#middle aged zukka in love

[sulkybender]

Look, the only men I need in my life are middle-aged Zukka falling in love for the first time

[ssreeder]

I am so bored and ive been meaning to find a way to harass you so consider this harassment ❤️❤️

This made me laugh until my side hurt. Great job 10/10 no notes

[zukkaflowers]

middle aged zukka have to share a bed but they lie parallel, untouching, both their minds racing thinking about i’ve loved him for years and years and years it’s too late to do anything; if i move he will know if i touch him he will know if i breathe he will know and. i can’t let him know. if i look at him from this short distance there’s no way he won’t be able to tell in my eyes that he’s the center of my soul. if our hands brush and he hears the hitch in my breath. if we wake and i am curled towards him. maybe he can hear my thoughts; maybe he already knows. maybe he can feel my pounding heart forcing ripples through the mattress. maybe he remembers my blush as the lights went out. maybe he knows and he’s embarrassed. maybe he knows and he’s repulsed.

i can’t let him know.

[bylightofdawn]

So stuff I've discovered in my second full rewatch of Avatar: the Last Airbender. Note it's prolly been 10+ maybe even 15 years since I fully rewatched the show and my tastes have changed, as have I as a person. I used to be all about the Zutarra lifestyle back in the day. I was so disappointed they were cowards and didn't give us that delightfully spicy couple as canon. I didn't mind Kataang and thought it was cute but it didn't really do much for me.

I still see the appeal of it but uh...I've kinda shifted to Zukka hardcore but with a caveat. I don't want teenage Zukka with them constantly butting heads and arguing. I want like 10-15 years post-canon Zukka who are older and more mature and still fucking idiots. I want a disgusting amount of pining and suffering in silence. Them going through multiple relationships that just don't work out for some reason or another. It's because they aren't Zuko or Sokka but neither want to admit it to themselves.

And then they get their shit together and everyone around them is like "FUCKING FINALLY. OH MY GOD"

I've also come out of this re-watch with a burning love for Hakoda/Bato because oh my gawd long-term friends who slowly realize even through tragedy and heartbreak, they can still find happiness and maybe the one you wanted all along was right there in front of you the whole time? asgjdhglkdhgkljdhgljkdhfljkashflkjdshx that's fucking kryptonite for yours truly.

Give me middle-aged people pining and finding love for the second time in their lives.

[theolddivorcedzukka]

I am asking about your zukka mitski playlist because my interest has been peaked !!

hi anon i am aware that this ask was sent on july 1st and your interest is no longer piqued so oops and sorry :(

here is the playlist link in case u still want to listen to it and ill talk about it a bit under the read more!!

hiiii so the funny thing about this playlist is that it was from before i even started posting about divorced zukka but i still had the headcanon of zuko and sokka dating when younger, breaking up, and then getting back together as middle aged adults. the playlist follows that exact same sequence cause im too lazy to write the fic so this is my way of writing the divorced zukka fic

ok so im not gonna explain the whole thing but I'll try to be a bit brief about what the songs talk about without getting into Why cause i know i'll be here for hours if i do so

1-3: sokka's section. it is set in canon and the vibe here is "i need to be strong, i need to be brave and tough like my father, like a real man, i have depression, i need to be the warrior, i do all the protecting but who is going to save me, i'm just asking for a kiss, one day i am going to die, etc"

4-9: zuko's section. set in canon up till "working for the knife" which is about him being firelord which suuuuucks. ehh you get the gist of it he is flawed, he is fucked up, he doesn't know what he wants, he is the forest fire, he is watching himself burn, he just needs something that will fill him up, etc and then he is crowned firelord and he gets worse but in a different way

10-11: classic sokka and zuko parallelism. hungry to be something they cannot be, thinking that that thing is what they should want, that that is what they are really hungry for. Wrong

12-13: set in the boiling rock. both would be from sokka's perspective and first love late spring is there because of how zuko holds sokka back from doing this reckless thing alone and end up killing himself "one word from you and i would jump off of this ledge im on baby. tell me don't so i can crawl back in" and heat lightning is about sokka surrendering and giving in to accepting that he needs help, he can't do this alone and so he allows zuko and co to carry this load with him and work together to get out of tbr

14-15: zuko and sokka start dating years after the war. "come into the water" is basically "come here, let's take this risk together. we both know it could be a mess but we don't really care about that right now, tell me you want me to do this and i'll come into the water with you" and for a while, it is all good. sokka and zuko start falling in love, they start taking care of each other, thinking that they can heal like this together and it'll all be good. there is still some issues in there like sokka's protectiveness that can end up hurting him "while you sleep, i'll be scared. so by the time you wake, ill be brave" but during that period in their relationship, they feel like nothing can get to them as long as they're together in their safe space.

16-18: the problems arise. they both knew that this had to be secret because of zuko's position, homosexuality being illegal in the fire nation, the assassination attempts that could worsen if the truth came out, and both their reputations but it's hard keeping it secret when they wish they could be like this not only behind locked doors. as well as that, sokka feels inferior here in the fire nation and it's not just the way the court talks about and at him and the way he's treated because of the fire nation's racism, it's that feeling that in a way he is betraying the water tribe, his family, his mother, everyone. what is he doing here in a nation that caused him and everyone so much harm? and he can separate how he feels about zuko from how he feels about the fire nation but it feels wrong sometimes, they feel like the same person sometimes.

18: this could also be seen as the proposal gone wrong or what leads up to it. they both aren't talking things through with full honesty, they try to avoid conflict cause their relationship is their one good thing at the moment. "sorry i can't take your touch, it's not that i don't want you" is basically sokka refusing the proposal to me. those aren't his words, they both just burst out at each other and make it all a mess. and sokka wants zuko but he can't sacrifice himself to spend his whole life there in a nation that he just doesn't feel right in, which might be one of sokka's few "im doing this for me" moments, and so this ends their relationship. huzzah.

19: breakup song. thinking that's where you loved me. me too zukka

20-21: classic zuko self-deprecation momence. "when you leave me, i should die. i deserve it, don't i?" and "i don't blame you if you want to bury me in your memory, im not the boy i ought to be" etc

22: sokka's lament. "i know i ended it but why won't you chase after me?" i know that this is what i must do but why won't you come back and try to change my mind? what if you just don't care anymore? why didn't you stop me even if we both know that we can't change this?

23: "you're my best friend now i have no one to tell how i lost my best friend" no comment

24: aghhhh this love is a star it's so gone now it's so over

25: we are so back!!!! as reluctant friends. this is zuko and sokka's first formal reunion together where they actually sit down together and awkwardly talk and pretend they don't have feelings. they are both lying when they say they haven't told anyone ofc they have. in my mind, this is when zuko has izumi now and they're catching up and trying to be friends again

26-27: that doesn't fucking work, they don't want to be friends. they always want each other when they think they're finally fine, they're both foolish to bet on this "whatever it is" when they know they're bound to lose. they want each other but they can't have each other, they hold the cards, they have a chance but taking that risk could ruin everything

28: oh my gooood fuck it let's hook up for old time's sake but also we both know that this shit won't go anymore but let's take this chance only for today (becomes a frequent thing every time sokka visits)

29: sokka has a realization and finds out that zuko still does have feelings. he wanted him but he couldn't reach sokka again, he's been keeping all of him in his memory to try to keep that love and now Sokka knows. oh shit wtf what now?

