusting little brother. Ikki was still pouting and Meelo gave Lin one of his signature, toothy smiles.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Just… just please go to sleep now.”

“Wait!”

“What is it Ikki?”

“Tell us a story!”

“It’s way too late-“

“I’m sure we’ll all go right to sleep if you tell us a story.”

“Jinora, I thought you were on my team.”

She looked at her innocently and Lin let out a long sigh.

“Fine. I’ll tell you a story my mother used to tell me and my sister when we were kids.”

They all looked very excited as Lin sat on the edge of the bed again and cleared her throat dramatically.

 “The cats nestle close to their kittens,

 The lambs have laid down with the sheep.

 You are cozy and warm in your bed, my dear.

 Please go the fuck to sleep...”

Ao3 Link

#my writing #legend of korra fanfic #lin beifong #ikki #meelo #jinora #babysitting #I had the thought of what if lin read the go the fuck to sleep book #and this is the result

[attackfish]

AU where Zuko sends Ozai to "capture the Blue Spirit" in order to "regain his bending and honor" and the gaang orchestrates rumors and sightings in the worst possible places like the swamp and the desert and Ozai just has a shit time because I want to see him suffer :)

I try really hard for plausibility in my AUs, for honesty to the characters and to the world of Avatar: the Last Airbender, even while I change the scenarios of the characters' lives. I have seen the post you're referring to in this ask, and I love it. I find it hilarious and full of poetic justice, and extremely entertaining. But it's not plausible. And since that is so very much outside my wheelhouse, and I couldn't to justice to the prompt, I would like to talk about why it isn't plausible.

When Ozai exiled Zuko, he did something very stupid. To Ozai, Zuko was blight on his family, who made him look bad. He wanted him gone and suffering for that crime, so he threw him out. But Zuko was also Ozai's son and potential claimant to the throne. No matter how much Ozai wished to rip him out of the family root and branch, he remained a representative of it. He could both be targeted for some kind of humiliation to humiliate his father through him, or for capture, or could be taken in to be used as a figurehead for a rebellion, or he and his uncle could, outside of Ozai's supervision, plot a way to topple Ozai and take his throne. Indeed, it could be argued this is what actually happened in the show.

Ozai let his personal contempt for Zuko (and also Iroh) blind him to the danger. Baked into the action is the assumption that Ozai's view of his brother and son is and will be universal, that everybody will dismiss and scorn them as he does. Ozai is so deeply self centered and arrogant that he can't even contemplate other people seeing them differently.

But Zuko is not. Zuko would know what kind of damage an Ozai out in the world could do, the trouble he could cause, and the risk he would be in from all the people the world over who want him dead. And his friends? They have all suffered unimaginable pain at the hands of Ozai and the Fire Nation war machine he headed. Yes, much of that pain went back to Sozin and Azulon, but Ozai was the face they saw. I can't imagine taunting him would remain fun for very long. It would be so little and so petty compared to the pain and fear, that it would soon lose it's appeal, and at the same time, it's mean in a way none of them, except maybe Toph, are able to sustain long term.

This lack of plausibility doesn't make this premise any less delightful. It's just not a prompt I can do justice to, since my forte is exploring plausibilities.

#avatar the last airbender #zuko #ozai #posts i created #do you want to ask a question it doesn't have to be a question #zuko is a dweeby little turtleduck #noodle lord ozai #katara is the answer #sokka the meat and sarchasm guy #aang d'awww #a little toph love

[missmorosis]

Science Project

not requested hehe- enjoy my first enemies to lovers type thing sakldfjlkfsd!!! ILY ILY ILY <33

Pairing: Sokka x Reader

Genre: enemies to lovers baybeeeeeeeee

Word count: 1.4k :)

Warnings: okay uhm the reader has hospital trauma, BUUUT it’s told from sokka’s pov, so nothing is really described!! she does have some sort of a panic attack, so i would read w/ caution in case this triggers you!

Summary: Two enemies, Sokka and Y/N get partnered for a science project...

“Alright everyone, here are your partners for the upcoming science project.” The science teacher gestured to the board. Sokka squinted to see who he got partnered with. He hoped it was one of his friends, like Aang, or Suki. He would even settle for Toph.

Sokka and...Y/N.

Out of everyone in his class, he had to get partnered with the person he hated the most: Y/N. He didn’t even know why he hated her so much. It wasn’t the way she looked or anything; in fact, he thought she was actually quite cute. 

Sokka heard Y/N sigh next to him.

“Looks like we’re partners,” she said, with a sad tone.

