ATLA fic recs - neurodiversity/trauma/LGBTQIA+ themes
Not sure if any of you remember or saw it, but earlier this year I made a post asking for help for my dissertation, by asking people to fill out a questionnaire on fanfiction, representation, and education. I used Zukka as a case study, and asked for fic recs with good representation. I didn’t get a use for that in my actual dissertation, but some people asked if I could make a list of the fics that got recommended, so here we are! Most of these are gonna be Zukka, but there are some other ships as well!
Italics - recommended by someone who is affected by the themes themselves (i.e. an autistic person said the representation of autism was good)
Bold - I have read myself already, and highly enjoyed
❤️ - Recommended by several people (double hearts for the most recommended ones)
It’s a long list, so I’ll put the links under the cut!
Zukka
❤️❤️ Change of Address series - hearmerory: 111k, series, incomplete. Autistic Zuko, trauma. (Navigating high school, with many glimpses into Zuko’s childhood)
The Art of Burning - hella1975: 267k, chaptered, incomlete. Trauma. (Another Hakoda-adopting-Zuko fic, but more slowburn. Until he is forced away from the ship, and eventually meets Sokka again.)
i hope i don’t fall in love (with you) - annesbonny: 118k, chaptered, completed. (After causing an incident at a wedding, Zuko and Sokka have to fake being friends in hopes that people will forget about it. A Red, White and Royal Blue AU.)
❤️❤️ I’ve Built My Life Around You - Pippinpaddleopsicopolis: 411k, chaptered, completed. Internalized homophobia, self-harm, depression, anxiety, PTSD, eating disorder, substance abuse, panic attacks, ADHD Sokka, partially deaf & blind Zuko, (some people read Zuko as autistic, but it is not tagged). (Post-war AU. Deals with both Zuko and Sokka’s individual issues after the war, and Sokka hides in the Fire Palace for escape, they try to help each other)
this ultraviolet morning light - GallifreyanFairytale: 86k, chaptered, completed. Internalized homophobia, demisexual Zuko, ADHD Sokka. (”Sokka and Zuko break up, make up, go undercover, thwart a rebellion, watch the sunrise, and change the course of fire nation history. not necessarily in that order.”)
feels like we only go backwards - oldpotatoe: 114k, chaptered, incomplete. Memory loss, Sokka’s trauma. (It’s been years since the war ended. But tell that to Sokka when he wakes up in the Fire palace, and his latest memories are from the Day of Black Sun.)
❤️❤️ Midwest Bi Disaster Zukka series - Onmyliteraturebullshitagain: 207k, series, incomplete. ADHD Sokka. (Modern AU “oh my god they were apartment neighbors”, with a healthy dose of humor and some favorite tropes like fake dating)
Guidance - jovialJuggernaut: 259k, chaptered, incomplete. (Canon!verse, but make it that one soulmate AU where the spirits bring you to visit your soulmate every now and then.)
Real Enough to Get Me Through - marriedzukka: 108k, chaptered, incomplete. Grief, chronic pain Sokka, anxiety attacks. (Iroh dies, and Zuko grieves. At he reaches his breaking point he meets someone and starts to heal.)
❤️ Ozymandias, King of Kings - Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought: 169k, chaptered, incomplete. Trauma. (The Agni Kai ends differently and Zuko gets sent to a prison camp. After a water tribe raid he meets the Gaang.)
If I long for the world, just a bit, will you forgive me for it? - nvrlostword: 29k, chaptered, complete. Autistic Zuko, Autistic Mai. (Prequel to the show. When Zuko finds out his father is planning to kill him, he flees, and ends up in the South Pole.)
your love, so sweet - verdanthoney: 27k, chaptered, completed. PTSD, nightmares, stress eating, panic attacks. (After Yakone’s trial Sokka decides that he needs a break. He ends up at the Jasmine Dragon, and see some familiar faces.)
❤️ the edge of oblivion (and other places to find love) - AutisticMob: 36k, one-shot. PTSD, trans Zuko, trans Sokka, autistic Zuko. (Zuko has escaped his transphobic dad, and want to go across the country to his uncle, but has no means to get there. Cue Sokka with a car. Road trip AU)
Operation Leverage - snowandfire: 51k, chaptered, complete. (Sokka runs into Zuko at the Jasmine Dragon. He’s absolutely sure Zuko is up to something, and the most logical way to get information is obviously to ask him out.)
the firebender’s guide to living life after destiny - chuffystilton: 99k, chaptered, completed. Trans character. (Post-war fic that deals with the aftermath and intergenerational trauma that comes from colonization. Plus Zukka.)