30: zuko and sokka have a talk. they have a small moment. maybe there is slow dancing involved. it really was foolish of us to think that we could stay the same. it would be so wonderful to go back to when we were younger, that short time was beautiful while it lasted. we both know that there is love in here but it can't happen again. im sorry

31: SIKE!!!! WE ARE SO BACK FR THIS TIME. you are the one i want, you're the one i've got, i'm not wasting this one lifetime without you. i will be the one you need, the way i can't be without you

32: zukka undivorced arc baby zukka back together. i know i've kissed you before but i didn't do it right, i haven't kissed you the way i should. let me kiss you like it used to be, not hurried or desperate, let me do it right and let me try again and again and again until we get it right. maybe there is no way to get it right and perfect but they still kiss so it's a perfect excuse

33: zuko and sokka retire, zuko ends the monarchy, they run off to the water tribe together just like they planned from the beginning. they could be anywhere but it doesn't matter where, they just want to be still with each other

34: *sokka voice* yue i just had a weird prophetic dream so if i die, look after zuko for me

35: sokka death scene amv. zuko loses sokka forever this time and there's no coming back now. he doesn't know how to be strong anymore if sokka isn't here to see him

36: zuko death scene amv. go get your stupid death on a rocking chair all calm and peaceful, old man

37: end credits

[human-sweater-vest]

an exercise in reasons to exist:

friends who write you love notes and prose, fairy lights, collaborative spotify playlists, promises of shared apartments because rent is too high and wages are too low, over the garden wall watch parties each fall, writing music-both good and objectively bad, memes that make you laugh unexpectedly, moths on windows, dried roses in vases, set lists from concerts, relearning to love reading, seeing people’s comments in google docs of scripts, queer fiction podcasts, leaves changing color, history focused youtube channels, dogs, cats, teaching people how to play games, cribbage, putting stickers on things even though it makes you anxious, photography, playing live photos back months after they’re taken and hearing laughter, indie music, bookstores, chamomile tea, live theatre, the soundtrack to 36 questions- the podcast musical, twitter polls crowning the best shade of pink, the best avatar ship (zukka), the #1 tumblr sexyman, and more, crab rave, candles, decorative sewing scissors, the sparkle emoji, the moon, the sun, discord servers with strange names and even stranger channels, deer, embroidery, lesbians, binders, people who use your pronouns, sharing headphones with friends on busses, going for walks, dandelions, vintage teacups, the trumpet, getting dressed up incredibly fancy to go to the store, discovering a new favorite book, bald eagles, tchotchkes, music boxes, hugs, holding hands, kisses on knuckles, bonking your head against someone like a cat, lavender, having flowers you associate with people, calling fictional middle aged men “babygirl”, internet fandoms, writing meta, tumblr mutuals, fanfic, running jokes, kissing the homies goodnight, blorbos, office hours with your favorite professor, crows, ravens, raven boys (of the raven cycle), literary analysis, conversations at three am about god, ghosts, and the pando tree, the world’s largest organisms: a forest and a fungus, fly agarics poking out of the ground, instagram meme accounts, receiving playlists as gifts, being sent songs because they reminded someone of you, family photo albums, notes in the back of yearbooks, journals, buying journals you’ll never fill because they’re pretty, painting nails on floors, favorite songs, seeing pride flags in public, animated tv shows, poetry, mechanical pencils, meditation, willow trees, one day being able to see fireflies, lists of things that are good and worth staying around for

please add on if you’d like <3

[3cosmicfrogs]

Hi, hope you're well.

I found your art through zukka week with your everything goes wrong au and I have to say, I AM IN LOVE with your atla designs!!! I especially love the siberian influence with your version of sokka. I especially love your older sokka and zuko and suki designs. Your art is so beautiful and I just wanted to let you know that!

(ps. your middle aged zukki piece has actually rewritten my brain matter and it actually inspired me to draw more middle aged gaang (though it has paused because finals are kicking my butt))

Oh goodness oh wow jsfhglfhglkag thank you so much! I'm glad you like my atla designs so much, character design is my passion... AAA i'm super stoked about your kind words and praise, it really means a lot! And yes, the milf/dilf sandwich is perhaps the finest thing that my horny brain has produced on this here website.

Good luck with finals! You can achieve your goals!

[purplestrawberrywerewolf]

HI HI HI

I guess I forgot that I wrote this like a long time ago it's a villain! Sokka au I wrote i guess like in December or January and I just found it and would like to share 💞 so enjoy

Gasoline: Villain Sokka au

Summary: concept scene for villain Sokka. (Zukka hinted).

Katara always knew her brother was special. First of all, he's like her. A powerful bender, if anything, all she remembered growing up is her father praising her brother, how much of a prodigy he is.

She never said anything, but she felt a slight jealousy towards him. Maybe resentment. Why was it him who got everything. Their fathers attention, even other boys' attention (how he was able to do that was beyond her) but she couldn't help but feel envy.

But then, Sokka snapped one day.

It was so sudden how it happened. One minute, her father was in a meeting and then the second, her brother was bending icicles at their father, aiming for the heart.

Katara screamed, yelling at sokka to. Stop. As he tried to kill.

Then, he was captured, put in shackles and thrown into an asylum.

Hakoda was too much of a nice father. He loved sokka as much as he loved Katara. But even he knew his son had to be put away.

So for two years Katara didn't see her brother. She knew he was still locked up, probably more crazy than before.

But then, Zuko came along. He came with his sister, claiming that he knew the avatar. Katara of course rolled her eyes but in the end, when he saved their village from being attacked, she had to belive him.

I'm sorry Sokka.

Was her thought as she left the village.

*******

"Sokka escaped"

Her heart dropped when she heard the words. "W-what?" She asked. Azula sighed. "Your crazy brother? He escaped" she repeated.

"Katara, what is she talking about?" Aang asked. Katara sighed. "I um… I have a brother" she admitted.

Aang's eyes widened. "You do?... Is he good?" He asked. Katara stayed quiet as Zuko looked away.

"He… he has some problems. He attacked our father when he was 14" She explained. Aang frowned. "Why?" He asked.

Katara shook her head, looking at the ground. "WE never knew. We tried talking to him but he kept trying to kill us" she explained.

Aang looked at the ground sadly before sighing. "Well, I guess we got another problem huh" he mumbled. Katara nodded.

********

Aang frowned as he stood in the middle of the abandoned village. The houses were destroyed and people were gone.