“I don’t like this any more than you do.” She rolled her eyes and faced the teacher once again.

She sighed again when the teacher told everyone to work on their projects with their partner after school.

“At this rate, you’ll be sighing all day,” Sokka commented, earning another sigh from her. She shook her head and began to speak.

"I'll pick you up and we can work on it at my house," she offered. Sokka scoffed.

"Nope, no way I'm going into your home. We'll work at the library near my house," Sokka said. Y/N shrugged and headed out the door, getting to her next class.

Hours later, the final bell rang, signaling that the classes were over for the day. Sokka jumped out the door, relieved the day was over.

Oh. He still had the project to do. He cursed and luckily turned the corner to see Y/N walking by.

“Y/N! Hey, Y/N!” She turned at the sound of her name, but quickly turned around again, continuing to walk away as if nothing happened when she realized it was Sokka calling her. “We have the project, remember?” he called out. She froze, muttered something under her breath, and turned back around.

She reluctantly got into Sokka's car, and the two drove to their destination. However, they parked before they got to the library. Y/N looked confused.

"Why- why are we here?" Y/N gestured towards the sign saying "Ba Sing Se Hospital." Sokka rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm, leading her closer to the hospital, no matter how much she resisted. He tried to push her past the automatic doors; the smell of sanitizer and medicine was overwhelming even before they went in. He looked at Y/N, who was backing away, refusing to walk in.  Strange. She almost looked... panicked.

"I have a friend here that can give us some info for our project. Don't tell me you're scared of hospitals," he said, annoyed. No response. Instead, she turned around and walked the other way.

"Hey! Come back here," Sokka yelled. When she didn't respond, he rolled his eyes, and followed her. "Y/N, come on." He hit her side playfully, and she stumbled.

"Jerk," she muttered.

"Come on, I didn't even hit you that hard. Let's go."

"Uh- no. N-no thanks." Was her voice... shaking? Peering at Y/N, she seemed to have trouble breathing; her breaths were quick and uneven. Suddenly, she swayed to one side, almost toppling over and tripping on herself, making Sokka instinctively reach out to catch her. She leaned on the hospital’s exterior wall next to her, closing her eyes, still breathing heavily.

“What, are you faking?” he said with a scoff, but he couldn't deny that he was starting to get concerned. He got closer to Y/N. "Umm... are- are you okay?"

“Get... get off me...” she whispered, not having enough energy to speak up or completely push him away. Oh... she was actually not okay.

Sokka, despite her efforts to push him away, got closer, trying to see what was wrong.

"Sokka... I just told you to get off." She sounded tired, and her voice was quiet. Y/N was nearing tears, and Sokka was unsure how to respond. He chose to get off of her, and she huffed, but she rubbed her forehead, sighing. 

Y/N sank into the ground, sitting into a fetal position, now unable to stay standing, and she rested her head on her knees. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to get some sort of grip.

“Should- should I go get a doctor?” Sokka pointed towards the hospital doors. She shook her head, looking up breathlessly.

“No!" she yelled. Sokka gave a quizzical look, and she cleared her throat. "No... I’ll be fine.” She took deep breaths and wrung her hands, making Sokka frown. What's wrong?

"Would it be better if we went back into my car?" Sokka asked. Y/N nodded weakly, so Sokka helped her up, but her knees buckled, and Sokka raced to catch her again.

"Actually-" Y/N sat back down with a huff. "I- I can't walk right now, just... just give me a second." She ran her fingers through her hair again.

"O-oh. If you're comfortable, I can just carry you; you look like you're getting worse." It was true; Sokka was actually worried for Y/N, despite how much he claimed to hate her. She flinched when he reached out to her, making him hesitate, but eventually she nodded, and Sokka picked her up, bridal style.

Her body was shaking, and her chest was going up and down as she tried to breathe. They reached his car, and he placed her down into the passenger seat.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought you here. Do... do you have something with hospitals or something?" She stayed silent.

"Just... just a lot of trauma." Her eyes were looking outside the window, refusing to meet Sokka's. She cleared her throat, and quickly changed the subject, trying to get rid of the awkward tension in the car. "Any- anyways. Project?"

"Yeah, if you're up for it. Buckle up.” He drove to the library as quickly as possible. When he got there, there were no parking spaces. “Shoot.” He drove two streets down, finally finding a spot to park. “Sorry, it’s a bit far.”

“Alright,” she hoisted on her backpack. “Let’s go.” She hopped out of the car and started the walk towards the library. He sighed, and jogged to catch up with her.

