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closetsof-backlogged-dreams · 2 days

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okay so I’ve seen and loved a bunch of these posts already but everything u say is immediately correct and amazing and sending u asks is the best

opinions on why zukka works and makes sense as a ship and if you think it could work in canon (outside of fanon)?

I CANT BELIEVE YOU JUST MADE MY ENTIRE LIFE COMPLETE AND FULL BY ASKING ME THIS QUESTIONNNN (strap in folks hold on to your hats keep a good hold on your bladders bc this is 10+ years worth of BUSINESS)

Why "Zukka" works and makes sense as a ship

something i've discussed THROUGHLY with my notes app and a school slides presentation is that Zuko and Sokka are both direct parallels AND contrasts to one another, at the same time. i'll list them out here:

Their fathers' roles in their lives

Both Hakoda and Ozai were the leaders of their respective nations, with Sokka and Zuko as the heirs. Then, they both become absent in their sons' lives and leave them to fend for themselves.

This is a parallel, but this is also where they contrast. Sokka's father left to go fight in the war, a noble and honest pursuit, and left Sokka to protect his sister and the village.

Ozai, on the other hand, cast Zuko out of the nation and forced him to protect and defend himself, while effectively turning all their people and his own sister against him.

Their sisters' roles in their lives

Despite both of them being the oldest sibling and brother, they both have severe inferiority complexes due to their younger, powerful bending sisters.

With Katara, she was the only waterbender in the entire tribe, a marvel. She could learn to protect the tribe in a way that Sokka had been trying all his life, and she eventually does. Despite all this, Katara is still a grounding and valued person in his life, and he would be completely lost without her (something he openly admits to in canon!!)

With Azula, she was a prodigy firebender, while also being a special kind of keen and cunning. She was adored by their father and grandfather and Zuko could never quite measure up. Because of this, Azula is the main villain in Zuko's childhood. She does everything she can to break him down, and that continues when she returns as a character in his life in season two. All throughout the show, instead of being a source of comfort and familial love, she is his main obstacle he must overcome.

The loss of their mothers

Both Sokka and Zuko lost their mothers at very young ages to the Fire Nation, but they had vastly different impacts on their families (and further developed their sisters' roles in their lives!!)

When Sokka's mother died, she was killed by a Fire Nation general. Katara quickly took over the motherly role in his life, cementing her place as a grounding and comforting force. Her death also did not break their family. It deeply hurt all of them, but Katara, Sokka, and Hakoda still loved one another just as much as before.

When Zuko's mother died (obviously not really, but this is what he believes for many years), she was "killed" in order for his father to ascend to the throne and become Fire Lord. This left Zuko without anyone to protect him from Azula's tormenting and cemented her place as a destructive, villainous person in his life. Ursa's death also did destroy their family. Whatever way she had managed to keep them all together was eradicated, and Zuko was left with a sister and father that resented him and a sister fighting for his place in the line of succession.

Their obessesions

Both Sokka and Zuko had two bone-deep obsessions that were very defining parts of their characters in the first season, that slowly wavered and faded away as the story progressed and they developed as people. They were both given these obsessions by their fathers immediately before they became absent in their lives (whether leaving themself or sending their son away) and proceeded to dedicate their entire life to these goals in the name of honor.

With Sokka, his father asked him to protect his sister and his village. Sokka then dedicates all his time and energy to becoming a brave soldier and training the children of the village in order to protect his people. This is seen further in season one even after they leave, when he is overly protective of Katara and constantly worried for her safety (something this fandom doesn't talk about enough!!)

With Zuko, his father sent him on a wild goose-chase to find the hundred-years-lost Avatar, and when he actually does, all he can do is chase after Aang so he can go back home. As we see in season three, letting go of capturing the Avatar was essentially letting go of his former self.

Unlearning their flawed cultures (the big one!!!!)

Both of their cultures had many flaws that became ingrained in their belief systems and characters; their whole development is dedicated to unlearning these flawed teachings and reorienting their perception of the world.

