#but it just absolutely cracks me up when i remember zuko will just. not use his bending sometimes

[blluespirit]

there are so many amazing and powerful benders in atla but what i love about zuko is that whether or not he can use his bending in that moment has zero (0) bearing on how much he’s going to absolutely kick your ass. no bending? that’s fine - he’s got swords. no swords or bending? that’s fine - he’s literally just going to beat you up. if you’re REALLY unlucky then you get all three. as a treat.

[kila09]

SHIPPER TAG GAME

tagged by @gloster

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care anymore?

-not really obsessed, but I'd have to say Nick/Maddie from PR: Mystic Force. I really liked their dynamic and tbh, it was that couple that introduced me to fanfics because I went googling for info on Melanie and Firass

2. Which ship would you consider your first one?

-oh that's an easy one: Tommy/Kim. The moment I saw them on screen, I started shipping them before I even knew what shipping was. They were my OTP before I even knew what that was. Even at that young age, I was taken in by their chemistry, their understanding and acceptance of each other, the slow build up of their relationship...just...their everything. Honestly, it was because of this ship that i could not get into Disney fairytales because they did more to convince me of true love than any Disney movie ever did.

3. Your first fanfic belonged to which couple?

-Tommy/Kimberly. After I learned what fanfic was from searching Maddie/Nick...I stumbled upon a Tommy/Trini story and it didn't sit right with me lol. I kept thinking "Tommy and Kim are meant to be" and then I started writing a story about them. Took my weeks, after I'd written the first seven chapters, to work up my courage to actually post that first chapter.

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw a fanart over?

-more than likely Nick and Maddie.

5. Did you ever get into ship discourse?

-uhm....I mean, not really? I've responded to one or two anon posts or even made a post or two about a ship but actual discourse? I usually have those discussions with my friend

6. Did you used to have a NOTP or have it currently?

-ha! Did I ever! And still do: Kataang, Klance, Hinny, McRolls, Tommy/Kat, Jason/Kim, Dramione, Romione.

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read?

-well, I'm currently reading three fanfics right now, so the couple in those are: Zutara, Tododeku, KinnPorsche

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs?

-ohh yeah: Tomberly, Drarry, Sheith, Zutara, KinnPorsche, Tododeku, DickKory, Geraskier

9. Is there any couple, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

-yes. I'm pissed they broke Kim and Tommy (rumor was, the letter wasn't even the original storyline but they did it because they wanted the fans to let go of Kimberly and accept Kat); Sheith (they had the best chemistry and the show kept drawing parallels between them and other couples on the show, including Keith's own parents); Zutara (they just made sense and I think Katara would've really blossomed even more because Zuko never would've stifled her or encourage to forego her own culture); Drarry (sure as shit, if one of them was female, it would've happen, so I don't see why it couldn't happen anyways. Plus, I feel they would've understood and balanced each other a lot better than their Canon couples).

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

-nope.

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, was considered normal but now would be canceled over?

-i dont think so, no.

12. What was your favorite crack ship?

-i don't think I had or have one tbh.that.

13. Who is the couple you read more fanfics of?

-its split btwn most of my OTPs tbh.

14. What do most of your ships usually have in common?

-hmmm...idk, equality, I guess. The way they understand each other, how they are each others safe space in a way, how they can be themselves (all facets of themselves, e.g., angry, happy, messy, etc.) with each other, the way they're different but also the same in some ways

15. What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

-a bully/victim dynamic that is labeled as enemies-to-lovers; when a miscommunication happens and the person immediately runs away/avoids the other without giving them a chance to explain, which leads into the miscommunication going on for more than 2-3 chapters (even worse when it's a 15 chapter story and the miscommunication happened in like ch 2 and you're on ch 12 and it...is...still...going on)

Tagging: @tomberlylove, @the-badger-mole, @moerusai, @teamironmanforever, @luckydragon10, @ink-and-dagger, @mymcdanno, @angstosaur

[highly-opinionated-nerd]

Watched in 2023:

(this isn't absolutely everything, but it's all the stuff I had something to say about:)

Zorro (1940)- did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did going in. Although, given that Zorro was one of the inspirations for Batman, I should have. Loved it.

Ocean’s Eleven (2001)- what I love most about this movie is that there is exactly zero pretense of the noble thief going on here. We’re normal thieves, with a normal lack of honor, and the audience is still rooting for us because Tony Benedict is such a jerk.

Avatar the Last Airbender (2005-2008)- nth rewatch. My big takeaway this time was trying to piece together who knew what about previous events at any given moment. When Zuko said that Mai was his girlfriend, Sokka had met her onscreen a grand total of about four times. Things like that, you know, perspective.

Superman (1978)- look. I love all things DC, but I’d only ever seen clips of this one before, for whatever reason. But one of our clinicians mentioned offhand that John Williams did the score, and that was the push I needed to sit down and watch it. And it was. DELIGHTFUL. I had noooooo idea exactly how much Christopher Reeve was BUILT for that role. He’s skinny, he’s tall, his legs are a million miles long, he’s GENTLE, all the things I love for Superman to be. And the rest of the cast??? New favorite Perry, first of all. The only Lois I’ve ever actually liked. Stupid underground Lex with his underground pool and his Odyssean Need for everyone to know his name at all times. I loved it.

Jurassic Park (1993)- *shows up to the movie 30 years late* what’s UP, everyone, I’m a Jurassic Park FAN now. WOW. I liked this one a lot more than I thought I would. New favorite-at-first-sight in Dr. Malcolm. I, too, was once one of those weird little girls obsessed with dinosaurs. Tim and I even have the same teeth. Before watching this I thought the dinos were the villains of this movie, just used for scary purposes. Nice to see that they were treated with respect, and by highly educated characters. They were also scary, but, they can be both. I used to have recurring nightmares a lot like some of the velociraptor parts. I’m a little baby about scary things and the whole experience left me a little bit jittery, haha. Remind me never to read the novel version- I’m sure it’s absolutely terrifying!

Winx Club season 1 (2004)- one of many attempts at a peace offering to my inner little girl, but she actually liked this one ok! Both the dialogue and delivery are absolutely abysmal, but I like the style of it, and the concept of the three different magic schools. The Red Fountain characters cracked me up every time I see them.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Winter Soldier (2014)- one is a nice superhero movie, with a bunch of lame one-liners and gratuitous explosions and a succinct core story. The other is a Nick Fury movie with Captain America sprinkled on top, pretending to be a superhero movie. The way they talk is different. I love superheroes but god, I hate the MCU. It just makes me a bit sad how seriously it takes itself. I'm convinced the only reasons The First Avenger is better is because 1. it's set in the past and 2. more concretely based around a preexisting comic storyline.

It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)- rewatch. TELL me you’ve seen this movie. This classic. This absolute riot. Favorite bits include Sylvester crying in the car, the dentist shhhhing at the explosion in the basement, the entire drunk pilot sequence, and Ginger and Billy Sue talking to each other through the two phones.

Singin’ in the Rain (1952)- I saw this in middle school, and the only bit that stuck with me was ‘you wouldn’t believe the things you can hide in these sleeves’. I've been familiar with some of the music through the years, but I'm very glad I remembered to give it another full watch, it’s a delightful story. Love, love, love all the costumes, especially the green flapper dress

One Piece live action (2023)- I’m an annoyingly big fan of One Piece, and I didn’t plan to watch this adaptation, since I knew it probably wouldn’t live up to my standards, but my friend convinced me. I could go on and on forever with petty complaints, but I can’t lie, the visuals were great. The diverse cast, the effects, and the attention to detail were all good. They completely messed up Zoro and Buggy, but they did Mihawk probably even better than the manga. Mixed feelings. I give it like 3/5 overall.

Generator Rex (2010-2013)- rewatch. I love everything about this show- the premise, the characters, the balance of action, scientific speculation, and humor. But more than anything I love CAESAR SALAZAR

[atlabeth]

everything happens for a reason part 5 - zuko x fem!reader

I can go anywhere I want, I can go anywhere just not home

part 4 | masterlist | part 6

a/n: this was hard to get going but once i got to the end the words just flowed. ive come to the conclusion that writing dialogue with katara is my favorite thing to do

warning(s): nightmare at the beginning, survivor's guilt from y/n, some internalized homophobia :-( but aside from that its mostly fluff

wc: 3.6k

chapter title comes from my tears ricochet by taylor swift!

She was trapped.

It was a prison of never ending hallways in some kind of infinite void, complete with the rank stench of death and an innate feeling of hopelessness.

Y/N knew this place. It had been the subject of her nightmares on countless occasions, because it was where she was supposed to be. She had no choice but to start down the pathway of cracked stone — she knew what awaited her, but it was the only way out. She had developed some sick sense of awareness in this nightmare and it didn’t do her any favors.

She began to walk hastily down the path, the itch of paranoia already plaguing the back of her mind. Countless times she had been here, and yet it never got better.

Before Y/N knew it, she had reached her unwanted destination. The first tangible thing in what felt like miles was a prison cell, and she pushed forward despite knowing what awaited her. It was the only way.

“It wasn’t the only way.”

She froze, inhaling sharply as the dreamscape seemed to pull her thoughts out of her mind, and she forced herself to take another step closer, the inhabitant of the cell now visible.

“You did this to me.”

It was her mother, but… not quite her. Her voice strained and stiff, a gaunt appearance with cruel eyes, hunched over in a prison cell. Any sign of the woman Y/N knew her as was gone, and it was her fault. She was the reason Kura was gone — a mother’s ultimate sacrifice because her daughter was too stuck in her head.

“How could you do this to me?” she asked. “How could you be so selfish?”

Y/N tried to respond, but she couldn’t. It was no use anyway — her words would’ve come out in broken, pleading rambles to someone who couldn’t hear a thing. She knew it was fake, she knew this was a nightmare, but it still hurt all the same.

She had imagined her mother saying those words to her so many times they had found their way into her nightmares despite knowing that Kura would never utter a single syllable true to her fears. She had all but killed her mother, and instead of remembering her for what she had done for Y/N, she appeared in her nightmares.

She was a horrible daughter.

She heard footsteps and whirled around, instinctively taking a step back and wincing as her back slammed into the bars. A tall, dark figure creeped towards her and her breath caught in her throat — as it came into the light, she recognized him as the Fire Lord.

He chuckled coldly as he neared ever closer, the path he walked turning to flames behind him. Her eyes darted around for an escape only to find that everything was on fire. It was suffocating, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think, and when she turned to look for her mother she was gone. Everything was gone, her dark void now a prison of flames.

She turned around once more and Ozai was right in front of her, the fire in his hands glowing red hot and a cruel smile on his lips.

“Did you really think you could get away that easily?”

-

She shot up in her bed, a scream on the edge of her lips but just barely managing to hold it back. Ragged breaths were ripped from her chest, her eyes shooting around wildly as she attempted to find anything at all to ground her. It took a few minutes, but with repeated mantras of it was just a dream and you are safe, she was able to calm down.

She pulled her knees to her chest and exhaled long and deep before pulling herself out of bed. It seemed that her day was going to be starting much earlier than planned.

Four years had passed since her arrival at the Northern Water Tribe, but the nightmares never ceased. It didn’t matter how many times she told herself she had done the right thing, that it was what her mother wanted, that if she stayed she would’ve died — she was constantly haunted by her past actions and memories of the Fire Nation.

She hasn’t taken off the necklace since her mother gave it to her, no matter what she does. It’s almost become a part of her now — a memory of Kura and her selflessness that knew no bounds, as well as a grim reminder of what it cost to get her here.

The Northern Water Tribe itself held countless memories of her mother — after all, it was where she had spent the first eighteen years of her life. Her name was well known throughout the tribe with nobles and elders alike, and it amazed Y/N to no end the impact that her mother left everywhere she went. She loved hearing stories about her mother and what she was like as a child, but it was always bittersweet.

She always carried an inherent sense of guilt with her because of who she lived with — her mother hadn’t been lying when she said that the necklace would get them to help her. Kura’s parents still lived in the tribe, and they had taken Y/N in after she revealed who she was. They loved her unconditionally and never made her feel like a burden, but Y/N would be lying to herself if she didn’t think they blamed her for the fate that befell her mother.

After all, she did.

She had never told anyone the full story of why she ran though. It was one thing to leave her mother behind for certain death because of the Fire Lord’s rage, it was another thing to admit that it was wholly her fault because she had fallen for a prince.

Zuko.

Not a day went by where she didn’t think of him. She still held the hope that she would see him again someday, but in lieu of travel she turned to letters.

Y/N had a shelf full of unmailed letters addressed to both Zuko and her mother — it was a way to get out her emotions whenever she was feeling particularly homesick or hopeless, and it did help at first, but after four years it had become something born out of habit rather than necessity.

She still wrote them though — Y/N had learned to hold onto any form of hope she could muster up, no matter how small, and in this moment she needed some.

She opened her shelf and rifled through piles upon piles of letters, some finished, some hardly started, and some crumpled from fits of rage, and her breath caught in her throat when her fingers brushed something different. Y/N pulled the material out and nearly started crying right then and there.

It was an unbelievably simple patch of fabric, but it meant the world to her — something that she had bought during her last night with Zuko, and one of the only pieces of material to have survived her journey to the Northern Water Tribe. She was forced to sell the rest of the fabric she had brought with her in order to make some easy money while on the run, but she had kept this as a memento. She could almost be brought back to the final sunset they shared if she looked at it for long enough.

Y/N bit down hard on her lip to stop the tears and shoved it back into the drawer before closing it and leaving her room in a haste. Sometimes she wasn’t strong enough to handle the memories.

She made her way to the living room and let out a sigh of relief when she noticed the silence. Y/N had never told her grandparents about the nightmares, and right now she just needed some time to herself. Never before was she so thankful for her grandmother’s gossiping nature and her grandfather’s work than she was in the mornings where she just wanted to be alone.

She sat down on the floor, not even bothering to get a cushion, and stared at her hands. Once smooth and untouched by the world, they were now rough and calloused with wrapped bandages resting just below her wrist. Permanent memories of what it took to get here. The ever present reminder that nothing came without a cost.

This morning seemed to be one full of yearning for the past. Y/N tried to shake her feelings off and got up once more, contemplating some steamed sea prunes before deeming it fruitless. Her appetite was lacking after her trip down memory lane.

She walked back to her room and got dressed hastily then ran out the door, but not before plucking a gift from her shelf. Today marked the birthday of a certain princess, and Y/N had to go fast if she was going to get it to her before class.

She was immediately hit by the frigid air of the North, pulling her anorak tighter around her frame as she began to run to the canals — one could always find Princess Yue there in the mornings — doing her best to avoid anyone else walking.

Y/N saw Yue just about to board one of the boats and sped up, waving one of her arms as a signal. “Yue, wait!”

She turned and her face immediately brightened up at the sight of Y/N, raising her open palm so the boatman would hold up. “Y/N! Would you like to join me?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

Yue’s nod prompted a shrug as she dropped down carefully into the gondola, taking extra care not to drop her gift, and took a seat next to her friend.

“This is a nice surprise,” Yue smiled as the boatman began to waterbend, effectively moving their gondola through the canal. “But if I might ask, what brought you here so early?”

Y/N laughed, thinking her reason for coming here obvious. “It’s your birthday, princess! What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t come to wish you well in person?”

Her smile grew even brighter, the corners of her eyes creasing up in the way that made some kind of warmth blossom in Y/N’s chest. “Thank you! That’s so sweet — I’m especially honored that you woke up early just for me.”

“Of course.” Y/N brandished the gift she had been doing her best to hide, unable to do the same for her own smile. “And here’s your gift! I sewed it all myself.”

Yue gasped as she took the creation, giving it a slight squeeze and a thorough investigation before absolutely beaming. “You made me an otter penguin— oh, you know how much I love these!”