Hours later, Y/N put her pen down and stretched, her chair squeaking. Looking at his phone, it was almost eight. 

“I’m finally finished. Now, enough of this, and just...” She paused, looking for words to say. “...Remember to prepare for the presentation tomorrow. I’m going home.”

“See you... try to get some rest?” his voice went up at the end, asking a question. She rolled her eyes, but this time, with a playful smile. Hm. An improvement. He smiled to himself as soon as Y/N turned her back.

The next day started like every other, except for the fact that Sokka tried to cut back on his mean jokes, replacing them with somewhat loving ones. Thankfully, the two did great on their presentation, and so did the rest of their friends.

“Great job today!” Suki chirped. “Let’s celebrate with... some cake at the bakery?” Y/N clapped in delight.

“Yes! I’ll be right there.” She quickly packed up her things and grabbed her backpack. She jumped up at the table, and started to walk. Sokka laughed and decided to grab her backpack strap, making her grunt as she fell backwards. He stuck his tongue out with a smile as she glared at him, and she gave a sarcastic wave as she walked away, Sokka following close behind.

The walk to the bakery was nice, fun banter going on between the group. However, they happened to walk past the hospital from the day before. Y/N stumbled at the sight, but quickly tried to laugh it off. Of course, Sokka saw right through it. Thankfully they were going to just walk past-

“Oh, real quick, I have to check something with my nursing friend, can you guys wait for me in the waiting room? It’ll be quick, I promise.” Katara smiled, as she grabbed her bag, ready to go. Y/N’s mouth made an “o” shape, and Sokka saw her tense up.

“Uh, hey, Y/N? Let’s go for ice cream while we wait?” He pointed to the nearby ice cream shop, and her shoulders relaxed.

“Oh- yeah. Yes, of course!” Her eyes said a silent thank you as he pulled her away.

“Hm, nice to see you two getting along!” Aang chirped. Y/N smiled, as her and Sokka waved goodbye, heading to the ice cream shop together.

SO THE LAST 500 WORDS OR SO MADE LIKE NO SENSE 💀💀💀

ANYWAYS hope that was alright hehe!!

taglist (send an ask to get added to my atla work!!)  @urmomoness @zuko-is-the-sun @busyforkuvira @appa-gaangnam-style @xxspqcebunsxx @akiris @welovediaaxx @ray-ofmoonlight @sokkaandzukosimp​ @u-4iia @sunnimochix @kaylove12 LOVE YALL SO MUCHHHH

#sokka x reader #sokka x you #atla x reader #atla x you #atla #sokka #sokka blurb #sokka oneshot #atla blurb #atla oneshot #sokka x y/n #sokka x yn #atla x yn #atla x y/n

[milkypompon]

𝕋𝕠𝕠 𝕃𝕒𝕥𝕖 | Reader x Sokka x Zuko

< ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕠𝕦𝕤 || 𝕊𝕠𝕜𝕜𝕒'𝕤 𝔼𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 || ℤ𝕦𝕜𝕠’𝕤 𝔼𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 >

𝕀𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕖 | Y/N and Sokka crushed on each other for the longest time, but neither of them had the guts to tell about their feelings. Sokka tried to ignore how he felt by flirting and dating other people, which left Y/N confused. Until, Y/N met Zuko, firing up something within Sokka.

𝔸𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣'𝕤 ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖 | I received a good handful of Zuko x Y/N x Sokka, so I’m gonna warm up first with some headcanons! Also, I’ll be writing a Part 2 because I wasn’t able to think of how I want to write the confession part + “smutty 👀” part just yet!

WARNINGS: Fluff! Angst!

𝔼ℕ𝕁𝕆𝕐

Being a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe meant Y/N spent many of their youthful days splashing water and flicking shards of ice around the snow with Katara. They’d playfully chase the Boomerang Man, also known as Sokka. The three were attached to the hip and the trio grew even closer when they were dragged into the whirlwind of Aang’s Avatar duties.

Progressively, Katara began to blush a little harder everyday around Aang. She’d quietly whisper her subconscious thoughts about the Avatar to Y/N when they’re alone looking for firewood.

Katara clears her throat as she pushes around a pebble with the tip of her boot. “Y’know… Aang has been real nice to me recently,” she said in a small voice.

Y/N bumped their shoulder with Katara’s. “Oh please, that boy has been extra nice to only you,” they rolled their eyes.

She elbowed Y/N’s stomach, earning her a groan. “Anyways! What’s with you making goo-goo eyes with my brother, huh?” Katara raised her eyebrow.