It is very obvious throughout the shows that the Water Tribe had strict gender roles that were both implicitly and explicitly taught from birth. The men go off to fight in the war, the women take care of the children, Sokka has to protect his "defenseless" little sister, etc. Suki helped start him on the journey of unlearning his deeply-rooted misogyny, and by the end of the series he's really drinking the Respect Women Juice™️ (unlearning the flaws of his culture also brought him much closer to his sister and strengthened their bond and respect for one another)

The Fire Nation is a lot more complicated with a lot more cultural nuances and implicit and explicit teachings, but we'll focus on one central cultural theme: the constant prioritization of ambition over absolutely everything else, including (if not especially) love. (I actually talk about this extensively in another analysis post about Azula, if you want to check that out<3) We see Zuko battle with this teaching all throughout the series, and it is the main conflict he faces, at its heart.

We watch him commit his entire life to capturing the Avatar in season one. We watch him betray his uncle in season two. We watch him, time and time again, put his own health and safety on the line trying to capture Aang, especially in season one. Constantly, over and over again, he puts his ambition first because that was what he was taught.

And though this is a trait him and Azula share, it is also what pits them against each other. Azula's entire character is built on putting ambition first, and that leads her to chasing the throne that is Zuko's birthright. Zuko just wants to go home, but that would reestablish him as the heir to the throne. Time and time again, we watch them fight and betray each other, constantly battling for this crown for a broken nation. In the end, it is Azula's undoing, but that's another post.

All in all, unlearning the flaws of their culture is central to their development as characters and a place where they parallel... but it is also a place where they directly (and perfectly) contrast.

Despite the cruelty of the Fire Nation, they are the only military that includes women. They seem to not really struggle with the same gender roles the rest of the world does. They may be colonizers, but they're not misogynists. Zuko never looked down on his sister because she was a woman, nor did her father. It was always her propensity for cruelty that undid her. (They even send a team of highly skilled women to capture the Avatar!!)

This is a direct contrast to the teachings of the Water Tribe, which are entrenched in misogyny and gender roles. The men go off to war, the women stay behind. The men are strong, the women are weak. Can you imagine how much Zuko could have assisted Sokka in his development here? (blah blah directly paralleling Suki's role in Sokka's life blah blah blah)

In the Water Tribe, love and family comes before everything. We see that time and time again. Sokka's main priority, every time, is his sister and his tribe. They stick together. They love one another. They are united, with one person leading them as a group but not standing over them like a tyrant. "Ambition" seems like a mostly unheard of concept in their nation. The only ambition we ever really see from Sokka is when he's trying to protect his tribe (season one finale)!!

Can you imagine how much Sokka could have helped Zuko unlearn his constant prioritization of ambition?? Like, come on. All the things Zuko was left to stew with and angst over all on his own Sokka could have gently taken into his own hands and shown him the way. Like, it actually makes me go feral just thinking about it. Sokka could have helped Zuko so much!! (pushing the Ba Sing Se Zukka AU rn)

Consensus

Okay, let's recap. It looks like Zuko and Sokka are both direct parallels and contrasts, paralleling in the ways that allow them to understand each other but contrasting in the ways that help them heal one another. Like, it's actually insane. I really don't know if it was intentional or not but it's really just so perfect. They slot together perfectly as characters. I hope this all made sense😭😭

Could "Zukka" work in canon?

Now, this is tricky. Believe it or not I'm actually really glad they didn't make Zukka canon. ATLA had a huge problem with writing good romance, and in the canon we saw in the show, neither Sokka or Zuko were in a place to get together.

I've enjoyed my fair share of Zukka AUs where they get together before the end of the war, but you and I both know that would have been a hot mess. (Both of them just weren't ready, they were both in relationships, and sorry but they were kinda busy—Katara was right about the whole "there are other things to worry about.") If they were ever to get together in canon, it would have to be years after the war ended.