She wrapped Y/N in a tight hug before pulling away, but it was just long enough for the heat to rush to her cheeks. “Thank you so much, really. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

Y/N beamed at the praise and nodded, shifting a little in her seat. “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m glad you like it so much.”

The two girls grinned at each other then turned their gaze to the horizon, content to spend the rest of the ride together in comfortable silence.

Her friendship with the princess of the Northern Water Tribe was something that Y/N cherished with all her heart. She could confidently say that Princess Yue was her best friend, and she hoped it was a notion that Yue shared. As beautiful as she was kind, the princess always had a way of making her feel better on the hardest days — Yue was the only one who knew the whole truth of what happened in the Fire Nation, and she offered nothing but sympathy.

Y/N honestly didn’t know what she would do without Yue. She had been her rock during the whole process of getting situated in the tribe, always lending a helping hand when she stumbled in class or was completely oblivious to something in their culture, and she never made her feel stupid, or unwanted, or less-than for what she had come from.

The only thing that confused her about Yue was the feeling she got whenever Y/N was around her. The rushes of heat to her cheeks, the warmth blossoming in her chest, and the unusual happiness she felt anytime Yue smiled at her. The most peculiar of it all was the strange tug of jealousy any time a noble boy tried to flirt with the princess, and nothing but disinterest whenever they tried an angle on her instead.

She didn’t know what any of it meant, but she had the sneaking suspicion that it was wrong. So Y/N did the only thing she could and suppressed it.

Soon enough, though much to their chagrin, Y/N had to leave. After some exchanged hugs and one last wish of happy birthday, Y/N took off for her morning healing class. But as she hurried down the icy paths, she caught sight of the most peculiar thing.

A giant flying bison was being led through the canals with a team of waterbenders, three kids that couldn’t be any older than her on its back. One had an arrow on his head and sported orange and yellow robes, while the other two looked to be of Water Tribe descent.

Her interest was irrefutably piqued, but she didn’t have any more time to waste with gawking. So she began to run once again, apologies spilling from her lips as she maneuvered through the groups of people all just as awestruck by the strange arrival as she was. Y/N made a mental note to ask Yue about it later, but for now she was running very late to her healing class.

-

Sure enough, a few hours later, Y/N was able to get the answers she had been craving. She met up with Yue outside of the palace, and during a short walk, she learned that the boy was the Avatar. He had come to the Northern Water Tribe to master waterbending, and the two kids with him were his companions from the Southern Tribe — much to her excitement, the girl was a waterbender.

Needless to say, Y/N was even more enthusiastic than before, and Yue made her day by confirming that they would be coming to her birthday celebration that night as honored guests. She had already talked to her father about allowing Y/N to sit with her and he had said yes, which meant that she would get to meet him and his friends in person — it just served as a reminder that Y/N had no idea what she would do without Yue.

After what felt like hours of passing the time with lost games of Pai Sho against her grandfather and failed attempts at finishing her homework, it was finally time for the banquet. Once she arrived at the front of the palace she bid goodbye to her grandparents and went to find the seat that Yue had secured for her.

She settled down in the empty spot next to what she assumed was Yue’s — it was her birthday after all, so a dramatic entrance wasn’t out of the question — and nervously glanced at the three visitors, trying to figure out how to introduce herself.

Thankfully, she was saved when the girl met her eyes and waved, offering a friendly smile. “Hi! I’m Katara; this is my brother Sokka, and that’s Aang.” She gestured in their direction with her head when she said their names and they both smiled and gave her polite nods.

She returned the sentiment gratefully. “I’m Y/N— I’m one of Princess Yue’s friends. Welcome to the Northern Water Tribe!”

“Thanks!” Aang said. “We’re here to find a master so Katara and I can master waterbending.”

“Well, you’re in luck. Master Pakku is one of the best there is, and even though he’s a total jerk, he’ll be able to teach you everything you need to know. And Katara, we have some amazing healing teachers— I can bring you along to my class tomorrow if you’re interested!”

Katara’s eyes lit up. “You’re a waterbender too?” When Y/N nodded, her smile grew even bigger, though slightly wistful.

“I’d really appreciate that,” she admitted, though her brows knit together. “But I’d like to learn from Master Pakku as well.”

Y/N frowned, about to correct her, when the distinct sound of drums began to echo throughout the hall. Her displeasure immediately disappeared as she grinned at them all excitedly, gesturing with her head towards the action.

Chief Arnook stood up from his spot and their table, his low voice booming. “Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sister from the Southern Tribe. And they have brought with them someone very special, someone whom many of us believed disappeared from the world until now… the Avatar!”

Y/N’s own applause joined a symphony of others clapping and cheering as Aang waved bashfully, and once it died down, Arnook continued. “We also celebrate my daughter’s sixteenth birthday. Princess Yue is now of marrying age!”

She grinned as Yue walked out alongside her attendants — she would never get used to her beauty. Y/N noticed the way that Sokka’s eyes widened as he stared at her, and her stomach twisted at the act for some unknown reason.

“Thank you, Father,” she said. “May the great Ocean and Moon Spirits watch over us during these troubled times!”

Arnook smiled at his daughter and directed his attention back to his people. “Now, Master Pakku and his students will perform!”

She could tell that Katara and Aang were enraptured by the bending, while Sokka’s attention was already on Yue as she walked over to sit between Sokka and Y/N.

“I’m so glad you could make it!” Yue exclaimed, greeting her friend with a short embrace.

Y/N gave her a sideways smile. “If you think that I would miss your birthday and a banquet, then I’m afraid you’re out of practice on Y/N trivia.”

The princess laughed and nodded amiably then turned her attention to Sokka, ever the diplomat.

“Hi there,” he grinned. “Sokka, Southern Water Tribe.”

Yue returned the sentiment and gave him a slight bow. “Very nice to meet you.”

As their conversation went on, Y/N found herself tuning out a bit. For whatever reason, she had to actively stop herself from rolling her eyes at Sokka’s flirting, that same feeling in her stomach coming back. She made a mental note to see a healer about her issues.

“Hey, Y/N!” She snapped out of her self-imposed trance at the sound of Katara calling her name as she gestured for her to come over. It looked like Aang had gotten up to converse with Master Pakku and Chief Arnook, so she took the invitation and switched seats.

“I can’t tell you how nice it is to finally be here,” Katara said once Y/N had settled next to her. “Back home, I’m the only waterbender. Here… it’s like paradise. It almost feels too good to be true. I mean, even seeing you is crazy — I’ve never met a waterbender my age.”

Y/N smiled, though not without a hint of sadness. “I’m sorry that it’s taken so long for you to be able to experience this. How are you the only bender left down there?”

Katara was silent for a moment, a flurry of emotions warring on her face, before she answered. “The Southern Tribe hasn’t fared half as well as the Northern Tribe during the war. We don’t have one big, huge capital like this, we’re all split up into small villages. The Fire Nation has just been relentless with their raids, and without support from the North and a lack of communication between our sister tribes in the South, they were able to wipe us all out. Except for me.”

“Spirits, Katara…” Y/N set an amiable hand on her shoulder and squeezed, hoping that her softened expression could say what her words couldn’t. “My village was invaded when I was young, too. I’m so sorry that you had to go through that.”

She nodded pensively but managed to meet her eyes with an appreciative smile. “Thank you. I’m sorry about your village as well.” Her gaze drifted off, once again taking in the view around them, and when Katara met her eyes again she seemed better. “But we’re here now, and I’m planning to take advantage of everything I can, starting with all this food. Which one of these is your favorite?”

Y/N grinned as Katara pointed at the platter of various dishes in front of them. “Oh, you’ve got to try this. See that giant crab up there? That’s what this is, and you have not lived until you have tried Northern crab.”

Conversation flowed just as easily through the rest of the night between the two girls, occasionally switching to include Sokka and Yue and eventually Aang once he returned. Between the swells of pride whenever they laughed at her jokes, getting to learn about all three of them, and the almost palpable euphoria in the air, Y/N was sure of one thing:

This was the happiest she had felt in a long time. She could only hope it would last.

-

perm tag list: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77

ehfar: @chandies-sideblog @persica27 @anzanity @randomthingssss @escapingthoughtsandsecrets @shanksfav @shephard17895

atla: @marianne1806

[thinking-about-fiction]

Headcanon time: Sam and Bucky watch Avatar: The Last Airbender

- Sam and Sarah have watched it once before. It was a long time ago, but Sam remembers it being a great show.

- The main reason they are watching it is because it's on Netflix and Sam wants to introduce it to Cass and AJ

- When he remembers Bucky hasn't seen it either, he is even more excited

- Bucky is at first skeptical of watching a cartoon ("I'm a 106 year old man Sam") but Sam makes him watch ("Trust me. You're a nerd. You'll love it.")

- Bucky loves it

- He gives Sam a look when it turns out Aang has been frozen in ice for 100 years like "Is this supposed to be some kind of personal attack on me and Steve?". Sam doesn't answer because he's too busy cracking up because he completely forgot the connection.

- They watch a few episodes every night. Cass and AJ sit on the floor in front of the TV and Sam and Bucky sit on the couch. They watch until Sarah tells Cass and AJ to go to sleep. Everyone gets upset every time this happens.

- When watching Book 1, Bucky decides his favorite character is Katara because she reminds him of his sister Rebecca, who used to take care of him like Katara takes care of Sokka

- Sam's favorite character is Aang because he's super chill and funny (and he relates to his responsibility being the Avatar because of all the pressure he feels about being Captain America)

- When he says Aang is his favorite out loud, AJ says "Because he can fly like you?" and Sam blinks like "Oh yeah. That too."

- When Iroh reveals that his son died, Bucky starts silently crying. Sam asks him what's wrong and Bucky admits that Iroh always reminded him of Yori because they are both old men who love tea and give good advice, so it hurts that both Iroh and Yori lost their sons.

- Which is why Sam goes online and looks up every time Iroh's son is going to come up after that so that he can warn Bucky when an episode might be triggering for him

- Sam has a box of tissues ready and comforts a sobbing Bucky during Leaves from the Vine. (Cass and AJ are also crying and Sam sheds a few tears too)

- Bucky has a bittersweet smile when Iroh sets Zuko up on a date because it reminds him of Yori setting him up on a date with Leah

- Bucky had mixed feelings about Zuko, but Zuko's date is when Bucky starts to really like him.

- When Zuko redeems himself in Book 3, Bucky declares that Zuko is officially his favorite

- When Combustion Man shows up with his metal arm (and leg), Sam will NOT stop making jokes about it "Hey you're like twins!" "So is it just a thing for assassins to have metal limbs?" "What would it sound like if the two of you hi-fived?" "You should dress up as him for Halloween." ("Absolutely not." said Bucky, before Cass and AJ could get any ideas)

- So when Sokka gets a pet messenger hawk and names him Hawky, Bucky gets revenge "See that's how ridiculous you look when you talk to Redwing." "Should I get Shuri to make an adjustment to Redwing so he can deliver mail and perch on your arm?" "So that's how you get rid of annoying pet birds. Making a note."

- Cass and AJ dress up as Sokka and Aang for Halloween.

- They dress up a very grumpy Alpine as Momo

- Sam is supposed to go Trick or Treating with them, but the day before Halloween, he has a particularly rough mission and gets injured, so he can't go. He's really sad about it (because he was looking forward to it, and he also missed the last 5 Halloweens because of the Blip) but told Sarah and Bucky to go without him. But Bucky stays behind and surprises him by dressing up as Combustion Man to cheer him up.

[zuko-always-lies]

Katara, Gender, the Double Burden, and the Problematic Gender Norms of Modern Western Society

To start this off, I want to make it clear that I absolutely love Katara as a character. I think she’s amazing, complex, and interesting.

Yet I find the way the narrative of ATLA frames her to be intensely problematic.  Much more under the cut:

So, to start off Katara is depicted as someone deeply interested in learning how to fight, despite the entrenched sexism she faces within Water Tribe society. That’s not an issue with her character and is in fact one of the more endearing parts of it. And, of course, Katara is an amazing combatant and frequently takes the lead in fight scenes, bearing the full burden of fighting the war on the frontlines.  She can also heal, but until LoK’s questionable depiction of her, that was never the center of her character.

The problem with Katara’s depiction is the other half of it. We find out this out in “The Runaway”: 

Katara: Fine! It's a lie. But you've been so out of control lately, I knew something was up. I knew you were hiding something, and you were. (Toph knocks the poster from Katara's hand and walks away.) Don't you walk away from me while I'm talking to you! Toph: Oh, really, Mom? Or what are you going to do? Send me to my room? Katara: I wish I could. Toph: Well, you can't. Because you're not my mom, and you're not their mom. (She points to Aang and Sokka.) Katara: I never said I was! Toph: No, but you certainly act like it. You think it's your job to boss everyone around, but it's not. You're just a regular kid like the rest of us, so stop acting like you can tell me what to do. I can do whatever I want! Katara: (chagrined) I don't act that way. (in a shrill and anxious voice) Sokka, do I act motherly? (Sokka, alarmed, decides discretion is the better part of valor.) Sokka: Hey - I'm staying out of this one. Katara: What do you think, Aang? Do I act like a mom? Aang: (digging nervously at his eye) Well, I... Katara: Stop rubbing your eye and speak clearly when you talk! Aang: (chastened) Yes, ma'am.

And this:

Toph: So let me guess. You brought me out here to tell me your sister's not as annoying as I make her out to be. Sokka: Nah, she's pretty much a pain. (Katara scowls.) She's always got to be right about everything, and she gets all bossy, and involved, and in your business. Toph: Yeah, I don't know how you can deal with it. Sokka: Actually, in a way, I rely on it. Toph: I don't understand. Sokka: When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a mess, but Katara, she had so much strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom. Toph: I guess I never thought about that. Sokka: I'm gonna tell you something crazy. I never told anyone this before, but honestly, I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like. It really seems like, my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there, and now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture. (Katara is overcome with emotion.) Toph: The truth is, sometimes Katara does act motherly, but that's not always a bad thing. She's compassionate and kind, and she actually cares about me. You know, the real me. That's more than my own mom. (Katara lowers her head, in sadness or perhaps shame.) Don't ever tell her I said any of this.

We also find this out in the very first episode of the show:

Katara: Ugh, I'm embarrassed to be related to you! Ever since Mom died I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier! Sokka (noticing the cracking iceberg): Uh... Katara? Katara: I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT! Sokka: Katara! Settle down! Katara: No, that's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!

So Katara is firmly established as Team Mom. However, there’s something very screwed up here. You see, Kya died when Katara was 8 years old and Sokka was 9. 8 year old Katara stepped up to be the “mother” of her family and became the caretaker, both physically and emotionally for her older brother to the degree he can’t really remember his mother because it seems like Katara has been always been his caretaker. This is clear example of parentification, something deeply traumatic to a child.

Katara’s official show bio even said this:

Fourteen-year-old Katara is the heart of the show. She is a caring and passionate teenage girl. Kindness and empathy are her most endearing traits.  When outraged, her desire to rectify wrongs often overrides the trio’s safety. Katara is determined to save the world, despite her limited abilities.  Katara’s dogged determination keeps her going.  Katara is very mature and responsible for her age and always plays the mediator between Aang and Sokka. She is the glue that holds them together.

And we get the sense that she has to be the mature and responsible one in “The Desert.”

Katara is also someone who very much bears the burden of looking after the emotional needs of the rest of the Gaang. She gives comfort more often than she receives it.  Here’s a classic example from “The Southern Air Temple”:

Katara:  [In the background, Sokka is hunched over his rock, clenching his teeth together. Katara shouts calmly with a sad expression on her face. The camera slowly moves in on her.] Aang! I know you're upset and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom. [Diverts her eyes. Shot switches to a frontal view of Aang, his tattoos glowing and wind swirling around him; his clothes flutter in the storm. Sokka runs over to his sister in the background.] Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, [Close-up of her as she looks up at him.] but you still have a family. Sokka and I! [Sokka opens his eyes and glances at his sister.] We're your family now!