Y/N inhaled sharply, feeling their ears heat up.

Little did the childhood friends know that as the boys picked berries and scavenged for nuts, they were talking about Katara and well, Y/N.

Sokka deadpanned at Aang, gripping his shoulder, “You gotta stop talking about my sister to me… IT’S WEIRD!”

Aang timidly scratched the back of his neck, muttering, “Sorry…”

Sokka sighed, “But, go ahead. You have my blessing. Blah, blah, blah!”

The poor boy lightened up, then his demeanor changed into a teasing one. “Sooooo, what’s with you and Y/N? Eh, Sokka?” Aang clasped his hands together and puckered his lips.

Sokka’s eyes widened, cheeks flushing an embarrassingly red hue. He pushed Aang’s face away with the palm of his hand, “NOTHING! Absolutely nothing! We’re practically like siblings!”

“So stop talking about my TWO SIBLINGS, AANG!” He exclaimed.

Sokka flirted and hit one everyone (everything) that seemed to emanate singleness (well, except for Yue).

He’d ask Y/N for advice on how to catch the eyes of others. It worked of course because who’d turn down the brilliant, handsome, and kind boy?

What Y/N didn’t seem to realize was that Sokka only did this to get his mind off of his childhood best friend. He doubted that a practical sibling could reciprocate his true feelings for them.

Sokka attempted many times before of course, but his throat seemed to tighten and his hands became clammy every time Y/N would look at him with doe-like eyes that sparkled under the moonlight.

So, he continued to play his game of “Let’s break Y/N heart and mine by hooking up with other people!”

When Y/N saw Sokka finally getting together with Suki, they knew it was the end for their possible confessions and relationship. Even though they’d practice in front of the water’s reflection of how they’d confess, Y/N couldn’t muster up the courage to tell Sokka. Y/N wasn’t a homewrecker!

No one, LITERALLY, no one filled in Toph with any of this information, but she just knew! Even Y/N realized that Toph knew.

Y/N would lay on the grass with her at nightfall, detached from the group. They both knew that if Y/N watched Aang snuggle up with Katara, and Sokka’s head nestling on top of Suki’s shoulder, Y/N wouldn’t be able to take it.

So, here they were, Y/N spilling her lonely heart to Toph, who just nodded and hummed with affirmation.

“I don’t understand why I’m doing this to myself,” Y/N’s voice wavered.

After what seemed like ages, Toph sighed, “You know? I don’t either, but you need to find yourself another man.” She turned her back against Y/N and began to snore.

Then, Y/N met Zuko at the Air Temple.

The Gaang was in a fighting stance as the Prince of the Fire Nation, nervously introducing himself.

Y/N locked eyes with Zuko, those fiery ember eyes of his. Y/N blushed profusely, quietly moving behind Toph.

The earthbender elbowed Y/N in the ribs forcefully. “Anyone, but him, dum-dum!” she whispered.

Of course Y/N didn’t listen.

Zuko and Y/N would exchange stares, which progressed to small smiles and waves. They’d voluntarily scavenge for food together and small talk was made as they walked side by side. After a routine was made, they bump shoulders teasingly and joke around.

“ZUKO! THERE’S A SNAKE BEAR NEAR YOUR FOOT!” Y/N exclaimed “WHAT! REALLY-” Zuko froze and looked down immediately, to his relief there was nothing. His face deadpanned and he snapped his fingers to make a small flame. “I’ll set your hair one fire Y/N.”

Y/N doubled over from laughter. “You should’ve seen your face! SNAKE BEARS DON’T EVEN EXIST!”, they wheezed in delight.

None of this went unnoticed by the Gaang, especially Sokka.

Due to the dangerous life of being a Kyoshi Warrior, Suki decided to break things off with Sokka. But deep down, she did it in order to allow Sokka to set things right with Y/N.

Sokka would shoot sharp glares at Zuko and would immediately leave if Zuko approached the Gaang.

Zuko knew that the Gaang didn’t necessarily love him, they at least tolerated him, but Sokka was a different story. And he knew exactly why. He didn’t have the details, but oh how strong his hunch was.

It didn’t stop him from being close to Y/N. Their knees would touch as the team sat around the fire. Zuko didn’t do this to make Sokka jealous, the Prince genuinely felt a flickering warmth spreading throughout his chest when Y/N looked at him. Even just being in the presence of Y/N seemed to make his cheeks flush.

Sokka was fed up with the pair’s interactions. At nightfall, when the Gaang ate dinner around a campfire, he pulled Y/N aside.