His mind wandered to Katara, hoping and praying she was okay. "Everyone's find, I think you can-" Aang looked to see Zuko appear next to him.

His gold eyes focused on him before they moved forward and focused on something else. His eyes widened as Aang frowned.

"What is-" Aang turned his head and his eyes widened as well.

There muddle of the village stood a boy, maybe about Zuko's age, his hair in a wolf tail and wearing a blue watertribe warrior outfit and a sword in his left hand.

He had an X scar on his right cheek, one on his lip and one across his left eye.

"Sokka" the name spilled from Aang's mouth as he stared at him. Sokka chuckled. "Oh, so you've heard of me" he said.

Zuko frowned. "Wait… you're.."

"oh come on, you don't see the family resemblance?" Sokka asked as he pushed a strand of hair away from his piercing blue eyes.

"I'm Katara, dad's favorite child and I can water bend and do everything Sokka can't" he said before chuckling. Aang glared slightly at him for his mockery of Katara.

"But yes, it's me. Her brother. Sadly we're related. Would rather be related to someone else" he tessed as he examined his nails.

****

I kinda wanna finish writing this but I need a whole. Storyline but thanks for reading, I hope u enjoyed ❤️

[justanotherghostwriter]

Wait so who are your ATLA ships or half ships then? I thought you were Taang?

Hi, anon! It's always so weird when somebody from the ether reminds me people actually follow this blog and see things xD

The first thing I need to clarify is a little about how I ship. I have ships, which are pairings I'm all in for. I'll seek out content for them and create content, if just in my head, because I'm personally invested in their relationship. Then I have pairings I don't like at all: these I avoid to certain degrees for whatever reasons I have. But in the middle of those two points is this vast pool of pairings that I neither like nor dislike. These are the ones I'll create content for if there's a request for it, or if it fits a scenario, or if I'm just curious about stretching my writing muscles. These are also the pairings that fit as close to "multishipping" as possible: because I'm not invested in any particular direction, I find I can appreciate and enjoy one character shipped with multiple others a lot easier than if it was a ship I really cared about and felt strongly for.

That being said, the only die-hard ship I have for ATLA is Zutara. All the other ships I enjoy fall into the middle pool of murkiness, where I definitely enjoy them, but I'll find enjoyment with any well-written/well-presented relationship.

Taang is, therefore, in this middle soup. I really, really enjoy Taang, and there is some fantastic art and fic and meta out there that really makes me enjoy them as a couple a lot. But, because I really struggle romantically pairing twelve-year-olds, the Taang I really enjoy is aged up (and/or in an AU of some kind). This means that the interpretation of how they grow and mature (together) is an important part of the relationship, for me personally. And that means that they could just be absolutely best friends. My platonic-soulmate-loving side adores this just as much. And I've also really enjoyed interpretations of growth and maturity that then leads Toph to be paired with Sokka or Kanto (shoutout to those people on Tumblr who opened my eyes to Kantoph. Y'all know who you are) or nobody at all.

And that's the same for Aang. I've seen lovely fic of him with multiple people. Depending on the interpretation of Aang maturing, I've even found some Kataang fic I've enjoyed. The shock and horror. ;P

So, in summary: yes, I do ship Taang. But I also... don't? And there's just something about Ty Laang that has always intrigued me a lot. That's an essay for another post, though. I also ship Sukka, but love Yukka and Tokka (both of those slightly less than Sukka, I'll be honest, because Sukka are just a great pairing to explore in many ways.)

At the moment, my no-ships for ATLA are Azulaang, Zukka and Maiko. I say 'at the moment', because I try to keep my mind open about differing opinions. So I read meta about things I don't necessarily agree with just to get the "other side of the argument". So we'll see how my opinions change as I engage, I guess!

And, because this is already long and I'm already oversharing and potentially inviting hate for my opinions, let me come clean: my second rarepair almost-not-quite ship that I alluded to in those tags on the Ty Laang art is Zuki. Yeah, I'd betray both Sukka and Zutara in that way. Dishonour on my cow. Blame the comics: I actually made it through quite a few of them before they became Too Much for me to continue with. (In terms of bad characterisation, not in terms of the number of comics.)

There is a very, very long answer to your ask, Anon. xD

[sulkybender]

the broken line that led from you to me

[bitethoseankles]

"Sokka would propose first" "No Zuko would" , we need to stop lying to our selves ppl. If anything they'd have no idea who proposed cause one of them did it on accident. Stay with me here, Zuko knows he wants to marry sokka. Or at least he knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with the man he loves. But Zuko being Zuko, he constantly talks him self out of it. Now here's a demonstration of what Zuko's thought process is on this topic: "I love this man more than anything, I want to marry him. But what if he doesn't want to marry me? No, he definitely wants to marry me, he's told me. Actually he said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, not marry me. What if he's one of those ppl who don't believe in marriage? Well it's not like we'd be able to get married, the fire sages are a bunch of musty bigots. Wait I'm the fire lord I can do what I want, wait that's my father's way of thinking. Being loved by someone like sokka is proof I'm nothing like my father, but what if being the fire lord turns me into him. I don't want sokka caught up in that, but he'd never let me turn into my father but...." It's quite the rabbit hole. On the other hand sokka's like:" Ummm I wanna marry zuko, should I ask for katara's help? Nah she'd make fun of me for taking so long, but she'd be sooooo happy for me and soooo mad at me if I left her out. I'll ask her later." Then months after sokka started planning with katara they'd have it all planned out. Sokka takes zuko to this beautiful hidden garden on the outskirts of the caldera. It's a beautiful autumn evening , which in the fire nation is pretty warm. Right when fire Phoenixes (come on those have to be the fire Nation's national bird) start to sing, sokka reaches for the betrothal necklace in his pocket. And right as he's about to take it out Zuko blurts "wanna get married?!" Katara starting laughing so hard she had to grab her side, she never let either one of them live that down.

[ssreeder]

HELLO

I didnt see that there was an update until now and i dont feel like discording and i just read the new chapter so here i am with my few main points bc i dont feel like doing a full live reaction👍👍🫶

Seeing Jeeto come into play in any capacity at all makes me feel like a proud parent watching their children grow. Its always wonderful like those are my emotional support middle aged fictional men. I watched them go from conspiracy to getting crumbs to now their "dates" and gossiping together. Youve gotta love it. Those are my children. Im so proud of them. But im also scared because you killed shen so obviously my feeligns mean nothing to you 🙄😒😒. (Im never going to get over that, im going to be 80 years old in some pst apocolypic enviroment with horrors all around me, but im going to be having nightmares about shen. Ill send you my therapy bill) (im going to get a tattoo in his memory istg)

Also its always really subtle but its funny to see your specific linguistical patterns in liab esp because i can never really explain it. Like ill read a random sentence and be like 'yeah that seems like sreeder wrote it' i just think its neat.