Let's address a few things that needed to happen before they could ever have gotten together:

Finally admitting that Maiko was just an extreme example of comphet

Zuko did not give a single shit about that girl. Like. He didn't even personally go get her out of prison WHEN SHE WAS LITERALLY ARRESTED FOR PROTECTING HIM😭😭 And then they try to play off their story as some big epic romance?? uhhhh no

(really, Mai was in long-time unrequited love with Ty Lee that was finally requited after Boiling Rock but idk if society is ready for that yet)

Not to mention, Azula literally forced both of them into that relationship, but if I get started with that I'll never stop so. Moving on.

Figuring out Sokka and Suki

Okay, so while there is a good chance that Sokka and Suki could have made it work in canon, there is also a good chance they would have broken up. They both had very different priorities: while they both did care about overall world peace, it was obvious from Suki's first introduction that her Kyoshi Warriors were her top priority every time, and Sokka's was his tribe, his found family (Aang, Katara, Toph, Zuko, yk yk), and world peace at large. You're telling me those don't conflict? Especially because they really seem like a Piper/Jason situation, where they found comfort and love in each other during wartime but wouldn't have known how to keep up the relationship without the constant threat of death.

Overall, in order for Zukka to work, Sokka and Suki would have had to break up, which would not have been difficult to arrange.

Sokka needed to go home and begin rebuilding the Water Tribe

No matter how much I adore fics where Sokka stays behind in the Fire Nation and helps Zuko rebuild, it just wouldn't work. Sokka's obvious priority had always been his tribe. The second the war was over (ignoring the comics bc that's a can of complicated worms i don't want to get into), he would've gone back with Katara to work on rebuilding their destroyed tribe. Only once the Southern Tribe could stand steadily on its own two legs could he have even considered leaving.

Anyways, that's really it. In order for Zukka to work, three plot points would have to be resolved: Maiko, Sukka, and the reparation of the Southern Water Tribe. Extremely doable, imo.

Personality-wise and just as characters, would it have worked?

I really think it would have! Like I said before, Sokka and Zuko are two characters that perfectly parallel and contrast at all the exactly right points to make them slot together flawlessly as a pair. (Whether that's romantic or not—doesn't matter.) Really, I genuinely think they are a real missed opportunity. I have genuinely never seen two characters that seem so different that actually work that well together, or even just characters that work that well together at all.

Like, I really mean it, they are perfect matches. It's genuinely scary. Like it or not, no one will ever be able to replicate the perfection of what Zukka could have been.

Anyone that says that it's "random" or "doesn't work" obviously hasn't been watching the same show or simply just hasn't been paying attention. People might ship it just because it's opposites attract or red and blue or even just the most accessible MLM ship in the fandom, but they really are perfect for each other.

alright, I think that's it! sorry for this monster of a post😭😭 genuinely did NOT expect that to happen. PLS SEND ME ANY ASKS YOU CAN THINK OF ABOUT THESE TWO!! i have spent a concerning amount of time thinking about them and these show has analysis potential for days, so. (and who knows, maybe i'll finally post the like three unfinished fics i have for them💀💀 god knows i should)

thanks for the ask, and have a great day <3

#atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #zukka #atla meta #atla ana #atla analysis #zukka nation #atla zukka #sokka x zuko #zuko #sokka #atla sokka #atla zuko

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blakeswritingimagines · 3 days

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Dating Yandere Zuko Would Include:

As a yandere, he'd be possessive, obsessive, and jealous. He'd go to extreme lengths to win your affection and keep it, and would try his best to eliminate any threats to his relationship with you. He'd also have unpredictable mood swings and wouldn't hesitate to use violence to get what he wants.

He'd be paranoid and insecure, constantly doubting your loyalty and intentions. He'd have trouble trusting you and would likely resort to controlling behaviors to ensure your loyalty. He'd also likely become obsessed with you and would want to know everything about you and spend every second he could with you.