Y/N and Zuko conversed and giggled quietly to themselves as they sipped up the last of their soup.

Sokka’s eyes no longer squinted in disgust at the sight, but instead it watered. Everyone seemed to notice at his change of demeanor the past few days, everyone except for Y/N.

He stood up quietly and made his way to Y/N, startling them with his gentle touch on their shoulder. “Can I… uh talk to you Y/N? If it’s alright with you?” Sokka’s voice whispered, the Gaang quieted down. Y/N looked around, earning them similar looks of sadness even from Zuko, finally meeting Sokka’s, they nodded.

The pair walked away with eyes still set on them, which quickly diminished when Aang cleared his throat. Their conversations returned.

Sokka kept a decent distance between him and Y/N, not wanting to make them uncomfortable by the sudden time alone they have together. He sat on a fallen log, dusting it off with his hand.

Y/N could read Sokka like a book. They frowned as he stalled around, “What’s wrong Sokka?”

Sokka looked up, his eyes unreadable. He drew his lips into a thin line, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? That’s what you’re gonna ask!”

Y/N flinched at his sudden burst. Sokka was the cool and collected one, that simultaneously bounced around with happiness, but now they could only see his color draining.

“I’ve been watching you cozying up with Zuko! You’d give him these looks and he'd look at you back the same way. Those jokes and trips you make with him,” Sokka’s voice raised a pitch higher

“YOU’RE NOT MAKING IT EASIER FOR ME EITHER! It’s not fair for you to throw around Zuko’s name like that, when I could list all the people that happened to magically kiss you on the lips-”

Suddenly, a chaste kiss was sloppily placed on Y/N’s lips by Sokka. Y/N forcefully shoved him away.

“Y/N… I- I’m sorry-” Sokka approached them carefully.

Y/N clenched their jaw, “No, you don’t get to say sorry.” They backed away slowly, which quickly turned into a sprint back to the campfire. Eyes still stinging from tears that were being held in for too long.

𝔼𝕟𝕕𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕖 | THIS IS SO SAD :( Anon, why did you do this to us! But for real, I actually really loved writing this because it literally broke my heart. Is that sadistic? Or masochistic??

Give me your thoughts!!

#sokka #sokka x reader #sokka imagines #zuko #zuko x reader #zuko imagines #sokka x reader x zuko #reader x sokka x zuko #zuko x reader x sokka #reader x zuko x sokka #atla #atla imagines #avatar #avatar imagines

[reinerispretty]

What if Zuko's S/o was a fire dancer, like they use their fire bending with their dances, and they dont tell zuko because their scared he would judge them or something, but one night Zuko and the gaang go to one of their shows and sees them

thank you so much for sending this in!! i hope i was able to do your idea justice :) 

---

Meeting the Fire Lord’s son had been a chance encounter that (Y/N) could have never dreamed in a million years. While she had grown up on a small island off the coast of the mainland, she spent most of her days on Ember Island. Her dancing troupe performed for different travelers every weekend. They combined firebending with their dances and dazzled the crowd at each performance. She ended shows with fire lilies being thrown at her feet and a crowd standing outside of her dressing room door, waiting for autographs. 

She had met Zuko while she was shopping in the market. She eyed her grocery list and reached out for a papaya only for another hand to collide with hers. Her eyes trailed up to find its source: a boy with dark hair, golden eyes, and a scar covering the side of his face. 

“Oh, sorry,” she apologized. “Did you need that?” 

“Kind of,” The boy had said, shrugging his shoulders. “But it’s not a big deal if you need it.” She pursed her lips. While she knew her fellow performers might be annoyed with her for not bringing back what she asked, she felt bad taking from others. She picked up the papaya and handed it to him. 

“You take it. I’ll just get a mango.” She picked up the other fruit and plopped it into her basket. “I like the taste of mangoes better anyways.” 

“Me too,” the boy said, offering her a small smile. She returned his gesture with a smile of her own. “I haven’t seen you around here before.” 

“I’m here pretty much every day. I think it’s you who I haven’t seen around here before.” She offered her hand for a shake. “I’m (Y/N).” He shook her hand firmly, but didn’t introduce himself. 

“It’s nice to meet you.” She nodded. 

“Well, I gotta get going. Shen closes the shop at sundown and I have to be quick if I want to get some goji berries.” She gave him a small wave before turning on her heel. 

“Wait!” He called out. “Shen’s goji berries are overpriced for what he offers. I can take you to a different place, if you’d like.” 