I also really loved zukka this chapter. But i always lovr zukka so its not a surprise. But espesially this chapter because its mostly soft zukka.

"Do you think we will stay together" NO Zukko divorce 🔫🔫. 🙅🏻🔥🔥🔥🙅🏾

The 'moving forward' ness of zukka in liab is so nicely written. Like ive been reading liab since (almost) the beginning and it has been a ride and its starting to feel more conclusive and that is SCARY but its also nice because you write it very well and i adore the way you write trauma and the healing of it and the ups and downs and the two steps forward two steps backness. Its very lovely.

I knew ara was going to have a suicide attempt (esque situation (idk if that counts)) i called it i win.

Idc what others say ara will always be amazing. I love her character SO MUCH

i feel like you can always tell the strengths of a writer in the way they write complicated characters and the way you write ara is very telling of that. Like the fragility and also harshness used for her is very realistic and i always enjoy her parts so much.

Like her deciding to move on independant of how zuko or sokka feel about it is and regardless of whether people thinks she 'deserves it' is immaculate.

And thats a good example on your specific strengths as the author of liab (being able to handle delicate situations well, and realistically and make them very thought out and not rushed, stuff like that).

But her 'i need to start getting along with other girls' is great because like,, RHATS SO TRUE. she is genuienlly one of my favorite characters of all time, i could write essays on why i love her. Exquisite.

REHO MENTION 🥳🥳💪💪💪💪

Thats my emotional support woobified early 20 something year old man. I adore him. If 30 people love reho i am one of them, if one person loves reho i am them if 0 people love reho i am dead (rip rehoes 😔) i will defend his (and aras) good names until i die.

Amazing chapter as always 10/10 *chefs kiss* im so excited for the series to finish and see what you do with everyone and the rest of the storylines and such.

Every time I think of Shen’s death I think of your utter devastation & how I wasn’t expecting you to be so distraught over it. I will say I had another commenter lately who was talking about how much they liked Shen & wanted an Iroh/Shen/Zuko dynamic and I kept thinking…. Damn it buddy, you’re going to be soooo mad at me in a few chapter haha…. oops.

ugh my linguistic patterns haunt me and I specifically ask my betas to check for them because I feel sooooo repetitive sometimes especially when there’s a lot of introspection lol. So it’s funny you mentioned that lol.

Omg I remember when I was still on RIA & someone in the server was like “dude I’m rooting for some jeeto.” & I was like oh no how do they know??? I created this fun divide between hakoda and bato just to push Bato into Jees arm!! Don’t spoil it haha, but whatever at least Dentys dead

Awwww thanks for the compliments it means a lot coming from you <3 but also yeah Ara is my delicate dumpster fire who says she going to make her existence everyone’s problem (most importantly sokka because damn girl could just LEAVE but she refuses lol) I love it. She’s fun, and any scene with her expect utter chaos haha.

every time I write Reho in a scene my mind says and the crowd goes wild,,, he’s annoying but I’m glad you like him.

thanks for this amazing ask you’re awesome

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

here lies the complete story of the Crocverse (AtLA zukka modern AU)

The general facts are as follows: 

Iroh owns a croc store and Zuko works there

Sokka works at Trader Joe’s and loves crocs

Bending is a thing

Jeong Jeong owns an antique store and is furious the croc store ruined the vibe of the strip mall

Sokka and Zuko go on a date to Olive Garden

Toph and Zuko hate crocs

Bumi owns a Jamba Juice

Worldbuilding 

This takes place in Florida

Bending is a thing, but it is unclear whether or not the Avatar is a thing 

The 2008 financial crisis was a thing that happened in this universe 

Characters 

Iroh is the new owner of the strip mall Croc store. He loves and appreciates crocs in a big dorky way. 

Zuko is his disgruntled nephew who works at the Croc store. He hates crocs with a passion and is in kind of a Linkin Park phase. (He is not an eboy, no one is an eboy, society has moved past the need for eboys.) 

Sokka works at the local Trader Joe’s. He wears Hawaiian shirts all the gd time. He is incredibly excited about the croc store and gets addicted to buying crocs. He also likes wearing a ‘men want me, fish fear me’ hat and sometimes completes his ensembles with fanny packs. 

Katara works at a Petsmart. 

Jeong Jeong owns an antique store next to the croc store and is pissed that the croc store ruined the vibe of the strip mall. 

It is undecided whether or not Aang works at Bumi’s Jamba Juice or if he works at the Trader Joe’s bakery. Regardless, he’s more of a Birkenstocks guy and finds that crocs and airbending don’t really work together. 

Piandao is the Trader Joe’s manager. 

Hakoda is currently deployed and Sokka is trying his best to cope (with unhealthy shopping habits). 

Dynamics 

Zuko goes to Jamba Juice a lot. Toph also goes to Jamba Juice a lot. They become buds because they go ‘well we’re both loners going into school with few or no friends and we both love Jamba Juice and hate crocs, that’s as good a place as any to start a friendship’ 

Sokka loves to explore Jeong Jeong’s antique store. Jeong Jeong considers Sokka to be a local menace (and he’d never say it but he’s his local menace and would be hurt if Sokka started poking around another antique store). 

Iroh really wants to be friends with Jeong Jeong (who could honestly use a friend, he’s kind of a hermit). Jeong Jeong is firmly annoyed that Iroh ruined the vibe of the strip mall. 

Zuko likes hanging out at the antique store and occasionally runs into Sokka. He voices his displeasure for the croc store on multiple occasions and Jeong Jeong feels incredibly validated. 

Zuko has kind of just planned to not have friends for his senior year. Iroh thinks that unacceptable. 

Iroh loves Sokka’s outfits a whole lot and compliments them all the time (while also trying to set him up with Zuko as friends). 

Sokka initially thinks Zuko is just kind of weird and asocial, but then one day at Petsmart he’s bothering Katara at work and he sees Zuko sitting on the floor of the reptile section just looking at all the tanks. Katara tells Sokka that Zuko basically does this every other day and Sokka realizes how soft this guy is and just kind of goes ‘oh’. 

Sokka goes to the crocstore and buys some pride crocs to send a message to Zuko. Zuko is oblivious. 

Eventually, Sokka pulls the “so… do you want to do an activity together?” and Iroh comes over with a “he’d LOVE to” and gives them an Olive Garden gift card. 

Sokka hopes Zuko thinks this is an actual date, Zuko is unclear on whether or not this is a date but puts on a button down shirt just in case, and Iroh doesn’t realize it’s 100% a date until Zuko comes out with his shirt and Iroh decides that it is of the utmost importance that he does Zuko’s hair. 

The details of the date have been decided on….but @animegenork is writing the actual fic and if you really want the sweet, soft zukka details you’ll have to wait. All I’ll say is there are turtleducks and smooching involved. 

