psst realmeowth. zukka fic recs perhaps?
sorry this took me 8-10 business days life got crazy. also, if you've seen other zukka fic recs, mine will certainly have crossover.... I've been reading zukka fic for over a decade, and only recently started to actually save and bookmark fics soooo I've had to start with the ol' sort by kudos, comments and bookmark method and am making my way back through the zukka archives.
I will probably do another fic rec with more niche finds down the line once I track down the rarer gems that I've loved and lost! this fic rec will definitely be the basics, some of the more popular ones on the fandom (and they are popular for a reason!)
I'm adding brief notes below the ones I remember enough, but some I just had a link and can't remember the details so you'll have to go in blind!
Without further ado, in no particular order:
Canon divergent
Will We Last The Night 143k+ (T)
Sokka gets stranded on a raft with Zuko and Iroh after the Northern Water Tribe standoff, and is forced to venture with them to the Earth Kingdom.
Boomerangs and Rainbows 67K (T)
i avoided this one for a long time cause i didn't want to be sad but after finally reading it, it's so sweet and such a fun concept, it is definitely angsty but dw the ending is not tragic. but yeah so zuko dies and becomes a ghost that haunts sokka!
where the stars do not take sides 60k (unrated)
okay this fic has one of my favourite characterizations/approach to Azula, and her relationship with Zuko. There aren't many (that I've come across) Zukka fics that do a fulsome Azula 'redemption' and I really liked how this one did it. Zuko is alone earlier on, and crosses paths with the gaang earlier on, and Azula is forced to make a choice between saving her brother and serving her father.
like father, like son 134K (M)
AU where Zuko gets sent to the boiling rock when he's only 14, and is there for a few years until the day of the black sun -- wherein Hakoda becomes his cellmate, he begrudgingly befriends suki and is forced to make friends to get out. this was a more unique boiling rock plotline that i enjoyed, as the angst is there. and i just really enjoy Hakoda & Zuko dynamics in fics.
these are all really lovely fics with adult zukka, generally with Zuko coping with the heavy responsibilities of being Fire Lord, and Sokka is a Water Tribe ambassador of some sort. Or he's just hanging out. There are A LOT more of these I've read and loved that I need to track down...
in my notes app i just wrote "I LOVE THIS FIC SO MUCH" so that's all the context i have.
this isn't the vision you wanted 34K (T)
in flammam flammas 94k (M)
how to survive your hot best friend (a study in failure) 17K (E)
this one i read the other day. it's funny and charming and literally just zuko (and everyone else around) thirsting over hot older sokka. and druk is there parent trapping.
Blue (192K, M)
secret identity fic. ba sing se, zuko darns the blue spirit mask and befriends sokka. the angst and tension is so good, I always love a re-read of this one. a zukka staple honestly.
The Art of Burning (450k +) in progress
don't be scared by the word count or that it's unfinished -- it gets updated fairly consistently at least a few times a year, give or take. dadkoda is one of my favourite tropes. in face if anyone has other fics where it's 100k of zuko reluctantly bonding with hakoda/the water tribe before he even meets sokka, send them my way. also AMAZING OCs/intepretations of water tribe characters that feel so real and human. what can i say i'm a sucker for found family. it also just navigates queerness in such a realistic way for this world, i could go on. it's popular for a reason!
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big trigger warning for this final one - if you're not comfortable with SA / child abuse of a protagonist this will not be for you, but I wanted to include it because it is such a well-written fic series that I still think about often despite having only read it once several years ago. I think it still gets updated now and then, so it's in theory on track to be complete.
All's Fair Series (693k+, ongoing, M, mind the tags)
this fic is phenomenal, but very dark. one of those that will have you pacing, or make you turn off your phone and go stare out the window. that said, it is brutal and can be a hard read at times - please read the tags before jumping in. the premise is Sokka and Zuko being imprisoned by Zhao, and having to rely on each other to survive it. this fic does handle SA with care, but it does not shy away from the realistic brutality of it and a lot of the fic is Zuko coping/learning to live with that trauma. Definitely don't read this fic just for Zukka, because it is a lot more than that. it does an incredible job at fleshing out the sociopolitical landscape of the ATLA world and realities of how violent and vile colonial forces are. that said, there is healing and hope and light, but it's not linear. there are amazing OCs written so incredibly well into this story and you'll be just invested in them as you are the ATLA characters. it's a war story, a story of trauma, a story of healing, with a bit of a love story weaved in.