“I’d love that! Shen’s berries cost me an arm and a leg.” She followed the mysterious boy through town, down some back alleyways, and along a dirt road. Even if he was a stranger who hadn’t given her his name, (Y/N) wasn’t scared of him. (Plus she was a pretty good firebender, so she liked to think she could take care of herself.) 

He led her down to a part of the beach that she had never been: the royal neighborhood. It was the part of Ember Island where the most elite families lived. (Y/N) had always been far too afraid to ever go near this side of the island. She liked staying near what was comfortable. 

The boy led her into the backyard of one of the houses. There, goji berry bushes grew in the dozens. Each bush had bloomed with bright red berries that made her mouth water. She looked up at the boy. 

“Take as many as you like.” She shook her head in disbelief. 

“No way! I don’t want to steal from anyone.” 

“It won’t be stealing,” he said calmly. “I live here.” Her mouth nearly dropped open in shock, but she stopped herself. His face was kind and she could sense that he was being sincere. So, reluctantly, she began picking berries and dropping them into the basket. 

“I think they ripened just the other day, so you can try some if you want.” He plucked a berry off the bush and popped it into his mouth. (Y/N) eyed him cautiously before chewing on her own berry. 

“These are the best goji berries I’ve ever tasted,” she said as she stuffed more into her mouth. The boy laughed. 

“I’ll be here for the next few days if you’d like to grab some more.” 

And that is exactly what she did. (Y/N) returned each day to pick more goji berries and each day the boy joined her in the backyard, eating until he was full. They talked about anything and everything under the sun. Where (Y/N) was from, how they were both benders, and what their favorite part about the island was. 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” (Y/N) said one day as they sat in the grass together. She plucked another berry from the bush. “But if you live here, that means you must be the son of some big public official, right?” 

He sighed, plucking some grass from the ground and dropping the blades back down. “Yeah, you caught me.” 

“Zuko!” Called another voice. From inside the house emerged a girl with dark hair and intimidating eyes. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Who is this?” 

Instantly, (Y/N) had realized that she had been so, so stupid. She didn’t know why the scar wasn’t a dead giveaway, or the fact that he lived in the royal neighborhood. The boy that she had been spending so much time with recently was Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation.

“This is (Y/N),” Zuko said to the girl. “She’s my friend.” 

“I don’t know of any (Y/N)’s that went to the Royal Fire Nation Academy for Girls,” the girl drawled, leaning against the doorframe. 

“That’s because I, uh, didn’t.” (Y/N) grabbed her basket and stood. “I really think I should go?” 

“And maybe don’t come back,” the girl said, a smirk painted on her face. 

“Wait!” Zuko grabbed her hand before she could walk away. “I’m leaving soon. Can I visit you somewhere?” 

(Y/N) looked between him and the other girl, who she assumed was Princess Azula. And while (Y/N’s) profession garnered her tons of fans, not everyone was so accepting of it. Many times, uppity reach people had told her to get a real job and stop wasting her life away. She feared she would receive the same treatment from the members of the royal family. 

“I have to go,” she said again, before quickly running away. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been months and Zuko hadn’t returned. She had watched from behind barrels as his ship left the royal port. She was sad that she had lost a friend but was relieved that she wouldn’t have to worry about him finding out who she really was. She wasn’t just a commoner, she was a performer, and the latter rarely got taken seriously in the Fire Nation. 

As the months went by, she found herself thinking of Zuko more frequently than she would have liked. Their friendship had only progressed over the course of a few days, but during those days she felt like she could tell him almost anything. The conversations they had had in the goji berry bushes were some of the most intimate conversations she had had with anyone. Despite herself, she missed him. 

Zuko returned to Ember Island with his new friends a few months after he had last been there. They had hidden out in his family’s old beach house because he knew it was the one place Azula wouldn’t think about searching. 

“We should go!” Sokka said one evening as he held up a flyer to their group. It was an advertisement for a local group of firedancers. Despite living in the Fire Nation for the majority of his life, Zuko had never seen a firedancing show, so he and his other friends eagerly accepted. Satisfied with their response, Sokka put the flyer down on the table before walking away. Zuko eyed it for his information and noticed how the painting of one of the firedancers looked strangely familiar. It wasn’t until they arrived at the show that they realized why.

At the forefront of the stage stood (Y/N), the commoner girl he had befriended the last time he was there. She smiled at the crowd and waved to a few returning fans before doing a backflip and producing fire from her feet. The crowd, including Zuko and his friends, were absolutely delighted by the choreography of the production. The firedancers spun quickly around each other, yet none of them were accidentally burned. 

“This is amazing!” Suki exclaimed. Toph grunted. 