Even Katara’s trauma regarding her mother’s death is usually brought up not for its own sake but in the context of making her emphasize with the issues of other people(for instance with Aang in “The Southern Air Temple,” with Haru in “Imprisoned,” and with Zuko in “The Crossroads of Destiny”). Her deepest pain becomes a tool to make her more empathetic and caring.

Katara is also the member of the Gaang who we most regularly see doing basic chores:

What does this all mean?

a) Katara is someone who has experienced the deeply traumatic experience of parentification.

b) Katara, like many women, is someone who bears the double burden of both “working”(i.e. fighting in ATLA’s context) and being a caregiver. She has to be healer, fighter, emotional caretaker, and physical caretaker all once.

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong writing Katara that way. The issue is that the narrative never depicts 90% of what Katara has to undergo as being problematic or traumatizing. The fact that she has to be responsible for her age and has been a primary caretaker since she was eight is considered endearing, rather than something traumatizing.

Why is that so? Because the dominant modern western cultural ideal for women is for them to bear the double burden, to both be workers(with all the attendant demands) and to be self-abnegating caretakers. Moreover, the fact that Katara is a girl of color encourages people to see her as older than she is. 

[kalinawtokilig]

S/O who gets into fights

Pair(s) : Sugawara Koushi x Reader, Yaku Morisuke x Reader, Akaashi Keiji x Reader, Iwaizumi Hajime x Reader, Semi Eita x Reader 

Ohoh, boi good luck. 

Summary: 

It’s not uncommon for you to get into a fight, as you don’t look nor act the type. You don’t ask to get into a fight nor provoke, you simply attract trouble, (Oh, a problem child,,) But if this person (or people) are talking smack about you, you bet your bum that you’re gonna sit down and let them. Nah, you put’em up. Warning? You ARE the WARNING. 

Sugawara Koushi x Reader

((I love and pimp him. Pimp pimp pimp)) 

He hears it from Yachi. More like, the team does and Nishinoya and Tanaka are ready to throw some hands.

During practice, Yachi, the sweet girl, poor her; she sees you having an intense argument with two other third years when she comes to refill on water bottles. 

She knows you, talking to you a couple of times. You were always a sweet upperclassman, kind and soft to her and the team, even Kageyama and Tsukishima showed you respect in your presence. 

But when one of them swung the first punch to your face, you bet she dropped everything and hauled ass to the gym to call over your boyfriend. 

Sugawara. Ah, yes, the duality of this man. I would say unpredictable, cause some say he’s the responsible type to stop the fight by finding a teacher and others say he’ll unleash Tanaka and Nishinoya. 

I say, he’s the type to KNOW who you are and WHAT you are capable of. Yes, he can join in the fight, but last time he saw you fight someone he was unaware and baffled that you are able to land solid one punch (( WANNA BE SAIKYU HEROOO)) and knock’em out. Nah, he’s the type to collect the aftermath and try to bury the evidence ((What a sweet boyfie <3 )) 

“Suga-san! (Y/N)-san i-is in a fight a-and I think they need help!” She screeches, catching the attention of the team members. 

“Ah, I’ll be back. Gotta collect the corpses.” 

Asahi, Hinata, and Yachi nearly pass out when he says that. “Corpses? (Y/N)-san killed them that quick? And Sugawara is the accessory???” 

When he finally reaches you, though he knows you’re capable of standing your ground, he can’t help but worry the bruises and cuts on you. You may be able to keep standing, but that doesn’t mean you can avoid ALL their hits. 

When he sees your figure, his fingers dig deep into his palms. “(Y/N)?” He calls out to you. You’re huffing and you straighten your back, turning to face him you smile lovingly to him. “Yes, Darling?” 

He may simp for you but that doesn’t mean he can’t lecture you. 

Sighing, he crouches to the two fools who decided to provoke you and talks to them in that tone where you can’t speak because you’re scared of what they’re capable of. He says that he’ll be watching them closely and that if they mention their S/O beating them up, not only will they all get suspended but Sugawara will make sure they’ll never face pride or regain their HONOR back. (ayye zuko wassup ?) 

Standing up, he looks to you and holds your hands as gingerly as possibly, observing the irritated redness on your knuckles and the splotches of small red bloody dots. His nose scrunches cutely as one hand lets go of yours to cup your face carefully because of the now forming bruise on your pretty face. 

Sighing, he smiles, brows furrowed, “Sugar, next time, go easy on them. I don’t want your pretty hands to be so messed up. I love you and I don’t mind bandaging them up and kissing them to make you feel better, but I feel the more you punch the more your hands’ll fall off. Then who am I supposed to hold hands with?”

You can’t help but crack a joke, “Ah yes, losing Daichi and me in the same year, my poor Darling~!” You coo to him. 

“You’re lucky you’re cute.” 

“Oi!” 

Yaku Morisuke x Reader

((Babie,, cat babie ,,, dangerous babiee,,)) 

While the fiery, third-year, libero of Nekoma dislikes Lev, you absolutely cherish the tall boy and found him cute.

Kuroo makes fun of Yaku saying you should date Lev instead

then you retorted to the rooster head saying that it’ll be weird cause Lev is basically a little brother you’ve always wanted.

One day, after school, while your boyfie was at practice, you were on cleaning duty and overheard some students talking about your two favorite people.

They made fun Lev and then Yaku. They absolutely insulted him for his height and his plays while they made fun of Lev’s intelligence and lack of plays. 

And they chose D E A T H 

“Hah? Whatcha say?!” 

Commence a brawl 

You could’ve used the broomstick by breaking it in half and shanking them but you wanted them to know not to die JUST yet.

You were able to leave satisfied yet still pissed. The other students didn’t speak a peep, as to know not to mess with your temper and if they were a snitch, well, snitches get popped. 

for the ones who talked smack, you both came to the conclusion to say that you guys were playing too rough with the cleaning supplies 

When practice was over, you waited by the gate for your boyfie 

Seeing him, you smiled at him and he came up to you, flicking your jaw

“Ow! Love, what was that for? You’re not give your soldier a loving and tender hug for defending you and our child’s honor?” You pouted cutely to him. 

His eyes widened a bit,  a pink blush on his face until he squinted his eyes at you. “You got into a fight, again.”

“All in good nature, babe!” You stuck out your tongue to him, surprisingly he stuck out his tongue, to lick you with his own. 

“Wha-”

“As much as I love you, you’re lucky that I wasn’t there or I would’ve killed you too to get rid of the evidence.”

“...Aw! You love me so much that you’ll clean my messes, I love you too, Morisuke!” 

“...I love you too, you frickin idiot.” 

Akaashi Keiji x Reader

(Ayyeee back at it again, Akaashi-kun, how ya doin?) 

Akaashi may be a patient man, but this man can hold his patience with a sharp knife and cut it instantly 

It was your movie date and while you waited for Akaashi to get popcorn and snacks, your saw one of your best friends. 

You went up to say hi until you heard them talk bad about you, saying how Akaashi is only dating you to keep an eye on you or how you’re too naive that they obviously don’t want you cause you’re too clingy

with the cold, freezing, slushie, you ‘accidentally’ trip and spill it all over your now ex-bestie

like your bestie, that two-faced bih doesn’t go down without a fight

so basically this was your break-up fight

As he bandages your hands, you were too nervous to speak to him

You weren’t afraid of anything, not failing, not teachers or authority, nor suspencion

Though, you were very afraid of Akaashi’s silent temper

“Ah, Love-”

Pretty boy looks at you so quick you flinch for the upcoming lecture yet he says nothing which makes it even more scary for what he’ll say

“Are you mad at me?” You ask cutely, pouting and looking through your lashes while your head is down in shame

After a couple of minutes waiting for his answer, he sighs

“Blossom, you know how concerned I get when you get into fights. It...” He looks away, “hurts me to see you hurt...I love you a lot that I’m mad at myself that I wasn’t there to help you.” He confesses with a red tint spreading to the tips of his ears. 

Oh dear LORD this man continues to speak heavenly got ME swooning- 

“I should’ve known that friend of yours wasn’t true to you...I’m sorry I couldn’t see that. If you want, we can have Kenma pirate the movie and send us the link. Better than going out, right?” 

((THIS MAN HAS THE AUDACITY TO SMILE LIKE A FRICKIN GOD AHW I HATE IT HERE))

Your eyes sparkle and you launch to hug him, he lets out s strangled yelp as he falls back onto the bed 

Though easy to get into fights, you were easy to cry, as you were emotional to these kinds of things

“AGHAAHHSHI I LOVE YOU I FRICKIN HATE YOU CAUSE YOURE SO PERFECT UWAYWHH” ((omg me))

Chuckling, he buries his head into the crook of your neck, one hand on your side and the other petting your hair

“I love you too, blossom” 

Iwaizumi Hajime x Reader

((YEES YES YES YES I  STAN AND I PIMP ,, PIMP PIMP PIMMP))) 

((LOOK AT HIM LOOK AT. HIM.)) 

What a cactus. Don’t we stan? 

I stan. I totally stan. 

When you get into a fight this man KNOWS he’s most likely gonna watch to see if there is any bih to try to hit you while you’re busy fUCKING UP WITH OTHERS WHO MESSED WITH YA

Iwaizumi is literally the chillest ngl 

Will probably join if some CUNT ASS BIH  decides to pull ya hair or pick up some petty stick to beat you with it

((the more i write at 4:30 AM, the more my mind expands to more fight scenarios ohohhhh get ready my friends)) 

Literally the toughest couple

no cap, no one will mess with you unless they’re tryna get f’d in the a in the most unpleasurable way (omg that rhymes) 

Oikawa makes funny and teasing jokes about how you both look so intimidating that you’ll get wrinkles on your faces

“Keep barking, Oikawa, cause I can make sure my kicks can knock off that bitchy attitude <3″

“Why are you and Iwa-chan like this.” 

“Lmao get wrecked Trashykawa.”

Sometimes you act like Oikawa’s guard too, the fans know of your rep around school, so they don’t bother Oikawa as much which means Iwaizumi doesn’t have to spike volleyballs at his head so they can head to practice without any distractions ((Though Iwa still does it when Oikawa gets too flirty when thanking you)) 

Omg I can go forever with Iwa holleeeeemolleee 

I feel,, that when he’s bandaging up your face, your cleaning the cuts on his....chest.... n’ biceps,,,oof to be you... 

I feel like getting into fights can also count as a date

how fun would that be

talking about your fight date with him in front of other ppl who don’t really know you

I imagine you and iwa-babes talking and you’re like, staring so lovingly at his face and reach to touch the cut above his lip and you’re reminiscing 

“Babes, remember when we fought those two losers at the parking lot of a Target?”

“Oh yeah, I remember that. That dickbag got his ass handed to you, nice right hook by the way.”

Then the strangers RUDELY overhearing are like ‘Wth??? is this?? real?? did they actually fight two people?’

You did.

Oikawa posted it.

Semi Eita x Reader

((Grey haired babes hit different, y’know?)) 

he’ll just be >:|

I can’t say he’ll be mad at you, but more like, concerned that his face looks mad

The same with Akaashi, you’re waiting for him to lecture you, but he’s quiet when he’s...worried,,concerned

You got into a fight because some BIHS from another sports team talked shit about the volleyball team, SPECIFICALLY your boyfie (how convenient for the plot) 

You may be smol but you have HELLFIRE

“AYE WANNA SAY IT TO MY FACE MUTHA-”

Long story short,,, you may have won the battle, but you are unsure if the war will reign supreme, by war I mean you’re preparing for Semi’s scolding

Waiting in his dorm room, you played the soundtrack he made for you and patiently waited until he came back from practice

When HE DOES come from practice, he opened the door to see you sleeping on the floor, back against his bed and when he was going to quietly coo at how cute you look, he gets a closer look at the split lip and bruised knuckles

...You have...a tampon shoved up your nose? 

“Muse. Bubs.” He cups your cheek, then patting it gently. 

When you wake up, you jump back

“BUBs, beh, listen, I, may have done something to someone out of provocation and insults whereas I also defended not only myself-” You wince at he narrows his lovely eyes at you, peering for you to go on (omg you frickin simp)

“I have protected you and your team from their,, falsehoods”

(Why are you talking like that lmao)

He blinks once. twice. going to his bathroom, he gets the first aid kid he ALWAYS had to restock because his babes CANT STOP GETTING INTO FIGHTS so he can patch you up 

“I love you, but we can take their idiocy, it’s just your idiocy I’m worried about...” He continues on, then he starts to listen to the music you’re playing

you’re playing one of his playlists he made for you

specifically, “When I’m with You <3″

He becomes flustered and you wonder if HE’S okay 

“Sh-Shut up, stupid! Stop getting into fights!” 

[loversamongus]

Lovers Among Us - atla smau

masterlist / part 17 / part 18 / part 19

a/n: Zuko and Y/n’s conversation under the cut!

With both crutches under your arms, you made your way to the door and opened it. Sure enough, Zuko was standing there just as he said. You caught a quick glimpse of him leaning against the hallway wall with his arms folded, but he immediately straightened up when his eyes met yours. You felt your stomach drop a little and you had the sudden inclination to worm your way back inside the room where your friends sat still watching the movie. Surely, a man with razor hands and a decaying face who kills you in your nightmares is less frightening than this leap you’re about to take. Zuko must have felt your apprehension though because he held the door wide to help you through it and rested his hand on your shoulder to guide you across the threshold.

“You know, once I get a boot instead of these crutches, this will be a lot easier,” you said, more of an attempt to calm the hurricane of butterflies boarding up in your gut. “I could probably kick Sokka pretty hard with the boot, now that I think about it.”

Zuko didn’t respond; he only smiled. You would not have thought much about such a small smile, but recently everything about Zuko seemed to become a permanent fixture in your mind.

For the first time, you noticed just how small Zuko’s smiles actually were. So small, in fact, that if someone were not looking close enough, they may just assume his face was resting in his typical trademark scowl. How wrong they’d be though, you thought. They’d just be searching for his smiles in the wrong place. His real smile was in his eyes. There was a glow and warmth in his eyes. It was both inviting and comforting like a steady fire on a cold winter day. Zuko quirked an eyebrow, which you noticed immediately as you had just then registered that you had been staring at him through that entire internal monologue. Suddenly the carpeted hallway became very interesting. And the heat on your cheeks? Definitely from the temperature in the hallway. Or the strain of crutching around. Yep. That’s it completely.

You were quiet the rest of the walk to the car. You were quiet for the car ride to the Jasmine Dragon. While you said nothing, your decided to be quite the chatterbox. In addition to noticing and now appreciating all of Zuko’s little quirks, you also began to reflect on memories of your friendship with Zuko. You remembered when you first became friends with him and almost pulling an all nighter just texting each other. You remembered going to the farmer’s market with the gang, and splitting up to cover more group. Zuko stayed with you and carried all the fresh produce you picked out. For months the two of you kept up an inside joke about the man at the cabbage stand. You remembered how much you missed him when he went home to the Fire Nation one summer. You remembered the instant joy you felt when he came back early and being stricken with concern when he said he won’t be going back home for awhile. You remembered when Iroh was sick and had to be hospitalized for some time and Zuko called you at 3 in the morning just so completely lost. You remembered how you did the same thing when your grandmother was died. He rushed over to your room immediately and just hugged you until you felt something again. And you did feel something back then. But what, you didn’t know. So you pushed it aside and carried on.