Relevant Backstory 

Iroh didn’t actually want to own a croc store. He used to own his own tea/coffee store, but when the economy tanked and his son died, it ended up going bust. 

Iroh didn’t have much contact with his brother after Lu Ten died because Ozai was an unsympathetic asshole about it. The last time he saw his brother’s family was at Azulon’s funeral. 

A few years after the falling out with Ozai (and Iroh’s contact with his niece and nephew being basically reduced to birthday phone calls) Iroh finally upgrades to an iPhone with Facetime. When he calls for Zuko’s birthday, Iroh is VERY FUCKING DISPLEASED to see that someone has burned off half of Zuko’s face (and it doesn’t take much thinking for him to guess who). 

Iroh scoops Zuko up ASAP and Zuko moves in with him. 

Iroh attempts to bring Azula, but she firmly does not want to go with him and Iroh can’t exactly just kidnap a child in this day and age. 

So instead of reinvesting in a new tea shop, Iroh invests his time in legal work to go after Ozai for being the Fucking Worst™. 

He also puts Zuko in therapy, because god knows the kid needs it. 

Iroh worked in middle management for various retail stores and landed a management position in a croc store. Eventually, he opened up his own branch in Florida (which is where our story starts). 

And really, it wasn’t Iroh’s dream to own a croc store, but he accepts that life doesn’t always go exactly how you plan it. Iroh recognizes that what he can focus on is bringing joy to people and trying to project kindness into the world every day. Maybe you end up onwing a croc store. Maybe you’re in a bunch of bs legal crap because your brother is a monster and there are two kids who need someone, but you can make the best of it and it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy simple pleasure where you find them. 

Other details 

The Crocverse is a Mouth Wheat Boy Free Zone. Jet is just not a croc person. Jet has no reason to enter the croc store. This AU does not have room for Jet. I’m sorry Jet stans. (I’m not.) 

Zuko and Sokka are upcoming high school seniors (age 17). 

Katara is an upcoming junior (16), Aang is an upcoming sophomore (15), and Toph is an upcoming freshman (14). 

The swampbenders are frequent patrons of the croc store because they’re good for marshy areas.

The only people who are actually croc enthusiest in this world are Sokka and Iroh. 

Sokka likes wearing neon turquoise crocs the most. 

Sometimes Iroh wears rainbow tie dye crocs to support his gay nephew .

Final words 

This is what I meant when I said the Crocverse was never really about the crocs. The crocs were just a framing device, they’re just how we got here. At its core, the crocverse is about these characters and their struggles, and more importantly how they find each other despite the struggles. It’s about Zuko learning how to make friends. It’s about Iroh wanting the best for his nephew and trying to make the best of a less than ideal situation. It’s about Sokka trying to figure out what to do now that his dad is gone and learning how to open up about it instead of cope with unhealthy shopping habits and deflection. It’s about going to Petsmart and spending an hour looking at the reptiles because you deserve it. It’s about going to Jamba Juice and making friends with the other loners. It’s about learning that you don’t have to be alone. It’s about ditching Olive Garden for a better date somewhere else and smooching the ridiculous Hawaiian shirt Trader Joe’s employee because he’s funny and caring and maybe, just maybe, you deserve that. It’s about letting new people enter your life when you think you have to be alone. It’s about being teenagers together before life starts for real. It’s about, above all else, finding those weirdos who will be there for you and accept you for all your quirks and baggage. 

And that’s the Crocverse. I will shut up about it forever now. 

[dameferre]

Oooh that who am I really beautiful 25k behemoth?? (Or whatever crumb of writing you want to share from the other wips)

okay if you’ll forgive me, you said ‘behemoth’ and there’s another zukka au i affectionately refer to as the behemoth, as my rough notes and outline for it, alone, are [checks notes] 9k

basically it entails me tapping the atla creators on the shoulder, muttering ‘ill take it from here’ and rewriting like. 75% of the show. before the fic even starts.

but in the interests of keeping this post short, i’ll just say in this au, iroh nuts the fuck up and becomes firelord instead of dumping a huge fucking responsibility on a traumatised 16yo. it starts with zuko, age 23, who, because aang vouched for him personally, is being allowed to move to the southern water tribe and work as sokka’s bodyguard (obviously, sokka takes offence to everyone telling him he needs protection just because he isn’t a bender, so they don’t uh. immediately get along.)

anyway, im really really excited to get it to a point where i can start posting, bc it’s very dear to my heart, and i posted a smidge of it before, so here’s a... sort of continuation of that

“Aang.” Zuko grabs his arm, forcing him to stop in the middle of the hallway, warning clear in his voice. He stares directly into Aang’s eyes.

Aang breaks almost immediately. “I’m sorry! I thought if I told you you might not come.” He explains, looking between them. “But Sokka needed a bodyguard, and you know- the Avatar’s supposed to help foster peace! So.” Aang makes a little ‘well there you go’ motion with his hand, fidgeting in Zuko’s grasp.

Lu Ten’s hand comes up to pinch at the bridge of his nose, frustrated. “They very obviously don’t trust us.”

“They don’t know you!” Aang’s tone is not convincing. “You just gotta give them a chance to get to know you better.”

Zuko rolls his eyes. “Sokka, specifically, seems to hate me already.”

Aang’s face gives a weird little spasm. “He’ll come around!” He flashes a weak approximation of an encouraging smile. “C’mon, Sifu Hotman, everybody likes you.”

Lu Ten makes a strangled noise.

“They absolutely do not.” Zuko says, gaping at his friend.

Shaking his head slowly, Lu Ten says, through a pained expression, “They really don’t.” He glances at his cousin. “He’s an acquired taste, at best.”

“So are sea prunes! And Sokka loves those.”

[firelordtoph]

The misogynoir problem in the Atla fandom and the treatment of katara: a rant

those who say that katara is a bad person for telling sokka that he didn’t love their mother the way she did have yet to put into perspective that she said that in a moment of anger. and that’s she’s a child who’s in the middle of fighting a war to save the world from an evil tyrant. just like the rest of these kids.

everyone else in this show is allowed to have moments where they say things they’ll regret later, except katara. when she has outbursts in frustration or even righteousness, here come the anti-katara’s ready to have something to say about how’s she so wrong for doing so.

people saying zutara is racist, but shipping zukka to no end. and then while doing this basically taking katara’s traits and putting them into sokka to make zukka work, yeah doing stop that shit. it’s stupid.

making it seem like katara talking about her mothers death, (which she usually does so she can relate to other people and their losses, because all of these KIDS have lost so much) is her undermining everyone else’s pain, which she doesn’t do.

the “jokes,” about katara being homophobic are actually disgusting so whoever started that shit and continued to run with it, fuck you.

homophobia isn’t a joke and putting that shit on katara as a means to bring undeserved hate is so fucking gross. (I could write an entire essay on why that shit is disgusting, but i know i would get so angry within writing the first paragraph🤬)

also the expectation for her to be so emotionally mature, (even though she’s one of the younger members of the group and still is the most emotionally mature, even for her age) is something commonly put on dark skinned women in television and in society.