“Yeah, if you could see it.” But all Zuko could really see was (Y/N). He thought her moves to be far more beautiful and elegant than her peers. She combined challenging dances and challenging firebending skills to create a fantastic show. She was truly talented. 

After the dancers had finished their set, Zuko requested that his friends follow him to one of the dancers’ dressing rooms. “Looks like Zuko’s got a crush,” Katara giggled, but he brushed her off. 

He reached the door at the end of the hall that had (Y/N’s) name written on it in fancy script. He knocked. “Just a second!” He heard her shout, before the door flung open to reveal her in a silk robe and her hair in a knot, her makeup being half scrubbed off. “Oh no,” She said once her eyes landed on him. She shut the door quickly. 

“What was that about?” Aang asked. Zuko lifted up a hand to signal his friend to be quiet. He knocked again. 

“Just another second!” She called. From inside the dressing room, (Y/N) made quick work of brushing out her hair and washing off the rest of her makeup. Her heart was racing, partially from the show she had just put on, but mostly due to Zuko showing up at her door unannounced. She supposed that even if he had wanted to announce, he wouldn’t know how, but she was still incredibly nervous. 

Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she opened the door slowly and smiled sheepishly up at him. “Hi.” 

“You didn’t tell me you were a firedancer.” 

“In my defense, you didn’t tell me you were Prince of the Fire Nation, so I think we’re pretty even.” Zuko chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Yeah, but I was hiding my identity so you wouldn’t act weird around me. What’s your excuse?” She pursed her lips, looking at the ground. 

“I thought that if you knew, you wouldn’t take me seriously. A lot of you rich folks come around and criticize me for what I do, so I guess I was just...scared.” She shrugged at the end before noticing the group of people standing behind Zuko. “Oh, hi! I’m (Y/N). I used to eat Zuko’s goji berries.” 

Collectively, the group raised an eyebrow. 

“I would never criticize you!” Zuko exclaimed. “What you did out there was absolutely spectacular. I thought you were the best dancer out there.” (Y/N’s) eyes widened and she covered his mouth with her hand. 

“Don’t let the other dancers hear you saying that! They get crazy jealous.” Zuko wrapped his hand around her wrist and moved her hand down. 

“Do you want to grab dinner sometime?” He asked. (Y/N) smiled. 

“Yeah, I’d really like that. Let me just change into something that isn’t a robe.” 

---

permatag list! 

@aroyaldarknessblr , @harryisthesunshine

#atla #writing #avatar #zuko x reader #sokka x reader #aang x reader #katara #toph #suki #aang #zuko #sokka #iroh #azula #momo #appa #fanfiction #request

[just-jordie-things]

Hello, i love your one shots fo atla so i wanted to ask if you could write one with zuko - 51 and 64? And with gaang where they saw them 🥺🥺

prompt 51: public kiss prompt 64: being unable to open their eyes for a few moments afterwards ___

“Hey, will you come with me to that booth?” (y/n) asked, placing her hand on Zuko’s arm and using the other to point to a vendor up ahead.

He nods back at her, and they break off from the group, wandering the marketplace on their own.

He’s only been a part of the gaang for a couple of weeks, but (y/n) had really grown on him, and he couldn’t place why.  She was just different from the others.  She was quieter, softer, sweeter- you never would have guessed that she could be so scary with a sword.

"We should get some of these,” (y/n) said, drawing him back from his thoughts.  “I could make smoothies!” 

Zuko doesn’t know what to say, so he just smiles and nods his head, helping her carry the baskets of fruit after paying the vendor.

He listens to her ramble on about little things, and learns how much she loves going to the market places of the different places they’ve traveled.  But apparently nothing lives up to the liveliness of Ba Sing Se.  He doesn’t understand what all she’s saying- doesn’t get why anyone would like to be in such a busy place like that- but her eyes light up and she’s smiling so brightly that he pretends to get it.

“When your family visited, did you come here?” 

Her question throws him off, and he tries to hide it, but she notices right away.

“Oh- I- I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked, that’s personal-”

“No, it’s okay,” Zuko shook his head, feeling bad for making her feel that way.  “We didn’t come here, back then,” He answered.  “We didn’t do anything like this” 

“What did you do, then?”

“Saw dumb plays” Zuko grumbled.

“The Ember Island Players?” (y/n) asked excitedly.  “I saw a couple posters about them, would you take me?”

“T-take you?” Zuko flusters, and the red in his cheeks doesn’t go unnoticed by (y/n).

She nods eagerly, her smile stretching from ear to ear.