He'd be obsessive about you, wanting to constantly keep tabs on your whereabouts and activities. He'd also be possessive of your attention and wouldn't like seeing you giving it to someone else. At the same time, he'd expect you to cater to his every need and desire, placing excessive demands on you. He'd also have intense feelings of jealousy whenever someone else shows interest in you, even if there's no valid reason to feel threatened.

Besides being obsessive and possessive, he'd also be prone to fits of irrational anger, often over petty or imagined slights. In a fit of rage, he could become aggressive and abusive, verbally or even physically hurting you. He'd also be controlling and manipulative, trying to manipulate circumstances to his advantage and ensure that you remain dependent on him. If he felt you were trying to leave him, he might even resort to extreme or sinister measures to keep you from abandoning him.

Another trait of a yandere is extreme devotion. He'd be completely devoted to you and wouldn't want or need anyone else. He'd also be clingy and codependent, wanting to be with you all the time and being unable to function properly without you. He'd probably have abandonment issues, too, being terrified of losing you and clinging on for dear life.

Apart from the characteristics I've already mentioned, as a yandere, he would be highly emotionally unstable, switching between moods quickly and unpredictably. He might also be volatile and unpredictable, often being cold and distant one moment and overly clinging the next. He'd become overly reliant on you, wanting to spend every waking moment with you and being devastated when you're away from him. His emotional state would be extremely fragile, making him prone to outbursts of intense anger and jealousy if you so much as glance at another person.

He'd have a warped view of love and relationships, viewing you as belonging to him and vice versa. Any threat to your exclusivity could trigger a violent reaction. It'd become his duty to ensure that the one he love belongs to him alone, and the thought of losing you would drive him insane. As mentioned before, this possessiveness and obsession can turn abusive, and the thought of you being with another person would trigger fits of irrational rage. To an unhealthy extent, your bond would become central to his identity and reason for existing.

If you were a certain type of bender, it would add an additional layer of intensity to his possessive and obsessive personality traits. The fact that you could bend a particular element that he could not would trigger his inferiority complex, making him more paranoid and jealous. He would be constantly worried about you using your bending abilities to escape him or attract someone else, which could fuel his violent and abusive side. He would be overly cautious and restrictive towards your usage of your bending, perhaps even threatening you for even trying to use it when he wasn't around.

Affection would be another key feature of his yandere personality. It'd manifest as hyper fixation on you, to the point where his life would revolve around you. He'd be obsessive, possessive, controlling, and jealous when it comes to you, but would also be overly affectionate in an unhealthy and obsessive way. He would be overly doting and attached, showering you with attention and love, wanting you only to be his. He would be clingy and overly emotional, displaying a deep attachment and dependence upon you.

Dates would be another outlet for his to express his obsessive affection for you. He would insist on taking you out for dates as often as possible. It would be his chance to show the world that you're his partner and his alone, no one else's. It would also be an opportunity to show you that his love and devotion are endless. If you were to refuse his dates, he could potentially get angry and aggressive, so these dates would become one of the avenues for his obsessive and controlling nature to express itself.

His father and sister would be the central sources of his mental instability. His father's lack of emotional care and support for him throughout the years would contribute to a void inside him that he'd fill with possessive and obsessive feelings directed towards you. His insane sister, on the other hand, would feed his deep sense of insecurity and inferiority complexes, seeing as she's the golden child of the family and a fierce combatant. She'd constantly flaunt her skills and superiority, which would constantly make him afraid of being replaced and further fuel his already strong possessiveness towards you.

He'd come from a dysfunctional family background that contributed to his mental instabilities. His familial relationships would likely be strained due to his certain personality traits, with his family being concerned about them and trying to curb them while he was growing up. Iroh disapproved of his obsession with you and tried to convince him to stop. If he were to exhibit violence and aggression in front of his uncle, he'd be shocked and horrified at the lengths Zuko goes to keep you his. While he'd try his best to help, it'd only serve to fuel Zuko's obsessive tendencies.