The car door opened, jolting you out of your thoughts. You turned to see Zuko offering his hand. “We’re here,” he said, and you took his hand which guided you out of the car. He had already taken your crutches out from the backseat and handed them to you.

Silently, you thanked the heavens for giving you a best friend who has his own set of keys to his uncle’s tea shop. It was late and the Jasmine Dragon had closed hours ago. While you still wished Freddy Krueger would just come and kill you now, you were glad that you and Zuko would at least have some privacy. He gestured for you to take a table while he flipped on a few lights and shuffled to the back to brew up some tea. Of course, he returned after some agonizing, nervous foot-tapping moments later with your favorite blend.

“So,” he said.

“So,” you echoed.

“I’m sorry for walking out earlier.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

It was quiet for a moment and you desperately sought to find something interesting to fixate on other than Zuko thrumming his fingers on the table. The tea. The tea is nice. Good, although Zuko definitely added too much honey. You smiled though, knowing that despite his subpar tea making skills, he always remembers what you like. You could have been happy just sitting there, but Zuko broke the silence.

“What are we doing?”

“Well, I’m trying to stomach this overly sweetened tea. What are you doing?”

“Y/N…” This time Zuko’s eye did not smile at your attempt for lightheartedness. Try as you might, this was going to be a serious conversation.

“I don’t know, Zuko.”

“You have to know something,” he scoffed. Looking up, you caught him rolling his eyes and leaning back in his chair so that he could cross his arms again.

“Don’t you scoff at me. You got us into this mess.”

“Me?” he asked incredulously. You could practically hear the yell he was biting back. An opening. He was frustrated. You could convince him that this wouldn’t work. That you’re better off as friends because your friendship has already survived fights and your stupidity. But anything more? What kind of stress could that put on the both of you? What if it created cracks in the foundation?

“Yes, you. If you hadn’t walked out and caused a scene, we’d be enjoying a movie night or killing Sokka again.”

“I just apologized for walking out!”

“And I said you have nothing to apologize for!”

“YOU JUST SAID I CAUSED A SCENE!” His voice rose and his hands fisted through his hair. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he tried again. This time his voice was much softer, gentler.

“Why are you pushing me away?”

A worthy counterattack. You could feel his tugging on your heart strings. But you are a fortress, you will not crumble. This is for the best of your friendship, you reminded yourself.

But then he looked up and you looked away quickly. He moved his head to try to recapture your attention.

“Y/N,” your name on his lips was almost a whisper, a prayer really. You hesitantly looked back at him. “Ask me when.”

“When what?”

“When I knew that I love you.”

You felt your eyebrows shoot up towards your hairline and your jaw slackened in shock. Immediately, that hurricane of butterflies roared again. In your stomach. In your heart. In your throat. Can a fortress withstand an army of thousands of butterflies?

“When?” Your voice was faint, but you heard the simple question fall from your lips.

“I don’t know,” he answered.

“Zuko!” you groaned and facepalmed. “Why would you have me ask you that then?!”

“Because it wasn’t just one moment,” his voice had not changed from that soft tone. “There were so many moments that made me realize I love you.”

You could only gulp down a couple butterflies before he continued in a passion of communication.

“The first time I heard you laugh. When I see you hug my uncle. When you cried snot on my shoulder after watching Coco. I can’t narrow it down to one moment. All I know is when I’m with you, since I’ve met you, I’ve been genuinely happy. Hell, I look forward to just sitting next to you in class—“

“Why?” you interrupted.

“Why do I like sitting next to you in class?”

“No. Why do you love me?” Your voice was so quiet that a pin dropping to the floor would make more noise.

“I don’t think I could pick one reason either.”

“Try. Please.”

He paused for a moment to think, to choose the right words. All through his thinking, his eyes never left yours.

“You know me,” he said finally. “You listen to me and… you care about what I have to say. You know what will make me smile or what to say when I’m upset, even if I don’t want to talk. You know what I’m feeling, what I’m thinking. I love the way you lo—“ he caught himself and looked down at the table. “I love the way you care about me.”

Silence invaded the Jasmine Dragon again. It settled for a while between the two of you and you digested Zuko’s words. He said you know him but you have absolutely no idea what to say next.

“Okay,” Zuko the silence breaker spoke again. “I did all my talking. It’s your turn now.”

“My turn?” It was your turn to ask incredulously.

“Yes, your turn.”

“I don’t have anything to say.” Zuko’s words may have collapsed an area of the fortress but you began rebuilding brick by brick.

“Bullshit,” he almost laughed, but there was no mirth in his voice. “You wouldn’t have come to the door if you didn’t have anything to say.”

“Zuko, I--” you began, only to get cut off again.

“Don’t lie to me,” he said seriously. “Actually, I still have my fifth rule to use. Rule #5 is Y/n has to be honest with me.”

“Really?” you deadpanned. “Of all the possibilities, that’s what you come up with?”

“If it gets us to have this conversation, then yes.”

It was quiet again. Avoiding his gaze again, you look down at the table. Now you were most definitely pushed up against your last wall. A white flag would have to be raised. You were only tried to think up the words for your declaration of love surrender.

“Zuko, I--” you tried again. “I’m afraid.”

“Of me?”

“No,” you had to laugh. “No, of course not. I’m afraid of losing you.” Your honesty suddenly gave you a second wind, quiet and shaken voice be gone. Now you were animated in your best attempt to express yourself. “What if, what if we don’t work out?” you pleaded for him to understand. “What if it doesn’t work and you stop loving me and we start to hate each other and then we don’t want to even be in the same room as each other and then our friends will have to take sides and then the whole group falls apart?”

Zuko took a moment to take in your plea. You could tell her was considering what would be the best response. “Do you think that would happen if Sokka and Suki break up?”

“I already told Suki I’m taking her side no matter what so....”

You both laughed, and seeing Zuko smile again relieved some of your nervousness. It was so easy to talk to him. So easy to be honest with him. 

“I guess it depends then,” Zuko started up the conversation again. “If you maybe... felt the same way about me.” A small smile formed on his lips again but this time there was hesitancy in his eyes. You felt the urge to start rebuilding the fortress again but you promised to follow Zuko’s fifth rule of honesty. There was no turning back.

“I do,” you replied surely and you made it a point to make eye contact with him. You noticed the hesitancy slip away and the warmth and glow of his eyes returned. 

“Then you’re not going to lose me. If it doesn’t work, then fine. I’m your best friend first and foremost and you are mine. But I love you. And I want to see where that takes us.”

It wasn’t the first time he said he loved you during this conversation but for the first time, you felt complete ease overwhelm you. As if this was exactly where you were meant to be. With the person you were meant to be with. Fear and insecurity had washed away.

“Okay,” you smiled. “I love you, too.”

a/n: lol more to come, but back to screenshots for part 19 :) hope you enjoyed!

taglist (open, just send me an ask!):

@astroninaaa @danny-devitowo @kangaroobunny @softt-shoto @theblueslytherin @aphrodites-perfume @duh-dobrik @hotgirlazula @royahllty @strayadotcom @someoneovertherainboww @goddessathenaofwar @grim-fantasia @oof-imsorry @fiantomartell @simpinforsukka @lozzybowe @bombardia @xbarrjallenx @moon-spirit-yue @kneecoal29 @akiris @ray-ofmoonlight @xxoperatexx @eyelash-curler @wh0re4zuko @rainyy-nights @avatarkorraswife @prplmps @stfukie @spiritvines @expelliamus @protect-remus @emeraldpotato @adorablepandasuniverse @missmorosis @mpolarisblack @strangeinternetwasteland @appa-gaangnam-style @paige-j13 @anywhore-life-is-a-mess @the-paintedlady @shortmexicangirl @sadnessrehab

[chitsangenthusiast]

good afternoon i bring with me a (slightly rough) wip of zuko getting to see his daughter for the first time after she's born <3

(featuring some zuko teasing bc the gaang can't help it even at his daughter's birth, and sokka also getting to hold her!!)

—

She’s born in the middle of a scorching summer, under the gaze of a shining moon and on a bed covered in caribou-hare pelts.

Zuko knows when she’s arrived; he’s already crossed the length of the reception room by the time the clamor behind the separating screen abruptly cuts into a breathless silence, and his heart beats in expectation when Suki pokes her head out. She’s exhausted, she’s excited, and she’s dragging him in before he can even fathom any kind of thought.

He comes in just as the midwife finishes in clearing her nose and mouth, to reveal a tiny face and the full sound of his daughter’s fair wail.

Daughter.

Zuko stumbles.

A bubble of absolute glee spills from his mouth as he’s pushed into a chair next to the bed because, from here, he has an even better view. Poking out above her little arm is a head covered in a wet smattering of dark hair and already full eyebrows, with impossibly round cheeks showing off pouting lips and red gums while she cries. She’s loud, she’s announcing her presence, she’s so small.

Zuko chokes on an exhilarated gasp. That’s his daughter.

He reaches out, then falters. As he watches her settle into the soothing warmth of bare skin, all he wants is to fall forward to her, to tuck her into him and rest his hand on her small back to feel how she lifts the entirety of her body as he cries and breathesin her first moments. But he’s not sure who he can touch or even what he can touch on the bed, and he instead throws an absentmindedly desperate hand out to stop himself from grabbing at the furs as he works to remember how to properly take in air.

Someone grabs it—Sokka, he can tell by the calluses on his fingers—and directs it down. Instantly, instinctively, Zuko splays his fingers to cradle her head and strokes his thumb over his daughter’s ear.

His hand curls perfectly around her, and he chokes on another exhilarated sob.

“Katara—”

“She’s beautiful,” Katara immediately returns. Her eyes flit up to Zuko’s, just for a moment, before sliding back down to the baby resting on her stomach. She’s holding a tiny fist in her own hand, running tired fingers up and down a forearm, and she can’t look away either. She’s crying, Zuko realizes, tears just like his own, and she shakes out little relieved sniffles when he and Sokka quickly clasp her heaving shoulders. Katara’s head falls back to the pillows—from the exhaustion, from the relief of their touch, from those strong, healthy cries—and her hand joins Zuko’s on his daughter’s head as she lets out a breathless laugh. “Oh wow, she’s really perfect, Zuko.”

“Thank you,” he gasps out, and then no other words come. His face is a reservoir of open gratitude even when he can’t get anything else out, he knows Katara understands him when she lightly runs a thumb against his hand in response to his spasming grip on her shoulder.

Thank you.

Aang is let in shortly after, buzzing out of his body as he rushes to Katara’s side, with Azula jumping at the chance to barrel inside too. He’s been through this before with Bumi, but his hands still shake slightly as he cups her face and leans down to kiss her forehead with a long, deep inhale. Katara reaches out a free hand to hold onto him, and just smiles at the comfort of his happiness.

Her other hand is still in Zuko’s grasp. He hasn’t been able to bring himself to let go just yet, even after moving to the other side of the bed so that his good ear could better pick up her murmuring, or after her careful transfer of his daughter into his his bare arms, and now together they hold onto an exposed arm left out of the blanket.

Snatches of conversation happen around him, slight jostling occurs as everyone works on the after care, but Zuko is captivated only by the bundle in his arms. Their eyes are locked—she looks up at Zuko, and he stares right back. When Katara has to let go, he takes over to admire his daughter with his thumb, tracing it across her plump jawline, smoothing down the soft hair on her head and over her eyebrows.

Toward the end of the pregnancy, when Aang and Katara came to stay at the palace to prepare, Zuko used to sometimes stare at her. It was hard, trying to imagine what a child between them would look like, and a niggling thought that circled in the back of his mind—quietly, in a determined attempt to not let it fester too much—had him wishing, hoping that his daughter would have more of Katara in her than him. Beyond possibly gold-tinted eyes, what worth did his ancestry have to offer in the face of so much goodness from Katara’s?

(He got scolded for ruminating over this, then given an extremely long hug, and then scolded again for his incessant doting over a Katara who did not need to be doted over, much to Aang’s cackling amusement and Zuko’s embarrassed chagrin.)

But his daughter looks so much like him, and in such a breathtakingly sweet way that leaves him stunned. He can see the small flicks of her eyes moving as they roam over his face; they’re so light in color, tawny almost like how Azula’s were when she was born, and he wonders if they’ll be bright like his or darken into a strong amber like Uncle’s. She also has his nose, a wide little thing that he can’t help but bop a finger against, and her cheeks may be big but Zuko thinks she has his chin.

“It’s crazy how alert she already is,” Aang says, smiling as he peeks down at her across the bed. “I hope her cries get louder though, she needs those firebender lungs so she can shout like you can, Zuko.”

“Don’t do that to me,” Azula instantly scoffs, taking her place next to her brother, then smirks at his lukewarm glare. “I can only handle one loudmouth at a time, and Zuzu is plenty already.”

“Hey—”

Sokka snorts, and responds faster than Zuko can continue. “Well, when she’s right, she’s right.”

Suki overtakes their snickering with a bright burst of laughter, and his daughter’s head rolls toward the noise. “I thought blessings for babies by airbenders were supposed to be good-natured?”

“Oh, sure,” Aang laughs as he takes a cool cloth from her to wipe at Katara’s neck. “She will have a loving heart, an inquisitive mind, and a steadfast head on her shoulders that will push her through anything she sets herself to achieve. But I also hope she gets a set of good strong lungs, just so Zuko can see what we’ve put up with over the years.”

“Can you all be nice to me for five seconds,” Zuko grumps lightly. “I’m literally holding my child right now.”

“I think Aang’s gonna be right too,” Sokka happily jumps back in, dropping a heavy hand on Zuko’s shoulder as he leans over him to coo into her space. “She’s already got his frown.”

“Sokka!” Katara chides, but her laughter is still the loudest above everyone else’s at the falsely disgruntled scowl they receive—which is indeed replicated perfectly on that little face. “You know you can’t say things like that, or she’s going to end up looking like you!”

Sokka just chuckles, and the happy sound thrums through Zuko’s nerves. He’s pulled back already, giving him room to curl around his daughter like she’ll be able to protect him from the teasing—and Zuko forcibly swallows down the heavy desire to pull him back in.

“If that happens, it’ll only be because we look like, Katara.”

“Alright, move over punks!” Toph is as gleefully brash as ever when she steps into room with Lin on her hip and Iroh following close behind her, but Zuko can see the excitement lighting up her face as she beelines over. “Stop hogging the kid!”

Suki makes quick work to take Lin from her while Aang moves to pull Bumi from Iroh’s arms, and the four of them maneuver themselves onto the bed around Katara. She grouses lightly, but still looks incredibly contented to now have her son within arm’s reach. Iroh moves to take up residence on Zuko’s free side next to Sokka, and rests his hand on Zuko’s other shoulder.

“Oh, nephew,” he breathes out in deep admiration, and Zuko can feel his elation all the way down to his bones. “What a remarkable little beauty you have there.”

“Do you want to hold her?” he asks, after Iroh has showered Katara with a slew of his own sincere appreciation. Katara shies a little at the praise, but her smile remains firm even as her eyes droop slightly, and Zuko has a feeling Aang may soon kick them all out into another room to let her sleep.

Iroh’s steady joy though is infectious, and the room alights with an even more blanketing warmth from it. He reaches out eagerly to gingerly take her into his arms, and his eyes shine as he coos down at his granddaughter.

“Welcome to the world, little one,” Iroh hums, “There are great things in store for you here, just you wait and see.”

Azula gets to hold her next. Not for as long as their uncle, too nervous to hold something so tiny yet also noticeably too unwilling to give her up, and Zuko feels his eyes start to prick as sheer happiness crashes over him at the sight.

Sokka is the third one, composure fully cracked and delighted tears flowing as he wetly hiccups between stunned laughter.