❤️ A place to belong - preciousbunnynoiz: 66k, chaptered, incomplete. Autistic Zuko (autistic author), abuse. (Soulmate AU. Zuko and Sokka get to visit each other throughout their childhoods in “spirit form”. But there is still the war going on, dividing their countries.)
i’m your man - sifu_hotdamn: 5k, one-shot. Trans Zuko, trans Sokka. (Ty Lee signs Zuko up to do a stand-up gig at a drag show, and a drag king takes an interest in him.)
Wooing the Water Tribe - lenaballena: 57k, chaptered, completed. (Sokka thinks Zuko is courting Katara. Which feels even worse when he realizes he’s in love with Zuko himself.)
❤️ Where I Want to Be - through-the-stars-to-the-pavement: 129k, chaptered, incomplete. PTSD, autistic Zuko, partially deaf & blind Zuko, BPD Zuko, lowkey bipolar Zuko, ADHD Sokka, smoking, panic attacks. (Zuko lives with Iroh and Toph, and is part of the local theatre. Sokka comes to town and joins as a set designer. Follows their struggles as they figure their relationship out.)
Multitudes of Blue - Miss_Rust: 7k, chaptered, completed. Trans Zuko, trans Sokka, autistic Zuko, ADHD Sokka. (Boyfriends moving in together.)
when the music’s too loud - badgerfrog: 3k, one-shot. Autistic Zuko, ADHD Sokka, sensory meltdowns. (Zuko’s senses get overstimulated at a party, and he and Sokka have to leave.)
❤️ The landscape series - Drakey: 158k, series, incomplete. Neurodivergent Zuko, neurodivergent Sokka, neurodivergent Aang, genderfluid Toph, polyamory. (I could not figure out much about the plot from the tags, but it seems to be a canon!verse soulmate fic, with Zukka soulmates (but maybe platonic)).
swords of fate, pride of hearts - zukkababey: 14k, chaptered, completed. (Covid-appropriate Zoom-class fic. Sokka starts messaging Zuko privately during lectures, but Zuko only ever answers right at the end of the call, so there’s no time for conversations. But Sokka doesn’t give up, and keeps messaging Zuko. Both are unaware that their professor can see their private chats.)
matchmaking - windupclock: 3k, one-shot. Autistic Zuko. (Zuko and Sokka are dating, but they are not aware of this. So Suki does something about it.)
❤️ Paenitemus - Ofrainyskiesandviolets: 13k, one-shot. Depression, ADHD Sokka, self-harm. (Sokka-centric modern AU, with a focus on mental health and coming out.)
(hope that i’m able to be) all that you need - SmileHoney: 10k, one-shot. Ace Zuko, internalized acephobia, aromantic Toph. (Zuko struggling with being gay and ace, and a look at this through the lens of various relationships.)
Finding Zuko Series - nvrlostword: 147k, series, incomplete. Autistic Zuko, autistic Mai. (Includes ‘If I long for the world, just a bit, will you forgive me for it?’, and its follow-up that takes place during the show, but the first part was recommended separately.)
❤️ That Midnight Sky - zukkababey: 103k, chaptered, completed. (Zuko needs secret tutoring, and Sokka is the secret tutor. When Azula finds them during a session, they need to lie, and of course the most rational option is to say that they are dating.)
the days were long and open (’cause I had a view of you) - red0aktree: 23k, chaptered, completed. Substance use. (Sokka is going insane in quarantine, and decides to take it out on his surly but intriguing neighbor.)
P.S I like you - Pippinpaddleopsicopolis: 10k, one-shot. Casual neurodivergence. (A Covid-appropriate modern AU with online class flirting.)
❤️ (There is not sweeter innocence than) our gentle sin - GallifreyanFairytale: 25k, one-shot. Internalized homophobia, partially deaf & blind Zuko. (An exploration of all four of the Fire Nation kids, dealing with being gay and their internalized homophobia.)
I’m not scared of growing older (if you are by my side) - Writerofthelorde: 80k, chaptered, completed. (The boys are living together, and are obviously in love with each other. So when they have to babysit Kiyi, Ursa gives her daughter the mission of getting them together. Pining ensues.)
