#hurt sokka

[witchering10123]

my "divorced" zukka au, slammed back into my memory by @transboyzuko latest addition (a true hero right there yall)

story idea is below the cut because whoo boy it became a lot longer than i thought it would

sozin's comet, sokka and toph are dangling off the ship, there's smoke and fire everywhere, it's getting hard to breathe, hard for sokka to see, and without his weapons, sokka is unable to see a way out

a figure of a guard appears through the smoke, and sokka jerks back and away from the man (in vain) but in doing so, jostles his leg. the pain and the shock combined, toph's hand slips out of sokka's grip and he watches helplessly as she falls

sokka makes to jump after her, but the guard grabs him before he can and yanks him back onto the safety of the wider platform. sokka tries to fight, but he's quickly subdued and he falls unconscious

(fear not, toph does live: she falls from sokka's grasp, but what sokka doesn't realise, due to the intensity of the smoke and fire, is that suki is right beneath them, and she catches toph. do not worry i am not killing toph, i am too scared to do that)

the airship pulls away from the battle, with the most senior commander taking over and urging a retreat to one of the southern fire nation islands, where he, and a number of powerful fire nation lords, hail from - that part of the fire nation does not recognise the authority of fire lord zuko, however it is unclear if they would recognise ozai, now that his bending is gone (and besides, quite a number weren't wholly impressed with him usurping iroh), so the war has become more of a civil war, with the separatists (they're not separatists but idk what else to call them) planning to take over the fire nation and then continue the war

the gaang are now faced with a fire nation civil war AND convincing the many ek provinces and water tribes to support zuko so that the 100 year war can truly end, however many ek ministers and some northern water tribe ambassadors believe this is a trick

during this time, sokka is a prisoner of the separatist group, and has resigned himself to this fate, believing toph to be dead and ngl perhaps suki as well, but he's definite that toph is dead and he's definite that his actions led to her death, so MAJOR survivor guilt

this is, of course, exacerbating his guilt about not protecting yue, his mum, katara (even though she's not dead he still doesn't know what happened to her)

so yeah, sokka's feeling very guilty and feels as if he deserves being imprisoned/tortured/etc, so he's not making any escape plans or anything, he's just done

BUT THEN

a new political prisoner is placed in the cell next to his: a young boy called hinata (imagine like 7 or 8) who the separatists are using to try and goad one of the fire nation nobles who is supporting zuko - he reminds sokka a bit of the boys back home in the swt that he cared for

sokka begins to feel very protective of this kid, especially when the guards come round to do their usual tormenting, or when they give out too small rations, or when hinata has a nightmare, and after a while he realises that he needs to get out, but not for himself, just for hinata

so they do, they escape (you'll notice how much thought i've put into this lmao) but they can't get back to hinata's family because it's all a massive war zone so sokka grabs the kid and they head for the ek, and not just the ek, like south east of ba sing se ek, near the eastern air temple ek, like as far from the fire nation as possible, sokka isn't letting anyone near hinata

yeah, he essentially becomes an older brother to hinata

now sokka has every intention of reuniting hinata with his family once the war is over but unfortunately they are very remote and so the village they are staying in doesn't exactly get the news asap. or like, at all

aang is visiting the eastern air temple a few months after that war has ended (i'm thinking at least a couple of years after aang defeated ozai but hey whatever floats your boat) and he stops by at a village to get supplies and lo and behold sokka and hinata are there

the reunion is very accidental, one of appa's buckles on his saddle snapped and aang landed near the village because he didn't want to continue his flight to the eastern air temple with a broken saddle and he needed supplies anyway, and so he enters the village, asks a nearby kid who looks strangely fire nation "hey, do you guys have a blacksmith" and hinata is like, "oh yeah, come with me" and he takes him to sokka

yes sokka would become a blacksmith fight me if you dare

(also i'm imagining that during sokka's time as a prisoner, he definitely lost his leg that got broken because like the separatists would have gone for the easiest route with sokka's broken leg and if it's broken too badly then why bother trying to heal it just go chop chop- so yeah, sokka makes himself a prosthetic and specialises in mobility aids, which are sorely needed in this area of the ek with the amount of refugees that fled to that province when they couldn't get access to ba sing se, but he does other engineering things as well and his ideas are, ngl, creating a bit of a hub near the eastern air temple, so slay for sokka)

regardless, aang and sokka reunion :)))

long chat about hinata having to return home, because like yes that was always the intention but aang reveals to sokka that hinata's family were killed when hinata escaped and the separatists had no more leverage over hinata's family (he doesn't reveal that to hinata for obvious reasons, he lets sokka do that) and hinata and sokka have become a little dependent on each other

it's not co-dependency per se, but like it was definitely going that way before they reached the village and their community helped them begin to heal from their trauma and stuff, but regardless they don't want to be separated, and so after much deliberation sokka and hinata decide that they want to stay where they are and if the gaang want to visit that is fine but if there's nothing tying them to the fire nation then why leave their new home

sokka's part of the decision is most definitely fueled by shame over losing toph and not being able to protect the people he loves, but aang doesn't realise that sokka doesn't know that toph is alive so aang doesn't mention anything, he just agrees to tell the gaang and family and all and leaves

aang returns not even three weeks later with katara zuko toph suki, a couple of hinata's uncles who want to at least see that hinata is alive, and a letter from hakoda and bato saying that they're aboard a ship sailing over

angsty reunion for sokka as he realises that toph is alive lemme assure you that was not on his reunion bingo card no siree

angsty reunion for suki and zuko with sokka because zuko and suki were very sure that sokka was dead and sokka was very sure that zuko and suki would hate him for getting toph killed

angsty water tribe fam reunion obvi with a heavy dosing of katara hakoda and bato assuring sokka that he did not fail