“What an awesome little kid,” he says, his watery grin is as wide as his eyes. He then carefully cradles one of her hands into his palm, and welcomes her with a gentle handshake.

“Hello, Izumi,” he murmurs, and Zuko’s heart sings. “It’s so good to finally see you.”

Zuko doesn’t have anything to say in response, burstingly overwhelmed.

Instead, he quietly marvels at how well Izumi fits into his arms as he brushes a finger over one of her eyebrows. He glances up, to commit to memory the full picture of them together—their eyes catch, and his breath hitches at the deep adoration he spies in those blue eyes.

Sokka shakes himself a beat later, and looks back down at Izumi with a blazing grin.

“Man, you really do look just like your dad, don’t you, little princess?”

She does, but she undeniably has pieces of Katara in her too. Her complexion is slightly darker, and there’s already a slight wave to her hair that Zuko idly traces in amazement. He’s somewhat certain she has Katara’s lips too, and she hasn’t smiled yet but the thought that she could also end up with that same spirited smile makes his chest ache in private joy. It’s thrilling, the notion that even when his friend isn’t around, Zuko will still be able to see her signature grin light up the Fire Nation.

Zuko glances back up while Sokka continues to look down at his daughter.

He allows himself a moment to stare.

And carefully, very carefully, he thinks about how Katara and Sokka have the same smile.

[reinerispretty]

rotations. (zuko x f!reader) pt10

hello and welcome back!! thank you so much for reading :) i apologize for not being as active today as i have been most days! i work from home and they had me doin a lot of stuff ! nevertheless, here’s another chapter !! pls share if you can!!

pt 1

pt 9

pt 11

“Look who it is,” the princess hummed, smirking down at her. The rocks were removed from (Y/N)’s mouth. She coughed and spit out the dirt that had accumulated on her tongue. “You’re quite bold to think that I wouldn’t know you were here. I have eyes everywhere.” 

When it came time for her friends to go their separate ways, (Y/N) had a difficult decision to make. She certainly couldn’t go home, and she couldn’t accompany Toph to visit her mom or go with Aang to learn from Guru Pathik. She had to pick which Water Tribe sibling she would stay with. Would she go with Sokka and join him and his father’s forces? Or would she stay with Katara and help advise the Earth King on the war effort? 

She knew that if she went with Sokka, it would be for selfish reasons. While she would undoubtedly provide useful information about the Fire Nation to the men of his tribe, that wouldn’t be the reason why she went with him. During their stay in Ba Sing Se, their relationship had...changed. She couldn’t quite define it, but when Sokka walked into a room, the atmosphere changed. She felt her body relax. She felt safe again. 

But she couldn’t leave Katara by herself. The girl was fully capable of running war meetings by herself, but it just didn’t sit right with (Y/N) to leave her alone. And she always trusted her intuition. 

So she stayed, which turned out to be the right decision in the end. Who they thought were Kyoshi warriors were actually Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee in disguise. She watched their confrontation from behind a pillar in the throne room of the Earth King’s palace. While every fiber of her being wanted to rush and rescue Katara, she knew she had to be smart about this. There was no way she would be able to defeat Azula on her own, and someone had to remain free in order to rescue Katara in case Aang, Sokka, and Toph didn’t make it back in time. 

(Y/N) stepped away from the pillar slowly, turning to make a run for it. Her face immediately smacked into a Dai Li’s chest. Before she could even react, his special rock gloves were clamped around her wrists and mouth. He dragged her to the middle of the throne room and tossed her to the ground in front of Azula. 

“Look who it is,” the princess hummed, smirking down at her. The rocks were removed from (Y/N)’s mouth. She coughed and spit out the dirt that had accumulated on her tongue. “You’re quite bold to think that I wouldn’t know you were here. I have eyes everywhere.” 

(Y/N) remained silent, casting her eyes toward Katara. A plan was slowly forming in her mind and she tried her best to communicate it through her eyes. Katara stared at her with brows furrowed in confusion. All (Y/N) could think to do was shoot her a wink and hope that she’d remember it. 

“I was very upset when I found out that you had betrayed your nation, (Y/N),” Azula said. She walked circles around (Y/N), like a sabertooth moose lion stalking its prey. “If my father were here, he would have ended your life already.” 

“So why don’t you?” (Y/N) asked. “I’m right here. I can’t fight you. Just do it.” 

Azula’s eyes met hers, and for a moment, (Y/N) thought she had seen a glimmer of sadness in them. In an instant, it was gone. She turned to the guards and her two friends. “Imprison the Water Tribe girl. I’d like to speak with (Y/N) privately.” 

She watched silently as the Dai Li dragged Katara away. The two girls stared at each other, and all (Y/N) could say to her friend was, “Don’t worry!” 

The rocks that had bound her wrists came undone and she jumped to her feet, ready for the battle she sensed was coming. Instead, Azula turned away and walked up to the throne, taking her seat. She had to admit, Azula looked like she belonged there. Ever since they were young, she knew that Azula was powerful. But she also knew that she was power-hungry and would do anything for her own gain. 

“I wanted to present a proposition to you.” Azula studied her nails nonchalantly. “You come back with me to the Fire Nation. I convince Father that you were gaining the Avatar’s trust to gain his secrets. I tell him that you have been my point of contact throughout my conquering of Ba Sing Se. You come back home as a hero.” 

She opened her mouth to immediately say no, but she stopped herself. “What’s in it for you?” She asked instead. 

Azula looked down at her. “I have you back. We’re a happy family.” She laughed as if she herself didn’t even believe it. “You provide me with the intelligence I need to take down the Avatar.” 

“And if I don’t?” 

“You spend the rest of your life in prison. It’s not a hard choice, is it?” 

(Y/N) looked down at the ground. She knew this was one of those moments that would change her course in life. She was at a crossroads and could feel herself being torn in each direction. 

“This isn’t one of your tricks, is it, Azula?” 

The young princess’ face softened as she stared at her old friend. So much had changed since the last time they had spent a moment alone together. Azula thought of that moment often. Of how she had hugged (Y/N) tightly before she boarded her ship to the Earth Kingdom and had to hold back her tears until she got back to her room, or else Father would punish her. She spent a lot of time thinking about (Y/N), more than she would like. 

“It’s not,” Azula said quietly.

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

The expressions on Katara and Aang’s faces as she entered the underground palace with Azula made her heart hurt. Even Iroh looked gravely disappointed in her. She wished she had had time to explain herself to them, but she didn’t. Azula was moving in on Aang as the Dai Li started attacking Katara. Zuko stood a few paces away from herself and Azula. His sister had offered him a similar choice, but she wasn’t sure which path he would choose. She could see the turmoil written on his face but couldn’t see past it. 

When Zuko began attacking Aang, (Y/N) knew it was her time to act. She jumped in the air and propelled herself over to Katara, who was swiftly being overcome by Dai Li agents. She shot fire at the agents as they blocked her flames with earthbending. 

“I thought--” Katara shouted at her, but (Y/N) smiled. 

“I had to get to you guys somehow!” A blast of blue fire narrowly missed (Y/N)’s hair. She turned to find Azula standing just a few feet away, her face absolutely furious. 

“You’ll regret betraying me!” The princess shouted. Instead of retaliating on (Y/N), she aimed her flames toward Aang. (Y/N) ran back over to the young boy and held Zuko off as Aang battled Azula. Despite their best efforts, the siblings and the Dai Li were impossible to take on all at once. She felt her flames grow weaker from her movements as she became more exhausted. Zuko, however, was only getting stronger. He shot fire bolt after fire bolt at (Y/N). They came so fast that she barely had time to respond. His fireblast shot her in the shoulder, sending her backwards into the cave walls. 

She groaned as she struggled to get up. Wind had spiraled around them as Aang rose into the air, his eyes and tattoos glowing a brilliant white. She cracked a smile. With the Avatar State, they might actually have a chance. 

Then she heard the sound that struck fear into her heart. The sharp crack of lightning reached her ears and suddenly Aang was no longer in the air. Aang fell to the ground and Katara dropped the Dai Li agents she had been fighting to rush herself to catch him. (Y/N) let out her own scream and ran to attack Azula, but the Dai Li agents sent her flying back into the cave wall with their rock gloves. She was trapped. 

Katara watched as her best friend struggled against her restraints. (Y/N) looked up at her. “Go!” She shouted as tears streamed down her cheeks. “He’ll die if you stay here, you have to go!” 

“I will hold them off!” Iroh said to Katara and Aang as he blasted his niece and nephew with fire. “Go, now!” 

(Y/N) watched Katara escape with Aang and as Iroh was overtaken. They both exchanged a knowing look. They knew exactly what would happen to them. 

---

Tag List! 

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[sokkas-honour]

dream boy: part 3 - sokka x reader

pairing: sokka x fem!reader

request: part 3 was requested by @missmorosis

wc: 2.7k

notes: i’m terribly sorry if it may seemed a bit rushed or not exactly consistent but i personally liked the way it ended. also this is the final part, i might make an epilogue if i actually finish everything i need to do.

part one | part one 1/2 | part two

sokka wasn’t able to see you until monday, purposefully ignoring all the texts from yours friends, not wanting to know if sokka actually told them what had happened or if he had decided to keep it to himself, either way, you were better off just staying off your phone until school started. you only unlocked your phone to text zuko back and even then you didn't always have the courage to do so.

you had made sure to wake up early in order to not cross paths with the watertribe boy, his sibling or just any of your friends until you absolutely had to, preferring to simply distance yourself from the others. of course you couldn't avoid them forever, you had over half of your classes with at least one of them, two of those being with sokka, the guy who you especially didn't want to see, history and gym. gym would be easy to avoid him in, you had become acquaintances with this lovely girl called jin, whom you also shared your math class with, you could just spend the whole period with her and avoid him. your real problem was going to be history. your teacher, mister kuzon, had informed the class that there would be a group project on any cultural aspect from the water tribe, and he had chosen the groups. the chance of you actually being paired with sokka was miniscule but the universe hadn’t seemed to be going easy on you lately.

and much to your dismay, the universe was in fact against you. when your history teacher’s voice had posted the groups, your heart had started racing as you approached the board to see the pairs, your heart was racing in fear and it dropped when you saw the name y/n next to sokka.

after being asked to sit next to your partner to get started, you stayed silent as you plopped down on the chair next to the boy who you were still trying to avoid, staying silent and keeping your eyes in front of you.

“are you going to work with me or is it going to be a silent treatment the whole time.” he questioned, turning to face you, arm hooked around the back of his chair as he looked at you desperately for any sign of you acknowledging his presence.

“i was thinking we could talk about the differences in the cuisine in the north and south.” you mumbled, chin on your hand as you kept your gaze on the board in front of you, ignoring the boy who was still searching for an answer.

“yeah, sounds good.” sokka sighed, giving up on receiving a straight answer from you. he turned back in his seat, disappointment radiating off of him, making you bite your lip in guilt. you shot him a glance from the corner of your eye as you saw him discreetly take his phone out to open the notes app but before you could see what he was typing he turned to face you, catching you right in the act.

“uh, saturday at your place?” seemed like the only logical way out of the embarrassing situation you had just walked into, still not breaking the staring between the two of you. you felt your heart speed up a bit at the extended eye contact, not having looked into his blue eyes in awhile, the last time being before you stormed out of his house after your confession.

“sounds good.” he offered you a small smile, happy to see that your attempt at a cold shoulder was somewhat backfiring, knowing that you couldn't avoid him forever. he let the stare linger a bit before turning his attention back to his phone and you quickly snapped back to your notes taken during the class. thanking yourself for not letting the stupid smile heat your cheeks up, now all you had to do was finish the class with a not so uncomfortable silence between the two of you.

the bell didn't take too long to ring before you had to move onto your next class which was the one you detested the most, science. courage surged through you as you waved goodbye to sokka, earning a bright smile back from the boy before you dashed out of the class. to anyone, that might have seemed rather pointless that you felt as proud as you did, a wave goodbye was considered an act of politeness, but that had been the first time you had really addressed sokka in any way since the unplanned confession. he had probably realised that as well, giving a reason for the sudden bright smile on his features.

you practically sprinted towards your science classroom, holding your books tightly to your chest to not let them fly out of your grip. you hoped zuko was already there, knowing he’d want to hear the rather big step you’d just taken in repairing your friendship with your childhood friend. you were surprised that the thought of slowly getting over him in order to just be friends had slipped your mind, remembering that this morning you didn't want anything to have to do with him for the rest of your life, wanting to just stay away from him to not ignite anything in you, but you were slowly realising it was ridiculous to throw away the friendship for your unrequited crush. you two may not be as close as before but you could still stay friends, you could still hangout with him without feeling like your heart was shattering every moment you’d meet his beautiful ocean eyes.

“zuko!” you called for him as soon as you spotted the back of his black haired head, whipping his head around to greet you with a grin, happy that you weren't ignoring him like he thought you might, considering your answers to his texts were rather sporadic and vague.

“happy to see you’re alive y/n.” he joked as soon as you caught up with him, both of you walking at the same height as you entered the room, taking a seat next to each other as you always did, even when the two of you werent as close as you were now.

“i think i’m ready to fully start moving on.” you announced, taking a deep breath before letting him know of your future plans, determination in yours eyes and tone as you felt set to move on from your crush.

“really? i'm surprised it didn't take longer.” his eyes grew a bit at your proclamation, not expecting to hear you say those words this early, thinking he’d have to see you distance yourself from everyone for weeks but it only took a day or two, making him slightly septic at how long you would actually last with your new resolution but nonetheless he was proud of you.

“yeah well i’m kind of stuck with sokka for a history project and i figured might as well start moving on from him. i still want to be friends with him.” you explained, taking your science homework out so you were prepared whenever the teacher would come on in.

“i’m proud of you y/n, its very mature of you.” he placed his hand on your shoulder, sincerity in his tone lifting your spirits up at the thought of repairing whatever damage you might’ve caused and the thought of the damage you were avoiding by taking action now instead of later.

saturday rolled around and you had managed to have some sort of small talk with sokka during your classes, still deciding to spend your lunch period with jin instead of your usual friends but it was a start to where you thought you would be saturday after you left. you had stopped eating with your friends a little over a week ago, opting to spend time with the lovely girl from your math class. you had had trouble sleeping friday night, scared of going to sokka’s house and falling back to where you started, back to square one, back in love with a friend who was already taken by a lovely girl.

your feet felt rather heavy as you walked down the familiar path to his house, bag with a your notebook and history course around your shoulder as you retraced the steps you had followed almost everyday during that particular summer, always going to sokka’s house to entertain yourself while school was out.

you first lingered in the air above the door for a couple of seconds, taking a deeo breath in to calm your nerves before you finally knocked. it didnt take long before it was opened, sokka with an eager smile on his lips was who greeted you behind the door.

“finally, you shouldve been here an hour ago!” he lamented jokingly as he moved out of the way to let you in, causing you to roll your eyes at how dramatic your friend was.

“sokka, im five minutes late.” you deadpanned, hastily taking your shoes off, leaning against a nearby wall for support.

“exactly!” he exclaimed, his voice cracking slightly and suddenly you felt as though nothing ever happened, as if your feelings had never come to make you want to change whatever relationship you had with him, simply feeling as though the two of you were just friends.

“really sokka? dont you reme,ber when i waited an hour for you outside in the freezing cold in the woods so we could make a campfire together? or that time where we were late in eight grade because someone accidentally put on ripped pants? or-”

“alright i get it.” he held his hands up in defeat at your inquisitive look, knowing you were only joking around with him to make him feel slightly guilty for all the times he had been late.

“my dad made seaweed noodles for us to eat while we work, hope thats okay.” shoving his hands in his pockets, waiting to see you reaction at the mention of one of your favorite dishes that he’d always insist his father to make you whenever you’d come by.