He'd be prone to obsessive daydreaming about scenarios involving you and him. These daydreams would feed his possessive and obsessive tendencies and would make him develop unrealistic expectations about your relationship that could eventually lead him to become frustrated when reality diverged too greatly from these fantasies. They would act as a fuel for his hyper fixation on you, further leading him down a path of unhealthy obsessions and tendencies.

He'd often be haunted by his own feelings of inadequacy and insecurity, which would push him to overcompensate by resorting to controlling and possessive acts towards you. He'd feel ashamed about his obsessive behavior, but the fear of losing you would keep him from wanting to change, only increasing the intensity of his obsession. His insecurities would also make him fearful of losing you to another, which would increase his sense of possessiveness and jealousy, making him lash out at any perceived threat to your relationship.

If you two were to get married, he'd be ecstatic and obsessive about your union. It would symbolize his complete control over you and would give him a sense of security and ownership, seeing as he would now be your husband. He'd be overly protective of you and your marriage, viewing it as his right to keep you all to himself. Any threat to your union or his position as your husband would trigger a violent and possessive reaction. He'd be clingy, demanding, and jealous, constantly wanting to know where you are and who you're with.

Children would represent a whole new aspect to your relationship, which would cause him to become even more obsessive. He would see them as an extension of himself and his ownership over you and would want them to grow up in a stable and controlled environment where he alone had full say in raising them. Any interference from outside forces would be treated as an attack on your family, thus triggering a fierce and protective reaction from him. He'd be overly protective of your children and would want to keep them sheltered and submissive under his sole authority.

If you didn't want or couldn't have children, it'd be a major source of tension and frustration for him. It would represent yet another area of his life that he could not fully control, potentially damaging his perception of your relationship and his role within it. He would not take kindly to the news and would likely try to find a way to overturn the decision, whether it was through convincing you to change your mind or searching for alternatives - such as adoption or surrogacy - which could still allow you to have children.

He would definitely not hesitate to use his fire bending skills on you if he felt it was necessary, or he was highly agitated or enraged. His fits of aggression and violence would not take kindly to any resistance or rebellion, so he'd have no qualms about using his fire bending as a means of intimidation, control, and punishment. His fire bending skills would serve as a powerful and persuasive threat, allowing him to manipulate and control you if you disobeyed or went against his wishes.

In a nutshell, as a yandere, he'd see you as his property and would try to control every aspect of your life, wanting to keep you entirely to himself. He'd keep you from seeing or talking to other people, would expect you to give him all your time and attention, and would get jealous and possessive if you were to interact with anyone else. The obsessive feelings would become all-encompassing and all-consuming, and he'd become irrational and volatile when triggered. He'd be capable of violence and abuse, resorting to drastic and dangerous measures to keep you his.

"You are mine. You will not be anyone else's. There is no one but me who deserves to have you. No one else deserves to love and admire you, to be able to bask in your presence, to be able to possess you. Your heart, body, and soul belong to me, and I will do whatever is necessary to keep it that way. You do not deserve to be loved by anyone else but me. You do not deserve to have anyone else hold you and cherish you, to hold your hand and to kiss your lips. Only I am deserving of such privileges."

Teasing and Denial - He loves the build-up of anticipation when he teases you and denies you satisfaction. He enjoys the feeling of desire and need that sets in as he waits to finally satisfy you. He loves the feeling of satisfaction that comes when he finally allows you both to release.

Bondage - He enjoys seeing you tied up or restrained in some form. He finds the sight of you being restrained liberating and exciting, and he loves letting loose and enjoying you however he sees fit.

Dominance and Submission - He enjoys being in control and taking the lead in any situation, but he also likes it when you take control of him and make him submit to you. He loves the power dynamic involved in this and the different ways it can be explored.

Blindfolds - He finds that blindfolds can add an element of mystery and uncertainty to any situation, and blindfolding you adds an extra layer of excitement. He loves seeing you being blindfolded unlocks new levels of vulnerability.

Body worship - He loves the feeling of being worshipped by his partner, with you focusing your attention on every inch of his body. He loves being adored and appreciated, and he enjoys the feeling of being the center of your world.

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