...so yeah it's angsty it's dramatic it's miscommunication it's long distance it's kind of technically not really divorced au but it's got a bit of flair and that's all that really matters

[iriswords]

Febuwhump Day 7 - Made to watch

You can also read this on ao3 and find the rest of my febuwhump fics here

tw:  physical torture, emotional torture and manipulation, mention of past child abuse

Fandom: Avatar the last airbender

Words: 2242

Zuko should have known Azula would show up and ruin everything. He should have anticipated it. It's what she always does. But he hadn't even thought about it, and now she has them captured, still within the prison walls. At her mercy. And Agni knows Azula does not have mercy.

--

Azula arrives before they ever get the chance of reaching the gondola. Zuko should have known it would happen. In true Ozai fashion, his sister has always had a knack for ruining things for him.

It could have been a match, maybe. Azula, Mai, and Tai Lee, against the five of them. On a good day, they could have won. But Suki is busy with the Warden, and Zuko is still weakened by the lingering effects of the freezer. Azula and her friends are, as always, on top form. It is laughable, how quickly they beat all five of them, even once Suki lets go of the Warden, and joins the fight.

Azula’s hands burn his wrists as she handcuffs them. He grits his teeth at the familiar pain, willing himself to keep his head high. She pushes him ahead of her, back into the prison building, until they reach a wide, windowless room. Zuko’s knees crack on the hard floor when Azula forces him down in the center of the room. Upon her orders, his four escape companions, Sokka, Suki, Hakoda, and Chit Sang, are brought into the room and made to kneel by the right wall. The door closes behind the guards, leaving only the six of them in the room.

Zuko doesn’t like how isolated from the others he is. Doesn’t like that he’s kneeling and Azula is towering above him, lips curled into a wicked smile, palm ablaze with blue fire. It reminds him of a far too similar scene three and a half years ago. His scar burns with memories, and his lungs constrict with remembered fear.

“You didn’t actually think you would manage to escape the most secure prison in the world, Zuzu, did you?” asks Azula, her voice saccharine. She reaches out for his face, and Zuko recoils back so hard he nearly loses his balance and falls onto his back. He can feel his father’s hand cupping his face. Phantom fire sears through his skin.

Amusement dances in Azula’s eyes. “Answer me,” she orders.

“It would have worked,” says Zuko. And he knows it is true. It would have worked if only Azula hadn’t been there. There are two constants in Zuko’s life. One, no matter what he does, he will get hurt. Two, no matter what he does, Azula is better than him. Once again, those two constants are proving themselves true.

“You forget you have always been a failure, Zuzu,” counters Azula. “You were there with them, of course it was doomed to fail.”

Zuko clenches his fists, digs his nails into his palms. This is what Azula does. She finds what he is vulnerable about and uses it to pick him apart. It isn’t personal. She does it with everyone; it is her way of protecting herself. It does not mean she hates him.

(There are three things Zuko can’t manage to convince himself of, three statements he has doubted ever since he was banished. One, that it was cruel and it was wrong. Two, that he is loved. Three, that Azula doesn’t hate him.)

“And failure, just like disobedience, demands punishment,” continues Azula. She leans in until her lips are next to his ears. He wills himself not to flinch away. “Leaving was your mistake, dear brother.” She spits the word ‘brother’ the way she would an insult. “And what do we do with mistakes? We punish them.” She straightens up, and for a moment, Zuko can see right through the cracks in her mask. He sees the fourteen-year-old girl she is, the girl who was abandoned by her mother and brother, the girl who believes herself to be a monster. The girl who struggles to survive and thrive under the rule of a true monster.

He does not regret leaving. He regrets leaving her behind.

“But I am feeling merciful,” adds Azula, which is probably the most ridiculous lie she has ever told, and Azula always lies. She does not know how to be merciful for she was never taught how to be. “Thus, I will let you choose who will bear the punishment, Zuzu. You can choose one of your companions.” Her mouth twists with disgust at the word ‘companions’. “Or you can bear it yourself.”

Zuko closes his eyes. He can feel everyone’s eyes on him. It is not a hard decision to make. What is harder, is knowing he will once again be subjected to pain at the hand of a loved one. Of family.

“Me,” he says and looks Azula straight in the eyes. She knew his answer already, but delight shines in her eyes nonetheless. His companions protest loudly but he shakes his head, not daring to meet their eyes. “Better me than you,” he tells them. His words do nothing to quiet their protests.

“Let me take it, kid,” he hears Hakoda say. “I’m an adult.” But so is Zuko. He hasn’t been a kid in a long, long time. And he will not let anyone else pay for a mistake that is his only.

“Do it,” he tells his sister.

Azula does not move. She cocks her head and stares at him.

“No,” she says eventually. “I have changed my mind.” Zuko’s blood runs cold. Of course, she has. It was a trap, wasn’t it? Everything is always a trap in this family.

Azula turns to his four companions lined up against the wall. “I don’t think it will be much fun to torture you,” she continues. “You do not care for physical pain. Did it make you feel good to sacrifice yourself? Did it give you the idea that you had atoned for your crimes?” She takes a step forward and grabs Sokka by the hair.

“No!” yells Zuko, but Azula ignores him and drags Sokka to the center of the room, so he faces Zuko. Sokka’s fear is bravely masked, but Zuko can see all of it anyway. It mirrors his own perfectly.

