#the siblingism of sokka's crazy is what makes it soooo fascinating tho

[comradekatara]

imho azula is trying too hard to be sane (understandably)/takes herself way too seriously and thats why her breakdown is so Much, whereas sokka is usually fully aware of and vibing in his own (justified) paranoia/nihilism/feelings of incompetence/etc. he is, as you have said, the universe's fool, and thus has to get a lil silly with it sometimes. but in another life where he had built himself up as A Person and hypercompetent from the start (as opposed to acceping his destiny as Guy Who Dies Heroically Protecting His Sister) any instance where he comes close to Losing It (yue, the aftermath of the day of black sun, etc) would be much more drastic

exactly. i think it's very easy to be deceived into seeing sokka as Just a Normal Guy (as he supposedly sees himself!) because he processes everything so internally (like beneath cavernous layers of denial and cognitive dissonance) that he has to be really pushed into revealing his own true feelings.

those pushes can only really be seen in "the swamp" when he faces a vision of yue (not the real yue, of course) at which point he finally admits to aang and katara that he thinks about her all the time (and yet this is something he does not bring up unless forced to), and in "the boiling rock" when he admits to zuko that he knew it was a suicide mission (and notably he only considers escaping and "calling it quits" once he thinks it's in the best interest of suki, and zuko–who he now cares about as a person).

but we see that sokka does not value his own life at all in the very first episodes when he faces down the fire nation ship all by himself, and just because sokka seems fairly relaxed about it in "the boiling rock" doesn't mean he is not having a full on mental breakdown lol. like azula has been burning the candle at both ends, her breakdown was only a matter of time. but sokka has so unpersoned/objectified himself (not a sex object to be clear, more like. a shield) that he can barely cry at all (he doesn't even cry when he loses yue. it takes him watching the ember island players for him to even remotely process that grief).

azula has walls up and sublimates herself to her father/land, similarly to sokka, but she also very much perceives herself as having value due to her fn supremacist ideology (the divine right to rule, powerful firebender, heir to the throne, etc.), whereas sokka sees himself as impotent, insignificant, Nothing.

but just because he copes by retreating into himself and/or making jokes about it does not mean that he does not have the most fucked up little psyche you have ever seen. he simply keeps it hidden, except for the occasional comment hinting at his abysmally low self esteem and suicidal state of being. he is a tightly sealed vault. most repressed depressed panini-pressed boy in the world sixteen years running. self esteem so low it's underground. therapy couldn't fix him but the docs in vienna would have a hell of a time studying him!