“no way!” you dashed into the kitchen, leaving sokka by himself at the entrance, surprised at how fast the two of you had seemed to ease back into things and some part of it seemed to good to be true but he was happy to have you back.

“wait for me!” he called for you, spending slightly to join you. a reminiscent smile on his lips as he watched you excitedly poor yourself a bowl, knowing where everything in the hous ewas from it practically being a second home for you during all those years.

“you’ll have to say thank you to hakoda.” you told him as you eyed the noodles, your stomach rumbling as you brought it to the table, it had been too long since you had eaten his father’s cooking.

“y/n, you havent even eaten it yet, how do you know its good?” he laughed as he watched you carefully bring the bowl to the dinner table, trying to get to it as fast as you could but still making sure to not let any of the broth spill out.

“because your dad’s seaweed noodles are the best!” you defended your previous statements, taking a seat as you waited for sokka to make his own bowl and bring chopsticks for the both of you. the watertribe boy nodded, slightly mocking you in his own playful way. while you waited for him to rejoin you, you took out the notebook you used for your history notes and grabbed a pen that was sitting on the table.

you scribbled down the title of your project and tapped your pen, impatient waiting to be able to dig into your steaming hot dish.

“have any ideas for the presentation?” sokka startled you slightly, coming from behind you to lean over your shoulde to see if you had written anything but he was met with a blank page.

“no, now get me my chopsticks idioy.” you shoved his head away, earning a protestful ‘hey’ from him as your brought your hand back to wram themselvbes on the bowl.

“here.” he placed the chopsticks next to the bowl before making his way around the table to sit in front of you, slowly blowing on his soup to cool it down.

“took you long enough.” you teased before you grabbed them to pick up some of the noodles, cooling them off with your breath before shoving some of it into your mouth. sokka started laughing at how quickly you engulfed the noodles that his father had spent the morning making.

you flipped him off, not caring at how ‘unlady like’ you might’ve looked but it had been forever since you had tasted his father’s seaweed noodles, during winter it was a staple food for whenever you would spend the night but since the weather had gotten warmer and you had grown more distant, it had been a hot minute since you had a traditional dish of the southern water tribe, something you’d most definitely use in your comparison of the different cuisines.

“before we start, i wanted to talk to you about something.” sokka brought his hand down, deciding not to eat just yet but rather address the elephant in the room.

“yeah?” you knew where this was going so you finished chewing what was in your mouth and swallowed, keeping your eyes on the food as you wiated for sokka’s question.

“so where do we stand, us? i mean two days ago you stormed off, after weeks of us not actually talking and now it feels like everything is fine. i just want to make sure that you’re okay.” you took a deep breath in, knowing this was coming, knowing you had to confront your feelings upfront now and not just push whatever you were feeling down, hoping it didnt blow over one day.

“if im being honest sokka, i like you, still, but i want us to be friends. im happy to see that suki makes you happy, but it might take some time for me to get over you so we might not ever be as close as before for my own sake but im willing to try my hardest to fix anything i mightve broken in the last couple of weeks. because i love having you as a friend and no matter how much it wouldve hurt to be with you before, i still missed my best friend.” you slowly lifted your head up, pouring out what was your mind without any filter, letting him know where you stood, sincerity written on your features as you wiated to see sokka’s reaction.

“that sounds good, whatever works for you. just happy i dont have to lose my oldest friend” he finally answered after silence settled between the two of you, letting your words settle and let him process your new confession.

you smiled back and then the two of you turned your attention back to the noodles, the two of you practically inhaling the food as the only sound was the muching of the seaweed and the slurping of the soup. a nice moment shared between two friends.

“you know, theres still girl that i just know you’d like.” sokka was the first to speak up, a small tease in his tone as he tried to set you up right after you told him you were trying to move on from him.

“sokka.” you threatened, not wanting him to go down whatever road he was about go down to, you finding it to be the wrong moment to bring this up.

“i’m just saying i have yue’s number if you want it!” he recoiled on his claim, but made sure to name drop the girl he supposedly thought was perfect for you. blood rushed to your cheeks at the mention of his ex girlfriend from middle school, rmebering how beautiful you thought the white haired girl was and how you had a small crush on her while they were dating.

the boy in front of you simply laughed, feeling content at where he now stood with his friend since kindergarten. he was your dream boy, but maybe not in the way you first thought. he was the boy of your dreams but not all dreams need to be romantic.

general taglist: @draqondance @biqherosix @sunnypluto @butterfly-skinnylegend @staygoldsquatchling02 @yuesallura

atla taglist: @welovediaaxx @ilovespideyyy @missmorosis

sokka taglist: @firelady-jay

[milkypompon]

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟛 | ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕖 Zuko x Reader

*+:｡.｡𝔼𝕩𝕥𝕣𝕒 ℍ𝕠𝕥 𝕊𝕚𝕗𝕦 ℍ𝕠𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕟｡.｡:+*

ℤ𝕦𝕜𝕠 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣

< ℙℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕆𝕌𝕊 || ℕ𝔼𝕏𝕋 >

𝕄𝔸𝕊𝕋𝔼ℝ𝕃𝕀𝕊𝕋 𝕆𝔽 𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕊 𝔹𝕆𝕆𝕂

𝕀𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕖 | Aang and Y/N are siblings who share powers, but Y/N was hidden from the Four Nation’s eyes to avoid the possibility of their separation. Then, Zuko meets the flamboyant and flirtatious Y/N for the first time at the Western Air Temple where he attempts to join the tight-knit Gaang. 

𝔸𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣'𝕤 ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖 | A-are we getting Zuko content?

A blur.

That’s what last night felt like. Images and sensations of the unknown relentlessly surged through Aang and Y/N. Even with Sokka’s gentle fingers weaving through Y/N’s hair, massaging their scalp in an attempt to help them calmly recollect the events of yesterday. 

Sokka dangled his legs over a crumbled ledge that once allowed young Air Nomads to practice their first take off. He peeked over the edge to gauge the height, questioning if he could die from it. Shifting his focus elsewhere, Sokka sighed at the sight of Y/N’s head who laid stiff on his lap and staring blankly at the young morning sky. 

“What?” Y/N scoffed, adjusting their eyes onto Sokka’s ocean blues.

“I didn’t even say anything!” He pulled his hands up in surrender. 

“I know what you’re thinking!” Y/N shifted away from him and opted to leaning on his back, since there wasn’t really any proper furniture at the Western Air Temple. Unless the crumbling stone paved ground, poking at their bums counted.

Y/N stretched out their fingers behind them, pulling on Sokka’s ponytail, “You wanna throw me down there and see if it’ll trigger the Avatar state. Maybe it’ll help me remember, eh?”

He yelped, swatting Y/N’s hand away. “No, I wasn’t! If there’s anyone I wanna throw down there… It would be Zuko,” Sokka stated.

Y/N barely heard the last part, it was barely above a whisper. “Speaking of-”

“Nope! Absolutely not!”

With a swift motion, Y/N flipped over and kneeled next to Sokka. “You didn’t even hear me out!” Y/N cocked their head in his direction.

“Direct orders from Katara,” He planted the palm of his hand into their face. “No visiting the burnt chicken nugget.”

“UGH, I HATE IT HERE,” Y/N shuffled their feet together to stand up, pulling on Sokka’s ponytail once again before sprinting away.

-

The cold concrete pricked Y/N’s bare feet as it padded along the hallway of the Air Nomad’s sleeping quarters, now claimed by the Gaang. They ran their hand along the wall trying to feel their way down the dim corridor, instead picking up decades of dust. Y/N snapped their fingers to bend it away, successfully tickling their nose into a sneeze.

“ACHOO!” The sound bounced off the walls, making it echo back to their ears. A disturbed groan caught Y/N’s ears.

Y/N smirked, “Found you…”

-

Y/N’s shadow cast over the carved doorway, as they peeped through it.

“Who’s there?” Zuko’s voice was gruff, as if he hadn’t drank water in days, even though Katara healed him with her element.

In normal circumstances, which there never really was such, they’d sprint away from the Prince. But seeing him attempt to prop himself up to his elbows, Y/N wanted to lay there next to Zuko on the rickety wooden bed. The need to sleep in his arms, as he ran his long fingers through Y/N’s hair, releasing sighs of content and admiration from both ends.

Y/N carefully stepped into the vacant room that held nothing but the two teenagers and the crumbling bed. 

“Hello, Y/N here…”

Zuko’s eyes shifted from Y/N to the thin blanket, clutching it tightly. “What are you doing?”

Y/N took a step forward and crossed their arms. “I’m always here for you Master Flameo.”

A tinge of red pinched Zuko’s ears. He could never get used to this relentless teasing because even his first relationship (if he could even call it that) was not built on rainbows and unicorns. Instead, he was given fire and knives… very sharp knives. 

He suppressed the bubbling smile forcing itself out by twisting his body to face the chalky grey wall.

“I don’t need you.”

Y/N sighed as they neared his stiff frame. “Yeah, but I need you.”

Zuko’s mind was racing as thoughts and questions flooded into him.

Need me…? 

Y/N cleared their throat and poked his soft cheek, causing him to whip his head back from the contact.

“Aang and I need you to help us fight your daddy.”

Of course, Zuko silently scolded himself. 

He flopped over to fully face Y/N and grasped their wrist with a strong grip. Y/N was caught off guard, yelping as he yanked it close to his chest. Their faces hovered over each other’s, noses just inches apart. 

Y/N noticed the sunlight seeping through the small carved opening behind the bed, crawling onto his delicate features, usually twisted in disdain. His growing hair was framed along his jawline, it was almost long enough to act as a curtain over his eyes. But it wasn’t enough to shade over his softening amber eyes, those crystallines of yellow met Y/N’s lips drawn tight into a thin line. 

Zuko didn’t know what caused him to act like this sporadically. Yes, he was well-acknowledged by his crew as a ticking bomb, not knowing when he’d explode. Even his own girlfriend (well, an ex now) couldn’t grasp his temperament. She called him, as quoted, “capricious”, always acting on the whim, never thinking of the consequences. 

Don’t even get Zuko started on Uncle Iroh. Though he never outright voiced his thoughts of his nephew’s swirling mind, there were implications of his opinion.

He couldn’t blame them. He really couldn’t.

But what they didn’t understand was that Zuko always envisioned the consequences. It would play out in his mind like a tape on a loop. Whether it was good or bad, he always took the chance.

Y/N stood there rigid, unable to pull away from his grip. Y/N and Sokka never acted coy with each other, always straight out teasing and poking fun of each other. He always returned their actions with a playful, snarky remark or would even push his limits to giving them a smack of the lips on the cheek as an act of thanks. 

But, they didn’t know Sokka’s intentions. 

He always sought out people who initiated true feelings of love. They were unlike the people that piqued his interest. Y/N knew they couldn’t bend his preferences to their own personality. 

Even the fortune teller of Makapu village, contorted their face as she began to read the cracking bone in front of her.

𝔼𝕟𝕕 ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖 | I’M YELLING! I’m actually loving how this is turning out so far. As some of you may know, this series is ending soon. I can’t really gauge how many chapters there’ll be, but I’m guessing about three chapters-ish. Which honestly is a pretty good amount for an ending.

Thank you always for the support! What are your thoughts so far?

【ℝ𝔼ℚ𝕌𝔼𝕊𝕋 𝕋𝕆 𝔹𝔼 𝕆ℕ 𝔸 𝕋𝔸𝔾𝕃𝕀𝕊𝕋 𝕋ℍℝ𝕌 𝕄𝕐 𝕀ℕ𝔹𝕆𝕏】

@haylaansmi @lizzyumi @ruinedlies @anime-simp​ @akariblue​ @uber-scooter​ @celamoon​ ​@rhodeisland101 @flloooooopppa @mackandcheese24 @samschaoticblogs​ @ilovespideyyy @kisskissshutmydoor​ @og-disaster-bi @emogril​ @vlovers-world @samsmultifandomblogs @plutaars @kinismanditory @shephard17895 @eridanuswave @iguessthefloorislava @a-hopeless-fan @mybnkjj @mahleeyuh @elammd @seducethis72 @was-yeeted-to-the-moon @sadbitchhours400 @janedeowriter @lunariasilver @doodlephobic​ @coldlilheart @too-attached-to-fiction @iknowrocknroll567

[degenerate-perturbation]

tagged by @sharlatan-ka for top 10 favorite female characters, but that's way too intimidating a question to figure out so instead I will use this opportunity to showcase a bunch of female characters that became my favorites in large part because of how much everyone hates or disregards them

1. Vivienne de Fer, Dragon Age. Easily one of the most interesting characters in all three games, certainly the most interesting character in Dragon Age: Inquisition. If people put even the tiniest fraction of the effort into her that they do into Background Man #3 the world would be an immeasurably better place.

2. Isis Ishtar, Yu-Gi-Oh! What makes me mad about this one is that Isis had the exact same abusive childhood that her brothers did (with Bonus Misogyny!) but people still act like she's fine and that she'd be a force of uncomplicated conservatism and traditionalism and wouldn't have any trauma relating to anything that happened to her. What's wrong with you guys. She is clearly super traumatized. Also I thought she was really pretty and was super hypnotized by her outfit in the Battle City finals.

3. Minerva Paradizo, Artemis Fowl. I remember reading the fifth book in this series as a young child and instantly taking a liking to her because oh wow, she's just like Artemis but a girl :) She's so cool and pretty and awesome and the type of character I can project onto the way I can absolutely not project onto the Action Girls in this series I can't wait to see what fanfiction there is about her :) And that is how I discovered the ridiculously disproportionate amount of hatred this fictional French 12-year-old girl had garnered even unto having her be written out of the sequels, and this my friends is when I began to know true hatred.

4. Mai, Avatar: The Last Avatar. Everyone was like bluh bluh she's so boring she doesn't deserve Zuko. Fuck off, she loved him, she deserves nice things, I hate you. Also she is hot.

5. Misa Amane, Death Note. Another character who I shipped with their love interest as a child solely on the principle of "She's so pretty and nice, she deserves to have whatever she wants including that ain't-shit man she's in love with." I love and defend every female character who loves somebody honestly and openly and has their love thrown back in their face, they deserve to be loved too!!! Also all the Light/L fanfiction that wrote her out or cast her as a stupid airhead made me mad. Death Note would have been better if Misa had been a serious player in the game.

Okay there are probably more but none more off the top of my head so here are 5 more female characters that I related to or saw myself in at one point or another in my life and therefore will always be a little bit special to me.

6. Mabel Pines, Gravity Falls. At Mabel's age I was actually kind of a misanthropic goth kid drawing pictures of my school blowing up which in this day and age would probably get me collected by CPS, but maybe around ages 16-19 I was very much like Mabel. I had a sticker book of over 5000 Lisa Frank stickers and I would use them to decorate my phone case with a solid collage of rainbow dolphins and princesses, like a fucking fruit.

7. Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation. I really liked Leslie because she was too much but in a way that was cast in a completely positive light. Her meddlesomeness and earnestness and try-hard nature are things we are supposed to like about her even when it causes problems. As somebody who has historically been Too Much this was really nice to see.

8. Undyne, Undertale. Undyne is a Vriska, but good. As someone who hated Vriska because she was kind of all my worst characteristics (as I understood them) rolled into a single horrible character, so Undyne was also a comforting character to see portrayed positively.

9. Utena Tenjou, Revolutionary Girl Utena. Self explanatory.

10. I can't think of a tenth character so I'm just going to say Eowyn from Lord of the Rings but not really the film version. Film Eowyn is fine but not enough of a huge bitch. Book Eowyn is a problematic depressed bitch and she still gets defeat big-deal villains and have nice men fall in devoted love with her because she's awesome and the best.