Azula’s eyes bore into her brother. “Don’t you know that you cannot escape your past? You will always be Fire Nation. You think these peasants will love you if you pretend to help them? You think you will fool them with your pathetic act?” Zuko shakes his head, but his mask is slipping.

It is what Azula does, he tells himself. It isn’t personal. Except it sounds very, very personal. He hurt her when he left. And now she is hurting him back. She wants to destroy him, to make him pay for daring to leave her with their monster of a father. Or perhaps she feels threatened by him, perhaps she cannot bear the idea of being confronted with what she has done and does not want to atone for.

“Please,” he tells her. “Torture me. Not him. Not any of them. You said it yourself; it was my mistake. Punish me all you want. Kill me, even, if that is what you deem an appropriate punishment. But don’t touch them.”

Cold fury deforms Azula’s face. “Is this what you are willing to endure for them? You wouldn’t stay for me, but you are willing to die so they don’t suffer?” Her laugh is glacial, an attempt at masking her pain. “You are more of a traitor than I thought, Zuzu. You don’t deserve to die thinking you did a good thing. You deserve to watch them suffer and curse you for every mistake you have ever made. Because it is those mistakes that led you all to this point. It is your fault, and what is a better punishment than to let others take the pain for you?”

Zuko throws himself at Azula, but she effortlessly sends him crashing farther into the room, away from Sokka and her, away from Hakoda, Suki, and Chit Sang. Azula faces them all. “Try something like that again, and the Water Tribe boy dies. Slowly and painfully.”

Sokka meets Zuko’s eyes and offers him a small, trembling smile. Hot tears burn Zuko’s good eye. He does not deserve the friendship of someone as kind as Sokka.

“Tell me, Zuzu,” says Azula, “what would you be willing to do to save this one?”

“Anything,” he answers in a breath. His heart pounds violently against his ribcage.

Azula’s smile turns calculating. “Even come back home?”

Zuko’s breath catches in his throat. Come back home. Except it isn’t home. It is the place of all the abuse he has suffered, it is a place promising more abuse. Ozai won’t grant him the sweet mercy of a quick and painless death. He will drag it out for months, maybe even years. He will make sure Zuko understands how worthless he is, he will make sure Zuko regrets ever being born before killing him.

“Yes,” he answers.

Azula laughs. “Too bad you already left, then, Zuzu. What is done cannot be undone.” In a second, her movements so fast Zuko can barely track them, Azula sends Sokka sprawling on his back and slams her foot on his outstretched leg. The sinister crack of bone breaking is drowned out by Sokka’s sudden, strangled cry of pain. Opposite to Zuko, Hakoda struggles against his restraints, his face tight with anger. One warning glare from Azula is enough to calm him down, but his eyes are still alight with fury.

“What use will you be,” Azula asks Sokka, “if you cannot fight? You are a warrior, aren’t you? Should I break the other ankle to make sure you can never take part in a battle?”

Tears stream down Sokka’s face as he clenches his teeth against the pain. Zuko can see the doubt and grief waging a war against his hard-won confidence. He wants to shout at him that Azula lies, that it is all she ever does. That he is useful even if he cannot fight, that it does not matter if he is useful at all because people will still love him.

It goes on for what feels like hours. Azula plays with Sokka’s broken ankle for some time before grabbing his hand and slowly, meticulously burning each of his fingertips. Sokka’s ragged screams of pain eventually die down to choked-out sobs. Tears leak from both Hakoda’s and Suki’s eyes. Zuko has not stopped crying since Azula started.

Azula plays with Sokka’s mind, too, as she tortures him. Brings out all his insecurities, all his feelings of worthlessness, and exacerbates them. And Sokka listens and believes her, rendered pliant by pain.

The door of the room opens, eventually, slowly and silently. If Azula notices, she does not acknowledge it. Mai and Ty Lee enter the room, weapons drawn out. Zuko meets Mai’s gaze for a split-second, before one of her knives flies out from her hand, catching Azula in the arm. Ty Lee lunges at her friend at the same moment, wasting no time in pressing onto the chi points she knows so well.

“What are you doing?” Azula screams before she goes down, and Zuko’s trained ear catches the raw pain of the betrayal in her voice. Ty Lee’s cheer has been replaced by grief.

“I’m sorry, Azula,” the girl whispers. “But this isn’t okay.”

Ty Lee and Mai make quick work of uncuffing them. Hakoda runs to his son’s side as soon as his hands are free, hushed reassurances falling from his lips.

“Thank you,” Zuko says as Mai frees him from the cuffs. “You should leave, too.”

Mai shakes her head. “We’ll hold her back. Try to talk some sense into her.”

Zuko snorts wetly. “Good luck with that.” He turns and glances at Sokka, huddled in his father’s arms. Guilt devours his stomach.

Later, on the balloon they have stolen from Azula, Hakoda comes to Zuko as he is maintaining the fire.

“He’ll be okay,” says Hakoda when he sits down. “Katara will be able to heal him, and we’ll all be there to help him recover.”

“That’s good,” replies Zuko awkwardly. He barely dares to glance at Hakoda. Why is the man here? If he wants to punish him, it would be smarter for all their sakes to wait until Zuko is no longer the one ensuring the balloon stays up in the air.

“It wasn’t your fault,” says Hakoda gently. It feels like a trap. “You couldn’t have prevented that.”

Zuko laughs bitterly. Tears sting in his eyes. He didn’t think he’d still have enough water in him to cry after the waterfall he shed in that cursed room. “Azula was right, though. If I’d just stayed in the palace…”

“Then we’d have one less ally, and today’s outcome would have been worse. I would have been captured anyway, and Sokka would have come to get me out. He survived because you were there.”