the fact that katara is the darkest female character in the show and she gets the treatment she does isn’t a coincidence, either.

katara is a child, but is critized for her actions and mistakes as if she’s an adult with a fully developed frontal lobe. she’s not. she isn’t. even if she did have to take on a maternal role at a young age and it did mature her, she’s still a kid. a fourteen-year-old KID a part of the team who’s training the KID who’s destiny is to save the entire fucking world.

and zuko, even though I love him to death because he’s one of the best written animated characters, like ever, is a prime example of the double standards set by anti-katara’s

zuko was older than katara, had trauma from losing his mother at a young age and was separated from his father (banished, but that’s a different story) and left basically by himself and given a tough mission to complete before he hit puberty.

katara’s mission basically being able to care for everyone and zuko’s to find the avatar, (two different missions that both came with a lot of pressure, but still.)

and while zuko is admired for growing from his mistakes and finding ways to cope with his situation (even if there are outbursts along the way) , katara is shamed and has the same things held over her head.

only admiring one of these characters but hating the other, is clearly not because you hate what this character does, but because this character is a brown girl at the same time as doing these things.

so please, if you say you’re anti-katara, keep that shit to yourself, because it’s embarrassing.

sincerely,

a black girl who’s fed up

[that-was-anticlimactic]

Sokka with Tourette’s Headacanons Part Two

that no one asked for but here they are because I wanted to write more

Part One here and links to all of my other TS headcanons and such at the end!

*rubs hands together*

let’s start with premonitory urge and Sokka’s experience with it!

for those who don’t know, premonitory urges are essentially sensory tics. It’s when you feel a sensation or a discomfort in your body where you want to-- no, need to do something for touch something. For example, it can be as simple as this feeling in my body and head that I need to rub my phone screen a certain way. If I don’t rub it, the uncomfortable feeling will linger and make me anxious or extra fidgety. They can also increase tics.

Now, in Sokka’s life with TS, he has had... some problems with premonitory urge. When he was younger and training to be a warrior, there were multiple occasions where he almost sliced his fingers off because he kept getting this physical feeling that he had to touch the swords or spears etc... a certain way.

When he gets older, he finds that they start to bother him during council meetings in the Fire Nation, especially when Zuko is doing important stuff so he has to sit far away.

They’ll be in the middle of an important meeting when Sokka looks up from his doodling to glance at Zuko and this tingling, gravitational feeling suddenly moves through his body and he can’t stop staring at the edge of Zuko’s chair and he knows that he needs to rub it.

Obviously, he can’t just get up in the middle of the meeting, walk over to the Fire Lord, and rub his chair (even though they are dating and Zuko would definitely let him)

I have had experiences like this during class where I would mentally shut down or have to calm myself down from an anxiety attack because I need to rub the white board my teacher is writing on or the teacher’s desk but we are literally in the middle of class so I can’t do that (doesn’t always end like that, but that’s worse case scenario). And it sucks. So much. So, Sokka is miserable.

One time Sokka was so focused on not having an anxiety attack because his body was telling him that he needed to rub the surface of a Fire Nation elder’s desk-thingy that’s in front of his chair (because sometimes his body hates him and it happens to people he doesn’t know that well’s stuff) that he mentally shut down. He ended up squatting in his chair, rocking back and forth for ten minutes after the meeting ended without realizing it because all he could think was don’t interrupt the meeting, don’t be weird, don’t embarrass Zuko

Zuko, being the fantastic boyfriend he is, noticed that Sokka didn’t leave the meeting and thought it looked like an anxiety attack. He kind of just sat with him. He didn’t touch him because he knew Sokka wouldn’t want it and wouldn’t be able to coherently answer if he asked to touch him. Zuko just started talking about random things to try to get his mind off of the feeling.

Once he got back into the moment (with help from Zuko’s dulcet voice), he ran to the desk-thingy and rubbed it. Like, almost dramatically ran his hand across the desk and kind of just let his hand take over and rub whatever part he needed to.

Zuko was confused because this had never happened before (well, it had, but not to this extreme in front of him and Sokka never said anything) so Zuko never knew).

Sokka was kind of embarrassed, but he told Zuko about it and together they came up with a signal for when it got really bad so Zuko could either call a five minute break or make an excuse to switch seats so he could sit next to his boyfriend.

This is another reason that Zuko keeps random things on him at all times so if it gets bad, Sokka will have more to do with his hands than draw, write sentences over and over again, take notes, and tap.

Actually, lowkey stealing this particular headcanon from @tikmasjiens and their story For When He’s Being a Dumb*ss (which I highly suggest reading-- it’s fantastic!): Katara and Zuko (for the purposes of later in life when they’re dating because of course imma make it Zukka) carry little fidget kits / bags around for Sokka because he is forgetful and is sometimes so focused on one particular thing that he starts to run late for a meeting or lunch or hang out that he forgets his own personal fidget things.

The amazing Katara and Zuko have random things: brushes, atla equivalent at paper clips (aka metal things he can bend) (yes, yes, we’ve been hiding this from the world, but people with Tourette’s are actually paper clip benders lol), dice, Pai Sho tiles, and other little trinkets.

One time when Sokka was walking around an Earth Kingdom market out of boredom (and this is after the war because I just want him to not be on edge during this), he sees this young girl making noises and movements similar to him and he sees these two other kids mocking her and laughing at her and Sokka just sees red.

He actually goes over and scolds the kids (who don’t care enough to stay and listen ugh but that’s not the main focus of Sokka’s concern so it’s whatever for now) and this young girl sees him (at around age 17-18) making noises and moving ‘weirdly’ too and she’s just like “I’ve never seen anyone else do that stuff before”

and Sokka kind of just sits down with her and talks to her about his own experience and it’s not anything to be ashamed of, even though it can feel like that sometimes.

he rummages through his pockets and pulls out some of his fidget stuff and gives it to her. He, Zuko, and Katara have plenty of fidget stuff for him. Losing a few won’t matter.

Eventually, her parents return and they part ways. They never see each other again, but they never forgot each other either. It was both of their first time seeing someone else like them.

(and personal anecdote, but one time I was faculty at a camp for the weekend, and one of the kids in my group had just gotten diagnosed with Tourette’s and that was one of the most meaningful experiences I have ever had. I got to talk to him and his mom about my experience and it was... I’ll never forget that)

Sokka may be the protective older brother, but Katara is also the terrifying ‘you hurt my brother I will ruin you’ younger sister. One time, someone mocked Sokka’s tics and Katara’s protective instincts kicked in and she lectured them so hard. and very loudly. so everyone heard.

again, y’all, I know this is about Sokka with TS but WOW I love Katara too, what a queen. Let’s take a moment and appreciate the queen that she is.