“I’ve never seen a performance like that before,” She says.  “And since you’ve been before you’re the perfect date!” 

“Date?” He repeats in a mumble, and she nods again.

“Yeah, wouldn’t that be fun?”

No, he thinks.  Those plays are the worst.

But as he looks down at her, at how delighted she is, he wants nothing more than to take her anywhere and everywhere she wants to go.

“Like- like an actual date?” He stammers.

“Do you want it to be an actual date?” (y/n) asks, her eyes hopeful, and her lip between her teeth. ___

Zuko doesn’t know how he got so lucky that it actually worked, and that he now found himself sitting with (y/n) in the theater.

She had sat as close to him as possible, tucked under his arm, her head resting comfortably against his shoulder while she happily watched the shitty play.

Unfortunately. the others caught wind of the play, and invited themselves to go.  Neither (y/n) or Zuko had the guts to tell them that they were trying to have a romantic time together.

And so now Zuko was trying not to pout while the rest of the gaang made their comments about the bad performances.

But it was apparent in the way he would sigh and roll his eyes that he wasn’t happy.  So a few minutes before intermission, (y/n) poked his shoulder, and silently motioned for him to follow her out of the theater.

The slipped out without being noticed by their friends.

There were a few groups of people in the corridors, trying to beat the rush and long lines at the snack bar that intermission would inevitably bring, but (y/n) paid them no mind.

“What’s wrong, Zuko?” She asked, stopping him in a clear spot against the wall.  She looked at him worriedly, and she just wanted him to have a good time.

“Nothing, I’m sorry, it’s just...” 

“Is it the others?” (y/n) asked softly.

“No- well, kind of,” He shook his head before pinching the bridge of his nose.  “It’s just.... this isn’t how I wanted tonight to go, okay?”

She nods slightly, not knowing what to say.

“It was supposed to be- it was supposed to just be us, and it was going to be romantic and I was going to tell you how I feel about you and the evening was just supposed to be ours, but instead, we’re stuck watching a terrible play about us and our friends are here and it’s just nothing like I-”

“How do you feel about me?” (y/n) asked, ignoring the rest of Zuko’s rant, and focusing just on that one piece he let slip out.

Upon realizing that he’d said that out loud, Zuko paled, and his mouth dropped open.

“I...” He trailed off, eyes flickering in between hers as he tried to find the right words.

Her brows drew upwards, impatiently waiting for him to tell her how he felt.

He was nervous, he didn’t want to say the wrong thing, or ruin their friendship- or worse, do anything to get himself kicked out of the group forever.

But then a completely different mindset came over.

Fuck it.  She deserves to know, and I don’t want to keep it to myself anymore.

“I really like you, (y/n),” He said, before letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in.  “I have for a while now, I think you’re- you’re just the best person I’ve ever met,” 

Her lips parted in shock, not having expected something so sincere.  She’d thought he liked her, but not like this.

“And I just wanted you to have a nice night because you deserved it.  You look so beautiful and I just wanted to take you on a date” 

(y/n) smiles at him, before reaching up and laying her hands on his shoulders, getting him to finally stop talking.

“Close your eyes”

“What?” Zuko furrows his brows.

“Just do it,” She says.  “Trust me” 

Zuko huffs, before shutting his eyes and waiting for her to say whatever she had to-

But it never came.  Instead, there was a soft pair of lips placed over his, and she was kissing him sweetly.

Just as he processed this and reacted by wrapping his hands around her hips, she was pulling away.

Neither of them wanted to open their eyes, too enamored by one another to want to be out of this blissful moment.

“I really like you too” She murmured, before Zuko leaned back in and sealed their lips together again.

He was slow, wanting to remember every second of this moment, and memorize the warm softness of her lips against his.

“Ho...ly.... shit...” 

Sokka was the first to speak as the group came out of the theater for intermission.  They were far enough away that the couple didn’t notice- and therefore didn’t break their kiss.

“Can someone pick me up please? If I don’t barf, my feet will” Toph grumbled.

“I think they’re cute,” Suki said, slinging her arm around her boyfriend’s waist.  “Besides, they’ve been dancing around each other for ages”

“They have?” Katara asked.  “I hadn’t noticed” 

Suki had to giggle at the irony, which Katara didn't get, but didn’t question.

“Should we say something?” Aang asks.

“Nah,” Sokka shook his head.  “Let’s just see how long it takes them to fess up” He said, before directing everyone back into the theater.

(It took about two days)

#atla #zuko #zuko x reader #zuko imagine #zuko scenario