Zuko curls in on himself. “I abandoned her. It’s why she was so angry today.”

Hakoda tentatively pulls him into his side. Zuko doesn’t resist, despite the primal fear nestled in his stomach. “Sometimes we have to make hard choices,” says the older man. “You did what you thought was best. It doesn’t mean your choice doesn’t come with consequences or that the situation is perfect. It means you did what you thought was right. For yourself and for others. And I think that shows you are a good person, no matter what your sister said.”

The dam gives way to the tears again. This time, someone is there to support him as he breaks.

@febuwhump

[fanfic-gremlin-ft-trauma]

something something making an item of betrothal in ur bfs culture

[petricorah]

maybe it's a metaphor. maybe it's not. you can decide (wip) [id in alt]

[zukkaflowers]

forever pining and forever alone firelord zuko and councilman sokka will never know that modern day zuko and modern day sokka spent the morning folding laundry on their bed and drinking tea

[kittenmoth]

One of them is gonna feel this in like 10 years, give or take.

[marypaol]

My Hurting Heart

Aang x Fem!Reader

Summary: Before the team faces the Fire Lord before the eclipse, Reader sees Katara and Aang kiss.

Warnings: Self doubt, negative mindset, loads of angst, crying, kissing, mention of war, mention of loosing someone, mention of death, I think that’s all :)

Note: This is new!! I normally write for Draco, but I had to write this story I came up with because I love the show.

Reader is nicknamed “Flower” so no use of Y/N

Masterlist

Request Requirements

@roseeyyyiee I saw a post of yours wanting Aang x Reader :)

Katara’s hair was in her face. Now, it wasn’t something that the girl didn’t necessarily dislike; it smelled like salt water and her father’s leather uniform from carrying him earlier, but the way it tickled her nose was something she didn’t exactly enjoy. On the contrary, she did kinda like the fact that Aang’s nose was brushing the skin of her shoulder, his breathing fanning her neck as the team embraced for what they feared would be the last time.

Doubt crowded their hearts and minds, the hands of anticipation squeezed their throats until they couldn’t breathe.

Who knows what would happen after they broke apart. Would Sokka’s invention idea suddenly go downhill? Would Katara get hurt on Appa, and would be unable to water bend? Or wound Toph get stuck in a bunch of rocks she couldn’t control? Or worse, the girl thought, would she loose Aang?

The last thought lingered as so did their touch as the group separated.

Hakoda emerged from the submarine, his hair breezing at his cheeks.

He announced everyone back in, and the group followed his orders, the girl thinking Aang and Katara followed them.

She thought she heard their soft footsteps, or rough feet of Katara running to ride Appa. Or the snap of Aang’s glider as he prepared to go the Fire Lord.

But sometimes even her mind played tricks on her, and the things she thought she heard didn’t occur.

None of them did.

“Hey, flower, go check on Katara, she needs to fly on Appa in order for us to move on.”

Sokka’s voice rang in her ears, her stomach twisting as she realized her friend wasn’t on the armed bison yet. Her feet hurt as she climbed the ladder to the hole, the sun almost blinding her as the darkness of the submarine flooded with light.

Her lips parted after her tongue escaped to lick them, vocal cords ready to call out Katara’s name.

Instead her mouth was opened more in surprise, doubt swarming her stomach, thick and hot.

She disturbed them just in time to see the back of Aang’s head close to Katara’s, a soft gasp escaping her when his lips pressed to hers.

He pulled back, hands going to his glider as it snapped open, the blue flags of fabric spreading out. The noise echoed in the girl’s ears as the boy took off, the air and him becoming one.

At that very moment, the girl couldn’t think of anything else as she watched Katara look off into the distance of the sky, most likely with flushed cheeks after the previous events.

The girl’s chest suddenly hurt with a sharp pain. No, not her chest, she thought, hand going up to squeeze the fabric of her shirt, her heart.

Her heart hurt. And she knew why.

She cleared her throat, her friend whipping around, expression flustered but cheeks back to normal color.

“Sokka told me to tell you to get going if we wanna move on.”

The girl’s voice hasn’t sounded any worse. Her throat was cloudy, imaginary hands gripping her vocal cords. What was heard was a soft hurting voice, almost inaudible.

But Katara heard it well and clear, her head nodding as her mind quickly focused on something else.

“Right, don’t worry I got it.” She said, running towards Appa.

The girl wasn’t so lucky, the picture of the two repeatedly playing in her mind.

She nodded back even though Katara was long gone, head dipping into the submarine as the cap closed loudly behind her.

She saw Sokka flinch from the noise. “Flower, why’d you let it slam!?”

He might of said something else but she didn’t get to hear it, hot tears not only clouding her vision but all her senses.

She didn’t know where to go so she went to where the water benders would be steering the submarines, since there wasn’t anyone in there at the moment.

There she curled up in the tightest ball she could, feeling like a child crying after their mom yelled at them.

She did feel yelled at, like the world finally yelled the fact that Aang would never love a girl like her. She was the alive and breathing opposite of Katara.

How could he like her? When she thought about herself she couldn’t think of one thing she liked. One thing Aang would like.

Because when he looked at her he just saw the girl who couldn’t bend anything, the girl who just was good at plans but most of the time they went with Sokka’s anyway.

Why was she even trying at that point. Trying to thrive in the group was hard enough, and trying for the Avatar to like her was like trying to get a pig to fly. Impossible.