You never quite say (but I hear) - thatwasanticlimactic: 16k, one-shot. ADHD Sokka, Tourette’s Sokka. (Sokka thinks no one cares about what he says, so he stop talking thinking that no one will notice.)
❤️ Blue - blacklipscurse: 193k, chaptered, completed. Physical disability, homophobia. (Iroh insists they start a new life in Ba Sing Se. Zuko hides his identity and deals out vigilante justice. It gets more complicated when Sokka shows up.)
the road not taken (looks real good now) - lesmiserablol: 8k, one-shot. Ace Zuko. (Zuko and Sokka see each other for the first time since they broke up, after Zuko finds out that Sokka still plays Pai Sho with his uncle.)
❤️ Breakable Heaven - haley625: 72k, chaptered, incomplete. Implied homophobia (and Sokka being a dumbass about his sexuality). (When the Tribe Elders start telling Sokka that he needs to find someone to marry, and he doesn’t want to, he has the most brilliant idea: telling them that he’s dating Zuko.)
summertime (and living’s easy) - clumsycrow: 2k, one-shot. Trans Zuko. (Just chill times with Zukka)
❤️ Where the stars do not take sides - WitchofEndor: 60k, chaptered, completed. (Zuko and Ursa disappear from the Fire Place after Ozai says he’ll kill Zuko, and are assumed dead. Imagine Azula’s surprise when she finds a familiar face among the Avatar’s friends years later.)
two feathers of a flower - ymnkn: 2k, one-shot. Trans Sokka (mtf), trans Zuko. (A brief story of Sokka discovering herself, along with Zuko’s story as well.)
Missing words (but I know you understand) - JustMeWriting: 48k, chaptered, completed. PTSD, trans Zuko, nonbinary Zuko, asexuality. (Sokka is left alone to help the Earth King, and can’t quite believe his eyes when he finds Zuko working at the Jasmine Dragon.)
A Problematic Peace - stmangos: 14k, one-shot. (Zuko post war, struggling with being alone, having to rule the Fire Nation, and pretending he’s straight.)
i couldn’t whisper when you needed it shouted - Draco_sollicitus: 6k, one-shot. Internalized homophobia. (Zuko hasn’t worried about his attraction to men in a while, but then Sokka returns to the Fire Palace, and he becomes aware of it again.)
Sukka
❤️ For When He’s Being a Dumbass - Pippinpaddleopsicopolis: 46k, chaptered, completed. ADHD Sokka, dysgraphia Sokka, depression. (Sokka-centric modern AU. I cannot see much more of the story from the tags and description. But the author is really good, so it might be worth checking out.)
Zukki
Friendship Set on Fire - haylestorming: 7k, one-shot. Zukki + Mai (I didn’t really know which category to put this under, but Mai is a part of the relationship). Polyamory. (After the war, the Gaang all become convinced that Zuko, Sokka, Suki, and Mai are all dating.)
Heave Ho: sea rats and future kings! - salytierra: 42k, chaptered, completed. Polyamory. (Pirate AU. In a world where the Northern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation work together to oppress the other nations, Sokka is being sent away to the North. But on his way there, the ship gets attacked by pirates.)
Multiship/not Zukka
❤️❤️ Disrespect!verse - Khashana: 58k, series, completed. Multi-ship. Autistic Zuko, self harm. (Zuko-centric, navigating college as neurodivergent)
to the moon and to saturn - wearealltalesintheend: 10k, chaptered, incomplete. Mailee. Internalized homphobia. (Mai coming to terms with her sexuality and realizing feelings after the war.)
Platonic/no ship
❤️❤️ Salvage - MuffinLace: 127k, chaptered, completed. Trauma regarding parents/fathers. (Zuko gets forcibly adopted by Hakoda, but make it slowburn)
By Moonlight - rhododaktylos_yue: 4k, one-shot. Trans Zuko, hints at autistic Zuko. (Zuko thought the Gaang knew he was trans. He’s proven wrong when he wakes up with his pants covered in blood and Sokka screams about it. Pre-Zukka.)
Fragile Foundations - punkmaifly: 35k, chaptered, incomplete. Abandonment issues, hallucinations, delusions. (Azula begins to unravel already when Zuko is banished. Background Mailee.)
Letting go of Better - childspider: 5k, one-shot. Internalized homophobia. (A look at Bato’s relationships throughout his life, both to himself and others. Various background ships.)