Anyway, the end. Tagging uhhh you usual bastards @linksawakening @transcastiels @rem-ir @beanplague @yamitamiko @skullhaver @fractalwriter get cracking sluts

[radishaur]

Hi there! can I request a Fire Lord Zuko x reader please? she’s his top advisor and yet 1 day before a super important meeting she fell sick, when Zuko saw the state that she’s in he doesn’t even think twice about cancelling said meeting and decided he would spend the rest of the day taking care of her instead (he got an earful from her though sort of like ‘why would you do this? this meeting has been planned for months and you cancelled it just because i’m sick?’)

“Sorry I ran out of wordcount, also Zuko is secretly in love with her because she has saved his ass many times in diplomacy! Thank you”

I love this idea! I do vaguely remember reading something similar so I’m going to do my best to make this different. I apologize for this taking so long but I was with family for the weekend so I’ll be writing more often again now. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

- Zoe

•••

Sick Days (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: None

Genre: Fluff

Part: 1/1

Summary: See request

•••

Things had been tough since Zuko’s coronation. It had taken a long time for the citizens of the Fire Nation to trust him. Half of them hated him because he overthrew Ozai and half of there were weary of what he would do. Would he be like his father or something else entirely?

It was quite safe to say that he had proven to be nothing like his father. Unfortunately this pretty much split the nation’s support of him. Most of them loved him for it, but there were still a fair amount of people who missed the days of Ozai’s reign. Nevertheless, Zuko continued doing what he thought was best for the nation.

The very first thing he did as Fire Lord was appoint me as his number one advisor. I had been hesitant about accepting his offer. The Gaang had assured me that I would be amazing at it, but I pointed out that I weren’t nearly as qualified as I should have been. Despite that, Zuko had eventually talked me into it. Turns out it was the best decision he ever made. I was an absolute powerhouse.

There had been countless times where my suggestions had saved his ass from a political disaster and many more times that simply just my presence on his council calmed him down. Plus, I actually loved the job.

To me, it came easy. Despite having no previous experience with being a political (and admittedly sometimes a life) advisor, I had proven to everybody that I was a perfect match for the job. I was punctual, polite, and smart while also being incredibly passionate and persistent. I knew what battles to pick and which to let go.

That was, until it came to my own well-being.

As I sat in the throne room, trying desperately to listen to what the other advisors were saying, I realized that it was a lost cause. I knew without a doubt that I was sick, but I didn’t care. My duty to the nation came first.

“Y/N?” I heard someone ask.

My eyes shot to the voice and I immediately scolded myself when I saw Zuko’s concerned gaze.

“Sorry, I missed the question,” I admitted sheepishly.

“I asked what you thought about the nation’s educational budget. I believe you were the one who brought up some concerns?” he repeated.

“Oh! Yes,” I said, immediately shooting into my detailed explanation about how many of the schools in impoverished areas were incredibly defunded and led the council through your redistribution plan.

The conversation continued from there, but I had to do everything in my power to sit up straight. I was beginning to feel light headed and I could feel myself sweating buckets. Even without the flames burning in front of the throne, the room had never felt hotter to me. I only prayed the meeting would end soon.

All I needed was to spend an hour or two in my room to recover. I needed to recover. Later today there was another meeting scheduled that had been planned for months. It was regarding the Fire Nation colonies and what to do about them, which I knew was a pressing matter. Zuko would definitely need me to be there, so I had to get better. And fast.

Finally, the meeting was over and I scrambled out of the room. I was making my way down the hall and using the wall to brace myself. My head felt light and I was beginning to see spots. I held my head up in my left hand and felt my knees get weak.

The last thing I remembered was someone calling my name as I succumbed to unconsciousness.

I woke up in my bed, still feeling extremely hot and uncomfortable but no longer faint. I cracked my eyes open and looked over to the side of your room where Zuko was talking with a few nurses. Upon realizing I were awake, he rushed over to my side.

“Y/N, are you insane? Why didn’t you tell anyone you felt sick?” he asked angrily, but you could tell it wasn’t directed at you.

“I’m fine,” I said, trying to shove the heavy comforter off of myself.

Zuko pushed my hand away and pulled the comforter back into its original position, muttering under his breath about how stubborn I was. I could tell he was worried and decided to let it go instead of picking a fight.

“I’ll be fine, Zuko,” I insisted, rolling my eyes and propping myself up on my elbow, “I just need to rest before the meeting later today.”

“There’s no meeting. I cancelled it,” he said, sitting down on the bed at my side.

I shot up at his words. Cancelled? I felt my stomach drop as dread began to fill me.

“Tell me this is a sick joke,” I begged.

“The meeting can wait. Your well-being is more important,” he insisted, pushing softly on my shoulder as a signal for me to lay back down.

“You could have just had the meeting without me. This has been planned for months!” I protested, moving his hand off my shoulder.

“Well, it’s impossible to be in two places at once,” he joked, signaling for the nurses to leave.

I watched them leave with a confused expression. I looked back at Zuko with my brows furrowed.

“What are you talking about? And why did you send away the nurses? I would have thought you would insist they take care of me,” I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest as I spoke.

“I would have if I wasn’t going to,” he answered, standing up and grabbing a wet towel from the table beside me.

“WHAT?!?” I shouted, my body immediately going tense as I glared at him before snapping, “Are you the one that’s sick? Because clearly something is clouding your judgement.”

Zuko rolled his eyes as he wrung out the extra water from the towel before placing it on my forehead and forcing me to lay down.

“I’m not just going to sit around while you’re unwell,” he scoffed, sitting back down on the bed.

“You have a nation to run! This meeting is beyond important, certainly at least more important than me being sick. You can’t just cancel it to take care of me! That’s just selfish,” I protested once again, although I still allowed him to pull the covers up once more.

“So what if it is? Can’t I be selfish just this once?” he asked, sending me a glance that filled me with guilt as he said, “You’re my best friend and my most trusted advisor. Without you, I wouldn’t be doing half as good as I am at being Fire Lord right now if not for you. You’ve saved my ass more times than I can count and I’m not about to walk into an important meeting without you there.”

I sighed. Zuko’s stubbornness could rival my own at times and I knew this would be one of them. He had a habit of doing incredibly stupid things to prove things and help those he cared about. I decided this was not a battle I wanted to fight. I rolled my eyes as he continued fussing with the covers.

“Fine. You can take care of me,” I huffed, watching him smile happily before continuing, “But,...I don’t want you making me any of your shitty tea. I’m not feeling well enough to pretend it’s improved.”

I giggled as he pouted and grumbled about how he was being unnecessarily criticized. I smiled as he finally relaxed once more. He shifted slightly so he was facing me and then coughed awkwardly.

“So, um....do you need anything?” he asked nervously, clearly realizing he had no idea what he was doing.

“I could use some soup and a nap,” I admitted, my throat beginning to feel dry as I added, “And maybe some soothing tea.”

“I’ll get right on that. And I promise I’ll have Uncle make the tea,” he teased, standing up to leave.

I laughed slightly at his joke. He smiled pleasantly before bowing with a teasing smile and then turned to leave. As the door shut behind him, I found myself drifting off to sleep.

When I woke up once more, I saw it was dark outside. The doors to the balcony were open and let in a soft breeze as the stars twinkled brightly outside. I had slept for a few hours. I sat up slightly and turned to my side to see Zuko asleep in a chair.

He must have pulled it up to my bed when I was asleep. By his side on the table was a tray with now cold soup and tea. I looked back at Zuko and couldn’t help but smile. He must have changed out of his Fire Lord garb before coming back because now he was wearing casual Fire Nation attire. He still had the Fire Lord’s headpiece in his topknot, but as his head was leaning sideways against the back of the chair, it was tilting slightly out of the knot.

He looked peaceful as he slept, snoring quietly due to his position in the chair. Some hair had fallen out of his top knot and was falling lightly around his face, framing it perfectly. I decided not to wake him up. He always overworked himself and I knew the sleep was well deserved.

I grabbed the tray of food and carefully brought it into my lap. I heated the soup with my fire bending and waited until it began to steam. I began to eat it eagerly, only now realizing how hungry I had been.

“You’re eating like you haven’t eaten in days.”

I smiled at Zuko as he repositioned himself in his chair. He looked incredibly tired as he smiled lazily at me.

“You should sleep. You look tired,” I said, now heating my tea.

“No, I said I would take care of you and I intend to keep true to that promise,” Zuko insisted, scooting his chair closer to my side.

He checked my temperature by pressing the back of his hand against my forehead. I waited obediently as he thought. I blushed slightly as I let myself relish in the warmth emanating from his hand against my forehead.

“You’re still hot,” he murmured, causing me to blush before his eyes went wide in realization of what he had said and stuttering, “I-I mean like you’re burning up.”

“R-Right,” I replied, a small smile breaking out on my face.

Zuko avoided my gaze as he grabbed the towel from my side and getting it wet once more. I continued sipping my tea as he laid the towel on my forehead again. The cool feeling against my skin felt nice, but I couldn’t help but blush as Zuko’s fingers grazed my own as he laid his hand down on the bed.

I let my pinky wrap around his and waited with baited breath to see what he would do. To my surprise, he took that as an invitation and held my hand in his. It was warm and soft in my own and I smiled.

“You’re warm,” I said softly, leaning back against the pillows.

“So are you. We’re both firebenders,” he pointed out with a smile of his own.

I chuckled but didn’t say anything more. I was still tired and sipping my tea to hopefully calm my nerves. Holding Zuko’s hand and laying in bed sick wasn’t exactly what I imagined my night to look like, but I wasn’t complaining.

Zuko was my best friend and, admittedly, the person I loved more than anyone in the world. To say I had a crush on him was an understatement. I wanted to tell him how I felt many times, but it just never worked out. Something always stopped me, wether it was his search for the Avatar or Mai. But now, I had an opportunity and I was too scared to take it.

“It’s nice to relax for a moment,” he finally said, breaking the silence.

“Yea, it is. Sometimes I forget what it feels like,” I joked, setting my empty tea cup on the tray.

Zuko unlatched his hand from mine to take the tray off my lap. I thanked him as he set it down on the bedside table.

“I’ve missed just spending time with you. Being Fire Lord is incredibly time consuming,” he sighed as he brought his hands back to his lap.

He looked at my hand, seeming to hesitate as he debated wether to hold it again or not. His nervousness made me smile. He had always had a hard time knowing what was comfortable or not in social situations.

I moved so my hand was palm up and wiggled my fingers a little bit to give him the nudge. He blushed, clearly embarrassed at being caught debating, but moved his hand into mine nonetheless.

“I’ve missed you,” I said, smiling while meeting his amber eyes.

I saw an unrecognizable feelings flash across his face before he covered it with a small smile. I could see a tint of red on his cheeks and neck.

He was clearly just as nervous as I was.

“I do too. I’m sorry it took you getting sick for me to spend some time with you alone. I’ve just been so busy,” he apologized sincerely.

I scoffed.

“I’m not sick,” I protested, “I’m just off my game.”

He cocked his eyebrow and shot me a look that made me roll my eyes and smile. I sighed, admitting my defeat.

“Ok, fine. I’m sick. But seriously, it’s ok. I know you’re busy. I know you still care about me,” I assured him, squeezing his hand slightly.

“But still. You deserve a better friend than me. You should befriend someone who can give you the attention and time you deserve,” he said, a sad glimmer in his eyes as he spoke.

“Zuko, I don’t want anyone else to be my best friend. You just cancelled a meeting we’ve had planned for months the second I needed you. You’re the best best friend I could ask for,” I responded, forcing myself to sit up slightly as I spoke.

“Y/N, that’s not-“ he began to say, but I cut him off.

I brought my free hand up to his face as I looked at him. He was shocked into silence at the contact, but didn’t move or protest.

“You’re the most important person in my life. I’m not going to replace you because you’re the Fire Lord. In fact, I’m so proud of you for everything you’ve done. The fact that you’re so dedicated to your job just makes me even more sure I picked the right friend,” I said, letting my thumb graze slowly across his cheek.

Before I knew what was happening, Zuko had moved up to meet my face and kissed me. His lips were warm and tasted vaguely of the jasmine tea he always had before bed. I didn’t get a chance to kiss back before he frantically pulled away.

“I’m so sorry. That was stupid. You literally just called me your friend, I just- I got caught up in the moment and-“ he hurriedly tried to explain before I cut him off with a kiss.

I cupped his face again as I kissed him, effectively cutting off his explanation. He melted into me immediately and didn’t hesitate to bring his hand up to my neck, his other hand still holding mine.

“I’ve been waiting years to do that,” I whispered against his lips.

“So have I,” he whispered back.

When he finally pulled away, we both had the widest smiles on our faces. To finally admit our feelings for eachother and have them be returned was so relieving. I would finally get to be with him.

Zuko spent the next few days nursing me back to health, much to my protests that he needed to get back to work. As soon as I was feeling better, Zuko finally scheduled the meeting.

It went fantastic. There were a few hiccups, but ultimately everybody left happy. A plan had been set in motion for the uniting of the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation citizens that would satisfy both sides. Zuko was so proud of himself for standing up for what he thought was right and I was the luckiest woman in the world to be the one he kissed in excitement.

Life had never been better.

[maybe-i-dreamt-u]

Soft sighs and simple smiles

  “I’m sorry. I really am.” She said.

Zuko couldn’t really believe what just happened. Had Mai actually fucking broken up with him? He vision was suddenly very cloudy and he didn’t know if it was because of his headache or the tears pooling in his eyes. He needed to get out of there. Quickly.

He had said something before he left the room. Something along the lines of “sorry I wasn’t enough.” Or “best of luck”, but he wasn’t really sure what. He’s sure he didn’t just storm off without a word, but right now he really couldn’t remember what it is that he said. It’s not like it mattered, anyway.

The next few hours were a bit of a blur. Zuko was feeling too sick and there were too many tears streaming down his face to properly pay attention to what he was doing. Running away, apparently. At around 3 in the morning the realisation kind of hit him. Fire Lord Zuko, yes, the one who had just had a wonderful meeting with his council not even 12 hours ago, was currently sitting in a train going to Ba Sing Sai, with a big black hood on so people wouldn’t recognize him (and also so they wouldn’t see his red face and puffy eyes). That Fire Lord Zuko had just been dumped and was now heading to his uncle in hope for some comfort and good tea. Though if he thought about it, good tea was comfort.

Zuko felt more dead than alive when he entered the Jasmine Dragon, and he wanted to sleep more than anything else in the world, but he knew he had to at least say hello to the person who had supported and loved him more than anyone else. So he quickly stopped by the kitchen to hug Uncle and thank him for allowing his nephew to come on such short notice, before heading upstairs to his room. As soon as the door was closed behind him, the salty tears returned and Zuko threw himself face down on the bed, wishing he could get a fucking break from life.

 -

 As soon as Iroh had called them, Sokka knew he had to get to Ba Sing Sai as soon as possible. He knew what getting broken up with felt like (thanks, Suki) and he also knew that what his best friend (who he was coincidentally very much in love with, you know, to make tings difficult) needed, was a distraction. Or, in other words, Zuko needed his friends to come over. So Katara and Aang took Appa and collected Sokka and Toph on their way to the Earth Kingdom. They made it to the city in no less than 5 hours.

Sokka hadn’t exactly expected Zuko to be ball of sunshine, but that didn’t prepare him for the sight inside the tea shop. In the far left corner, where light barely made it though the windows, Zuko was sitting alone, drinking a small cup of tea and writing something in a leather journal. He looked like he hadn’t slept since the breakup. His matted hair was slightly covering his face, which was lacking its usual angry expression. Zuko just looked empty. Sokka’s heart broke a little. He hadn’t seen Zuko like this since Azula was put in a mental hospital.