So the girl stayed there, and later found a secret cabinet in the ship that she hid in while the water benders did their thing.

The tears were still flowing endlessly, her sobs only letting out when there was a loud noise to cover it up.

She couldn’t feel anymore alone.

Katara didn’t care about her.

She cared about showing the power of women and the Avatar saving the world.

Sokka didn’t care about her.

He cared about Suki and his sister.

Toph didn’t care about her.

She had other things to worry about, like her parents and her previous royal life.

And especially Aang. He didn’t love or care about her.

He loved Katara, and cared more about the water bender more than he could ever care about the girl crying in the submarine instead of fighting the Fire Nation.

He wanted someone who was brave and tough, someone Katara was and she wasn’t.

She sniffed loudly, and thankfully the water benders didn’t hear her but a small part of her wished they did.

At least then someone would show a speck of care she thrived for.

She wanted someone to care, to love her, but Aang wasn’t that person as she hoped he would be.

“Flower I feel you under there.”

She gasped at the voice, knowing all too well that it was Toph because of her feet being her eyes.

“Go away; aren’t you supposed to be helping the earth benders?”

Worry gripped the girl for a moment, scared that Toph and the team somehow failed and she came to tell her that the Avatar is dead for good this time.

Toph chuckled, sensing the girl’s worry with just her feet.

“Yeah, but I noticed you were gone…. Well Sokka did because I can’t see you. But I wanted to look for you.”

The girl wiped her eyes, thanking God that Toph couldn’t see her tears. And praying that she couldn’t sense them.

“There’s no use getting me- I’m no help to the team anyway.”

Toph blinked, seeming to be looking off into space but the girl knew she was listening.

“Yeah you are, flower, without you Twinkle Toes would still be a nervous wreck.”

The girl thought back when she assured Aang that he was ready for the Fire Lord, despite his nightmares saying otherwise. What she told him was true, every word about him being strong and brave and all the other things she told him.

“Katara would’ve said those things too.”

Toph shook her head, hair strands moving in front of her face.

“Not as good as you did.”

The simple sentence reassured her for a moment, but that didn’t change the fact that Aang didn’t feel the same way.

“Doesn’t matter!” She suddenly exclaimed. “Aang kissed Katara before he left so that means that he loves her, not me, so if anything I am useless and stupid because if he doesn’t love me than I don’t know what I am. What am I, Toph? I’m a nobody without him. Without him, I feel empty, and stupid, and lonely, and unhelpful and unloved, and-“

She was babbling on so much she didn’t notice the tears blurring her vision once again, her cheeks soaked from the liquid of doubt.

Toph reached out for the girl, grabbing her hands and held her once she found out where she was.

Toph shushed her sobs, rubbing her back as she placed her feet on the ground, so she could sense that if anyone was coming.

“It’s okay, Flower. Twinkle Toes will realize what he lost.”

The never ending tears soaked the earth bender’s clothes, but neither of them cared.

“He’ll never even notice. I was never his.” The girl whispered.

“Not true.” Toph said instantly. “And if his stupid brain doesn’t realize it I’ll make him.”

The girl let out a very small smile into her friend’s clothes.

Thanks for reading! 📖

[picnicbitchsokka]

everyone always says zukos the theater kid in the relationship (which is true ofc) but let me raise you

theater kid sokka

like did we forget..

sokka was committed (might even say obsessed) to his role as Wang Fire

they go to plays together, and if they think the play is not well done, they’ll critique the fuck outta of it

it’s their source of entertainment other than the actual play itself

sokka: “zuko don’t you see, he’s not even in the right headspace to play this leading role! you can clearly tell he doesn’t want to be there.”

zuko, willing to do absolutely anything for his…..best friend: “let’s go backstage during intermission and you can swap with him. we just have to find the nearest closet.”

so that’s exactly what they do

sokka (also being a poet) will write poems about plays he’s seen, wants to see, or just some ideas he has

zuko finds one of his poems and he writes a whole damn script from the 8 lines he saw on that paper but sokka’s handwriting is horrid so it was a challenge to actually read what he was saying. he got it done tho…..barely

he got 30 minutes of sleep that night

also as he was writing the script, zuko had no clue that those 8 lines of dialogue were about him

eventually they start dating blah blah blah yk yk they’re husbands.

they write a play together

THE play from sokka’s poem. all those years ago. about zuko. in which zuko himself. wrote a script about.

flash foward to “My Summer in a Winter Day” performed by “The Ember Island Players” written by Ambassador Sokka & Firelord Zuko

yeah their pissed cause the ember island players?!?? REALLY!?????????

ok yeah both of them are theater kids, i made my point.

[a-todd-illustration]

Zuko gets hurt while in the care of the Gaang and makes a run for it.

[witchering10123]

do you KNOW how hard it was to stay off this hellsite until I had seen the live action???

[fandomestuff]

I've seen many people shit on the live action atla ((as we should this is such a bad adaptation and honestly a mid show in itself)) but I haven't really seen people talk stuff about Sokka and Suki

And I want to point out a couple of things that I absolutely hated about what they did to them in live action.

1. The kiss

I hate that they made them kiss at the end of the episode. I hate it so much. Like yes, in the original they both clearly had feelings for each other (especially that later Suki talks about losing sb very important to her, who we know was Sokka), but they weren't rushed like that.

In the original they both grow so much between their meetings. Sokka finally gets together with a girl (not the first girl he meets that's his age, like Suki), kisses sb for the first time, travels the world, meets new people and in general matures.