Ty Lee and Sokka do yoga together at least twice a week. They both find it relaxing and fun and nice, but it also helps Sokka begin the day with less stress in his body. It doesn’t cure his TS, because there is no cure and he needs no cure, but it definitely helps sometimes.

Something that absolutely kills Sokka is that he wants to cuddle with Zuko at night so badly, but sometimes he genuinely just can’t. Zuko’s arms around him will make him feel too trapped and restrained, his arms around Zuko make him paranoid that if he moves too much, he’ll make Zuko uncomfortable and just stressed himself out by only being able to think about “am I moving too much?” “can Zuko feel me move?” “stay still stay still stay still” and it’s just not fun and he gets tense

But sometimes, he can cuddle and he loves it! Because as much as he hates being held, he desperately longs to be held. As self-conscious as he gets when he holds Zuko, he wants to be able to hold Zuko.

So when he feels like he can cuddle with Zuko, he gets so excited!

Zuko swears up and down that the lack of cuddling on occasion does not bother him, but Sokka still has trouble believing him (not that he doesn’t trust him, but he can’t understand how someone would be okay with it)

One time, Sokka was so distressed about whether or not Zuko was upset with him or pretending not to be upset to spare his feelings that Zuko invited Toph over so she could inform Sokka that he was, in fact, telling the truth about it being okay that they can’t always cuddle and be physically affectionate.

Sokka’s verbal tics both annoy him and don’t annoy him. He’s so used to hearing them that they don’t bother him anymore, but sometimes they make it hard for him to talk and he can feel them and that’s what bothers him.

He’s also self-conscious that everyone hates his verbal tics and are annoyed by them.

On a really bad head day for Sokka, the gaang was going to see a theatrical show per Zuko’s request and it was the first time in months they had all been able to hang out together and Sokka wasn’t having a good tic day and was so genuinely afraid to go to the show because he was going to tic and make noises and what if he distracted everyone? what if the strangers in the audience got mad at him? what if the ushers forced him to leave? how embarrassing would that be?

so he pretended to be sick and didn’t go

but Toph saw through his crap and stayed behind as well because “you’ve heard a play once, you’ve heard it a thousand times” and when everyone leaves, she calls Sokka out and asks him what was up

and he knew he couldn’t get away with lying to Toph, so he told her the truth and she just kind of laughed and went “they don’t bother any of us, seriously”

and Sokka was just “how do you know? It’s not like how much my tics don’t annoy you come up naturally in conversation”

and Toph goes “I don’t need to talk to them about it to know that no one’s bothered by them. Besides, they care about you more than they care about what sounds you make” then punched his arm

(and if Sokka silently cried, no one needed to know)

so, overtime, he gets the nerve to ask everyone individually (because there’s no way he could do everyone at once) just to make sure he wasn’t bothering them. He doesn’t get to ask everyone because some of them kind of get a feeling that he’s anxious about it (and if Zuko maybe mentioned it to some people so they approached him and causally mentioned they weren’t bothered, no one needs to know oops) (don’t worry, Zuko didn’t say anything super personal. Just like “tell Sokka his tics don’t bother you because he thinks they do”. Not like the details and stuff Sokka told him in private)

Katara didn’t answer, just asked if she could hug him and said that she loved him no matter what (and ten minutes later asked him if anyone told him that because if someone in the gaang said it, then she wouldn’t be afraid to spill blood)

Zuko, ever the dramatic and romantic one, knelt in front of Sokka (who was sitting) and went “I love you. I love every single part of you.” *kisses his hands* “I love you for your finger clenching and fist pumping.” *kisses his shoulders* “I love you for your shoulder rolling...” *kisses his neck* “your neck twitches...” *kisses his nose* “your nose scrunching...” *gently kisses each eye* “your blinking...” *kisses his lips* “and for every verbal and motor tic you’ve ever had and ever will have”

(look, I’m just... I’m so soft for that moment and I think about it constantly)

Suki gives him this hard and serious look and says “you are not annoying. You never have been and you never will be” and from just her stare and tone of voice, he knows she’s telling the truth.

Aang immediately just starts rambling and is like “I’m so sorry if I ever made you feel that way but you as so far from annoying! Honestly, sometimes I forget they’re even there I’m just so used to them-- not that they’re forgetful or anything, but they’re just so normal to me that I don’t notice-- why are you crying? Did I say that wrong? I’m sorry--”

and Sokka just grabs him and hugs him and says “No. I love you. Thank you.”

Mai is bad at emoting but she tells him “I don’t mind them. They’re comforting. Sometimes. Better than the sound of an empty house or screaming.”

Ty Lee immediately goes into “who told you you were annoying? I have some new moved I’d like to try. Give me names and they’re test subjects number one” and even Sokka feels fear at the look on her face even though the anger isn’t directed towards him

Azula is kind of snarky at first (because she’s trying not to, but it’s hard and it’s not her fault). She just gives him this seriously? look and kind of goes “you really think they’re significant enough to bother me?” and Sokka knows that’s Azula’s healing way of saying “no, they don’t bother me”

okay but let’s also talk about Hakoda and Piandao and Iroh because I want to and I love them

Hakoda kind of does what Katara does and asks if he can hug him and just tells him how proud he is of Sokka for the man that he’s become and that his TS is a part of who he is and it’s a part of his identity and there’s nothing his TS could ever do to make him any less proud

Piandao actually talked to Sokka about it during Sokka’s Master because it was holding him back of bit. Sokka was kind of embarrassed and was getting frustrated with it. Piandao sat him down and told him that perceived weaknesses are actually one of our greatest strengths. Being a nonbender looks like a weakness to many benders who rely solely on their bending, but it takes a certain kind of person to be a nonbender and that’s something to be proud of. The things that make you different are sometimes the things that teach you how special you are.

Piandao just sees so much potential and good in Sokka and Sokka looks up to him so much.

Iroh always lends Sokka extra or old Pai Sho tiles to fidget with. He also has this relaxing tea that helps his mind feel calm. Again, not with the intent to “fix” or “cure” him, but it helps his anxiety levels go down, in turn helping his tics relax.

Iroh tells Sokka that his tics are nothing to be ashamed of and that true friends would stick with him, tics or no tics.

hey? hey? guess what? Bumi ll didn’t just inherent the nonbending from Sokka, he also got the Tourette’s genes:)

imagine the Uncle / Nephew bonding between them

like, Bumi ll asks him why Kya and Tenzin don’t do weird things but he does? and Sokka just smiles sadly because he knows the feeling and talks to him about Tourette’s.

Bumi ll also got lucky because Katara saw the signs instantly and got him tested as soon as she could.