The others didn’t seem to take the sight much better either. Katara looked like she wanted to cry too and Aang had a horrible, pitiful look on his face. And Toph, well… Toph couldn’t see so she was safe for now.

The group approached Zuko slowly and quietly, trying not to startle him, as if he was some wild animal that would run off at the slightest sign of danger. Knowing Zuko and his relationship with emotions, he probably would run off.

As they got closer to his table, Zuko lifted his eyes. He looked more annoyed, than surprised to see them.

“I fucking knew he would tell you” he said in lieu of hello and dropped his gaze back to what he was writing.

“Well hello to you too, Sparky!” Toph punched Zuko’s arm and took a seat next to him. Katara, Aang and Sokka sat down on the other side.

“Hey there, Zuko! How are you?” said Aang cheerly and Zuko answered flatly with

“Fucking great, and you?” Apart from his right hand, he wasn’t moving, but Sokka could see how tense he was.

“Oh, you know, just… Visiting a beautiful city” Everyone fell silent after that. None of them really knew what to say to Zuko when he was like this. Sokka wished he could crack a joke for his best friend, but he suddenly felt at a loss for words. Seeing Zuko so incredibly sad made his heart hurt. He just wanted to hold him tight and never let anything bad happen to him ever again. But that was against the rules, and this wasn’t even about him in the first place, so Sokka shoved that thought away for the time being.

“Look Zuko, we’re just trying to help you.” Katara tried again. Zuko just huffed in response.

“I know you and Mai were very close,” Zuko physically flinched at the mention of his ex-girlfriend, “and I know that you feel rea-“ she continued, but Zuko interrupted with a quiet

“You don’t know shit, ok? Stop acting like you know what’s going on. I appreciate the sentiment, but you really. Really. Don’t have any expertise in this particular domain.” Zuko sounded like he was staring to tear up again. Katara looked hurt, but she thankfully held her mouth. Toph however didn’t.

“I get that you’re hurt n’ all, but you really don’t have to be a bitch. We’re here for you, Sparky, not because we missed Ba Sing Sai so much, so maybe try acting like you appreciate it, and loosen up a bit.” Zuko opened his mouth to say something but Toph was quicker. “And don’t even try to tell me “Oh but I didn’t ask you to come!!” because we both know that you needed us to come and take your mind off things. I mean which one of us looks like they haven’t slept for 48 hours? Exactly. You. Now shut up and get me a cup of jasmine tea, please” She ended with an innocent smile and, for some reason, Zuko actually got up and headed towards the kitchen. Or at least that’s what Sokka thought. In the last moment, instead of going straight ahead, Zuko turned left and vanished in the back room.

“What the fuck, Toph?” Sokka stood up before he could think twice and headed in the same direction. He was going to go upstairs towards Zuko’s room but then he noticed the Fire Lord sitting expressionless in the corner of an empty staff room, knees to his chest, looking out the window. He looked like a little child that had been separated from his mother. Sokka’s heart broke a little more.

“Hey” he announced himself, in case Zuko hadn’t spotted him. His friend didn’t move, but he didn’t tell Sokka to stay away either, so Sokka slowly approached him. He sat down next to him and waited in silence. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Sokka was looking for the right way to tell him that he’s not alone, he’s got his friends and his uncle and yeah, it sucks now, but it’ll get better, you just have to give it some time, and, the Universe knows what to do, and frankly, they didn’t even look that cute together, and it would all be ok. Instead he just said

“You look like you could use a hug.” After a few moments of silence Zuko turned to look at him and asked

“What?” in flattest tone possible, with an impossibly tired look on his face. Sokka just shrugged and went

“I don’t know, you just give me the vibes of a person in need of a hug” he said with a tiny, knowing smile.

Zuko hummed in approval and turned to face him fully. Sokka opened his arms and Zuko slowly leaned into them, carefully placing his forehead on his friend’s chest. Sokka hoped Zuko couldn’t feel his heart beating at 1000mph and concentrated on embracing him in the fiercest hug he could muster. Slowly but surely he felt Zuko relax against his strong body. After a couple of minutes he let out a soft, little, ragged sigh and Sokka thought he might die on the spot.

Though unfortunately after a while Sokka could barely feel his legs anymore and as much as he hated ruining the moment, he said in the softest voice possible

“Bro I’m sorry to interrupt but my legs are absolutely dead, so if we’re gonna keep cuddling you have to let me move a bit”.

“First of all we’re not cuddling, I’m just receiving a comforting hug from my best friend because I feel like I’m going to die alone, and second of all, no.” Sokka felt a smile forming on his face and tried his best not to let it show.

“Ok, well if you want to keep receiving a comforting hug from your best friend, you’re gonna have to move because my legs also feel like they’re going to die alone.” Zuko only huffed at that and then he lifted his head. They changed into a more comfortable position, Sokka leaning his back on the wall, and Zuko’s head under Sokka’s chin, Sokka’s arms around Zuko’s fragile looking body. After he was sure that Zuko had closed his eyes, he texted Aang “we won’t be back for a while, don’t come looking, I’ve got it under control”. He wasn’t sure he actually had it under control, but he couldn’t tell Aang that, could he now?

The two just sat there without speaking. The silence was only occasionally broken by Zuko sighing or sniffing quietly, but nothing more. After about half an hour, just as Sokka was about to fall asleep and have the greatest nap of his existence, Zuko said faintly

“It was so sudden. I never even saw it coming” He said it so quietly that Sokka almost missed it. He starting asking himself if he had only imagined it when Zuko continued. “I know her. I’ve known her for years. And she didn’t act any differently.” That was followed by a sniffle and then, “She just- Fell out of love? I guess? That’s what she said but I don’t even know if I should believe it because she looked so sad, like I was the one breaking up with her. What the fuck is up with that?” He was now fully crying again. Sokka didn’t know what to say. He had never been great at words. So he just squeezed Zuko a little harder. That seemed to work, because Zuko went on, “I know this is gonna sound really dramatic, but I honest to Agni felt like I was dying a slow painful death as she was speaking to me. That feeling died down a bit since then though” Sokka could hear a smile in his voice. Oh the world really isn’t fair, is it?

After that he fell silent again. So they spent the better part of an hour on the floor, Zuko mostly crying, Sokka’s heart breaking, but it seemed to work. A good quarter of an hour after Zuko’s last sigh, Sokka finally spoke again.

“I know that you’re hurting immensely, and that you’d rather just brood in your room right now, but I think maybe it’s time that we go back to the others. I’m sure Katara and Toph have learned their lessons and maybe Aang will even manage to cheer you up. Also, I came here to have tea, and it’s kind of hard to drink any in this position.” Zuko didn’t even seem to hear him, so Sokka nudged his head gently. All he got in response was a simple “not yet”, so he tried again.

“Dude, it’s been like 2 hours…” to which Zuko only mumbled something inaudible. Sokka decided to let it go, but then the Fire Lord stood up, dragging the former with him.

He didn’t look Sokka in the eye as he said “Thanks. I mean it.” And then left the room. Sokka followed shortly after and counted it all as a victory.

[koiotic]

The Fire Nation becomes a democracy (maybe the real political restructuring was the friends we made along the way)

I have no impulse control so I wrote a thing based on my own post 

Tagging @dreyri-infinity-aldranaris because they commented on my original post and it gave me two years of serotonin 

———

“The war’s over.”

Katara blinked. “What?”

“War’s over,” Sokka repeated blankly.

“What?” Her voice cracked a little, but he just held up the piece of paper in his hand, looking a little dazed.

“People were yelling about it when I went to buy food. Apparently someone beat us to taking down Ozai.”

“Who?” Aang cut in before she could ask, disbelief clear on his face.

Sokka took a deep breath, then reread the paper in his hands like he needed to double check. “Zuko.”

Katara laughed, and she was aware it sounded a little unhinged. “No way.”

With a small shrug, he passed her the paper. ‘Firelord Ozai was removed from power by his son, the banished crown prince Zuko. The new Firelord ordered the removal of Fire Nation troops from all foreign territories and has started peace negotiations. There have been discussions of a large scale change to the Fire Nation’s governance.”

“This... This is... What?”

“This...” Aang hesitated, then glanced up almost hopefully. “This is good? I think?”

“So what do we do?” Katara asked.

“We could go talk to him?” Aang suggested, far too optimistically for her taste.

“Aang, he hunted us! This could be a trap!”

“But what if it isn’t?”

“Either way,” Sokka cut in, “I want to know what in La’s name is happening.”

•••

“We’re making it a democracy,” Zuko said for what felt like the millionth time. The advisors were still staring at him like he had two heads.

“But- but your majesty, we can’t ju- just do that!”

“Why?”

There was more spluttering, but no one seemed to have an answer. One of the advisors buried his head in his hands.

“Well, if no one has any more objections, that’s sorted then.”

•••

Sokka was honestly still expecting this to be a huge joke and/or trap, but no one started shooting fire when they landed in one of the gardens. The gardens of the Fire Nation royal palace. In the Fire Nation. Which was inhabited by firebenders.

But no fire yet, so that was at least a plus.

There was a very high-pitched “hi!” and then a blur of pink was cartwheeling towards them, followed much more slowly by a girl in black, who seemed far less enthused to see them.

“You must be the avatar, the waterbender and the asshole with a boomerang,” the girl in black said, a tiny trace of a smirk on her lips.

“The asshole with a boomerang?” Sokka asked, half offended half amused.

“Nice to meet you!” The pink blur announced, stopping in front of Appa. She was a girl, looking around the same age as the other, but radiating excitement and enthusiasm like her life depended on it. “I’m Ty Lee, and this is Mai!”

She slung an arm around Mai’s shoulder ignoring the other’s glower.

“Hi,” Katara said, a little faintly. “Uh, Katara, Sokka and Aang. We came to talk to Zuko. Sorry, who are you?”

“The royal guards,” Mai deadpanned.

“Cool,” Aang said after a beat. “Um, is Zuko here?”

Ty Lee shook her head, braid swinging around wildly. “He’s in a meeting right now, but you could come have tea with us while you wait!”

“What she means,” Mai drawled, “is that she wants you to get off the bison so she can pet it.”

———

As it turned out, there didn’t appear to be a trap. Ty Lee seemed way too enamoured with Appa to attack them, and Mai didn’t seem inclined to do much at all. The two girls led them to a table in an alcove and even sipped their tea own tea first; Sokka was fairly sure that meant it wasn’t poisoned. If it was, that was some serious dedication to killing them.

“Would you like some coffee?” Ty Lee asked.

“What’s coffee?”

“No idea, but Zuko’s been drinking it and he hasn’t slept in two days. It’s pretty good!”

��No thanks,” Sokka said quickly, before Aang could respond. He was hyperactive enough on good old fashioned sugar in his tea.

“So...” Katara said after an awkward pause. “Zuko’s the Fire Lord now.”

“Yep!” Ty Lee said brightly.

“Okay. Right. Cool. But... how? And why?” Sokka possibly sounded a little frenzied, but that wasn’t the issue right now.

“I believe,” Mai said evenly, “his exact words were ‘fuck it, I’m ending the war’.”

Aang blinked. “So he... just did that?”

“I thought you of all people would know that Zuko never gives up.” Mai shrugged. “When we were kids, I asked him for a knife and he spent three weeks making one from scratch.”

Ty Lee giggled. “We still haven’t told him she just wanted him to pass her a knife at dinner.”

Sokka was having a hard time reconciling the image of Angry Jerk Zuko with the absolute dork being described to him.

“You grew up with him?” He asked, mostly to have something else to think about. And also for the possibility of blackmail worthy information.

“We were best friends!” Ty Lee chirped.

“-with his sister,” Mai finished dryly. “Actually, you’re probably lucky she’s out at the moment.”

“Is she worse than him?” Katara asked, then seemed to remember she probably shouldn’t be insulting the new Fire Lord in the Fire Palace of the Fire Nation. Did Sokka mention the fire?

Ty Lee laughed again. “Azula’s great, as long as you don’t do, say or be anything that annoys her. Like talking to her too much. Or breathing too loud. Or standing too close to her. Or not telling her that she’s the best, smartest, most amazing person ever enough.”

“She’s a bitch,” Mai said blankly. “I like her so much.”

Was everyone in the Fire Nation insane? Was Zuko actually the most normal Fire Nation person they knew?

“She sounds nice,” Aang said, a little awkwardly.

“She is!” Ty Lee agreed. “She only threatened to kill me once today! That’s a record!”

He caught Katara’s eye across the table, and tried to silently communicate ‘what the actual fuck is happening?’. She sent back a helpless shrug.

Sokka had never been happier to see Zuko.

The new Fire Lord appeared a moment later, and Sokka almost didn’t recognise him. Thank the spririts, the ponytail was gone. Well, not really, but there was more hair around it. Looking at it no longer made Sokka want to pin him down and fix that spirits forsaken hairstyle. He was wearing what was probably Fire Nation royal clothing, but it looked like it had been at least a two days since he last slept.

“It’s a democracy now,” he said, and then seemed to process the three new people in front of him. “Oh, fuck.”

Aang gave a little wave.

“Uh, I’m really sorry? For hunting you and all that?” Zuko looked like he was expecting someone to kill him, and wasn’t strongly opposed to the idea.

“What do you mean it’s a democracy?” Sokka cut in, as the last few seconds started being processed in his brain.

“Oh,” Zuko blinked. “The Fire Nation. I made it a democracy.”

“Wait, you can do that?” Katara asked.

Zuko gave a small shrug. “Well there’s nothing to say I can’t.”

Sokka considered himself to be very eloquent. He was a smart guy, a hobbyist in poetry, and generally great with words. “Dude, what the fuck?”

“Do you have a problem with democracy?” For a second, Angry Jerk Zuko was back.

“No!” Sokka almost yelled. “Democracy is great, but what the fuck is happening?”

“I... made the Fire Nation a democracy?”

“No. We gathered that much. How in La’s name are you even the Fire Lord?”

“I’m not the Fire Lord,” Zuko said slowly. “I’m the head of a democratic government.”

Sokka briefly considered screaming, then shelved that thought for a later date.

“How did you become leader of a democratic government?”

“Oh, I fought my dad.”

His head was starting to hurt. He had a feeling that wouldn’t be going away any time soon.

“Why did you just switch sides? You were yelling at us about honour like, last week.”

“Well I kind of realised that hunting the avatar was kind of stupid, and that I may have been misinterpreting the message my dad was trying to send.”

“Which was?”

“Well, he said ‘you’re banished until you find the avatar’ but apparently that means ‘I’m hoping you die on this suicide mission and I never see you again so I can make your sister crown princess’.”

And that... that was a lot to process. There was a beat of silence, then Aang chimed in. “Are you currently in the market for a friend?”

“A what?”

If Sokka had known all it took was a hug from a tiny airbender to render Zuko completely nonfunctional, the past few months could have been a lot easier. Aang practically vaulted over the table and caught Zuko in a hug, and the firebender looked rapidly between him and the others with a look of abject confusion.

“Great,” Mai sighed, “you broke him.”

Ty Lee perked up almost immediately. “Are we allowed to hug Zuko now?”

“No!” Zuko managed to get out, a little strangled.

“I’m your dad now,” Aang declared, clinging on staunchly even when Zuko tried to shake him off.

“No one is my dad!”

“Then I’ll be your grandad!”

“My grandfather also tried to kill me!”

“I’ll be your great grandfather!”

“That was Sozin!”

“Your other great grandfather-“

“Please let go of me.”

“Respect your elders, young man!”

“You’re, like, ten!”

Sokka glanced over to Katara again, but to his horror, he recognised the look on her face. “Katara, no-“

“Katara, yes-“

“Please, don’t-“

“We’re-“

“No, we’re not!”

“We’re keeping him, Sokka.”