We don't know much about what Suki is doing during that time, but we know she finally does sth that helps people during war, sth that she said was important to her. She can finally put her skills in leadership to greater use and she feels great about it. She also matures during that time and we know that she still thinks about Sokka and misses him.

Them kissing immediately makes their relationship so much more bland and just... flat.

2. If they make all three seasons, we will probably not get the most iconic line of the show...

Because now Sokka's first girlfriend is technically Suki...

3. The whole scene with Suki teaching Sokka

I cannot empathise enough how important Sokka's sexism is in their relationship. It's something that Suki fixes in him, something she manages to show him... by absolutely kicking his ass. In live action... the fight scene next to those melons was a joke not a fight scene if I can be honest. Idk if it's the writing or the choreography or the actors but it looks so fake and just so bad 💀 And she attacked him while he was still "stretching"??? Suki would never.

What is this 💀💀

But the most important scene, and the one I hate the most in live action, is the one where Suki teaches him a very sacred and traditional and important to Suki and to her culture way of fighting.

In the original, Suki highlights that no man should learn their art and only after Sokka begs Suki to teach him does she agree.

But not without a very important piece that was fully missing from live action which baffles me so much.

The entire armor, the dress and make up.

Not only is it incredibly important to upholding the traditions and keeping the cultural aspect important, but the beautiful, might I add, outfit gives us the depth of Kyoshi Warriors that is just missing from the live action.

"The silk thread symbolizes the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honor of the warrior's heart."

It's beautiful. It's meaningful for both of them. It's important. And it's also a way for Suki to mess with Sokka which we love and stan.

I ALSO DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY SUKI TOOK OFF HER MAKE UP FOR THE ALMOST KISS AND THE KISS. It's not like being a Kyoshi Warrior is sth that's bothering her. NO. She's incredibly proud of it!! So. why. take. an. important. part. of. it. away. for. some. stupid. kiss.

WHY NOT GO THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION?? Instead of her taking off her make up for the romantic scene why not just... put make up on Sokka... honestly what's more romantic than putting make up on your crush.

They could have made such a beautiful and intimate scene between these two.

Them sitting in front of each other. Suki putting on Sokka's make up, while either talking about herself or about how important this whole set up is for her and her culture. I wouldn't mind it then because it would give their relationship some depth instead of "omg he's so pretty" "omg she's so pretty." *kiss*

But no. Instead they kissed right next to a group of people (including Suki's mother which just makes is so much more weird) after Suki said sth about Sokka showing her a bit of the world.

And I hate it so much.

It takes away the part where Suki teaches Sokka something very important, something that changes his personality, helps with his arc to Sokka "showing her a bit of the world". How?? With what?? It's not like he took her away from the Island itself or introduced her to his culture. No. He just... showed up and kissed her.

Great writing.

And don't get me starter on the "I'm not just a warrior. I'm a Kyoshi Warrior" line. It's a good line. It really is. But it would be better if the producers actually focused on Suki being a Kyoshi Warrior and not just a girl that has a crush on Sokka.

And while it's compared to "I'm a warrior. But I'm a girl too"... gods I... ughhhhhhh

So yeah. I hated it. I hated the show. All I have to say is:

They ruined my favourite couple. They ruined many great characters. They completely missed the point of the original story.

[fanfic-gremlin-ft-trauma]

they won :)

[petricorah]

try a little tenderness 🎵 [id in alt]

[zukosdualdao]

tbh in my headcanon conception of them zutara is not super pda-heavy. they like being near to each other, they can read each other’s expressions really well, they gravitate toward one another almost without thought (even before they get together), and they’re very much the “sit on the same side of the booth” couple and pretty much always know where each other is in a room at a given time.

but those intimate gestures—holding hands, kissing, gently cupping each other’s faces, comforting embraces—are something they largely like to keep private, something just for them.

[erisenyo]

I very much agreed with @lizardlicks that this post had Sokka vibes and then a fic somehow happened. Enjoy!

“—So when you lost consciousness and fell down like an overwhelmed Victorian woman—”

“I fell normal!” Sokka protests, trying to get off the ground and allowing the EMT to stop him. “I fainted in a normal way!”

“You put the back of your hand to your forehead and spun around,” the EMT says, dry, snapping a fresh pair of latex gloves onto his hands.

Yeah, because Katara’s cut suddenly started spurting when the other EMT pulled off the flannel she’d been using to apply pressure, like they’re in some kind of 70s samurai film and apologies if Sokka didn’t think it was cool and neat like everyone else— “That never happened,” Sokka protests, feeling his face coloring despite himself. “I fainted in a normal or maybe even masculine way.”

“A masculine faint,” the EMT repeats, raising his eyebrow—only one, with that scar, but Sokka is more trying to get another look at his eyes without being obvious about it because in the light of the streetlights above them they looked almost gold, and maybe Sokka did hit his head on the way down…

“Yes,” Sokka insists, refusing to cringe like part of him wants to because god, he can hear himself, alright? He knows. “A very masculine faint.”

“Masculine faints, Victorian woman faints, that from your fancy med school, Sozin?” the other EMT suddenly calls from where he’s finishing bandaging Katara’s arm, and Sokka feels himself flushing even darker at the words. “I must have missed that one with my plain ol’ technical year.”

“Yes, Jet, you must have, thank you for pointing that out yet again,” the EMT—Sozin?—says, giving his colleague a look just this side of a glare.

The other EMT just grins—smirks, really—the toothpick in his mouth somehow accenting the gesture.