Let’s just say, aside from the gaang, the Kataang family is the most supportive family of his TS:) (it doesn’t hurt that his aunts and uncles will hung down anyone who ever makes him feel like trash and lecture them or their parents oops)

this is something I have mentioned before, but Sokka struggles to sit through meetings. Having TS and ADHD make it so hard for him.

sometimes he just feels so out of place because in this room full of people, he’s the only one rocking back and forth in his chair and changing his position every three seconds and jerking his head. He just feels... so wrong when he sees how still everyone else is sitting. Yeah, occasionally he’ll see some people tapping their foot or tapping the table in front of them with their fingers, but it’s not the same.

BUT on a happy note and not to make this all depressing (because TS sucks sometimes, but there’s nothing wrong with it or us and it’s a part of who we are) Sokka 100% has a top ten list of his favorite and least favorite tics of all time (I don’t know if people keep track of their favorites or if that’s just something I like to do, but I would imagine that a decent amount of people with TS know their favorites and least favorites)

I won’t bore y’all with an actual list, but his favorite tic is rocking back and forth. The motion is so soothing and comforting to him. Like, it feels right to be rocking. Yeah, sometimes he gets self-conscious about it, especially if he’s the only one in the room moving, but it feels so nice and right.

Sokka: *tics a couple times in a row* ughhhh that was not fun

Toph: *jokingly* wow, I mean, can’t you just, I don’t know, stop? Just, not do it?

Sokka: *jokingly* great idea, Toph! Why didn’t I think of that? All I needed to do all along was just not want to tic!

Toph is the only one ever allowed to do this bit with him. Sokka thinks it’s the funniest thing and it never fails to make laugh

Toph said that out of sarcastic instinct one time and almost choked on her drink because she felt so bad but Sokka was stifling a laugh and replied super sarcastically and then just laughed.

Toph still felt really bad and apologized (Sokka told her it was fine and he wasn’t upset, but she’s also been on the other side of jokes like that and it’s not fun).

Now, though, it’s kind of their thing. They do it every once in awhile and it flows like any other banter. It just happens and they don’t even blink.

(if anyone else did that to Sokka, though, Toph would probably rob them or like soak their clothes in cactus juice so they’re all sticky idk, she just wouldn’t stand for it)

Sokka actually takes a leave of absence from being an ambassador to travel around the four nations and visit schools with Toph and Zuko (who also take breaks). The three of them go to educate schools on disabilities (their own and others).

Sokka also personally makes it his mission to sit in one class at every school and see if there’s anything that he can give advice on. Sometimes, he talks to principals and teachers about how to help accommodate students with learning or “disruptive” disabilities so that they can get the best education that they can while still feeling comfortable and safe.

Now, the three don’t get this all done at once, it takes a year or two, but they do it and all three are just... really proud of it.

Sokka really struggles with Locus of Control (LOC). For those who don’t know, LOC is “ a psychological concept that refers to how strongly people believe they have control over the situations and experiences that affect their lives” (Ed.glossary.org).

Sokka, as many headcanon, likes having control over situations or likes having things ordered and scheduled. He doesn’t like changes to his schedule, he likes having schedules... his tics, on the other hand, are not something he can control or schedule

Giving up that control is hard for him. It wasn’t too bad as a child in a super small village, but once he left the SWT with Aang and Katara, he realized how different having tics was (although he was the only one back at home with tics, he often worked with restless children)

He went through a period of time where he thought that he could control his tics, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t. Thus, the loss of control he feels.

He actually went through a ‘phase’ once where he thought that maybe he was making his tics up and doing them on purpose for attention or to be different or something. Katara quickly shut him down and told him that he wasn’t doing that.

I once saw someone say that Sokka has imposter syndrome and I think it correlates a bit with LOC in this context (I should actually do some research about that...).

Learning to understand that he won’t always have control is hard for him. Like. Really hard. He tried so desperately to control his tics and it just increased his anxiety and wore him out. Trying to control tics freaking hurts.

Aang is actually the one to help him with that. He’s had a lot of experience of not being able to control his own life, and although their situations are different, he has methods he uses to attempt to prevent himself from overthinking too much and letting his anxiety take control.

After that, Sokka doesn’t struggle with LOC as badly as he did before. It still sneaks in time after time, but it’s never too prominent and Aang is always there with some advice and distractions:)

(I just also love Aang so much and he deserves the world)

Although Sokka is “weird” with touch, there is one type of touch he is almost always on board with: massages. Massages. I’ll say it one more time: massages. They feel so nice. He carries so much stress in his back and shoulders because of how much he moves them due to his tics.

Zuko can tell when Sokka’s shoulders and back start to hurt really badly and will just sit behind him, heat his hands up (not too much), and give him the absolute best massages.

No. Seriously. Zuko gives the best massages (Sokka once wanted to return the favour and uhhh.... Zuko was not a fan. Although Friends isn’t the best show to take examples from, but uhh Sokka gives massages like Monica Gellar. That is all. Zuko gets his massages from Ty Lee).

Suki gives the second best massages.

Katara third.

So, there’s this one Kyoshi Warrior that works with Suki on guard that Sokka just can’t crack. She has an RBF and rolls her eyes and stuff a lot and she uhhh is kind of rather facially expressive but like, RBF style, so one time when Sokka is having a bad tic day, she makes a face.

It wasn’t aimed towards him, it was about something else, but his heart just breaks because this girl he had been trying to get to open up a bit to him and let loose and not be so freaking serious all of the time hates him.

and later she approached him and just “Sorry. I don’t... I don’t get annoyed by your tics or you or anything. I find them soothing and, I don’t know, nice. Like a reminder that the Fire Lord’s boyfriend is still safe. And they sound nice. I don’t hate them. Or. You.” (look, feelings are hard for her)

and Sokka just :D

alrighty, this is longer than I intended... so we’ll end with me mentioning something I mentioned last time: Yue! (I love her). She never once brings up Sokka’s tics. She never makes faces or asks him why he makes sounds. She’s studied a lot, and while there isn’t too much out there about TS, it’s the NWT, they have lots of books. She could see the signs and assumed.

Never once in the amount of time that they knew each other did she mention it. Sokka appreciated not having to explain himself. He felt safe and welcome there with Yue.

Thank you for reading, anyone who made it to the bottom! I enjoy talking about TS as well as my own experience with it. I love writing about Sokka with TS in particular. There isn’t a lot of TS rep out there, really only the one episode of South Park (don’t watch the show, but I watched the clips about Tourette’s education that the Tourette’s Association of America approved of. It was really heartfelt and lovely to watch and is also a good representation of coprolalia!) and the movie Front of the Class.

My ask box is always available for questions about TS, Sokka with TS, Jay (Ninjago) with TS, anyone’s personal TS headcanons or experience, or any underrepresented neurological disorder that you want to share!

List of TS Stuff Already Written: Part One here , Deeper Than Words (a oneshot I wrote on ao3 of Sokka with TS), a lovely Sokka with TS oneshot written by @tikmasjiens (sorry for tagging you twice ahhh)​ here , Stuck (a Sokka with TS excerpt from a fic I’m writing), NInjago Jay!TS Oneshot