“Sokka, just let the man look at you,” Katara huffs, rolling her eyes. Like Sokka is the one bleeding, like Sokka is the one who got bumped by a stumbling fair-goer and who even knows what she slashed her arm open on but it was probably rusty and full of tetanus and why is everyone else acting like it’s no big deal. “It’s not a big deal,” she says, giving him a knowing look. And then giving her EMT—Jet? Is that his real name?—a very different kind of look.

“Alright,” Sokka’s EMT says quickly, catching the look Sokka is giving Jet. “Let’s just focus over here for a moment, okay? Do you always faint at the sight blood?”

Sokka sighs, reluctantly setting aside Jet and his worry for Katara and the huffy feeling in his chest over Sozin’s choice of words to describe. Which regretfully only leaves the fact that his EMT is hot. High cheekbones and thick, shaggy hair and warm golden skin and a scar that only makes his face more interesting and that Sokka thinks bleeds into a tattoo around his collar and making that polyester uniform look better than it has any right to.

And he just saw Sokka fucking swoon like some Regency romance heroine.

“I didn’t faint,” Sokka insists, quickly closing his eyes so he isn’t staring at the guy from not even a foot away, which somehow makes the sensation of Sozin’s fingers testing for sore spots, gently and confidently running up the back of his neck and over the curve of his skull, that much sharper.  

“Sure,” Sozin says, the raspiness of his voice even more apparent when Sokka doesn’t have anything else to focus on. And so clearly humoring him. Sokka feels something longing twist in his chest even as he tries not to visibly shiver. “Do you always decide to take a break at the sight of blood?”

“I didn’t,” Sokka repeats, unsure why he can’t let it go. It’s no like he would think poorly of someone who did faint over blood. It’s supposed to be inside, it’s suddenly on the outside. He hunted with his dad every winter he can remember up until they moved, but he gets it. It can be unsettling.

And normally Sokka wouldn’t care what some random person thought about him, not even a cute guy. But Sozin is hot, and he and the other EMT and future-neurosurgeon-pediatric orthopedist-gynecologist-she-has-to-decide-one-day Katara didn’t even bat an eyelash when she suddenly started gushing blood. And Sokka…did.

“No pain, that’s good,” his EMT says, fingers disappearing. “Any headache?”

“No,” Sokka sighs. Though he’s sure he’ll be banging his head against his headrest once they finally get to the car enough to fix that.

“Hm. Open your eyes for me?”

Sokka does, caught somewhere between reluctance to admit this is all happening and wanting to stare as long as he’s going to get the chance to because god, those eyes are definitely gold. “Do you wear contacts?” he blurts before he can catch himself.

“No,” his EMT says after a pause, giving him an amused look. “Do you?”

“Uh, glasses, sometimes,” Sokka says. “Not all the time, but for like, reading and stuff. Not like, I don’t need them need them,” he adds quickly, thinking of Gran Gran’s reading glasses. “But like, sometimes when the print is small and the contrast isn’t great and your eyes just strain?”

“You wear glasses,” Sozin finishes for him. Definitely amused, but Sokka didn’t tell any jokes, and…shit. “So if I ask if your vision is blurry…?”

“It’s fine,” Sokka says quickly, straightening and glancing around for something to read. The side of the ambulance—no, that’s huge. The make and model off a car? But he could recognize that by sight. A license plate! He can read out a—

“Good,” Sozin says, apparently happy to take his word for it which…shouldn’t leave Sokka feeling quite so deflated. “And can you concentrate on the end of my flashlight here—” He carefully moves the little penlight left to right and up and down, Sokka diligently tracking its movements and blinking but holding still for the quick flash of the light into his eyes, trying to look into the middle distance and not just lose himself in his EMT’s impossibly gold eyes because he doesn’t need the man to think he’s any weirder than he probably already does.

“I really am fine,” Sokka says as the penlight disappears into Sozin’s pocket. “Not that I don’t appreciate the little head massage and checkup, but—"

“I’m glad to hear it,” his EMT says. Back to humoring him. “Any nausea?”

“Because vomiting on a cute guy is just how I need to cap off my night,” Sokka says before he can catch himself, freezing when he belatedly registers the words.

Sozin pauses, lips pursed, before continuing to rummage through his medical kit and Sokka just…dies a little bit inside.

“Can we just…forget I said that?” Sokka says, squeezing his eyes shut again as the hopeful flutter in chest wilts. Fuck he just…really is trying to face plant in every literal and metaphorical way he can right now, isn’t he.

“Generally I do need to keep track of signs of confusion or repetition, so sorry. Gotta remember that one.”

“Got it,” Sokka says, slumping and scrubbing his hands over his face. “Makes sense. Look, Sozin—”

“Zuko,” his EMT interrupts, Sokka dropping his hands to give him a blank, confused look. “It’s Zuko,” the man repeats, tapping the nametag on his chest that…does not say Sozin. “Sozin is my last name.”

…Right. Right. The nametag has great contrast and giant letters, too. Fuck.

“Look,” Sokka sighs, tugging on his wolf tail, “I didn’t faint, I just—Katara is my only sister and we basically raised each from when she was like, ten years old and I was twelve, okay? And she was hurt, and we handled it, and you guys got here, great, awesome, she’s in good hands. But then, you know, the whole spurting blood thing and it got worse and…”

Sokka trails off, trying to find the words, some part of him hoping his EMT—Zuko, his name is Zuko, and he isn’t Sokka’s anything—will be able to fill in the gap. But Zuko is just quiet, rummaging in his bag far more than he probably needs to considering he isn’t pulling anything out. Probably just looking for something to do with his hands so he doesn’t have to look at Sokka rambling and making an idiot of himself and humoring him, again, but fuck, Sokka is going to try to explain it anyway because he didn’t faint, okay, he didn’t.

“Look, people can take turns for the worse, okay?” Sokka says, hearing himself fast and clipped and aware that he’s being cryptic and hoping this doesn’t get him another check in the ‘confusion’ column like his fucking contacts question probably did. “It can all seem fine and like you don’t have to worry anymore, but then you do. It happens, okay? So it was just—it was a lot. Emotionally, I mean. But I didn’t faint, I’m not—I wouldn’t lie about something like that,” he says, the heart of his frustration finally spilling out of him. “It doesn’t—I wouldn’t care, I wouldn’t try to make your life harder like that, I wouldn’t—I wouldn’t lie,” he repeats, feeling himself running out of steam when his—the—EMT still doesn’t respond. “I wouldn’t,” he finishes softly, frowning down at his sneakers against the asphalt. “I’m not like that.”

A long beat of silence except for the faint murmur of Katara and the other EMT’s voices, the fair behind him, the distant sound of cars along road, until finally Zuko stirs, the rustle of his uniform overly loud between them. “What’s your name?” he asks, glancing up, and Sokka sucks in a quick breath.

“Sokka,” he says, something hopeful trying to root in his chest again. “It’s Sokka.”

“Sokka,” Zuko repeats, nodding a moment before suddenly rising smoothly to his feet. “Let’s do your balance check.”

Sokka closes his eyes a moment, letting the fluttering edges of a new crush truly wisp away before he rises to his feet, carefully following Zuko’s instructions. His eyes are more on the pavement still than anything else but he can say that’s just for balance, just for focus as he obediently stands on one foot and then the other, touches his nose, leans to the side, feeling like he could jump and spin just fine, throw in some fancy footwork no problem, but just…not wanting to.

“Everything looks good,” Zuko finally says, and Sokka lets his arms drop, nodding.

“Yeah,” he says, mustering up a smile and glancing over to see if Katara’s ready, too. “Thanks, man.”

“Hm.” A considering look as Zuko peels off his latex gloves, then, “Are you sticking around for the rest of the fair.”

“If Katara can,” Sokka shrugs. “But I know, none of the crazy rides, take it easy, don’t stare at screens, if I feel a headache coming on don’t push it. I have been concussed before, I do know what it feels like.”

Zuko purses his lips, carefully balling up his gloves. “From fainting?”

Sokka pinches the bridge of his nose. “Hockey.”

Zuko nods, carefully checking over his kit before zipping it shut, all studious, careful focus and Sokka is trying to decide if maybe he can just…melt back from the edge of the parking lot to exit this situation when Zuko suddenly says, “I was actually going to say that Jet and I are working for the fairground. Not like, as city paramedics.”

“Okay,” Sokka says after a beat. Is this—are they going to get billed, or…?

“Which means we’re on shift at this location.” Zuko’s eyes flick up, his voice almost diffident. “My shift ends in two hours. If you’ll still be around.”

“Oh, that—” Sokka blinks, making himself actually replay the words. “Oh.” Is that—is Zuko--?

“I could check on your symptoms,” Zuko adds, glancing up again and…definitely looking through his lashes. Oh. Oh. “Test your hand eye coordination, make sure it’s still good? I hear ring toss is good for that.”

“Yeah, that—yeah.” Part of Sokka is still a little bit disbelieving, but Zuko is still looking at him, holding eye contact, lips curling at the edges, small and shy and pleased and cute, cute, cute and yeah, Sokka is going to let himself belief it. “That would be nice. I’d like that.”

“Me, too,” Zuko says, hefting his bag as he stands again, all easy strength and grace and he’s a few inches taller than Sokka and Sokka has the feeling he’s going to like looking up into his eyes. “Meet by the Ferris wheel?”

“Absolutely.” Hopefully there aren’t two of them here. Sokka and Katara barely got to explore before she got hurt.

“You should practice your ring toss in the meantime,” Zuko says, serious and grave and teasing, definitely teasing, and Sokka can’t help but grin in answer.

“I don’t know, I gotta keep it a fair competition when you show up,” Sokka says, buffing his nails against his shirt and teasing back and his entire body feeling light when Zuko’s eyes crinkle in the corners in response.

“You better practice, then,” Zuko says, all confidence and challenge and Sokka thinks he if does end up feeling faint tonight, or dizzy, or weak in the knees—hopefully not nauseated—that it is very much going to be Zuko’s fault.

He can’t wait.

--

“…Did you just pick up your paramedic?”

Sokka gives her a sideways look. “Did you?”

“…Let’s go get funnel cakes and not talk about it.”

“Great idea,” he says quickly. He has a feeling they’ll both get their answer in one hour and fifty-eight minutes and counting, anyway.

[whitakerrr]

SUMMARY:

Imprisoned on Zhao’s war ship, Sokka and Zuko have to work together to survive. They are not very enthusiastic about this prospect.

And they argue.

A lot.

Greatest Zukka series I’ve ever laid eyes on, but beware, while it’s never explicitly gratuitous, these boys are in for a ROUGH time. Very dark subject matter, handled with delicate precision and equally impressive characterization. I’ll be honest, I don’t usually get super invested in OC’s, but I love these guys just as much as the main cast. Especially Shen <3 <3 Heed the tags, and be sure to read War Crimes first. The sequel, War Games is much longer and still blossoming, but every word is well worth it. I cannot WAIT to see what happens next. Thunderous round of applause for @lovelyelbowleech